I love EastEnders but the Queen Vic fire is terribly flawed and unoriginal – here’s why

EASTENDERS are blowing up the Queen Vic – again – as they’ve clearly run out of ideas ahead of their 40th anniversary.

Fans – and critics – often accuse soap operas of recycling plots every couple of years.

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This can sometimes be justified, but sometimes unavoidable, as writers attempt to hold a mirror up to society and raise awareness of important issues affecting communities.

In this year’s Coronation Street, Bethany Platt left her family worried for her life as she woke up in a foreign hospital to learn she would wear an ostomy bag for the rest of her life, after undergoing botched liposuction .

A similar story will undoubtedly arise again, as there will be many more Bethanys with body dysmorphia in the years to come, such is the world we live in.

However, there’s no excuse for EastEnders bosses to bomb The Queen Vic pub again.

Granted, the last time the place caught fire was 14 years ago, when Phil Mitchell threw that trusty match to the ground in front of his devastated mother, Peggy.

It was event television and fans were captivated as the Beeb perfectly broadcast the late Dame Barbara Windsor’s final scenes – at that time anyway – as she bowed out after years in the role.

The storyline made perfect sense to fans and did justice to Peggy’s decision to leave Walford; the pub was everything to her and now it’s been destroyed.

Can the foundations of the Walford institution really take another blow? I would like to know how much the current owners, Elaine Peacock and George Knight, spend each month on housing.

Earlier this month, The Sun reported how EastEnders would spot a huge booze explosion that would “rip the Vic apart”.

Situated right in the center of Albert Square, the Queen Vic is the epicenter of drama, from furious tantrums to scandalous antics and has been home to the most iconic Walford matriarchs.

Fiery alcoholic Angie Watts and her husband Den once resided there, as did Peggy Mitchell of course, Sharon Watts, Kat Slater, Pat Butcher – and not to mention Chrissie Watts after she overthrew her husband Den and took control.

It’s synonymous with EastEnders and such an easy target for screenwriting and lazy story ideas. Couldn’t we blow up the Minute Mart? Surely it would make sense to explain the decision to go back to that horrible green color.

While £87 million was spent of taxpayers’ money to fund the brand new EastEnders set and complex at Elstree, after going £27 million over budget and being delivered four years late – may -maybe we are not destroying it?

Alex DoyleSun TV journalist

We know the pub will still be part of The Square and not become expensive, mouth-watering shoeboxes, so what’s the point in blowing it up just so viewers know it will eventually reopen?

Last year alone showed us that soap operas don’t need big storylines to engage their fans and keep them tuning in. This time last year, we were bracing ourselves for the much-anticipated reveal of the identity of the corpse on the floor of The Vic. on Christmas Day.

Outgoing executive producer Chris Clenshaw left fans speechless, dismayed as the credits rolled, reeling after watching Linda Carter kill Keanu Taylor in defense of her best friend Sharon.

The scenes sit easily on the highly esteemed pedestal of Christmas Day best moments, close to 2007, when Tanya and Bradley Branning – along with the wider family – learned that their respective partners were having an affair.

Last year we lost the BBC medical series Doctors due to rising costs in the production sector and they show no signs of reduction, with Casualty having already reduced the number of episodes in a bid to stay on the air.

Earlier this year, Beeb bosses announced plans to sell the land currently home to EastEnders in order to raise funds.

While £87 million was spent of taxpayers’ money to fund the brand new EastEnders set and complex at Elstree, after going £27 million over budget and being delivered four years late – may -maybe we are not destroying it?