Hollyoaks: A Unique Fight for Custody

(Monday 13^th to Friday 17^th January 2020)

Sienna and Warren finally come face to face…

In the salon, Warren tells Sienna that Sebastian has leukaemia and urgently needs her to get tested to see if she is a bone marrow match in order to save his life. He explains that Sebastian is in a private hospital and promises to let Brody go if Sienna will go through with the transplant. Sienna agrees to go through with it but she is horrified to realise when Warren accidentally refers to ‘Sean and Ursula’ instead of Sophie and Sebastian that she was right last year and abducted the twins – they were her babies after all.

Sienna gets tested and she happily reports that she is a match. She returns home and tells horrified Liberty and Damon everything, believing incorrectly that Warren has changed his ways. Of course he hasn’t. Actually, they are at the local hospital and Joel is on board with his Dad who begs his forgiveness and has promised him that he has changed too. But really, his plans are to take Sienna’s bone marrow and leave her bereft of her children yet again.

Unfortunately, Sienna hits a snag. Her chemotherapy means that she is excluded from donating bone marrow. Catching on to his lies, she pretends to go through with the transplant and sends Maxine ahead to find details of Brody’s location. Damon and Liberty head off to find Brody while Maxine helps her abduct the kids. Sienna is just about to escape the hospital when she is stopped by Joel. Well, at least it wasn’t Warren! She hurriedly explains things to Joel, who is devastated to realise his Dad hasn’t changed at all. He helps her escape with the kids but it’s too late for her to meet up with recently rescued Brody and has to go it alone with her children if she wants to escape Warren for good. Desperately worried about Sienna, Brody and Joel have no choice but team up with Warren in order to try and track her down.

At home, Tony is an absolute mess. He cannot talk about the trauma of being held captive. Diane is impressed when she listens to Edward being kind to Tony, promising him their never ending support. However, once she is gone, Edward is really harsh with him, warning him that he needs to be a real man or Diane will find someone else. He takes things further by locking Tony in the bathroom. He rescues him just before Diane gets home so she finds him a complete and utter mess. Come on! The poor guy has been through enough! Edward spends the night with Marnie (who has no idea that he was previously seeing Diane or that she’s about the date yet another bad man).

Tony struggles to cope after his ordeal…

This boring wedding storyline rumbles on. Seriously, the only time that faffing around preparing for a wedding is interesting is when it’s your own. Watching Courtney and Jesse fuss over the intimate details of their big date is not good TV. However, the big day does finally arrive. As much as I like them as a couple, I am looking forward to it finally being over!

The only highlight is that wedding planner Azim and Scott are now seeing each other. Not if you’re Mitchell, obvs. And that one of the random extras appears to Mark Own from the 90s… Literally, what he looked like in the nineties. Blink and you’ll miss him.

James returns to the Village and is eager to pick up where he left off with Liam who invites him to be his plus one at Courtney and Jesse’s wedding. James is devastated to discover that Breda was the serial killer and Mercedes didn’t kill Harry; James therefore shot her for no reason. He has an emotional encounter with Juliet who has just been extremely rude to Sid in a panic over not wanting to sleep with him again. They genuinely bond and she sort of hints that she is struggling with her sexuality. Perhaps James will help her in the future? She consoles him about Harry. Then Donna Marie returns! Oh yay. She wasn’t annoying at all. With Breda having been discovered to be the serial killer and responsible for Mac’s death, there are no charges to answer. This leaves James squirming as he is the reason she was jailed in the first place…

Grace and James feel guilty for shooting Mercedes but while James wants to confess, Grace is determined to keep them both quiet and make the best of the situation. Of course, right before the wedding ceremony, Jesse overhears them talking about the shooting (because nobody in soap talks about serious crime in code or in private) and confronts his sister. I mean, you’d think in his family, he wouldn’t be so stunned! The couple get married, surrounded by their family, friends and bridesmaids in their ugly dresses and it’s all very lovely. Sally cries. Maxine is starting to be forgiven and welcome back into society and Jesse has asked her to work the bar for some desperately needed cash. When he finally confronts Grace properly, Jesse agrees to keep the police out of it but determines that Sylver needs to know the truth.

