EastEnders’ beloved boozer has been through the ringer over the years.
The BBC One soap has been celebrating 40 years on TV this week, and it saw a huge gas explosion rip through the Queen Vic, which went up in flames and collapsed to the ground. Martin Fowler tragically meet his end in the inferno, as well as killer Reiss who was crushed to death by a bathtub.
Reiss caused the chaos when he swerved his car and smashed it into the pub’s barrel store. He’d swerved the vehicle to avoid hitting Ian Beale, who had been shoved in front of the car by a vengeful Cindy.
However, it’s not the first time Walford’s famous watering hole has been burned to the ground as Phil Mitchell famously set it alight back in 2010, during the soap’s famous Queen Vic Fire Week. In fact, the pub has been battered tons of times, with no thanks to its reckless customers.
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem)
And Simply Business, a UK insurance provider, has calculated that the landladies and lords of the EastEnders local could have racked up a staggering £14,098,853 in damages over the years. They believe the amount of chaos that fans have witnessed comes at a staggering cost.
They say injuries and fatalities at the premises, such as Reiss’ death, could pose the biggest damage cost – at up to £11,955,030. Damage to the pub caused by several fires, robberies, fights, and break-ins over the years could have totaled as much as an estimated £2,143,823.
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Julie Fisher, UK CEO of insurance provider Simply Business, said: “The Queen Vic has been involved in some of the most iconic storylines in EastEnders history – and nothing drives a plot forward like an explosion or two! While the drama on screen is certainly entertaining, it’s a relief for many insurance providers that real-life pubs don’t experience the same level of misfortune.
“At Simply Business, we’re dedicated to providing UK small business owners – including over 2,000 pubs and bars – with insurance that provides genuine peace of mind. We help them to focus on what they do best without worrying about the next plot twist.”
(Image: BBC)
Phil set fire to the pub in a drug-fuelled rage back in 2010, causing a huge explosion that rendered the boozer in ruins. Peggy Mitchell, the landlady at the time, was devastated and handed over the pub to Phil.
The Vic has been battered by all sorts of dramas. In 2017, Abi and Lauren Branning tumbled off of the roof in 2017 while trying to save their dad Max from jumping off of the edge.
(Image: BBC)
In 2005, EastEnders villain Den ‘Dirty Den’ Watts was killed inside the pub by his wife Chrissie, which at the time was the soap’s 20th anniversary episode. In 2009, Archie Mitchell was brutally murdered inside the pub when Stacey Slater bludgeoned him with the pub’s iconic bust.
Bradley Branning fell to his death from the roof of the pub in 2010 while trying to escape the police. He’d scaled the boozer in an attempt to lead the cops away from Archie’s killer, wife Stacey.
And in 2014, Mick and Linda discovered the pub’s cellar had a damp problem, which Phil cunningly didn’t warn them about.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
