Inside EastEnders’ eerie abandoned set left to ruin after soap moves to new £87m location
EASTENDERS’ abandoned former set lies derelict after the BBC moved to their brand new £87million location.
Soap bosses upped sticks earlier this year and are now producing the world famous series from the BBC’s Elstree Centre.
The EastEnders set was deemed no longer fit for purpose back in 2016 and work began on the multi-million pound new location which is suitable for HD filming.
It was originally built when the show launched in 1984.
The set was only intended to be used for two years but the production continued there for decades.
Workmen were photographed taking down parts of the set at the beginning of the year.
read more on eastenders
These new photographs reveal the set is now empty – aside from equipment boxes and old props.
The Queen Vic’s famous bar remains standing, along with the worn and shabby curtains.
It’s seats have been ripped out however and the shelves which were once packed with fake bottles of booze and glasses have gone.
Kathy’s Café is almost unrecognisable – with just the blue wooden panels remaining.
Wires hang down from the ceiling and rubbish litters the floors and window sills.
The famous kitchen area has also been completely removed and the room is now bare.
Mitchell & Panesar Autos, or as fans know it as The Arches, has hardly changed from the outside.
But after stepping through the doors all the props have been taken away – with just a plastic chair and some old wall insulation left behind.
Elsewhere on the now desolate set, props left behind by the team have been abandoned in crates.
Bottles of milk and cans from the minute mart have been stacked to one side, alongside boxes of wires.
Remnants of old episodes can also be seen, with instructions scrawled onto one of the set walls about not removing props needed for a live episode.
The gym at 9 Turpin Road, known recently as being called Crunch Time, still remain standing.
But rather than running machines inside there are wrapped up props and traffic cones.
On The Spot Cash pawnbrokers has wooden boards lying outside it while Coker & Sons Funeral Directors appears largely untouched.
Walford East Tube Station also appears to have been left almost entirely intact, with the cash machine, newspaper stands and phones still standing.
The police station, the polish delicatessen and the main square are also still in good nick.
EastEnders’ new updated set is an almost identical replica and includes additions like a block of flats and a railway tunnel.
Announcing the move previously, the BBC said in a statement: “The set of EastEnders was built in 1984 and only intended for use for two years
“Over 30 years later, the show remains one of the BBC’s flagship programmes and yet is filming from a set that is no longer fit for purpose.
“The new set will be suitable for HD filming for the first time and extend Walford to better reflect modern East End London.”
Filming in the new set started at the start in January and fans can expect to see scenes filmed there in the coming weeks.