The boss of 'EastEnders' has admitted that the soap is not a realistic portrayal of life in London's East End.
Speaking to the Radio Times, the BBC's Controller of Drama Production, John Yorke, said: "Real life changes much more quickly than representations of it on television.
"Soaps reach a point where they have a really big decision to make - do they stay true to the original vision or do they throw it away and adapt to a changing world?
"My own feeling is that the truth lies somewhere in between."
Yorke continued: "'EastEnders'' East End and its version of working-class life are very stylised.
"It's not realistic in that respect, but you look for an emotional truthfulness."
Yorke also admitted that the soap "may be significantly white compared with the real East End".
However, he added: "It's considerably more multicultural than it was even five years ago and is easily the most multicultural show on telly now.
"We may have had nerves about that at one stage, but we're very proud of it now and you have to keep going."
Also in the Radio Times, 'Coronation Street' executive producer Kieran Roberts said he felt the soap was "sufficiently real".
He said: "'Coronation Street' presents a warm and cosy version of the world around us - to a degree, it's got nostalgia written through it - but I'm proud of that.
"It's a community that's sufficiently real and sufficiently recognisable that people are drawn to it.
"I doubt there are many streets in Britain that function quite like that, but it's not that alien an existence."
Roberts added: "The ethnic mix is something we're always conscious of.
"Statistically, we're probably getting it about right, but I don't think that's the way you should judge things. It's about how things feel.
"I'd be very worried if viewers - especially viewers from ethnic minorities - were saying they didn't think the show represented them fully."
