EastEnders fans beg BBC to screen CLASSIC episodes after coronavirus cuts

EastEnders
(Image credit: BBC)

Sounds like a plan!

EastEnders fans were left bitterly disappointed yesterday when it was revealed that the BBC will only be showing two episodes a week.

BBC bosses announced that filming for the East London based telly favourite would be halted in light of growing concerns surrounding the worldwide health crisis.

Epiodes of the show have been cut from four a week to two a week, with Thursday's and Friday's instalments being scrapped until further notice.

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On the EastEnders Twitter account, a post read, "In light of the spread of Covid-19, filming on #EastEnders will be postponed until further notice... We have also taken the decision to reduce the amount of episodes we broadcast each week to two. Episodes will now air on Mondays, 8pm and Tuesdays, 7.30pm."

Naturally, heaps of loyal viewers were left gutted by the news.

One social media user posted, "Ahhh man. Self isolation is gonna even worse now but wise decision to stop filming and space them out!"

While another chipped in, "I actually don’t think I can cope with only two episodes per week!!"

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Meanwhile, other innovative fans were keen to suggest a solution to the missing episodes, with lots calling for old showings of the soap with classic characters to be broadcasted instead.

"Could you guys show older, memorable Eastenders episodes from years gone by in the eastenders time slots for thursdays and fridays? i think it may help lift spirits," one asked.

EastEnders, grant mitchell, ross kemp, peggy mitchell, barbara windsor, phil mitchell, steve mcfadden

Fans would love to see some classic episodes with the likes of Grant and Peggy (Image credit: BBC/Kieron McCarron)

"Can you do old episodes as someone below suggested ? my fave was Peggy and Pat getting pi**ed in the Ice Cream Van wearing gummy rings on their fingers," added another.

A third agreed, "Can you launch ‘Classic Episodes’ in the absence of new episodes? Replace Tuesday & Friday episodes with iconic episodes to keep us all going??"

And a fourth requested one seriously iconic plot to be re-run, "I'd happily re-watch old storylines - like half an hour episodes with all the scenes from the Ronnie's baby swap storyline, for example."

Caitlin Elliott

Caitlin is Junior News Editor for woman&home, covering all things celeb, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. 


Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry). After leaving uni, she dabbled in fashion PR as a Press Assistant for Topshop before becoming a part of the Now team at Future for her first real job in the world of online journalism, joining the ranks as a Digital Writer in 2019. Caitlin went on to add the likes of Woman, GoodtoKnow, WhatToWatch and woman&home to her writing repertoire before moving on to her current role. 


When she's not working you'll find Caitlin sipping bubbles at brunch with her besties, thinking about her next iced coffee, trying to close the rings on her Apple Watch, scrubbing up on her royal family knowledge or scrolling through the Zara app, trying to resist tapping 'check out' again.