Eastenders executive Diederick Santer has admitted that bringing back Dirty Den in 2002 was a big mistake for the TV show.

He said: “There was a phase in EastEnders when it became too accelerated and a bit unbelievable. The return of Dirty Den in 2002 says it all.

“He was dead. You can’t bring him back. It’s a Bobby Ewing in the shower moment. It undermined the show and did lasting damage.”

Santer, who was hired to help improve ratings for the long-running programme when figures slumped to 3.9 million last year, has also identified the loss of key characters as having a harmful effect.

He said: “Two or three years ago the show lost Shane Richie, Jessie Wallace, Kacey Ainsworth and Letitia Dean. They were the heart of the show.

“It can’t be underestimated what a challenge it was to have those characters move at once. I think we’re still recovering.”