MineEnders (2019 TV series)

MineEnders is an upcoming British animated comedy/drama soap opera produced by Red Light Productions and Mojang for BBC Studios. The series' pilot episode was uploaded to the CBBC YouTube channel on 5 January, 2015. An upcoming series was then announced the same year, with a new production company, Red Light Productions, coming into place. The show is majorly based on the highly successful BBC soap opera EastEnders and the phenomenal video game Minecraft. It features the residents of the Blocktura town as they go about their daily lives and deal with love, happiness, betrayal, heartbreak and loss.

Production and development
In September 2014, the ideas were filed out for MineEnders in the UK. The idea was sent to the BBC offices and was accepted. By November, a production team from Studio AKA was assembled just for this pilot episode. Recording managed to finish just before the upload deadline. Cassidy and Matthews-Grout were able to suggest some unknown voice actors.

When the pilot episode was uploaded to the CBBC YouTube channel on 5 January, 2015, the views and likes soon rocketed, due to the drama and the suspense attained by the voice actors. The cliffhanger left the animation hanging in the balance of an upcoming TV series.

In 2015, a brand new upcoming series was finally secured by the BBC. As of October 2018, the show is still in production for it's first season, with CGI graphics and surround recording equipment.

The show is animated and produced at Studio AKA, a purpose-built studio near London equipped with high-end HDTV production facilities. The budget for each episode is approximately £180,000, making it 'one of the most expensive children's show in the world' according to Cassidy. It's virtual sets are generated with an Unreal Engine 4-based framework, and then inputted into the animating software.

The show aired the premier episode on 18 February, 2019.

The original script of the pilot episode is available here.

