Emmerdale: Hypocritical Harriet

(Wednesday 20^th May – Monday 1^st June 2020)

Will and Harriet’s relationship was in a lot of trouble in the wake of all his lies and getting involved in Malone’s drug plots and general criminality. But for some reason, her anger over this has driven Hypocritical Harriet into the arms of Malone himself and, not content with hooking up at the church, after trampling all over Will’s attempt to make things right, she ended up in a hotel room with him. I mean, it’s like Moira and Nate in that mucky caravan all over again. I’m sure this plot makes sense to someone somewhere but not to me. If Harriet is so furious with Will for telling lies, committing crimes and generally being shady, why on earth is she hooking up with Malone, who is a million times worse? Will has got involved in all this because he is a muppet. Malone is just a bad person. What’s wrong with the woman? Maybe it’s the muppet thing…

Anyway, Will panicked after Harriet stayed out all night (with Malone) and even Dawn pleaded her Dad’s case. But while Malone was sure that he and Harriet could make a go of things, Harriet told him their fling was a mistake and she ended up accepting Will’s marriage proposal. Is she having some kind of breakdown or something?

Tensions flared between Liam and Leanna when he burst in on Jacob comforting her over her relationship with her Dad. You can kind of understand it, given their history but they genuinely weren’t doing anything this time. For a flash of a second, I felt a bit sorry for Leanna. Only for a flash though. Blink and you’d miss it.

Liam sides with his daughter…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

When Leyla’s office got trashed ahead of a big meeting with a future client, she automatically accused Leanna of being the culprit, leading a HUGE row, some very cruel words on Leanna’s part and Leyla slapping Leanna. Of course, this gave Leanna all the ammunition she needed to end Liam and Leyla’s relationship for good (too many L names, I think), telling her Dad exactly how she felt, that he never chooses her as his number one – there is always a Maya or a Bernice or a Leyla to get in the way. With sadness, he ended his relationship with Leyla in order to commit to his daughter. Great! Can we move onto some more interesting stories now such as Arthur and Laurel and Charity and Vanessa? Liam, Leyla and Leanna just aren’t doing it for me. Nor are Priya and Al. Or Harriet and Malone/Will. Are they doing it for anyone else?

Andrea sets up her revenge…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

When Andrea got wind of Jamie deciding once and for all that he was going to leave her for Belle, she proved just how manipulative she could be by, during the pub quiz, slipping a whole file of Jamie and Belle’s texts to each other up on screen. The texts were from Belle’s phone so it looked like Belle, frustrated by Jamie’s dithering, was responsible, pushing Jamie away from her for good. Now he will have no choice but to try and make things work with Andrea and she will have everything she wanted. I mean, I’m not sympathetic to any of them, personally. Also, just as an aside, every time I write about Jamie and Belle, I just end up with Billy Elliot in my head…

Everyone is stunned by the latest revelations…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Moving on… Vinny discovered the truth about Paul being his Dad and after a bit of upset, forgave him and Mandy for all their lies. All was not going smoothly up at the farm between Moira and Rhona, largely due to Moira being unreasonable. I think it was more about Cain than Rhona, to be honest. And Manpreet persuaded Wendy to write Bob a letter telling him how she felt about him, only for it to go astray, terrifying Rishi into thinking she like him instead. Cue the hilarity.

Rhona and Moira are not getting along…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Emmerdale has resumed filming

It continues to air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 at 7pm

They are filming a series of special isolation episodes

Coronation Street: Hiding the Evidence

(Wednesday 27^th May – Monday 1^st June 2020)

While David continued down his path of destruction, getting into more close scrapes with local thugs and even getting himself arrested, his family finally noticed and became worried about him. Meanwhile, Shona had a disastrous visit to the prison with Clayton, who filled her head with his troubled childhood as well as lies about her marriage to David, completely freaking her out. Sarah then came to visit Shona and told her the truth about her life and how much David needs her to save him – again.

Shona returns to Coronation Street a very different person…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Shona agreed to a home visit, provided that David wasn’t present. But the Shona who arrived really wasn’t the Shona we used to know (damn you, Gary Windass!) She has of course, forgotten her life with David and the family, including the kids but she has also had a personality transplant, telling little Harry that the drawing he has done for her is rubbish! There was a bit of light when she found she remembered where the teabags were. But then she ran off to the café when she formed a tentative bond with Roy. David eventually asked Roy to take Shona in when she is released from hospital, which he agreed to. Now they just need Shona to agree…

Someone else in desperate need of salvation is Yasmeen, who we haven’t seen in a while. But Alya was finally able to see her Gran last week, albeit briefly. She was the mere shadow of herself as she entered the visiting room and ended up walking back out before the end of the visit. In her desperation for the truth, Alya pushed too hard. Yasmeen was still under Geoff’s control, even after everything and wanted to take the blame for stabbing him, regardless of him pushing her to it.

