Peggy Mitchell’s death was seen by almost half of all UK TV viewers on Tuesday (17 May) night, new figures have revealed.
The much-hyped ‘EastEnders’ episode attracted an average of 6.9 million viewers (via the Guardian).
At its peak, the episode was being watched by eight million viewers, which was a 41% share of the audience.
While the figures are impressive by today’s standards, they are nowhere near as high as in years gone by.
The famous ‘Who shot Phil?’ storyline conclusion pulled in 19 million viewers, while the revelation that Stacey Branning murdered Archie Mitchell was seen by 17 million.
Barbara Windsor and the ‘EastEnders’ team won praise for the emotional show, which saw the iconic former pub landlady take her own life.
However, Dame Barbara was nearly upstaged by Pam St Clement, who reprised her role of Pat Butcher, for Peggy’s final scene.
In tonight’s (19 May) episode, viewers will see Phil Mitchell discover that his mother is dead.
Later this month, Peggy will be given a fitting send-off, with Danniella Westbrook returning to Walford for her on-screen mum’s funeral.
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