Eastenders: We’re All Going on a Summer Holiday…

(Tuesday 15^th – Thursday 17^th September 2020)

Ian desperately scrambled to raise the cash to pay Max back before he noticed that his money was missing. Of course, he failed, messed up his opportunity with the Council and is now in big trouble with Max. His response was to throw his (metaphorical) weight around with Sharon, still wounded from being snubbed. What a grown up.

Martin miraculously recovered from his injuries all in the space of one episode. Honestly, the magical healing powers in Walford are incredible! Remember Phil recovering from his never again mentioned drug addiction? Out of it during one episode? Right as rain in the next? Well, Martin was practically at death’s door on Monday. He was up and about and walking on Tuesday and in shock as guilt ridden Ruby told him she loved him. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t. I’m pretty sure she just feels guilty that she nearly got him killed (or didn’t, as the case may be). Honestly, who ever heard of someone getting smashed in the head with a fire extinguisher and walking away with barely a scratch?! Also, how come Walford General allows visitors? That’s not currently NHS policy…

Anyway, after he recovered from his shock (rather more slowly than he recovered from the fire extinguisher) and stopped to have a few pints in The Vic with Kush (obviously recommended after a head injury), Martin decided he loved Ruby too. Aww. Isn’t that sweet? Well, no, not really. Because if it’s true that Ruby does love him, she is seriously going to get her heart broken because he will always love Stacey. Obvs.

With Phil refusing to play ball, Ben enlisted Jay’s help to set Danny up for the warehouse job but alas, when the police arrested Danny, he rolled over on Ben. Callum’s superior spotted Callum and Ben together and worked out that they were a couple (the fact that Callum just left Ben out of his vetting form is completely unrealistic) and offered Callum a deal – Ben can walk free if Callum helps them take down Phil! And in all that hassle, Stuart and Rainie’s hen and stag nights were completely forgotten. Oops.

Of course, the big story of the week is of tragic Chantelle as she attempted to escape evil Gray. I was completely wrong in my last blog in my assumption that she wouldn’t depart for the holiday with her family. She did, leaving the kids behind with Gray. On the trip, Mitch was desperately worried about his clearly distressed daughter but she couldn’t open up to him. Eventually, she told him she was missing the kids so off he went on the train to fetch them. While Chantelle made plans with Kheerat, deciding she could take a chance on him after all and asking him to let himself into the house and fetch her precious baby box so they could escape together, she had no idea that Gray had driven Mitch and the kids to the holiday home.

Chantelle is unaware that Gray is onto her…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Gray listened to her phone call, undetected and then spent the rest of the day as a threatening presence over his wife, as he has for their entire marriage. While Karen remained oblivious to what was happening, Mitch has known for a long time that there is something amiss. That’s one of the saddest things about this and how we know things are going to play out tonight (as has been released in a formal statement by Eastenders in order to be responsible). If only Chantelle could find the words to tell her Dad the truth, he would have been able to protect her.

Instead, Gray secretly changed the alarm code to the house so when Kheerat followed Chantelle’s instructions to get into the house, the alarm went off, prompting Gray to drag the family home. Chantelle objected but Gray insisted. There was a moment when Mitch gave Chantelle the opportunity to stay but sadly, she chose to go with her husband.

I found it truly devastating to watch these scenes and to watch Chantelle at this crossroads in her life during this episode, knowing what she will face in tonight’s episode. I think Eastenders are very brave to tackle this story in this way, as sad as it will be. I am both eager to watch how it plays out and also dreading witnessing it. But I think it’s an important story to tell and to my memory, no soap has done this before. Please feel free to correct me. Sometimes I think soaps get a hard time of it but creating these stories, especially with the current limits on filming is a genuine achievement.

Eastenders airs on BBC1 on Mondays @ 8:05pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 7:35pm & Fridays @ 8:30pm

Neighbours: The Path to Healing…

(Monday 14^th – Friday 18^th September 2020)

It was a very awkward anniversary dinner, with Karl and Dipi being the only people unaware of Shane’s drug addiction. Dipi found out fairly quickly when Mackenzie challenged him about it as soon as she got a moment alone with the only real father figure she has ever truly had. Dipi walked in on them and her whole world shattered. While the others scattered, Toadie supervised husband and wife attempting to talk things through but I worry that it will be a long while before these two find their way back to each other properly. I also wonder, with Chloe and Pierce in the state they are and Dipi and Pierce’s growing friendship, if they are gearing up for something to happen between them too.

