Eastenders Returns!

(Monday 7^th – Monday 14^th September 2020)

The Walford gang have been living in lockdown like the rest of us these past few months and we have a hell of a lot to catch up on! And one of the best things to report is that Kat is back! Hooray!

When we last saw everyone, Ian and Sharon had just bought the Queen Vic together, with Ian having pinched Max’s money from the restaurant on the pretence of looking after it for him while he divorced Rainie (Ian is just getting darker and darker, isn’t it?!) Well, it turns out that during lockdown, they have been cosily living together at the pub, with Ian having apparently forgotten all about his Mum and Bobby back at home. It’s all about Sharon and Albie (the baby, who used to be called Kayden). I’m not sure which name is worse.

Sharon has a lot to deal with…
(photo credit: Metro)

Having got off her drugs charges but with Ian still lording everything over her, Dotty finally lost her temper and revealed everything about Denny’s death to Sharon. But with no proof, Sharon couldn’t believe that her dearest friend would ever do such a thing and threw Dotty out of the pub. Undeterred, Dotty decided that the pair deserved each other and wound Ian up by convincing him that Sharon had feelings for him. Having harboured feelings for Sharon for months (probably years, to be honest), the moron finally made his move, only to be turned down. Awkward. Very awkward. Oh and now Max’s divorced is through and he wants his money back…

Ruby is has had her credit card stolen and is being rinsed. I can’t remember if we know who by… But she and Vinny planned an insurance job that went wrong. Before Ruby could call it off, Vinny was chased down by Martin who ended up getting smacked in the head with a fire extinguisher, which was a bit extreme! Suki covered it all up and got him sent off to hospital. I was quite impressed by how well it was all filmed, actually. I’ve been impressed by how almost everything has been filmed – in all the soaps. They’re doing amazingly well in the circumstances.

Vinny knocks Martin out…
(photo credit: Metro)

One thing that did let Eastenders down though was one scene in the Chantelle and Gray storyline and it’s such a shame as this story has been utterly flawless since the beginning and of course, the news has been released that this week, Chantelle will be murdered by Gray. I am absolutely heartbroken that this is the way the story will end, not to mention shocked. But I have to applaud the show for being honest about how these situations do pan out sometimes. Not everyone gets a happy ending and it’s important reflect that. In a horrific and heartbreaking way, this plot may save lives.

However, while every step of this abuse plot has been chilling and uncomfortable and genuinely upsetting, last week’s bath scene was just weird. I’m sorry. I know it must have been really difficult to film but it was just so weird. It made no sense at all. For starters, if, over lockdown, Gray had started this kind of breath play abuse, why, when she knew he was furious with her and wanted a divorce and her out of the house, would Chantelle have ever thought, hey, I’ll go and have a lovely bath? Absolutely ridiculous.

I just hope the next few episodes live up to the truthful, clever storytelling we have witnessed since it began. And it truly has been clever. If we think back, we knew there was something up with Gray long before they ever showed anything. We never saw inside their home for weeks and weeks. The only version of themselves we ever saw was what they presented to the outside world so we knew there was something not right before it was ever explicitly shown to us. As horrific as the next few episodes may be, I hope they do the story justice.

At the point we have left them, Chantelle so nearly made her escape, turning Kheerat, who had fallen in love with her, down and planning a holiday with her parents and siblings, from which she didn’t plan to return. Of course, Gray got wind of it and banned the children from going. Chantelle was left with a dilemma – abandon her children and escape her husband or stay behind? Well, it’s obvious what she will do and what the consequences will be…

Gray thwarts Chantelle’s plan of escape with her kids…
(photo credit: Metro)

In other news, Ben’s operation finally went ahead and his hearing returned. But more trouble lay ahead when Callum saw the CCTV footage, identifying Ben at the warehouse job. Cue: Ballum tension. However, Callum agreed to tackle the problem at work if Ben persuaded Phil to roll over on Danny Hardcastle, the person that the police are really trying to nail. Phil refused.

