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Many local EastEnders fans have hit out at the way Milton Keynes was portrayed in Monday’s episode featuring the return of Bianca.

The popular soap showed a pregnant Whitney (Shona McGarty) visit her step-mum in her MK home with partner Zack Hudson (James Farrar).

Bianca, played by Patsy Palmer, moved away from Albert Square to Milton Keynes in 2014 with partner Terry Spraggan and, according to the storyline, the couple have lived there ever since.

The EastEnders scenes from Milton Keynes were actually shot in London, producers have admitted

The episode started with Whitney and Zack pulling up outside a dingy block of flats in their car, warning off an approaching gang of teenagers and just in time to see Bianca hurl a cardboard box of rubbish over her balcony onto the street.

It continues to show rundown buildings and features a grubby, drug-addled pair of neighbours who are neglecting their teenage daughter and using her as a drug runner.

The daughter was enrolled at school before lockdown but hadn’t actually been there since, spending her time roaming the streets instead.

And the episode ends just as miserably, with Whitney being run over in the street by a car.

Whitney arrived in Milton Keynes just in time to see her mum hurl a box of rubbish from the balcony of her Milton Keynes flat

"There’s nicer parts in Milton Keynes than this. They could have shown them,” said one viewer.

"They really made the place look like a dump, riddled with crime, drugs and seedy people,” said another.

Others declared the drama was “true to life” for certain parts of the city. But everyone was in agreement that the places shown on screen did not actually look like anywhere in MK at all.

The Citizen questioned the EastEnders production team this week – and they admitted the scenes were not even filmed in Milton Keynes.

"They were filmed in London,” said a source for the show. "It’s no secret as Patsy Palmer was papped while it was being filmed.”

We asked if the EastEnders press office thought this was a fair portrayal of Milton Keynes.

"We won’t be commenting on this,” said a spokesperson.

Bianca was first seen in EastEnders in 1993. She was last seen in the soap when she made a guest appearance in 2019.

EastEnders fans annoyed at the grim way Milton Keynes is portrayed by BBC