Summary[]
It is the day of Shakil's funeral, and everyone prepares themselves for the emotional day ahead. Kush discovers that Carmel has cancelled all the funeral arrangements so convinces her that people have a right to be there. She agrees but says she will not attend. As the locals gather, Carmel is absent so Denise tries to find her. Kush attempts to delay the funeral by asking Keegan and Bex to speak about Shakil, but the Reverend Irene Mills cannot delay it any longer so begins. Denise finds Carmel, who says she cannot say goodbye to Shakil as it is too final and she wants him back. Denise convinces her to attend as she will regret not going and people will remember the funeral for her not being there. They arrive just in time and Reverend Mills tells everyone to speak about Shakil often to keep his memory alive.
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Kush, Umar, Darius, Arshad and Mariam all pray to Allah, wishing Shakil an easy journey into his new life. Masood comforts Kush and reminds him that everyone will be there for him at the funeral. Kush walks out of Masood's house and sees Jay walking across the Square, Kush tells Jay he's received a call from his florist telling him that they cancelled all the flowers. Jay tells Kush that it was Carmel who cancelled everything, assuming that Kush already knew. Kush is surprised to hear this and asks Jay what Carmel said; Jay tells him that Carmel does not want anyone at the funeral other than herself. Tiffany and Bernadette walk over to Kush and ask if some of Shakil's mates can talk about him at the funeral. Kush agrees to see what he can do. He visits Carmel who is applying make-up ready for the funeral. He tries to talk Carmel around and let him, Darius and Umar to the funeral. Carmel does not listen and Kush begs her to let everyone be at the funeral, so she tells him that he can have it his way, but she will not be attending the funeral. The episode then breaks away to some of the parents whose sons were victims of knife crime. They talk about the pain they experienced upon learning that their children had died. Jack stares at the hearse. Kat asks Jack if he is okay, he says he is and walks off. Kat tells Hayley she cannot attend the funeral in the casual clothing she is wearing, and tells her to get changed. Kush tries to phone Carmel to see where she is, but it goes to an automated voicemail. Denise tells Kush she will go searching for Carmel. The episode then breaks away again to more parents whose sons were victims of knife crime. They talk about the heartbreak they faced saying goodbye to their children. Denise has had no luck finding Carmel. She tells Kush to head off to the church and she will continue to look for her. The residents begin to get ready to head off to the church. The episode then breaks away to more parents whose sons were victims of knife crime. They talk about how knife crime changed their and their families lives. The residents arrive at the church. Darius and Umar question Kush about where Carmel is. Kush explains to them the situation and that Carmel is missing, with Denise still looking for her. Keegan arrives at the church and Kush pulls him and Bex to one side. He asks them to say a few words about Shakil whilst Denise tries to find Carmel. The episode then breaks away to more parents whose sons were victims of knife crime. They talk about how they did not want to believe that their sons were dead, and how they tried to cope with the situation. Denise finds Carmel and convinces her to attend her son's funeral. Carmel is reluctant to go but when Denise asks Carmel to give her one good reason why she should not be at the funeral, Carmel realises she needs to be there. They head over to the church, where Keegan is finishing off talking about the fun times he and Shakil had at school together. The episode then breaks away to parents whose sons were victims of knife crime. They talk about the implications of carrying a knife. Carmel makes it to the funeral just as Reverend Irene begins her service. She tells the mourners in the funeral to remember Shakil whenever they can, and to give the stories meaning. The coffin is then lifted and walked out of the church, as the hymn "Abide with Me" is played. Shakil's coffin is laid to the ground, as real-life family members surround the grave, holding pictures of family members they have lost to knife crime. The camera then raises over the church, and the screen fades to black, as a reporter talks about the increasing number of death by knives and family members talk over the credits about the law surrounding knife crime must change, as young people are dying for nothing. |
Credits[]
Main cast[]
- Carmel Kazemi - Bonnie Langford
- Kush Kazemi - Davood Ghadami
- Denise Fox - Diane Parish
- Rebecca 'Bex' Fowler - Jasmine Armfield
- Louise Mitchell - Tilly Keeper
- Keegan Baker - Zack Morris
- Bernadette Taylor - Clair Norris
- Karen Taylor - Lorraine Stanley
- Keanu Taylor - Danny Walters
- Tiffany Butcher - Maisie Smith
- Masood Ahmed - Nitin Ganatra
- Arshad Ahmed - Madhav Sharma
- Mariam Ahmed - Indira Joshi
- Jay Brown - Jamie Borthwick
- Jack Branning - Scott Maslen
- Kat Moon - Jessie Wallace
- Jean Slater - Gillian Wright
- Stacey Fowler - Lacey Turner
- Martin Fowler - James Bye
- Hayley Slater - Katie Jarvis
- Mo Harris - Laila Morse
- Donna Yates - Lisa Hammond
- Kim Fox-Hubbard - Tameka Empson
- Sharon Mitchell - Letitia Dean
- Ian Beale - Adam Woodyatt
- Kathy Beale - Gillian Taylforth
- Sonia Fowler - Natalie Cassidy
- Robbie Jackson - Dean Gaffney
- Billy Mitchell - Perry Fenwick
- Patrick Trueman - Rudolph Walker
- Ted Murray - Christopher Timothy
- Hunter Owen - Charlie Winter
- Dennis Rickman - Bleu Landau
Recurring cast[]
Guest cast[]
- Darius Kazemi - Ash Rizi
- Umar Kazemi - Selva Rasalingam
- Reverend Irene Mills - Melanie Kilburn
Notes[]
- This episode was broadcast at the later time of 9.30pm due to live coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- This episode saw the funeral of Shakil Kazemi. Snippets of documentary-styled clips were intersected into this episode of real-life family members of knife-crime victims speaking about their experiences.
- As Shakil Kazemi's coffin is carried out of the church and lowered into the ground, the families stood outside the church with framed photos of their loved ones with the incidental music Abide with Me by Emelie Sandé.
- The end credits are played over a black background with no theme tune and featured the voices of victims' families and news reports. No cast or crew, apart from the writer, documentary producer and director, are credited, and the names of 47 victims' family members are listed in their place.
- This episode was followed by a six-part BBC Three series, EastEnders: The Real Stories.
Gallery[]
.jpg "EastEnders Credits (6 July 2018).jpg (1,021 KB)")
.jpg "Episode 5737 Promo (6 July 2018).jpg (142 KB)")
(6 July 2018)