'Nearly 9,000' complain about EastEnders baby swap

Almost 9,000 complaints have now been made about EastEnders controversial cot death storyline - the most ever for a storyline in the soap.

As of Saturday, the BBC is reported to have received around 8,400 complaints about the storyline, in which Ronnie Branning, played by actress Samantha Womack, swaps her cot-death son for Kat Moon's baby.

A further 400 are reported to have complained to media watchdog Ofcom, bringing the total number to nearly 9,000.

The Sun reports that BBC chiefs have turned to campaign group Mumsnet for help with storylines, after it said that the plot made bereaved mums look "deranged".

Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood revealed on Friday that the plot will be brought to an early end in the Spring, ahead of actress Samantha Womack's departure from the show in May.

"Whenever we embark on a story we always leave it open-ended to monitor reaction," he explained.

Meanwhile The Mirror reports that the ending to the storyline will be "soft and emotional" in response to the controversy.

"When Kat Moon is finally reunited with her son, the focus will be on her happiness at discovering the child she was thought was dead is alive and well," an insider told the paper.