EastEnders bosses issued stern warning over future — days after ‘alarming’ cast shake-up

EastEnders bosses have been issued a warning over its future following the announcement of the shock exits of two major characters.

Fans of the BBC soap were left stunned recently when not one, but two of its stars were confirmed to be leaving Walford.

Shona McGarty, who plays Whitney Dean, revealed she made the “difficult decision” to say goodbye to the show after 15 years.

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Then just 24 hours later, Karen Taylor star Lorraine Stanley, who first appeared on the show in 2016, was said to be leaving the Square too before she then confirmed her exit.

But it isn’t just the recent cast shake-up that has put in the soap’s future in doubt, after 38 years of airing on telly screens.

“At Eastenders’ peak, the show was bringing in around 30million viewers, however, in 2023 the show is drawing around 1million viewers,” said Dom Aldworth, Head of Brand Marketing at Slingo.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, Dom claimed the cast shake-up, coupled up with the show’s drop in viewers, is “alarming” and could be “hard for the soap to cushion”.

What’s more, Ben Austin co-founder and CEO at Absolute Digital Media, noted: “If the show’s ratings continuously drop and fail to attract a sufficient audience, the network may decide to cancel it to make way for other programming that could perform better in terms of ratings.”

Nonetheless, Dom went on to issue the show’s bosses a warning ahead of both Whitney and Karen’s exits.

“Cast shake-ups aren’t rare in TV, but losing familiar faces who have been involved in major storylines can hurt a show’s viewer ratings,” he said.

“Writing popular characters out of scripts is difficult and can either result in a great storyline which boosts viewing figures, or can damage a show’s reputation.”

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Dom went on: “To prevent a decline in viewership, EastEnders bosses will need to be smart when deciding the exit storylines for Whitney Dean and Karen Taylor.”

However, the expert did note: “Ultimately, a show can only be successful if people are tuning in to regularly watch.

“So making sure the soap keeps up with trends and fan reception will ensure it can survive the lower viewership and cast shake-up,” he added.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk