Set for the chop: EastEnders bosses axe four major stars from the soap in a bid to boost ratings

PUBLISHED: 08:34, 24 September 2013 | UPDATED: 14:43, 24 September 2013

Four major EastEnders characters have been axed as the show’s bosses try to revive the show’s flagging ratings.

Characters Kirsty Branning, AJ Masood, Carl White and Poppy Meadow are all set to leave the show in the New Year.

Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told the cast of the soap that he will do everything he can to make EastEnders Britain’s most popular soap.

Moving on: EastEnders star Kierston Wareing's character Kirsty Branning is leaving the soap

Leaving: Kierston is set to film her final scenes for the soap at Christmas

Kirsty, played by Kierston Wareing, AJ (Phalut Sharma), Carl (Daniel Coonan) and Poppy (Rachel Bright) are set to film their last scenes for the show at Christmas.

It is now open to speculation how the characters will leave the show and whether some will be killed off.

Dominic was responsible for the Who Killed Archie Mitchell? plot three years ago, which was watched by 16.6million viewers.

New horizons: Rachel Bright who plays Poppy Meadows in the BBC soap is also set to be axed

The soap’s bosses called him back after viewing figures dropped below five million in July and executive producer Lorraine Newman was forced to stand down after just 16 months.

Dominic has already signed up new actors, with comic Terry Alderton joining the soap as Terry Spraggan, who will be the new love interest of Bianca Butcher (played by Patsy Palmer).

He will be joined by former Holby City actress Luisa Bradshaw-White, who will play Tina, the sister of Shirley Carter.

The end of the road: Carl White played by Daniel Coonan, is also set to be written out of the soap

An insider told The Sun: ‘Dominic didn’t feel the characters who are leaving fit with the direction he is taking the show so he quickly decided to write them out.

‘He has only been in a month but he is already making big changes. He knows what he wants for EastEnders and is putting plans in place quickly.

‘His arrival has gone down really well with the cast and crew and there is a real energy in the studios right now – even though some cast are scared they could be next for the chop.’