EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison has taken aim at the BBC soap for its "ridiculous, far-fetched" storylines, which she says "normalise violence".
The 57-year-old actress played Heather Trott from 2007 until 2012, when her character was killed by a young Ben Mitchell.
Cheryl has now slammed EastEnders for becoming "sensationalised" and said the soap desperately needs to go back to basics and cut down on the amount of killings.
"I am not the morality police but I do think EastEnders has lost its way a little. I think people are craving for something more relatable and familiar rather than sensationalised," she said in a new interview.
Cheryl added that the storylines have become "a bit far-fetched".
"I remember when Arthur Fowler nicked the Christmas fund was big news. Now it is all about how many people can be stabbed or shot in the Square.
"I don’t think that’s the right image for soaps to give. I think it is normalising violence to younger people," Cheryl told the Daily Star.
The actress said she was aware soaps try "to educate people on sensitive storylines", but said this is often overshadowed with storylines created for ratings.
She described it as "giving with one hand and then taking with another".
Cheryl's comments come after Danny Dyer, who played Mick Carter on EastEnders for nine years, said the show has lost its way.
Danny's character had been happily married to his childhood sweetheart Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) before parting ways, with Mick re-marrying Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks).
Danny decided to leave the show, with his last episode airing on Christmas Day.
Speaking about his departure, he said: "I didn't quite know who I was playing anymore. It was an odd thing."
He also claimed that fans had told him they had been switching off from EastEnders in recent years.
Danny told The Sun : "All I got for the past couple of years was, 'You still in that EastEnders? I don't watch it anymore.' Constantly, that was the thing.
"When I first came in there was like seven or eight million people watching it, of course because of streaming services and all that stuff a lot less people do watch it."
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
