My View: Three cheers EastEnders for highlighting the tragedy of cot deaths

So I do hope she has not allowed the controversy over her current challenging storyline – the now infamous "cot death/baby swap" plot – to influence her decision to quit the show. It has been reported that Womack has been unhappy with the script, which has followed the near-simultaneous births of baby boys – James to Ronnie, and Tommy to Vic landlady Kat (Jessie Wallace). Baby James dies in his sleep and, in her confused and panic-stricken grief, Ronnie goes to the Vic and swaps him with Tommy, leaving another mother and her family also in the grip of sudden, incomprehensible and overwhelming shock and grief.

It's a storyline that has, not surprisingly, elicited quite a response from the viewing public, causing upset and anger among some viewers, with complaints to the BBC now reaching 10,000. There has also been debate and campaigning against it online, a leading activist being website Mumsnet's chief executive Justine Roberts, who has written to Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC, complaining of a "cynical ploy to make headlines by creating deliberate controversy".

Indeed. It seems to have quite bypassed Justine, as it has thousands of others, that any drama (the clue is in the name) doing its job properly ought to be creating "deliberate controversy", or at least provoking thought and throwing light onto difficult issues, even upsetting and taboo ones.

Every year in the UK, 300 families lose a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or cot death, and, sadly, of course, this EastEnders plotline will make especially raw viewing for those affected.

On the NHS Online website, Joyce Epstein, director of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (which was consulted on the storyline), said: "I do understand that many people were upset by it, but equally, there are bereaved parents who felt there was a benefit to raising awareness about something that takes more babies' lives than anything else in the UK today."

Amid all the emotive and sanctimonious outrage that there has been about this story, what few have mentioned is how good both the script and the acting have been. It has been distressingly clear, thanks to Samantha Womack's skill, that Ronnie is consumed with grief and wants to hold her own baby, little James, not beautiful little Tommy Moon.

Both she and Jessie Wallace have been outstanding in their different portrayals of bereaved new mothers – portrayals that deepen our understanding for all mums in such a situation.