Neighbours: Family Ties

(Thursday 13^th – Thursday 27^th August 2020)

Nicolette rushed in to save the day with Emmett; she, Chloe and Aaron got him to hospital. He returned home with a neck brace but he was otherwise okay. Brent clearly felt bad but gave David and Aaron nothing but attitude. However, the boys were kind enough to continue Brent’s trial regardless, even after he hit Aaron. However, they drew the line when he became aggressive with Harlow when she turned him down for a date.

Jenna returns to her son’s life…
(Photo credit: metro)

Cue: Emmett and Brent’s mother, Jenna arriving! First, she attempted to have Emmett taken away from David and Aaron, deeming them unsuitable guardians. She then got steaming drunk, one of the reasons she lost her boys in the first place, prompting Brent to decide to return to residential care rather than go home with her. In his wisdom, Paul offered Jenna money to stay away for good and leave the boys and Emmett in peace. When Terese found out about her husband’s treatment of a vulnerable alcoholic, she was understandably furious, so she decided to help her get herself back on track, inviting her to an AA meeting, supporting her through it and even giving her a housekeeping job at the hotel. Just as an aside, every time I hear Terese talking about Emmett or to the boys about fostering, I just want her to talk about her years being fostered by Pippa and Tom in Summer Bay!

Chloe and Nicolette continued to bond. Nicolette opened up to her new friend about her mother and Chloe confessed to some past romantic misdeeds. Meanwhile, Jane desperately tried to make amends with Nicolette and find a reason for her to stay in Erinsborough.

Pierce was upset when he discovered that Paul knew about Chloe’s pregnancy before he did, although she explained exactly how that happened. She was then informed that Fay’s conditioned had worsened and she had to rush off to see her. Before she left, she found herself opening up to Nicolette again, this time about her Mum and was surprised to find that she knew all about Huntington’s. She wasn’t even shocked when Chloe admitted to her own diagnosis.

Nicolette has feelings for Chloe…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

When Chloe returned from visiting Fay, she was deeply concerned about her severe decline and wanted to bring her home to look after her for a while, to take some of the share of her care as Mark and Tyler and their partners have been doing it for some time. Pierce and Hendrix both agreed and they took Nicolette on as her live-in nurse. Chloe was a little apprehensive, being that Nicolette had previously asked her out but her new friend assured her that she had turned her feelings off as soon as she knew she was married. Chloe was further reassured when she discovered she had picked up a random girl in The Waterhole. However, the moment Pierce realised that Nicolette was gay, it was clear he was unnerved. And probably with good reason this time! I am all for this pairing. Chloe and Nicolette are way more interesting that dull as dishwater, Pierce!

There was nearly another Sheila/Susan row when Bea went ahead and invited Levi to move in with her and the Kennedy’s without asking permission. Susan shut it down straight away, not wanting to take in another stray after Finn but also not wanting to upset Sheila. With no money, Levi had no choice but to move back in with Sheila and try to make things work. Things went surprisingly well, as Levi allowed Sheila to make a fuss of him (to the point that Kyle got a little jealous) and finally, Levi begged her to just be normal with him. He forgave her and just wanted her to be his Gran again. Hooray! Who doesn’t love a happy ending?

One persona not likely to get one is the Whitney Dean of Neighbours – Bea. Yashvi attempted to set her and Levi up on a date when she discovered that she had feelings for Levi. However, she was forced to let Bea down gently (on the date), after discovering that Levi didn’t feel the same way. He has read ‘the book’ and feels she has too much baggage. Oh, the path of true love never did run smooth…

Bea has feelings for Levi…
(Photo credit: Metro)

Despite Yashvi’s misgivings, Ned decided to take the plunge and venture onto the weird ‘photography’ website. His first commission was for $500, to sit in his pants (I’m sceptical about the pants bit, to be honest) on a vanilla sponge cake. Weird. Very weird. And just to make the storyline even more gross, Terese and Sheila caught Ned with the cake, post photoshoot and ate it! Yuck!

Susan was clearly struggling with anxiety stress and wasn’t coping with running the school. She couldn’t manage when the police came to take Ollie in for questioning over the drugs and constantly deferred to new recruit Jane any time anything felt remotely difficult. She also refused to support an eco-protest that Harlow and Hendrix wanted to hold because she was frightened of the repercussions. However, the girls did finally make a breakthrough with Paul who agreed to switch to metal straws at The Waterhole. Metal straws! Gosh, wouldn’t they be so much better than the crap, disintegrating paper ones we have?!

