[Patrick]

Over 100 EastEnders viewers have complained to the BBC over isinuations that one of the show's key characters killed a dog.

This week's final two instalments of the Walford soap saw Lucas Johnson - played by Don Gilet - begin to panic about his murderous ways being uncovered when Sugar the collie continued to dig in the soil around Trina's tree.

With Owen Turner's body buried beneath, Sugar could still smell her previous owner's scent and with no-one else knowing Owen's whereabouts - or even that he's dead - Lucas decided to deal with Sugar in his own way.

Taking the dog for a walk, Lucas stopped on the canal bank and eerily looked at Sugar, before glancing out over the water. When Lucas returned home, he held only Sugar's lead and insisted that she ran away.

A statement on the BBC Complaints website read: "Regular viewers of EastEnders will know that Lucas has already killed two people in order to protect his reputation. Although it is never explicit that Sugar dies, the story does indeed suggest that Lucas has killed her. This behaviour is completely in keeping with his character."

It went on: "EastEnders does not condone the killing of dogs, just as it does not condone killing people. No animals were harmed in the making of this story."