Channel 4 at 6:30pm or a sneak peek 7pm on E4

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

Neighbours: Three’s a Crowd

(Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th January 2020)

Nell has run off to see her mother’s mural, beautifully painted by Ned as a memorial to Sonya. And it really is a beautiful piece of art. I really hope as this kid grows up, they keep the actress on. She is such a little cutie and you can see her budding talent. Torn up with guilt for being distracted over his grief over losing Amy and not keeping an eye on the kids and aware that Terese has lost faith in him, Kyle offers to step down from the Buddy Club. Toadie will not hear of it and pushes him forward regardless. Terese interferes with Kyle’s first lesson, not completely trusting him but actually he really impresses her and bonds with a boy called Seth. Will this be Kyle’s redemption at long last?

Dipi grows increasingly uncomfortable with the blossoming friendship between Shane and Roxy. She confides in Sheila over her marriage woes, feeling that she and Shane are no longer close and Roxy is relying more and more heavily on her husband. Spurred on by Sheila, Dipi arranges to seduce Shane while he is closing up at work but things go wrong when she ends up flashing Gary instead! Shane has rushed out to rescue sad, drunk Roxy and doesn’t end up getting home until two in the morning. The couple argue but Shane cannot understand why his closeness with Roxy is such an issue. The next day, when Dipi sets up camp in the bar to do her books, things become more than a little awkward between Shane, Dipi and Roxy, especially when Sheila puts her foot in it about Dipi flashing Gary the night before! Whoops!

Three’s a crowd in Dipi and Shane’s marriage…

Shane angrily objects when Dipi demands that he swaps his shifts so that he doesn’t work alongside Roxy anymore. Then when Sheila changes their shifts anyway, Shane thinks Dipi is responsible. Dipi turns to Gary for support and he explains that going in hard is only going to make Shane push back. Sheila then gives Shane a talking to about his marriage, making Shane lose his temper with his wife again, made worse by Roxy calling him in the middle of it! She has now found out about the shift change and she is not a happy bunny. But when she tries to change them back, Sheila lays down the law. Back at home, Shane and Dipi do eventually make up. She understands that her husband is just being protective of a vulnerable young woman and he promises to start putting his wife first. As they wave Toadie and the kids off to go and see his cousin, Roxy is upset to have her call rejected by Shane. Roxy and Harlow make friends again.

Bea, Finn and the Kennedys are all missing Elly now that she has moved in with Aaron, David and Kyle. She is also struggling to adjust to her new surroundings and feels guilty that the baby is up crying at all hours and disturbing her new housemates. They invite Bea and Finn round to the house to help settle her in. But of course, it’s extremely awkward, especially when Elly and Finn go off to tend to the baby together and it’s all charged and weird while poor, oblivious Bea sits in the garden completely unaware that her sister is about to run off with her boyfriend. In the middle of the night, Susan catches Finn about to sneak out to be with Elly and Aster. Bad move, Finn. Bad move. Susan goes round instead and it’s clear that both of them are in her bad books. Elly promises that she would never act on her feelings for Finn. Like she didn’t with Chloe. Oh, wait… But there is a very cute moment when the boys look after Aster and do a little photo shoot for her at home.

Meanwhile, Finn and Bea go on a date where, keen to prove his love, he proposes. Thankfully, she turns him down. Cue: Elly the Green Eyed Monster, stage left.

Hendrix and Chloe bond when he helps her with a report at work that she thinks she has lost. Unfortunately, his lust wins out when he steals a naughty photo of her that she took for Pierce’s benefit. Feeling guilty, he confesses to Karl who advises him to put it back and tell his father. Chloe catches him returning it and she lays into him for what he has done. The next day, Hendrix is in big trouble with his Dad. All he can do is apologise and beg for help to make things right with Chloe. Taking pity on time, Pierce appeals to Chloe who is livid that he has gone soft on his son. She then appeals to Hendrix’s mother for support, infuriating Pierce as Lisa declares she is on her way to Erinsborough.