Shane is trapped in darkness…
(Photo credit: metro)

Anyway, Shane’s loved ones were worried about his erratic behaviour but it was only Roxy who worked out that he was taking drugs. Unfortunately, with Roxy keeping things to herself and trying to support her friend and stop him taking drugs, Dipi was beginning to suspect that something untoward was going on between them. While Shane reassured her, his odd behaviour continued, concerning everyone. Roxy continued to try and support him, all the while attempting to keep his secret until he turned on her as well. I feel so sorry for her. She is daft to keep things to herself but I know she is trying to do the right thing. I just hope she tells Dipi what’s going on now!

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

Neighbours: Mothers and Daughters

(Wednesday 5^th – Wednesday 12^th August 2020)

Jane’s daughter, Nicolette Stone turned up in Erinsborough, almost tragically eager to see her mother and hoping that she had asked Terese to contact her. Of course, Jane is still in Perth and hasn’t done anything of the sort. So, the story goes that their relationship is pretty fractured. When Nicolette came out as gay, although Jane was supportive, she kept her deep in the closet as far as Mrs Mangel was concerned, which I totally get was hurtful to Nicolette. It made her feel like Jane wasn’t supportive at all. And it drove a huge wedge between them, especially knowing the relationship we know that Jane and Mrs Mangel had. But thinking that Jane had asked for her, Nicolette came rushing and was crestfallen to realise her mother wasn’t even there.

Terese pointed out that if Jane knew that Nicolette wanted to sort things out, she would undoubtedly be delighted but Nicolette was doubtful and also unconcerned about her mother getting her heart broken for the millionth time. In the meantime, she bonded with Chloe and became quite smitten, assuming she was gay and not realising that she would flirt with a post. When she made the bold move of asking her out, Chloe awkwardly explained that she was married – to Pierce. Later, she explained that she was bisexual and she had really enjoyed spending time with her.

Nicolette is smitten with Chloe
(photo credit: Yahoo)

Unhappy Nic accidentally bumped into Paul, letting the cat out of the bag regarding Terese’s communications with Jane. Paul was horrified to hear of the breakup but even more upset to realise that he has been left completely in the dark. He is possibly the biggest busy body soap has ever seen! Terese had no choice but to contact Jane and admit that she contacted her daughter and just as Nicolette is all set to leave town, Terese informed her that Jane was on her way, desperate to repair their relationship. Unfortunately, things didn’t go terribly well as while Jane apologised for throwing her out of the house after Nicolette told her and Des exactly what she thought of their relationship (which prompted the breakup), Nicolette was unrepentant and clearly carrying a lot of hurt from the past. While Nicolette prepared to pack up and say goodbye, Jane asked newly returned Karl and Susan for a place to stay.

Nicolette and Jane have a tense reunion…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Well, I have to say, I am thrilled that Jane has returned as a regular cast member at last and Nicolette definitely has the potential to be a good character, I think. Her first scene with Jane was brilliant. Their relationship will be a very interesting story to tell. And now that Elly is gone and we can see serious cracks in Chloe and Pierce’s relationship, Nicolette could very easily be the answer!

Across the Street, Aaron and David have had all kinds of trouble with Emmett and his brother, Brent but their compassion won out when they realised what it was like for Brent in residential care. They agreed to take Brent on for a week’s trial and to look after the two of them. The first day seemed to be going well with lots of fun, games and doughnuts. However, when Aaron was busy, Brent persuaded reluctant Emmett to climb onto the roof with him. When they were getting down, Emmett struggled and fell! Ouchy.

Sheila finally broke and admitted the truth about what happened to Levi. She had popped out for some milk when some thugs broke in and attacked him as a child, causing a head injury that also caused seizures. She admitted that the thugs had been the lads that Kyle hung around with; she had sent him away to turn his life around and get him away from them. She never told the police, meaning Levi never got justice and so suffered with nightmares for many years. Instead, she sorted things out quietly with the boys’ parents. Kyle was horrified, having had no idea he was responsible for what happened and Levi was devastated that Sheila essentially chose Kyle over him.

Kyle is devastated to be partly responsible for what happened to Levi
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Storming out, Levi turned to Bea for support. There is definitely a romance brewing there, I think. And quite frankly, Bea deserves someone nice for a change. Kyle turned to Roxy over his guilt. He attempted to plead Sheila’s case to Levi but the boys nearly ended up fighting instead. While Levi decided to move out, Roxy persuaded Ned to help her cheer Kyle up with some ‘classy’ nude pictures. And she and Sheila finally made amends. Hooray! Sheila admitted to Kyle that she loves him like a son because she raised him like one; essentially she does love him more than her other grandchildren.

Dipi was becoming more confused and frustrated by Shane’s erratic moods. One minute he is pulling and all-nighter and not even calling, the next he is sleeping like the dead, then he can’t concentrate, then he is very grumpy… Alongside the drugs Harlow and Hendrix have now found in the school and Yashvi is investigating rather well for a rookie, plus that weird conversation he and Ritchie had the other day, I’m assuming… well, drugs.

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

Neighbours: So, Where Were We…?

(Monday 15^th June – Tuesday 4^th August 2020)

Many apologies for my vanishing act. Personal circumstances! But here is a rough guide to the past few weeks on Neighbours (I’ll spend the next however long doing the other soaps too but please bear with me!)

So, we had utter chaos with Andrea plotting to escape prison and run off with Hugo, which, with the help of a hapless prison guard, she briefly succeeded in doing. However, Heather genuinely proved to have changed by raising the alarm and putting her own daughter back behind bars where she belonged. Now, what she did to Sonya was utterly unforgiveable but I have to admit that I have warmed enormously to Heather over these past few weeks. She is so engaging and of all the bonkers plots Neighbours has thrown at us, this whole Dee/Andrea/Heather story has been absolutely epic. I’ve loved it from start to finish. Madeline West has been amazing at playing the two roles so very differently. And I adore Kerry Armstrong, who plays Heather. Sadly for Toadie though, having put his heart on the line again after the tragic loss of Sonya, his relationship with Dee was not to be as she headed to Alaska to get to know her father. Sad times.

Heather helps Toadie and Dee track Andrea down…

Another fabulous week in Erinsborough was Pride Week with possibly the best cameo ever from Courtney Act. Amazing! I loved every second of it. No soap flies the rainbow flag better than Neighbours (although Hollyoaks makes a gallant effort). That week was a particularly special week for Mackenzie as she reconnected with her Dad and then went through with her gender reassignment surgery. We witnessed some seriously powerful scenes, including the reading of Mackenzie’s diaries as she dealt with the departure of her father from the family home, his rejection of her and how she dealt with transitioning so young. I hold my hands up. I cried. Georgie Stone is an absolute star.

Yashvi completed her police training and started work at the local station, partnered with new cop, Levi Canning (grandson of Sheila). And who was her first arrest? Harlow! Yes, really! The poor girl arranged a party for Hendrix for their 18^th birthdays only to find people taking drugs at the party. She tried to get rid of them, not wanting anyone to get into trouble, only for the police to turn up and arrest her. Oops. Then Terese accidentally bribed a policeman to get the charges dropped. Double oops.

It was a lovely day when Aaron and David were approved to be foster parents but they were a little alarmed when they were given an older child than they asked for – a teenage boy called Emmett. It’s been really interesting to watch and I like that they’ve had lots of ups and downs with him, rather than it being all smooth sailing and everything being perfect. But they are really good parents and he is a vulnerable but sweet kid. However, he is struggling at school and acting out and they’ve had to ban him from seeing Louis, the only ‘friend’ he has made. First, Louis got him into trouble by trashing a classroom (resulting in Shaun getting fired from his trial working at the school) and then they borrowed Hendrix’s drone and put Sheila in hospital! When Emmett returned to school after the holidays and a lot of tutoring, he barely lasted five minutes before running off and meeting up with his brother, Brent, prompting him to get suspended. Against their better judgement, David and Aaron brough Brent back to the house. There, they had to explain the reality of the boys’ plan to live together when Brent turns eighteen.

David and Aaron welcome their first foster child…

As for Shaun, his new life (no pun intended) in Erinsborough didn’t quite go to plan, what with having lost his job and everything and Elly was feeling more and more out of place, not helped by Karl’s former BFF, Olivia having published a tell-all book all about Finn. When Shaun invited Elly to move to Switzerland with him to start a whole new life, she jumped at the chance, breaking poor Bea’s heart. It was an emotional day as the sisters said their goodbyes and Karl and Susan made a detour on their trip to return briefly and bid Elly farewell too. I’ll be honest, it was time for her to go. There just wasn’t anything left for her to do.

Sheila hasn’t been in the best spirits. Of course, she is still grieving for Gary but now she is furious that Kyle and Roxy are officially and item. I can’t see what her problem is, to be honest. Roxy is awesome and she has been such a support to Kyle in the wake of his Dad’s death. Sheila’s mood darkened further when Levi turned up and moved into the house. Her behaviour has been odd to say the least, being how family oriented she is. She smothers Kyle beyond belief and yet she wants nothing to do with Levi. Clive finally called her on it and we learned that she hurt him in some way or perhaps there was an accident that she feels responsible for.

