'EastEnders' bosses have confirmed that an upcoming child abduction storyline has been pulled because of similarities with the real-life case of Madeline McCann.
The BBC said that there were concerns that the storyline involving characters Dawn Swann and Dr May Wright would too closely resemble the abduction of four-year-old Madeline in Portugal recently.
A BBC spokeswoman said tonight: "'EastEnders' has made the decision to substantially rewrite the current storyline featuring Dawn Swann and Dr May Wright due to the events surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann."
"In the current circumstances it was felt any storyline that included child abduction would be inappropriate and could cause distress to our viewers."
'Coronation Street' also recently pulled a similar storyline, involving the disappearance of baby Freddie Peacock.
A 'Coronation Street' spokeswoman said: "We would not wish to add to the family's anguish at this terrible time and we are currently reviewing our storyline including episodes which have already been filmed."
