Neighbours: Modern Families

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Pierce is in freefall at the prospect of Lisa arriving to sort Hendrix out, believing that she is going to ruin his relationship with his son. While Hendrix is keen to repair his relationship with Chloe, he is destroyed to finally learn the truth about how he actually came to exist. When he and Pierce have a heart to heart, Hendrix finally understands their relationship but he is desperately upset with his mother for keeping Pierce at a distance all these years. Hendrix also apologises to Harlow for the ‘cat toy’ joke and the pair make peace. They will absolutely be dating before the year is out. 100%

Lisa tells Pierce she wants to have another baby with him now that she and her partner have split up. She suggests that she and her daughter move to Erinsborough and they, Pierce, Chloe and Hendrix can be a ‘modern family’. The suggestion is not met positively. Chloe eventually tells Pierce that as children are not an option for her so if he wants to have a child, she would consider allowing him to father a child with Lisa and create the ‘modern family’ she has suggested.

Now that Hendrix has moved out, Bea is keen for Elly and Aster to move back in but as Finn predicts, Elly declines, claiming she wants to be independent. Not that she is getting much of a chance thanks to Aaron and David (who has made a miraculous recovery from the certain death he was facing a week or so ago). They send Elly off for a spa treatment and take Aster to a picnic without taking their phones or telling the kid’s mother whether they’re off to. So when Elly doesn’t find them at home, she flies into a panic. Now, I adore David and Aaron and I have long ceased to be an Elly fan but however well-intentioned they are (and driven by their own desire for children), it seems to me that they smothering her. She doesn’t really want a rest or ‘time off’, she just wants to be with her baby (and Finn – but that’s another story). When she finally catches up with them, out of her mind with panic, she tears a strip off them for not letting her know where they were.

Afterwards, she feels really guilty and frets to Bea and Finn about the way she has treated the boys who have only been nice to her. When she moved in, she was happy to let them help but no real boundaries have been set and she’s been left feeling like a failure as a mother. And of course there’s all the guilt weighing down on her for wanting to sleep with her sister’s boyfriend. I mean, that’s got to be exhausting!

At home, the boys realise that they went too far with looking after Aster but while David worries that that means they might not be ready to be parents themselves, Aaron is surer than ever. Elly comes home and they broker tentative peace, agreeing that they will only help with the baby when she asks for it. But later, they have to physically wake Elly up when the baby starts crying.

Having renewed their relationship, Shane and Dipi are keen to spend alone time together. Unfortunately, Shane gets pulled into work alongside Roxy, interrupting his time with Dipi, who spends the evening with Sheila instead. The usual banter continues between Shane and Roxy at work. Roxy admits that she thought Shane had changed their shifts and didn’t want to hang out with her anymore. When he reassures her, she kisses him. Shane is horrified and Roxy is absolutely mortified and apologetic. The next day, Roxy explains that she just got confused because she isn’t used to platonic friendships with men. She begs him not to tell Dipi what happened. Shane changes his shifts again so they don’t have to work together anymore and tells Roxy they can no longer be friends.

Yashvi has returned from training with Mishti but while Ned wants to get reacquainted, she is keen to keep on with the study program she has got into. He decides to help her study instead but it ends up in a falling out. They make up fairly quickly and Yashvi’s new celibacy rule quickly flies out the window! Little do they know that Liam Murphy from Home and Away has tracked them down! How exciting! Of course, I mean, Axle Whitehead, who is guest starring as Zenin Alexio. He follows Ned home and gives him a stern warning that he and Yashvi had better not have seen anything at the fight club or passed any information onto the police. I’m guessing this is not the end of it. While I’m pleased to see Axle Whitehead back on screen, I am not thrilled that this boring story has reared its ugly head. I was seriously hoping it was over!

Ned’s past comes back to haunt him… again…

Harlow persuades Paul to accept a gift from Robert. Her family also help her settle her mind over her mother’s lack of contact with her and she opts to focus on the family she does have that love her.

Neighbours is on Channel 5, 1:45pm and repeated at 5:30pm

Home and Away: Leap of Faith

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Robbo struggles to look after Grace alone when Jasmine goes back to work but he refuses to let anyone in to help him. Eventually, Irene thrusts helps upon him and attempts to persuade him to let his wife in. However, he continues to hold her at arm’s length, aware that she previously made it clear that she did not want children.

Willow and Alex have spent every single day together since they decided to see where their feelings take them. During a dinner date at the gym, Willow attempts to take things further, only to be turned down but Alex who wants to wait, bringing their night to an abrupt end. The next day, Jasmine and Willow both need a friend. Jasmine is feeling frustrated and left out by Robbo while Willow cannot reach Alex. Opening up to Jasmine about her fledgling relationship, Willow takes her advice and insists on talking to Alex face to face. Alex is clearly terrified of getting hurt. She explains that her last relationship last ten years and left her very hurt. She doesn’t want to be a phase. Sweetheart Mason offers her his friendship, reminding her that he is not just Willow’s friend. Also, just as an aside, I love the rainbow in the distance while Willow and Alex talk about their relationship.

