List of abandoned EastEnders storylines

This is a list of abandoned EastEnders storylines.

IRA Bombing (1989)
When producer Mike Gibbon took the helm as head of the serial in 1989, he employed writer David Yallop to pen storylines that controversially killed off various characters in the show. According to Yallop, the decision to axe the characters was dependent of the talent of the actors portraying them. Yallop stated that Pete Beale was among the characters to be killed. The storyline never came to fruition because Gibbon's controversial plots were not sanctioned by the BBC and Yallop's storylines were not used; Yallop sued the BBC for termination of contract, at which time the finer details of the proposed plots were disclosed to the media.

Despite this, in 1991, EastEnders' storyline editor Andrew Holden described Pete as "almost synonymous" with the programme because he had been there since day one. He added, "[Characters like Pete] carry a lot of history. Original characters are very precious things. [Pete] has always seen himself as a family man and in the future we see him making a determined effort to put his family back together. Whatever happens he'll always carry a torch for Kathy". According to Holden at that time, Pete was "an untouchable", not in danger of being killed off.

Steven Beale Death (1989)
According to former EastEnders writer, David Yallop, it had been agreed in September 1989, that Steven Beale would be killed off in the serial. This was part of producer Mike Gibbon's plan to increase the ratings by culling a large number of the soap's long-running cast. Yallop said, "We had to reach a decision with the illegitimate child who was in the process of being born as a result of an earlier storyline. We wanted to know what to do with it. Either the child would be allowed to live or it would die. They decided to make the child 'seriously ill', but the reprieve was temporary. In Episode 606, I resolved the problem." He claimed that on his draft of the storyline he wrote the words "Baby die". The plot never came to fruition, as Gibbon was abruptly replaced as the soap's boss and Yallop's plots were scrapped.

Cot Death (2011)
The BBC cut short the cot death story due to over 6,000 complaints. Aware of the likely sensitivity around the issue, programme-makers had already made last-minute cuts to the New Year's Eve episode, including shots of a distraught Ronnie touching the cold hand of her dead baby, and Kat in blood-soaked pyjamas after her husband finds her haemorrhaging in her bed.

There were also suggestions today that some of the show's script writers were reluctant to take part in the harrowing plot.

Is Vincent Hubbard still alive? (2018)
While we wouldn’t mind Richard Blackwood resurfacing as the missing Vincent at some point in the future, his departure brings unwelcome memories of all that tepid Aidan Maguire gangsterism back into focus. EastEnders is never at its strongest when its main storylines see supposedly alpha males all squaring up to each other and arguing over money. And has there been a more bizarre character than vampy Ciara Maguire in recent memory? And, while we’re at it, why didn’t she turn up when her brother Ray was shot dead?