Emmerdale: The Godfather

(Monday 16^th – Tuesday 24^th March 2020)

With their families as one now, Laurel reminds Archie to be careful with Arthur’s special boat in a bottle. Arthur is still grounded over his behaviour, prompting him to tell his mother that he hates her and that she’s a rubbish Mum. That night, Arthur hides the bottle in Archie’s bag and then smashes it, hoping the get the little boy in trouble. However, when he knows exactly where to find it the next morning, Laurel doesn’t buy his tale for a second. Jai begs him to tell the truth and apologise to his mother. Reluctantly, Arthur agrees. He takes responsibility for breaking the bottle and when pushed by Archie, accepts that he hurt him, even though it isn’t true.

Charity, Tracy and Rhona support Vanessa as she goes into surgery for her bowel cancer. The surgery is successful, although she will still need chemotherapy to make sure. There is the loveliest scene afterwards where Charity takes Vanessa down to the chemo suite to make her feel more comfortable with what is to come. The two women pledge their love and commitment to each other. It really is very sweet.

Sam is upset to discover that Samson pawned his mother wedding ring to go on a school trip. Vinny takes the blame and he and Mandy get thrown out, prompting Mandy to steal from the Free Marlon Dingle Campaign in order to get the ring back. When Vinny gets such a hard time for his crime, Samson can’t cope and confesses. Vinny then admits that he isn’t actually a Dingle and wanted to prove his commitment to the family. Mandy was in a relationship with his father and has been a mother to him since he was a baby. His Dad left and she has been his mother ever since. The family agree that his love and commitment to the family make his as much Dingle as anyone else.

Unfortunately, Brenda twigs that Mandy has robbed the charity fund and she is soon tackled by the police. The police also want to speak to Marlon, who goes into meltdown at cops knocking on his door. Well, you can understand it. His last police interaction had him wrongfully imprisoned for murder! He hides in his house until Paddy and Rhona can persuade him to open up and calm the situation down.

Paddy takes Marlon out for a drive with Eve and drags him out to car to get some air where he promptly starts having chest pains. Paddy rushes him to the hospital and in the chaos, he forgets about little Eve in the back of the car! Marlon is rushed into resus and Paddy waits anxiously for news. It’s only when Rhona shows up that Paddy suddenly remembers his daughter. By the time he goes to find her, she has already been rescued from the car by the police. She has been taken into the hospital and treated for being too cold. The car is registered to Chas, who has been called to the police station. Social services have been contacted. While Marlon is diagnosed as having had a minor heart attack, Eve is kept in overnight. Chas is furious with Paddy.

The next day, Marlon is finally ready to forgive and forget when it comes to his family. He spends the day with Rhona but things get awkward when she tries to kiss him and then runs off. They eventually talk things through and confirm that they don’t want to restart their relationship, they just needed comfort and got carried away.

Rhona and Marlon confuse their feelings…

Back at the pub, Paddy has to announce his mistake but everyone is a lot more forgiving than Chas. Finding Paddy at Grace’s grave, Lydia says all the right things and sends him back to Chas and Eve. Chas and Paddy make peace but privately, Chas vows never to let her daughter out of her sight again.

The next day is Eve, Harry and Theo’s christening. Chas is late as she takes Eve to help Aaron get dressed, refusing to leave her with Paddy. While they are all waiting, some of the men do Godfather impressions, leading Harriet to start the service with a rather amusing impression of her own! The service goes well but the party afterwards explodes into an argument between Chas and Paddy over his mistake. That night, Paddy leaves. He spends the night in his car. When he does eventually come back the next day, he has missed the meeting with Social Services. Chas is livid.

The other person who struggles with the Christening is Wendy, who despite herself, still misses her rapist son, Lee. She leaves the service and when she apologises to Victoria later for doing so, kind Victoria just gives her a big hug. It’s a lovely scene. Later that night, Victoria takes a huge step and spends the night with Luke but while they seem very close the next morning, Victoria admits to Amy that she felt like the whole thing was happening to someone else. She is honest with Luke who is horrified and wishes she had told him and he would have stopped, never wanting her to feel like that with him. While he is happy to go back to a non-physical relationship, Victoria decides she isn’t ready for any kind of relationship at all and ends things completely between them.

Nick (where did he even come from?) gives Andrea a camera and literally sets her up to record Kim confessing to ordering Graham death and threatening to take out a hit on her. Also on camera, Nick and Andrea kiss before she pulls away, feeling she is cheating on Jamie. Of course, it’s all a plot to get Andrea in a compromising position and Nick has been working for Kim all along. He gives her the footage to use against Andrea but it backfires as Andrea immediately goes to Jamie with what has happened. When Belle also mentions that Kim threatened her to keep away from him, he concludes that his mother will never change. He moves out and reunites with Andrea, the family moving in with Tracy and shutting Kim out of their lives. Not exactly what Kim planned!

While Dawn is excitedly preparing for Lucas’s arrival, this boring story between Will, Cain and this DI Malone guy is rumbling on. This week, poor Billy gets dragged in on getting rid of a car with Cain, only Cain decides to merely hide the car and use it as an insurance policy against Malone. I mean, I’m not really following it to be honest. I apologise. I know I’m a soap blogger but some stories are just too dull, especially when they make them so bloody complicated. The most interesting thing about this one is that the actor who plays the dodgy copper is married to Samantha Womack (RIP Ronnie Mitchell, gone too soon).

Another example of a boring story is this apparently comedic story of Liam and Leyla trying to get some alone time together. They get caught out at the gym, at his GP surgery, at her office, at her house… Oh, it goes on! And why? Because his daughter thinks he should be waiting for the woman who abandoned him to move to Australia? Come off it. Move this story on, Emmerdale, quickly and quietly. The idea of Eric and Brenda getting together is more interesting than this and only because the actors are a couple in real life!

Due to the Coronavirus, Emmerdale have had to suspend filming

This week, Emmerdale is on at 7pm Monday to Friday with a second episode at 8pm on Thursdays

Neighbours: The Third Death

(Monday 23^rd – Tuesday 24^th March 2020)

Monday and Tuesday’s episodes were kind of like a coda to last week’s #endgame so I thought I’d review them separately to the rest of this week. The first episode doesn’t have the usual Neighbours credits. It’s more like a film as JACKIE WOODBURNE, ROB MILLS and NEIGHBOURS appear on the screen for what is an absolutely fantastic two-hander episode. The second episode has the usual credits, having ruthlessly removed Gary Canning (RIP).

