I think Hackney people differ though from the Eastenders tv characters.
Pretty much, but the squalor is pure Seven Sisters. No community spirit though, and the pubs are full of knuckle-dragging Sors fans.
The new character isn't the first Pole in Eastenders - back in 2006 there was a Polish builder called Sebastian who shagged Shirley.
But of course the South was beaten by the North - there was a Pole on Coronation Street 50 years ago. I'm not sure of his name, but he was married to Linda Tanner, Elsie's daughter.