London is the capital and largest city of both England and The United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames traditionally lying in South East England, at the head of its 50-mile inlet leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow its medieval limits closely. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
This formed the basis for the world depicted in EastEnders: a working-class community, from all walks of life living in a Victorian-square which was built in the 1800s. The basis of Albert Square and its people is how much of a tight-knit community the residents are. Co-creators Tony Holland and Julia Smith described the residents of the area attitude as "Hurt one of us, and you hurt us all." The area also has its fair share of history, with some characters such as Lou Beale living in the area from birth to death. It also holds a lot of cultures and different people from all walks of life such as homosexuals, the unemployed, foreigners, wealthy and working-class people.
London is at the centre of British film and television production industries, with significant studio facilities on the western fringes of the conurbation and a large post-production industry centred in Soho. London is one of the two leading centres of English-language publishing alongside New York. Globally significant media companies based in London range from publishing group Pearson to the information agency Reuters, to the world's number one advertising business group, WPP. Almost all of the major media organisations in the UK are based in London. All the major television networks are headquartered in London, most importantly the BBC. Other systems headquartered in London include ITV, Channel 4, Five, CNN International and BSkyB. However, these produce some programmes elsewhere in the UK, but London is their main production centre. It's also the home to Elstree Studios which is located in Borehamwood and is the place where EastEnders is filmed and has been ever since the programme launched in February 1985.
London is comprised of 32 Boroughs, some of which have been confirmed to exist in the EastEnders universe. The boroughs are:
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- City of London
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Grenwich
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Harrow
- Harringey
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston Upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond Upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wansworth
- Westminster