'EastEnders' to stay at Elstree Studios

BBC soap EastEnders is to remain at its Elstree Studios base in Hertfordshire "for the foreseeable future", it has been confirmed.

According to The Guardian, a new deal has been signed which will keep the Walford drama in its long-established home for another four years.

Previous reports had often suggested that EastEnders could move elsewhere, with Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire regularly being tipped as one potential new location.

However, a BBC spokeswoman has now confirmed: "There are no plans for EastEnders to move from Elstree - the production will remain at this site for the foreseeable future."

Meanwhile, a source said: "EastEnders is definitely going to stay in Elstree. A new contract has been signed."

The news means that the programme's existing sets are likely to require upgrades in order to meet the demands of high definition. In an interview with DS last May, then executive producer Diederick Santer confessed that some of EastEnders' exterior locations would not "pass muster" if the higher-quality filming was introduced.

Elstree Studios has been the soap's home since its inception 25 years ago.