Fans of EastEnders have spoken out in praise of Ben Wadey’s influence on the soap as he enters his second week as Executive Producer. Last week, the new boss took over from Chris Clenshaw, heralding a new era of EastEnders.
In his first episode in the position, Ben introduced the return of Zoe Slater, while also putting paid to the marriage of George and Elaine Knight, and continuing Joel Marshall’s dark descent into the manosphere.
A strong start to Ben’s new job, but the real test will be what the soap looks like on a regular basis. And, as Ben’s second week as Executive Producer begins, viewers are already noticing big changes.
EastEnders fans full of praise as Ben Wadey era enters its second week
Reacting to Monday’s episode on Reddit, fans of the soap shared their thoughts on how Ben was doing in the job. And many agreed that the marked change from ‘block’ storytelling – in which the soap concentrates on one or two storylines at a time, while forgetting about others – was a good thing.
“Am I the only one who really likes how the storylines are all running alongside each other now and we’re even getting glimpses of other characters so the square just feels more alive?” asked one fan.
“Dare I say my favourite episode in a long while. Such a range of stories and character interactions,” another agreed.
“Hopefully they keep this up. It is far better than the block storytelling enforced by Clenshaw,” said a third.
Remember Vinny Panesar? Ben Wadey does
In addition, it also seemed to be utilising more of the cast – including the lesser-spotted Vinny Panesar, who’s been keeping a low profile for a while. To many, this was symptomatic of Ben’s approach to storytelling.
“I liked how we got to see a lot more of the cast today. It felt less disconnected than usual,” wrote one viewer on Reddit.
“Ben Wadey definitely already doing us justice, episodes are feeling better since last week,” said a second.
“Vinny! I’m liking the new producer already as we are seeing characters Chris seemed to forget about!” another exclaimed.
What do you make of Ben’s run so far?
Read more: Who’s leaving EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One
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