While Eastenders was effectively frozen out of the recent soap awards, BBC bosses have started what could become a long drawn out war with ITV by accusing them of aggressive scheduling - at the expense of the viewers.

ITV have always been in a slightly stronger position having both Emmerdale and Coronation Street to try and split the Eastenders audience.  After Eastenders announced the recent one our special, this was followed by ITV with Emmerdale.  This resulted in the second half of Emmerdale spilling over into the first half of Eastenders, effecting audience figures.

There is no doubt that Eastenders figures have been disappointing of late, but the fight back has started with the introduction of Will Mellor as “Warren” and Samantha Janus and Ray Winston on the way. 

It will be interesting to see if there is a change in viewing habits over the coming months, as many observers expect some really hard hitting Eastenders storylines in the run up to Christmas.