I saw the woman talking about it on This Morning as well, she said she saw a preview of the episode and it was alot worse than the one that was shown and they was told that the storyline would run for years or until one of the characters left  i was wondering how they would deal with the outcome,

I prefer the soap storylines to be over and done with relatively quickly. This is not a tasteful storyline, and if they drag it on and on, I for one will probably stop watching.

Besides, Corrie has done the swapped baby thing, even if it was slightly different. That teed me off too.

And Emmerdale, with Ashley and Lauren's 'swapped' baby dying

In fact, the only thing that they can do different is drag the story out. Oh jeeeeez

It has to be a pathetic and utterly implausible story line.  Ronnie, who's supposed to have become totally obsessed over having a kid, just sits in another room A DAY after giving birth and Charlie, just decides to get pissed while he's supposed to be looking after Kat and Alfie's baby A DAY after its birth!  Alfie doesn't think to check on his DAY OLD baby during all that time because he's so indisposed what with running a pub, despite having bar-staff on in the downstairs of the very same building to were his DAY OLD baby is sleeping?

Aside from its wholly contrived implausible character and plot twists that are require the characters to be played with absurd nonchalance to enable the plot to tick over, the story is pretty distasteful, especially to those who've recently lost their babies.

Jingle Bell Riverrock
I think that they should have had Kats baby that died not Ronnies, I found it hard to feel any emotion for Ronnie but when the Slaters thought it was Tommy it was far more realistic.

---

I agree, but that wouldn't scan so well with the persona of Ronnie being the child obsessed damaged woman who has struggled to have kids.  Therefore, to pile on the melodrama, EE script writers have to kill Ronnie's child, hence the whole same day birth thing would have been a wasted opportunity by script writers when they could have rationed out the melodrama by having the births seperate and having a seperate and unrelated crisis.

EASTENDERS may have drawn 3,400 complaints for its cot death plot but it hasn't hurt the soap's ratings.

Furious viewers bombarded the BBC after watching Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) exchange her dead baby with Kat Moon's (Jessie Wallace) newborn after her son dies from cot death.

But despite the controversial storyline which aired on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the soap won its best peak audience for almost a year with 11.1 million tuning in last night.

Fans don't seem to have been dissuaded from tuning into the show by the gruesome storyline with average viewer figures rising from 10.4 million on Monday night to 10.7 million last night.

Last February the Walford soap earned 15.6 million viewers for is dramatic live episode which saw Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) revealed as Archie Mitchell's killer.

The BBC has continued to defend its shocking storyline despite mums who lost children to cot death complaining it was insensitive and sick.

Broadcaster Anne Diamond, whose son Sebastian died from cot death in 1991, said she was horrified by the storyline.

She said: "I was shocked to find cot death itself is no longer dramatic enough for today's screenwriters.

"It wasn't enough that poor Ronnie Branning should lose her newborn son. She had to lose her senses, too, and swap her dead baby for Kat Moon's healthy son.

"If I had known that was what they were planning, I would have raised the roof."

But EastEnders boss Bryan Kirkwood claimed the show's fans were warned about the plot before and given help line details as the credits rolled.

He said: "We took care to ensure viewers were aware of the content in advance.

"We also provided action line numbers at the end of the show."

 

I was right... sort of, it got alot of viewers and thats just gonna tempt the producers to create even more controversial storylines

It would be a great story line had they just focused on the cot death, they baby swap may have been a good story line on its own but two massive storyline together don't work as the latter just over shadows the cot death story line. Like wise in emmerdale they had to ruin it with the mixed up baby storyline.

I would say to Ms Diamond that we lost a good friend to a hit and run driver a couple of years ago. Neither us nor his parents expect the people in charge of the tellybox to ban material about people in such incidents, even though every time such an occurence is shown it is deeply upsetting.


The point being made is that the circumstances don't add  up.

Garage Joe, Its not the issue of Cot Death she is annoyed about it is that EE are basically saying that the mentality of a mother whose child does from cot death is to swap the baby, and are blaming the cot death for the baby swap. Thats why those at the FIDS are annoyed not because they Cot death storyline

This! Exactly this. What is wrong with the EE script writers

quote:

EASTENDERS may have drawn 3,400 complaints for its cot death plot but it hasn't hurt the soap's ratings.

3401

maybe more now We could be up to 3412 or summat

I hadn't looked at it from that point of view so sorry if I offended.

I just wonder what sort of people dream up storylines like this

TBF anyone who reads the Sunday Sun or Evening Gazette will know that there is a lot of scope.

I just watched last night's episode ... Jessie Wallace was fab, whereas Samantha thingy is just so ... well, not fab.

But the writing, the wiring is totally and utterly absurd ... for all the reasons stated above

I agree Rexi, i think Jessie has acted the Kat scenes very well but i did say while watching it, if you thought it wasn't your baby you'd ask for a DNA test, they are doing a post portem anyway, sky news have just said Ronnie (Samantha Wommack) has quit the show

Yay! There IS a God!


Totally agree. The cot death storyline on it's own could have been handled sensitively and possibly even helped to support viewers who had or were experiencing a similar experience (and especially those who maybe hadn't had any counselling of any kind).

(I know I've already said this on here but I can't remember where)

Well Karma the EE script writers said the storyline would end when one of the characters involved left, so let's hope she's gone goes she can't act for toffee

I just find it hard to relate to Sam Womack, shes too into the cold steely stares into space.

she *sighs* all the time as well, it really does my head in

Which is a bit pi$$ poor, in my humble.
Typical production..!  Get the sensational headlines and a few weeks of episodes and then cop out when an actor leaves the show.  Cot death isn't about until the next big event - it's with you forever.  People spend their lives adapting and trying to find a point where the rawness is less heightened.

It's not about "oh well, that's over and done with - nexxxxxxxxxxxt"

If they, the writers were going to do any good in this the storyline will run and resound for as long as there's an affected family member still in that show.  That means this sad situation is to the forefront for an extremely long time to come.

Does anyone get what I'm trying to say..?

* I think I just ranted a bit.  Sorry all.  xxx

It was handled much more sensitively when they did cot death the first time round with baby Ali.

I agree cosmo. It will probably now run and run, more's the pity. Nobody wants it, but what I hear of the producers, they are sticking to their concept, as per usual, stick the consumer, pay and shut up.

I get what you're trying to say. I thank God that I've been blessed in my life with healthy children and grand children. I honestly don't know how I'd have coped with something like a cot death ..............it's not something that can be shrugged off a few months down the line (I'd have thought). it's a life changing experience and not something that should be treated so flippantly jusdt t6o get ahead in the ratings. Poor, poor, sensationalist and insensitive script writing. Evidence that EE really and truly is a pile of cack!

That's the word - or the feeling I get coming through my tv screen, Soozy - an air of flippancy.  As if they've ticked another 'issue' off of their list.

Col, it has to run and run if it's to have any credibility.
My problem is that the whole story was overly contrived from the start .
It could have been so much better - Croc's post proving the point.

I agree. One issue yes, the two combined are too much. I don't really understand why EE has to be this relentless sorrow and pain. We (as a nation of watchers) have complained about EE storylines for years, but nobody there give a flying monkey's. I'll stop watching, that's the best solution.  Anyway, I've had 5 books for Christmas that need reading.

All  to boost the ratings and at this time of year is utterly ridiculous and insensitive in the extreme. Time for the suicidal terrorists to blow Albert Sq and it's moody and boring residents to Kingdom  come. Oh hang on....... is that plot line allowed > or will it upset too many viewers?