Soap fans can enjoy the genre's first live scenes in nearly 10 years on Thursday (February 20) as EastEnders goes live to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
In an ambitious 30-minute live broadcast, Walford favourites will fight for their lives as they remain trapped at the Queen Vic following a dramatic fire and explosion.
With producers keen to keep pushing the boundaries, EastEnders will air a new twist for live drama by letting the public decide whether Denise Fox should pick Jack Branning or Ravi Gulati amid all the chaos and carnage.
Cast will receive the result of the viewer vote shortly before going on air and act out the preferred outcome of the love triangle.
As excitement builds, we're taking a look back at some of Soapland's previous live broadcasts – which one was your favourite?
Coronation Street's 40th anniversary (2000)
Following its launch in 1960, Coronation Street regularly aired live without a 'special' reason for doing so. Then a twice-weekly soap, Corrie would broadcast a pre-recorded episode each Wednesday and a live transmission on Fridays.
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This arrangement only lasted for a few months before the team started filming all episodes in advance, but the programme revisited its roots in December 2000 by airing an hour-long live special to mark its 40th anniversary.
While the special was slightly less eventful than the soap live episodes we're accustomed to these days, Corrie's 40th birthday had a fitting feel-good factor as the locals banded together to save the Street's cobbles from being dug up and replaced by tarmac as part of a redevelopment project.
This allowed most of the characters to appear on screen and provided a natural reason for the residents to celebrate the Street's history.
Slade singer Noddy Holder and Sir Trevor McDonald featured on screen as part of the episode, while King Charles III (then Prince Charles) also made an appearance in some pre-recorded video footage.
The episode also took a different approach to the more recent live specials in soap, as it followed a whole day on the Street rather than sticking to an after-dark setting. The broadcast kicked off with darker morning scenes on the cobbles, moved to studio-based scenes for the daylight hours and finally returned to the Street itself for night-time scenes towards the end of the episode.
EastEnders' 25th anniversary (2010)
Following in the footsteps of Corrie's live special, fellow ITV show The Bill went live for major episodes airing in 2003 and 2005. However, it was still a surprise to many when EastEnders announced plans to air its first-ever live episode to mark the soap's 25th anniversary in February 2010.
EastEnders' live episode focused on the resolution to the Archie Mitchell murder mystery storyline, as Bradley Branning tried to flee from Walford with his wife Stacey after suspicion wrongly fell on him as the possible culprit behind the crime.
Bradley's attempts to escape from the police ended in tragedy as he fell to his death from the roof of the Queen Vic, which saw the show deliver a live stunt. The terrible accident prompted a grief-stricken Stacey to confess to Max that she was the real killer.
As well as offering a treat for fans, EastEnders' decision to broadcast live helped to preserve the strict secrecy surrounding the identity of Archie's murderer. Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey, was only made aware of her character's guilt minutes before the show went on air. Prior to this, only a very small number of people behind the scenes were aware of the story's conclusion.
Despite a small handful of errors which were picked up on by viewers, EastEnders Live was one of the most memorable episodes and pulled in 16 million viewers on the night.
Coronation Street's 50th anniversary (2010)
Coronation Street bosses originally ruled out a live episode for the soap's 50th anniversary celebrations, but they later changed their minds – perhaps encouraged by the ratings success of EastEnders Live.
The ITV soap's first live broadcast in ten years was far more dramatic and ambitious than the 40th anniversary offering, exploring the emotional aftermath of the tram crash disaster on the cobbles and the continued attempts to rescue the survivors.
Notable moments in the episode included the death of Molly Dobbs, Sally Webster's discovery of Kevin's affair, Fiz Stape giving birth to baby Hope, and Peter Barlow appearing to reach the end of the line as he flatlined in hospital following a deathbed wedding with partner Leanne.
Cast and crew were praised for the lack of mistakes in the episode, with no signs of fluffed lines or stumbles. Sally Webster defying orders by entering the wreckage of the Corner Shop without a hard hat was perhaps the only moment which saw the episode deviate slightly from the script!
EastEnders' Olympic special (2012)
Following the success of the 25th anniversary celebrations, EastEnders went live for a second time in July 2012 as the Olympics came to London. A special storyline was created to help celebrate the occasion, with Billy Mitchell being chosen to carry the Olympic torch as part of the Games' official torch relay.
Billy's big moment arrived in a 30-minute episode on July 23. The final seven minutes of the episode were broadcast live, featuring 31 regular actors and 450 extras to cheer Billy on as he enjoyed his rare moment in the spotlight.
Perry Fenwick, who plays Billy, had joked about scrutinising Albert Square for potholes to ensure that he didn't fall over on live TV. Fortunately for him, the broadcast ran smoothly!
Billy's granddaughter Lola Pearce also had a big role to play as she gave birth in the live scenes, arguably providing Danielle Harold's first standout moment in her role as the troubled character.
Emmerdale's 40th anniversary (2012)
2012's second soap live broadcast came in October as Emmerdale celebrated its 40th anniversary with an hour-long live episode.
The show had a unique challenge compared to other soaps as Emmerdale's village location and studios are miles apart, meaning that it wasn't possible for the actors to seamlessly move from interior to exterior scenes. Producers addressed this problem by setting the episode entirely in the village, even building a set inside The Woolpack building for the first time so that the pub could feature in the episode.
Emmerdale's theme for the live episode was 'from the cradle to the grave', as Debbie Dingle and Gennie Walker both gave birth and bad boy Carl King was murdered by Cameron Murray.
As well as passing without any noticeable mistakes, Emmerdale's live episode set the stage for another 12 months of high drama as Cameron's attempts to cover up his crime led to him becoming a serial killer.
EastEnders' Live Week (2015)
EastEnders took live episodes to the next level to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary in February 2015.
At the height of the 'Who Killed Lucy?' storyline, the BBC soap embarked on an ambitious Live Week to help keep the final secrets of the saga closely under wraps until transmission.
The first four episodes of the week contained live inserts, signposted with the use of an #EELive hashtag on screen.
The week started with a bang as returning star Jo Joyner infamously mixed up Ian Beale and actor Adam Woodyatt, asking "How's Adam?" in a scene featuring her character Tanya Branning with Jane Beale.
It's the shocking moment everyone remembers, but to her credit, Jo took a "show must go on" approach and bravely returned the next night for further live scenes.
Other memorable moments included Kathy Beale's return from the dead in a live scene, a flashback episode confirming Lucy's killer and a full 30-minute live broadcast as the Beales processed the shocking revelation that Bobby had killed Lucy.
Coronation Street's killer showdown (2015)
Following the success of EastEnders' Live Week, Coronation Street decided to follow suit in October 2015 by airing an hour-long live special to mark the 60th anniversary of ITV.
Walford star Danny Dyer fuelled some playful rivalry between the soaps when he reacted to the news, quipping: "I know what it's like – it's tough! You've got to remember that we did a week… so one night is f**k all, really. But I'm rooting for them."
Corrie's live special focused on the Platt family as their dangerous encounters with bad boy Callum Logan came to a head.
In dramatic scenes, Callum attacked Sarah but Kylie intervened by dealing him a deadly blow to the head, which killed him instantly.
The Platts united by deciding to hide his body in a manhole in the family's garage, where building work was taking place.
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
