Doctors: Homophobia is a Hate Crime

(Friday 27^th March – Friday 3^rd April 2020)

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 (3^rd 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

Neighbours: Guilty

(Friday 3^rd April 2020)

David is allowed to return to work and Doctor Bowman (who the hell is this guy?) makes it clear that he will need to answer questions if there is an enquiry. He worked with Finn during David’s absence but refuses to take any responsibility, claiming he didn’t have enough information to have been able to know there was a change in his behaviour. He claims that David did have suspicions but let everyone down by not following them through. Seriously, who is this guy?

Sheila is livid over Susan having the gall to apologise and storms off to the pub. Paul follows her and Kyle (and the audience) witness a moment of sheer kindness. Paul comforts Sheila and reveals that he never hated Gary; he has lost his best sparring partner. Sheila is grateful to Paul for saving Kyle’s life. Paul only wishes he could have saved Gary too.

Elly struggles with the weight of Elly’s confession, made worse by Susan admitting to both her and Karl that she was aware of the feelings between Elly and Finn but that she thought they were staying away from each other. Bea is devastated. She visits Harlow and tells her the latest revelations. Harlow shows herself to be the kind of friend everybody needs in life. She has been trapped down a mine, nearly murdered and her own mother has been blown up and yet she is the kind of girl who still wants to take care of her friends. That is one good egg, right there.

Susan and Elly attempt to explain things to Karl, who is then tackled by Sheila for his opinion over the fact that right at the beginning, he too didn’t want Finn to move in with them. He remains neutral and doesn’t give his opinion, standing by Susan but you can see his turmoil over everything that has happened. When Bea watches Karl looking after his wife as she breaks down in the garden, she visits Elly and asks her and Aster to move back home. She tells her that they are a family and they need to work through things together, otherwise, Finn wins. I think that goes to show how much she loves Susan if nothing else. Susan is elated to have the girls and Aster back under the same roof. Sheila is less pleased. She feels sorry for Bea and is glad Elly killed Finn but she continues to hold Susan responsible for everything. I don’t like this at all. My poor Susan. All she has ever tried to do is look after everyone!

Harlow is suffering with tremors, which David puts down to anxiety, particularly as she feels so guilty over how she left things with Prue before she died. However, it soon transpires that she is suffering withdrawal from the drugs they used to induce her coma. Doctor Bowman is quick to criticise poor David again for not spotting it. David’s confidence is on the floor.

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

Home and Away: Gratitude

(Friday 3^rd April 2020)

Ryder calls Dean to help Mac with Jason, who is demanding money. Dean succeeds in sending Jason away, albeit temporarily. She refuses to ask Colby for help.

Ryder offers his support to Bella, shocked to hear the truth about her overdose. They chat idly about life in general – she thinks Nik is cute when he shows her a picture of his new car. He attempts to persuade her to give her counselling session a go and she and the counsellor do seem to make a small improvement on their progress from their previous session. She refuses to open up about her Dad. Well, where would you even start?

When Ryder returns to find Jason hassling Mac again, he very sweetly attempts to stand up for her but Jason doesn’t think much of him. He is too cute, that Ryder. However, Dean has told Colby everything and soon they both arrive, Colby ready to arrest Jason for extortion unless he leaves Summer Bay, never to return again. Aww. He still loves her. He tells her that he is sad but accepting of her moving on. They will totally be back together soon. Well, probably not soon. With only two episode a week going out, we’ll be lucky if they’re back together by Christmas! But they will be back together at some point… In other news, Colby asks Dean to move in with him and Bella. I’m surprised this hasn’t happened before.

Marilyn cannot understand John’s lack of charity towards the Parata Family and he cannot understand why she wants to give them so much (I mean, Ari only kept her sane when she thought she was going to die). Feeling awkward, Nik wangles a van from Roo but it will only suit a maximum of two occupants.

Marilyn admits to Irene how much she is struggling…

Marilyn admits to Irene that since the siege, she has struggled to connect with John and nothing in her life feels the same as it did before. Meanwhile, Ari fails to make amends with John, who accuses him of taking advantage of his wife. Ari doesn’t think John is putting Marilyn first. I think he is trying to but I don’t think he is listening to her.

