I love Doctors. I always feel that because it’s a daytime soap, it’s rather underrated when actually, it’s probably one of the best. It covers a huge range of subjects, some of them very tough, which must not be easy in its timeslot. It’s also very quirky and is often extremely creative in its storytelling. If you’ve never watched Doctors, I highly recommend it. I started watching it by accident some years ago and now I absolutely never miss it. It’s clever, it’s thought provoking, it’s funny, creative and it uses its platform with a genuine sense of responsibility.
A great example of this platform came this past week during Emma’s radio interview to discuss LGBTQ+ issues and advice. At first, she was very reluctant to get personal but when one particular caller phoned in and told her that he had been attacked, Emma finally opened up about the attack on her and Jasmine. It was such a genuinely emotional moment that my Mum phoned me to talk about it afterwards! Emma was so brave and so was the caller. The whole storyline has been so powerful, from crafting a lovely relationship, to the awful attack, to how Emma and Jasmine reacted in such different ways, to beautiful friendship from Zara and now Emma’s bravery to come out about what happened to her.
Meanwhile, Ruhma’s mood plummets further when she goes to see the most useless advocate ever to discuss her case. I mean, the woman is just completely unhelpful. What is the actual point of her? Also, they break for lunch and yet she opts to bring her lunch back and eat it in front of Ruhma who is fasting for Ramadan. I think Ruhma needs someone else to fight for her…
Ruhma has a very unhelpful meeting…
Speaking of Ramadan, Joe’s new friend turns out not to be imaginary at all. He’s a lovely little boy called Ozzy who is fasting for the first time this year. Besotted with his new mate, Joe decided that he too wants to fast, throwing Zara and Daniel into a bit of a spin. Of course, Zara being Zara decided to ruin Joe’s fast by tempting him with donuts – which Ozzy ate, ruining his fast instead. I mean, why? Why give Joe donuts when his friend was there? That’s just irresponsible. I mean, what mother would give their kid a treat and not their visiting friend anyway? That’s just mean. But now she has ruined Ozzy’s fast on day one and also ruined her blossoming friendship with his mother. Oh, Zara…
Thursday last week was one of those very odd Doctors episodes. We started with a drunk couple, hooking up after a night out and heading back to her place. Then they heard an intruder upstairs. Calling the police, they knocked the guy out. And who was it? None other than Bear Sylvester, Business Manager of The Mill! And this is what is brilliant about this show. It can be so incredibly random and make you sit and work out for an entire episode what on earth is going on. Bear was of course innocent after all (although I still don’t trust him) but it led to quite the sad story as the episode played out.
Then, the next day, there was a saga about chairs and Sid had to remove splinters from Karen’s bottom. Yes, really.
Karen has a pain in the bottom…!
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
We had our usual episodes of Eastenders on Monday and Tuesday this week and last week, although I still can’t quite work out why it isn’t better spaced out, such as Tuesday and Thursday like it used to be back in the olden days. Right now, apart from good, old Doctors and repeat of Hollyoaks, we have not a single soap on a Thursday now and Eastenders gets both their episodes all out in a huge rush at the beginning of the week. Why? It could slot in very nicely before Question Time. I’m pretty sure that For Love or Money didn’t have to be shoved in that particular time slot, whatever that is. Does anyone know what that is? It’s got Kym Marsh in it, apparently.
Anyway, to remind you of the past fortnight’s episodes before an entire week passes until you can watch it again, Vinny had an ill-advised party to prove to Ruby that he would be the perfect DJ at the club. Well, she seemed to be impressed. Before she left for her yoga class and missed the whole thing. Which turned out to be a blessing in the end, as of course, the whole thing spirals out of control. These soap characters just never learn, do they?
Iqra persuades Ash to attend the party and soon regrets it as while the police show up to break things up, some guy spouts homophobic abuse at them and ends up getting decked by Vinny. Iqra is shocked to see a completely different side to her girlfriend who leaps into action and hides Iqra, Vinny and the barely conscious thug in the bedroom, assuring the police that nobody else is in the building and dropping in that she is a Doctor. She gets the guy cleaned up and pays him off with the money Vinny was charging from the party, warning him to keep his mouth shut. Iqra is understandably shocked to see such a harsh, ruthless side to her girlfriend that she never knew existed before and Ash spends a lot of the flip-flopping between wanting to be with Iqra and being angry with her for not actually doing anything wrong.
