Collaborative art duo Gilbert & George, known for their formal appearance and manner in performance art, and for their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks visited the pier in 2024.

Their film, "Gilbert and George Day Tripping Forever!" is set in Southend and explores the fundamental questions of life, the universe, and everything.

Susan Calman's Summer By the Sea on Channel 5 sees the comedian visiting Britain’s best-loved beach resorts. In Episode 4 of Season 1 her travels brought her to the worlds longest pleasure pier, where she takes a ride on our iconic narrow gauge railway.

The programme is presented by Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty. The series was filmed in Jamie and Jimmy's Café, which is based at the end of Southend Pier.

Each week the Café is filled with members of the public and a celebrity guest joins Jimmy & Jamie in the Café and helps to cook a recipe of their choosing.

The music video was filmed on Southend Pier in March 2013. Moyet refers to it as 'a place that figured highly in my girlhood years.'

The video features Moyet, and her real-life daughter, Caitlin, walking along the rain-soaked pier (as well as standing underneath it) lip-syncing to the song.

Southend Pier Railway featured in series 3 of Great British Railway Journeys, hosted by Michael Portillo. He stopped by the pier to share his memories and take a ride on the railway.

The music video for 'Everyday is like Sunday', taken from Morrissey's debut album, was filmed around Southend and featured the pier and High Street locations.

Southend and the Pier have featured in numerous Eastenders episodes, the most prominent was back in 2011 at the end of a dramatic storyline, which saw Ryan come to the rescue of sister Whitney who was being exploited by villain Rob. The conclusion was a showdown at the end of the pier, which saw poor old Rob thrown into the Thames.

Southend Pier featured in the end credits of the British television series Minder. The sequence showed unscrupulous businessman Arthur Daley and his bodyguard (or "minder") Ray walking down the pier.

When they reach the end Arthur realises that he has left his lighter at the far end and they proceed to walk the return journey. The comic implication is that he is too mean to pay for the train ride!