Main

 * Charlie Matthews-Grout as Harry Quadmile - a 13-year-old boy who has recently moved into Blocktura.
 * Salem Ingle as Jason Quest - a long-term resident of Blocktura, and is also the leader of "Le Crew". The production team considered him being axed and killed off in 2021, but thought better of it. This involved a confrontation between them during a school trip in which Jason is nearly killed as he is pushed into a river by his best friend Harry Quadmile (Charlie Matthews-Grout). He is also notable for his blossoming relationship with Lily Foreword (Molly-Mae Taylor) even after becoming suspicious of each other at first, and they even risk their lives to save each other when they nearly die in a car chase when Harry is abducted and taken on the run by Lia.
 * Anthony Cassidy as Jack Crass - a young, feisty, talented, intelligent boy, who always wants attention, also part of "Le Crew". He became the centre of attention in 2020 when due to his likeness of Alice Gredderson (Emily Thomas) (unhealthy eating, always researching and inactivity), he suffered a heart attack during a PE lesson in front of Alice and was later diagnosed with a heart condition. He appeared on the show less frequently after this occurred, but quickly made a full recovery from the attack and became a permanent character once again. He also became an uncle when his sister Ruth unexpectedly gave birth to a daughter.
 * Emily Thomas as Alice Gredderson - a shy, outgoing brainy girl who loves every lesson in school (except PE). She later becomes to be Jack Crass' girlfriend. She is often in Special Needs classes because of seizures and donates to her team for epilepsy awareness for events for them. She recieved a VNS therapy above her chest on her left and regularly visits a doctor to see the battery levels often and needs a magnet for every seizure. She sadly revealed this secret to Maya Garner on Halloween night 2019.
 * Benjamin Ferguson as Clyde Anderson - member of "Le Crew", and was tragically the first to be killed off after a hit-and-run accident during the first season. His surname was not verified until the book Maya's Secret Diary was released in 2020.
 * Indiana Mae-Allum as Maya Garner - (main article) a good-looking girl, mostly on her phone, and Clyde's girlfriend before his death. She was also the unbeknown daughter of Eva Gredderson and Eddie Royle Jr, after which she was adopted by Mr and Mrs Garner (off-screen). This only becomes known to her when her best friend Alice Gredderson (Emily Thomas) confesses, also revealing to be her aunt. She became the first character to leave the show in the second year. She returned for a brief stint between 2021 and 2022 as part of her biggest storyline. When the Garners are killed in a car accident, she returns to Blocktura and becomes the centre of a storyline involving the custody battle over her between the Royles and Greddersons. A book released in 2020, documenting Maya's time in the soap, was a number one bestseller. Her surname wasn't verified until the book was released.
 * Issac Mitton as Matt Duffer - a dumb, tall, funny teenager who is the well-known joker of Blocktura Academy. Throughout December 2020, Matt complains of feeling unwell to his mother Mrs Duffer (Karen Murden), and he secretly goes for a check-up himself without her permission. He is told the heartbreaking diagnosis that he has cancer, and is so ill that he refuses to attend the wedding of his best friend Lucas Foreword (Bobby Taylor), deciding to confess to Lucas' parents and his mother. They react with hostility, but soon come to accept the illness.
 * Bobby Taylor as Lucas Foreword - Matt's "second-in-command" in his joker collaboration, who loves his sister Lily very dearly. He eventually falls in love with Sonia Crass, and they are eventually caught snogging together by Lily and given a slap fight from her. (Lucas achieved the first ever cliffhanger of the series.)
 * Jodie Martin as Lia Quadmile - Harry's hard-working, infamous, and helpful mother. In 2020, she is arrested on the suspicion of Eva Gredderson's murder. However, when the real murderer, Darren Targ, is revealed by Zack Foreword, a witness to the crime, she is eventually released. Although, she is thrown into further turmoil the following year when she discovers her husband, Jaden, is having an affair with her best friend, Sharon Foreword. Lia is given custody of Harry and makes plans to leave Blocktura with Zack.
 * Connor Taylor as Jaden Quadmile - Harry's shy, stealthily father - who was later revealed to be having an affair with Sharon Foreword. He helps his wife Lia flee from Blocktura to Portsmouth in 2020 when she is accused of Eva Gredderson's (Ala Gajewska) murder. However, they are caught and Jaden is sent back home.
 * Jake Rees as Jacob Blocks - Harry's new, careful, tight and pushy friend. He is the local tough guy of Blocktura with a big heart, and supports Jason in his defence against Harry's assault on a school trip in 2021.
 * Molly-Mae Taylor as Lily Foreword - Lucas' loving, funny, appreciated and cherished sister. She discovers a secret relationship between Lucas and Sonia Crass, and confronts them in Blocktura General Hospital after Sonia's brother Jack has a heart attack, and eventually ends in a slap fight. However, she soon finds true love herself in the form of Jason Quest (Salem Ingle), despite pointless bickering at first, and they even risk their lives to save each other when they nearly die in a car chase.
 * Lucas Jordan/Charlie Matthews-Grout as Ivan Bres - Ivan's family has lived in Blocktura for sometime. He is a family friend of the Irish families in Blocktura such as the Royles and Greddersons, in which Ivan tries to control the hostility between the two families.
 * Ala Gajewska as Eva Gredderson - (main article) Alice's older adult sister, and also the secret mother of Maya Garner. She helps run the local pub, The King Ender, of which her mother, Rebecca Gredderson, is landlady. She is also the boxing teacher and business student of Lia Quadmile. In September 2020, while Eva is taking her pet poodle for an evening walk, she is stabbed to death. Lia discovers her bloody body in the Gardens, and after foolishly picking up the murder weapon, she flees in panic. Unfortunately for Lia, there is a witness who had seen her standing over Eva's body and fleeing the scene — Darren Targ. Lia is arrested for Eva's murder and imprisoned. However, a second witness, Zack Foreword, later comes forward to attest that he had seen Darren Targ in the vicinity on the night of the murder. It turns out that Darren was attempting a robbery when Eva saw him, and in order to silence her, Darren stabbed her. Lia is released and Darren is arrested for the murder. This triggered a massive storyline involving the custody battle between the Royles and Greddersons over Maya. (This storyline was actually based on an existing storyline from it's parent show EastEnders, depicting the murder of Eddie Royle in 1991.) Another of her well remembered storylines was "Darrengate", involving a love triangle between her, Ruth Crass and Darren Targ. Darren was, at the time, dating Eva, but split when she caught Darren and Ruth in bed together on the night before New Year's Eve.
 * Carla Stone as Rebecca Gredderson - Alice's firm, strong-minded mother, who loves her children dearly. She is landlady and a bartender of Blocktura's most famous pub, The King Ender. She was involved in a massive storyline in 2021 involving the Royles and Greddersons over the custody battle of Maya Garner, her secret granddaughter.
 * Gabriel Hicks as Zack Foreword - Lucas and Lily's father, who divorced his wife, Sharon, when she admitted to an affair with his best friend, Jaden. Upon discovering this in Christmas 2021, he immediately divorces Sharon and makes plans to leave Blocktura with Jaden's former wife, Lia, her nephew Kai and Lily.
 * Tia Mae-Allum as Sharon Foreword - Lucas and Lily's mother - who was later revealed to be having an affair with Jaden Quadmile.