Shane has a lot of explaining to do…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

But anyway, Shane and Dipi’s relationship is in tatters, although at least the truth is out. Dipi was particularly hurt that Roxy had known and he still couldn’t be honest with her. Clever Mackenzie worked out that Ritchie knew more than he had confessed and it turned out that he had been the first person to supply Shane with anything. He gave him ADHD medication to help him study but turned him down when he wanted more. He has been worried ever since as Shane bought stronger and less legal drugs from other people.

Dipi and Toadie decided that Shane needed to go to rehab, meaning he had to defer his course. While at rehab, Shane kept in touch with Toadie, inviting him to a therapy session but Dipi was feeling distinctly shut out. She turned to Pierce for support again. Roxy was also feeling pretty broken by the whole thing. Dipi was unforgiving, although she did accept she had been too harsh; Roxy should have told someone but really, it wasn’t her fault.

Yashvi panicked that her Dad may now be caught up in the criminal investigation into the drug ring. Levi suggested questioning him unofficially just to get the information they need about the dealer but Yashvi decided not to go lightly on him, angry about what had happened. She even assisted in the interview, which of course would never happen in real life. The police tried to connect River (Shane’s Uni friend/dealer) and Ollie but Shane didn’t really know anything. Dax redirected the case, not wanting them involved anymore. When Yashvi pushed it, Dax threatened to put Shane in the thick of trouble and then put Yashvi on desk duty.

Yashvi confided in Levi that she thought Dax was dodgy, to which he admitted he had thought for a while. Dax was thrilled when Ollie was sprung for dealing but resisted them going after River, which suggests that Ollie was innocent and River was the culprit. The young cops decide to do their own investigation on the sly.

Karl offered his full support to Dipi and laid into Ritchie for setting the wheels in motion in the first place. Mackenzie decided not to go for the role on the Counsel in light of what had happened. Harlow stepped up in Mackenzie’s place but Ritchie put Mackenzie forward without her consent, meaning that the two girls were running against each other by accident. They have promised to keep it friendly! Yeah. We’ll see.

Toadie was completely overworked and interviewed a woman called Rose Walker to be his PA. They sparked off each other and got along well, prompting him to hire her on the spot, only to find she wasn’t as great on the computer as she had been on the phones. However, she managed to retain a very difficult client, thus proving herself to him. But as soon as she had the chance, she let herself into the office and began trying to break into his computer, so clearly she isn’t all that she seems…

Toadie’s PA is definitely up to no good…
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

Mackenzie interrupted Rose trying to hack into the computer and in the process of trying the password so many times, she locked Toadie out of the system. Rose managed to get a brief lowdown from innocent Mackenzie on Toadie’s personal life. Suspicious of Rose’s authenticity, Mackenzie caught her Googling how to run invoices. Rose ‘came clean’ about fudging dates on her CV and not being great with some technology. Toadie was forgiving and agreed to get her trained up. I am suspicious. Very suspicious.

Nicolette had a lot of time on her hands having very strangely decided not to go away with Fay, Aaron and David, being that she is Fay’s nurse. You’d almost think it was scripted so that she could spend every second with Chloe and damage her marriage with Pierce…

But the first thing that happened was that Chloe took on the challenge of sorting out Nicolette’s relationship with Jane. With the help of Paul, she arranged for mother and daughter to have lunch and properly talk things through. Nicolette opened up at her hurt over the way Jane shut her down when she came out, desperate for Mrs Mangel not to ever find out. It prompted Nicolette’s relationship to break down and eventually for her to move from the UK back to Australia.

This prompted Paul to wonder if it was revenge that made Nicolette destroy Jane and Des’s relationship. He went against Jane’s wishes in order to tell her daughter everything that led up to the wedding, including the catfishing episode. Guilt ridden, Nicolette orchestrated a meeting between Jane and Des where they were finally able to make peace, agreeing that now isn’t the time for a relationship but promising to be friends forever. Nicolette confessed that it was her own hurt about the past that provoked her attitude towards Jane’s marriage to Des and she actually apologised. Could it be that she and Jane are finally ready to heal and move on as mother and daughter?

