BBC director-general Tim Davie has said that he is "confident" that EastEnders has a strong long-term future.
The soap's ratings have dwindled to some of the lowest in its 37-year history over the last two years, with Emmerdale now having overtaken the show as the UK's second most-watched soap behind Coronation Street.
Last month ITV announced new scheduling plans for its soaps which, as things stand, would result in EastEnders clashing with them in the schedules on a regular basis.
Talking about the issue to a commons select committee last week, Davie said: "We're not immune from competitive pressure, let's be honest about it.
"And you may have a marginal impact or an impact during that hour, but we're confident that the overall case for the EastEnders development remains strong."
He added: "We're also confident about EastEnders as a strand; we've just put a new showrunner in there."
Regardless of its performance in the ratings, EastEnders looks to have a safe future for some years yet as the BBC has just completed work on a new £87m set.
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