Sheila is harbouring secret pain over Levi…

Meanwhile, Levi began to bond with Bea (there’s definitely going to be a romance there at some point). She witnessed him having an epileptic fit, which he begged her to keep secret, explaining that he had an accident when he was a kid, which caused a head injury and epilepsy. He was sick of being smothered so he convinced everyone he was healed and has never told work. He then offered her his support in the wake of Elly, Shaun and Aster’s departure, especially after she punched a guy who was out of order to her, causing her to lose her job at the hotel.

In yet another attempt to save their floundering marriage, Chloe and Pierce tried and failed to be approved as foster carers. Then Chloe discovered that she was pregnant, having previously been terrified that she was experiencing the beginning of Huntington’s symptoms. It’s lovely to see Terese step in with complete and utter support here. And I am very interested to see what will happen next.

Meanwhile, on their holiday, Karl bumped into tearful Jane, her marriage to Des having already fallen apart. Wanting to follow up on the weddings, Paul struggled to get hold of Jane, although all the other weddings seem to have been successful. Assuming that Karl has blabbed about the split, Jane phoned shocked Terese, ranting about being left alone. Terese offered to be the buffer between Jane and Paul. She also contacted Jane’s daughter, Nicolette, asking for help with Jane. And that’s why she is one of the best characters ever.

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

Emmerdale: The Letter

(Wednesday 10^th June 2020)

The second Lockdown Episode from Emmerdale was another brilliant two-hander, this time featuring Cain and Aaron, the two grumpiest characters on the show so you can imagine it was full of tension from the get-go! It was a really intense, intricate episode, full of high emotion, despite Cain setting down rules about no emotions and feelings. As Aaron pointed out – anger is an emotion!

As with the previous episode, this covered several weeks of Lockdown as Cain and Aaron battled their own personal demons and Liv remained invisible upstairs. Cain was still running the garage and Aaron was stuck at home. Both of them had rather fetching new haircuts. There were some moments of light relief, including one fabulous moment with the boys enjoying a face mask. Cain Dingle in a face mask. I mean, the episode is worth it just for that!

Cain is still in love with Moira…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

But while Cain was struggling to deal with his feelings for Moira and how he can possibly reconcile his love for her and his grief over her infidelity, not to mention how he feels about Nate, a letter came from the prison for Aaron. Concerned about contact from Robert just as Aaron has started to put things behind him, Cain mistakenly hid the letter but it all came tumbling out one drunken night. Needless to say, Aaron was not a happy boy, especially when Cain couldn’t quite remember where he hid the letter!

Aaron still misses Robert…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

I think these episodes so far have been really good. They are filmed very cleverly so you don’t even really notice that the cast are social distancing. It’s nice to see the show tackling the subject of Covid-19 head on rather than pretending it hasn’t happened. It’s a good documentation. It would feel kind of strange for our soaps to pretend that one of the biggest things to happen to us all, never happened and it will be interesting to see what each soap does now. Emmerdale and Doctors have both tacked the subject and I wonder what the others will do. I know Home and Away are going to skip it, as they want to keep Summer Bay as a place to escape to. But anyway, Emmerdale have been very creative with filming and with the script and slotting these episodes into their timeframe. I think they should be very proud of what they’re achieving.

Emmerdale has resumed filming and is showing special lockdown episodes

It now airs on Mondays & Wednesdays @ 7pm

Eastenders: Welcome to My World

(Monday 1^st – Tuesday 9^th June 2020)

Ben attempts to navigate his way through life without his hearing…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

On Monday 1^st June, Eastenders aired a fantastic, somewhat ground breaking episode, all told from Ben’s perspective, with very limited sound and snatched subtitles. It really is a tough challenge to navigate our way through his day, as people try to talk to him and he (and we) struggle to understand what they’re saying. It gave a huge insight to those of us who have no idea what it must be like to experience a world with no/little sound.

Through the day, Ben unearthed Lola’s one night stand with Peter and was of course, absolutely livid. He was also upset to realise that she had had an abortion largely due to her devotion to him and her role in his life.

He was determined to carry out the warehouse job with his Dad and dodgy Danny Hardcastle, although Phil warned him off. When Phil charged off on his own, Ben was convinced that he was going to be done over and followed him. And for once, Ben was actually right! He found his Dad in a very tight spot and sort of managed to save the day, although in the process, Danny deliberately shot off a gun right by Ben’s ear.

Phil and Ben escaped with the cash and managed to lose the police car that chased them but in the morning, Callum was shocked to find that Ben’s pillow was covered in blood. Ben’s hearing also seemed to have been lost completely, although he didn’t let on. Callum then became very suspicious when Jack mentioned the warehouse job (thanks to the conversation he and Ben had had at the hospital) but Ben had created a false alibi with Lexi. What a great Dad.

