Ofcom has criticised an episode of EastEnders in which a pregnant woman went into premature labour after a gang attacked the Queen Vic pub.

The media regulator said the BBC1 soap breached broadcasting regulations with a sustained, intense and high level of violence that was inappropriate for a pre-watershed programme.

Ofcom, which received 78 complaints about the episode, rejected the BBC's defence that viewers had been warned about the scene by an on-air announcement immediately before the show.

At the start of the episode the channel's continuity announcer told viewers: And first a powerful EastEnders as a peaceful night is shattered. Things are about to turn very ugly at the Vic.

The BBC said the high level of complaints was down to viewers' fears that Honey had lost her baby, rather than the violent scenes themselves.

But Ofcom said that only 13 out of the 78 complaints about the episode had referred to Honey's baby.

Although EastEnders is not made specifically for children it does attract a significant child audience, and any portrayal of violence needs to be carefully considered, the regulator added.

The programme started with the gang attack on the Queen Vic. This involved a sustained, intense and high level of violence, destroying parts of the pub with hammers and bottles and glasses smashing into the furniture, to intimidate the locals, some of whom were injured.

Regular viewers of EastEnders are aware that this soap deals, on occasions, with tough social issues. This is balanced, however, with the expectation that it will be suitable for children to view, who form a significant minority of the audience.

A scene in BBC One soap EastEnders which showed a character being buried alive has prompted 167 complaints.

The episode, shown at 8pm on Friday night, showed character Max Branning being buried alive in a coffin by his wife and her lover.

Viewers complained that it should not have been shown before the 9pm watershed because children could find it disturbing.

The BBC said the number of complaints was proportionately small. EastEnders is known for its dramatic and gripping storylines and, from a total audience of 10 million, the number of complaints is relatively small, a spokeswoman said.

In the episode, viewers saw Max's wife, Tanya, spike his drink, causing him to collapse. She and her lover, Sean Slater, then drove Max to woodland where they buried him alive in a coffin.

The BBC has apologised to viewers for a Good Friday edition of EastEnders in which a character was apparently buried alive in a coffin. The broadcaster did not wait for the TV censor Ofcom to investigate the programme, which sparked 167 complaints.

Viewers said the scenes of philanderer Max Branning being placed unconscious into a coffin by his wife Tanya and her lover, were inappropriate for a pre-watershed programme watched by families.

The BBC said: The burial is in no way glamorised or glorified, rather we see that when pushed to the edge, Tanya’s behaviour becomes out of character, and indeed that it’s Tanya herself who ultimately suffers because of her actions. Once again we are sorry that you did not enjoy these episodes.

The scenes were carefully filmed and edited in order that Max’s ordeal was in the main implicit, rather than explicit, whilst still retaining their powerfulness. The character ultimately escaped alive.

Eastenders scenes in which a love-cheat was drugged and buried alive by his wife have been criticised by the BBC's complaints unit.

The corporation's internal watchdog said the storyline involving the characters Max and Tanya Branning caused unintentional upset among a segment of the audience.

The BBC had previously defended the Easter holiday episodes after they prompted more than 150 complaints.

They claimed they had taken "great care" to flag up the nature of the episode before it was broadcast.

Regulator Ofcom is investigating the shows, in which Max was eventually let out, after 118 viewers complained.

An EastEnders storyline which involved a live burial has been ruled "offensive" by Ofcom.

The TV censor received 116 complaints from viewers who thought the scenes, featuring character Max Branning, were "unsuitable" for the time of broadcast.

The BBC said the storyline, aired in March, was crafted in a "responsible manner" and took into account any pre-watershed audience "sensitivity". But Ofcom has ruled that the BBC was in breach of its rules.

'The BBC noted that the two episodes involved "no explicit violence" and the lead up to the burial scenes were "carefully paced with several indications of the direction of the storyline offered". However, the Corporation admitted more than 600 complaints had been made following two pre-watershed episodes which saw Branning drugged, put into a coffin and buried alive by his wife, Tanya.

Ofcom said the scenes of the burial alive had a seriously disturbing element to them. Overall the storyline and its treatment had more in common with a dark psychological thriller than a pre-watershed drama. Further, in our view, the information supplied at the start of the programmes did not adequately prepare viewers for the extent of the distressing scenes that followed. For the reasons already stated the scenes of Max being buried alive were offensive and not justified by the context.

The BBC has defended violent scenes in EastEnders following complaints from viewers.

The episode saw the death of character Jase Dyer, played by Stephen Lord, with one viewer complaining that his wife was "physically sick" while his 13-year-old son was reduced to tears.

While we acknowledge that this was a particularly dramatic episode, we were very careful to make sure that any actual violence was implied rather than explicit, and it was made clear from the outset that Jase's life was in serious jeopardy, said the BBC on its complaints website.

