EastEnders fans couldn’t hide their amusement after the long-running soap included a scene commemorating England’s Euro 2020 loss at the start of yesterday’s (12 July) episode.
The England men’s football team lost to Italy in a penalty shoot-out in the final of the tournament, having finished extra time at 1-1.
A scene was written, filmed and edited within the space of a day to make mention of England’s result, but fans were divided over its merits.
At the start of the episode, Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) wanders through the market with an England flag wrapped around him.
He discusses the match with Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell), saying: “You know, I was seven when we won the World Cup. I just hope I’m about long enough to see us win something else. I thought with Harry turning up round here on Friday, it was a sign, it was fate.”
Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) then interjects, telling them: “We should have brought on another attacker and killed them off when we were at 1-0.
“Had to put on Love Island in the end, I mean it got too much, it was too emotional. And I’m glad that I did because to see Saka crying live on TV would have broken my heart.”
Fans reacted in surprise the exchange, with one person describing it as “low-key cringe”.
“Alright #eastenders we get it. Very topical,” wrote someone else.
However, the majority of reactions on Twitter were positive, with one person writing: “I know people have been bashing this scene, but I love it when the soaps film last-minute content to reflect real-life events. It’s just a bit of fun.”
“I actually really liked the added scene about the football results. It was bang on,” wrote someone else.
“They could of just mentioned the loss of the game, but the fact they included the Saka emotion, so much credit goes to this show tonight,” wrote another person.
EastEnders can be watched on BBC iPlayer, with new episodes airing on weekdays.
