EastEnders narrowly averted a real-life disaster, when filming for a dramatic stunt scene went wrong.
As part of a huge storyline which sees Linda Carter and son Johnny caught up in a life or death accident, producers had set up a stunt which would see the ambulance they were travelling in crash.
The vehicle was to spin round and crash on the motorway, forcing them to have to scramble out and be taken onto hospital by air ambulance.
But instead, during the filming on location in Essex, the ambulance actually flipped over onto its side.
Read more: EastEnders motorway smash
And apparently bosses were forced to make some last-minute changes to the script to be able to include the unplanned accident.
Actors Kellie Bright and Ted Reilly were spotted clambering out of the ambulance to try and make their way to safety, in scenes which were even more dramatic than originally scripted.
Fortunately there was only a stuntman inside the ambulance during the actual filming of the stunt, and he was unharmed.
“All that was meant to happen was the ambulance was meant to spin round – that was what had been scripted,” an eyewitness told The Sun.
“And they were going to pull somebody out of the ambulance and put them into a helicopter, although there was no helicopter there today.
“The ambulance was meant to stay on all-fours, but it didn’t – it flipped over. So the whole scene might have to be changed now.”
The stunt forms part of an explosive storyline which will see members of the Carter family in a life or death situation. Johnny had clearly already been injured before the crash, as he was spotted with his chest heavily bandaged during filming.
But who else will end up involved we will have to wait to see when the episodes air next month.
Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) were also filming on location for the special episodes.
Read more: EastEnders dramatic double bill
And show bosses have hired a helicopter for the dramatic scenes, to transport Johnny or Linda (or both) to hospital in an air ambulance after the accident.
“The crash is part of a big upcoming summer storyline and will air in September,” an EastEnders source told The Sun.