EastEnders boss reveals why Chantelle was killed off in horrifying conclusion to traumatic abuse storyline
EASTENDERS boss Jon Sen has spoken out about why the soap decided to kill off Chantelle Atkins.
Jessica Plummer's time on the BBC One soap came to a grisly end on Friday when Gray Atkins killed his wife - who he had been abusing for months.
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Chantelle had found the courage to stand up to her nasty husband and told him she was leaving - but sadly she never got to.
In a fit of rage, Gray pushed Chantelle backwards onto the open dishwasher drawer - and she landed on a knife.
However, instead of calling 999, Gray staged the crime scene to make it look as though it were an accident - meaning he may never be brought to justice.
And now, Executive Producer Jon has explained why they decided to end the abuse storyline in such an awful way.
"A criticism is often a worry that we are showing a victim that tries to leave and that backfires on her tremendously – I’d like people to realise that for people in Chantelle’s situation, telling someone what you’re going through is so important," he told the Radio Times.
"Chantelle thinks she’s doing her children and husband a service by keeping this secret to herself, not wanting to make waves so she carries this secret all on her own so she doesn’t reach out to anyone.
"She also thinks that she’s not worth the help. She looks at Gray as being someone who is above her – his smart suit, nice job – he’s very middle class.
"In reality, she is worth a million of him because she’s a kinder, better, nicer person. It’s that belief that he’s too good for her that really holds her back.
"Through Chantelle’s story, we hope to encourage survivors to understand that they are absolutely worth the support and to speak out," he added.
"Action is important because being trapped in a situation like this can have fatal consequences."
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EastEnders fans were left feeling sick by the heartbreaking scenes.
One wrote on Twitter: "I feel physically sick! #Eastenders," while another posted: "This episode of #Eastenders is making me feel a bit sick. #Chantelle."
A third wrote: "People like Gray make me sick man #EastEnders."