BBC bosses have spoken out in defence of the new EastEnders set project – after it ran over budget by over £20 million.
It comes as the broadcasting corporation faced scrutiny over the future of the licence fee.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie said that he remains confident about the BBC’s iconic soap, but he confessed that the corporation is “not immune from competitive pressure”.
It also follows ITV’s announcement of new timings for its soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street – which will allow them to rival EastEnders in the schedules.
Mr Davie addressed a House of Common’s Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday (January 26) – alongside the BBC’s chief operating officer Leigh Tavasia.
(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “We’re not immune from competitive pressure, let’s be honest about it. And you may have a marginal impact or an impact during that hour, but we’re confident that the overall case for the EastEnders development remains strong.
“That whole set wasn’t going to work anyway so it needed investment. We’re also confident about EastEnders as a strand; we’ve just put a new showrunner in there.
“We need to keep investing, doing our thing, and that will deliver audiences that we believe make sense for us, both in terms of linear and iPlayer.”
Tavazia confirmed the soap project had faced delays and run at a higher cost.
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She also said work had been completed on the front of the soap’s new set, and viewers will be able to see it on screens from March.
Leigh added that the BBC is “not that concerned” about the soap clashing with Corrie or Emmerdale, as it believes the soap has a “much younger-skewing audience”.
Earlier this month, snaps of the set emerged as filming kicked off in Albert Square.
The BBC previously said that the old set, which was built in 198, was no longer “fit for purpose”.
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The new set was originally scheduled to be finished by 2018 – at an estimated cost of “59.7 million, but it ended up costing £86.7 million.
The investment in the drama will enable improved high definition quality for viewers, as well as new filming options for producers.
Mr Davie said the “biggest competition” for EastEnders viewers is the wider media market, not just rival broadcaster ITV.
He continued: “To deliver public service broadcasting, and a strong public service media, is one of the things we should be fighting for, and we should be proud of in the UK, and is a huge competitive advantage.
(Image: PA)
“And I worry, actually, that we don’t clock the risk to that. If we dismantle this, I honestly think we’ll be doing a disservice, not just to our culture and our democracy, but also to the economic health of our creative industries.”
ITV revealed a new schedule for its soaps on Monday, which will see Corrie moving to hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm.
Emmerdale will switch to the 7.30pm slot.
EastEnders airs on BBC One, with start times ranging from 7.30pm and 8.30pm.
The BBC licence fee will be frozen at £159 until 2024 – Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed.
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