Unable to cope with everything that had happened to him recently, Keegan told Tiffany he was moving to Croydon (which appeared to be on the other side the world according to this family) with his mother. In fact, he didn’t look like he was even going to tell her. She caught him about to leave. But then suddenly, it was all off, as Sharon changed her mind. She wanted Kayden back! And then Keegan didn’t bother to tell his wife he was staying. This poor kid is all of the place right now. And subsequently, so is his poor wife. I am very sad about this. They are a very sweet couple. But I did say at the time, they got married too young… Still, I hope they pull through.

Now she is staying in The Square, Karen decided to give Billy a drawer in the flat for when he stays over. However, the battles lines seem to be drawn between Billy and Mitch with both men starting to vie for her affection – starting with Mitch flattering Karen with attention and playing a trick on Billy. I love that Karen, who started as quite a harsh character and at best a figure of fun, has men fighting over her and is part of the beating heart of The Square. She is absolutely one of my favourite characters on Eastenders. She is so funny but more than that, she is so kind. She would do anything for those she loves.

As for Sharon, she told Phil that she needed to be a mother to Kayden. Unfortunately, although he tried for about ten minutes, he decided that he could not be a father to him and threw her out, informing her that he was buying The Vic without her and she was dead to him. Charming! Just as I was starting to like him…

Is it really the end for Sharon and Phil…?
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Former ladies’ man, Max, made yet more blunders with Ruby before agreeing to an open relationship. It’s weird to see him like this. He has always been so in control of all his relationships and yet with Ruby, he’s a mess. Also, as a serial cheater, you’d think an open relationship would suit him down to the ground! But suddenly, all he wants is monogamy. Maybe it’s not as fun if you have permission. Anyway, he requested that she just didn’t sleep with Martin. She refused and broke up with him! So, I think we can all guess what will happen next! And hopefully that will prepare the way for Stacey to return. Jean certainly needs her to!

Chantelle and Gray showed great kindness to Whitney as Gray supported her through her case. They even took her in for a night or two, fed her up and welcomed her in as part of their family. And they kept up their pretence of being happy despite him threatening Chantelle quietly and putting a tracker in her car. He was furious when she had to take the car for work and had to do more errands than she initially told him. Then he discovered that the car had been taken out the previous Thursday, which she denied, as it was at the garage. Now, I assume this was the car that Ben took out for the warehouse job. But with the way the episodes are stacked at the moment, I can’t say 100%. And I’m not someone who would recognise a car by sight! I hardly recognise my own!

Alongside this, Gray walked Whitney through the exact scene of Leo’s death. When it all got a bit emotional and stressful, he plied her with kindness. Overwhelmed and confused, Whitney kissed him. Really unhelpful! And very disrespectful to Chantelle, one of her biggest champions and closest friends during this whole thing. For now, Gray has done the right thing and backed off, making it clear that there was nothing but a professional relationship between them. Whitney was embarrassed and apologetic in equal measure. As she should be. But I mean, how much Gray manipulated the situation or how much he will manipulate the situation…

Emotional Whitney kissed Gray…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Peter and Dotty shared a kiss but she panicked and rejected him. After a bit of faffing about and crossed wires, they finally got it together, just in time for Ian to walk in. I am sure he will be pleased that the one person who knows he is responsible for Denny’s death is now dating his son. Excellent!

Eastenders is due to resume filming shortly, however, it will go off air before this

For now, let’s enjoy episodes airing on Mondays 8pm and Tuesdays 7:30pm, BBC1

Coronation Street: Not Guilty!

(Monday 8^th – Friday 12^th June 2020)

Alya really worked hard this week, making one last effort to persuade Yasmeen to plead not guilty to attempted murder. In some really powerful scenes, Yasmeen finally told the truth about what had been happening behind closed doors, including that Geoff killed Charlotte the Chicken and fed her to her. Although she continued to defend Geoff, Alya clearly got to her and by the time she reached court, despite some hesitation, she changed her plea to not guilty. I am so relieved! Now, at least the poor woman has a fighting chance! And it was nice to see Eileen and Cathy in the gallery supporting her. Better late than never.

Yasmeen pleads not guilty!
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

With Yasmeen now pleading not guilty, Sally finally made her position clear to Tim – she isn’t comfortable with Geoff and he can’t stay with them anymore. Tim was horrified and the situation is clearly going to cause a rift between them, especially when she told him that he had to be the one to ask his Dad to leave. He was very diplomatic about it but Geoff wasn’t happy. Sally’s card is clearly marked with him. Well, he doesn’t like women calling the shots, does he? But I am so proud of Sally for standing up for what she believes in, for standing up for Yasmeen. She knows what it’s like to be in an abusive relationship and she knows what it’s like to be in prison for something you haven’t done. And I was reminded the other day that Yasmeen came to visit her during that time to pledge her support so their bond is long standing.