Thankfully, her mother returns early and wades in on the potential breakup, finally pushing the girls back together. One weird thing though – they seem to say ‘I love you’ apparently for the first time. Haven’t they been together for a year or something? And don’t they live together? I’m not saying they should follow Alex in Home and Away and get a mortgage before they’ve so much as lived together but waiting this long to say I love you?! Bit weird.
Ash and Iqra kiss and make up…
Back to the party… Outside, there is a huge commotion with the partygoers fighting the police and causing mayhem. Some bright spark throws a brick at a police car. Keegan and Tiffany, whose only crime was being too happy (he got his business loan, cheered up at last, gave Tiffany an engagement ring and then they had a bunk up in the ice cream van – they weren’t even at the party) end up caught up in the chaos.
When the brick is thrown, Keegan panics and attempts to run, having been arrested so many times before but of course, running draws attention to him and he is immediately arrested and accused. Later, he is asked why he ‘resisted arrest’. Well, he didn’t particularly but quite frankly, while there’s violence going on all around you and you’ve just been arrested, not for the first time, for something you didn’t do, wouldn’t you protest a bit? What a stupid bloody question!
Tiffany begs Jack for help but he’s a bit useless, not wanting to upset his senior who insists that he saw Keegan throw the brick himself. Even with bodycams, it’s a case of Keegan’s word against his. He gets Keegan sent home on bail but it’ll be a rough road ahead, I think. How frightening. And disgusting that a young lad can be treated in such a way. Pre-judged and mistreated for no reason other than skin colour.
Keegan (and Tiffany) have a really bad day…
Understandably, Keegan does not have a good rest of the week. He storms around the Square feeling like nobody understands what he is going through, not helped by getting evicted from Ted’s flat as he and Tiffany finally get caught for subletting. Things are tense as they squash back into Karen’s and when he seriously loses his temper, Tiffany takes a stand, forcing them to move in with Uncle Jack. Hmm… I’m not sure that will improve things. Jack is refusing to stand up for Keegan with his colleagues. That in turn is causing tension between him and Denise who believes Keegan and Tiffany are telling the truth. This should be an interesting story as it plays out.
Stuart’s proposal doesn’t quite go to plan…
Meanwhile, Stuart is still desperate to propose to Rainie but after his previously failed attempt, decides to go less traditional, dressing up as a vampire and hiding in a coffin. Obviously. Why wouldn’t he?! Rainie is horrified and hides in the bathroom. I think my favourite moment of all the episodes is Stuart banging on the door telling her that she is worth more than those people.
“What people?”
“All of ‘em!”
It’s enough for Rainie to realise just how much he loves her and she accepts his proposal. And after a bit of a tussle with Max (and some words of wisdom from Whitney), she is free to get divorced. Hooray! They are such an odd couple but they absolutely work. And they are brilliant characters too, so cleverly written and portrayed. To have arrived as ‘baddies’, especially Stuart, one of the most hated characters in soap and to have become so popular, is no mean feat.
Now, I am rather confused by the latest development in Whitney’s plot. Firstly, I know Whitney is a trusting character but did she really think that Leo’s Mum was just being nice to her and just wanted a cosy chat? She stabbed her son! Honestly, this is how Whitney ended up in this situation in the first place. She ignored Tiffany’s warnings and dated Leo despite the fact that he was an absolute weirdo with all the charm of damp wallpaper. Then his Mum shows up and she thinks it’s a good plan to tell her every single detail of what happened. Muppet.
Also, how daft is his mother? Her son battered her and locked her in the boot of a car. He almost killed her. I know ‘a mother’s love’ and all that but she is physically aware that he was absolutely bonkers. He was obsessed with his vile father and clearly not turning out better than him. He manipulated Whitney, stalked her, terrorised her, lived in her loft, utterly traumatised her and then tried to kill her only she got their first. And this woman knows the level of violence he was capable of because he attacked her too. What is she thinking?!
From here, Leo’s Mum condemns Whitney all over social media. Interfering but well-meaning Sonia (who is seriously starved of her own plots these days), steals Whitney’s phone to try and keep it from her. The biggest plot hole of course is that Whitney doesn’t notice that her phone is missing. Who on earth leaves the house without checking their phone and who would stand on an empty stall all morning without getting their phone out at least once, if not multiple times to check their messages/social media etc., especially a young person like Whitney? Soaps always use the lost/stolen device and it’s just unrealistic. People react to being without their phones these days as if one of their actual limbs have fallen off!
Under pressure (and not even aware of the damage she has done to her case), Whitney decides that she has no choice but to run away. Knowing the future she faces behind bars, Max gives her the money to start off but when Gray comes through with shutting the social media posts down and Whitney realises the depth of love and support she has behind her, she changes her mind. Unfortunately, she is then attacked by Leo’s Mum! Well, with hers and Tony’s genes, the bloke didn’t stand a chance of being normal, did he?
Michaela attacks Whitney…
And now may we all take a moment to thank Eastenders for the joy of Kush in all his loveliness. Kat has vanished, thanks to the suspension of Jessie Wallace and while Jean is joyfully celebrating the end of needing to use her wig with her friend, Kush stays in the kitchen with suddenly-has-a-speaking-part-Tommy, who admits that he is having problems at school. He is struggling with his reading and some of the other kids have been making fun of him but he doesn’t want anyone else to know, especially not his Mum. When Kush takes him to school, he has a word with Isaac, his teacher, who explains that Tommy may be dyslexic. Jean speaks for us all when she tells Kush what a blessing his is to their family.
Due to the Coronavirus, Eastenders has had to suspend filming
It will air from now on only on Mondays (8pm) and Tuesdays (7:30pm) on BBC1
Ruhma’s world comes crashing down around her when she is suspended from working as a midwife due to the complaint Carrie has made against her. I mean, this is quite frankly, unacceptable. Doug shows his true colours by blaming Ruhma entirely for the kiss. What was Ruhma’s crime, really? Being flattered by a bit of attention? Blurring some friendship boundaries? I totally get Carrie being upset but she is upset with the wrong person. Well, I for one never liked that Doug. And I have felt so sorry for poor Ruhma all week, especially during the scenes where she went to Heston’s grave and poured out her heart and soul to him. At the risk of sounding a hundred years old – what a lovely boy that Shak has turned into. He has been absolutely gorgeous with looking after his Mum (although I had no idea he was best mates with Daniel).
Ruhma struggles with her suspension…
In her absence, the rest of the staff take on Ruhma’s patients which for Emma, doesn’t go too well as she meets an extremely demanding Mum to be, who slates the NHS (seriously, how dare she?) and treats her husband like crap. As it turns out, not only has she secretly found out the baby’s gender (which Emma lets slip to the husband), she has spent so much money (without ever earning any) that he is now crippled with debt. He ends up being rushed to hospital with a near heart attack, having had bailiffs come in and remove their belongings. His wife wanders over to the hospital to see him at her leisure, seems irritated that he hadn’t had a ‘real heart attack’ and informs him that they have been burgled. When she’s more concerned about their financial situation than his health, he ends their marriage. Good! What a cow! Unfortunately, all of this prompts Emma to be rather rude to Ruhma, who quite frankly, doesn’t need it, especially as she is sat at her husband’s grave at the time.
Bear tackles some racist hand soap dispensers (if only they had known Covid-19 was on its way, the probably would have smashed them open and saved the soap rather than just chucking them away, the little wastrels!)
Some vile teenagers destroy a mirror ball intended as an elderly man’s late wife’s memorial. Then in quite a sweet moment at the end, one of them (who is clearly being reluctantly dragged along by the rest of them), feels very guilty and gives him her disco ball by way of apology to try and make up for it.
Speaking of kids, Zara gets a lesson in how the less wealthy live when a young lad comes in with stomach pains and she discovers that actually, he’s just hungry (she feeds him). It takes Zara a while to understand Ayesha’s ‘summer holidays’ remark but eventually, she gets it. It’s really not her world. The kid’s parents work all the hours God sends for hardly any money and they are struggling to put food on the table. The mother is very resistant to Zara’s offer of help but the father quietly accepts a referral to the local food bank.
Zara and Daniel are mildly concerned that Joe might have an imaginary friend called Ozzie. Honestly, that Joe gets cuter every time he appears on screen. He rivals that little Amelia in Emmerdale for the adorable factor.
Daniel wonders if Joe has an imaginary friend…
Rob and Karen spend their day off rather irritating each other at home, having not expected to have the same day off together. When Rob storms out, he is surprised to find a confused old lady outside his house. In a rather brilliant little story, he does exactly what you’d expect him to do, which is bring her indoors and try to help her. She can’t remember her address or where she was going and he and Karen busy themselves with being her saviours. When their backs are turned, she taken Karen’s purse and Rob’s car keys and almost makes her getaway! Hilarious! Rob is mortified to have to report to his colleagues that he was nearly robbed by ‘Speedy Sue’! Whoever thought this storyline up was a genius! Love it.
