Eastenders Baby Death Storyline

[deemented]

Once again, no one can live happily ever after

Ronnie's baby James, dies and she puts his body in Kat and Alfies son's crib, and steals their baby boy, Tommy.

Why oh why oh why do scriptwriters insist on portraying bereaved parents - mothers especially - as mad and deranged??? Maybe it's because they can't begin to imagine how awful the death of a child is, but really, whilst we are mad with grief, it is our own child that we want back, not someone else's stolen child. When are scriptwriters ever going to understand that?

Still, it'll be a riveting watch, no doubt.

I've sent a complaint to the Beeb and to offcom.Am really angry about it.And I agree that is is so utterly stupid to assume that one baby is much like any other.Gor blimey,it is 2011 and we are still getting pushed this sort of tosh about women and their general derangement.

I think FSID have nade their position clear NannyG.

Obviously the fact of so many of the public complaining, (it does say that) have made them outline what support they indeed gave to the storyline.

nanny if you look at the link I posted on the bottom of page to fsids you would see that they do not endorse the snatching storyline at all. Their involvement was limited to bereavement and cot death. Their 'close involvement' did not include telling EE that baby snatching is realistic.

So instead of educating people what REALLY happens to a family when a baby dies, instead they've taught the nation that bereaved mothers are nutters and their first thought it to steal someone elses baby.

Could not be further from the truth. Stories like this just make baby death even more of a taboo subject, makes us - bereaved Mums - feel even more isolated, and it doesn't break the silence that surrounds a grieving family suffering the worst kind of loss.

I will post the link again. fsid.org.uk/Page.aspx?pid=864

I am in total agreement about his bloody terrible swapping story line. Just wondering though what others think EE should actually do now in responce to our compaints?
What would you like to see happen within the story line?

Hmm. I have no idea what they should do now.
I really really don't

I never said people shouldn't be upset,of course they should. I just said that I don't see what the complaints will do.
It has already happened!

I understand that people feel misrepresented, insulted and let down.

I don't appreciate your very patronising tone, last I heard this was a forum not a playground.

All I meant to say was that people knew this was coming and have been complaining for ages and clearly the complaints didin't work.

Return the baby to it's rightful mother, let Ronnie grieve realistically and EE producer should publically apologise for such a misjudgement.

Maybe it could all be a dream?

Or rather a horrible horrible nightmare. :(

NannyG I think the storylines are planned, plots are written and episodes are shot long before they are aired so any complaints that were already made couldn't have made any difference.

Complaints now might get an apology and stop EEs or other soaps from being so crass about how they handle sensitive subjects in the future.

One of the worst things the BBC did was to heavily insinuate they had the support of FSID for all of this.

Until FSID felt they had to come out and clarify where their involvement ended.

FSID obviously provides support and understanding to parents at a horrific time, so to hint that they were supporting the baby-swap storyline, and undermine them like that, is damaging to both the organisation and those who seek their help.

I'm glad FSID clarified things, but really shame on the callous idiot/s at the BBC that thought it would be a good strategy to keep trotting out the lie that they had the support of FSID on this.

I never stated that I agreed with the baby snatching, I thought there was no need for that. However I think it fits within the character to do that, I don't believe that the writters meant to portray grieving mothers as baby snatchers as such.

I have read that link.

Well in terms of what they can do NannyG, they could issue a public apology to FSID for a start.

And awknowledge FSID had nothing to do with the idea to sensationalise a cot death.

Yes a nightmare would be more apt marypoppins.

However people need to stop complaining as like any other sensitive storylines, everyone in the show works closely with the appropriate associations.

This is patronising and innacurate.

I do not appreciate being told not to complain about something that deeply angers me.

As for this being a playground FFS have you not caught on to just how important this subject is to the grown ups on this thread?

Our children are dead.

With mrsdevre and Lunatic word for word.

Not had time to read the whole thread but I have to say I was shocked when I read about this storyline. As others have said, it's the sheer stupidity of it. The granddad supposed to be keeping an eye on a newborn baby and he's downstairs in a noisy pub etc. Newborn babies sleep anywhere even if it's noisy - it would have been more realistic for the baby to have been downstairs in the pub being cooed over and passed around and then for the cot death to have happened later, overnight.

And as for the swapping.....the mind boggles. The person who thought this up needs sacking. Absolutely ridiculous. Newborn babies look VERY individual to their parents. The blemishes on their skin from the birth, their hairline and amount of hair, their body length and shape etc etc.

Why oh why if they insisted on sensationalising it didn't they have Ronnie swapping the baby and running off with him for a couple of hours, then realising what she'd done and bringing it back (with everyone having realised almost immediately what had happened). It would have still been far-fetched, but so much more believable.

There are just so many errors in the way this has been portrayed, it's put me off EE for life, and I've dipped in and out for the past few years only seeing the odd one anyway. It just seems to have got worse and worse.

Every storyline in every soap is going to upset someone.

Just take it for what it is. A soap opera. Don't watch it if you are going to get upset.

That's what soaps are. Murders, drug adiction,drama, drama, drama,.

No real conversations. Just confrontations all the time.

cazandbelle I agree with you that this will just add to the isolation of bereaved mothers/fathers/families,that is the main reason why I complained.

Forgot about the incest. Where were the protesters then.

Would not the victims of incest have been severely traumatised by that?

Lol, you are truly ridiculous.

Bloody hell keep cross posting.

Inki I think you have clearly entirely missed the point.