THE former boss of Hollyoaks is being brought in to take the helm at EastEnders.
Bryan Kirkwood will be made executive producer of BBC1’s flagship soap, as it was revealed Diederick Santer will step down from his tenure after the show’s 25th anniversary in February next year.
During his three years as EastEnders boss, Santer has overseen powerful storylines about paedophilia and bipolar disorder, and spearheaded the 2007 Christmas Day episode which exposed Max and Stacey’s affair and was the most-watched programme that year, with 14.38m viewers.
He has been responsible for the creation of the Mitchell sisters and the Masood family, as well as the return of much-loved characters such as Ricky Butcher, Bianca Jackson and Sam Mitchell.
He also recently announced the launch of an on-line spin off venture, E20.
Santer said: “It’s without doubt the best job in telly, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
He added that Kirkwood was a vastly talented and original producer “with a brilliant storylining mind”.
