Editing EastEnders (section)

=== Ratings ===
''EastEnders'' is the BBC's most consistent programme in terms of ratings,<ref name="Lifeblood">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/feb/08/eastenders-bbc-25-years|title=Is EastEnders the lifeblood of the BBC?|last=Sabbagh|first=Dan|date=8 February 2010|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=12 April 2017}}</ref> and as of 2024, episodes typically receive between 3 and 4 million viewers.<ref name="BARB">{{Cite web|url=https://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/four-screen-dashboard/|title=Four-screen dashboard|access-date=5 February 2020}}</ref> ''EastEnders'' two biggest ratings rivals are the [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] soaps ''Coronation Street'' (produced by [[Granada Television]] in Manchester) and ''Emmerdale'' (produced by [[Yorkshire Television]] in Leeds).<ref name="BARB" />

The launch show in 1985 attracted 17.35&nbsp;million viewers.<ref name="Week ending 24 February 1985">{{cite news|last1=Fiddick|first1=Peter|title=Research|issue=2899|publisher=[[The Listener (magazine)|The Listener]]|date=7 March 1985|page=38}}</ref><ref name="Viewing figure 1985">{{cite news|last1=Hassell|first1=Katherine|title=EastEnders 30th anniversary: The most memorable moments of the hit BBC soap|url=http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/557729/EastEnders-30th-Anniversary|newspaper=[[Daily Express]]|access-date=22 December 2016|date=15 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Monroe|1994|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Kingsley|1991|p=8}}</ref> 25 July 1985 was the first time the show's viewership rose to first position in the weekly top 10 shows for [[BBC One]].<ref name="Week ending 28 July 1985">{{cite journal|last1=Fiddick|first1=Peter|url=http://find.galegroup.com/lsnr/infomark.do?prodId=LSNR&userGroupName=livjm&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=GM2500175352&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=Research|access-date=20 January 2017|url-access=limited |format=pdf|issue=2921|journal=[[The Listener (magazine)|The Listener]]|date=8 August 1985|page=42|via=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]}}</ref> The highest-rated episode of ''EastEnders'' is the Christmas Day 1986 episode, which attracted a combined 30.15&nbsp;million viewers who tuned into either the original transmission or the omnibus to see Den Watts hand over divorce papers to his wife Angie. This remains the highest rated episode of a soap in British television history.<ref name="BARB" />

In 2001, ''EastEnders'' clashed with ''Coronation Street'' for the first time. ''EastEnders'' won the battle with 8.4&nbsp;million viewers (41% share) whilst ''Coronation Street'' lagged behind with 7.3&nbsp;million viewers (34% share).<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1483729.stm Soaps battle in TV showdown]", BBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2007.</ref> On 21 September 2004, [[Louise Berridge]], the then executive producer, quit following criticism of the show.<ref>{{Cite news
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/sep/22/broadcasting.bbc|title = Axe falls on EastEnders boss|work=[[The Guardian]]
|date = 22 September 2004|access-date =16 July 2006| location=London| first=Matt| last=Wells}}</ref> The following day the show received its lowest ever ratings at that time (6.2&nbsp;million) when ITV scheduled an hour-long episode of ''Emmerdale'' against it. ''Emmerdale'' was watched by 8.1&nbsp;million viewers. The poor ratings motivated the press into reporting viewers were bored with implausible and ill-thought-out storylines.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3679776.stm
|title = EastEnders loses out to Emmerdale|work=BBC News|date = 22 July 2004|access-date =16 July 2006}}</ref> Under new producers, ''EastEnders'' and ''Emmerdale'' continued to clash at times, and ''Emmerdale'' tended to come out on top, giving ''EastEnders'' lower than average ratings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/news/a19605/emmerdale-thrashes-enders-in-ratings-head-to-head/ |title='Emmerdale' thrashes "Enders" in ratings head-to-head |website=Digital Spy |date=2 March 2005 |access-date=29 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/media/news/a19949/eastenders-hits-all-time-ratings-low/|title='EastEnders' hits all-time ratings low |website=Digital Spy |date=18 March 2005 |access-date=29 June 2013}}</ref> In 2006, ''EastEnders'' regularly attracted between 8 and 12 million viewers in official ratings.<ref name="19mil">"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5180518.stm EastEnders ratings hit record low]", BBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2007.</ref> ''EastEnders'' received its second lowest ratings on 17 May 2007, when 4.0&nbsp;million viewers tuned in. This was also the lowest ever audience share, with just 19.6 per cent. This was attributed to a conflicting one-hour special episode of ''Emmerdale'' on ITV1; however, ratings for the 10{{nbsp}}pm ''EastEnders'' repeat on BBC Three reached an all-time high of 1.4&nbsp;million. Despite this, there have been times when ''EastEnders'' had higher ratings than ''Emmerdale'', despite the two going head-to-head.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/05/18/eastenders-slumps-to-record-low-368211/|title=EastEnders slumps to record low|work=Metro|location=UK|date=19 May 2007|access-date=19 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/soap-ratings/news/a214742/eastenders-drops-to-59m/|title=EastEnders drops to 5.9&nbsp;m|website=[[Digital Spy]]|first=Kris|last=Green|date=16 April 2010|access-date=16 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jan/30/tvratings.television|title=TV ratings&nbsp;– January 29: EastEnders edges past Emmerdale|last=Tryhorn|first=Chris|date=30 January 2008|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=12 April 2017}}</ref>