Tina grew closer to Frankie when Kathy gave her a job at The Albert, once she had offended and then corrected herself over some thoughtless words about her being deaf. Linda teased her mercilessly when she brought her for some drinks at The Vic, with it being quite clear that Tina fancied her, although it’s not clear as to whether Frankie feels the same way. What is clear is that Frankie is attached to Ollie, who reminds her of her little brother, Harry who died when he was very young. Later, Frankie, a photographer, took secret pictures of the Carters while they played football in the Square. I can’t decide if she is nice or strange. Time will tell…

Frankie bonds with Ollie…
(photo credit: Metro)

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

Neighbours: The Sorrows of Shane Rebecchi

(Friday 28^th August – Friday 11^th September 2020)

Roxy continued to try and support Shane by herself, without telling anyone what was really going on and ended up becoming the victim of his temper when she threw his drugs away and her shoved her about. Kyle rescued her and told Dipi about her husband’s behaviour. Dipi turned to Karl for support, believing that Shane was suffering with depression. Shane refused to defer his course but decided to go away for a few days, lying that he was visiting his brother, Stonefish. Unaware of the gravity of the situation, Stonie covered for him, leaving Shane to hide out in his hometown in an abandoned shed to try and go cold turkey until he panicked and phoned Roxy for help. Roxy finally told Kyle and Toadie the truth, sending Toadie to go and sort his brother out and bring him home.

Toadie tracks Shane down…
(photo credit: Metro)

Shane, Dipi (and Toadie) were the only people unaware that Mackenzie was very sweetly arranging a party to celebrate Shane and Dipi’s 20^th wedding anniversary, which, after a lot of stumbling blocks, she changed to a romantic dinner for two. However, she found out from Ritchie at the last minute about the drugs, which he claimed to have found. I don’t buy it. Remember the hushed conversation he and Shane had weeks ago? And he has known for days that there has been something wrong, clearly more than he has been letting on. I like Ritchie but I haven’t trusted him for a little while now. Those drugs originated from the school, remember? Well, we’ll see.

Chloe brought Fay home to live with her, Pierce and Hendrix, plus Nicolette, their new live in nurse and I wouldn’t say it has gone smoothly. Basically, even without knowing that Nicolette has feelings for Chloe, Pierce is jealous. He’s jealous because he doesn’t trust Chloe’s bisexuality. He doesn’t even know the full story yet. Although, Hendrix has since found out more information. Now, I think I like Nicolette. She’s good with Fay and she is clearly sincere when it comes to Chloe. And I cannot stand Pierce. But she is a bit interfering, I do agree with him there. She pushes a bit too hard. Also, isn’t a bit weird that Aaron and David are taking Fay on holiday without her nurse? Isn’t that the point of her? I would assume it’s lazy story telling so they can focus on Nicolette, Chloe and Pierce? Anyway, one nice moment that has come during these past couple of weeks is that she has finally turned to Jane for support over it all so hopefully they will continue to reconnect.

Nicolette plays a trick on Pierce…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Things began to look up for Emmett with Terese giving her a job at the hotel but she promptly lost it for stealing booze. Soon enough, a previously never before mentioned aunt moved back into the country (all orchestrated by Jenna) and was deemed a perfectly suitable candidate to care for him and off he went. Suddenly what had been a very prominent storyline seems to have been hurried away and although Aaron seemed fairly accepting, David did not take it well at all.

David and Aaron say goodbye to Emmett…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

In other news

Harlow, Hendrix, Mackenzie and Ritchie staged an eco-protest to persuade Paul to make changes at the hotel
Tensions between husband and wife led Terese to go and visit her kids in L.A.
Bea and Levi fake dated – fated?!
Kyle was jealous of all the attention Sheila lavished on Levi to make up for her guilt
Ned made some very questionable ‘art’ to earn cash
Toadie almost dated Angela Lane! Eek!

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

Hollyoaks Returns!

