‘EastEnders’ bosses have defended Friday night’s episode of the BBC soap, which saw Jane Beale come a cropper at the hands of her son, Bobby.
Shocked viewers took to Twitter after watching scenes in which Bobby attacked his screen mum with a hockey stick.
Some complained that the scenes, which included blood repeatedly splattering onto a wedding cake, were unsuitable for pre-watershed viewing.
But now the BBC has defended the scenes, insisting that fans of the show expect ‘dramatic storylines’.
A BBC spokesperson said: “EastEnders is a fictional drama and our millions of regular fans who tune in each week know and expect dramatic storylines.
"However we are always mindful of our time slot in which we are shown and we ensure all scenes are editorially justified.
"The scenes in question were the crescendo of a long running storyline that has shown Bobby to have previous violent tendencies.
"Viewers will soon see Bobby arrested by Police and he and his family will be facing up to his behaviour in the most serious of ways.”
Bobby, who has already murdered his sister, attacked Jane after she stopped him from running away from home.
After three sickening blows to her head, Jane is seen slumping to the floor, with Stacey and Martin's wedding cake becoming covered in blood.
‘EastEnders’ airs weeknights on BBC One at 8pm.