Tim has no option but to ask his Dad to leave…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Dev was relieved to see Asha beginning to settle into her new school and looking to the future. My concern here, aside from how on earth he is going to afford everything he is throwing at his daughter’s well being, is that he is quite clearly favouring Asha. Aadi needs love and attention too and I think things are going to sour very quickly. Dev is criticising him, if only in a joke and heaping praise and compliments on Asha, trying to make her feel better about what happened. Aadi is already a very angry young man, as we’ve witnessed in fights with Corey and other boys. I think we have a storyline with Aadi bubbling away under the surface (presumably because they have recently changed the actor) so Dev needs to be careful!

Gary took matters into her own hands regarding Kelly and tracked down her mother, demanding that she took her back into her care. Now, this woman is clearly not fit to look after a child. I’m not a Kelly fan. She was hideous to Asha. But she also has problems and you can see a very vulnerable side to her. So, it was sad to see her being manhandled into the car by her mother when she just wanted to stay safely with Billy and Paul. And anytime Gary gets a win makes me unhappy anyway!

A stranger turns up at the newsagent’s, spinning a line about needing cash to pick her son up. Despite knowing she’s lying, Cathy and Toyah both put their hands in their pockets, only for Brian and Cathy to find her in the pub later. Of course, Brian caused a scene, much to Cathy’s mortification. Now, the reason she was in the pub, was to watch Carla, who is running the pub while Johnny and Jenny are away. After closing, the woman tracked Carla down in the toilets, demanding to talk. The only problem is that while the woman clearly knew Carla, poor Carla had no idea who she was…

New girl, Chelsey has some unexplained history with Carla…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Coronation Street has now resumed filming

It still airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays @ 7:30pm

Neighbours: Hurricane Naomi!

(Wednesday 10^th – Friday 12^th June 2020)

Sheila was concerned that Naomi didn’t like Clive so Clive decided to attempt to bond with her by buying wrestling tickets for the two of them. However, not knowing anything about wrestling, Clive took a crash course from Shane. Cue a hilarious physical training scene in the lounge! Clearly Shane never heeded the ‘don’t try this at home’ warnings! But I really did love all the WWE references, including Rick Flair having the best hair! Yes. Yes, he did. Woo! Ahem. Anyway…

Paul connected the dots and discovered that Pierce once pursued Naomi, which he was more than eager to share with oblivious Chloe. Terese was furious with him for letting his feud with Pierce hurt Chloe, who she has always been very protective of. Chloe was understandably upset with both Pierce and Naomi for lying to her and Sheila’s well meaning interference did not help. Funnily enough, it was Toadie of all people who put in a good word for Naomi in the end and Chloe accepted that Naomi had genuinely accepted that Chloe and Pierce were happy and in love and that she just wanted to be friends with both of them. Personally, I think Chloe and Naomi make a better match than Pierce makes with either of them!!!

Chloe and Naomi have bonded…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

And it seemed like Chloe thought the same thing as, determined to make things work, she arranged dinner with Naomi and Pierce and the women got on like a house on fire. Remarking to Paul that he hadn’t succeeded, she told him that Naomi was her type. He then set about winding Pierce up about them. Could he actually have a point about this one?

Unable to stay out of trouble in any area of her life, Naomi got her new project for the Breast Cancer Fundraiser underway by commissioning Ned to create a bust of her… well, bust. Unfortunately, Shane walked in just as he was getting the measurements! Of course, Shane lost it, believing that Ned was cheating on his daughter and charged outside to tell Yashvi what he saw, leaving him utterly confused over the fact that she and Dipi already knew. Dipi was deeply concerned about the level of stress and anger her husband has been carrying around recently, not knowing that he has secretly transferred a lot of money to Grant.

In prison, Andrea was shocked when her mother, Heather turned up in the wing, having passed all her psych tests and been told that she can mingle with other prisoners. When Dee heard about the move, she considered visiting her mother but Toadie, who had already been hassling Karl about her ‘relationship’ with Olivia, persuaded his friend to attend in her place. Karl found Heather to be reasonable and apologetic for her behaviour. And indeed, when she returned to Andrea, she turned her down flat when she attempted to get her involved in her plans to get to Hugo. Has she changed? I mean, it seems unlikely…

Heather was brought back into mainstream prison life…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Dee then decided to go and see Heather herself and was drawn in by how she seemed to have changed and the brief mention of her father. While Toadie hoped that was the end of it, Dee wanted to visit again, wanting to get to know her mother and find out more about her father. If Dee wants to continue a relationship with Heather, I think this could spell the end of her and Toadie. With a big, massive storyline in between, of course. They clearly haven’t brought these characters back for nothing!