Monday 7^th – Thursday 10^th September 2020

Hollyoaks returned after a couple of months break, now four days a week (with a ‘Favourite’ episode every Friday on E4) and flitting between previously filmed footage and newly filmed footage. The story picked up on Scott and Mitchell’s wedding guests giving police statements regarding a missing person. So, who’s missing? Well, Mitchell, Lisa and Martine are definitely not giving statements. And over the summer, during the BLM debates, both Rachel Adedeji and Imran Evans resigned…

So, the wedding went ahead with the miracle of all miracles – Joel persuaded Walter to attend and be supportive of the happy couple. This further enraged bitter Toby who ended up in a vicious row with Mitchell, as he’d only informed Walter about the wedding so that he’d kick off and cause trouble. After the fight between the boys, both Mitchell and Lisa ended up in their rooms (Mitchell because he was upset and Lisa because she was waiting for Felix who appeared at this point to be bedding her, Martine and Grace!) Twisted up with rage, Toby found the hotel master key and beat Mitchell to death in his bed. Except it wasn’t Mitchell. It was Lisa. They had swapped rooms.

Celeste tries to rescue her brother after he murders Lisa…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Horrified, Toby left the room, only to bump into Celeste who was distraught by this turn of events but it looked like this wasn’t the first time she had bailed him out of a horrific situation. She created a distraction and they got rid of the body, meaning that for the past few months, it looked like Lisa was missing (or in Ibza – you decide!) Bearing in mind she had no suitcase, ticket or any kind of social media presence apart from one brief message of congratulations to the boys.

Now, I totally get they wanted a dramatic story and exit and everything, not to mention a dramatic relaunch after being off air but it seems like a strange character to do this with. I mean, it seems strange to me that after a lifetime of Lisa being missing, her mother and brother would vanish from her life forever anyway. But now she’s missing again and what? They don’t come running? There’s no kind of reaction from the family members that loved her, lost her and missed her for years? And when it comes out that she’s been murdered, let me guess, they’ll be too busy to come back for the funeral, yes? Even if they recast them, honestly, for the sake of some kind of continuity, you would have thought that the ‘missing girl’s’ mother and brother would give a crap that she’s vanished again. Or that she hadn’t for the past few years, for that matter.

Meanwhile, Verity was shocked to find Tony living in the caravan in The Dog car park, having not been able to control his angry outbursts thanks to Edward doubling the dose of testosterone. Well, you know my feelings on the details of this particular storyline. I am hoping that Verity will bring some sanity to proceedings soon.

So, PC George Kiss doesn’t like PDAs but he was jealous when John Paul spent time with James who was utterly gleeful at the idea of winding the situation up, getting himself and John Paul arrested and thrown into a cell together so John Paul could decide what he really wanted. While John Paul decided it was George he wanted, despite a compelling case from James, it turned out that safe, gorgeous, moral George may not be all he seems. While John Paul and James were thrashing it out in their cell, the policeman was meeting up with his ex, Dean who was in rather a sorry state. He had been in therapy and was on medication, having been left utterly broken by his relationship with a somewhat unrecognisably heartless George. Why can’t anyone just turn out to be nice in these programmes?! I am devastated!

George laughs at his ex’s upset…
(photo credit: Metro)

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

Previously on Hollyoaks…

(Monday 15^th June – Tuesday 21^st July 2020)

With the news of Kyle’s death having spread, Nancy was overwhelmed with visitors, all paying their respects. Two of those were Leela, joined by Jordan, one of the people that nobody knows was Kyle’s dealer and is generally a very bad person. But somehow, he managed to use the visit to prove himself worthy of Leela really giving him a chance, although their relationship continued to remain under wraps for now. You know, with him having previously been sleeping with Leela’s daughter and all. In secret. Didn’t we have a very similar story between Leela, Tegan and Ziggy once upon a time and I’m sure there was a dodgy love triangle involving their Dad once as well. There must be a gene. But it’s all very murky. Very murky indeed.

But what Kyle’s story has done is provide an incredible talking point regarding depression and suicide. Kyle’s death was absolutely devastating and Adam Rickett carried the story so incredibly well. Now it’s time for Jessica Fox to take the helm, portraying the role of the confused, broken partner, left behind, having had no idea of the pain her partner was enduring. And she is doing a marvellous job. This story has been done so well, as Kyle’s suffering slipped under the radar, as does depression and mental health itself in so many ways. We were all so focussed on watching Darren’s struggles, I for one didn’t even notice Kyle until he said the words out loud. And that’s been the genius and the heartbreak of this story.