Jimmi returns…
In Monday’s episode, Jimmi returns to The Mill, ready to start seeing patients again, dealing with cranky old women who slags everything off, a panicked man smoking in the toilets and a woman who has reached breaking point trying to work and care for her ailing mother. His colleagues and patients are thrilled to see him back and I for one am thrilled to see he has tidied up his beard.
He and Emma reconnect, as she opens up to him about her attack and they both decide to draw a line under recent events. She visits Ruhma, apologising for having a go at her about her horrible patient and her visit clearly makes a lot of difference to Ruhma’s mental health. She then agrees to participate in an LGBTQ+ focused radio interview Bear has arranged. Meanwhile, Jimmi plucks up the courage to contact the police about his role as an FME.
Emma visits Ruhma…
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
I was desperately looking forward to last week’s Doctors and it didn’t disappoint as it aired the fallout from the brutal homophobic attack on Emma and Jasmine. One sad thing to note is that rather than bonding them, it has confirmed the end of their relationship, which is a real shame as they made a really good pairing. But it was all still so new to be facing something so difficult.
Jasmine started the week in a foul mood, having had no choice but to make a witness statement and report to Occupational Health once Emma had reported the attack. She did eventually attempt to make amends with Emma only to find it’s too late. Emma has had a lot of time to think, as well as talk to Victim Support (actually a non-speaking extra who doesn’t even have a face so could probably be a member of the crew!) and has decided that they want different things and their relationship is over. But regardless, if their relationship brought us anything, it brought this incredible, powerful, amazingly, written, directed and acted story and I am so impressed, Doctors. This is one to remember for Soap Award Season. Brilliantly done.
Emma has to make some big decisions…
One relationship that is going strong, however, is Emma and Zara. Oh, I love Emma and Zara. Who would have thought that in that muddy field, in the middle of nowhere, that friendship would have been forged for life? Well, whoever saw the potential connection between them is a genius. Bravo.
When Emma failed to show up to work, Zara headed right round there, having not heard from her friend all weekend and she was stunned to see the state of her and hear the story of what she has been through. This lead to a fabulous episode on Friday (10th) where Zara pitched up on Emma’s doorstep with food, drink and Bridget Jones. She even changed into some pyjamas in a bid to cheer up her friend, who did not want to be cheered up.
Meanwhile, Daniel had his own problems when Izzie and Valerie coerced him into their eco-warrior plan to cut down the netting on some trees in a car park, which has been put up to shut out the birds (thereby putting their lives at risk) to stop them crapping on the cars. Of course, it all ended in disaster and Daniel got arrested for criminal damage. Well, I fully support them! Don’t park your car there if you’re scared of a bit of poo! Honestly! These people need to go to the seaside and then try to protect their cars…
Ruhma continued to try and support Carrie, who is pregnant and immobile with a husband who doesn’t love her or want to spend any time with her. Little does poor Carrie know, he is also giving Ruhma the eye. I mean, who the hell is this guy? Why does he think he can try and move in on our Ruhma? Does he actually think he is a patch on Heston? I’m not saying that Ruhma can’t move on but when she does, I’d like to think she’d choose someone with a bit more kindness and personality, not someone who’d go and play golf and flirt with another woman while his pregnant wife was suffering and lonely.
The sad thing is that Carrie feels she has found a friend in Ruhma and this would otherwise have been a really nice story. Ruhma reluctantly went for dinner with her and Doug in Carrie’s bedroom but when Carrie fell asleep, Doug and Ruhma headed downstairs where Ruhma attempted to make her exit. Then Doug kissed her. And Carrie witnessed it from the upstairs landing. No!
Doug kisses Ruhma…
Bear overheard Ayesha dismissing the idea of there being any feelings between them. So this story is going to be dragged out for a while then…
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
During our two visits to The Square this week, Phil wakes up in a police cell and is all set to declare responsibility for causing Denny’s death. However, being that he caused it fighting with Keanu, the police are set to charge him with attempted murder – twice, as they have a statement from Sharon regarding the attack at Christmas. Ritchie is unable to get through to Phil, who throws her out of the interview room. It’s only when Ben persuades Sharon to withdraw her statement, the police have no choice but to let him go. How frustrating for them! They finally have Phil Mitchell (willingly) in their grasp and they have to let him go!
Phil and Sharon reunite…
Phil and Sharon reunite a lot more easily than this huge Sheanu/baby/boat crash/Denny storyline would suggest and she breaks the news that Ben has lost his hearing. Ben is resistant to talking to his father about it but Phil is genuinely lovely. He is sad for his son and he struggles to communicate with him (well, he is a mumbler at the best of times) but eventually, he just writes down: I’m proud of you. That’s all he needs to do. It’s all Ben’s ever wanted him to say.
