THE BBC television soap EastEnders, is in crisis as it heads towards its 20th anniversary. Outmanoeuvered by ITV1’s Emmerdale and mired in cast scandals, the programme’s head producer Kathleen Hutchison has walked out after just three months in charge — and four months after her predecessor resigned.

Cast and crew reportedly welcomed the departure of Ms Hutchison — known as The Hatchet — whose last-minute plot changes left the programme dangerously behind schedule. John Yorke, the new BBC Drama controller, has taken control and considered the “nuclear” option of temporarily pulling the series from BBC One to get filming back on track.

In true soap style, Ms Hutchison swept away from the studios in Elstree, Hertfordshire, without saying goodbye just as a familiar face announced her return to Albert Square. Barbara Windsor is to make a comeback as Peggy Mitchell and BBC executives hope that the former Carry On star can lure back lost viewers.

EastEnders, first shown on February 16, 1985, hit a peak over Christmas 1986 when 30 million viewers watched Dirty Den Watts serve his wife Angie with divorce papers. The soap is a “tentpole” in BBC One’s early evening schedule, securing a mass audience for later programmes.

Greg Dyke, the former Director-General approved extra weekly episodes to tempt more viewers from ITV1 but the audience has drifted to Emmerdale, which has banished its muddy-boots image by importing glamorous stars such as Patsy Kensit and has been aggressively scheduled against EastEnders.

Last September, EastEnders hit its lowest audience of just 6.2 million while the Yorkshire soap recorded 11.8 million viewers for its most popular episode of 2004. EastEnders’ audience share is down to 28 per cent compared with more than 50 per cent in its glory days.

EastEnders cast members have fuelled lurid newspaper headlines. Leslie Grantham’s comeback as Dirty Den was cut short after he was caught interacting with a porn website in his dressing room and Elaine Lordan’s character, Lynne Slater, was written out after the producers warned the actress over her drinking.

Louise Berridge, the former executive producer, resigned last September after two years in which she presided over the soap’s lowest figures. A week later Mal Young, the BBC Drama controller, left to join the company behind another ITV1 show, Pop Idol.

Mr Yorke, himself a former EastEnders producer, plans to bring back Tony Jordan, who was responsible for more than 250 previous episodes. Weekly episodes might also be reduced from four to three.

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