When Janine Butcher pushed Barry Evans off a cliff in EastEnders, it really was a cliff-hanger.
But with many viewers now used to binge-watching series, such suspense would be short-lived as they want to devour the next episode straight away.
Now actor Shaun Williamson, who played Barry, says the soap must become a box set show if it’s going to survive.
Shaun, 55, thinks an entire week’s episodes will have to be made available at once, as happens on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.
“They’ve got to be careful,” warns Shaun. “Now, you can download The Crown and watch one series in a day."
"You’ve got Netflix doing these incredible things so there’s so much more competition," he added.
Asked if EastEnders should revert to a similar model, he said: “I think that’s inevitable, I think the BBC will change because everything is changing."
"We’ll get to the stage where you will get the choice to buy BBC Radio 2. I’m talking 20 years down the line," he adds.
Shaun also fears Eastenders and Coronation Street are no longer event television, due to the number of episodes each week.
“EastEnders has lost it’s specialness and Corrie is on five times a week,” added Shaun.
“It’s an incredible achievement. It means they’re making a movie a week, which is unbelievable really, but people just become overfamiliar with it.”
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