The Parata Family agree that Ari will move into the van and Gemma and Nik will move into the house. Marilyn is still so grateful to Ari for what he did for her during the siege and she is desperate to pay that kindness back. She privately admits her marriage difficulties to Ari. John expresses his disbelief to Roo over her renting a van to the Parata Family, essentially for free. She just wants to help them. After their chat, John returns home and invites them all to stay.

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

There is a sneak peek episode on 5Star at 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the Channel 5 episodes

Hollyoaks: Parental Controls

(Monday 30^th March – Wednesday 1^st April 2020)

Martine immediately slaps Felix. Well, that’s quite the welcome! Toby and Celeste (who is the person who initially contacted him) are quick to inform him of the awful life they have led. They are more bitter than ever after actually meeting their father.

Mitchell wants nothing to do with him, being that he abandoned him as a poorly baby. Scott and Lisa think he should at least hear him out. Felix tells Martine that leaving her and Mitchell was the worst mistake he ever made. Mitchell interrupts a ‘moment’ between them. Obviously the spark is still there! Mitchell agrees to spending time with his Dad.

In the flat next door, Sienna asks Brody and Liberty to look after Sophie; she needs to get to the hospital where Sebastian is awaiting his transplant. She is still angry with Brody for teaming up with Warren to search for her, informs them that she knows they slept together and have been flirting with each other since she has been gone and rejects both them and the baby, which she knows isn’t hers. Liberty and Brody insist that she has got it wrong but she doesn’t want to hear it. I mean, soap weaves tangles webs but this one is very, very murky.

Finding Sophie’s cup, dropped when Sienna was getting out of the cab, Warren visits the flat and begs to see his children. She tells him about the bone marrow donor and allows him to see Sophie. Warren hands over a video confessing to all his crimes (including murder) as insurance. In exchange, he and Sienna finally make peace and agree to both be parents to the twins. I genuinely like this ‘nice’ side to Warren. He was lovely with Mercedes and Maxine and now, it would be lovely to see him and Sienna work as a team (but I don’t want her and Brody to split up!) On his way to the hospital, Warren bumps into Felix (who I only twigged the other day is the same Felix that Warren told Brody and Joel bullied him so badly in the children’s home). He punches him. Felix accepts that he deserved it, although later tries to dismiss his childhood behaviour as nothing.

Liberty refuses to take no for an answer and follows Sienna to the hospital, bringing the baby scan picture with her. She insists that she and Brody only slept together because they couldn’t see any other way to give her the baby she wanted and they couldn’t bear to break her heart. She insists that Brody is still desperately in love with Sienna and her own feelings don’t matter. Sienna and Liberty make up and Sienna accepts the baby as hers. I mean, I don’t think it’s going to be that simple but good on them for giving it a go!

Liberty is able to support Sienna at last…

Warren persuades Brody to the hospital to support Sienna, knowing that she still loves him. Warren arrives back to the hospital to the news that Sebastian has had an abnormal renal result, putting the transplant in jeopardy. Grieving for the awful situation their son is in, Warren and Sienna forgive each other for everything they have done to each other. Thankfully, Sebastian begins to respond to treatment. Sienna and Brody get back together.

Felix brings breakfast round for Mitchell, Scott and Tony, eager to bond with his son. He then buys him a pink jeep (which Scott loves – Mitchell, not so much) to make up for all his missed birthdays. It turns out to be stolen, pushing Mitchell even further away. Felix then brings treats to the children’s ward. Mitchell is still unimpressed. Felix begs Mitchell to listen – he gave Toby and Celeste away to the Doctor because he thought they would have a better life than he had. He had wanted him, Martine and Mitchell to have a happy life together. He explains that he didn’t leave by choice. None of it wins Mitchell over. Felix then resorts to blackmailing Walter into persuading Mitchell to give him another chance.

While Peri and Jordan appear to have become a couple, things are still very up and down with Juliet and Sid. When Sid complains to Jordan, he helps him book a romantic weekend away for Juliet. She is not thrilled. Instead, she invites Ollie and Imran to join them.

Tom has been invited to a recycling/environmental talk in Manchester but is anxious about having nobody to look after Steph apart from Yazz. However, he agrees, leaving her a two hundred page manual of instructions. Sometimes, I think they don’t really know what to do with Tom and they’re turning him into a bit of a caricature.