Vinny attempts to score a DJ job at the club, which I’ve only recently realised has been renamed Ruby’s. Where was I? Having sent Kheerat and his mother away, he arranges a house party in a bid to prove himself. Well, that’s not going to go wrong, is it?
Dotty confides in Vinny…
Dotty confides in Vinny about the situation with Ian, who has taken the phone from The Arches, deleted the voicemail, smashed the phone and binned it (although Sharon has since found the phone in the bin and fished it out). Dotty takes Vinny’s advice and decides to stick close to the family, staying in Ian’s face and reminding him of his guilt as he plays the dutiful friend to Sharon, something made easier by Bobby’s obvious crush on her. Ian confronts Dotty over her inviting herself for dinner, reminding her that she no longer has any evidence. She tells him that it’s not about The Arches anymore; it’s about his own guilt and his own behaviour – Sharon might not be ready to hear the truth yet but one day, she will be. There’s a very sweet moment when Dotty enables Sharon to actually speak about her son, which she is very grateful for. You know, I’m actually starting to warm to Dotty…
Mick and Linda fail to keep their plan to sell The Vic under wraps, meaning that Shirley and Tina hear it from the locals instead. Thankfully, they are supportive, just wanting Linda to be well.
Mitch makes a play for Karen as she prepares to leave The Square. She is horrified and they agree to forget it ever happened. Billy is also feeling worried about Karen’s departure and how they are going to find time to see each other.
Due to the Coronavirus, Eastenders has had to suspend filming
It will air from now on only on Mondays (8pm) and Tuesdays (7:30pm) on BBC1
In the only soap still running its normal schedule, we had a very mixed bag of episodes this week (and Friday last week). We had some random little episodes, including Al playing an April Fool’s joke on that irritating Barry, making him and his very anxious colleague that the water supply is poisoned. Jasmine works extremely hard to get to the bottom of an arson case involving a vulnerable young woman (played by Ronnie’s long lost daughter in Eastenders) and her sister’s boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Julia supports Jimmi as he struggles to adjust to life on the outside, his OCD kicking seriously kicking in. She whisks him away to France, much to the annoyance of Al, for a break after all the trauma he has been through. Presumably, Adrian Lewis Morgan needed a bit of a rest from such a rough storyline!
Valerie struggles to complete her work ahead of the AGM, staying at work until late at night to complete it, only to bump into Bear who is doing the same. Her next project is trying to raise money for a cat shelter, which everyone thinks is ridiculous. Is it that unreasonable to invite people to an evening out to raise money for a shelter? I think everyone was quite rude, to be honest. However, she does get a little carried away with dragging Bear in as a dance partner. But it’s only because Bear was stamping all over her ideas and she misunderstood what he was saying, thinking he was trying to help her. How unreasonable.
Don’t be fooled though. While this storyline does indeed give the fabulous Valerie a delightful chance to shine in all her eccentricities, as she and reluctant Bear take rather well at this dancing malarkey and are the belles of the ball, really this whole storyline is just an elaborate plot to bring Bear and Ayesha closer together. Boring.
Ayesha and Bear are clearly going to get together… (photo credit: eastieoaks.co.uk)
A random ex/potential love interest (I think we met him when Ruhma’s hearing aid was picking up the radio frequencies in the hospital) blasts back into Ruhma’s life and utterly confuses her as he announces that he and his much younger girlfriend are having a baby. He asks her to work as a private midwife for them. She does support the vulnerable woman, who turns out to be having a more complicated pregnancy than expected and also has a phobia of hospitals. I’m not sure about this one. I mean, he’s no Heston.
Emma is nervous as she meets Jasmine’s mother, an eccentric hippy who persuades her to do yoga after lunch and is very protective of her daughter! Emma is mortified when she recognises her from the Smears Without Fears Campaign! But the meeting mostly goes well. I think. I do like Emma and Jasmine as a pairing and I think it’s nice that Emma has found someone kind after the nightmare of Gareth.
Unfortunately, the new couple hit the rocks in a major way at the end of the week in an excruciating and extremely educational episode when it comes to homophobia, LGBTQ hate crime and violence against women. I had read that Doctors was going to tackle this story (inspired by that awful news story last year of the couple on the bus who were attacked just for being gay women) but I wasn’t expecting it to be focussed on characters we already know. I assumed Rob or Jasmine would be investigating a crime and Emma would be the Doctor treating them. Friday’s episode (3rd April) is a must see and it is much harder hitting than that, if you please excuse the pun.