 * Katie Gordon as Ruth Crass - (main article) Jack's short-tempered older sister, who always tries to get her own way. She was granted custody of Jack and her younger sister Sonia when their parents passed away. Her best remembered storyline was dubbed by the press as "Darrengate", when she slept with Darren Targ, and being caught by his girlfriend Eva Gredderson, who abruptly spilt with him. This leads to her accidentally falling pregnant and having to cope with telling Jack and Sonia about being an aunt and uncle. Eventually, Darren states that he does not want either of them. Furious, Ruth locks up Darren in his bedroom upon hearing this, though he escapes and murders Eva in September that year. The shock sent her into early labour and she gives birth to her daughter.
 * Georgia Gordon as Sonia Crass - Jack's slightly older sister, who reveals she has a crush on Lucas Foreword. They are eventually caught snogging together by her older sister, Ruth. She eventually becomes an aunt when Ruth unexpectedly gives birth to a daughter.
 * Carl Burns as Darren Targ - a guest character who attends the local Blocktura Woodlands College. He competed in the yearly Blocktura's Got Talent, and achieved the Bronze prize. He returns briefly in 2019 for one episode, as an onlooker of the funeral of Clyde Anderson (Benjamin Ferguson). He then returned permanently as a regular the same year and started dating Eva Gredderson (Ala Gajewska). Although, he later decided to sleep with Ruth Crass (Katie Gordon) and they were caught by Eva, leaving her heartbroken and devastated. This kicked off a storyline involving the battle of Eva and Ruth over Darren for a relationship, nicknamed "Darrengate", which eventually climaxed the following year as Darren states he didn't want either of them. Ironically, when Darren and Eva are "at each other's throats", Darren eventually killed Eva in September 2020 while she is walking her dog in the night. Ruth gives birth soon after and is shocked to discover he is the father after a paternity test.
 * Michael Melia as Eddie Royle - Eibhlin O'Donnell's husband, Eddie Royle Jr's father and the secret grandfather of Maya Garner. A former iconic EastEnders character from 1990-1, he was believed to have been murdered in September 1991, but had in fact, enlisted the help of local gangland organisation, The Firm, to fake his own death with the help of D.S. Manning (Tim Hardy), after being threatened and disliked by most of the residents. He made a shock guest appearance in 2020, after arriving outside Eibhlin O'Donnell's house in a car. He decided to stay in Blocktura and then admit the truth to the police that he was still alive. He was also thrilled to learn that he had a son, Eddie O'Donnell. He then decided to take the chance to marry Eibhlin as they had planned to marry before Eddie ran away. He was then involved in a massive storyline in 2021 involving the Royles and Greddersons over the custody battle of Maya Garner, his secret granddaughter. Shortly after this, the character was diagnosed with a heart condition and was killed off once again in the final moments of the 2021 series, with Eibhlin, Eddie Jr, Rebecca, Alice and Maya by his side.
 * Mary Conlon as Eibhlin Royle (formerly O'Donnell) - Eddie Royle's wife, Eddie Royle Jr's mother and the secret grandmother of Maya Garner. She was a former EastEnders character from 1991, and had left Albert Square after the supposed death of her fiancé. Eibhlin was also noted for her never-ending feud with Rebecca Gredderson (Carla Stone), and once beat her up viciously when Rebecca accused her son of getting Ruth Crass (Katie Gordon) pregnant, and almost destroyed the King Ender's interior for doing so. Eddie sadly died on New Year's Eve 2021, and once again, a heartbroken and devastated Eibhlin decided to return to Ireland, leaving her son to start his own life.
 * Marcel Smith as Kofi Tavernier - Vicki Fowler's husband. A former EastEnders character from 1990-3, he was the son of Clyde Tavernier (Steven Woodcock), who had a relationship with Vicki's mother, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully). The character was written out in 1993. Vicki and Kofi had reunited on a holiday to Trinidad off-screen. They got married and moved to Blocktura in 2021. They enjoy a good rapport with Eddie Royle (Michael Melia) and Eibhlin Royle (Mary Conlon) as all four of them had been residents of Albert Square.
 * Scarlett Alice Johnson as Vicki Fowler - Kofi Tavernier's wife. A former EastEnders character from 1986-2004, she was involved in one of the show's first major storylines, while her mother, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully) was pregnant with her and she kept the father's identity secret. Vicki and Michelle were written out in 1995 as they moved to Florida. Vicki made a return appearance in 2003 and was written back in until the following year. Off-screen, she reunites with Kofi on a holiday to Trinidad and get married soon after. They move to Blocktura as a couple in 2021. Although, she slowly creates a feud with Ruth Crass (Katie Gordon) over Ruth's inability to control her daughter and siblings.
 * Josh Harrison as Kai Quadmile - Kai is Lia Quadmile's nephew, sent from Blackpool by Lia's sister Patricia (off-screen) to live with his aunt, uncle, cousin and adopted cousin in 2020. Kai usually backs away from chaotic situations which occur regularly in Blocktura, however, his first storyline came when Alice Gredderson (Emily Thomas) gets fed up with her boyfriend Jack Crass (Anthony Cassidy). Kai tries to woo her, but she rejects him, having known him for such a short time, and happily reconciles with Jack. Meanwhile, Kai misses his mother terribly, and cannot see why she would send him away so quickly, so Kai holds the Quadmiles hostage and forces them to explain the reason why the relationship between him and Patricia was destroyed, or he would be happy to kill them. It turned out that Patricia was mentally ill and sent to a mental asylum soon after he had left. Heartbroken, Kai apologises to the Quadmiles, and eventually leaves for Tenerife in 2022 with Lia, after his uncle Jaden's (Connor Taylor) affair with Sharon Foreword (Tia Mae-Allum) is revealed.
 * Annabelle Robbie as Grace Duffer - Grace is the first wife of Matt Duffer. Grace met Matt in Newcastle during 2019 and remained friends until 2020 when Grace tested positive for cancer and moved to London. Matt discovered that he had cancer as well and stayed in Blocktura. Lily Foreword (Molly-Mae Taylor) becomes her lodger. Grace sees potential in Lily, and encourages her to apply to college, which she does. The following year, Grace was diagnosed as having Stage 2 cancer and visits Matt to ask if he has been tested for cancer. At first Matt denies that he has the virus but later admits to her that he is Stage 1 cancer. They are never certain which of them had contracted the virus first. They soon rekindle their relationship and Grace marries Matt on 21 June 2021, but she dies in a hospice the following day.