So, Susan is surprised when Finn arrives home alone. He tells her that Bea has gone to the Snowy Mountains and he needs her to go with him to see her as she is very upset. Always one to drop everything to help, Susan gets in the car with him, letting Karl know what she’s doing, not that Karl proves to be useful at all.

Travelling in Elly’s car, they head towards the Snowy Mountains where she updates him on the Wedding Expo. He wonders who ended up with the Rome Honeymoon Box. Clearly nobody has discovered Prue yet…

Finn admits that he had been hoping to make a future with Elly but he now knows it was a mistake. He then grills Susan on how she coped with Karl cheating on her and whether she has completely forgiven him. She says she has but the experience changed her; a part of her heart has turned to granite. Finn is full of compliments over the way she loves and cares for people. Then Susan realises that Aster is hidden in the back of the car. Finally, she realises that something is wrong.

Finn insists that Elly can’t look after Aster at the moment. He has clearly transferred his affection from Elly to Susan. Essentially, this is what it has been about all along. His mother never loved him. He wants Susan to be the mother he never had. He has now decided that Karl isn’t good enough for Susan and Elly isn’t good enough for him. He wants him and Susan and Aster to run away and be a family together.

Admitting that his memory has been back for a few weeks, Finn takes Susan to the cabin in the Snowy Mountains, ready for a new life with his new family. He shares some upsetting childhood memories with her and is clearly angry with Elly for giving him hope and then letting him down, even after he went to the trouble of removing all the ‘obstacles’. Susan is gentle with him and holds him while he falls asleep, just as his mother never did. He wants to know how much she hated Karl when he cheated on her. He wants to find some common ground. He wants Susan to empathise with his own heart having turned to granite as he admits that the only thing that makes him feel better about people hurting him is when he hurts them back.

When he is asleep, Susan seeks her escape but she is caught. She makes an excuse and soon has the opportunity to knock him out but she can’t do it. She persuades him that they need to go and buy milk for Aster. When he is getting ready, she spots his phone but he catches her with it and all hell breaks loose as he realises she was about to call the police for help. He is enraged, announcing she will never be a mother to him as he ties her to a chair. He informs her that Elly and Bea will be dead by now and that he killed Gary. He is upset that he won’t get to see Xanthe’s face when she finds out.

While Finn goes outside to dig Susan’s grave, soaking the earth with water to soften it, Susan cries out for help. Aster cries with nobody to soothe her. Susan tearfully apologises to the poor little baby who has been through so much.

In the next episode, water pours into the grave. Finn is clearly getting carried away! Meanwhile, in the cabin, Susan has fallen backwards in her chair and Aster is still crying. Suddenly, Elly bursts in and saves the day. Hooray!

At the hospital, the Island gang are being rushed in. Harlow is critical and Bea is in a bad way. Paul hurries into the hospital with Toadie. Bea tells Karl about Finn. Karl can’t get through to Susan on the phone. Well, she is a little bit busy.

Finn finishes digging what has become a rather watery grave. As he climbs out of it, he slips and falls and the water and the mud suck him into it so he can’t get out. He calls Susan for help. Faced with a moral dilemma, Susan decides to take Elly and the baby and run, leaving Finn behind to die. However, at the last minute, Elly turns back for him. She turns the water off and finds him dead in the grave he dug for Susan. Standing over him, she tells him how much she hates him and that she hopes his last moments were awful. The police arrive, just as she begins to bury him. I mean… she must have known the police were coming. And even if she didn’t, there was no need to touch the scene. Why on earth try and bury him? What the hell is wrong with her? Well, if she hadn’t been messing around with him behind Bea’s back in the first place… Perhaps to answer my question, we should start there!

But anyway, I can’t even tell you how disappointed I am with Finn’s death. Firstly, Neighbours said the third death would be someone unexpected. Finn was the first person on my list. Of course, Finn was going to die. This was his ultimate storyline. It would have been a shock if he hadn’t died. Secondly, what a weak, weird death. It was just… odd. He slipped and fell and drowned in a grave he dug for Susan? I mean, I get it was supposed to be creepy and symbolic. But it was just weird. It didn’t… fit. And it’s such a shame because this whole story, from his previous reign of terror, to being pushed off a cliff, to his redemption, to this whole #endgame story has been incredible. It’s been one of the best Neighbours storylines ever. I’ve loved every single second of it. But I wasn’t impressed with the death of Finn. He has been one of the best characters the soap has ever produced. He deserved better.

Moving on… Chloe and Pierce give their statements to Mark at the police station. (I am very excited to hear a rumour that Sky Mangel is sticking around to take charge of the case, by the way!!!) They explain about Finn, Harlow and the fire.

As for Paul… he found Toadie and flagged Harry down for help, only to end up being taken hostage by him, using a gun from Finn’s storage locker. Harry had been on his way to collect Finn to take him to the cabin in the Snow Mountains. Toadie and Paul managed to explain the truth about Finn (and Elly) to him and he let them go, informing them of Finn’s attack on Bea. Paul explains everything to David while Harry gives his statement to Mark.

When Paul arrived on The Island, he sent Chloe and Hendrix off with Toadie to get help while he, Pierce, Kyle and Roxy went to find Harlow and Bea. By that time, Elly had also been thrown in the mine. Elly had to break the news to Kyle about Gary. There’s a particularly moving scene where Paul comforts him as he breaks down over the loss of his Dad. Everyone ended up having to hide in the mine to protect themselves from the flames, waiting for rescue. Elly drove off as soon as she got to the mainland.

Kyle arrives home and breaks the news to Sheila that Gary is dead. They are both are utterly broken hearted. Kyle must then break the news to Xanthe that Finn murdered her father.

Paul hasn’t been able to contact Prue (may she rest in peace) since it all happened. He lays into Hendrix and kicks him out of Harlow’s hospital room. Roxy promises to keep him updated.

Elly, Susan and Aster arrive at the hospital, reassuring Bea that they are safe and well, although Susan is suffering exhaustion from her encounter with Finn. Elly breaks the news to her sister that Finn is dead. Mark arrives and calls Elly in for questioning over Finn’s death.

