EastEnders to include tribute to Nelson Mandela on Monday night
A scene has been filmed for tonight's episode of EastEnders to mark the death of former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Following the death last week, bosses at the BBC1 soap decided to drop the specially-shot scene into the show. There had been no episode last Friday, the day after Mandela's death.
An EastEnders spokesman said: "EastEnders always aims to reflect big news stories and events that strike a chord with our audience.
"Nelson Mandela had such a huge effect on so many people's lives that we felt it was important to reflect the impact his death has had."
The episode will see the characters Carol Jackson, played by Lindsey Coulson, and Denise Fox, played by Diane Parish, discussing Mandela and their memories of his release from prison in 1990.
The same honour has previously been given to historic moments including, most recently, the birth of Prince George, and also Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory earlier this year.
The death of the Queen Mother and the election of US president Barack Obama have also been referred to in previous episodes of EastEnders.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.