That scene is brilliant! It baffles me how the producers can no longer come up with amazing stuff like that^ hopefully autumn can be where we start to see some of that material being highlighted in dtc's work...

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I think the majority of viewers prefer the dysfunctional family units compared to the close-knit family units.

EastEnders most popular and iconic families were driven by lies, deceit, affairs and hostility. That is what I think viewers want to see opposed to this sickly sweet family nonsense. I know the Carters are relatively popular on here but I don't think they will make much of a stamp on the show unfortunately.

I preferred the Brannings at their peak (2006-2010) compared to the underwhelming Carters.

I never really got into the Brannings. I agree the Tanya/Sean stuff was interesting but I have never got the appeal of Max, Jack made very little impact and I couldn't stand Derek. Suzy was good in her final episodes and I wish she had stayed.

I never liked The Brannings. For me EastEnders went downhill the year they joined (2006) and only got better this year when the focus was taken off them. A thoroughly unlikeable and unpleasant batch of characters. A sad legacy for a pretty decent character like Jim. I'm glad Dot has now been distanced from that horrid family.

With that said, as much as I like The Carters there's too much focus on them and there are far too many additions. It really is The Branning Show all over again. But if you go back further it was The Slater Show in the early 2000's. That's where this one family domination started from. People can say the Fowler/Beales, Watts and Mitchells dominated in the 80's and early 90's but the cast was a lot smaller then. With the huge cast EastEnders has nowadays there's really no excuse for one family or one character to dominate.