Taking her own advice, Jasmine wants answers from Robbo. Why won’t let her anywhere near Grace? He tells her that it’s because she has already made it clear she didn’t want children. Jasmine pledges her full commitment to their family and it looks like Robbo might finally accept it. I think I may be in a minority but I just don’t really like Robbo all that much. There’s nothing particularly warm about him and he doesn’t listen to other people’s opinions. But anyway…

Ryder shows up for a group surf lesson and while he is smitten with a new girl, Jade, Ziggy clearly sees her as a threat to her and Dean. They end up in an argument, as Ziggy demands Dean stop teaching Jade and accuses him of being no better than Brody. Ouch. Willow understands where Ziggy is coming from, pointing out that everyone has baggage and everyone gets scared. Jade attempts to buy Dean a drink but he abruptly avoids her and sets her up for a drink with Ryder instead. He then pledges his commitment to Ziggy, who assures him that it’s not him she doesn’t trust, it’s Jade.

With her own words sinking in, Willow charges back to the hospital and tells Alex how deeply she cares about her, promising that she’s not an experiment. They decide to take a leap of faith and make a go of things. Hooray!

Meanwhile, Ryder gets Jade a job at Salt but while he enjoys spending time with the girl he clearly has a crush on, she is equally as clearly more interested in Dean. Dean begs Mac to fire Jade so that she will leave town and not cause trouble for him and Ziggy. Ryder enlists Dean’s help in winning Jade round, aware that it’s really Dean that she’s interested in. I mean, have some pride, boy! When Ziggy finds out, she reaffirms that she trusts Dean. Dean then makes it clear that Jade does not stand a chance with him. Although she denies she was ever interested in the first place, he stands firm and refuses to have her at his surf school. Ziggy is touched.

Justin takes Ava to visit Brody and the rest of the family, including Tori. Leah confides in Irene that she misses Justin already and thinks she has fallen in love with him. Inspired by the return of Alf and Martha and their decision to move in together, Leah decides it might be time for her and Justin to move in together too. However, when Justin returns, sad at Ava going home to her mother, she feels that it’s not what Justin wants. But Justin pledges his love and commitment to her and very much wants them to live together. Aww.

While Colby and Mac are eager to send Bella off on her photography trip, the teenager is suddenly unwell, causing Colby to have to cancel his plans. Mac is more than a little suspicious. Unable to stop herself, Mac accuses Bella of faking her illness. Bella is furious when Colby doesn’t defend her. Then she collapses. Colby and Mac rush her to the hospital where Alex works to get to the bottom of what’s wrong. She notices that the cut on her hand hasn’t healed and it transpires that she has no medical history to speak of and so is unlikely to have had any immunisations. She is diagnosed with tetanus. Bella firmly rejects Mac who ends up drinking alone at Salt while Colby remains with her at the hospital.

Maggie supports Ben as he reopens the board shop and continues to navigate his mental health struggles. Although business starts slow, they are thrilled when their bank accounts are unlocked and it’s an exciting day when Ben gets a genuine board order for the shop.

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

Emmerdale: #WhoKilledGraham

(Monday 20^th – Thursday 23rd 2020)

And so we begin our week of #WhoKillsGraham, each episode focussing on a different suspect before the big reveal on Friday… So here’s my review of the episodes leading up tothe big reveal… (I’ve written this blog episode by episode so I don’t know who kills him until the end!)

The week begins with Kim, Al and Graham all at loggerheads. Kim has worked out that Al is up to his neck in debt and offers to buy him out of the business. She then humiliates herself by telling Graham she loves him and wants to give their relationship another chance. He strings her along by asking for time to think but in that time, Kim discovers his deception: he has been stealing from her. She calls Al back and orders a hit on Graham. Drowning in debt to the tune of £60,000 and now with the loan shark threatening Ellis’s life, Al agrees in exchange for the amount of money that will pay off the money he owes.

That night, Kim almost changes her mind, conflicted by her feelings for Graham. However, we then cut to Graham, dead in the woods. Al returns to Home Farm to tells Kim that it’s done, Graham is dead and he wants his money. However, we don’t see him actually kill Graham and I think this is too obvious a plot. I don’t think Emmerdale would waste a ‘who done it’ on Kim. They’d just let her go for the kill. And to me, it looked like Graham was already dead…

In the next episode, Jai thunders through his day’s work, taking all his stress out on Dawn and Laurel and can only survive the day by snorting coke up his nose. Everything seems to go wrong and one minute he thinks he’s on top of it all and the next, he’s falling apart. In the car, he nearly crashes into Graham, who correctly assumes he is back on drugs, which he confiscates as well as his keys. Laurel is confused by Jai’s version of the accident and challenges Graham about apparently running him off the road. She is horrified, especially as that means Jai was prepared to take Dotty in the car with him when he was high. Jai denies everything. It’s a stupid move really. If anyone would understand and support him, it’s Laurel. She’s been there. But he lies. She walks out on him and he follows her, apologising and admitting it and begging for another chance. She feels like it’s too late. She can’t keep him afloat as well as herself, her own sobriety and look after her children. She throws him out. He orders another ‘special pizza’, only to get caught out by Rishi, who immediately takes the drugs away from him. Jai violently takes the drugs back, scaring his Dad.

