I love the Wikipedia description of the di Marco's.

The di Marcos are now deemed as something of a failure for EastEnders. Since their departure, the family has even been mocked in an EastEnders official book, entitled EastEnders 20 Years In Albert Square. In the book, the author, Rupert Smith, writes :"Nobody really knew what to do with the di Marco family, who had been languishing in the pizza restaurant without a decent storyline between them. Finally, there was nothing else for it: the di Marcos would have to go. All of them…it was as if they'd never been".[5]

Matthew Baylis of The Guardian has commented on their lack of success: "Thank heaven for off-screen uncles. As we saw during the hurried departure of the di Marco family from Albert Square, there's nothing like a fictitious relative when you need to get characters off the screen…The di Marcos' departure had its dodgy elements. A hitherto unheard-of uncle needs help in his restaurant, so the whole family ups sticks. Including Teresa - who'd always fought for independence from her family? Rosa, who presumably owned the house she'd transformed into something resembling an Imperial Palace, is suddenly prepared to leg it with a couple of suitcases? There was plenty that didn't ring true. But few viewers minded. There was, if anything, more sympathy for the programme-makers, trying valiantly to dispose of this singularly unpopular family while retaining an element of drama."[13]

The di Marcos have been dismissed as "unconvincing characters".[13] Baylis goes on to highlight a problem that he feels "dogged the whole family", their occupation as restaurateurs. Baylis believes this kept them "self-contained", and prevented them from establishing meaningful links with other characters. He explains: "[The di Marcos] had an ambiguity, heightened by the job they did. Soapland has no place for grey areas. Bad things happen to bad people. They also happen to good people, of course, but not for very long. To make this predictable universe work on the screen, you need characters who are relatively stable (even if they are unstable). The writers and the viewers buy into a myth that people aren't particularly complex, that the full range of their feelings and actions can be revealed in a few hours on the TV. And a quick, visible way of revealing characters is to mirror them in their occupation. Thus we have Pauline Fowler, long-suffering drudge and matriarch. What better job than folding pants all day in the launderette? Or Peggy [Mitchell] - tough but fun-loving and gregarious. So she runs the pub. But what attributes spring to mind when we think of Italian restaurants? Fond of pasta, perhaps? Permanently overworked? The job never provided an easy route into understanding the di Marcos' characters…The most visible jobs tend to be taken by the strongest, most vivid characters. Confined to their restaurant, the di Marcos could only become involved in Walford life when other characters came over to eat a carbonara. And how often do working-class East End people do that? If any di Marco wanted a night out, a pint in the Vic, a clandestine liaison, then an excuse had to be found as to why they weren't working. Transforming Giuseppe's into a daytime sandwich bar, and sending Teresa onto the market were bold rescue attempts, but they came too late. The viewers had already decided they didn't much care…Because of their jobs, the di Marcos became a largely self-contained unit…"[13]

More on their axing:

The di Marcos remained with the show as a unit until 2000, when the new executive producer, John Yorke, decided to cull the majority of the family.[6] All except Beppe (Michael Greco) and his son Joe (Jake Kyprianou) were written out.[7] They were reportedly "slaughtered because of a shortage of ideas for what to do with them".[3] A source allegedly told The Mirror: "It's always unpleasant having to say goodbye to people who have given loyal service to the show for a number of years. But John Yorke feels it's time to make his mark on the show. Every new producer likes to do the same. John wants to introduce a new family later this year and felt the Di Marcos had nowhere else to go. Their storylines were beginning to feel tired and that's a good time to make such a drastic change."[8] However an official BBC spokesperson at the time commented: "These changes […] are just part of [John Yorke's] plans to revamp the series and give it a new look."[9] The cuts paved the way for the arrival of the popular Slater family.[10] Beppe and Joe remained until 2002, when they were axed too.[11]

Edited May 22, 201114 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Was Harris the one who came up with Cindy's exit (the one where she hired a hitman)?

Yes.

How did you feel about that?

I liked Cindy's exit, but I don't know if they really knew what to do with her by the time she left.

I know some think that was the start of sensationalism at EE.

EastEnders won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Continuing Drama.

Lindsey Coulson gave the speech, btw.

Ellie at Walford Web posted this pic:

Here's their win:

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/asNb9LgJzC4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Backstage video after the win:

Edited May 22, 201114 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

That's so unfair!!! Why do the public get to choose awards??? This must be left up to panels!!!!

</end Digital Spy speak>

You know it has to sting all of the Corrie people that in their 50th year, EastEnders has beaten them for every major award (NTA, BSA, and now BAFTA).

The Corrie clip was such badly acted farce, it's easy to see why EastEnders won off Lindsey's performance. I'm glad she got to accept the award too.

I forgot to say thank you for posting all this. I'm so glad Eastenders won and I'm so VERY glad they let Lindsey Coulson accept the award. I love Jane Danson, but Lindsey deserved a BSA and her giving the speech basically lets everyone know that. Her performance was one of the most moving moments I've ever seen on television.

People can say "Eastenders only won this on an episode," but that's the point. It was a superb episode, full of real, human, raw moments, something the other soaps now seem to run as far from as possible.

Bryan Kirkwood has been so demonized since before he even started producing Eastenders. While this doesn't change that Eastenders still needs a lot of work, I'm glad he has this last year of awards - at a time when many in the press and on fan forums were going on about the superiority of Corrie or Emmerdale - as some validation of his efforts.

Nina Wadia and Charlie Brooks presented an award together, I wish it was uploaded.

Anyway, here's some on-carpet interviews with Charlie Brooks and Jessie Wallace.

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kkUiX59NOLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/s-DHybhmlpw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Edited May 23, 201114 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

I like the intro on those videos. I'm sorry Jessie didn't win.

Charlie looks very nice, very 20's. I love what the show has done with Janine this past year.