Susan was horrified to find Karl having an intimate conversation with Olivia at Harold’s, prompting a blazing row between them. Well, we all knew this was coming. Awful. Just awful. I mean, at least Karl decided that he couldn’t see Olivia anymore so hopefully he won’t be having an affair. And he did point out to Susan that she wouldn’t talk to him so he had to talk to someone. I do hope they will find a way forward together.

Out of prison, Elly seemed to have created a cell of her own inside the Kennedy house, attached to the baby and refusing to go outside. She seemed quite happy, receiving visitors and enjoying her time with Aster but she didn’t want to go out, even into the garden. The damage done to her goes very deep. Meanwhile, Shaun found a confidant in David regarding his own experiences of loss and confusion regarding Finn and how he can fit into his own life, having been absent from it for so long.

Neighbours has returned to filming

Episodes air on Channel 5, Monday – Friday, 1:45pm and 6pm

Home and Away: Family Affairs

(Wednesday 10^th – Friday 12^th June 2020)

While Ben was away on his surfing trip, Ziggy continued to ignore her mother, even though their broken relationship was clearly hurting her. Colby in turn was also struggling with his new housemate. I can imagine that Dean is messy enough but throwing Ziggy, especially angry, thoughtless Ziggy, into the mix would seriously drive you to distraction! After a lovely afternoon with Jasmine and Grace, Colby decided to take matters into his own hands and threw their stuff out onto the beach, including their mattress! Lugging the items back in, Dean and Ziggy apologised for their behaviour and agreed that Colby had made his point.

When Dean expressed his concerns about Ziggy and Maggie, Ziggy completely lost it with him, unreasonably so and stormed off, declaring that it wasn’t his place and he was not part of her family. Bit harsh. The poor bloke spent the entire night worrying about her as she refused to come home.

Ben arrived back in the Bay the next morning to continued tension with his wife but thankfully, he persuaded Ziggy to sort things out with her mother (and Dean). Ziggy and Maggie finally talked things through and although Ziggy cannot forgive, she was able to at least let go of her anger in order to begin to move their relationship on. A lot of her anger is clearly built on her own pain over ex-husband, Brody cheating on her and also, understandably, the fact that Ben and Maggie have always been such a solid foundation and if they are broken, what does that mean for everyone else, including her and Dean? When she finally opened up to her boyfriend, he pledged his full commitment to her. And she confirmed that he is indeed part of her family. Too right!

Maggie thanked Ben for his help but things are still not good between them as they try and fail to talk things through. Ben was clearly not looking well, as noticed by Maggie, Ari and John but he continually shrugged it off until he finally collapsed in the kitchen, prompting Maggie to call an ambulance. Is it something to do with his medication, I wonder?

Gemma was disappointed to lose her hours at The Diner…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Feeling much stronger, Leah and Justin were definitely back on track, including in the bedroom! She also decided that she was ready to come back to the Diner full time, which is great, apart from it having a knock on effect for Gemma, who had her hours cut, just as she and her family were starting to get back on their feet. Bless Marilyn, she really did try to help but her efforts were not appreciated. She also made it clear that Gemma and Nik were welcome to stay for as long as they liked. To be honest, I think she wants them, even needs them to stay. But all of a sudden, they seem desperate to leave, which feels a bit rude to me after everything. However, Gemma did get a job very quickly at Salt, which is brilliant news.

Roo encouraged John to approach Marilyn, certain that she was ready to finally start talking. However, when he approached, she was having a private chat with Ari so he walked away. Was he jealous? Have we gone back ten steps? Actually, no. Thankfully, he had just decided to give her some space to talk and then later, he was able to give her all the reassurance she needed. Hooray for these two starting to get things back on track.

Ryder got his P plates (I think driving tests work differently in the UK to Australia) so after yet another argument between Nik and Ari, Nik persuaded him to drive him to see his Uncle, Tane, who clearly lives a life of random sex and drinking. Once there, Nik begged to move in with his Uncle. Just as an aside, would a very cautious driver (and person), who had literally just passed his test, such as Ryder, be having a beer, even one, while driving? Just seems odd to me.