Recurring

 * Amena Burns as Zara Anderson - Clyde's mother and accidental killer in the hit-and-run storyline. She visited him in hospital and was in the waiting room when he died. She later got her comeuppance when she was shot and killed by his girlfriend Maya.
 * Daniel Matthews-Grout as Mr Cruncher - headmaster of the Blocktura Academy, who later dies of a heart attack tragically after confronting Harry about his poor school grades.
 * Mia Richardson as Miss Mandus - the Maths Teacher at Blocktura Academy, who is suffering from a stammer. Before she became a teacher, she was a police colleague of Eva Gredderson (Ala Gajewska). She is coaching a future opponent of Lia Quadmile (Jodie Martin), Eva's boxing student. She and Eva try to bribe Lia to purposefully lose the fight in a betting scam, which causes a blazing row between Lia and Eva.
 * Oscar Kane as Eddie Royle Jr (formerly O'Donnell) - Eddie Royle and Eibhlin O'Donnell's son and the secret father of Maya Garner. He was a school friend of Le Crew who arrived on Blocktura in 2019. He was also the son of EastEnders character Eibhlin O'Donnell (Mary Conlon) who moved from Ireland with him. His father, Eddie Royle (Michael Melia), had been believed to be murdered by Nick Cotton in September 1991, but was in fact, still alive and had run away with the help of D.S. Manning (Tim Hardy). Shortly after his parents finally married, he agreed to become Eddie Royle Jr. He quickly strikes up a friendship with another Irish boy, Ivan Bres.
 * Douglas Fielding as Detective Sergeant Quick - a former EastEnders guest character from 1985-6. He makes fleeting apperances in Blocktura as a guest appearance in 2019 as a love interest for Rebecca Gredderson.
 * Joshua Connick as Mr Stiff - the Head of Science at Blocktura Academy, who always exaggerates about all the drama he's been through.
 * Tim Hardy as D.S. Manning - a recurring EastEnders character in 1991. He was the acquaintance of Eddie Royle (Michael Melia) and eventually helped him fake his death and flee Albert Square in 1991 after being critically injured and left to die in the Gardens by Nick Cotton (John Altman), with the help of The Firm, much to Eddie's disgust. Recovering years later, D.S. Manning transports Eddie to Blocktura in 2020 to his fiancée Eibhlin O'Donnell (Mary Conlon) and son Eddie O'Donnell (Oscar Kane) to explain themselves. A month later, he leaves as he felt he had done enough for them and Eddie had won back their trust and respect. He returns a month later to solve the mystery of Eva Gredderson's (Ala Gajewska) murder and to check regularly on Eddie Jr as he is constantly either in trouble or getting into fights. He also makes a statement at Maya Garner's (Indiana Mae-Allum) custody battle, supporting the Royles with his defences, eventually winning to give her to the Royles. When Maya flees to the airport a year later, Manning gives his last aid in 2022, transporting her acquaintances Jack Crass (Anthony Cassidy) and Alice Gredderson (Emily Thomas) to find her.