Due to the Coronavirus, Hollyoaks has had to suspend filming

Hollyoaks will now air Mondays and Tuesdays at 6:30pm on Channel 4 with a sneak peek on E4 at 7pm

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

In place of normal episodes, Hollyoaks will air ‘Hollyoaks Favourites’, classic episodes of the show, starting Thursday 2^nd April

Eastenders: Kathy’s Hat

(Mondays 30^th & Tuesday 31^st March 2020)

It’s the day of Denny’s funeral and Sharon (who has gone back to Watts, including in the credits) has banned all Mitchells from attending, although Jay Mitchell is still the funeral director. She holds Phil responsible for Denny’s death and Ben, Callum and Lola are excluded from the service.

Caught up with his own problems, namely Dotty pressuring him about The Arches, Ian is late but still manages to stand by his friend’s side and even takes over her eulogy when she can’t read for tears. The coffin is taken in a horse drawn hearse, although I’m not entirely sure where, as the service seems to take place in the middle of the Square. The eulogy also seems to describe another character entirely because the Denny we all watched on telly was a little horror! Kathy wears a delightful hat. It is quite distracting.

Mick and Linda have a successful meeting with Social Services before the funeral and Linda seems to be well on track with her recovery, which of course can only mean one thing. More warning signs flare when she mentions to Mick that some alcoholics can go back to just having one drink and that’s enough. No, Linda. Just no. Have you met Phil Mitchell? Do you know Lauren Branning?

Sharon is grateful to Ian for helping Karen out with money; Dotty continues to apply pressure. Linda does her best to look after Sharon during the wake. However, it all goes wrong when Linda hasn’t provided the right pizza and Sharon tears into her. It’s awful. It’s awful for Sharon, who is so broken by grief and it’s awful for Linda who has so desperately tried to make everything perfect for her friend. I’m not usually a Sharon fan, to be honest but Letitia Dean (who plays her) is really amazing in these episodes.

The Panesar Brothers are struggling in the wake of their mother’s lies. Vinny’s response is graffiti and ends up caught up for the day with Dotty, who is trying to distract herself from grieving for Denny, pretending she didn’t care about him.

Jags tries to explain that it’s not him that has a problem with Iqra and Ash, it’s his mother. He pretends to spot a rat in the house and fake captures it in order to impress her. Then he admits it but she forgives him and then end up in bed. Well, on the sofa. But she later feels duped by his Tu Pac quotations and throws him out – naked!

Callum does his best to look after Ben, who insists on going to the wake, having missed the service. Ben loses his temper with Callum when he tells Suki that he is deaf and she proceeds to patronise him. Jack remains concerned about Ben bringing Callum down. Ben finally tells Callum that he loves him.

At the wake, while Sharon tells Ian that Denny is dead because of Phil, the man himself is outside, laying a flower for the boy he considers to be his own son, the boy he adopted. He then arrives at the wake itself, only for Sharon to hurl abuse at him, accusing him of killing Denny (and Dennis before him). Nobody has any idea what to do (so nobody does a thing). Sharon leaves and Ian hurries after her, calling the police on Phil who don’t bother to show up until Phil is long gone. Shirley forces Mick to lie about having seen him.

Upstairs, Linda finds Shirley’s bottle of vodka, which she has clearly left there on purpose and sadly, she is unable to resist the temptation of disgusting, neat vodka. Then she realises that Shirley has marked the bottle so she hurriedly tries to top it up with water, only to get caught. Linda attempts to explain herself to disappointed Mick. They finally have an open conversation about her addiction and decide it’s time to sell up and move on from The Vic where their life won’t be surrounded by alcohol.

Mick and Linda have a big decision to make…

Meanwhile, Phil and Sharon have a much needed heart to heart about Denny. Sharon actually apologises for the breakdown of their relationship. And by the end of the episode, Phil is ready to hand himself into the police for causing the boat crash. Would you even believe it? He really must have loved that boy.

Out for the night, Dotty steals a guy’s wallet and gets chased down the street, ending up being rescued by Peter, who brings her home to sleep it off on the couch. Ian immediately takes advantage and steals her keys to The Arches. He just gets lower and lower, that man.

Due to the Coronavirus, Eastenders has had to suspend filming

It will air from now on only on Mondays (8pm) and Tuesdays (7:30pm) on BBC1

Home and Away: Goodbye Gary Canning

(Monday 30^th March 2020)

Mark and Sky take a protesting Elly into custody for questioning. Sky and Mark struggle to work together. Toadie applies for bail for Elly. Susan expresses her guilt over dropping Elly in it to Toadie.