Anyway, at first Tane refused to let Nik stay but after he dragged the truth out of Ryder about how things really were in the Bay for his nephew – living in the car until Marilyn took them in, things going south with Belle and the constant tension with Ari – he agreed to one night. Ryder headed home but Nik was confident that he could persuade him to keep him. The next day, back in Summer Bay, Ari was just getting stuck into Ryder, demanding answers about Nik when who should turn up but Tane and Nik? Let’s get ready for the fight!

Ari was NOT happy to see his brother!
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Home and Away has now resumed filming

It currently airs on weekdays a week @ 1:15pm & 6pm on Channel 5 with a sneak peek on 5Star, weekdays @ 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the lunch time episodes

Doctors: Isolation

(Friday 12^th June 2020)

On Friday, Doctors absolutely excelled themselves with a ground breaking episode, all filmed remotely from the actors’ homes. It was a forty five minute episode to round off for their summer break. (I actually don’t know how I am going to cope this summer without it – it’s been the only stable soap!) But wow, they went out in style! I just don’t know how many ways I can compliment this show and this episode. It was absolutely amazing.

It was so well crafted, perfectly paced and had a fantastic blend of humour and drama. One minute, I was howling over Valerie’s dance moves (Sarah Moyle has the best comic timing), to actually weeping at the thought of losing one of our beloved characters to Coivd-19. We had the fantastic story of Jimmi counselling an intensive care Doctor, the hilarity of Emma and Zara and I enjoyed having a look at all their backgrounds, as I have been doing for the past few months during every piece of news!

The Doctors Cast Came Together to Film a Special Isolation Episode
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

The episode covered several weeks of lockdown and it did genuinely cover everything that we have all been dealing with every day. It was relatable. It was creative. It was the first time a soap has every attempted such a thing. And if it doesn’t get Best Single Episode at the British Soap Awards, it will be an absolute travesty!

Doctors is now on its summer break.

Doctors: Silly Lily Got Locked In!

(Tuesday 9^th – Thursday 11^th June 2020)

Ruhma arranged to take Tanya away for a few days. Not only was Tanya’s baby crying in the background when she spoke to Bear, also lurking in the background were Tanya’s phone calls to her mother, trying to organise moving away from Ruhma at the right time.

Deborah was really beginning to grate on Emma, keeping pestering her for basic advice on her patients. When Emma complained to Daniel, he dismissed her.

Al and Lily plan Jimmi’s birthday…
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

New temp receptionist (shouldn’t they prioritise looking for a nurse first?!), Lily, played by former Emmerdale actress, Verity Rushworth, started, bonding with the staff much more easily than poor, old Deborah did, namely connecting with Al. She even helped him organise Jimmi’s birthday, starting by reminding him that it was his birthday in the first place!

Silly Lily gets locked in the surgery…
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

On Wednesday, there was one of the best episodes ever, where Bear accidentally locked Lily in the building, where there was promptly a power cut. With her phone in her handbag in her car, there was no way out for poor Lily until a young, autistic man happened by. He had set the smoke alarm off in his house and the noise had sent him to The Mill which he knew was a safe place to get help. Lily succeeded in directing him into her car to get her phone.

Zachery rescued Lily…
*(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)*

The bond that formed between them turned out to be very special as across town, Sid and his new trainee were attempting to save the life of his father, who had just attempted suicide. As a standalone episode, I would recommend this episode to everyone. It was absolutely fantastic and the actor that played Zachery was outstanding. He stole the show!

Sid attempted to save Zachery’s father’s life…
*(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)*

Regarding recruiting a new nurse, I can’t say Zara has not put her best effort in. After her announcement on the radio, applications from vastly inappropriate people have come flooding in! Everyone wants to work at The Mill! In the meantime, Zara persuaded Al to play nurse for the day. He almost finds a newfound respect for nurses. Almost.

Zara is under a lot of stress…
*(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)*

Daniel became very worried about the level of stress his partner was under with so much on her plate with work, including everything that recently happened with Ayesha. He was concerned when he witnessed her having a panic attack and then hurt when she turned to Harper’s meditation app to calm herself down instead of letting him help. When the school called to alert him to a problem with Joe’s homework (he has been cheating using Harper), he decided to deal with it himself instead of worrying Zara with it. Joe got into further trouble that night when he continued to cheat despite having already been caught out!

Karen was devastated that Jay was being moved on and Jay did not want to go. He opened up to Rob about his past and Rob in turn was honest about his own father. The two of them had a lovely day together, with Rob able to reassure Jay that nothing that has happened to him in his life has been his fault.

Goodbye, Jay
*(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)*

And so, today, we look forward to the very exciting, history-making, extended-length Isolation Episode, although sadly, this leads us into a summer break… I always miss this show when it’s not on. It is one of my most favourite soaps.

After today, Doctors will go on its summer break.