While Nancy’s grief almost kept her from the funeral, it was her loved ones who persuaded her to be there and supported her through it. Darren very bravely told her the truth about his own depression and that Kyle saved him from ending his own life. She laid it all on the line, forcing him to tell Mandy the truth. I just hope that with the lockdown, this story isn’t one that gets forgotten and pushed to the side. All the lessons from it need to be learned more urgently than ever now.

John Paul and PC George Kiss started to get closer, much to the annoyance of James who decided that John Paul was the love of his life and he wanted him back. To be honest, I can’t keep up with James. Not so long ago, it was Harry who was the love of his life. Now he can’t live without John Paul. Personally, I like George. But let’s face it, this gorgeous, kind, lovely policeman is likely to turn out to be a psycho for all the previously mentioned reasons. Because nobody in soap is ever who they appear to be. Apart from Valerie in Doctors.

Meanwhile, Evil Edward continued to drug Tony with testosterone, sending him into angry rages that he couldn’t control. He even blamed poor Nancy for Kyle’s death when she set up a memorial for him outside the restaurant. Diane and Tony were devastated when Edward confirmed that this state of affairs was permanent, having persuaded them not to get a second opinion about his condition. I still think this is flawed story telling. Firstly, I just don’t buy that after all their history, including Edward sleeping with his wife, Tony would have him as his surgeon, plus I am pretty sure it’s against hospital ethics to treat a member of your own family. Secondly, why is he medicating him? Why isn’t this being done at the Doctors/hospital/pharmacy instead of just casually in the lounge? And why hasn’t someone noticed a load of T is going missing? And why would Edward have such easy access to it as a neurosurgeon? This story is a bit silly, to be honest and it doesn’t make much logical sense.

And in the story that the lockdown must have seriously panicked the show about… Jordan decided to release the pressure on the kids when it came to selling at the school but after a visit from his ‘boss’, Victor, he quickly changed his mind. It’s interesting to see him, who acts so in charge of everything all the time, under the control of someone else. Of course, they got caught, Sid taking the fall for Juliet and ending up getting thrown out of school. I feel sorry for Sid. Nothing has ever gone in his favour. Awful family, from his Dad right down to his cousin. Trapped in this situation, selling drugs when he doesn’t want to but he’s too scared to say no and now he’s having to recruit younger kids like Charlie. Plus the girl he’s in love with, is swooning over someone else. I know he said he was supportive but she could be a little bit sensitive! Of course that’s all taken a bit of a turn now that she’s found Peri in bed with Jordan (who is still secretly sleeping with Leela). I mean, complicated isn’t the word!

Speaking of complicated situations, Sienna, Brody and Liberty (and a little bit Warren?) found out they were having a baby girl. How lovely. I mean, that’s a weirder family than the Lomaxes. Sienna and Brody are a couple. Liberty is the surrogate, sister of Sienna, in love with Brody but also quite fancies his best friend Damon who has a very complicated history with Maxine. Then there’s Sienna’s ex Warren, with whom she has two children who she used to hate but recently kissed (and did he go out with Maxine at one time too…?) I think I need to sit down.

Also, Warren recently revealed that Toby, Celeste and Mitchell’s Dad, Felix bullied him at their children’s home (what a coincide that they knew each other as kids, happened to be arch enemies and also happened to show up in the Village at exactly the same time). It all traced back to a staff member who physically abused Felix, meaning he took everything out on Warren. Horrified, Brody reported the guy to the police.

Warren and Felix have a chequered past…
(photo credit: Digital Spy

While Felix managed to open up to Martine about his past, he also found himself hooking up with both her and Lisa. Lovely bloke. Meanwhile, Scott and Mitchell returned to reveal they were getting married. Well, they more whispered it because Mitchell was scared of the disapproval of Walter, making up this story about a charity event in order to get him there. Of course, Toby stepped in and told Walter the truth in a bid to ruin the big day… And then the show went on a two month break!

