EastEnders cut kidnap plot

EastEnders bosses have adapted a storyline about a missing baby due to similarities with the Madeleine McCann case in Portugal.

Character Dawn Swann, played by Kara Tointon, is currently pregnant and writers had planned a kidnap plot with her baby being snatched, but due to the publicity over the missing four-year-old this has now been dropped.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "In the current circumstances it was felt any storyline that included child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers."

Madeleine, from Rothley in Leicestershire, went missing in the Algarve on May 3rd and the efforts to find her have captured widespread media and public attention.

The EastEnders storyline will now be substantially re-written before being shown over the summer.

This follows a similar decision by Coronation Street producers earlier this month, who axed a plot to kidnap baby Freddie Peacock - again due to the resonance with current events in Portugal.

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