Soap on the ropes: EastEnders bosses in crisis talks as ratings slump

[alan45]

For the first time in at least two years, the soap has fallen approximately 1.5 million viewers behind Corrie for several months in a row


BBC
EastEnders bosses are locked in crisis talks with BBC chiefs after ratings continue to slump below Coronation Street.

For the first time in at least two years, the Albert Square soap has fallen approximately 1.5 million viewers behind Corrie for several months in a row.

Its ITV rival was also crowned Best Soap last month at the National TV Awards.

BBC bosses are believed to be concerned that a string of new youthful characters are alienating older viewers.

A show source said: “EastEnders is going through a major transition, and some of the BBC’s senior managers are concerned the show might suffer long term if well-loved characters are sidelined.”

BBC drama chief John Yorke – who was in charge of the soap from 2000 to 2002 – is said to be at odds with show producer Bryan Kirkwood, 36, an arrival from Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks.


The source added: “In the last two months, viewers have seen lots of Lauren Branning, Lucy Beale, Whitney, Fatboy, Ben Mitchell, Jay, Abi Branning and Anthony Moon – but not nearly so much of the classic characters.

“Phil Mitchell is currently in prison, Sam Womack quit her role as Ronnie Mitchell last year, and Shane Richie’s Alfie Moon has taken a back seat in the absence of wife Kat because Jessie Wallace is off for three months.

“At the moment there are more youngsters in Albert Square than there are in Hollyoaks.

"John is concerned that viewers may be put off by the new stars, and wants to get it back to a more traditional feel.

"It’s a worrying time, and urgent action is planned.”

But an EastEnders spokesperson said yesterday: “We continually discuss where the show is going every month to ensure EastEnders remains fresh and at the top of its game.

"As ratings illustrate, it is in rude health consolidating with an average of more than nine million viewers every week.”

[Siobhan]

and that is the problem.. they tried to make it more like Hollyoaks which clearly has much more less viewers that the other soaps.. did that not tell them something???

[alan45]

and that is the problem.. they tried to make it more like Hollyoaks which clearly has much more less viewers that the other soaps.. did that not tell them something???

It started a few years ago when they dumbed it down to cater for a more adolescent audience by introducing people who were employed for their looks rather than any acting ability.

[Dazzle]

EE is nowhere near as compelling as it was a couple of years ago, and the prevalence of the youngsters definitely has something to do with it listening to the people on these boards. We've lost characters like Stacey and Bradley, and they've been replaced by uninteresting characters.

Janine and Michael, and the older characters like Dot, Rose and Cora are good, but we don't see enough of them. Give them some major storylines for a change!

[Siobhan]

You can get some great young actors as you mentioned Stacey and Bradley and even Whitney when she first appeared but now it just who is the next bad boy for her to be with. Even Jay could have been a much more interesting character too considering his past but they let that pass. and change Ben to be something he never was, was a big mistake.

[tammyy2j]

Emmerdale is far better and it beats EE when they go head to head in ratings

[flappinfanny]

Emmerdale is far better and it beats EE when they go head to head in ratings

i agree emmerdale is better than ee, but as far as ratings are concerned and going head to head, emmerdale begins at 7 going on til 8, ee starts at 7.30, a large proportion of the soap audience watches the big 3, so if emmerdale has a special hr edition it is very unlikely viewers will switch half way through. but it could be a different story on thurs 22 march when ee has a special hr edition againt emmerdale. also if you look at the official barb viewing figures, they tell a very different story.

[flappinfanny]

For the first time in at least two years, the soap has fallen approximately 1.5 million viewers behind Corrie for several months in a row


BBC
EastEnders bosses are locked in crisis talks with BBC chiefs after ratings continue to slump below Coronation Street.

For the first time in at least two years, the Albert Square soap has fallen approximately 1.5 million viewers behind Corrie for several months in a row.

Its ITV rival was also crowned Best Soap last month at the National TV Awards.

BBC bosses are believed to be concerned that a string of new youthful characters are alienating older viewers.

A show source said: “EastEnders is going through a major transition, and some of the BBC’s senior managers are concerned the show might suffer long term if well-loved characters are sidelined.”

BBC drama chief John Yorke – who was in charge of the soap from 2000 to 2002 – is said to be at odds with show producer Bryan Kirkwood, 36, an arrival from Channel 4 teen soap Hollyoaks.


The source added: “In the last two months, viewers have seen lots of Lauren Branning, Lucy Beale, Whitney, Fatboy, Ben Mitchell, Jay, Abi Branning and Anthony Moon – but not nearly so much of the classic characters.

“Phil Mitchell is currently in prison, Sam Womack quit her role as Ronnie Mitchell last year, and Shane Richie’s Alfie Moon has taken a back seat in the absence of wife Kat because Jessie Wallace is off for three months.

“At the moment there are more youngsters in Albert Square than there are in Hollyoaks.

"John is concerned that viewers may be put off by the new stars, and wants to get it back to a more traditional feel.

"It’s a worrying time, and urgent action is planned.”

But an EastEnders spokesperson said yesterday: “We continually discuss where the show is going every month to ensure EastEnders remains fresh and at the top of its game.

"As ratings illustrate, it is in rude health consolidating with an average of more than nine million viewers every week.”

this article is very sloppy from the daily mirror, but i remember an even sloppier article in june last year in the daily snail about cs ratings crisis with wall to wall lesbians. viewing figures down to to 7 million, lagging behind a triumphant ee. i do agree with parts of the article re too many youngsters. however the article is wrong saying ee has been down 1.5 million for several months. unofficial over night ratings would show corrie ahead of ee, but the official ratings from barb tell a very different story. for the month of jan 2012, apart from the last wk ee was ahead of cs. for some reason ee viewers tend to watch the programme in different ways, ie iplayer. this tends to happen less with emmerdale and cs.

[alan45]

this article is very sloppy from the daily mirror, but i remember an even sloppier article in june last year in the daily snail about cs ratings crisis with wall to wall lesbians. viewing figures down to to 7 million, lagging behind a triumphant ee. i do agree with parts of the article re too many youngsters. however the article is wrong saying ee has been down 1.5 million for several months. unofficial over night ratings would show corrie ahead of ee, but the official ratings from barb tell a very different story. for the month of jan 2012, apart from the last wk ee was ahead of cs. for some reason ee viewers tend to watch the programme in different ways, ie iplayer. this tends to happen less with emmerdale and cs.

Why do you think I put it in the rumour thread

[flappinfanny]

good point