EastEnders to return to four episodes a week with a new duration
Albert Square will be business as usual
EastEnders fans will be excited to know that the show will soon return to four episodes a week, however at the slightly shorter duration of 20 minutes. The show will resume production at the end of June, adhering to strict social distancing guidelines.
20-minute-long episodes are thought to guarantee EastEnders’ return to its usual place as a staple of the BBC One weekday schedule. Specifics on the date the BBC soap will return are set to be announced in due course.
Executive Producer, Jon Sen, says, "Resuming production is incredibly exciting and challenging in equal measure. Since we postponed filming we’ve been working non-stop trialling techniques, filming methods and new ways of working so that we can return to screens four times a week – as EastEnders should be."
He continued, "Filming will inevitably be a more complex process now so creating 20 minute episodes will enable us to ensure that when we return, EastEnders will still be the show the audience know and love."
Meanwhile, fellow soaps including ITV's Coronation Street and Emmerdale have resumed filming.
Check out all of the spoilers for EastEnders next week:
The week starts with Linda telling Mick that she doesn't want to sell The Vic to Phil because of the way he's treated Sharon.
However, the landlord is reluctant to pull out of the sale because they've already put a deposit down on a flat.
When Phil tells Mick he wants to finalise the paperwork, Linda lets rip and tells him she doesn't want to sell the pub to him anymore.
Later, Mick asks Sharon for her help to convince Linda to sell The Vic to Phil because he's worried about her drinking.
Sharon decides to take matters into her own hands, wanting to get Linda out of the pub. Will Phil manage to become landlord of The Vic again?
Meanwhile, Ben Mitchell battles a fever so Callum Highway gives him some strong medication…
When Jay Brown arrives he's shocked when Ben collapses. After Ben wakes up he confesses to Jay that he can't hear anything – so Jay demands he goes to hospital.
Billy confronts Karen about his conversation with Mitch when he was told that she'll always go back to her ex. However, Karen assures Billy that he's the only man for her.
An unconvinced Billy warns Mitch that he'll fight for Karen. Later, Billy and Karen go out on a date but are stopped when they bump into Mitch and Keegan.
Mitch is worried about his son and tries to encourage him to reconcile with Tiffany Butcher… However after Keegan has a disagreement he storms off – leaving Karen rushing after him.
With Karen gone, Mitch and Billy go head to head playing air hockey but it's not long before things get out of hand and they're fighting in the street.
After Mitch gets the upper hand, Billy is left giving Karen an ultimatum…
Bobby Beale is devastated when Ian Beale tell him that he saw Peter Beale and Dotty Cotton kissing. Later, Dotty decides to sell NOS at the club despite Ruby warning the teenager not to. Soon after the police arrive…
The following day, Dotty confronts Ian over setting her up with the police. A furious Dotty then tells him that she's going to tell Sharon what really happened between him and Dennis Mitchell on the Thames boat.
Chantelle Atkins tries to clear the air with hubby Gray by showing him proof that she was at the dentist when he thought she was using his car.
However, he's unconvinced and doesn't believe her excuse – he jumps to conclusions and continues to think she's lying.
Sonia Fowler is feeling lonely – missing her daughter Bex Fowler – so she decides to search for her long-lost father…
The news will come as a delight to fans, as the show was previously thought to be staying off air until September, due to the Coronavirus pandemic.