More bad news related to those dreaded words: the economic downturn. Surely the economy has long-since turned down, but I digress.

A charity has claimed that UK families with children will be hardest hit by the latest government austerity measures, with a drop of £1,250 a year in affected household incomes.

The Beeb immediately reports said news – and illustrates it with a picture of Bianca from EastEnders (the redheaded rent-a-gob) and her brood of four stroppy children.

And they say the news isn’t dumbing down.

Or maybe in these cash-strapped times, even that bastion of public service broadcasting needs to resort to a little cross-promotion.

Because of course if you’re worried about how to put food on the table for your own little darlings, you’ll naturally be roused from your penny-counting  with that all-important mantra in a time of fiscal crisis: “Ooh, I must remember EastEnders is on tonight …”

Still, if money worries are getting you down, it could always be worse. You could be married to Ricky Butcher.