Jack Deslandes wrapped up working on Emmerdale a few months back to move to work on EastEnders, where he works as a writer and storyliner. As his final credits on the ITV soap aired last week, Jack reflected on his time on Emmerdale with a lengthy and emotional post, where he explained his decision to move to the BBC soap.
Writing on his blog, he shared: “Last week, my 144th and final credit rolled over the familiar strings of Emmerdale farm… I’ve been at EastEnders more than four months now so it’s been slightly strange to see the Emmerdale episodes I was working on air from afar. It’s like watching an ex finish the marathon they were training for whilst you were together – you’re pleased they’re doing well, but know your new partner might not appreciate you liking their Instagram post.
EastEnders’ iconic Queen Vic
“But given talking about the stories I worked on whilst I was at Emmerdale was embargoed until transmission, I thought it would be nice to allow myself one post of reflection on my time in the Dales.”
He then went on to reflect on the storylines he was a part of, including Vanessa’s return and love triangle between Suzy and Mary, as well as Charles and Manpreet’s engagement, and Matty and Amy’s wedding.
“It was a journey. From struggling to write a six episode arc on day one to being given sixty scenes to polish up by the end of the day towards the end. I learnt how to write fast, how to pitch to that group of writers, who to pitch with, the different roles storyliners took in encouraging conversation in conferences and talk throughs, and what beats I needed to hit to make my producer happy. And I made some great friends and grew confidence in my strengths in building stories,” he added.
Emmerdale and EastEnders not only go head to head at awards shows, but they also go head to head on timeslots, as from Mondays through to Thursdays, they both air at 7.30pm. Emmerdale will air half an hour later on Thursdays, finishing at 8pm, whilst there’s no EastEnders on a Friday evening as the soap has four episodes each week.