Amy, Kyle and Sheila have an emotional video call. Hooray! I was wondering if she was going to notice that the man she was engaged to had died and his son, who she was also in love with had lost his father. She can’t make it back for the funeral is in Frankston and Xanthe is going to meet Sheila and Kyle there alongside Ben and Naomi. I do like it when even if they can’t do it on screen, they make it realistic and the dearly departed’s family bother to show up to say goodbye.

Susan and Karl welcome Bea home. She is nervous over returning home to where she shared her life with Finn. They notice other neighbours have gathered for Gary’s funeral – Roxy, Terese, Clive, Shane and Dipi. Roxy is so lovely to Kyle. She is the perfect tonic for his grief right now. I thought their relationship would be completely two dimensional but her careful kindness is genuinely heart warming to watch. Karl and Bea approach to offer their condolences. Sheila makes it clear that she doesn’t blame Bea, who tells them that Gary was a hero. Karl passes on Susan’s condolences. Sheila is quick to shut them out.

Sheila, Kyle and their loved ones return to the house after the funeral and the wake. They raise a glass to Gary. They decide to set his pigeons free in his hour; they crap all over them all! Everyone shares funny stories of Gary. When Susan comes to apologise, Sheila makes it clear that she holds her responsible for bringing Finn back to the Street and for the murder of her son.

On Toadie’s advice, Elly comes home to find Bea tearing up her songs about Finn. Elly assures Bea that she didn’t kill Finn but confesses that there was something going on between them before he died. She admits to them having feelings for each other and sharing a kiss. Bea is hurt and angry, realising that Finn tried to get rid of her because Elly gave him hope that they could be together. Bea tells Susan and Karl what happened; Susan doesn’t confess prior knowledge of the ‘affair’.

Elly confesses that she and Finn had feelings for each other…

Toadie expresses his own guilt to Sky and Mark over the fact that he was responsible for Finn going to The Island and that he had been working for him at the Buddy Club. He is angry with Sky for going after Elly when she is innocent. Sky tries to persuade Elly to plead guilty. It does not go down well.

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

Home and Away: We Aren’t Family!

(Monday 30^th March 2020)

Marilyn’s concerns about the Parata Family grows when she realises they are sleeping in their car. She is kind to Gemma when she takes a call from her brother in law, Tane while at work; she breaks down in tears over the loss of her husband. Gemma turns Marilyn down when she invites the family to move in with her and John but later changes her mind. She broaches the idea of approaching Tane for help but Ari shuts her down; Tane turned his back on their family. Ari has been told he cannot return to work for at least a week until he is cleared for physical and psychological damage.

Marilyn expresses her concern about Gemma and her family…

Meanwhile, John tells Ari and Nik off for using the public showers to wash their clothes. He even goes so far as putting a sign up informing everyone that the showers are not for laundry! Ugh, this is the old John Palmer that nobody liked! Imagine his horror when he finds that his wife has moved the whole family into his house! And she refuses to make them leave either!

In some good news, Nik finds himself bonding with Roo, who engages him in helping out at the bait shop. She then offers him some regular work there until Alf returns from his honeymoon, when he should be able to negotiate a new contract with him. Things are looking up!

Meanwhile, Mac tries her hand at online dating, something that Ryder tries and fails to keep a secret from Dean. However, she is immediately catfished by her ex-boyfriend, Jason who is not so much looking for a date and more looking for half the money she scammed from her Dad. Charming!

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

There is a sneak peek episode on 5Star at 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the Channel 5 episodes

Neighbours: Whatever it Takes

(Wednesday 25^th – Friday 27^th March 2020)

Wednesday welcomes the new credits for Neighbours and I have to say, I absolutely love Bonnie Anderson’s vocals. She sounds beautiful and it’s real throwback to old school, traditional Neighbours. I love it. My only disappointment was that I had been hoping for a genuine shake-up to the credits and completely new clips but there were actually no real changes. Gary had already been mercilessly removed at the beginning of the week and now Finn is also gone. But the loveliest thing is all is that Georgie Stone joins the regular cast as Mackenzie Hargreaves alongside the Rebecchi clan. I am so happy!