The ratings increased in 2010, thanks to the "[[Who Killed Archie?]]" storyline and second wedding of [[Ricky Butcher]] ([[Sid Owen]]) and [[Bianca Jackson]] ([[Patsy Palmer]]), and the show's first [[EastEnders Live|live episode]] on 19 February 2010.<ref name="Lifeblood" /> The live-episode averaged 15.6&nbsp;million viewers, peaking at 16.6&nbsp;million in the final five minutes of broadcast.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8526006.stm|title=Live EastEnders watched by 16.6&nbsp;m |work=BBC News|date=20 February 2010|access-date=20 February 2010}}</ref> In January 2010, the average audience was higher than that of ''Coronation Street'' for the first time in three years.<ref name="Lifeblood" /> During the 30th anniversary week, in which there were live elements and the climax of the [[Who Killed Lucy Beale?]] storyline, 10.84&nbsp;million viewers tuned in for the 30th anniversary episode itself in an hour long special on 19 February 2015 (peaking with 11.9&nbsp;million). Later on in the same evening, a special flashback episode averaged 10.3&nbsp;million viewers, and peaked with 11.2&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a630233/eastenders-who-killed-lucy-shocks-bring-in-108m-on-thursday/|title=EastEnders: 'Who Killed Lucy?' shocks bring in 10.8m on Thursday|last=Kilkelly|first=Daniel|date=20 February 2015|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref> The following day, the anniversary week was rounded off with another fully live episode (the second after 2010) with 9.97&nbsp;million viewers watching the aftermath of the reveal, the Beale family finding out the truth of Lucy's killer and deciding to keep it a secret.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a630511/eastenders-live-brings-in-10-million-in-friday-ratings/|title=EastEnders Live brings in 10 million in Friday ratings|website=[[Digital Spy]]|date=21 February 2015|access-date=1 March 2015}}</ref> In 2013, the average audience share for an episode was around 30 per cent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a502337/coronation-street-79m-watch-paul-and-lloyds-showdown.html|title='Coronation Street': 7.9m watch Paul and Lloyd's showdown|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=9 August 2015|date=30 July 2013|archive-date=3 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803185341/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a502337/coronation-street-79m-watch-paul-and-lloyds-showdown.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the soap, ''EastEnders'' suffered a ratings drop after 2020. Despite once being the highest-rated soap, it dropped to third in the rankings in 2021, behind ''Coronation Street'' and ''Emmerdale'', with 4.09 million viewers. The BBC's head of drama, [[Piers Wenger]], explained that since the episode duration had been shortened and the airtime frequently suffered changes, it had led to the audience not knowing when to watch it. Digital Spy opined that the ratings drop was accredited to "lacklustre storylines" and thought that storylines on rival soaps were better.<ref>{{cite news |last1=West |first1=Amy |last2=Opie |first2=David |title=EastEnders' ratings struggles and shorter episodes addressed by BBC drama boss |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/a37944470/eastenders-ratings-decline-episodes-length-bbc/ |access-date=21 July 2022 |work=[[Digital Spy]] |publisher=([[Hearst Communications]]) |date=13 October 2021}}</ref> Later that year, ''EastEnders'' suffered its lowest rating ever, with 1.7 million viewers watching live. The ''[[Daily Mirror]]''{{'}}s Jamie Roberts felt that viewers had "turned their back" on the soap due to its lack of interesting stories and iconic characters.<ref name="Turned">{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Jamie |title=EastEnders slumps to lowest ever viewing figures as only 1.7 million tune in |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/eastenders-slumps-lowest-ever-viewing-24750660 |access-date=21 July 2022 |work=[[Daily Mirror]] |publisher=([[Reach plc]]) |date=13 August 2021}}</ref> Ratings expert Stephen Price also noted that the drop is partly due to the rise of [[streaming services]].<ref name="Turned" />

