EastEnders’ biggest cock-ups — from mystery of Nasty Nick tattoo’s and disappearing pool table

IAN Beale, the only show cast member to appear continuously since its launch,  celebrated his 18th birthday in 1988. Yet only two years later, in 1990, he was marking his 21st.

Many times over the past 35 years the jukebox in the Queen Vic has automatically turned itself off when an argument or fight broke out.

Register offices and public buildings are always open in Walford on Bank Holiday Mondays but they aren’t in real life. Sharon Watts married on August Bank Holiday 2005.

Viewers haven’t seen Dr Alexander “call me Al” Jenkins in his surgery, but he has given a couple of consultations in the launderette. Someone call the GMC!

Police in Walford rarely solve crimes – and more often than not crime scenes are not sealed off. The local force doesn’t appear to have a forensics team because over the decades never once have the experts been called to a crime scene to look for tell-tale evidence. And even when Johnny Allen confessed, they didn’t believe him.

Despite the fact that the door numbers go up to 45, there are actually only 13 houses in Albert Square.

When Shirley Carter first arrived she lived alone, yet on cleaner’s wages she managed to pay for a two-bedroom flat in London, where the average rent is £1,600 a month.

In 2017, viewers noticed that Denise Fox’s hair changed three times – as she left her house she had curls, yet by the time she reached the Minute Mart she had straight hair. Minutes later it was curly again.

In 2009, the Masoods were up to their eyes in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, having sunk every penny they had into their business. Yet only weeks later Zainab was urging her husband to invest £35,000 in property. Where the cash came from was never explained.

The allotments have moved in 35 years. They used to be a bus ride away, but now they are a short walk from Albert Square.

The Square’s local church has changed over the years – because when Alfie disrupted Kat’s wedding to Andy it was a totally different building to where Frank married Peggy and where baby Amy was christened.

The Queen Vic’s pool table must be collapsible. Sometimes it’s there, sometimes not and at times through the decades it has vanished for months at a time.

Some characters in EastEnders simply vanish, never to be seen again. One was Marge Green, who was also known as Brown Owl, played by actress Pat Coombs. She appeared from May 1989 to February 1990 then went on a world cruise and never came back.

Nick Cotton used to sport a spider’s web tattoo in the soap’s early days but during the times he returned in some shows it had completely vanished. In others the make-up had smudged.

Tanya Branning, played by Jo Joyner, once asked Jane Beale: “How’s Adam?”, referring to character Ian Beale by his real name, Adam Woodyatt.

Part of the set was visible in Dot Branning’s living room when Sonia Fowler made her way to open the front door to police officers. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted a sign that read: “Do not set and strike” – this is stage management lingo referring to not removing items from the set.

When Abi Branning’s baby was born, the tag on the child’s arm was labelled “Smith”. One  keen viewer tweeted: “Why did the Branning baby have Smith on its ID band – confused!”

When Mick and Linda Carter suffered a flat tyre on the way to a concert, she revealed she had used the spare tyre recently and hadn’t replaced it, so they were truly stuck. Yet  a tyre was clearly visible on the back of their motor.

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