Outrage over EastEnders plot about baby being cut from mother's womb

The corporation was forced to apologise after one scene showed the woman chained to a bed and threatened with a scalpel. She was then told she would be forced to have a caesarean.

Harrowing: Pregnant Dawn Swann was shown chained to a bed

The BBC confirmed it had received 183 complaints while the media watchdog Ofcom said 12 viewers had contacted it with concerns.

The scene was watched by 9.3million, showed Dawn Swann, played by 23-year-old actress Kara Tointon, being attacked by Dr May Wright, actress Amanda Drew.

Dawn, who is pregnant by the GP's husband Rob Minter, eventually managed to escape after grabbing the scalpel Dr May planned to use in the attack.

A spokesman for the BBC1 soap apologised for airing the scenes but insisted the complaints represented a "very small percentage" of the overall audience.

She said: "The episode involving the characters Dawn, May and Rob reached the climax that many viewers would have been anticipating.

"We are sorry if some people were offended by this drama unfolding and will be addressing complaints fully in due course."

In recent years, the flagship soap has come under fire for screening violent and sexually explicit storylines.

In August, the show received more than 250 complaints in just one week after two consecutive episodes were deemed unsuitable for the pre-watershed hour. One - which showed actors Kellie Shirley and Joel Beckett having sex on a nightclub floor - prompted 129 viewers to ring in.

Later that week, there were questions raised after the soap chose to broadcast several graphic scenes as part of a long-running storyline about domestic violence.

One episode, featuring actors Diane Parish and Lee Ross, as Denise Fox and Owen Turner, showed Fox stabbing Turner with a fork after she was dragged up a flight of stairs by her hair.

And in December 2002, the BBC was heavily criticised over violent Christmas scenes involving Little Mo and her husband Trevor.

Mo, played by Kacey Ainsworth, was shown being forced to eat her lunch off the floor before being beaten and raped.

During the New Year's Eve episode, she tried to exact her revenge by hitting him over the head with an iron.

Thirty complaints from viewers were upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

Critics have blamed the soap's explicit and depressing storylines for its declining popularity and ongoing ratings slump.

Less than two years ago, the series received its worst-ever viewing figures, with just 6.2million viewers tuning in - ensuring it was trounced by its ITV1 rivals Emmerdale and Coronation Street.