Outraged Eastenders viewers have criticised the soap after a scene involving a ‘joke’ about diabetes was aired.
Kim Fox, a resident of Albert Square, was getting ready for her daughter Pearl’s party and said: “If the kids don’t give themselves diabetes, it’s not a good party, is it?”
Kim pictured with her partner Vincent and daughter Pearl
As METRO points out, Kim is one of the show’s more outspoken characters but viewers were understandably annoyed by the remark, with many taking to Twitter to air their views.
Eastenders take note do research before scripting jokes about Diabetes #Diabetes isn’t funny at all @bbceastenders https://t.co/MfJyGuVF5m
— Sharan Adlem (@SharanAdlem) February 24, 2016
@bbceastenders 9yr son ❤️ #eastenders “Mummy did u hear what Kim just said. Doesn’t she know u don’t get #diabetes from eating party food”.
— Jaymini Desai (@JayminiDesai) February 23, 2016
@_shewrites_ @stevie_couch @bbceastenders really NOT cool! I didn’t get diabetes from eating too much sugar! Get your facts right Eastenders
— Tamsin Williams (@The_Official_TW) February 23, 2016
An Eastenders spokesperson commented on the issue: “As regular EastEnders viewers know, Kim has long been established as a facetious character who usually gets more things wrong than right.
‘EastEnders has a rich history of covering important issues such as diabetes and has addressed the realities of living with the condition through the character Paul Coker, whose condition will be featured more in the future”.
