For decades, we’ve been sold the EastEnders’ version of Christmas. A huge table; turkey with all the trimmings; crackers and silly hats; a tree teeming with presents. But most of all, family – whether squabbling, serene, raucous, or murderous! We’re also told in myriad ways – from films, to adverts, to the King’s annual broadcast – that family is the crowning jewel of the festive season. The thing that makes Christmas, well, Christmas.
The trouble is that, for many people, this simply isn’t true. In fact, according to the charity Standalone, one in five families in the UK are affected by family estrangement. Life changes can mean that, this year, you might be facing the first Christmas after
