'Enders boss delighted by viewing figures

Departing EastEnders boss Diederick Santer has expressed his delight over the viewing figures for last night's 25th anniversary live episode.

The half-hour live edition of the Walford soap, which featured Stacey's confession of Archie's murder and Bradley's untimely death, averaged 14.91m viewers, peaking at 16.58m in the final five minutes.

Of the show's success, executive producer Santer this afternoon said: "To get this incredible response from the audience is truly remarkable - these numbers go far beyond what we ever hoped for. I am so proud of our cast and crew for their incredible performance last night. This rating is the icing on our silver anniversary cake."

Controller of BBC One Jay Hunt commented: "Last night's extraordinary live episode was a fitting celebration of 25 magnificent years for EastEnders. The audience were clearly gripped by one of the greatest soap whodunnits ever."

Meanwhile, BBC Three's EastEnders Live: The Aftermath show, fronted by George Lamb, logged the highest ever ratings for a multichannel programme, drawing 4.3m (15.9%) in the hour immediately following the live ep.

Controller BBC Three Danny Cohen added: "It is an amazing testament to the EastEnders team and the brave and brilliant drama they provided."

> Click here for full EastEnders 25th anniversary coverage