The Queen Vic
The Queen Victoria, as it appeared from November 1992 to September 2010
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| Type | Public house |
|---|---|
| First appearance | 19 February 1985 |
| Location | 46 Albert Square, Walford, London, E20 6PQ |
| Owners | See list |
| Key people | EastEnders characters |
| Employees | See list |
The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.
In the series' backstory, Albert Square was built around 1860 during the reign of Queen Victoria. Originally the pub was to be called The Balmoral but after the death of Prince Albert it was renamed as a tribute to the mourning Queen. In reality, Albert Square is based on the real Fassett Square in Hackney, but there is no pub there so The Queen Victoria is based on what was once College Park Tavern on Harrow Road in London NW10. Initially, the pub's exterior is first seen painted brown. This is later changed to a green and cream colour scheme before Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) sets alight to the Queen Victoria in 1992, after which it is painted red. Following another blaze in 2010, the pub is painted red, green and cream. On Boxing Day 2013, the new family to the square, the Carters, took over the Queen Vic and since then it has had a refurbishment and has been painted red once again.
During the first months of the show, The Queen Victoria has a partition wall down the middle of the bar which separates it into two sections. The smaller section, known as the 'snug', houses a dart board and fruit machines, whilst the larger section, known as the saloon bar, is used primarily as the customer seating area. Den Watts gets permission from the brewery to remove the partition in 1985, and hires Tony Carpenter (Oscar James) to do the job. In 2007 the pub has its first refurbishment in 15 years, and another in late 2010.
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