EastEnders fear murder leak as thief snatches Christmas script
Saturday November 21 2009
Scripts for EastEnders Christmas specials were stolen during a burglary at a writer's home, the BBC has confirmed.
A BBC spokeswoman said the soap's bosses were concerned the climactic plot details could be leaked on the internet after the writer's laptop was taken.
The festive special will see scheming Albert Square villain Archie Mitchell, played by Larry Lamb, murdered in the Queen Vic pub but the precise details of his death have been kept a secret.
The Christmas scenes have already been filmed and the cast destroyed their scripts after the shoot to prevent any leaks.
The soap's executive producer Diederick Santer said: "We're keen to get this laptop back as it contains all the twists and turns of our exciting EastEnders Christmas."
The festive double bill will be broadcast on Christmas Day and often accounts for the long-running soap's highest ratings of the year. The 2007 EastEnders Christmas special, featuring the revelation of Stacey Slater's affair with father-in-law Max Branning, was the year's most-watched programme with 14.38m viewers.
It is not the first time EastEnders scripts have been stolen. In 2004 a laptop was taken in a raid and in 2001 a computer was stolen during a burglary at the home of a script writer.
hnews@herald.ie
- By Tom Rayner
