MILLIONS of people in Britain and Ireland will begin a familiar ritual this evening, settling on favourite sofas and chairs for the latest episode of the BBC's Eastenders.
Thirty minutes later, many will follow a well established pattern - switching channels for the week's second instalment of The Bill. But in some households at least - a minority thankfully - conversation will turn on the developing Eastenders' storyline.
At about the same time a champagne and caviar reception will be coming to an end in St James's Palace. The Prince of Wales will then lead some 100 guests to his table, where they will partake of Smoked Quails Breast Salad, Turbot and Salmon en croute, and Meringue Romanoff. Fine wines will accompany the fine food at this special Hallowe'en banquet. And by the time the port is served, the conversation at the palace will have turned to matters not far removed from events in the fictional Albert Square.
Tonight's Eastenders will develop the nightmarish tale of Joe - troubled son of David Wickes and his former wife Lorraine - who is exhibiting all the signs of mental illness. At the palace, Prince Charles and his guests will be celebrating the tenth birthday of SANE - the campaigning charity originally focused on schizophrenia but now covering all forms of mental illness.
The connection occurred to me on Tuesday morning, as I listened to a DJ on a popular radio station discussing the latest developments in the BBC soap. The tone was bordering on the hilarious following Monday night's episode, which ended with Joe standing before a mirror painting the word "evil" on his chest.
Driving through busy London streets at the time, I was unable to note the exact words. But "poor old Joe, he's obviously bonkers" seemed to be the good natured sentiment.
Inspired by a series of articles by journalist Marjorie Wallace, SANE set out 10 years ago to combat the prejudiced and intolerance surrounding mental illness and to improve attitudes and services for sufferers and theirs families."
Dipping into one TV listing, I noted Joe would feature in another up coming episode with an important declaration. But the viewers were tartly advised: "Don't expect it to make much sense.
And the thought occurred that Prince Charles and his guests might feel they have much work still to do in educating the public about the nature and enormity of the problem.
One family in four is affected by mental illness, making it as common as, heart disease. The two most serious illnesses are schizophrenia and manic depression. Schizophrenia affects about 1 per cent of the world's population at some time in their lives. There are currently some 250,000 sufferers in the UK alone. The economic consequences are huge because sufferers become ill when they are young adults, and may have to be supported and treated throughout the rest of their lives.
Importantly, schizophrenia - although disruptive - is an illness which can be treated, and most sufferers respond to medication and return to normal or near normal life about a quarter of those treated recover within weeks or months, and the illness never returns. About half recover while suffering further bouts of illness. The rest do not respond well and may remain ill for a long time. The illness is not, in itself, life threatening although one in seven sufferers commit suicide.
Schizophrenia can start at any age but most commonly begins in the late teenage years, or early twenties. Young men and women are affected in almost equal numbers, although women are usually four or five years older than men when it starts. The illness has been described in all cultures and is much the same in every country in the world.
In addition to campaigning for greater public awareness, SANE has so far raised £6 million to fund research at the Prince of Wales International Centre in Oxford. And in 1992 it established SANELINE, the first national telephone helpline dealing with mental health. This lifeline offers support for sufferers and their families with carers accounting for 34 per cent of all calls. Offering key advice on statutory and other services, medication and its side effects, illnesses and symptoms, the law and patient and carer rights - SANELINE aims to enable callers to develop informed options for action.
David Wickes's long running affair with Cindy has lately revealed the pulling power of Eastenders. But if the shooting of Ian Beale won the ratings war, the running story of Joe has already had beneficial results. A spokeswoman for SANE confirms that some viewers have been prompted to ring the SANELINE number for help and advice. A reminder, perhaps, of the positive power of the soaps. A reminder, too, of other aspects of the moral agenda too often neglected and ignored.