Ofcom: EastEnders gave kids sleepless nights

BBC1's EastEnders

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Ofcom has slammed the BBC for giving children sleepless nights following the Easter weekend episodes of EastEnders that featured character Max Branning being buried alive.

The regulator described the storyline as having "more in common with a dark psychological thriller than a pre-watershed drama" and said it breached its code on three counts.

Ofcom received 116 complaints from viewers who believed the scenes and storyline were unsuitable for the time of broadcast, particularly given the high proportion of children watching. A number of these complaints were from parents who expressed concern that their children were distressed by the content, some of whom had difficulty sleeping after viewing the scenes. The BBC itself fielded another 600 complaints.

The two episodes, broadcast over the Easter weekend on Good Friday and Easter Monday, showed Max Branning being drugged and buried alive by his wife, Tanya, and her accomplice, Sean.

The BBC stated that it believed that the storyline had been crafted in a responsible manner with recognition of its potential sensitivity for a pre-watershed audience, and believed sufficient steps had been taken to alert viewers to the storyline in advance and keep it within the expectations of the audience.

However, after receiving so many complaints, which were upheld by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit, the corporation admitted that the emotional impact of the scenes had been greater than anticipated.

The BBC said that the response from viewers would help to guide programme makers on how to handle such exceptional storylines in the future.