'EastEnders' exec "proud" of baby swap plot

EastEnders' executive producer Bryan Kirkwood has revealed that he is "proud" of the soap's controversial baby swap storyline.

Speaking at the British Academy Television Awards, Kirkwood revealed that he was "thrilled" that the show had won 'Best Continuing Drama'.

"I think it's well deserved after the amount of hard work the team puts in 52 weeks of the year," he said. "It's a great company of professionals. I'm delighted after the year we've had."

He continued: "I think all the shows have been on top form this year, particularly Coronation Street - they've been on really, really strong form. I think in terms of EastEnders we just make the best EastEnders we can make. There isn't really a special ingredient."

However, cast member John Partridge suggested that "secrets and lies" are the key to EastEnders' success.

"The audience love it when they know something that you don't," he said. "Whether you liked the baby swap storyline or you didn't, whether it was controversial or it wasn't, the audience was looking in on that and they knew something we didn't. And 12m people were looking in on that story, and it was captivating."

Kirkwood added: "We're really proud of that story, actually. It attracted a great deal of scrutiny but I think the resolution that happened in April was EastEnders at its best. That was representative of why we told the story in the first place. It was captivating, it was beautifully performed... [Now] we're just going to keep on doing what we do and trying to keep on telling good storylines."

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