It was devised in a bid to develop and nurture new talent, including writers, actors, composers and remixers, and target a younger audience, as well as to attempt to drive more people onto the Internet.

The show's writers, all newcomers aged between 17 and 22, were selected through a writing competition, and created the series at a BBC summer school.

The show primarily operates as a standalone series but also cross-references storylines of the main soap, and features cameo appearances from several of the regular characters from EastEnders.

[2][3] Described as the "naughty little brother or sister to the main show", it was devised in a bid to target younger viewers and to develop and nurture new talent.

"[3] The second series was announced on 8 April 2010, brought back by Santer's successor, Bryan Kirkwood and commissioned by Sarah Clay.

[6] Nelson explained "We had no hesitation in commissioning another series, something which will delight the 17,000 fans who've been calling for more episodes on the E20 Facebook page.

[8] The Daily Star newspaper reported that the second series would be more controversial than the first, including scenes of drug dealing and violence.

[...] We'll be enlisting the help of the BBC's best talent to maximise the reach of our output,"[12] and Sathe commented, "We are thrilled with the success of the first two series and have already started to storyline the third.

"[13] It was confirmed that Learning would fund the third series and work with young people to develop storylines "that bring to life subjects in the Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) curriculum such as bullying or peer pressure.

Sarah Miller, BBC Learning commissioner and executive producer of series 3, explained: "The schools tour was a terrific opportunity to deliver powerful face-to-face workshops, giving students and teachers the opportunity to develop key media production skills and to get behind the scenes of a top BBC drama.

[1] The writers, including Florence Vincent, Alex Oates, Kashman Harris and Emer Kenny, also wrote the ten episodes of series 2.

Each potential writer had to send in a monologue for a character they would like to see on television and the production team chose their favourites.

[21] Kenny returned as a writer for series 3 and was joined by several of the young EastEnders cast members: Arinze Kene (Connor Stanley), Himesh Patel (Tamwar Masood) and Charlie G Hawkins (Darren Miller).

[20] Unlike EastEnders, E20 uses incidental music, which Scott Matthewman of The Stage said makes it feel like an episode of Hollyoaks,[27] a Channel 4 soap opera targeted at a teen audience.

[30] They were reduced to four and judged by Sathe, Santer, Keillor, original theme tune composer Simon May, and BBC Radio 1Xtra's DJ Ace.

I have grown up hearing Simon May's original theme tune and watching Albert Square and the iconic Queen Vic, so I feel very privileged to be a part of EastEnders: E20 history!

"[31] Darling explained that he wanted to keep all the "essential features" of the original theme, but to make a grimy drum and bass version.

"[33] "Not content with having E20 written by new writers, and our theme tune remixed by the audience, we've now found four talented newcomers from London to front the show.

'"[1] Kenny said, "I'm really thrilled to have been given the opportunity to both write for and act in a show connected with such an iconic drama as EastEnders.

Kids these days use their laptops more than their televisions, so it's really exciting to be a part of a project that's taking drama online and connecting with these viewers.

"[36] To prepare for the role, Kenny had to disguise her "posh" accent, saying that when the director asked her what she would do about her voice, she travelled around the East End to listen to the way people spoke.

"[25] Bunmi Mojekwu, who plays Mercy Olubunmi, commented "I feel so blessed to be part of EastEnders: E20.

Cole, who has previously starred in a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, said, "It's a privilege to work on something so big but so different.

"[39] Emaa Hussen was cast as Naz Mehmet, her first professional acting role, on which she commented: "it's a really exciting place to start my career.

"[39] Finally, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes, who appeared in An Education, said of her casting as Stevie Dickinson, "It all happened so quickly but I'm really excited to be working on EastEnders.

"[39] Additionally, Hollyoaks actress Roxanne McKee, and dance acts Flawless and Avant Garde also make appearances.

[44] The series comprises 10 episodes in total of around 14 minutes each, and was also screened in five omnibus editions on BBC Three on Monday nights.

[49] Fatboy continues his recurring role, along with Mercy and Faith's grandmother Grace Olubunmi, and regular EastEnders character Zainab Masood.

[17] Santer was reported to be "knocked out" by the figures, saying: "For our little side project, something that started life as an experiment, to go so big is very exciting.

"[55] In 2010, EastEnders: E20 was shortlisted for a Banff World Television Festival award in the Original Online Programs category.