Lifeboat volunteers part of boat drama on BBC show's 35th anniversary week
A dramatic scene from the show
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Chiswick lifeboat volunteers had an opportunity to be television stars when they were asked to take part in a special episode of BBC soap 'Eastenders'.
Two members of the Chiswick station crew were filmed in scenes during a dramatic episode of the show which is broadcast this week. Volunteers from Tower and Teddington RNLI stations were also part of the drama.
Eastenders celebrated its 35 anniversary with a week of dramatic episodes. The programme which centres around a boat party on the Thames which goes wrong, sees the charity’s lifesavers demonstrate their rescue skills when someone gets into trouble in the water.
An RNLI spokesman said; "The filming was done on two very wet nights a couple of weeks ago. Two crew members each from Chiswick, Teddington and Tower lifeboat stations took part using a relief lifeboat. Regular duty crews were on shift as normal, regular search and rescue availability on the Thames was unaffected during the filming."
You can watch the episode and others here
Chiswick is the second busiest lifeboat station in London.
Water rising in the boat as a member of the cast is trapped, in another scene from the programme
The RNLI has had a presence on the Thames since 2002 and in that time has launched 14,906 times, saved 580 lives, and aided 4,994 people. Gravesend RNLI joins Tower, Teddington and Chiswick to make up the fourth lifeboat station which operates in London and out into the estuary.
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea and relies on donations to operate and continue to provide a lifesaving service.
Kevin Maynard, Station Manager at Tower RNLI, said: ‘People are often surprised to hear that there are lifeboats on the Thames, and even more surprised when they learn that Tower RNLI is the busiest of the charity’s 238 lifeboat stations.
‘When we started the lifeboat service on the Thames on 2 January 2002, we anticipated a hundred or so call-outs or so every year on the Thames. Last year at Tower RNLI alone, we launched six times that number, which highlights how important having lifeboats on the Thames is, with the four lifeboat stations having assisted nearly 5,000 people since 2002.’
Tower Lifeboat Station is the busiest of the RNLI’s 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, launching 624 times in 2018 alone. Tower RNLI, Chiswick RNLI and Gravesend RNLI are all crewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by full-time helms who work on shifts.
All of the Thames lifeboat stations rely on the bravery and commitment of volunteers, with Teddington RNLI crewed entirely by volunteers who operate on a pager system.
With lifeboats specially designed by the charity’s in-house engineers for saving lives on the Thames, the RNLI’s lifeboat crews are able to respond to an emergency in a matter of seconds.
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February 20, 2020