So, to the show itself… Elly denies murdering Finn, explaining that she attempted to bury him because she needed to know that he wouldn’t come back and harm anyone again. I mean, it’s dodgy storytelling but we’ll go with it. Call it guilt, shock, grief or whatever. Mark visits her at home after she is released and warns her that Finn died from blunt force trauma which left him paralysed (ironic after his fakery as Patrick) and led to him drowning. However, Elly’s fingerprints were found of the tap, which she didn’t mention touching. He advises her to lawyer up and be careful about everything she says.

While Mark and Paige feel guilty about their own personal happiness, Sky and Lana are reluctant to be separated. However, Lana has a book tour to complete and Sky needs to stick around for Finn’s murder investigation. I particularly enjoyed the moment that Mark dismissed her interrupting ‘police business’ and then she introduced herself as Senior Detective Mangel. Ha! Sorry, I know Mark is a really popular character but I find him ever so arrogant. Sky visits Toadie as a civilian, wanting to know how he is but also wanting to know how on earth he escaped The Island when he was so injured. Because he’s a hero, Sky, because he’s a hero.

Worried that Sky believes Elly is guilty, Mark decides not to return to Adelaide (with Paige’s permission) and after waving his wife off at the airport, informs Sky that he is sticking around to work on the case. Sky assures him that she will follow the evidence.

Karl tells Elly that Bea feels responsible for Finn’s actions. He is sure that Sky will be a reasonable voice during the investigation but Mark is convinced she is going to put her through hell. Forensics don’t prove or disprove Elly’s innocence but Sky is certain that she is holding back after watching Finn’s increasingly intense video diaries, revealing his feelings for her and her feelings for him. She believes there is more to the story than Elly has told them. Elly’s DNA has also been found on the rock that killed Finn; Elly explains that she pulled him up to check his pulse when she found him. She didn’t think their feelings for each other were relevant. Um… I think that’s a big, fat lie, young lady!

Susan and Elly meet up, both overwhelmed with guilt for letting the situation with Finn spiral; when they knew he had developed feelings for Elly, they should have shut him down then. Well, yes! Obviously! Susan, you did disappoint me. Anyway, Karl struggles to get Susan to slow down as she throws all of Finn’s belongings out and rips up the family photo from the christening. Susan is called in for questioning and makes the whole situation worse by admitting that Elly stated she was going to make sure Finn wasn’t going to hurt them again, that she would do whatever it takes. She hurriedly insists that Elly didn’t kill him. Well, it’s a bit late for that, Auntie Suse… Elly is arrested for Finn’s murder and Hendrix breaks the news to Susan that Finn killed Prue. It all gets a bit much for her.

Sheila is broken over the loss of her son…

Grief hangs over the Canning House as Sheila and Kyle struggle to come to terms with Gary’s death. Xanthe refuses to come home (presumably the actress declined to reprise her role!) Terese visits to console the family. Roxy does her best to cheer Kyle up. She is so clumsy, it’s cute. Toadie’s first port of call upon his release from hospital is to visit Sheila and Kyle. Sheila asks him to speak at the funeral but she is soon hit with the realisation that they haven’t even found Gary’s body yet, although they soon get word that his body has been recovered and needs to be autopsied. Mark tells her about Prue’s death.

Kyle moves back in with Sheila in time for Mark to break the news that Gary was shot in the back with an arrow. A shirt in the car Finn was driving was found, covered in Gary’s blood. They can only hope that Gary’s death was quick and painless. Kyle is torn up with guilt over bringing the archery set to The Island. Sheila’s anger switches to one person: Susan, the woman who brought Finn back to Ramsay Street. Oh dear.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Paul and Terese opt to delay telling Harlow about the death of her mother. Paul continues to refuse to let Hendrix near his granddaughter. Ned advises Hendrix to give Harlow and her family space and lets slip about Prue’s death. Ignoring him, Hendrix sneaks in to see hospital to see Harlow and he is so lovely to her. I was on the edge of my seat, assuming that he would let slip about Prue but he doesn’t. Paul takes him out of the room, asking him if he has told her but the young man simply says that it’s not his place. It thaws things between them at last. Paul seems to understand that Hendrix really does care about Harlow and wants the best for her.

