±«Óãtv

EastEnders: E20 series three is halfway through its run and has already exceeded over 1.2 million views across ±«Óãtv Online and ±«Óãtv Three.

The popularity of the show has been proved by seeing a 50% growth in the online audience. The EastEnders online spin-off show for younger audiences, started on 20 September.

Deborah Sathe, producer, E20, says: "I am thrilled to see E20 has sustained its position as a front runner in online drama. Coming off the back of the Webby Award win earlier in the year, and with more people watching programmes online via their computer and tablet, it seems like it is an exciting time for multiplatform drama."

To accompany the third E20 series, ±«Óãtv Drama and Learning joined forces to embark on a regional schools tour, giving E20's audience the inspiration and skills to create and develop their own stories online. Pupils were encouraged to write short scenes based on given scenarios in line with the PSHE curriculum, then performed, filmed and edited their work with Modupe Adeyeye (EastEnders and E20 actress) helping to act out their scenes. The pupils' work was screened, followed by a question and answer session with the ±«Óãtv team.

Sarah Miller, ±«Óãtv Learning commissioner, says: "The schools tour was a terrific opportunity to deliver powerful face to face workshops, giving students and teachers the opportunity to develop key media production skills and to get behind the scenes of a top ±«Óãtv drama."

The tour was a brilliant success with all of the schools involved praising the work the team did. Jim McLaughlin, a teacher at Parkhill Secondary School, Glasgow, praised the interaction at "grass roots level" and hoped the ±«Óãtv will develop more work with schools.

Alison Warr, curriculum leader for English All Saints Church of England College Trust, Newcastle, commented that the team did a brilliant job and the work covered in the workshop helped the pupils reinforce what they have been learning in class.

The tour visited various cities throughout the UK including Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Belfast and Glasgow.

For more information or to apply for the new E20 writing school, please go to www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders.

All episodes of series three of E20 can be found on ±«Óãtv iPlayer until the 21 of October 2011.

AB3