{"id":278192,"date":"2026-02-11T05:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T05:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/278192\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T05:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T05:49:09","slug":"eastenders-confirms-surprising-new-ai-storyline-for-grieving-walford-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/278192\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders confirms surprising new AI storyline for grieving Walford icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

A surprising new EastEnders<\/a> storyline will see Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) become reliant on artificial intelligence in the wake of son Anthony’s (Nicholas Bailey) death.<\/p>\n

The general practitioner was killed off at Christmas<\/a>, kickstarting a new ‘whodunnit’ plot involving Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan). As seemingly the last person to see him alive, she was wrongly accused of the murder and placed behind bars.<\/p>\n

Viewers have since discovered that their daughter Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) was the one responsible, and she will be arrested for the crime<\/a> in next week’s episodes.<\/p>\n

Following Anthony’s funeral, Patrick will be introduced to the software to help him cope with his grief. In the weeks that follow, the pensioner will become increasingly more reliant on the fake version of his son, which will undoubtedly concern his loved ones.<\/p>\n

Forget ChatGPT, this is Chat GP Trueman.<\/p>\n

\"Nicholas<\/p>\n

Dr Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey) was killed off at Christmas.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n

This isn’t the first time that a soap has ‘revived’ a dead character using AI \u2013 in 2024, a Coronation Street<\/a> story saw Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) chat with her late son Oliver<\/a> using the technology after becoming entwined in a cult.<\/p>\n

The EastEnders story forms part of a wider AI Unpacked Week across the BBC, which will take place between 2nd and 8th March.<\/p>\n

\"Patrick<\/p>\n

Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) will become dependant on the software.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n

Speaking of the initiative, Kate Phillips, BBC chief content officer, said: \u201cAI Unpacked Week builds on the BBC\u2019s work on educating UK audiences about AI and its place in society. Across TV, radio and digital we have a range of dedicated AI programming to inform and excite audiences about the rise of this new technology.<\/p>\n

“From grief tech in EastEnders, to a Panorama special on the advance of robotics, to BBC Bitesize guides for teenagers.”<\/p>\n

She concluded: “As we stand at the brink of a major technological revolution, the BBC will play a vital role in being a trusted destination for advice, insight and engagement for all audiences.”<\/p>\n

Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google<\/a>
\nKeep up to date on what\u2019s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times \u2013 see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google.
\n\"Radio<\/p>\n

Aside from the Albert Square drama, a Panorama investigation will ask ‘Will Robots Take My Job?’, while the third series of conspiracy thriller The Capture will explore the use of deepfakes.<\/p>\n

There will also be dedicated programming across BBC Radio, as presenters join in the conversation about its usage. Even CBeebies is getting involved, educating parents on how they can use AI responsibly at home.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Visit our dedicated EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n

Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n

Check out more of our Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A surprising new EastEnders storyline will see Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) become reliant on artificial intelligence in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-278192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}