Cut to Graham in the woods being hit with what looks like a fatal blow to the head. Jai walks away and passes out. So, could it be Jai? He believes he has a motive, even though actually, Graham is just trying to look out for him. And he is feeling reckless enough right now. He has been pushed and pushed by Kim and Al and he wants someone to take it out on. The odds are potentially quite high even if it wasn’t on purpose.

On Wednesday, Charity struggles to keep control of Sarah, Noah and Ryan as she and Vanessa try to keep their secret wedding under wraps. Charity is horrified to learn of Rhona and Graham’s plans to leave the country without informing Marlon. Tracy then reports that Marlon and Graham have just had a huge fight, leading Charity and Vanessa to conclude that the cat is out of the bag. Charity and Vanessa finally announce to the kids that they are getting married. Before the wedding, Charity and Vanessa share a genuinely emotional, loving moment. It’s not often you see the soppy side of Charity but Emmerdale lucked out with this pairing and long may they continue!

Meanwhile, Graham is impatient with Ryan over getting hold of the rest of Kim’s cash. Graham then has his car accident with Jai, as seen in the previous episode. He meets up with Ryan in the woods by the outdoor pursuit centre, demanding that he makes the final transfer. Ryan refuses so Graham takes the money anyway and denies Ryan his cut. He then locks him up in a shed so that he doesn’t tell Kim about the theft. Of all the terrible things Graham has done, there is just something truly wicked about harming Ryan, one of the nicest characters to ever exist in soap. Unbearable.

Things get tense between Graham and Charity…

Realising that Ryan is not there, Charity phones him. Dawn finds the phone discarded on the ground and the pair of them are able to track him down and rescue him. Charity is broken hearted to then have to cancel the wedding in order to look after her shattered son. Ryan explains the story from the beginning and she gives him all her love and support. She then violently confronts Graham for what he did to Ryan and Debbie and what she thinks he did to Noah. Graham is absolutely vile to her. Charity tells Ryan they are going out and will prove to Graham that he cannot mess with them.

Cut to Graham being thrown to the ground, dead. Charity meets Ryan on the bridge:

“No regrets, Ryan. That’s what we said.”
“Yeah. No regrets.”

Andrea tries to reassure Millie as she struggles to work out what why her family is falling apart. She is then spooked by a man watching them. She tackles him and discovers that she is being watched by a private investigator, hired by Jamie, who she then gets into an argument with. He is unrepentant, claiming he is worried that she might up and leave with their daughter. Graham then brings Andrea some documents that give her every piece of information she could possibly need on Kim. It’s enough to put her behind bars and also has innocent Jamie’s signature on everything and it will give her the upper hand in the fight.

Belle encourages Jamie to play nicely so he visits Andrea to try and smooth things over. When Graham sees Jamie and Andrea spending time together, he cannot help revealing the truth about the files, prompting a fight between the two men. Despite Andrea shredding the documents, their peace is broken. Andrea then witnesses the cruelty Graham dished out to Charity in the previous episode and lays into Graham for destroying all their lives.

Andrea drinks alone while Jamie rants to Belle about Graham. Jamie gets into his car, driving past Priya on the phone to Rishi about Jai. Having been drinking, Andrea also gets into the car. Already clearly in a bit of a state in the woods, a car runs Graham over. Andrea cries in the woods, covered in blood.

In the following episode, Marlon and Victoria are busy setting up when Rhona arrives, and foists Leo on his Dad, secretly wanting them to have one last day together before she sweeps him off to France. Things go wrong when they realise that Marlon forgot to switch the fridge on and all the burgers are ruined. In the chaos, Marlon loses April and Leo and desperately races around trying to find them, sending out a search party. When Graham turns up with the kids, Marlon becomes violent but it turns out that April told him her Dad knew where they were.

Vanessa tells Rhona that she and Charity are getting married. She beds Rhona to be beside her on her wedding day. Rhona is regretful but refuses to stay. Vanessa is horrified to discover that Rhona hasn’t told Marlon that she is leaving with Leo. Marlon has a heart to heart with Rhona but gets overwhelmed her and tries to kiss her. Alarmed, Rhona tells him about the move to France, escalating into a huge row. Marlon charges out of the house, determined to stop Graham taking his son away. Sometime later, Graham returns with a cut lip from his fight with Jamie to find Rhona distraught after her row with Marlon. However, she is still determined to forge ahead with their plan. Before they set off, he receives a text from Marlon and arranges to meet him at the outdoor pursuit centre (where he’ll later be murdered) and stupidly asks Rhona, ‘what’s the worst what can happen?’ and then tells her that he’ll see her on the other side. I mean, has he never seen a horror film before? Doesn’t he know the rules?

While Leo takes pictures of Rhona on her phone at home, Marlon seeks out Graham in the woods at the centre, amid lots of creepy music but misses Graham’s final moments when… drum roll please… Rhona’s ex-husband, Pierce Harris, who has just been released from prison for rape, delivers what is presumably the fatal blow! Oh Emmerdale, you do try to fool us! But despite not being on the list, he was still one of my suspects.