Due to the Coronavirus, Neighbours did temporarily suspend filming but currently, they do seem to have resumed so no changes to schedule so far

Neighbours airs on Channel 5, weekdays 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Coronation Street: Clare’s Law

(Monday 16^th – Monday 23^rd March 2020)

Geoff persuades Yasmeen to sell up and move to Cyprus with him. There’s an interesting moment when he educates her on washing her hands while singing ‘happy birthday’ in her head, which apparently was coincidental but is now very apt!

Alya continues to be very worried about her grandmother. She accuses Geoff of theft, which he denies and she is later shocked when someone comes to value the business. Alya charges round to see Yasmeen who has no choice but to let her in. Convinced that Yasmeen is being abused, she furious packs some clothes for her, only for Geoff to interrupt them. Geoff and Alya fight over Yasmeen who ultimately chooses her husband. He throws Alya out. It’s just so sad, especially as of course, Geoff then takes everything out on Yasmeen, accusing her of accusing him of being an abuser. He leaves her stewing for hours before she agrees to abandon her granddaughter, something that rational Yasmeen would never, ever have done before. She absolutely lived for her family.

Toyah takes Alya to the police for help for Yasmeen…

Desperately worried, Alya goes to the police to invoke Clare’s Law and asks them to search Geoff’s background and find out if there is anything in Geoff’s past that Yasmeen ought to know. Separately, Alya discovers that Geoff and an ex-girlfriend were both once charged with a public affray after a fight in a pub. She takes the information to Yasmeen who is resistant to the news. Alya begs her to hang fire on the move to Cyprus. Yasmeen rushes her out the back door when Geoff arrives home. Alya expresses her concerns to Eileen.

Geoff is immediately annoyed when the neighbours make fun of him with ‘jiggle it Geoff’ as the chain is on the door. But mostly, he is excited over their plans to move away. It all goes wrong when Yasmeen reluctantly asks him about Jocelyn, the woman he fought with. He denies any blame and challenges Yasmeen to go with him to the police station to ask them herself. He is furious that Alya was back at the house and slams his fist on the table, frightening his wife before throwing her dinner on the floor. She is so scared of the mess and wasting the money that he spent on the takeaway that she picks it up and begins to eat off the floor. He is disgusted with her. It’s one of the most horrific scenes yet. This incredible woman has been utterly degraded by this vile man.

Geoff cancels Cyprus and then walks out on her for the night. While Yasmeen scrubs the carpet, he books an escort called Rachel! The next morning, Yasmeen desperately searches for Geoff and finds Alya in the restaurant contacting the police about their background search on him. She says some very unkind things to her granddaughter and makes it clear that she chooses Geoff over her. It really is the most awful situation.

When he finally does come home, Yasmeen finds the strength to say she wants to hang fire on moving to Cyprus. At work, Alya is frustrated with Geoff for not doing any work. He is too busy booking his next ‘date’ with ‘Rachel’.

Yasmeen is unable to work due to a bad stomach. Geoff rearranges the work rota so that he and Alya don’t have to work together. Alya is about to give up on Yasmeen, feeling that all her attempts to help have only succeeded in Yasmeen pushing her away. Ryan visits Yasmeen and begs her to come and see Alya, who is upset over a phone call. Yasmeen rushes out in her dressing gown, desperately worried about her granddaughter. She finds Alya in her flat with two police officers. They have information about Geoff. Yasmeen is worried about Geoff having seen her and she doesn’t want to hear anything they have to say. She storms out. The police are unable to tell anyone but Yasmeen about Geoff.

Alya visits Yasmeen and begs her to at least consider hearing what the police have to say. She persuades her to let her put the officer’s number in her phone under ‘Clare’, expressing how worried she is. It’s an emotional moment as Alya tells her she knows she is scared and confused. You can see Yasmeen’s conflict as she wants to reach out to Alya for help but she is trapped in this awful cycle of abuse with Geoff.

Alya attempts to bring Zeedan home to help with Yasmeen but he doesn’t believe that she is being abused and refuses to abandon his holiday with his girlfriend.

Gemma is struggling with parenthood and is reluctant to return to the Mother and Baby Group. The group are not impressed with Bernie, who has arrived back on the Street. Gemma is further upset to realise that she has been left out of a get together and embarrassed when Bernie bursts in and gives them what for. The girls appear to make a gesture by inviting Gemma and the quads out. There seems to be one girl, Imogen who isn’t very nice and deliberately keeps topping up Gemma’s Prosecco to get her tipsy and chatty and there’s another girl, Vanessa who does seem to be quite nice.

Things take a turn when Gemma overhears Imogen remarking that the kids will end up in care. She storms out and nearly ends up under a car – with the kids. She is spotted by Craig and one of his colleagues who are concerned that she has been drinking, although Craig lets it go this time. Gemma breaks down and admits to Bernie that she isn’t coping but she cannot be honest with Chesney who is working so hard for the family. By the end of the episode, the quads are crying, Joseph needs help with his homework, she has spilt a cup of tea and she is sobbing in the garden. That night, she has a nightmare that she puts Aled in the washing machine. She still can’t tell Chesney what she is going through.

Gemma is surprised by a visit from the Health Visitor, who is mildly concerned about her mental health but Gemma doesn’t want to talk about it. Taking her advice, when she gets stressed, she goes outside for a moment, only to get locked out of the house. Bernie arrives and they manage to break in through the window and settle the babies down. Gemma breaks down on her mother. Bernie decides to move in and help with the babies. She wants Gemma to book a Doctor’s appointment. Chesney is not happy about Bernie moving in, especially after she takes responsibility for the broken window.

Ken and Claudia hit the ground running at the Retirement Village with Claudia volunteering Ken to run the book club, as their regular leader is unavailable. He ends up having to read an excerpt from his own book but there is a troublemaker in the form of Norris Cole, who attempts to discredit him. He is soon shut down by the other residents who don’t care if Ken has only had one book published: it’s one more book than Norris. It turns out that Norris and Freda have been living at the Retirement Village and Norris hates it. He feels like Freda has turned into a different person and he is desperate to leave. He is disruptive in an art class. You know, this Retirement Village seems rather a lot of fun! A book club, art club, cinema club, salsa class, a bar… Ken brings Norris to The Rovers to see his friends. Ken isn’t happy over the way Tracy is (not) looking after Eccles so he sneaks her into the Retirement Village.

