Far-right storyline for EastEnders

The soap is exploring new character Aaron Monroe’s affiliation with a far-right group and the impact of his radicalisation on Albert Square.

EastEnders is taking on a far-right storyline this winter, centred around the show’s newest family the Monroes. Since Aaron (Charlie Wernham) arrived in Walford, viewers have seen his increasingly divisive views and violent behaviour come to the fore.

With only his dad Harvey (Ross Boatman) aware of his history with extremism, his sister Dana (Barbara Smith) and others around him have no idea that beneath Aaron’s charming front, there’s a far more sinister motive at play.

Harvey recently came across a bloodied shirt that Aaron had tried to dispose of and it was made clear that he’s still full of hatred when he defaced the Argee Bhajee with racist graffiti.

In episodes airing this week, Aaron proves to be a bad influence on Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) when he encourages her to share a provocative post on her social media and the night takes a turn for the worse.

One of the people instrumental to Aaron’s involvement is new character Neil, played by Thomas Coombes, who will be introduced in tonight’s episode.

In the coming months, audiences will see how entrenched Aaron is within the group and how, under Neil’s orders, their actions can have detrimental effects on the residents of Walford.

EastEnders sought the advice of experts, including Exit UK founder Nigel Bromage and his specialist advisors, throughout production in order to portray Aaron’s story realistically.

Exit UK is a non-profit network of former far-right members who are committed to providing first-hand, non-judgemental support and advice to help people affiliated with far-right groups leave.

“We wanted to take a fresh look at the faulty logic of those who fall prey to the far-right ideologies and tell a powerful story about a family who have an extremist in their midst.” – Jon Sen, (Outgoing) Executive Producer of EastEnders

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday on BBC One. Times vary.