EastEnders: When will BBC soap return after Queen Vic cliffhanger?

Series has stopped being broadcast after 6,122 episodes

EastEnders fans are wondering when the BBC show will return after coming off air for the first time in its 35-year history.

The soap has officially run out of episodes due to the coronavirus pandemic, and broadcast its final completed instalment last night (16 June).

Episodes have been airing at a reduced rate since lockdown measures were announced by the government and, by rationing the backlog, the soap has been buying itself time.

However, following the broadcast of episode number 6,122, viewers were met with the words “EastEnders – To Be Continued.”

So, when will the soap return to television?

Speaking on Twitter, director Thomas Hescott said the soap was merely having a “break over the summer” and would return “later this year”.

With lockdown guidelines slowly being lifted, production is expected to start up again later this month.

The BBC’s director of content, Charlotte Moore, wrote in The Telegraph: “We’ve been looking carefully at how we can safely put some of our shows back into production, and I’m pleased to announce that we plan to begin filming again on both EastEnders and Top Gear by the end of June.”

When the show does return, though, episodes will run for 20 minutes, which is 10 minutes shorter than usual.

No date has been set, but it is expected that producers will stash up enough episodes for the show to return in September. It will then return to its usual format of airing four nights a week.

‘EastEnders’ won’t return to the BBC until ‘later this year’ (BBC)

Until then, the BBC will broadcast a show celebrating the soap’s history, titled Secrets from the Square.

The specials will see Stacey Dooley interview two cast members each Monday, including Letitia Dean, Tameka Empson and Adam Woodyatt, to discuss their time on the soap.

The programme, due to begin on 22 June, will also offer previews of planned storylines and plot developments as well as behind-the-scenes secrets.