Half the World Away was originally approached about using an Oasis song for a series about a working-class family in Manchester, he suggested "Married with Children" and was confused when "Half the World Away" was chosen. On tour in America when "The Royle Family" was first screened, he claims the penny did not drop until he returned to the United Kingdom to find the series a huge success and viewed it, feeling the song was perfect for the series. He now claims not to think of "Half the World Away" as an Oasis song, but rather as the theme tune to "The Royle Family".
EastEnders theme tune for 15 years before another revamp took place. From 7 September 2009, the theme tune was rescored by May to include stronger drum beats and more background percussion. The theme has also been remixed into a much slower and less dramatic version for use with "EastEnders Revealed" and a rock version for use with "EastEnders Xtra". Subsequent spin-offs "Ricky & Bianca" and "EastEnders: Slaters in Detention" have used the softer guitar version. 2010 internet spin-off "" features a new remix of the theme tune, which was chosen by producer Deborah Sathe, executive producer Diederick Santer, Simon May, director Michael Keillor