EastEnders exec responds to Danielle outrage

Diederick Santer has responded to the reaction to Danielle’s death on the show’s official website.

Since the wedding episode on Thursday evening (2^nd April), furious fans who wanted to see a happy ending for long-lost mother and daughter Ronnie Mitchell (Sam Janus) and Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) have petitioned for the character of Danielle to be brought back from the dead, with some threatening to stage a boycott.

“It’s fantastic to have made such an impact. I knew from the shiver I felt every time we talked about the story, my tension when I read the script, and my own feelings of devastation for Danielle and Ronnie when I watched the director’s cut, that we were telling an incredibly emotional story and that the audience would have strong feelings about it.” – Diederick Santer

Nearly 11m viewers tuned in to the controversial instalment of the BBC One soap last week which saw Danielle finally reveal her true identity to Ronnie, who promptly rejected her having been convinced by her evil father Archie (Larry Lamb) that the child she had given up for adoption had died.

Ronnie later realised that Danielle was telling the truth but just as the pair were on the cusp of reuniting, Danielle was knocked down and killed by Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks). The drama unfolded shortly after Peggy and Archie had tied the knot with Peggy throwing Archie out after his cruel deceit was exposed.

“I didn’t expect this level of reaction. The story seems to have really touched people, got under their skin and in some cases utterly enraged them. Thats fantastic! All you ever hope for as a programme-maker is to connect with your audience and get them to care.” – Diederick Santer