We do appreciate that some viewers found the images of Jase's dead body uncomfortable; however, in trying to fully convey Jay's loss and depth of emotion, we felt it was necessary for viewers to see what he was seeing.

EastEnders was also criticised by Ofcom for an episode in February featuring a gang attacking the Queen Vic pub, during which one of the characters went into labour.

The corporation published a response today following complaints from viewers that the episode "contained too much violence".

This was the climax of a long-running story involving Jase and his former 'firm', and we believe this was the outcome that many viewers would have been anticipating in the context of this storyline, the BBC said.

While issues of violence and knife crime may be in the news currently, they were not glamorised or glorified in any way within this episode. Rather, we saw the devastating consequences of such actions and the clear message was that crime does not pay.

Update: 130

31st August 2008

Around 130 people are reported to have complained.

The Scenes of a paedophile preying on a teenager in pre-watershed soap EastEnders has led to scores of complaints.

Viewers have hit out at what has been dubbed the most controversial story-line on the show ever, featuring a man's relationship with a 15-year-old girl.

Viewers were introduced to new expendable character Tony, boyfriend of Bianca, who has just been released from prison.

The character of Tony King, will abuse his stepdaughter Whitney Dean in a new EastEnders plot. But his character is shown have a romantic relationship with schoolgirl Whitney, who is the step-daughter of Bianca.

Tony has been shown kissing the girl passionately after sneaking into her bedroom while his girlfriend was in the bath on Friday night's episode.

The programme depicts the girl's character as a willing participant in the romance, something which has also upset some viewers.

There have already been almost 70 complaints to the BBC and Ofcom and the storyline has only just been introduced on the long-running soap.

One said: 'I am totally disturbed by tonight's episode...I can barely talk. The storyline with Whitney & Tony is terrible. I am aware this type of abuse is going on in some homes but is this really the only way to get the message across.

Another added: I too find this quite distasteful for a programme scheduled in the early evening...I watch soaps for enjoyment, not for public service messages.

The BBC said the episodes had been incredibly carefully thought through and that the broadcaster had worked with the NSPCC on the storyline.

Update: More

18th September 2008

The BBC has now received 138 complaints and Ofcom 27 about the storyline.

Update: Even More

19th September 2008

More than 200 complaints have been lodged with the BBC and Ofcom

The BBC has received around 110 complaints over EastEnders' treatment of the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

The September 11 episode of the soap saw Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) snacking on a chapatti during daylight hours behind his market stall 'Masala Masood'.

When confronted by Jane Beale (Laurie Brett), Masood branded himself a bad person, before going to on explain how difficult he is finding fasting when he's selling food all day.

The BBC has defended the scene, which sparked complaints from viewers, and has issued a statement. It said: We would like to assure viewers it was not our intention to insult Muslim or Islamic values.

Within shows such as EastEnders we try to treat our characters as individuals with their own sets of behaviours and opinions, regardless of their religion, race or sexuality and, as in real life, they do not always strictly follow all the laws, traditions and customs of their religions.

Although Masood is a practising Muslim, he has his own fallibilities as a human being. Our intention was never to focus primarily on the religion, but on the character's ability to meet the standards he aspires to in life.

More than 150 people who complained after two gay men kissed on BBC soap EastEnders have been told by the corporation that they treat gay and straight relationships in the same way.

Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and his new boyfriend Lee Thompson (Carl Ferguson) kissed on bench in Albert Square's gardens during Tuesday night's episode.

They were spotted by Christian character Dot Cotton (June Brown) who commented: the Lord’s not the only one with eyes.

In response to 145 complaints, some about the fact that the kiss had been shown before the watershed, the BBC said: EastEnders aims to reflect real life, and this means including and telling stories about characters from many different backgrounds, faiths, religions and sexualities. We approach our portrayal of homosexual relationships in the same way as we do heterosexual relationships. In this instance, Christian is enjoying the first flush of romance and we've shown him being affectionate with his new boyfriend in the same way any couple would. We also aim to ensure that depictions of affection or sexuality between couples are suitable for pre-watershed viewing. We believe that the general tone and content of EastEnders is now widely recognised, meaning that parents can make an informed decision as to whether they want their children to watch.

Anl EastEnders episode that featured a violent stabbing was acceptable for a pre-watershed audience, Ofcom has ruled.

The TV censor has rejected 45 complaints that an episode of the BBC1 soap broadcast on 28 August was too violent.

The episode featured the death of ex-football hooligan Jase Dyer, who was stabbed in the chest by his former gang leader Terry Bates.

The BBC itself received 134 complaints from viewers but defended the scenes on the grounds that the violence was implied rather than explicit.