Sam Womack quitting, over 8,000 complaints and the story being cut short. But is all the controversy over EastEnders baby swap storyline correct?
EastEnders is known for its hard-hitting storylines but its most recent attempt to portray a sensitive issue has backfired considerably on the show with a media storm gathering over EastEnders. After finding her baby James dead in his coat, a devastated Ronnie swapped James' body for that of Kat and Alfie's alive son Tommy.
As a viewer who has witnessed a year of murders, stabbings, fires, drug use and tram crashes in the world of soap I must admit I am slightly torn on the plot.
The main ingredient to any soap storyline is emotion, drama and with EastEnders more often that not tragedy. And undoubtedly the baby swap plot has all these elements. But my criticism of the plot is that they could have achieved the same level of emotion and drama by only tackling the tragedy of cot deaths.
By adding the baby swap twist on a already upsetting storyline the show has dragged themselves into claims of sensationalism, despite Executive Producer Bryan Kirkwood's claims on the EastEnders website that their aim "was – and still is – to tell a strong story that would, in the telling - raise the profile of Cot Death in the UK."
But whilst I understand the viewers upset over such a powerful subject, this is and always has been a work of fiction. Soaps have never shied away from tackling tough subjects before and every viewer always has the choice to watch soaps or turn off their television.
The decision to cut the story short is completely correct as any plans to drag the story on would then become 100 % unbelievable. The news that there is also going to be a happy ending is also correct in sending the right message to viewers that are prepared to stick with the story.
With the outcry caused by the plot the acting of all involved has often been forgotten. Sam Womack (Ronnie) and Jessie Wallace (Kat) have been superb whilst the supporting cast of Shane Ritchie (Alfie), Derek Martin (Charlie) etc.. have made the storyline even more heartbreaking. Whilst the writing and producing have been heavily criticised, Kat saying 'I am not ready to say goodbye, I have only just said hello' or Ronnie begging baby James 'please don't do this to me' are haunting to watch.
The departure of Ronnie, whether due to the end of Sam's contract or her decision based on the plot is a huge loss to EastEnders (the announcement is either a case of a bad coincidence or bad timing).
I don't 100% agree with the direction of the plot but it has me torn and this is often the best ingredient for the most powerful storylines. But the anger directed at EastEnders looks like it won't be calming down anytime soon and with the plot set to run until the spring, the show looks like it will be hitting the headlines for months to come however well acted the storyline is.
Picture from whatsontv.co.uk
