Fenwick backs 'gritty' Walford plots

EastEnders star Perry Fenwick has praised the show's producers for their "bold" approach to storytelling.

The actor, who plays Billy Mitchell, claimed that the BBC One soap is more "gritty" than its rivals Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.

Last year, the programme sparked complaints from viewers after screening a paedophilia plot involving Tony King (Chris Coghill), teenager Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and Walford favourite Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer).

The plot was later cleared by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, which ruled that producers had tackled the issue "appropriately and sensitively".

Reflecting on the row, Fenwick told PA: "I think we dare to go a little bit further with certain stories. We've done the Tony and Bianca story and initially there was a bit of a kickoff about that - people were saying: 'Oh, it's all miserable, why are you doing that?'

"They don't realise that we actually get asked by charities and organisations to tackle these things because it can do a lot of good, because it's a massive audience. Usually the response is, once the stories have gone out, that phone lines get jammed and hopefully we help a few people out."

He added: "We do it to entertain and we hopefully act it well. We do all the other stuff that the other soaps do but we're just a little bit grittier."