EastEnders denies basing 35th anniversary storyline on 1989 Marchioness Disaster

EastEnders’ 35th anniversary plot has come under fire for being too similar to a real-life tragedy.

A number of Walford residents will attend a boat party on the River Thames next week, but chaos ensues when the vessel becomes flooded after an incident on board.

At least one character will lose their life as EastEnders marks being on air for three-and-a-half-decades, however the BBC One soap has been accused of aping the 1989 Marchioness disaster, in which 51 people perished when a pleasure steamer was struck by a dredger on the Thames.

In response to a trailer for the storyline, one of the survivors of the tragedy, Mark Brewer-Sage, told The Sun: “The trailer with the boat going through the central arch of Southwark Bridge gave me major anxiety. I don’t see this as a coincidence. They could have shot on any of the other bridges.”

However, Aunty Beeb has disputed the filming location, noting that no climactic scenes were shot near Southwark Bridge. A mouthpiece for the corporation also denied that the storyline was based on the real-life tragedy.

“EastEnders is a fictional drama and isn’t based on any real life events; we always carefully consider the content of our episodes.” – BBC Spokesperson