Yashvi is thrilled when Sky invites her to shadow her at work. She takes her to a walkthrough of the crime scene where Finn died, alongside Mark. At the crime scene, Yashvi lets slip that thirteen years ago, Sky was in a not dissimilar situation to Elly. Mark pounces, convinced that Sky is letting her past cloud her judgement. Sky insists that she is determined not to let her past cloud her judgement. Just because she was framed doesn’t mean that every woman in a similar situation is innocent.
Elly was found burying Finn’s body… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Everyone is still feeling the effects of Finn, The Island and Gary’s death. Chloe feels guilty for bringing everyone to The Island in the first place and David has pretty much stopped being able to function, having missed the signs that Finn’s memory had returned. To be fair to him, how many sessions were he and Finn even having? Wasn’t he off sick during all of this being that he nearly died of kidney failure a couple of months ago? What exactly was he meant to notice apart from unofficial conversations in the Street?
Aaron tries to encourage his husband up by going through old thank you letters from the hospital. Unfortunately, they quickly happen upon a card from Finn, which puts the exercise to an abrupt end. Inspired by a conversation with Yashvi, Mark breaks protocol and brings over the transcripts of Finn video diaries for David and Aaron to read to help David truly understand where Finn’s head was at and how hard he worked to keep everything a secret. There was no way that David could have guessed that his memory had returned or what he was planning.
Later, Mark catches Chloe sneaking a peek at the videos on his computer. Little does he realise that she has also copied the files and fully intends to share them with Elly, hoping that if the diaries helped ease David’s guilt, they might ease Elly’s also.
Dipi struggles with her grief for Gary and doesn’t appreciate Shane’s attempts to cheer her up. She wants to be sad. She, Pierce and Paul step up and support Kyle as he faces opening up the 82 without Gary. I really love the way Paul has come forward to care for the Canning family. He can be such a kind character when the moment calls for it. His gentleness with Sheila and Kyle is so lovely.
Mackenzie is under pressure from her aunt to ‘ask’ as she ‘needs to know soon’ but nobody seems to have time for her…
Due to the Coronavirus, Neighbours did temporarily suspend filming
It doesn’t look like there will be a break in schedule in Australia but in the UK, Channel 5 will now only air episodes on Mondays and Fridays, 1:45pm and 6pm
Colby lays down some ground rules for Dean moving in with him and Bella. He forgets to mention not to spontaneously ask his girlfriend to move in too! Ziggy is thrown by the question and turns him down. She likes the gentle pace of their relationship, having rushed so quickly with Brody, only for everything to go wrong. She and Dean agree therefore agree not to move in together and continue being happy and in love. Hooray.
Ziggy is pleased to report that she is definitely not moving in with Dean! (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Bella mentions that her counsellor wants to discuss her ‘missing’ father. Colby tells her that she should discuss anything necessary that will help her heal. During a home education session, Roo calls Bella out on always telling people what they want to hear, suggesting that this is what she probably does during her counselling sessions too. Bella agrees to give the sessions a proper chance. I really hope this storyline doesn’t drag out too long. Bella is intensely irritating.
Irene, Jasmine, Willow and Alex all have dinner together, chatting about Willow and Alex’s big move. Jasmine hardly touches her food, still broken over the loss of Robbo. When the happy couple have gone off to bed, Jasmine admits to Irene that although she is happy for Willow and Alex, she feels she will never be able to move on with her life herself. Later, Alex overhears them talking about how much they are going to miss Willow when she moves away.
The four of them have lunch again together the next day. Irene washes her hands first (I hope it was for twenty seconds and to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’). As they sit down to eat, Robbo’s will arrives, informing Jasmine that he has left her the gym. Jasmine is emotional as she goes to the gym with the girls, full of reminders of her husband, which she finds more upsetting than comforting. Alex supports Jasmine who struggles to plan for the future. She would have let Willow go ahead and run the place but now she is moving away to start a new life with her girlfriend. Alex is unsettled as Jasmine jokingly tells her that if she wasn’t so lovely, she’d hate her for taking her bestie away. There is no way that Willex are getting their happy ending… I am so sad.