Nicolette and Jane have finally turned a corner…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Chloe and Nicolette have clearly been up to something in secret, written in such a way as to make the audience curious, play on the ‘love/crush’ theme and make Hendrix and Jane jump to the wrong conclusions. Excellent! Nicolette caught them investigating, thus potentially undoing the hard work she and Jane have put into their relationship recently. As it turns out, they were using the ‘non ethical’ hotel chocolate and cosmetics and using David and Aaron’s empty house as a day spa. Nicolette then decided to have it out with Hendrix once and for all, finally persuading him that she is not after Chloe. Unfortunately, Hendrix told Harlow who was not happy about Chloe and Nicolette’s lack of ethics. Forgiving Jane, Nicolette turned to her mother over her still present feelings for Chloe; the more time they spend together, the stronger her feelings become.

Neighbours airs Monday – Friday, Channel 5 @ 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Home and Away: Where’s Bella?

(Thursday 17^th – Friday 18^th September 2020)

Willow, Colby and Dean desperately tried to track Bella down, finally realising through Tane and Ari that she and Nikau had taken off together with $5,000 of Tane’s dodgy cash. Colby, Ari and Tane very reluctantly worked together to try and work out where they had gone off to as well as trying to stall Angelo, who warned Colby that he would have to issue an arrest warrant if Bella didn’t turn up for her interview.

While the clever Detective remained oblivious to Colby printing out plane tickets literally in front of him, Colby planned to follow his sister and Nik to where he thought they had gone until it was pointed out that he had to stay behind and keep up appearances. So it was decided that Dean, Tane and Ari would go without him.

However, Amber kicked off about Dean getting involved in Colby’s mess, pointing out that he always ended up hurt somehow. While Dean and Ziggy fell out at him keeping secrets from her, Dean couldn’t understand why Amber had such an issue with what he was doing. Then she informed him that he was the father of the child she hasn’t once mentioned or appeared to have any kind of involvement with in all the time she has been in Summer Bay. You know, working all day, a bit of leisure time and then getting trashed all night and going home with random men. At what point is she fitting in any kind of childcare?

With Amber having thrown his keys away, Dean backed out of the trip to deal with the latest revelation. Ziggy felt further pushed out when Dean turned to Willow with his latest disaster instead of her. Willow questioned Amber who explained that her son is called Jai, after her brother. She panicked when she found out she was pregnant, which was why she left Mangrove River. Dean’s decision prompted Mac to join Ari and Tane on their quest, hoping that she might be able to get through to Bella should they be able to find her. Well, they’ve been BFF’s since the siege, I guess.

Meanwhile, Nik and Bella appeared to be having a whale of a time! Despite the dire situation, it’s lovely to see them so happy! The only drawback was that Nik missed his family and felt guilty for walking out on them when he knew they would be worried.

Nikau and Bella enjoy their escape…
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

Back in the Bay, Colby continued to make excuses with Angelo who began to get very impatient. One would assume he would have started to smell a rat by now. It’s not like he isn’t the dodgiest cop Summer Bay has ever seen. Colby was furious when he discovered that Dean had prioritised his own life over finding Bella; Ziggy and Willow had to break up a potential fight over Colby being disgustingly selfish yet again. Ziggy demanded answers once and for all from Dean, who confessed he had a kid.

Amber’s revelations could have far reaching consequences for Dean and Ziggy…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Justin has been very forgetful recently, alongside headaches and body pain, which nobody seems to have picked up on, not even the Head of the Emergency Department he lives with. Clearly he is going to end up with some life threatening condition they’re not going to notice until it’s almost too late and then they’ll save his life just in the nick of time. They really are a very unlucky family, The Morgans. Throwing Leah’s luck into the mix as well is just begging for disaster!

