EastEnders' fans left 'disappointed' by 'boring' festive episodes

Any long-time EastEnders fan would tell you that the BBC soap hasn’t had an “amazing” Christmas episode since 2007, with the entire Branning and Slater clan learning about Max’s affair with his son’s wife, Stacey, after his daughter made a DVD of the pair in action.

It was undeniable TV gold.

And although subsequent Christmas Day episodes have been enjoyable, shocking and devastating in equal measures, the show is still yet to reach the particular je ne sais quoi that the 2007 episode managed to achieve.

However, this year’s festive episodes have seen viewers more disappointed than ever before, with many fans taking to social media to blast the show for airing the most “boring” Christmas specials in history as the promise of Max Branning’s sensational return proved to be more than a little bit lack lustre.

With old character Michelle Fowler returning to the show on Christmas Eve, she took a lot of the focus for Christmas Day and Boxing Day – with many viewers simply not caring about her return, with her last being on our screens way back in 1995.

Fans have also grown tired of Phil Mitchell needing a new liver and again, many viewers were indifferent to the Christmas surprise that the hospital had found a match and last night’s news that his transplant had been a success aired to a lukewarm response.

Lee Carter’s arrest was also a surprise but viewers argued that it seemed like an after-thought, with barely any action happening as a result of it.

To top it all off, “Max’s return” saw our favourite ginger lothario only appear on our screens at the very end of Christmas Day’s hour-long ep, barely featuring in yesterday’s episode either.

Needless to say, viewers are not happy and have blasted the show on social media:

Here’s hoping that the BBC are able to pull it out of the bag for their New Year specials, which are reportedly going to see sisters Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell tragically die on the day of Ronnie’s wedding.