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Average, highest and lowest ratings for ''EastEnders'' by year
! scope="col" width="100px" | Year
! scope="col" width="80px" | Number of episodes
! scope="col" | Average viewers<br />(millions)<ref group="lower-greek">Official ratings are over a seven-day period up to 2014 and from 2022 onwards, and over a 28-day period from 2015 to 2021. Up to the end of 2001, but excluding 1996 and 1997, the rating was also combined with that of the omnibus (though for 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1998, some ratings are not combined, as noted).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-30/|title=Weekly top 30 programmes|publisher=[[BARB]]|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="BARB" />
! scope="col" | Highest rating<br />(millions)
! scope="col" | Lowest rating<br />(millions)
|-
| scope="row" | 1985
| 91
| 14.37
| 23.55
| 7.75
|-
| scope="row" | 1986
| 105
| 20.66
| 30.15
| 13.90
|-
| scope="row" | 1987
| 107
| 21.14
| 28.00
| 13.65
|-
| scope="row" | 1988
| 104
| 18.94
| 24.95
| 12.60
|-
| scope="row" | 1989
| 104
| 16.99
| 24.08
| 12.83
|-
| scope="row" | 1990
| 104
| 17.17
| 20.80
| 12.33
|-
| scope="row" | 1991
| 105
| 17.12
| 22.44
| 13.06
|-
| scope="row" | 1992
| 106
| 18.28
| 24.32
| 11.85
|-
| scope="row" | 1993<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 16 episodes are not combined with the omnibus.</ref>
| 105
| 17.90
| 23.21
| 10.47<ref group="lower-greek">This rating is not combined with the omnibus; the lowest rating for an episode with a combined rating was 12.87&nbsp;million.</ref>
|-
| scope="row" | 1994<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 52 episodes are not combined with the omnibus.</ref>
| 142
| 16.02
| 25.30
| 7.96<ref group="lower-greek">This rating is not combined with the omnibus; the lowest rating for an episode with a combined rating was 12.02&nbsp;million.</ref>
|-
| scope="row" | 1995<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 138 episodes are not combined with the omnibus.</ref>
| 157
| 14.54
| 22.02<ref group="lower-greek">This rating is combined with the omnibus; the highest rating for an episode without a combined rating was 19.69&nbsp;million.</ref>
| 7.88<ref group="lower-greek">This rating is not combined with the omnibus; the lowest rating for an episode with a combined rating was 13.89&nbsp;million.</ref>
|-
| scope="row" | 1996
| 161
| 14.65
| 17.92
| 7.73
|-
| scope="row" | 1997<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 10 episodes are unknown.</ref>
| 162
| 14.23
| 18.06
| 7.13
|-
| scope="row" | 1998<ref group="lower-greek">The ratings are not combined with the omnibus before 29 June 1998, but are combined thereafter.</ref>
| 161
| 14.75
| 22.14
| 8.01
|-
| scope="row" | 1999
| 169
| 15.87
| 20.89
| 10.89
|-
| scope="row" | 2000
| 163
| 15.47
| 20.89
| 9.64
|-
| scope="row" | 2001
| 179
| 15.92
| 23.18
| 11.27
|-
| scope="row" | 2002
| 211
| 11.95
| 16.97
| 8.33
|-
| scope="row" | 2003
| 210
| 12.58
| 16.66
| 8.58
|-
| scope="row" | 2004
| 209
| 11.32
| 14.80
| 6.83
|-
| scope="row" | 2005
| 209
| 10.19
| 14.34
| 6.76
|-
| scope="row" | 2006
| 207
| 9.16
| 12.33
| 4.11
|-
| scope="row" | 2007
| 208
| 8.87
| 14.38
| 4.29
|-
| scope="row" | 2008
| 208
| 8.42
| 11.73
| 5.30
|-
| scope="row" | 2009
| 209
| 8.43
| 11.67
| 5.02
|-
| scope="row" | 2010
| 204
| 9.35
| 16.41
| 4.99
|-
| scope="row" | 2011
| 211
| 9.02
| 11.42
| 5.74
|-
| scope="row" | 2012
| 206
| 8.23
| 11.31
| 5.53
|-
| scope="row" | 2013
| 212
| 7.72
| 10.03
| 5.42
|-
| scope="row" | 2014
| 206
| 7.20
| 9.09
| 4.58
|-
| scope="row" | 2015
| 209
| 7.17
| 11.60
| 5.43
|-
| scope="row" | 2016
| 210
| 6.94
| 9.47
| 4.83
|-
| scope="row" | 2017
| 209
| 6.68
| 8.41
| 4.19
|-
| scope="row" | 2018
| 206
| 6.12
| 7.81
| 4.56
|-
| scope="row" | 2019<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for five episodes are unknown.</ref>
| 210
| 5.60
| 7.36
| 4.16
|-
| scope="row" | 2020<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 25 episodes are unknown.</ref>
| 138
| 5.49
| 7.46
| 4.07
|-
| scope="row" | 2021<ref group="lower-greek">The viewing figures for 95 episodes are unknown.</ref>
| 209
| 4.36
| 5.59
| 2.54
|-
| scope="row" | 2022
| 209
| 3.72
| 5.16
| 2.28
|-
| scope="row" | 2023
| 210
| 3.59
| 5.45
| 2.64
|-
| scope="row" | 2024
| 210
| 3.54
| 5.58
| 1.38
|}