Home and Away currently airs on weekdays @ 1:15pm & 6pm on Channel 5

Sneak peek on 5Star, weekdays @ 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the lunch time episodes

Hollyoaks: In Too Deep

(Monday 14^th – Thursday 17^th September 2020)

Jordan kept the pressure on the kids to improve their sales, which have apparently been lacking in lockdown. Well, I guess every market has been suffering…

Sid turned down the chance to join a band, which Jordan had set up in order to expand market opportunities. He also continued to two time both Leela and Peri. I’m pretty sure it’s Leela he’s interested in and Peri he’s using but he’s not that easy to read. Juliet was absolutely livid when she found out, being that she has been harbouring feelings for Peri for a while.

During a meeting with Victor, Juliet spoke out of turn and Sid gave himself away regarding the band opportunity, dropping Jordan in it, as he had lied for him. While Jordan got a beating, Sid and Juliet got dumped with a huge batch of drugs to sell in a very short space of time.

Juliet and Sid then hijacked Imran’s party, inviting as many ‘randoms’ as possible in order to sell as much ‘gear’ as possible. Yes, I know putting ‘gear’ in inverted commas makes me sound a hundred. I am wasn’t down with the kids even when I was one. Juliet ended up selling to Ollie who got off his face on ketamine after an argument with Brooke. He was uncharacteristically awful to her when she didn’t feel able to go to the party with him, telling her he hated her autism and having a go at her about giving up their baby and spending so much time looking after Oscar in the wake of Kyle’s death. It was pretty hideous. The next day, he desperately tried to apologise.

Peri and Juliet kiss…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Juliet got somewhat distracted when she and Peri finally kissed. The next day, completely smitten, she left a rather embarrassing voicemail for her crush and spent some of the drugs profit on an outfit for her lunch date. Sadly, she was left crushed when she realised Peri was embarrassed to have kissed her and was trying to pretend she didn’t really remember it. She also cancelled their ‘date’. Juliet risked a lot of trouble for Jordan for taking £50 from the money bag. She saved his hide at the last minute by opting into the ‘gang’ deeper and offering her particular skill set. She was raised by a drug addict. She knows how to spot vulnerable people and how to target potential addicts. Victor welcomed her aboard.

Juliet steps up her involvement in drug running…
(photo credit: Metro)

Misbah was furious to come home from her extended trip away to find a load of teenagers in her messy house, post-party and Tom in her dressing gown. She let him keep it. She was very concerned about a mass gathering and no social distancing. Speaking of, I am a little confused. Are Hollyoaks showing old footage or new footage or a mix of footage? Are they not social distancing? Are they doing very clever filming beyond what the other soaps are capable of? Because there doesn’t seem to be much social distancing going on in scenes.

Meanwhile, Diane refused to give up on Tony, who continued to display severe aggression, even thinking he could take on Warren Fox. Thankfully, deep down, Warren can be a nice guy and wasn’t about to fight with him. Edward continued to manipulate the situation, making Tony think his kids were scared of him and that he should set Diane free to be in a relationship with him instead. When neither he nor Tony can persuade Diane to choose him and give up on her husband, Edward manipulates Verity into persuading her. Edward then lets up on Tony’s ‘blood thinners’ so I don’t know if that was the trade-off. At least Verity has a conscience.

I don’t know but I am just dissatisfied with this plot. After everything Tony went through with Breda, I just wanted him to be happy before the next story. He deserves that. And I know Edward is supposed to be really sinister and I very much dislike him but this controlling plot, all the dark, backstabbing, manipulation, it just doesn’t have the punch it’s supposed to have. Perhaps it’s because Coronation Street and Eastenders are running two incredible coercive control/domestic abuse plots at the moment with Geoff and Yasmeen and Gray and Chantelle that this story is rather pale in comparison. And that doesn’t mean it won’t improve. But I’m not happy with it. And I think Tony deserves more. Firstly, he deserved relief when he finally got home. And secondly, if they were going to torture him more, they should have tortured him better! And yes, I accept that I am completely contradicting myself.

In other news:

John Paul’s son, Matthew finally got a speaking part and confirmed his approval of John Paul’s relationship with George.
Romeo got a job a The Dog in order to remind us that he fancies Cher.
Brody admits to struggling with his past with Buster and his future as a Dad.
Has Misbah met someone?

Hollyoaks airs Monday – Thursday, 6:30pm on Channel 4 (sneak peek on E4, 7pm)

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

Hollyoaks airs ‘Hollyoaks Favourites’ on Fridays, Wednesdays-Fridays, 7pm on E4