Fiz and Tyrone have a rather unpleasant discussion in front of the kids about cremated dogs being scattered in the Red Rec! It’s not that random – Tyrone and Evelyn have to take the dog to the vet but thankfully he will be just fine. However, his treatment is very expensive (no insurance). At the vets, Evelyn reconnects with an old flame, Arthur. They arrange a date (Evelyn even gets a makeover from Claudia and reserves a booth at The Rovers), only for him not to show up, which is a genuine shame. It would be nice for her to have a romance. Tyrone intercepts Arthur going to explain himself to Evelyn and warns him to stay away. He speaks to her anyway and explains that nerves got in the way of the date, asking for another chance. Evelyn tells Tyrone off for interfering, although she is touched that he cares.

Seb is reluctant when Emma tells him that her mother wants to pay for them both to come to Australia so she can meet him, although he does eventually agree. He also doesn’t seem to want to spend much time with her but later has a moment with Alina. Oh dear. Emma speaks to Alina directly when she gets wind of a possible attraction between her and Seb but Alina makes it clear that she would never come between them and that she values her friendship with Emma. Well, I hope that’s true.

Is there still an attraction between Seb and Alina…?

Alina tells David off for being rude to her at the pub so he buys her a drink to apologise. A possible new romance? For now, David has his own problems, as Shona refuses to see David but he reconnected with Clayton. She decides to go and visit Clayton himself and warn him not to take advantage of his vulnerable mother. He fails. Nick offers to try and see Shona and try to correct the situation. She refuses to see him. She passes on a message to David that she will not be returning to Wetherfield and she wants a divorce.

David fails to warn Clayton away from Shona…

Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filing

This week, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Monday & Wednesday at 7:30/8:30pm

Hollyoaks: #DontFilterFeelings

(Monday 16^th – Friday 20^th March 2020)

Juliet and Sid are in way too deep with Jordan already but this is clearly just the beginning as he refuses to take no for an answer about them selling drugs for him. He threatens to tell Juliet’s family what she has been up to. Deciding to end things once and for all, Juliet opts to be honest with her family. Unfortunately, she overhears Romeo and James doubting her honesty and she cannot bear to prove them right. What she doesn’t hear is the end of the conversation and James putting his absolute faith in her. Subsequently, Sid and Juliet agree to work for Jordan, who has been getting up close and personal with Peri. This is also the first time we see a flicker of attraction on Juliet’s behalf towards Peri, which we know by the end of the year, will turn into love.

Darren is lost in the pit of depression…

Oblivious Mandy goes out for the day, leaving Darren all by himself. Desperate not to be alone, he arranges to spend time with Luke and Kyle. When they leave him to return to their partners in the evening, he is left broken again. He upsets Oscar, who tells him they never have any fun together anymore and pretends to be asleep when Mandy comes home. He cries alone.

When he backs out of the open mic night he has be obsessing over for weeks, claiming to be unwell, Mandy is at her wit’s end with him. When she expresses her concerns to their friends, Kyle also backs out of the open mic night (leaving a spot open for Cindy to insult people), and visits Darren. Once he’s actually got through the door, the boys have the first heart to heart I think they’ve ever had. Kyle suspects that Darren is suffering with depression. He tells him about ‘a friend’ he had while he was in rehab (news to Darren) who suffered terribly with depression. He admits that it never really left him and refers to a coping mechanism he had of pinching his hand when he got anxious. He advises Darren to keep it quiet (terrible advice!), claiming that Mandy won’t understand and will just tell him to man up. That night, Kyle smokes weed alone and cries. His pinches his hand. As all viewers knew, he is the friend he was talking about.

The next day, Darren makes a big effort with Mandy. Kyle visits, worried about Darren after her doesn’t reply to his calls or texts. Nancy is embarrassed when Kyle shows up to school in his green Lycra to very sweetly bring her some lunch. She accepts the lunch but hurriedly sends him away. No wonder the poor guy feels so rejected; she hasn’t exactly made it a secret that she thinks he’s beneath her. They’re meant to be getting married in ten wees and she wasn’t brimming over with joy about that. Plus, she told him that wasn’t cut out to be a father after her miscarriage. And there’s the small matter of her cheating on him with Darren. Her disregard for Kyle is quite obvious. It’s really very sad. And it’s a very interesting story, actually. As a viewer, I’ve very easily noticed the state that Darren has been in but I didn’t realise the depth of despair that Kyle was facing.

Thankfully, Darren does notice Kyle, stoned on skunk and hurries to sober him up, even though it means cancelling his date with Mandy. He is worried about his friend smoking and is sceptical over him doing it to solve his physical pain.

The next day, Mandy is busy but is eager for tickets so she sets Darren and Kyle the task of queuing online for them. Of course, they get distracted with video games and lose their place in the queue. Thankfully, Kyle has a contact at the venue and scores the tickets that way instead so Mandy need never know they messed up.

Edward struggles to control his jealousy of Diane and Tony, particularly on his and his late wife’s wedding anniversary where he tells Diane that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her instead now. Things come to a head when Edward wins a prestigious award and threatens to reveal all about their affair during his speech but backs out at the minute. During the party, Diane takes him aside to make it clear that they are over and Tony must never know about their affair. Edward ‘just so happens’ to still have his microphone on and while Tony is in the middle of his own speech about how proud he is of his Dad, the truth about the affair comes out to the whole room. Eventually, Tony kicks Edward out of the house but gives Diane a choice – him or Edward. She chooses Tony. Good!

Edward is particularly rude to Misbah who only has the best of intentions when she is concerned over him doing too many hours at work. Tony refuses to let his Dad get into his head over Diane.

Liam continues to throw his weight around with his enemies. Liam manages against the odds to get Warren out of prison, only for Liam to have him beaten to within an inch of his life. Liam continues to throw his weight around with Maxine, sending a client round to her house for sex, prompting an argument when she refuses. He doesn’t want to take no for an answer.

