Scripts for EastEnders Christmas specials were stolen during a burglary at a writer's home, the BBC said yesterday.

A BBC spokeswoman confirmed the soap's bosses are concerned the climactic plot details could be leaked on the internet after the writer's laptop was taken.

The festive special will see scheming Albert Square villain Archie Mitchell, played by Larry Lamb, murdered in the Queen Vic pub but the precise details of his death have been kept a secret.