Soaps like EastEnders 'ruining' BBC's image

EastEnders has been accused of weakening the BBC brand.

The BBC Trust today singled out the corporation's own soap opera and its celebrity-obsessed entertainment format, saying it was "unworthy of the channel".

Its annual report said: "Some of BBC1's most popular programming is coming under pressure. Reach to soaps such as EastEnders has fallen by 10 percentage points over the three years.

"Some viewers feel that an entertainment-format makes the channel feel more modern and useful; others are highly critical of celebrity-based entertainment, believing it to be derivative and unworthy of the channel."

EastEnders came under fire from viewers last week after a storyline showed a pregnant Dawn Swann, played by Kara Tointon, being kidnapped, tied to a bed and threatened with a home Caesarean section.

The report also revealed that audiences for BBC TV channels remain largely in decline - 84.4 per cent of the 55.5 million viewing public tuned into its channels in the last year, down from 85.3 per cent in 2005. The Trust's chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, warned the BBC it is failing to create the "innovative" content licence fee payers demand.

He said: "The public trusts the BBC and values much of what it produces, but audiences want the BBC to be more innovative. This is one of the key factors we will consider when deciding the BBC's strategic priorities in the autumn."