Tom Harrington was quoted in The Telegraph on "£87m for a pub? How the BBC justifies its shiny new EastEnders set"
2 March 2022Tom said “The problem soaps have is that MPs and journalists look down on them, but the audience still loves them. Around 80 per cent of soap viewing is live, while for most drama that’s below 50 per cent. Soap storylines boost mainstream broadcasters’ PSB [public-service broadcasting] credentials. They can run a domestic-violence plot line – that’s usually the only broadsheet press they get – and put it in a naturalistic setting. If the BBC is about reaching as many people as possible to inform, educate and entertain, then EastEnders is a very cheap way to do that.”