EastEnders boss says soap is exploring "uncharted territory" under new producer
Ben Wadey recently took the helm from Chris Clenshaw after the latter's highly successful stint in charge.
Former EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw enjoyed a hugely successful run at the helm of the soap before stepping down following the 40th anniversary celebrations in February – and so his successor Ben Wadey has quite the job on his hands in following him.
But according to the BBC's Head of Continuing Drama, Kate Oates, not only is Wadey ready to take on that challenge, he's also set to take the soap into "uncharted territory" in the coming months.
Speaking at the winners' press conference after the soap won the award for Best Soap and Continuing Drama at the 2025 BAFTA TV Awards, Oates gave a little insight into what fans can expect in the near future.
"We can tease that all those heartland characters have some really, really big stuff coming up, actually," she explained.
"We've got some uncharted territory, which considering we're following on the heels of Mr Clenshaw is quite an accolade, because he has broken quite a lot of fresh ground, so I think the challenge for Ben [Wadey] who is our new exec has been to carry on after Chris's success, but he is very much ready to do that and we're excited as a team."
She added: "We're going to miss Chris terribly, but we're also really excited for what's to come."
EastEnders' win in the Best Soap and Continuing Drama category marked the first time it had won the award in 2019 – with the soap beating off competition from Coronation Street and last year's winners Casualty to win the accolade.
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Going into the ceremony, which included performances by Jessie J and Tom Grennan, the most nominated shows included Baby Reindeer, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Rivals and Slow Horses, all vying to win big on the night.
In the end, Mr Bates vs The Post Office picked up the award for Best Limited Drama, while Baby Reindeer also garnered attention, with Jessica Gunning winning Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Other notable winners included Mr Loverman, which secured awards for both Leading Actor (Lennie James) and Supporting Actor (Ariyon Bakare), and Alma's Not Normal, which won Best Scripted Comedy.
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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
