EastEnders star thinks it was a mistake to increase soap to four times a week

EastEnders star Patsy Palmer has revealed that she believes it was a mistake for the BBC One soap to increase its episodes to four times a week.

The actress — who portrayed Bianca Jackson on the long-running serial drama — also revealed that she hasn’t watched the soap in six years.

She told The Sun: ‘I haven’t watched EastEnders for six years, so when I go back I have no idea who anyone is. There’s all new people there.’

‘That’s how that show goes. I don’t know what’s going to happen to it.

‘When I was on set I was talking to one of the writers and I said they should never have had EastEnders go three or four times a week. It was a big mistake in my book.

‘They should have kept it at two times a week, not followed what all the other soap operas did.

‘They should have stayed at two times a week and written really solid, good stories that lasted for quite some time instead of chopping and changing.

‘Now you go away from it for a week, come back and don’t know what’s going on.

When EastEnders launched back in 1985, it did so with only two instalments a week — which were broadcast on a Tuesday and Thursday.

This remained the norm until 1994, when it increased to three times a week, before introducing the fourth episode in 2001 — and has remained at four a week ever since, with the exception of special weeks such as Christmas and anniversaries, which can often see up to five or six episodes being broadcast.

Coincidentally, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the soap reducing transmissions back down to two a week in an effort to prevent it from going off the air after production was halted.

Patsy said: ‘I just feel like they should have stayed at two times a week, and now they’ve gone back to two a week. But it’s weird we’d just had that conversation.’

One to watch: June 1 at 8pm on BBC One.

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