BBC EastEnders 40th live episode: How to vote in the live show as Denise chooses between Jack and Ravi

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of EastEnders being on our screens, the series is broadcasting its first live scenes in nearly 10 years. The episode will feature the soap’s usual complex storylines but with an additional twist. Viewers are invited to vote for how they want the episode’s plot to end, and all will be revealed in the live episode tonight.

Voters will get the power to decide whether Denise Fox (Diane Parish)reunites with estranged husband Jack (Scott Maslen) or picks secret lover Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) in an interactive first for the soap.

Last year, Denise and Jack’s marriage finally fell apart when it was revealed that he’d been having an affair with another woman, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). Since then, Denise has been quietly reconnecting Ravi Gulati, following a romantic moment on Christmas Day. Their relationship is made all the more complicated by Ravi's troubled past and that he was once in a serious relationship with Denise’s daughter, Chelsea(Zaraah Abrahams).

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Viewers will be torn, in deciding whether or not they want to watch Denise choose between the two men, but ultimately, the choice will be theirs to make.

EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw says: “We’re all so excited to give our audience their first ever chance to decide how one of our big storylines plays out.

“There is a lot to come over the next few weeks for all three involved, so it’ll be extremely exciting to see which way the audience choose to take the story!"

When is it on?

The episode will be broadcast live from BBC Elstree Centre on Thursday 20 February and available to watch on BBC One from 7:30pm or catch up on BBCiPlayer.

How does it work and how to Vote?

In order to make this big decision, voters will need to sign in or register for a BBC Account on the BBC website. The vote was live from 8.30pm on 19th February (UK only) following its hour-long episode on the actual anniversary, and will close on 20th February at 7.10pm. This will allow the soap to prepare for the twist before it is live at 7:30pm. The result will then be revealed live on air for viewers to watch.

Votes are limited to one per registered user and voting on different devices will also count towards this limit.

Once they’ve voted for whether or not they want to see Denise end up with Jack or Ravi, as a thank you for taking the time to vote, EastEnders then asks them to make one more BIG decision!

They are asked to vote on what Sonia should name her baby. The names offered are Julia and Toni, to honour the creators of EastEnders, Julia Smith and Tony Holland.

According to the BBC: “Once all votes have been cast, the vote will be independently verified and handed to the EastEnders Executive Producer, Chris Clenshaw, just before the live show. In that short amount of time, the cast and crew will disregard the losing script and quickly prepare to depict the drama on screen that reflects the decision chosen by the viewers.”

You can sign up to vote here.