PICK OF TODAY’S TV

EASTENDERS, 7.30PM, BBC1

THE writers of the Walford soap love an experiment, from live episodes and theatrical two-handers to visits from royalty and the borderline surrealism of bipolar Jean’s trip to the seaside earlier this year. This week, they’ve outdone themselves with a flashback to 1979, a formative time for rough ’n’ tumble Mitchell brothers Phil and Grant (Daniel Delaney and Teddy Jay, pictured). Times are hard, an in the busy household run by the formidable Peggy (Jaime Winstone), young Phil and his brother Grant are about to get a taste of the family business from their dad, Eric (George Russo). Winstone is an especially sensible piece of casting as she did such a terrific job as Barbara Windsor (who played the older Peggy) in the 2017 BBC biopic Babs (available to stream on BritBox). As you might imagine, there’s a lot of testosterone flowing among all three of the Mitchell men — and Phil is keen to come out on top.

In the present day, meanwhile,

DCI Keeble is determined to pile more pressure on Phil to turn informant on his underworld contacts, but could the detective’s obsession with the Mitchells have roots buried deep in the past?