BBC pulls EastEnders from schedules tonight and replaces with another major show

EastEnders has been pulled from BBC One’s schedule this evening – but there’s good news for fans still hoping to catch the next instalment today.

The BBC is airing coverage of Sports Personality of the Year on Tuesday, meaning the residents of Walford have vacated their usual 7.30pm slot.

The soap will continue to air on Wednesday and Thursday at the same time on BBC One, with an additional episode scheduled on Friday at 7.30pm to make up for Tuesday’s cancelled edition.

However, while there is no episode on scheduled TV tonight, fans can still catch the latest action from Albert Square over on BBC iPlayer, where Wednesday’s edition has already dropped.

This means iPlayer viewers will be ahead of other fans for the rest of the week, with episodes continuing to drop at their normal time of 6am from Tuesday to Thursday.

Monday’s EastEnders saw the soap air a special format-breaking episode, as alcoholic Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) was presented with her own deathly future if she did not stop drinking.

Fans were led to believe the Queen Vic landlady had died after another night of alcohol abuse as she vomited blood and breathed her last breath on a bench outside the chippy.

Fans feared Linda had died in Monday’s EastEnders (Picture: BBC)

The action then fast-forwarded to the day of Linda’s funeral, where the fractured Carter family were at odds over her death.

Her children Lee and Nancy Carter (Danny Hatchard and Maddy Hill) returned and struggled to help brother Johnny (Charlie Suff) come to terms with events, while Linda’s mum Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) carried the burden of her daughter’s demise.

As Nancy then threatened to take custody of Linda’s younger children Ollie and Annie from Elaine, the action cut back to Albert Square in the present day, where confronted with her future, Linda chose to put down the bottle and agree to go to rehab.

Meanwhile, the soap is gearing up for huge scenes to air in this year’s Christmas Day double bill, where Cindy Beale’s (Michelle Collins) secret affair with Junior Knight (Micah Balfour) implodes in spectacular fashion.

EastEnders is streaming from 6am on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with episodes airing on BBC One at 7.30pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.