Ofcom assessing EastEnders after 86 complaints about Sharon Mitchell and Michelle Fowler’s swearing before the watershed
Viewers took to Twitter to ask if Danny Dyer had wrote the script for Thursday's episode
EASTENDERS is being assessed by Ofcom after the explicit language used in Thursday's pre-watershed episode prompted 86 complaints from outraged viewers.
Many shared their shock after characters Sharon Mitchell and Michelle Fowler swore several times during emotional scenes.
Ofcom will now look into the matter before deciding whether to take further action against the BBC soap.
The broadcasting regulator told : "We will assess these complaints before deciding whether to investigate or not."
The show saw Michelle finally reveal her big secret, admitting she had enjoyed a year long affair with a 17-year-old schoolboy, and it sparked a VERY explicit response from Sharon.
The characters were seen swearing four times times before the watershed, including the words "a**e, s****ing and b*****d".
While many fans praised both actresses for the moving and shocking scenes, many more were shocked by the foul language.
One Twitter user even addressed Danny Dyer, who is known for his motor mouth, and wrote: "Did you write the script for tonight's #eastenders??"
While another added: "What's going on with the language in eastenders tonight I'm in shock."
However, many more defended the soap as one wrote: "Why are people complaining about Sharon swearing on Eastenders? It's on BBC not Cbeebies."
And one added: "Why people are complaining about #eastenders is beyond me."
The Sun Online has contacted EastEnders for comment.
It first began when Sharon discovered her husband Phil Mitchell was the father of Denise Fox' unborn baby.
She said: "Is this really as good as it gets? Working our way through another bloody mess he's made and for what? Because he's my husband? Because I need him? Not that much I don't!"
Sharon then shouted: "I'm hanging on by my fingernails here. I'm done, I never want to see Phil again. The stupid, stupid, stupid, b*****d!"
Michelle later swore when she opened up on her husband no longer being attracted to her, writing: "The top of my arms found a life of their own and however hard I worked out, all I had to do was look at a bagel. I might as well have shoved it down my trousers and Sellotaped it to my a**e."
The episode saw Michelle tell Sharon she had "broken the law" - by enjoying a year-long affair with a 17-year-old SCHOOLBOY.
"I fell in love, madly Sharon, like an idiot. It had been so long being ignored," she said.
The emotional scenes began when Michelle revealed how her marriage had fallen apart earlier in the show.
"I look in the mirror and there I am suddenly, 45 with bingo wings," she said. "And then I get, the reason we ain't had sex for over two years, why my husband don't want me anymore."
The emotional character revealed her other half couldn't be intimate with her anymore, as he no longer fancied her now she's "middle aged".
She later explained: "Tim had left me in his head, you can't really call it cheating. It's like I'd woken up, I was half dead."
Eventually revealing her secret, Michelle told Sharon: "A whole year together, we were obsessed with each other, all I thought about was the next time. He felt it too, he couldn't keep his hands off me.
"It wasn't just about sex. It was the fun. He wanted me."
Michelle revealed she stopped being "cautious" and said: "His mum found his bag and came into school. They demanded my resignation, I'd broken the law.
"I moved into a hotel, but the things they said about me, my friends."
Michelle broke down in tears as she told Sharon: "They're all gone, there's no-one left to come home to."
It comes as it looks like Michelle is set to leave Albert Square just a couple of weeks after arriving.
Her friends and family throw Michelle a surprise party in the Queen Vic to say goodbye as they think she's jetting off to return to America, but Michelle's secret threatens to keep her in Walford for even longer.
Viewers have watched as Michelle tried to phone her son Mark Jr but couldn't get through to him, leaving them wondering whether he is part of the reason she returned.
Last year Mark arrived in the Square for a visit and discovered his biological father was Grant Mitchell before leaving to go back to America. He has yet to appear on screen with his mother.
Sharon's long-term BFF Michelle recently returned to the Square with a brand new face as actress Jenna Russell took over the part.
Soap executive producer Sean O’Connor said: “Of course if you’re considering bringing back Michelle Fowler you’d have to consider talking to Susan.
“But she is now a very well respected, hugely experienced TV director. Her acting career is part of her past.
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“But of course I contacted her immediately. It was important to me to make sure she gave the idea her blessing, and it was really delightful when she did.
“I wanted to ask her if there was anything she could share with me and Jenna, and the writing team about Julia Smith and Tony Holland’s (the original producer and script editor) original ideas for Michelle.”
And Jenna is best known for her role of Dot in Sunday in the Park with George in the West End and on Broadway, receiving the Tony Award nomination and the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
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