Due to the Coronavirus, Hollyoaks has had to suspend filming

For now, Hollyoaks still airs on Channel 4 at 6:30pm with a sneak peek 7pm on E4

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

Eastenders: Baby of Mine

(Monday 16^th – Tuesday 17^th March 2020)

The Coronavirus has suspended filming of Eastenders and now all the other soaps so this week, we only got two episodes (Monday and Tuesday). I will try and keep people informed over changes to schedules as I can.

So… something has definitely shifted in the Atkins household since Gray’s brutal assault on Chantelle. While he is walking on eggshells, she has completely shut him out and clearly feels broken by what he has done to her. She refuses to let him near her, including hiding from him when she gets dressed, as she is wrapped in bandages to try and heal all her cuts and bruises. When he does walk in on her and sees what he has done to her, he is visibly shaken but it may just be too late. She even flatly informs him that she has taken a job at the call centre with Kheerat and refuses to apologise for it, despite his objections. All we can hope is that this may be the beginning of her finding the strength to leave him.

Gray continues to work on Whitney’s case while she reluctantly recovers from her collapse in hospital. She is still refusing to eat. Gray searches Whitney’s room in frustration, looking for any kind of clue that Leo was stalking her and finally, looks up and sees the hole in the ceiling. He and Sonia then discover the creepy loft room, full of evidence of stalking and a planned attack on Whitney. This could be the ultimate key to her release. Gray appeals to his boss about his job, confident that Whitney’s case is now something he can win but it doesn’t look as if it is going to be that easy.

Sharon continues to struggle to be a mother to Kayden, although Linda is proving to be a true friend, offering to look after both him and her. She takes her to register the birth and is a genuine, kind, listening ear.

Sharon is further broken when she receives the news that Denny’s body has been released and she can go ahead with the funeral. Kathy goes with her to begin making plans with Jay. She goes to see the coffin (presumably it was too much to show a child in coffin on Tuesday night!) and breaks down, telling him that she could never love anyone the way she loves him. Well, that doesn’t bode well for the baby.

After a chat with Denise about when she had Raymond adopted and having left Kayden with Karen pretty much all day, the inevitable happens… Sharon takes the baby back to Karen and hands him over. She tells her that she can’t be a good mother to the baby and she wants him to have a good life with her.

Keegan and Denise have a heart to heart over the difficulties black people face in this world. Keegan is upset that his father wasn’t around to prepare him. When he returns him, he talks to Bailey who is full of all the dreams under the sun. He warns Mitch to prepare her for future now so she isn’t hurt and shocked when she’s older if she doesn’t get the same opportunities as other people. Mitch reluctantly talks to Bailey who feels very sad that she could be treated in a different way. And I think viewers are left sad too. This whole storyline is sad. Because it shouldn’t be true. It should never have been true. And now, in 2020 this should not be people’s lives.

Ben is approached by an old ‘colleague’, the guy he got caught up with who abducted Louise. Remember that boring plot? Yes, all that is coming back. Brilliant. Callum is suitably worried but Ben is adamant that just because he is deaf, it doesn’t mean he can’t be stupid, I mean, himself. The couple attend another Doctor’s appointment and they are set for the cochlear implant in around four weeks (presumably unless the Coronavirus reaches Walford and they cancel all non-emergency surgery). And the Doctor does that awful thing of constantly talking to Callum instead of Ben. Offensive. You’d think a Doctor, especially in that particular field, would know better.

Isaac continues to make his presence felt in the Square. He gets very drunk on a school night, then quits his job to take on a teaching position at Walford Primary. Well, it looks like he is here to stay. Great. He’s not annoying at all.

Due to the Coronavirus, Eastenders has had to suspend filming

It will air as normal this week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7:30/8:00pm, BBC1

Doctors: The Truth is Out There

(Monday 16^th – Friday 20^th March 2020)

Daniel, Zara, Izzy and Joe spend the day together and Izzy challenges the adults about their ‘secret relationship’, pointing out that Joe phoned her when he found them in bed together. Daniel and Zara decide to be honest with the kids but Joe doesn’t want to know. Izzy points out that it’s hard for Joe to trust them; he doesn’t want his world to be shattered again if they were to break up. On her advice, they go very gently with him. That kid has had a personality transplant since the last time she was in the show!

Sid spends more time with his brother, Lawrence but struggles not to tell him the truth. Lawrence is worried that Sid’s father is unhappy but Sid is dismissive over the problems that his parents have in their marriage. Lawrence’s mother objects to his friendship with Sid. Finally, someone has noticed their similarity!

Lawrence invites Sid to an open mic night at The Icon with his friend, Tony, who clearly doesn’t like him imposing on their friendship. Tony and Lawrence both successfully do some stand up comedy but Sid chokes when he reads poetry as he spots Lawrence’s mother glaring at him. Lawrence’s Mum gives Sid a stern warning and Sid promises that neither him, nor his father are out to upset Lawrence or disturb his life in any way, he just wants to get to know his brother.

Karen has a difficult visit with Jimmi, realising that he has assimilated with prison life now and given up hope for his future and his case. Thankfully, his friends have not given up and Al is still trying to find leads and explanations as to how on earth Jimmi got framed in the first place. SJ leads Al to a thug called Harvey who he manages to have a meeting with. He challenges him about SJ and the money being stashed at The Icon. He asks him about Jimmi and threatens him with the police. However, he is in way over his head and is escorted out before having the living daylights beaten out of him. Meanwhile, the guy he followed into the pub seems to have had an even worse fate…

Ayesha stitches Al up but he lies about having fallen down the stairs. Not buying it for a second, Karen challenges Al and then calls Rob in to speak to him. Al confesses everything, worrying Rob as Harvey is a serious criminal. He tells him he was lucky to get away. However, they do have some leads in Jimmi’s case now, thank goodness. I can’t help asking, surely this must be over soon?

We then have a seemingly random episode where Daniel is called to a fight in the prison. A clearly traumatised a prisoner attacks Jimmi’s old cellmate, Leon, triggered by him tapping his foot to music. It soon transpires that his previous cellmate, George, hanged himself and he woke up to the sound of his foot tapping the wall of the cell. The two men were in love with each other and he holds himself responsible for his suicide.

However, the episode isn’t as random as it seems. In the next episode, Daniel is working late at the prison, still troubled by the man’s tale and the date of his boyfriend’s suicide. It was the day before Jimmi was mugged. Remember that weird mugging when they didn’t take anything and it seemed more like an assault? It seemed very targeted and never really made any sense.