It begins Emma and Jasmine’s story at the end of the night, showing both women battered and bruised and struggling to communicate, in shock over what has happened to them. They are also at odds over what is the best decision going forward. Emma wants to report the incident. Jasmine, a police officer, does not. It’s hard to see them, so besotted with each other at the beginning of the evening, so broken, physically and emotionally by the end.
Their date is blighted by homophobia from the start. First, a straight, white male is horrified to even have a gay couple near him in the restaurant. His wife apologises to them for his disgusting attitude towards them. They leave and have a good night out, only to be followed down the street and hassled by a gang of lads, which soon turns violent.
Jasmine and Emma are assaulted… (Photo credit: What’sOnTV)
The way they show the attack is genuinely brilliant, interlaced with shots of Valerie and Bear dancing at the Cat Ball. The whole episode is so clever. It’s uncomfortable in all the ways it should be uncomfortable. It’s written and directed perfectly. Dido Miles and Lara Sawalha (guess who her family members are!) play their roles perfectly. I was utterly gripped and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this story plays out. While Emma makes her statement without Jasmine by her side, I do hope that they are able to pull together as a couple soon.
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
Well, what can I say about Doctor’s 20th anniversary episode other than, thank you? It was the perfect tonic to the current, worldwide crisis and this amazing episode could not have come at a better time. Forget boat crashes and serial killers, all of which were fabulous anniversary celebrations in other soaps, Doctors celebrated their twenty years on telly with a documentary style episode, each character talking to the camera about the work they do for the NHS, explaining just how vital their role and the role of the NHS is in the UK.
Alongside this, we saw patients being treated, an accident between an ambulance and a scooter, a huge explosion, which brought in the essential services of the police and firefighters and a heart rendering labour scene where mother and baby were so close to death. Also, just as an aside, it did look a bit like the ‘newborn’ baby had teeth. I think it was just goo but it was a bit unsettling. The characters provided much care and support to a huge range of patients and at the end of the episode, Jimmi returned home to his chosen family, the people that love him the most.
We saw the role of doctors, nurses, midwives, reception staff, paramedics, police officers, firefighters and this episode celebrated them all in all the vital roles they play. And it was all on the day that everyone, all around the UK stood out on the streets, on their balconies or like me or simply hung their heads out of their windows and clapped for the NHS, clapped for the care givers, clapped for all those essential services who are working so very tirelessly to keep our country going.
This episode could not have been more perfect if it had tried. Right now, so many of us are trapped indoors, socially distancing, self-isolating, away from loved ones, a lot of us poorly, many of us feeling vulnerable and unsure in this time of crisis. The NHS and so many other services are under so much pressure and we know this is only the beginning. So, in the best timing ever, Doctors celebrated it’s 20th anniversary and used its platform to show us just how amazing the NHS and emergency services are and how lucky we are to have them.
Well done, everyone at Doctors for this episode and for the past twenty years.
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
Jimmi has been taken to hospital, having literally been stabbed in the back by Leon. Ruhma helps Valerie deliver a vase of flowers to his heavily guarded hospital room.
Meanwhile, Leon confesses that he was put up to the stabbing by Mr Butler, (Jimmi’s lawyer), who was blackmailing him. When Mr Butler then sneaks into Jimmi’s room and attempts to kill Jimmi again, Jimmi is thankfully alert enough to knock him out with the vase of flowers. Well done, Ruhma and Valerie!
Mr Butler is arrested, denying everything until the police trigger him with the mention of his dead son, George. He wouldn’t support him when he came out as gay. He stepped in when he was arrested for murder but it was too late by then. He held Jimmi responsible for turning him into the police. When he died by suicide, Mr Butler attacked Jimmi but when he fought back and didn’t die, he came up with the plan to take everything from him instead and set him up to go to prison.
Jimmi has his day in court…
Jimmi appears in court where the Crown Prosecution drop all charges against him and he is sent home a free man. Hooray! He is shocked upon his release to bump into old colleague, Julia Parsons (just in time for the 20th anniversary!)
Meanwhile, Karen proves to be counterproductive at The Mill as Bear plans for a very important day. All she cares about is Jimmi.
Zara finds herself drawn to a Q&A with a far right speaker who denies his own heritage, spouting hideous racist language. She supports his sister, who he denies even having. Karen helps a woman realise that her boyfriend is using her and lying to her about having MS.