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

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

Coronation Street: Social Distanced Street

(Monday 15^th June – Wednesday 26^th August 2020)

So, it’s been a huge few months on Coronation Street, with some of their biggest stories coming into focus. We passed through VE day with it’s infamous type of Corrie sing-song (‘We’ll Meet Again’) through the 27^th July when we flashforward to all the characters having apparently lived through months of lockdown (and Mary singing opera out the window) and they began to emerge back into socially distanced civilisation. It’s actually pretty cool to watch them learning to live in a new, socially distanced world, the way the rest of us are, from navigating their way round the shop, keeping two metres apart to Jenny serving an empty pub, constantly on the phone to Rita, who never appears as none of the older cast are currently allowed on set. There was also special reference to Aggie, who works as a nurse. Abi lent the family a car when their broke down, we saw rainbows in windows and sadly, Aggie was forced to isolate in a hotel when there was an outbreak on her ward.

So, to the storylines…

One story kind of flared and then fizzled; I think the lockdown may have prompted a rewrite. But during the flare, it was fantastically done and showed Alison King at her best. Two creeps surfaced in the pub and attempted to blackmail Carla for things she had done (and didn’t remember) just to get by when she was on the streets and suffering her mental breakdown. Essentially, they abused her and were now abusing her again. But rather than give in to their demands, she told the pub the truth about what had happened, thus taking away their power. They were then removed from the pub. Later, that bloke, Scott assaulted them and I presume he was meant to have more of a role in the show but when they resumed filming and referencing Covid-19 and the lockdown, Jenny informed Geoff that Scott had left and the B&B was empty. So, who knows if and when he’ll return? Now Johnny has returned and it’s been mentioned that Scott is renting somewhere round the corner so who knows…?

Without Yasmeen to protect him, Geoff really hasn’t been able to conceal his ugly behaviour and by the end of these few months, even Tim, who has always stood up for him, is starting to see his true colours. And Faye, who has also always stood up for him, has now caught him lying to the police and being very cruel to Sally. Sally, meanwhile, has absolutely seen through Geoff. She has visited Yasmeen in prison and understood her story. She has teamed up with Alya and handed over the wedding money Geoff gave them in order to help her buy Geoff out of Speed Daal.

Yasmeen is struggling…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

In prison, Yasmeen was still torn over her feelings for her husband and the pain he had caused her until she spoke to him on the phone and the way he spoke to her finally decided things once and for all. This was helped along by the arrival of Elaine Jones, Geoff’s first wife and Tim’s mother – formerly known as Philippa, who Geoff claimed had died. With a lot of persuasion from Alya, Elaine agreed to testify for Yasmeen (as did Sally) but Tim refused to accept that she was his mother and after a confrontation with Geoff, tragic Elaine vanished. Did he kill her?!

Geoff is beginning to lose control…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Sadly (in another rewrite, I think), the trial was postponed as the stress got too much, Yasmeen ended up in hospital with a heart attack. This story has been utterly gripping. I could watch entire episodes just of this. It has been pitched so perfectly. I hope Corrie get award after award for it. It’s been absolutely brilliant.

Things got intense for Gary when Bernie discovered Rick’s watch in the woods. With Adam obsessed with proving that Gary killed Rick, when she heard the inscription on the watch, Sarah bought it, prompting Gary to desperately try and buy it back. A socially distanced argument broke out, with Sarah running down the Street, calling the police. When she was about to walk in front of car, Gary pushed her out the way and fell in front of it, all without actually touching her. I know a lot of people criticised the stunt but actually, I thought they shot it pretty well, considering the limits on how they could do it.

Things are intense between Gary and Sarah…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Anyway, Gary was hailed a hero. He told Sarah he loved her. She stopped wanting to call the police on him and instead, got rid of the watch, successfully prompting the breakdown of her marriage to Adam, who was furious that not only was she protecting a murderer but she had also willingly become an accessory. Of course, he has no idea that she’s an old hand at this, being that she, David and Kylie bumped off Callum. But Gary knows that and he understood. Adam probably wouldn’t. Even though he’s shadier than a tree.

Anyway, while Sarah and Adam’s marriage was left in tatters, Gary and Maria went ahead and get hitched (in accordance with social distancing rules), despite Gary having just declared his love for Sarah. Oh, what tangled webs these people weave.