Alya and Ryan attempt to lock Geoff out of the house…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Back on the Street, Tim brought his Dad home and the pair were horrified to discover that Alya and Ryan had had the locks changed. The police were called and Craig (who seems to suddenly be the most senior policeman Wetherfield have), sorted out the domestic. Although he clearly sympathised with Alya, legally, he had to request the keys be handed over to Geoff. The moment he was alone, Geoff got rid of the camera he had set up in the house and deleted the incriminating footage from the night of the stabbing. When Tim caught him, Geoff easily spun him a lie, which he immediately fell for.

Geoff hides the evidence as soon as possible…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Leanne, Steve and Nick kept a vigil by Oliver’s bedside as they prepared to learn the extent of his brain damage. Leanne persuaded the Doctor to allow Oliver home where she took complete control of his care, shutting everyone else out.

One of the babies accidentally posted Gemma’s vlog, with positive results. James had a generally positive experience on the football team, having now come out. Dev pulled Asha and Aadi out of school due to lack of support over what happened to Asha, transferring them to the local private school. And could we all take a moment to enjoy the comedy genius that is Evelyn?

Coronation Street have resumed filming

It continues to air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Coronation Street: Jokes Are Supposed to be Funny

(Wednesday 20^th – Monday 25^th May 2020)

The focus shifted to the Bailey Family this week and they really proved their worth as relatively new additions to the Street. Now, we already know that Lorna Laidlaw is incredible, having previously played St Mrs Tembe in Doctors but the rest of the actors in the family have also proved to be pretty awe inspiring, particularly in Friday’s episode, as Ed finally stood up for himself and his loved ones against vile Ron. I mean, where the hell did this guy even come from anyway?

Ed had been putting up with remarks for days while working for him and Ray. Eldest boy, Michael, just couldn’t understand why he was just taking the things he was saying. When the Street turned out for the Bistro launch, Ed finally had enough, overhearing Ron making a vile racist joke. All I can do here is applaud the writing of what is an amazing speech, as well as Trevor Michael Georges for his perfect delivery. I would recommend that everyone watches this episode and particularly this moment. It’s as emotional as it is challenging.

Ed had some powerful words to share…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

When the horrified partygoers filed into the Rovers, it led to some really interesting ‘woke’ discussions on racism, particularly between Dev and Kev(in). It also forced Ed to confront his own homophobia and he finally, properly supported his son in time to not give up football.

In the locker room the next day, when James received some hassle from one of his teammates about his sexuality, not only did others stand up for him but, inspired by his Dad, he was able to stand up for himself. It’s a proud moment.

While Leanne and Steve kept a vigil by Oliver’s bed, the rest of the family were dutifully worried. Tensions flared between Leanne and Nick when he lost his temper over her and Steve’s determination to be positive about the situation, despite the likelihood that their son has a very serious, possibly life limiting condition.

The pressure is on when it comes to Oliver…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Thankfully, they did sort things out because really, who needs to be fighting with their partner at such a crucial time? Steve, Leanne and Nick were by little Oliver’s side when he finally woke up but unfortunately, he was largely unresponsive, sending Nick rushing out to track down a Doctor for help.

And Julia Goulding has returned from her maternity leave! We saw Shona at a progress appointment at the hospital, not seeming herself at all, what with her memory loss and all that, demanding to go home to Clayton. Seeming not for the first time, she has to be told that Clayton is in prison, to which she demanded to see him there. But of course, when she met her son, she freaked out, not recognising the man he has become. Well, it’s probably not the first time she’s felt like that.

Shona doesn’t recognise her son…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Meanwhile, news of Shona’s latest ‘progress’ hit David had and off he went to the park to start another fight with some kids. Very mature,

Sean suggested that Gemma created a vlog about her post-natal depression and he and Cathy helped her create her first post but she was very hesitant to post it. Although, it looked to me like she had actually posted it. I’m not sure… I’ll keep you, um… posted.

Coronation Street intends to resume filming in June

For now, it airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Emmerdale: The Job

(Monday 27^th April – Friday 1^st May 2020)

Having not had the reaction she wanted from Charity, Vanessa turned to Rhona over custody of Johnny, should she not be there to take care of her son. Charity was hurt by the move but… well, she did ask her first and she did balls up the answer! You should have just said yes, Charity instead of panicking!

Vanessa asks Rhona to be her son’s guardian if she dies…

Will has completely messed up by attempting to warn Lucas’s foster parents away from him and the family, wanting to let Dawn bond with her son. Unsurprisingly, this has backfired and they and Social Services want to be more involved than ever. Dawn then found out about the whole gun incident and also unsurprisingly, wasn’t very happy. I do hope Will is going to turn out to be a short-lived character. He’s very annoying. He’s like the new Daz but without the likeability factor.

