BBC bosses have finally broken their silence after EastEnders fans have been expressing worries that the future of the soap could be in jeopardy.
After being on our screens since 1985, EastEnders has become a staple for many on the BBC. However, after some opinions that the show’s quality has dipped, attention has now been drawn to the soap’s viewing figures.
Despite having heavily emotional storylines such as the tragic death of Lola Pearce, 11-year-old Lily Slater’s pregnancy, or the ongoing whodunnit mystery of ‘The Six’ leading up to Christmas Day, many have noted that viewing numbers for EastEnders have slipped recently.
Fans have become concerned that the BBC’s flagship soap is suffering its lowest ever viewing figures, with an average of 1.3M viewers tuning in for each episode, as opposed to previous figures of 30M for some of its biggest episodes.
After a period of speculation, BBC bosses have finally broken their silence and confirmed their stance on EastEnders’ future.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said: “EastEnders episodes are made live to the audience at 6am every morning on BBC iPlayer giving the audience the choice to watch when and where they choose, so when episodes are moved to a different day, or channel, due to a live sporting event it is no surprise that this is reflected in the regular overnight audience.”
“Over the last two weeks EastEnders has been streamed almost 18 million times on BBC iPlayer and remains one of iPlayer’s most popular programmes,” they insisted, in a promise that it will not be axed any time soon.
The spokesperson for the BBC also noted that EastEnders, as well as other broadcasts, “naturally see a dip” during the summer while the Wimbledon tennis tournament is ongoing.
EastEnders has been pulled from BBC One this week and next week, and has found a new home on BBC2, until Wimbledon concludes next Sunday.
