diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/debug/browser/repl.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/debug/browser/repl.ts
index cbf94bfb265f19c4be828714c2bd1917235fc65c..ce3119aeb2e5c1dc433bcb928bf2281b823daf46 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/debug/browser/repl.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/debug/browser/repl.ts
@@ -600,7 +600,7 @@ class ReplExpressionsRenderer implements ITreeRenderer<Expression, FuzzyScore, I
 		const expression = element.element;
 		templateData.label.set(expression.name, createMatches(element.filterData));
 		renderExpressionValue(expression, templateData.value, {
-			preserveWhitespace: true,
+			preserveWhitespace: !expression.hasChildren,
 			showHover: false,
 			colorize: true
 		});