In a very bold and very sad story, Leanne and Steve got the worst possible news about Oliver – he does have the life limiting condition they suspected. I honestly never thought they would go so far as to kill a child. How absolutely devastating. But it is providing Jane Danson in particular with the opportunity to act her socks off! She is absolutely amazing at portraying the sheer heartbreak at the prospect of losing her son. It has been such a rollercoaster of emotion as the whole family come to terms with that has happened, each of them heartbroken in different ways.

Toyah and Imran decide against fostering as Toyah felt it would be inappropriate at the present time (a storyline that seemed to come from nowhere anyway) but upon hearing about it, Leanne insisted that her sister’s dreams should not be put on hold because of her pain. Unfortunately, she let them down with a reference when she had to support Steve.

Simon moved in with Peter when he heard Leanne telling Steve that when Oliver dies, she will have no children left, implying that she doesn’t think of him as her son. She didn’t even remember saying it and desperately tries to make it right but it’s not enough.

When Toyah persuaded Leanne to talk to a professional, Leanne found the strength and hope to make every moment of Oliver’s life count. Unfortunately, her confidence was knocked when she bumped into someone from her antenatal group whose child was doing really well and she was also pregnant again.

Shona returned to the Street and moved in with Roy, maintaining contact with David, which seemed to be going well, apart from that time she tried to kiss her support worker, Aaron. She also made friends with Gemma, who of course has history with her from their old estate. Flashforward to post-lockdown and we aren’t seeing Shona anymore but apparently David has been visiting her window every day during in order to maintain contact, as have the kids.

Shona and David begin spending time together again…
(Photo credit: Digital Spy)

Daniel accidentally spent the evening chatting up escort, Vicky and despite being offended at first, he ended up spending the night with her. Then he kept going back. However, he hasn’t been sleeping with her. He’s been getting her to wear Sinead’s cardigan and perfume and holding him – for money. And the poor bloke has been pouring his heart out to her. Post-lockdown though, she kept telling him that she was busy and couldn’t see him. He did attempt to see someone else but it just wasn’t the same. It looks to me like there are reluctant feelings there – on both sides. This is turning into quite the sad storyline.

Seb was furious with his mother when she avoided saying goodbye to the twins before the emigrated to Australia. Abi is trying to do her best for them by letting them go and start a new life. She feels like it’s the least she can do for them after all the mistakes she has made. However, she eventually agreed to go with Seb to see them. Unfortunately, right before she was due to leave, she had an accident in the garage, preventing her from saying goodbye and leaving Seb thinking she had flaked on him and the twins. This left her in a downward spiral as she stole morphine from the hospital, attempting to numb her pain. Thankfully, Peter spotted it (he rescued her from the accident in the first place) and threw the morphine away. She was not happy! However, he did persuade her to agree to go to meeting with him.

An accident preventing Abi from saying goodbye to her kids, sets of a terrible chain of events…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Gemma was contacted on her blog by Vanessa, one of the women who was horrible to her in the mother and baby group, her life having completely fallen apart. Despite Bernie attempting to warn her away, Gemma went ahead and befriended her, not wanting her to be alone. She also very sweetly arranged a surprise birthday for her twin brother, Paul, which she couldn’t attend herself due to social distancing. She gave him a signed photo of PJ and Duncan. Cue a fantastic twin dance to ‘Let’s Get ready to Rumble’, much to the bemusement of Summer, who thought PJ and Duncan looked a lot like Ant and Dec… Kids!

Paul and Gemma do their best PJ and Duncan!
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Sean, Mary and Billy were concerned when Todd contacted them, asking them to deposit money at a drop off point. They agreed but then a random girl showed up and took the cash, claiming that she found Todd’s phone and took a chance. So, was it a scam all along? Well, we know Todd is due to return (with a different actor) so, who knows what trouble he will bring and what this beginning storyline means?! Also, what will it mean for Billy and Paul? I do hope they don’t break them up. I really like them as a couple and I am not a Todd fan at all!

Coronation Street airs on ITV1 @ 7:30pm, Mondays, Wednesday & Fridays

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