Ruhma has quite a day attempting to exchange a gift from a shop run by a rude, racist woman (played by none other than Kika Mirylees – Julie J from Bad Girls) who favours a posh, white pregnant woman and accuses another girl of stealing, just because she isn’t white. Actually, it’s the posh, white woman who is the thief. She is also lying about being pregnant, as Ruhma discovers, utterly broken over the fact that she has tried and failed to get pregnant for real so many times before. She ends up counselling the woman and persuading her to tell the truth. The woman then buys a £900 coat, which she gives to the girl who was accused of theft. She doesn’t want it but manages to exchange it for cash. The posh, white, non-pregnant woman is utterly bewildered over the concept of white privilege.
Ruhma finds herself embroiled in other people’s problems…
So, today (Thursday 26th March), we are celebrating Doctors 20th birthday! Congratulations! We have an hour long special coming up and it promises to be a good one…
Next week, despite Doctors ceasing filming due to the Coronavirus, the show does appear to still be airing every weekday on BBC1 at 1:45pm
The Coronavirus has suspended filming of Eastenders and now all the other soaps so this week, we only got two episodes (Monday and Tuesday). I will try and keep people informed over changes to schedules as I can.
So… something has definitely shifted in the Atkins household since Gray’s brutal assault on Chantelle. While he is walking on eggshells, she has completely shut him out and clearly feels broken by what he has done to her. She refuses to let him near her, including hiding from him when she gets dressed, as she is wrapped in bandages to try and heal all her cuts and bruises. When he does walk in on her and sees what he has done to her, he is visibly shaken but it may just be too late. She even flatly informs him that she has taken a job at the call centre with Kheerat and refuses to apologise for it, despite his objections. All we can hope is that this may be the beginning of her finding the strength to leave him.
Gray continues to work on Whitney’s case while she reluctantly recovers from her collapse in hospital. She is still refusing to eat. Gray searches Whitney’s room in frustration, looking for any kind of clue that Leo was stalking her and finally, looks up and sees the hole in the ceiling. He and Sonia then discover the creepy loft room, full of evidence of stalking and a planned attack on Whitney. This could be the ultimate key to her release. Gray appeals to his boss about his job, confident that Whitney’s case is now something he can win but it doesn’t look as if it is going to be that easy.
Sharon continues to struggle to be a mother to Kayden, although Linda is proving to be a true friend, offering to look after both him and her. She takes her to register the birth and is a genuine, kind, listening ear.
Sharon is further broken when she receives the news that Denny’s body has been released and she can go ahead with the funeral. Kathy goes with her to begin making plans with Jay. She goes to see the coffin (presumably it was too much to show a child in coffin on Tuesday night!) and breaks down, telling him that she could never love anyone the way she loves him. Well, that doesn’t bode well for the baby.
Sharon says goodbye to her son…
After a chat with Denise about when she had Raymond adopted and having left Kayden with Karen pretty much all day, the inevitable happens… Sharon takes the baby back to Karen and hands him over. She tells her that she can’t be a good mother to the baby and she wants him to have a good life with her.
Sharon hands Kayden over to Karen…
Keegan and Denise have a heart to heart over the difficulties black people face in this world. Keegan is upset that his father wasn’t around to prepare him. When he returns him, he talks to Bailey who is full of all the dreams under the sun. He warns Mitch to prepare her for future now so she isn’t hurt and shocked when she’s older if she doesn’t get the same opportunities as other people. Mitch reluctantly talks to Bailey who feels very sad that she could be treated in a different way. And I think viewers are left sad too. This whole storyline is sad. Because it shouldn’t be true. It should never have been true. And now, in 2020 this should not be people’s lives.
Ben is approached by an old ‘colleague’, the guy he got caught up with who abducted Louise. Remember that boring plot? Yes, all that is coming back. Brilliant. Callum is suitably worried but Ben is adamant that just because he is deaf, it doesn’t mean he can’t be stupid, I mean, himself. The couple attend another Doctor’s appointment and they are set for the cochlear implant in around four weeks (presumably unless the Coronavirus reaches Walford and they cancel all non-emergency surgery). And the Doctor does that awful thing of constantly talking to Callum instead of Ben. Offensive. You’d think a Doctor, especially in that particular field, would know better.
Isaac continues to make his presence felt in the Square. He gets very drunk on a school night, then quits his job to take on a teaching position at Walford Primary. Well, it looks like he is here to stay. Great. He’s not annoying at all.