Meanwhile, Bear tackles Al who has blatantly skived off work. He finds him back in the dodgy pub he got beaten up in the day before. Al manages to send Bear away and the sneaks into the office and who should he see with Harvey? Jimmi’s lawyer! Well, he always looked a bit shifty… No wonder he never got anywhere with the case!

Back in the prison, Daniel continues to research George and finally comes up with an answer, calling reluctant Jimmi in to see him. George is the therapy patient he turned into the police for murder last year. Daniel suspects the assault was a reaction to George’s death and when it didn’t work, whoever was responsible, took things further. And as it turns out, George is the son of none other than Jimmi’s lawyer, John Butler.

Al turns to Rob with all his new information and they take everything to the police investigating Jimmi’s case. Al has also set Valerie on a mission to investigate John Butler’s law firm, all dressed up as her posh alter ego, Natasha Fitzsimmons. Oh, Valerie, you do provide the most delightful light relief. I adore you. Of course, John Butler has gone to ground. ‘Natasha’ manages to run rings around the receptionist though and snoops as much as possible. The police are not impressed but really, they are embarrassed to have made such a hash of their own operation. Al, Rob, Emma, Karen and Valerie have done more work on the case in a few days than the police have in months. No wonder this storyline has taken so long to resolve!

Back at the prison, Leon is acting very strangely. He makes a phone call, saying he has received ‘the signal’. Hanging up and spotting Jimmi, he stabs him! Everyone is shocked. Leon is visibly upset. I am upset! Jimmi and Leon were supposed to be friends. Maybe Leon had just been keeping an eye on him. I don’t know anything anymore!

Due to the Coronavirus, Doctors has suspended filming

For this week, Doctors is still on weekdays BBC1 at 1:45pm

There is an hour long episode on Thursday 26^th, celebrating Doctors 20^th Anniversary

Neighbours: And I’m Gonna Let it Burn…

(Friday 20^th March 2020)

Down in the mine, Bea manages to get the snake safely out of harm’s way but Harlow is in a bad way, having already been bitten. Above ground, Finn stalks Gary with a bow and arrow as he searches for Harlow but is interrupted by Pierce and Hendrix, who are also out searching. He stashes his weapon and quickly misdirects them.

In that time, Gary locates Harlow and is shocked to discover Bea with her. Unfortunately, while he is attempting to save them, Finn shoots him dead with the bow and arrow! Not Gary! He’s so lovely! I mean, worse characters could have gone but I do like him. He always had a bit of the Joe Mangel about him. Finn throws the rescue rope completely down the mine, which suddenly looks a lot deeper than it did before and jubilantly leaves them to die.

While Finn is busy murdering kind Gary Canning, Chloe attempts to broach her concerns about him to Elly who will not hear a word spoken against the man she has fallen in love with. Finn returns to the site and eagerly sets about departing The Island with Elly and Aster. As they walk down to the beach, Elly mentions that Finn snapped at Chloe, which he denies. He also shrugs off the fact that his arm is bleeding. Then he lets slip a memory he shouldn’t have about their previous relationship. Elly stalls pretty well, sending him off with a task while she digs around in his bag and discovers both Bea and Toadie’s phones. She grabs her baby and runs!

Having got nowhere with Elly, Chloe turns to the others about her worries. The group try to work out what Finn is up to, misdirecting Hendrix and Pierce, his aggressive behaviour with Chloe and Gary and his response to his and Bea’s breakup. They also discuss the fisherman (Harry) who randomly brought Hendrix and Harlow to The Island.

Meanwhile, Toadie washes up on the beach, away from The Island. Paul just happens to be coming by at that exact moment, presumably on his way to The Island to track down Harlow, and spots Toadie on the beach. He rushes to help, as Toadie does his best to explain that Finn attacked him and told him that he had hurt Bea and is in love with Elly. Paul attempts to get Toadie to hospital and who should be passing and offer them a lift? Harry Sinclair!

Finn gives chase as Elly hides out in the woods, desperately trying to keep herself and Aster quiet. However, it’s not Aster that gives the game away. She lets out a blood curdling scream when she stumbles upon Gary’s dead body. Feeling utterly betrayed by Elly, Finn snatches Aster away from her. He sails away from The Island having set it on fire.

Now, the preview for next week declares one more death and shows a preview of a two-hander episode between Finn (Rob Mills) and Susan (Jackie Woodburne) which looks to be incredible. However, if they dare kill Susan Kennedy, I will never forgive them. That would be utterly unforgiveable. I read an article that stated they were killing two characters who had run their course and that the third death isn’t a name that anyone will be expecting. Nobody had really got the chance to know Prue and as lovely as Gary is, he has been stuck in a rut for a while. For the next death, Finn would be the obvious answer. This must be the end of his story now. He’s been in it as a psycho three times now. They can’t do it a fourth time, especially after they’ve done this third time so fabulously well. But if he’s the obvious answer, it surely cannot be him? However, they MUST NOT kill Susan! I don’t trust them though. They already killed Sonya.

However, back to the presents… Finn has just set a massive fire on The Island so perhaps let’s not rule out one of those people: Chloe, Pierce, Hendrix, Harlow, Bea, Elly, Kyle and Roxy. Pierce (the only character to have been in the anniversary episodes without actually being in them), Hendrix and Roxy haven’t been in it long enough to qualify for the description of the third death. Harlow would be a shame, just because she is party of a big family dynasty (and she is Jason Donovan’s daughter) but no, she still doesn’t qualify. Bea and Elly haven’ finished their stories yet. So… Kyle or Chloe? That would have a pretty big impact. Although with them teasing this Susan and Finn episode… I’m worried. I’m very worried… This show is getting as ruthless as Hollyoaks!

What does Finn have in store for Susan…?

Channel 5, weekdays 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Plus Neighbours Late: Endgame 10pm, Channel 5

Neighbours: Golden!

(Friday 20th March 2020)

Susan is becoming increasingly concerned about Bea, who hasn’t been heard from apart from a text or two to Elly since she left The Island and hasn’t yet reached Liz, who she is supposed to be going to stay with. She hasn’t been able to get in touch with anyone and is concerned that a huge storm is heading towards The Island.

