Tonight’s EastEnders to feature only black characters in a soap first

EastEnders is about to clock up another soap first as tonight’s episode features an all-black cast.

With tonight’s cast limited to Patrick Trueman, Denise Wicks, Chelsea Wicks, Libby Wicks and Lucas Johnson it is the first time any British soap has dedicated an episode just to black characters.

The episode revolves around Patrick reminiscing on his arrival in London during the 1950s and the racism he encountered during this period. The characters debate whether or not the country is any the less racist now or whether racism is merely less obvious than before.

EastEnders has clocked up several soap firsts during its 23 year history, from covering storylines before other sagas to playing around with episode structure. Last year an episode featured just one character – Dot Cotton (June Brown).