Soap’s creators want to quit

Press, 24 September 1987, Page 13

Soap’s creators want to quit

From TONY VERDON in London The creators of television’s “East Enders say they have run out of ideas for key characters Dirty Den, Angie, and the rest of the soap opera’s cast, and are to quit Albert Square. The producer, Julia Smith, and scriptwriter, Tony Holland, say ■ the pressures of keeping the show at the top of the viewing ratings has be-

come too much. They have reportedly told their 8.8. C. bosses they want to leave as soon as possible to begin work on a new project. In the two and a half years since the series was launched, the duo has seen "EastEn ders” become the most successful soap opera in British television history, drawing a weekly audience of'more-than 20 million people. The programme was the 8.8.C.’s answer to long-running “Coronation Street,” and

has since frequently toppled the Granada-pro-duced serial from its place at the top of the ratings. As the producer of the programme, Julia Smith is said to have been the main force behind "East Enders. She has been described as being all-powerful, and as having been mainly responsible for the programme’s success. But she told the “Daily Express” recently that the problem of coping with the pres-

sure surrounding the programme has been building up for a long time. “Now I have reached the point where I feel I have dried up,” she said. "It has been an absolute, non-stop slog and I now ask myself, Is there life after “EastEnders’?” 8.8. C. bosses are reportedly searching for successors to the two, who have agreed to remain with the programme until new appointments are made.