Mackenzie drags reluctant Ritchie down to the Wedding Expo. He is not thrilled. They are awkward when they bump into Terese who wants to know where Harlow is and it’s not long before the truth comes tumbling out; Harlow and Hendrix have gone to The Island. Paul is too busy trying to resolve the fact that both Des and Jane have asked him to be their best man and left him to decide who to choose. He has no space in his head to even listen to his wife.

While Jane is sad that she has nothing of her Nan, Mrs Mangel with her on her wedding day, Dipi suggests Nell, her namesake be her flower girl, which is just a beautiful touch. She is such a cutie. Rather than being Jane or Des’s best man, Paul has secured acting as their celebrant so he can be there for both of them equally. And finally, after goodness knows how many years, Des Clarke and Jane Harris are husband and wife!

After the wedding, Paul overhears Terese discussing Harlow sneaking off to The Island with Hendrix. He is not amused, especially with the storm breaking contact so they have no idea whether she is safe or not. And she’s not. She’s stuck in a mine with Bea and a dangerous snake!

Meanwhile, Clive and Sheila are uncomfortable all day, encountering signs that they should get married, starting with Sheila winning a wedding dress worth several thousand dollars. Eventually, they are honest with each other. Neither of them wants to get married. Sheila intends to sell the dress and take Clive on a fantastic holiday.

Jack solves Mark and Paige’s prayers when he announces that he has got a job in Adelaide! The family can all move to Adelaide to be with Mark, Tyler, Piper and Faye and be one big happy family. Hooray!

Also, just as an aside, the background music of Queen Kylie’s ‘Golden’ just made this episode even more fabulous. Thank you, Neighbours. Thank you.

Channel 5, weekdays 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Plus Neighbours Late: Endgame 10pm, Channel 5

Neighbours: Trapped

(Thursday 19^th March 2020)

The storm begins to set in on The Island and the party begin to batten down the hatches in preparation. Gary expresses his concerns about Finn to Elly but she is dismissive. She cannot see beyond her feelings and it hasn’t occurred to her that he might have turned into a psycho again. Finn overhears their conversation and warns him to keep his nose out. Well, that makes me worry for Gary…

Down in the mine, Bea is still hopeful that there is still some reasonable explanation for her boyfriend pushing her into a hole and telling that she is in the way of him running off into the sunset with her sister. Well, that is some level of optimism there, Bea. Harlow feels guilty as she recalls the moment a few days ago when Finn remembered something he shouldn’t have when he visited her. She should have flagged it. Yes, probably but it wasn’t her fault. Bea insists that all of this is down to Finn and neither of them should blame themselves. Harlow explains to Bea that things were becoming more intimate with Hendrix and when she was unsure, she felt patronised by him so she got angry and left. She can’t bear the thought of dying without making things right with him.

Finn makes plans to meet with Harry. He awkwardly mentions that he is bringing Elly and Aster with him. The phone signal cuts out as the storm sets in. Chloe tells Finn that she knows about him and Elly and that’s why it would be better for her to go and find Bea instead. He accuses her of still wanting Elly for herself and warns her to focus on her husband. He then persuades Elly to stick to their original plan. The tension between Finn and Gary continues. Gary expresses his concerns about Finn to Kyle. He is trying to forget about Prue (RIP) and hasn’t listened to any of her voicemails. Kyle ditches Roxy in order to spend time with his Dad.

Hendrix arrives at the site and is alarmed to realise that Harlow isn’t already there. Everyone scatters to look for her, with Chloe staying behind to wait for Elly and Finn who have gone out to locate a boat to leave on. When Finn and Elly return, Finn panics that everyone is searching The Island and may come across Bea and so delays his and Elly’s departure in the guise of looking for Harlow himself.

In the mine, Bea and Harlow’s hopes are raised and then dashed when they hear noises above and call out for help: it’s Finn. He gleefully throws rocks at them. Then he flicks a snake into the mine! He is genuinely enjoying the cruelty he is inflicting upon them. There is no humanity left in him now.

Gary returns to the site, having found nothing. He and Chloe confide in each other over their Finn fears. Gary heads out to search the area Finn headed off to. But I’m worried his downfall may come when Chloe mentions this to Elly who mentions it to Finn. One minute he is satisfied that he has solved the Harlow/Bea problem and he’s ready to leave with Elly and the next, he has picked up the archery set and he’s set off after Gary.

Pierce and Hendrix are out searching for Harlow together. Hendrix is honest about his argument with Harlow but promises that he never put her under any pressure. I hope Harlow survives. I really like her relationship with Hendrix. Also, surely they wouldn’t dare kill off Jason Donovan’s daughter?!

In the mine, Bea and Harlow are being seriously harassed by the snake. They attempt to trap it but one of them gets bitten…

Channel 5, weekdays 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Plus Neighbours Late: Endgame 10pm, Channel 5

Home and Away: Family

(Thursday 12^th – Friday 20^th March 2020)

There is a wave of grief covering the whole of Summer Bay and Robbo and Mason’s death make the front page of the paper.

Roo forces Alf and Martha to sort out their differences. Alf explains that he had been thinking of proposing for a while but the loss of their friends pushed him forward. He gets down on one knee and proposes for real. Martha accepts. The wedding is going ahead!

Ryder is still feeling low about everything that has happened with Jade. Jade gives him a load of hassle and he can’t stop himself from arguing with her. A new guy, Nikau intervenes and he and Jade end up on a date. She gives him her skewered version of what happened with Ryder and he refuses to listen to any of Ryder’s warnings. When Ben brings Ryder home from a fight with Nikau, angry Ryder blurts out the whole sorry tale to Alf and Martha right in the middle of their engagement celebrations. Great timing!

Tori, Justin and Grace arrive back from visiting Brody, Raffy and Simone (although Simone never gets mentioned ever). Justin hasn’t yet broken the news about Robbo to Tori. When he does, she is understandably devastated. He is the father of her child. When she later discovers that he has been gone for two days, she takes all her grief and anger out on poor Justin who has only been trying to do the right thing. I feel sorry for him. His brother is dead. His friend is dead. His sister has just woken up from a coma. His girlfriend is missing. Give the poor guy a break! It’s a sad scene as he wanders into the sea and sobs. He seeks support from Ben who has been through dark times of his own. When Tori lays into him the second he walks through the door, he is actually able to stand up for himself. I’m glad. This isn’t just happening to her.

Marilyn has also arrived back from visiting Jett. She is still struggling in the aftermath of the siege. She bumps invites Ari and his family over to dinner. Now, I can’t quite work his family out just yet. He has a nephew, this Nikau boy and Nikau’s mother, Gemma, who is his sister in law. Her husband, Nikau’s father is dead. Nikau is furious with Ari but we don’t know why. Over dinner, he remarks that Ari left Marilyn and the other hostages behind, which technically he did but he was helping them escape. So did he do something like to his brother? Are him and Gemma a couple? I can’t work it out.

All I do know is that they are living in a motel, struggling for money and have been harassed and chased away from other towns so need to lie low. Ari was in jail for ten years and he knows Dean from his time behind bars. He makes it clear to him that he doesn’t want anyone to know he was in prison. So, when kind hearted Marilyn puts him in the paper for being a hero, he is not happy at all. Time will tell the back story of this family, I suppose…

Oh, Ari finds the memory book so that Marilyn can return it to Tori! Hurrah!

Alex is reluctant to go to work where she must face constant reminders of everything that has happened there so she flirts with Willow instead. Colby interrupts, fretting about Jasmine and ruining the moment. Willow continues to feel concerned about how Alex is coping.

Wendy and Ian arrive and Wendy is so lovely, making it clear that Jasmine will always be part of her family. She offers the emotional and practical support that Jasmine needs in preparing for the funeral. She has already done this for Robbo when he lost his wife and children. Wendy and Ian request to see Grace, making Tori very nervous as she has never actually met them before the meeting mostly goes well. Colby continues to work on Victor’s case, bringing it to a close and keeping Jasmine away from it like Robbo requested. That night, Jasmine struggles with her speech for the funeral. She falls asleep and has a vivid dream about Robbo.

The funeral is fully attended by residents of Summer Bay and the police force. Colby carries a wreath. Lance’s Dad attends. Lance’s funeral is the next day. Wendy and Ian tell her that when one officer dies, all the families rally round. Ian gives an emotional speech about his son. The more Jasmine absorbs, the more things don’t make sense to her. When Colby gives his speech, she realises that Robbo sent her away on purpose and that he knew he was dying. When it’s time to take the coffin away, she jumps up in protestation, crying desperately about Robbo abandoning her.

Jasmine struggles to cope without her husband…

Mac has spent the day at the hospital keeping Bella company. Alex is also at the hospital, working. They have a rather strange conversation with Bella, where she casually mentions that she has never been to a funeral before. She never even knew her mother had died. Her Dad just buried her in the back garden! Marilyn and Alex confide in each other over how much they are struggling in the wake of the siege. I think it’s genuinely important to not have had this massive storyline and then have everyone just go back to their normal lives. I’m really enjoying these little scenes, like between Alex and Marilyn where they admit they’re not sleeping and offering each other kindness and support.

Mac, Marilyn and Alex both join the others at Robbo’s wake. Justin and Tori reveal the plans for Mason’s funeral, which will take place off screen, somewhere between Summer Bay and where Raffy and Brody live. I like that it’s not the typical soap situation where someone dies and members of their own family can’t even be bothered to notice! Marilyn, John, Alex and Willow plan to attend. Colby is impressed that Mac and Bella have reconnected.

Ziggy finds herself in turmoil when she is invited to Mason’s funeral; she wants to say goodbye to her friend but she doesn’t want to see Brody and Simone. Dean doesn’t have a clue as to why going to the funeral is so important and only upsets Ziggy more but Mac provides more help. When Ziggy opts out of attending the funeral, Dean makes a wreath for Mason, and he and Ziggy say a few words and send it out to sea together.

Jasmine is desperate for answers from Colby about the siege and exactly how and why Robbo died. She also wants to know why everyone is rallying around Robbo and Lance’s family and not Scott’s. When Bella arrives home she immediately says all the wrong things to Jasmine who rushes out of the house in tears. Colby is left with no choice but to admits that Scott killed Lance, having been threatened into working for Victor. Robbo knew he was dying and wanted to protect Jasmine right up until the end.

Tension continues between Jade and Ryder. Nikau continues to argue with his family and spend time with Jade. However, things go south when Jade is rude to Gemma who comes in with her CV, not realising that she is Nikau’s mother. She turns on the tears but he is starting to wise up to what she is really like, thank goodness. They go back to his motel where he tells her that he spotted her stealing from work. She storms out when she fails to seduce him. She later takes him aside and gives a whole speech about how Ryder ‘stole her innocence’. She attempts to get physical with him but he already knows she’s set her phone to record them. He steals her phone. She is livid. I think my favourite moment is when she is arguing with him at his front door and Ari walks in and just casually slams the door in her face as if she is completely irrelevant.

Nikau finds Ryder before the wedding and gives him the phone, telling him that he isn’t the only person on it. Ryder hides the phone in a drawer, which hopefully isn’t a mistake. Jade demands the phone back from Nikau who tells him it’s in Ryder’s hands now.

Alf asks Ryder to be his best man as the family continue to prepare for the wedding. Alf looks so smart and so happy on the morning of his wedding. Ben has rebuilt an archway like for like the archway that they had at their first wedding, at Alf’s request. Roo is Martha’s bridesmaid and the wedding is perfect as Alf and Martha say their vows. We even get one of Alf’s fabulous speeches. It’s nice to see Alf so happy. I mean, she’s no Ailsa but…

Ryder and Nikau catch Jade searching for the phone but thankfully it’s safely hidden. Alf publicly throws her out of the house and ends her tenancy at the caravan park. He is about to lay into Nikau when Ryder assures him he’s a friend so he is invited to the wedding instead.

Ari and Gemma decide that with the article making him a public, local figure, they have no choice but to up sticks and move away again before more trouble starts. Nikau returns home to find Ari and Gemma packing. He refuses to leave and doesn’t think they should keep running. Marilyn pesters Irene into hiring Gemma; Irene is reluctant, not wanting to replace Leah. Knowing that Leah wouldn’t want her to struggle, Irene gives her the job. Ari and Gemma decide it’s time to face their past and stay.

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