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Lights, camera, action for choir in EastEnders

Duncan Rutherford A church with a man and a camera in the foreground with a choir in purple robes in pews in the background. The church has ornate arches and stained glass windows.Duncan Rutherford
Somewhere 2 Sing choir joined the cast of EastEnders in a scene and sung See Amid The Winter's Snow

Members of an amateur choir had a starring role in the BBC's EastEnders Christmas Eve special.

When viewers tuned in to watch the programme, they would have seen a group from Somewhere 2 Sing perform a carol in a scene that included Angela Wynter, who plays Yolande Trueman.

Duncan Rutherford, the group's founder, was contacted by the BBC in August to ask if he could provide a choir of 20-year-olds for the Christmas episode. He selected the singers from his 13 groups across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.

"The choir welcomes adults of any age," he explained, "so it did draw a few laughs when I said we needed them to look 20 for this Christmas special."

Duncan Rutherford A group of women sit in church pews, they are all smiling at the camera with some doing a thumbs up sign. Duncan Rutherford
Singers were selected from the choir's 13 groups across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Essex

The choir had a couple of rehearsals to learn the carol, See Amid The Winter's Snow, before they performed it during filming in October.

Elstree Studios, where EastEnders is recorded, sent two minibuses to collect the singers to take them to a secret location at a church in north London.

They said there was a lot of waiting around, but they were kept entertained by watching the 80-plus cast and crew who were on site.

After a rehearsal, the choir, who were wearing purple robes, performed the carol in front of the cameras. It took several takes as they were filmed from various angles.

Supplied The group of young women singers in a church wearing purple robes. The choir's founder, Duncan Rutherford, looks on from the side wearing a black jumper and blue jeans.Supplied
The choir with Duncan Rutherford, right, were taken to a secret location in north London to film the scene

"If you'd have told me at the start of the year that I was going to sing in public, and not only that, in front of five million people on TV, I'd have laughed my head off," said Sophie, 24, who had never sung in public before she joined the choir near her home in Hertford, Hertfordshire, in April.

"It was amazing to see how much work goes into recording EastEnders," she said.

"Lighting, sound, catering, costumes, props, security, directors, and, of course, the wonderful cast members were all milling about, getting ready for the next 'take'."

Duncan Rutherford Sophie has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a black jumper and gold chain necklace. She is sitting in front of a wall with floral wallpaper.Duncan Rutherford
Sophie, 24, had never sung in public before she joined the choir in April

Sophie, who designs and makes her own greeting cards, added that if she "hadn't had the courage to give the choir a go", she would never have been able to have had such an experience.

"I just can't wait to see what's next," she said.

Since she joined the choir in April, she has performed with Somewhere 2 Sing in Cardiff as well as in a concert in Hertford to raise money for Dementia UK.

So far this month, the choir's groups from across the region have raised more than £6,000 for the charity.

Mr Rutherford disclosed that he was currently in talks with Disney on a future venture.

He started the Somewhere 2 Sing choir nearly 10 years ago with just a few members in Hertford. It now boasts 650 who attend weekly groups across the three counties.

The music is popular, the classes are informal, and he said it does not matter whether a person has sung before or not.

The EastEnders episode was broadcast on Christmas Eve on BBC One at 19:45 GMT. It is available on BBC iPlayer.

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