Due to the Coronavirus, Eastenders has had to suspend filming
It will air as normal this week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7:30/8:00pm, BBC1
Daniel, Zara, Izzy and Joe spend the day together and Izzy challenges the adults about their ‘secret relationship’, pointing out that Joe phoned her when he found them in bed together. Daniel and Zara decide to be honest with the kids but Joe doesn’t want to know. Izzy points out that it’s hard for Joe to trust them; he doesn’t want his world to be shattered again if they were to break up. On her advice, they go very gently with him. That kid has had a personality transplant since the last time she was in the show!
Sid spends more time with his brother, Lawrence but struggles not to tell him the truth. Lawrence is worried that Sid’s father is unhappy but Sid is dismissive over the problems that his parents have in their marriage. Lawrence’s mother objects to his friendship with Sid. Finally, someone has noticed their similarity!
Lawrence invites Sid to an open mic night at The Icon with his friend, Tony, who clearly doesn’t like him imposing on their friendship. Tony and Lawrence both successfully do some stand up comedy but Sid chokes when he reads poetry as he spots Lawrence’s mother glaring at him. Lawrence’s Mum gives Sid a stern warning and Sid promises that neither him, nor his father are out to upset Lawrence or disturb his life in any way, he just wants to get to know his brother.
Karen has a difficult visit with Jimmi, realising that he has assimilated with prison life now and given up hope for his future and his case. Thankfully, his friends have not given up and Al is still trying to find leads and explanations as to how on earth Jimmi got framed in the first place. SJ leads Al to a thug called Harvey who he manages to have a meeting with. He challenges him about SJ and the money being stashed at The Icon. He asks him about Jimmi and threatens him with the police. However, he is in way over his head and is escorted out before having the living daylights beaten out of him. Meanwhile, the guy he followed into the pub seems to have had an even worse fate…
Ayesha stitches Al up but he lies about having fallen down the stairs. Not buying it for a second, Karen challenges Al and then calls Rob in to speak to him. Al confesses everything, worrying Rob as Harvey is a serious criminal. He tells him he was lucky to get away. However, they do have some leads in Jimmi’s case now, thank goodness. I can’t help asking, surely this must be over soon?
We then have a seemingly random episode where Daniel is called to a fight in the prison. A clearly traumatised a prisoner attacks Jimmi’s old cellmate, Leon, triggered by him tapping his foot to music. It soon transpires that his previous cellmate, George, hanged himself and he woke up to the sound of his foot tapping the wall of the cell. The two men were in love with each other and he holds himself responsible for his suicide.
However, the episode isn’t as random as it seems. In the next episode, Daniel is working late at the prison, still troubled by the man’s tale and the date of his boyfriend’s suicide. It was the day before Jimmi was mugged. Remember that weird mugging when they didn’t take anything and it seemed more like an assault? It seemed very targeted and never really made any sense.
Meanwhile, Bear tackles Al who has blatantly skived off work. He finds him back in the dodgy pub he got beaten up in the day before. Al manages to send Bear away and the sneaks into the office and who should he see with Harvey? Jimmi’s lawyer! Well, he always looked a bit shifty… No wonder he never got anywhere with the case!
Back in the prison, Daniel continues to research George and finally comes up with an answer, calling reluctant Jimmi in to see him. George is the therapy patient he turned into the police for murder last year. Daniel suspects the assault was a reaction to George’s death and when it didn’t work, whoever was responsible, took things further. And as it turns out, George is the son of none other than Jimmi’s lawyer, John Butler.
Al turns to Rob with all his new information and they take everything to the police investigating Jimmi’s case. Al has also set Valerie on a mission to investigate John Butler’s law firm, all dressed up as her posh alter ego, Natasha Fitzsimmons. Oh, Valerie, you do provide the most delightful light relief. I adore you. Of course, John Butler has gone to ground. ‘Natasha’ manages to run rings around the receptionist though and snoops as much as possible. The police are not impressed but really, they are embarrassed to have made such a hash of their own operation. Al, Rob, Emma, Karen and Valerie have done more work on the case in a few days than the police have in months. No wonder this storyline has taken so long to resolve!
Back at the prison, Leon is acting very strangely. He makes a phone call, saying he has received ‘the signal’. Hanging up and spotting Jimmi, he stabs him! Everyone is shocked. Leon is visibly upset. I am upset! Jimmi and Leon were supposed to be friends. Maybe Leon had just been keeping an eye on him. I don’t know anything anymore!
Jimmi and Leon had been friends…
Due to the Coronavirus, Doctors has suspended filming
For this week, Doctors is still on weekdays BBC1 at 1:45pm
There is an hour long episode on Thursday 26th, celebrating Doctors 20th Anniversary
The Soap Dish 