The Guardian's TV previewer, Gareth McLean, has an arresting idea: rather than adding more weekly episodes, as the BBC is thinking of doing with EastEnders, why don't the TV soaps give viewers and their hard pressed cast, crew and writers a seasonal rest with a summer holiday?
Here's a thought: why not take EastEnders - and Coronation Street and Emmerdale - off air for eight weeks during the summer to give the producers, writers, cast and crew time to catch their breath?
The hiatus would allow for the introduction of a bit of quality control that, thanks to the treadmill schedules on which all three soaps currently operate, is clearly absent.
In other words, adopt an adapted American model whereby the soap can end on a cliffhanger at the end of June and have audiences dangling until September when, you'd hope, viewers would return in greater numbers.
Or the soaps can just plough on, producing more episodes of lower quality attracting fewer viewers.