Also, to commend Neighbours, this week, they quickly filmed an extra scene regarding the horrific bush fires that are going on in Australia at the moment. Sheila, David and Aaron are seen discussing a fundraiser at the Waterhole to raise money for the bush fire relief. They also discuss their families and others affected by the terrible fires and smoke. As soon as the cast came back to filming, they threw in this extra scene, feeling that it was really important to talk about it. They had a lot of praise for doing so. There was also a link at the end of the episode for donations: https://www.channel5.com/wednesday-15th-january/

Channel 5, 1:45pm and 5:50pm

Home and Away: #Willex

Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th January 2020

Things remain tense between Robbo and Jasmine as they look after baby Grace. Robbo continues to shut Jasmine out of Grace’s care, suggesting that she return to work as she’s not needed at home. He is oblivious to how much he is hurting her, believing that she shouldn’t have to look after Grace as being a full time Mum isn’t what she signed up for.

Ava is desperate to meet her baby cousin Justin ends up arguing with Robbo over the baby. Taking matters into his own hands, Mason takes Ava to see Grace himself. Robbo and Jasmine are pleased to introduce Ava to her cousin. Unfortunately, the day is ruined when Justin charges in, threatening legal action if Robbo doesn’t let him have access to his niece. While Leah and Jasmine attempt to calm the boys down, it’s Mason that eventually puts Justin in his place, reminding him that he needs to stop wasting time fighting Robbo over Grace and be there for Ava instead.

Justin and Robbo both want the best for baby Grace…

Robbo does the rounds introducing Grace to everyone but with his hope beginning to fade for Tori, Justin backs away from his niece. When Marilyn mentions that Justin snapped at Ziggy and sent her home from the garage, Leah is concerned enough to go and find him.

Alex expresses concern about Bella after the incident the other day. When Willow speaks to Bella, the teenager assures her that she is fine now that Colby and Mac are over for good. However, Willow remains concerned, as Colby admits that he and Mac are just on pause until Bella feels more settled. Bella’s hopes are shattered when she witnesses Colby and Mac meeting up in secret, putting their relationship in jeopardy all over again.

Willow and Alex have resumed their flirtatious relationship. Later, Mason teases Willow about her ‘date’ with Alex that evening and it does very much seem that way as Willow is all dressed up, waiting nervously and downing shots as she waits for Alex to arrive. In a moment of panic, Willow invites Jasmine (who also remarks that Willow looks like she’s waiting for a date) to join them. Jasmine declines and Willow and Alex enjoy a night of flirty banter, exchanging life stories and a lot of tequila. Willow couldn’t make her attraction to Alex more obvious. Okay, she could. She does. At the end of the night, she kisses Alex, who reluctantly turns her down, not wanting to take advantage of her when she’s been drinking, or wanting to be a morning regret. Willow is mortified, not least when she realises that Irene has seen everything.

After being turned down by Alex, in front of Irene, Willow crashes in Dean’s caravan, although she doesn’t feel able to tell him what happened. The next day, Irene, desperately tries to find Willow to talk to her about what she saw. Willow bumps into Alex and panics, lying to her that she doesn’t remember what happened the previous night. Irene gives Willow the chance to talk through her feelings for Alex. Willow then texts Alex to confess that she does remember. They meet up and talk honestly, deciding to take things slowly and not label their relationship while they explore their feelings for each other.

Ben gets the happy news that all charges against him have been dropped. He decides he wants to open the board shop and asks Dean to help him. Unfortunately, this leaves Dean in a very difficult position. He is already struggling to manage the Surf School alongside his shifts at Salt. The Surf School doesn’t bring in any money yet but Salt pays the bills. Adding in the Board Shop only applies more pressure but he doesn’t want to let Ben down. To solve the problem, Mac fires Dean! She then gives him a hefty loan for the Surf School which he can pay back over time. She wants him to live his dream and be able to help Ben. What a brilliant sister! Maggie looks after Ben when he has a wobble over his ability to run the business. Going forward, he decides to go back on the antidepressants in order to make everything be as successful as possible for himself and his family.

John completely misses the point when Marilyn worries about how Raffy is doing and is desperately lonely without any kids to look after at home. Thankfully, sensitive Ryder realises and offers her the hand of friendship. He raises the alarm with John who eventually supports his wife and understands how she is feeling.

Channel 5, 1:15pm & 6pm (sneak peek, weekdays on 5STAR at 6:30pm)

(These reviews are based on the Channel 5 episodes)