While poor Harlow tries to piece together all her confusing memories of The Island, her loved ones avoid all her questions. Alone, she listens to a voicemail from her mother, at the end of which there is an explosion. Harlow demands answers from Paul, who has no choice but to explain that Prue has died. Heartbroken, Harlow listens to her mother’s final words on repeat. She feels terrible for being on bad terms with Prue when she died.

Between Sky, Mark, Paul and Terese, they work out that the bomb that killed Prue must have been contained in the Honeymoon Box she had with her – and that it was originally intended for Lucy. Paul explains to Harlow what really happened.

There is a particularly sweet scene where Chloe offers her support to Hendrix, who accepts her as a ‘sort of’ parent. He also accepts, in light of Harlow’s situation, just how lucky he really is.

David is torn up with guilt over not noticing that Finn’s memory had returned and for also letting him visit Harry; if he had done things differently, would he have been able to stop things from turning out the way they have? Ned accuses Finn of having faked his memory loss from the start.

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

Home and Away: The Best Sheila in the World

(Monday 23^rd – Friday 27^th March 2020)

Ryder hands Jade’s phone into Colby but when Nik refuses to step up, Ryder begs him to make a statement or the whole thing might fall to pieces. Nik comes through and tells the police everything he knows. Ryder is exonerated and Jade, should they ever find her, is potentially in big trouble. Mac happily gives Ryder his job back at Salt and arranges his shifts around TAFE.

Ari gets the wrong end of the stick when he spots his nephew in the back of a police car and lays into him, thinking he is in trouble. After yet another argument, protesting his innocence, Nik calls his other Uncle, Tane, for support. Gemma is relieved to confirm with Colby that Nik really isn’t in any trouble with the police.

Gemma is excited to start her job with Marilyn and Irene in The Diner but payday isn’t close and the family are three days behind in paying the rent on their motel and get a demand notice through the door. Ari still can’t find any work and gets into a row with John, who is clearly concerned about how protective his wife is of the family. Ari admits his troubles to Dean who asks around about jobs for Ari and casually buys him some lunch. Marilyn also slips the family as much food as she can get away with. Unfortunately, the family are faced with the prospect of packing up and moving away when they find they have been evicted from their motel.

Now, I am starting to work them out, I think… Bear with me… Gemma’s husband, Ari’s brother died. Nikau is Gemma’s son. Ari has taken it upon himself to look after them but Nik is resistant and blames him for the way they have to live. Tane, Ari’s other brother, has been somewhat outcast from the family by Ari, although he is still in touch with Gemma and Nik. I have read that Gemma’s husband died during a crime and Tane’s income isn’t the most legally obtained. We already know that Ari did time in jail, where he met Dean but appears to have changed his ways. He and Gemma are definitely sleeping separately; he has been doing his back in, sleeping on the floor in order to give her the bed. So, this family are clearly going to provide a lot of secrets and drama!

Still haunted by the loss of Robbo, Jasmine interrupts an argument between Colby and Bella about her resistance to begin counselling. Bella is worried about talking about things she isn’t supposed to. Jasmine snaps at the them that they should remember how lucky they are to have each other. In a bid to escape her memories of Robbo, Jasmine decides to move in with Irene.

Bella lies to Colby about her progress with the counsellor…

Colby takes Bella to see her new counsellor, Patricia the next day but Bella refuses to speak to her. However, she lies about it to her brother and insists that it went well and she was able to open up. When Colby attempts to book another appointment, Patricia doesn’t think she is the right counsellor for Bella, explaining that they didn’t make any progress in the session. He decides not to call Bella out on her lies. He worries about making ends meet now that he has lost Jasmine and Robbo’s rent. Aware of the difficulties he is facing, Roo and Maggie look into the financial help he and Bella can receive with Bella’s education.

Alf and Martha refuse to go on honeymoon so Roo and Ryder arrange to stay away from the house for a couple of days, leaving the newlyweds with a special breakfast. Roo goes to stay with the Astoni Family, only for Alf and Martha to decide they do want to go on honeymoon after all. Alf declares that Martha is ‘the best Sheila in the world’. So cute.

Roo and Maggie are frustrated with themselves that they haven’t done anything in the search for Leah. To be fair, I’d be a bit annoyed if I was Leah. Apart from Irene for a few days, nobody has really been very bothered about finding her until now. Anyway, they decide to start their own investigation, coming back time and again to the same question: who called her on the day she disappeared? Having passed around posters in the local area, they are shocked to discover that Leah’s previously shut down blog is now live again and full of anti-feminist rants that she absolutely would never have written – but only Leah has the password. I mean, websites can never be hacked, can they? Especially not something as professional as a part-time blog.

