text: Hollingworth's contributions to the soap were awarded in 1997 when EastEnders won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series. Hollingworth shared the award with the next Executive Producer, Jane Harris. Harris was responsible for the critically panned Ireland episodes and Cindy Beale's (Michelle Collins) attempted assassination of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), which brought in an audience of 23 million in 1996, roughly four million more than Coronation Street. In 1998 Matthew Robinson was appointed as the Executive Producer of EastEnders. During his reign, EastEnders won the BAFTA for "Best Soap" in consecutive years 1999 and 2000 and many other awards. Robinson also earned tabloid soubriquet "Axeman of Albert Square" after sacking a large number of characters in one hit, and several more thereafter. In their place, Robinson introduced new long-running characters including Melanie Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite), Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder), Lisa Shaw (Lucy Benjamin), Steve Owen (Martin Kemp) and Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick).
  2000s
  John Yorke became the Executive Producer of EastEnders in 2000. Yorke was given the task of introducing the soap's fourth weekly episode. He axed the majority of the Di Marco family, except Beppe di Marco (Michael Greco), and helped introduce popular characters such as the Slater family. As what Mal Young described as "two of EastEnders' most successful years", Yorke was responsible for highly rated storylines such as "Who Shot Phil?", Ethel Skinner's (Gretchen Franklin) death, Jim Branning (John Bardon) and Dot Cotton's (June Brown) marriage, Trevor Morgan's (Alex Ferns) domestic abuse of his wife Little Mo Morgan (Kacey Ainsworth), and Kat Slater's (Jessie Wallace) revelation to her daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) that she was her mother.