EastEnders shorten baby swap storyline

'EastEnders' bosses are to cut short their controversial baby-swap storyline.

The soap has been swamped with more than 6,000 complaints over their current plot - which saw heartbroken Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) swapping her dead, lifeless baby with Kat Moon's (Jessie Wallace) newborn tot - and held an emergency meeting yesterday (06.01.11) to discuss terminating the thread earlier than its planned resolution next Christmas.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We have listened to what people have said and taken on board the complaints and are now rescheduling things and working on the final scripts.

"It is important that we listen to viewers because it is their soap after all.

"Filming will be done in the next few weeks and the storyline will end this spring, possibly by April."

It was claimed yesterday that Samantha has quit the show over the storyline, but her agent later issued a statement insisting her departure had been planned for "several months".

However, the 38-year-old actress remained tight-lipped on her reasons for leaving when quizzed.

She told the Daily Mail newspaper: "I understand why there has been a lot of complaints and anger about the storyline.

"I can confirm that I am leaving the show, but other that I can't really say."