Tori and Justin are back from Mason’s funeral and are quickly updated on the progress of the hunt for Leah. Suddenly reminded that his girlfriend is missing, Justin immediately becomes absorbed in the posts. Tori is not impressed with the grammar. Justin furiously demands to know what the police are doing to find his girlfriend. He is convinced that the person writing the posts is holding Leah captive. His own guilt over his neglect of Leah at the time of her disappearance leads him to breaking down in the garage. I wonder if James Stewart, who plays him, is dreaming of happier storylines when he has to stop crying over Tori/Leah/Mason? Ziggy gathers friends together to help Justin run the garage, including finishing fixing Ryder’s car as a surprise, which he is thrilled about. In return, Justin arranges to fast track Ziggy’s apprenticeship.

Willow and Alex have also returned from Mason’s funeral, heavy hearted over the loss of their friend and original #Willex shipper. Willow still doesn’t know if she will have a job for much longer. While Alex waits for Willow to arrive for a date at Salt, she receives a call from the Locum Agency, offering her next job in Queensland in three weeks’ time. She delays telling Willow before she can speak to Tori and confirm whether she is planning to return to work immediately, which she is, dashing Alex’s hope that she could just stay on at Northern Districts. With no other option, Alex tells Willow about the job and takes the risk of asking Willow to go with her.

Alex asks Willow to move to Queensland with her…

In turmoil over what to do, Willow has a rather one sided conversation with Mac where she doesn’t really let the poor woman speak as she tries to make up her mind! Dean is not impressed when Mac tells him that Willow may be moving away with Alex and he doesn’t hesitate to tell Alex what he thinks. Alex eventually decides to turn the job down. She doesn’t want to lose Willow but she doesn’t want to drag her away from her friends and family either. However, Willow has already decided: taking the job is the best thing for Alex and being with Alex is the best thing for Willow. Oh, if only it was going to be that easy! But this is a same-sex love story and Home and Away do have previous so…

Dean gives Alex a hard time about taking Willow away…

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

There is a sneak peek episode on 5Star at 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the lunch time Channel 5 episodes

Hollyoaks: The Devil’s Dinner Party

(Monday 23^rd – Friday 27^th March 2020)

Mercedes and Grace are both desperate to stop Liam but neither can agree as to how to do it. Maxine attempts to calm things down; she is shocked to hear about his creepy dartboard. She reaches out to Damon. I do hope that despite everything, one day, they might find their way back to each other. Meanwhile, Liam is going a bit bonkers in The Loft. Grace and Mercedes tackle him but cannot dissuade him from going after Maxine who for once, didn’t do anything wrong. Courtney arrives and Mercedes bluntly tells her the truth about Liam’s behaviour. She is disgusted, warning Liam that if he continues on this path, he will ultimately self-destruct. He breaks down in tears and they all end up pitying him – even Mercedes. He promises to stop his revenge plan for good.

Liam then apologises to Maxine and offers her all the profits from the salon in a bid to get her back on her feet, accepting that it’s what he should have done in the first place. Damon arrives and realises that Maxine was telling the truth a few weeks ago when she told him that Liam had forced her to prostitute herself. She dissuades him from going after Liam or telling the police; everything is sorted now. Yeah, right!

Having deleted all the footage of Jesse and Courtney’s wedding in a fit of despair, Liam goes through all the CCTV footage from the club, which of course shows Jesse arguing with James and Grace about them shooting Mercedes. It explains why he was drinking so heavily, which led to his death and reveals that he was deeply upset when he died. Liam’s mood changes dramatically.

Liam makes a video for Iona. He knows that whatever happens, he is not coming back from this. He then abducts both John Paul and Sylver before inviting Mercedes, Grace, James and Maxine to The Devil’s Dinner Party, held at The Dog.

Arriving at The Dog, Liam has indeed set it up like a dinner party. He also has a gun. First, he sends Grace and James off hunting round the building for John Paul and Sylver; they have three minutes or Maxine is dead. They don’t find them. Thankfully, Goldie interrupts what could be Maxine’s death. Mercedes has to send Goldie away. John Paul and Sylver are merely revealed to be hidden behind a curtain. Liam then announces that Grace and James shot Mercedes.