Due to the Coronavirus, Home and Away has had to suspend filming
Home and Away will now air on Channel 5 on Mondays and Fridays at 1.15 only
Imran informs David that he and Shona haven’t been married long enough to get divorced. Eileen informs Gail of David’s shenanigans with Alina and asks her to keep him away from her. Unfortunately, David is unimpressed with his mother’s advice and storms out, right into a confrontation with a gang who pull out a knife on him. He manages to get away and ends up back at home with a Chinese, in a thoroughly good mood. It’s worrying. Very worrying. He apologises to Alina for his behaviour.
David is confronted by thugs… (photo credit Digital Spy)
Seb begs Emma to believe that she is the one he wants but she is adamant that it’s over and she wants him to move out, especially when she spots the pair of them arguing and it feels crystal clear to her that he still has feelings for his ex. When Seb refuses to leave, Emma decides to go and stay with Steve.
I have literally just realised every time we hear a ‘ding dong’ noise during scenes at Gemma and Chesney scenes, it’s her message tone. That’s why she knows who it is without answering the door. Please forgive me. I am not feeling very well. This time, it’s the hospital to say that Aled’s hearing aids are ready. Cathy ends up helping out with housework, sceptical of how much Bernie is helping. Gemma desperately tries to keep her post-natal depression under wraps. She and Gemma go to the hospital for their appointment with Aled to get his hearing aids. Chesney is thrilled to see his little boy being able to hear and respond to sound for the first time. Gemma is just anxious. She pushes her mother away again.
Ken realises that he is being overcharged for the cleaning at Stillwaters. Is he about to overthrow the leadership?!
Geoff is keen to put doubts in Yasmeen’s mind about the trip to Spain, wanting to put as much distance between her and her grandchildren as possible, aware that Alya is getting too close to the truth. He takes things one step further by faking heart trouble but panics when Yasmeen immediately calls an ambulance. Obviously. Because he is LYING! The paramedics arrive and confirm that he hasn’t had a heart attack but when Yasmeen mentions his heart condition, they recommend he go to hospital, which he refuses. Then he charms them by offering them a shout out on hospital radio.
While Tim and Sally are suitably worried, Ryan and Alya are sceptical, especially as it immediately means Yasmeen has decided Geoff can’t travel and she can’t leave him. Alya points out that he hasn’t even seen a Doctor. She says that Zeedan (who didn’t initially even bother to invite either of them to the wedding) will be devastated.
Things get tense between Geoff and Alya… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Alya discovers that there is actually only one five star hotel in the area that Geoff could have booked. She also discovers that the hotel has no record of him making a reservation or of cancelling it. With her new information, she visits Geoff and challenges him about his lies, accusing him of faking his health scare in a bid to get the trip cancelled. When she tackles him about his police record, mentioning Clare’s Law, he turns nasty. Alya looks genuinely frightened. Yasmeen walks in on Geoff threatening her and says the best words she has said in a long time.
“Geoff! Get away from my granddaughter!”
Finally, we can see that fire, that strength in Yasmeen that we have known was there all along. She may not feel able to protect herself but when Alya was in danger, she stepped up without any hesitation. That fight is still in her. It just needs bringing out.
Unfortunately, Yasmeen decides to ask Alya to leave amid all her new information about Geoff and for now at least, decides to stay with him. Having seen his level of aggression, Alya is more reluctant than ever to leave her Gran alone with Geoff but agrees to go home.
Alone, Yasmeen carefully questions Geoff’s health condition. It does not go well. He loses his temper, blaming her for causing his heart condition in the first place, suggesting they barge into the GP’s office and demand answers if she doesn’t believe him. He suggests they end their relationship. All things that she knows she will back down from.
Later, Geoff books another date with ‘Rachel’ before heading up to have a bath. Yasmeen tries and fails to gain access to his laptop but cannot guess his password. This storyline truly is awful but it’s so clever too. Throughout the episode, not just the ‘big’ scenes, there are constant digs from Geoff to Yasmeen, constant moments of control. They’re subtle but important. Constant criticism and bullying tactics, helping us to understand just how Yasmeen has become so trapped.
On April Fool’s Day, Tim and Geoff play a trick on Yasmeen and Sally, pretending that Tim has chopped his thumb off, washing up. Yasmeen cleverly suggests that Tim and Sally show them their new wedding venue on Geoff’s laptop and is then able to watch him type in the password. As soon as she gets a moment alone, Yasmeen logs into Geoff’s laptop. She discovers that her husband has been using an escort. He catches her in the act and although she challenges him about it, he still manages to turn it all around on her and she ends up apologising for snooping. I really thought this was going to be her moment. He changes his password.
Yasmeen begins to discover Geoff’s lies… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Yasmeen also mentions that she couldn’t find evidence of him booking the hotel, which is why she looked on the laptop in the first place; she was trying to prove Alya wrong. With no options left and convinced he will always have the upper hand anyway, Geoff admits that he lied and there was no booking. He insists that the lie was out of love and wanting to make a grand gesture that he couldn’t follow through but she has easily worked out that everything, including his ‘heart attack’ was a lie. He is mortified when she decides to go to Spain without him. Go Yasmeen! He tries to emotionally blackmail her and then fights to keep her from packing her things. When she insists on leaving, he slams the door, insisting that she is not going anywhere…
Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filming
For the foreseeable, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm
Rhona buys into the farm… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Rhona and Moira bond over a vet visit to the farm. Unfortunately, it looks like Moira will soon have to hand over the farm to Kim as she can no longer afford to keep it on and Cain refuses to help. However, when it transpires that Graham has left all his money to Rhona (and it appears to be rather a lot!), Rhona decides to step in and go into business with Moira. That way, she can save the farm, save her from having to sell to Kim and rub Kim’s nose in it all at the same time. They very smugly inform Kim of their plans.
Brenda panics to Eric about Dan. He encourages her to get rid of any incriminating packaging that could link her to poisoning him. He then visits Dan himself to talk him down over his anger towards Brenda. Dan points out that this is the second time she has poisoned him in recent weeks. Furious that Brenda is now denying responsibility, Mandy goes rooting through the rubbish and finds the incriminating evidence. Rodney just about persuades her to keep to café open, only for Amelia to turn up and publicly lay into her, damning her to hell, which coming from a committed Christian really stings!
Mandy searches for evidence… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Charity goes hand gel crazy in preparation for Vanessa returning home. I wonder where on earth she was able to buy that luxury item from! She rejects Rhona’s flowers for fear of contamination. Tracy is clumsy when talking to Rhona about Pierce. Charity is ready to make a fuss of her fiancée as soon as she returns home from hospital.
Harriet takes Cain aside, worried that he is working Will too hard. Cain confronts Will for still working for DI Malone. When Will confesses to getting rid of a van, having first welded drugs into it, Cain takes his wage for it. He orders Will to pick a side and advises him to chooses his. While Harriet cannot make head nor tail of the conflicting stories she is being told by Will and Cain, the former of whom is moody and pushing her away. Will is torn between pressure from Cain and the power DI Malone has over him, leading Billy to find him having a panic attack in the garage. Feeling pity for him, Billy tells Will that he doesn’t have to work for Malone anymore; he and Cain kept the car they were meant to get rid of as insurance against him. However, he stupidly gives away the location of the car and sure enough, when he and Cain go to the farm, the car is gone. Unfortunately, this plot has not vanished with it. And now, with only three episodes a week, it’s going to drag on forever.
Al and Priya grow closer… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Priya and Jai are enjoying working together, although not quite as much as Priya and Al are enjoying working together, as the pair of them begin hooking up (and are nearly caught out by Jai). I mean, come on! Surely Priya has better taste than Al? He has about as much personality as wallpaper paste!
