The intimate scenes on the British soap opera will use the real-life partners of the cast members as body doubles due to the social distancing regulations amid pandemic.
- August 29, 2020
AceShowbiz - Bosses at British soap "EastEnders" have called on the real-life partners of the show's biggest stars to join the cast and help overcome social distancing regulations.
The new recruits will act as body doubles so that "crucial moments where two characters are kissing" can be filmed following government guidelines, BBC officials confirmed.
It's one of many measures to be put in place since the show resumed filming in June (20), as new episodes begin to air on 7 September after a three-month break from screens amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Executive producer Jon Sen explained the actors' relatives made "intimate" scenes possible, but that the production team "had to choose our moments carefully... because it takes much more time to film like this."
The cast's families won't just be used as stand-ins in the bedroom, he added, explaining, "We hit on the idea of (using) supporting artists from the same household to reflect the world outside... or a husband and wife who would be walking down Bridge Street and of course they can get closer together than the two metres. It really adds to the sense of life."
Other safety measures being put in place include invisible, clear Perspex screens between actors who share a scene and computer-generated composite shots, to "bring people really close together... (and) give an intimacy to performance that wouldn't be possible otherwise."
One-way systems have also been created around the studios and temperature-checking the cast and behind-the-scenes staff is in operation.
And "EastEnders" isn't the only show employing the clever trick - actress Denise Richards, who is currently filming on U.S. daytime soap "The Bold and The Beautiful", revealed this week (ends28Aug20) that the same idea is also being used on her longrunning show.
"We get tested (for coronavirus) two to three days a week, we can't be within eight feet of each other and any love scenes or any kissing, they've asked us to have our husbands or significant other (involved), so my husband has stepped in, which has been fun...," she said. "It's been fun for all of us to see each other's husbands and wives on set."