Soundtrack
"EastEnders Opening/Closing Theme (1991, 1993-4, 1994-2009)" - Simon May

"Julia's Theme" - Simon May (plays at deaths or sad events)

(Note: A specially edited version of the 1991 theme was used for the New Year episode aired on 31 December 2020. It was also used on an EastEnders episode on 31 December, 1991.)

Home media

 * MineEnders: The Complete Series One - a DVD compilation including the entire Series One.
 * MineEnders: Maya and Alice - A Day To Come - a special spin-off episode featuring Maya and Alice, with archive footage of the show.

Books

 * MineEnders: Maya's Secret Diary (2020 release)

International releases and Scheduling
In 2019, Series One was sold to TeenNick, the teenagers' American subsidiary of Nickelodeon. The show is set to air in the United States in the autumn of 2020. The Japanese dub on the "Kids World" strand of NHK first aired in 2019.

From February 2019, the programme is mainly broadcast on CBBC, scheduled on Mondays at 8:00pm, although occasionally the timeslots are allocated to 8:30pm, to avoid contrast with EastEnders, which is also broadcast on Mondays at 8:00pm on BBC One. This is also to experiment with the viewing figures of the two shows, as EastEnders averages around 4-5 million viewers every episode (BARB ratings from September 2018). Also from March 2019, the Weekend Omnibus (another inheritance from EastEnders) will air on the Saturday morning strand "Saturday Mash-up" on BBC Two, during the CBBC-BBC Two transfer on Saturday mornings.

At the end of the 2019 line of episodes on 31 December, the show took a month's hiatus and returned on 27th January 2020 to begin the new run of 2020 episodes. A similar event happened with the 2020 series on 31 December, although the hiatus lasted only three weeks and returned on 18 January 2021. No hiatus took place for the 2022 series.

Notable episodes

 * Episode 41 (11 November 2019)
 * Episode 62 (6 April 2020)
 * Episode 84 (7 September 2020)
 * Episode 31 (16 September 2019)
 * Episode 51 (31 December 2019)
 * Episode 75 (6 July 2020)
 * Episode 38 (31 October 2019)
 * Episode 81 "Darrengate" (17 August 2020)
 * Episode 85 "Who Killed Eva?" (14 September 2020)
 * Episode 86 (21 September 2020 - Part 1)
 * Episode 87 (21 September 2020 - Part 2)
 * Episode 88 (28 September 2020)
 * Episode 90 (19 October 2020)
 * Episode 91 (26 October 2020)
 * Episode 93 (9 November 2020)
 * Episode 97 (7 December 2020)
 * Episode 99 "Ruth and Darren" (21 December 2020)
 * Episode 102 (26 December 2020)
 * Episode 103 (31 December 2020)
 * Episode 144 (25 October 2021)
 * Episode 149 (29 November 2021)
 * Episode 158 (24 January 2022)

Four-hander episode
A special four-hander episode featured only four characters; Jack Crass (Anthony Cassidy), Alice Gredderson (Emily Thomas), Jason Quest (Salem Ingle) and Lily Foreword (Molly-Mae Taylor). The episode was shown as a Valentine's Day special on 15 February 2021.

Having reconciled after Jack threatened her sister Eva (Ala Gajewska) before her sudden murder by Darren Targ, Alice invites him, Jason and Lily over to the King Ender pub for a night of playing video games and watching romantic comedies with plenty of cookies, milk and Valentine's chocolates. They all reminisce and talk about their differences as they do so, such as Jason and Lily's suspicions of each other shortly before their relationship began, and how Jack and Alice struggle to cope with each other's illnesses of Alice's epilepsy and Jack's heart condition. When it was time to go home, Jack and Alice stayed at the King Ender and Jason went with Lily to the Forewords' house. Lily and Jason talk about these suspicions, and reveal to each other the truth; Jason thought Lily was too smart and witty to ignite a lasting friendship, whilst Lily wondered if they ever got together, it would result in violence and abuse because he was a bad boy. The two feel much happier having discussed it and spend the rest of the night together. Meanwhile, Jack and Alice reveal to each other their true restrictions to life involving their illnesses and how it has had a lasting effect on them and their relationship. Jack feels that Alice should not be apologising, it should be him because he feels he drove Eva to her murder. Alice reassures him those days of hating are long gone and that she gotten over it, and they both hug and Jack breaks down in tears as Peggy's Theme from EastEnders plays.

Awards and nominations
The show's cast won/were nominated for the following awards:

Gallery