Due to the Coronavirus, Emmerdale have had to suspend filming
Emmerdale will now air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 at 7pm
In the only soap still running its normal schedule, we had a very mixed bag of episodes this week (and Friday last week). We had some random little episodes, including Al playing an April Fool’s joke on that irritating Barry, making him and his very anxious colleague that the water supply is poisoned. Jasmine works extremely hard to get to the bottom of an arson case involving a vulnerable young woman (played by Ronnie’s long lost daughter in Eastenders) and her sister’s boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Julia supports Jimmi as he struggles to adjust to life on the outside, his OCD kicking seriously kicking in. She whisks him away to France, much to the annoyance of Al, for a break after all the trauma he has been through. Presumably, Adrian Lewis Morgan needed a bit of a rest from such a rough storyline!
Valerie struggles to complete her work ahead of the AGM, staying at work until late at night to complete it, only to bump into Bear who is doing the same. Her next project is trying to raise money for a cat shelter, which everyone thinks is ridiculous. Is it that unreasonable to invite people to an evening out to raise money for a shelter? I think everyone was quite rude, to be honest. However, she does get a little carried away with dragging Bear in as a dance partner. But it’s only because Bear was stamping all over her ideas and she misunderstood what he was saying, thinking he was trying to help her. How unreasonable.
Don’t be fooled though. While this storyline does indeed give the fabulous Valerie a delightful chance to shine in all her eccentricities, as she and reluctant Bear take rather well at this dancing malarkey and are the belles of the ball, really this whole storyline is just an elaborate plot to bring Bear and Ayesha closer together. Boring.
Ayesha and Bear are clearly going to get together… (photo credit: eastieoaks.co.uk)
A random ex/potential love interest (I think we met him when Ruhma’s hearing aid was picking up the radio frequencies in the hospital) blasts back into Ruhma’s life and utterly confuses her as he announces that he and his much younger girlfriend are having a baby. He asks her to work as a private midwife for them. She does support the vulnerable woman, who turns out to be having a more complicated pregnancy than expected and also has a phobia of hospitals. I’m not sure about this one. I mean, he’s no Heston.
Emma is nervous as she meets Jasmine’s mother, an eccentric hippy who persuades her to do yoga after lunch and is very protective of her daughter! Emma is mortified when she recognises her from the Smears Without Fears Campaign! But the meeting mostly goes well. I think. I do like Emma and Jasmine as a pairing and I think it’s nice that Emma has found someone kind after the nightmare of Gareth.
Unfortunately, the new couple hit the rocks in a major way at the end of the week in an excruciating and extremely educational episode when it comes to homophobia, LGBTQ hate crime and violence against women. I had read that Doctors was going to tackle this story (inspired by that awful news story last year of the couple on the bus who were attacked just for being gay women) but I wasn’t expecting it to be focussed on characters we already know. I assumed Rob or Jasmine would be investigating a crime and Emma would be the Doctor treating them. Friday’s episode (3rd April) is a must see and it is much harder hitting than that, if you please excuse the pun.
It begins Emma and Jasmine’s story at the end of the night, showing both women battered and bruised and struggling to communicate, in shock over what has happened to them. They are also at odds over what is the best decision going forward. Emma wants to report the incident. Jasmine, a police officer, does not. It’s hard to see them, so besotted with each other at the beginning of the evening, so broken, physically and emotionally by the end.
Their date is blighted by homophobia from the start. First, a straight, white male is horrified to even have a gay couple near him in the restaurant. His wife apologises to them for his disgusting attitude towards them. They leave and have a good night out, only to be followed down the street and hassled by a gang of lads, which soon turns violent.
Jasmine and Emma are assaulted… (Photo credit: What’sOnTV)
The way they show the attack is genuinely brilliant, interlaced with shots of Valerie and Bear dancing at the Cat Ball. The whole episode is so clever. It’s uncomfortable in all the ways it should be uncomfortable. It’s written and directed perfectly. Dido Miles and Lara Sawalha (guess who her family members are!) play their roles perfectly. I was utterly gripped and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this story plays out. While Emma makes her statement without Jasmine by her side, I do hope that they are able to pull together as a couple soon.
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
The Soap Dish 