text: In 2022, EastEnders aired their first male rape scene which saw Lewis Butler (Aidan O'Callaghan) rape Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden). The BBC received complaints from viewers who were unhappy with the content in the episode. Viewers felt that the scenes were too violent and graphic for a pre-watershed time slot. The BBC responded by stating: "EastEnders has been a pre-watershed BBC One staple for over 37 years and has a rich history of dealing with challenging and difficult issues and Ben's story is one of these. We have worked closely with organisations and experts in the field to tell this story which we hope will raise awareness of sexual assaults and the issues surrounding them. We are always mindful of the timeslot in which EastEnders is shown and we took great care to signpost this storyline prior to transmission, through on-air continuity and publicity as well as providing a BBC Action Line at the end of the episode which offers advice and support to those affected by the issue".
  Portrayal of certain professions
  In 2010, EastEnders came under criticism from the police for the way that they were portrayed during the "Who Killed Archie?" storyline. During the storyline, DCI Jill Marsden (Sophie Stanton) and DC Wayne Hughes (Jamie Treacher) talk to locals about the case and Hughes accepts a bribe. The police claimed that such scenes were "damaging" to their reputation and added that the character DC Deanne Cunningham (Zoë Henry) was "irritatingly inaccurate". In response to the criticism, EastEnders apologised for offending real life detectives and confirmed that they use a police consultant for such storylines.