While Goldie rushes to the hospital to alert Warren, sure that something is wrong at the pub, John Paul is locked up in the basement with James. He makes it clear that should they survive this ordeal, they are over. He is horrified that all this time, it was him who shot his sister.

Up above, Liam order Mercedes to get her revenge and shoot Grace in order to save everyone else. He tells everyone what she did to Eva and Jesse. Remember Eva? That annoying woman Liam was in love with that Grace killed that ultimately changed Liam’s personality, not to mention his face. Grace is broken mess of guilt for her crimes; she genuinely has changed. Mercedes turns the gun on Liam and fires but it’s not loaded. Liam then orders Sylver to take over and kill Grace.

Meanwhile, Warren, Joel, Goldie and Brody try to get into the pub. Warren breaks in upstairs, meeting John Paul and James on the way, who have just escaped from the basement. The three of them listen to Liam telling Sylver that Grace is the Devil and requesting that he gives him the order to kill her. When he refuses, Liam decides to kill her himself but Warren bursts in and intercepts, tackling Liam and allowing everyone to make their escape. Liam makes a grab for Mercedes, holding her back. It’s Grace that comes back to save her, leaving Liam teetering at the top of a staircase. She ignores his pleas for mercy and down he goes – dead. I will not miss him. He was possibly one of the most annoying and overused characters that soap has seen for a very long time.

Courtney is horrified to discover the truth about Grace – that shot Mercedes and that she essentially caused Jesse to drink himself to death. Unable to excuse herself any longer, Grace asks Courtney to take custody of Curtis as she hands herself into the police for the shooting. Grace apologises to Sylver, who is more sad than angry.

James is also prepared to confess. Mercedes tracks them down to the police station and intercepts. She tells the police that she killed Liam in self-defence; she was in fear for her life. The police accept Mercedes’ version of events and no charges are brought. James and Grace can’t believe they will not pay for their crime. Mercedes tells them she needs to face up to her own behaviour, which led to the shooting in the first place. Now, she just wants to put everything behind them all and move on. And the first step to moving on is the long awaited reunion between Mercedes and Sylver! Hooray!

Brody is uncomfortable when Liberty makes a heart shaped photo frame of herself and Brody for the baby and thinks she is becoming too intense. He is then frustrated and confused when she asks Damon out, not wanting his friend to be used. Courtney consoles Liberty over her feelings for Brody. Maxine encourages Liberty to be honest with Brody about her feelings. She opts to do so in song but she is hurt when he doesn’t respond. Eventually, he admits that he feels the same way, just as Sienna returns home.

In the best moment of the whole week, Marnie calls Walter out for his homophobia towards Mitchell, comparing him to Mac and warning him of what he stands to lose if he doesn’t change. I just love Marnie. Thank you for calling his behaviour what it is. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he is justified and if it’s caught up in his religious beliefs. It’s still homophobia and he is treating his grandson abysmally.

Taking Marnie’s words to heart, Walter invites Mitchell and Scott, as a couple to lunch. Walter has also invited Toby and Celeste to the lunch with Scott, Mitchell, Lisa and Martine, wanting to bring the whole family together. Things go south when Scott holds Mitchell’s hand under the table to encourage him. Walter is disgusted and Toby and Celeste enjoy winding the situation up, prompting Mitchell to start to walk out. Lisa tells her grandfather off. He is in the middle of apologising when who should walk in, fresh from charming Grace? Toby, Celeste and Mitchell’s father, Felix (played by Richard Blackwood – well, I guess he’s not going back to Eastenders then!)

Misbah catches trainee nurse Peri in a medication error at the hospital. She is kind to her and lets her off. She is just learning and no harm was done. Unfortunately, Edward notices and gives both of them a huge dressing down, undermining Misbah and derailing all of Peri’s confidence. However, as predicted weeks ago, he takes the opportunity to steal the drugs and swap them for Tony’s medication, another chance to screw with his son’s life and ruin his marriage. I really cannot stand this guy! Has Tony not been through enough already?

Due to the Coronavirus, Hollyoaks has had to suspend filming

Hollyoaks will now air Monday to Wednesday at 6:30pm on Channel 4 with a sneak peek on E4 at 7pm

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes