'EastEnders' is to return to 30-minute episodes.
Janine Butcher
The long-running BBC One soap is currently airing 20 to 25-minute episodes, after bosses cut the output during the height of the coronavirus pandemic because the show took more time to film due to on-set social distancing measures, but it is to return to its original half-hour run time.
Piers Wenger, the head of BBC drama, said: "It’s absolutely our intention for 'EastEnders' to return to its original running time, it’s something we’re very aware of and we’re working on addressing as we speak.
“It’s not going to happen overnight, there are very obvious reasons why we’ve had to make shorter eps.
"'EastEnders' was always a BBC half-hour while 'Corrie' and 'Emmerdale' are commercial half hours so shorter, so they’ve been impacted slightly less by shooting with COVID protocols."
Piers admitted the 'EastEnders' viewing figures had dipped on TV, but said the show - which first debuted in 1985 - performs much better on streaming service iPlayer.
He said: “I think it has been particularly badly hit on linear TV but if you look it’s still a huge show for iPlayer.
“Looking at both those things together it isn’t quite as harsh as it seems, when you just look at the overnights, but we recognise we need to get it back to its usual half hour and its usual slot.”
Current storylines in Albert Square have seen the return of Janine Butcher, played by Charlie Brooks, 40.
These comments were made as Piers announced a number of BBC-produced dramas, such as an adaption of comedy writer Adam Kay’s memoir ‘This is Going to Hurt’, a collection of his memories about being a junior doctor in the NHS.
Tagged in Charlie Brooks