EastEnders will air FINAL episode TONIGHT as BBC soap RUNS OUT of new instalments for the first time

EastEnders will finally run out of episodes on Tuesday night, having been shut down amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Production on BBC One’s veteran soap came to a halt in March, when the UK went into lockdown and most people were instructed to stay home, and work from home if they can.

However, the soap could not be made in such circumstances, and it was put on hold – with only a couple of months worth of episodes in the can to air.

And for the first time in the soap’s 35-year history, it will run out of new material on Tuesday, forcing it to go on hiatus in a BBC first.

The cast have in fact returned to the set over the past couple of weeks, and production has restarted on new episodes, but these will not be ready for broadcast just yet.

In place of its Monday and Tuesday episodes, a new series called Secrets From The Square, hosted by Stacey Dooley, will be shown.

BBC One will also unearth iconic past episodes and treat fans to a does of nostalgia for the time being.

Fans can expect the story between Phil and Sharon come to a head in what could leave things on a cliffhanger – in the style of a series finale.

Since EastEnders has never been aired in ‘seasons’ like other shows, this will be a milestone episode to many.

It first hit screens in February 1985 and has been a staple of British evening TV ever since. 

Thanks to Sharon’s change of heart to raise her illegitimate son Kayden rather than give him to his grandmother Karen, Phil kicks her out of the house.

This jeopardises the sale of The Queen Vic, which Linda was planning on handing over to Phil.

The soap will return later in the summer, returning to its four days a week broadcasts, which were scrapped to eek out the instalments that were in the can.

But the show returns with shortened episodes; rather than the standard half-hour slots, they will be 20 minutes long to begin with.

Executive Producer of the show Jon Sen said: ‘Resuming production is incredibly exciting and challenging in equal measure.

‘Since we postponed filming we’ve been working non-stop trialling techniques, filming methods and new ways of working so that we can return to screens four times a week – as EastEnders should be.

‘Filming will inevitably be a more complex process now so creating 20 minute episodes will enable us to ensure that when we return, EastEnders will still be the show the audience know and love.’

EastEnders airs tonight at 7.30PM on BBC One.