So, the day of ‘the job’ came around and only Cain and Billy were sent off to do the deal; Malone kept Will at home. Cain and Billy were on edge, feeling that something wasn’t right. Well, duh! Will then discovered that they were being set up by Malone but of course, the idiots had obediently left their phones at home.

Jamie and Belle can’t keep away from each other…

On the Easter Egg Hunt, Belle gained a conscience and ended her relationship with Jamie for all of five minutes, not wanting to break up Millie’s family and be ‘the other woman’. Five minutes later, unbeknownst to them, Andrea spotted them kissing in the woods. She was heartbroken but has so far kept quiet.

Bear alerted Chas to how worried he was about Paddy whose anxiety over Eve is spinning out of control. Mandy reminded us that before he was paralysed, she was sort of interested in Dan. I am rooting for him and Kerry to get back together, personally. They were made for each other and she has been so good to him since his accident. Leanna and Gabby continued to give Liam a hard time over dating Leyla instead of pining for a woman who left the country without even bothering to break up with him. Hmm… perfectly reasonable. As if Bernice isn’t off with another bloke in Aus already!

Due to the Coronavirus, Emmerdale have had to suspend filming

Emmerdale will now air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 at 7pm

Coronation Street: Yasmeen’s Darkest Day

(Monday 27^th April – Friday 1^st May 2020)

Dev showed what a lovely Dad he is, taking back the words he unthinkingly said in anger, pledging his support to his daughter, offering to retract his statement to the school and begging Asha to go back to her education at the end of the holidays. Kelly tried and failed to apologise, having been taken in by Billy and Summer.

Tracy proposed that Ken allow her and Steve to delay buying the house, in the meantime he pay for the broken boiler and that he let them keep the master bedroom. Ken declined. He is no longer selling the house at all, he will indeed pay for the broken boiler and he wants his bedroom back! Well, at least all will soon be as it should be in the Barlow House! Oh and Daniel returned with a slightly improved beard and a much better attitude.

Things are getting seriously dark in the Geoff and Yasmeen abuse storyline, which is quite frankly saying something. The guy has taken away her freedom, her money, her dignity, her confidence, he locked her in a box and left her in it and he killed her chicken and fed it to her. And now, thanks to his frequenting of ‘escorts’, he has given her chlamydia. Of course, has taken no responsibility for it, even blaming it on her, accusing her of cheating on him and even suggesting she caught it from her ex-husband long before she met him.

The scenes of sheer verbal, mental and emotional abuse are horrifying to watch as Geoff called Yasmeen all the vile names he could think of. It’s truly uncomfortable and upsetting to watch. Shelley King and Ian Bartholomew have given everything they have to this story and are absolutely faultless. Yasmeen is heartbreaking and Geoff’s character is utterly hideous. Knowing full well that he is responsible for the STI, he even phones the escort agency demanding a refund! All the while, he continues to blame his wife for the situation. With the last vestiges of energy that she has left, she contacts the woman Sharif was having an affair with. She had an STI test at the time the truth came tumbling out and it all came back clear. Yasmeen cannot be the source of the chlamydia – it has to be Geoff.

Geoff destroyed Yasmeen’s last hope
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Wednesday was a particularly harrowing episode as Geoff’s accusations continued. Then at the shop, he spotted her on her phone with her bag, hidden in the cupboard. Returning home, he bullied her into giving up the key before snatching the bag and taking it into the garden, locking her in the house where she could only watch him send her hope up in flames, burning the contents of her escape plan. By the end of the episode, I confess I was nearly in tears as Geoff forced Yasmeen to get onto her knees and swear she would stay. He told her he would rather see her dead than with someone else.

Geoff continued to humiliate Yasmeen…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Things have most definitely taken an even more sinister turn now. There is no pretending anymore than he is looking out for her or doing any of this because he loves her. He has shown all his cards. He doesn’t need to lie to keep her. Now it’s about force. He has made her believe that she is completely isolated and that nobody would want her. He has eradicated any sense of self worth in order to destroy her. All we can hope is that in the coming days, Sally will remember what she saw through her conservatory windows, Yasmeen standing over the fire looking devastated. She also mentioned to others in the pub that it was a strange time to have a bonfire.

We then have the most incredible episode on Friday, focussing solely on Yasmeen and Geoff, covering the course of an entire day. It’s heartbreaking and harrowing in equal measure as we witness Geoff humiliating, bullying and traumatising Yasmeen to the point that she can hardly stand. One of the worst moments in the whole episode is the sheer obliviousness of her neighbours and friends, as he allows her to go for a drink with him, Tim and Sally but dresses her up in this awful red dress he has bought for one of his escorts. Not one person in the pub seems to realise the depth of the horror that’s going on in front of their very eyes. When he eventually drags her out of the pub, they even laugh at her for her outfit. It’s awful. Eileen, who has previously had her suspicions of Geoff even sees him locking her in the house but rather than raising the alarm, merely comments that they were having a row.

Things became very tense in The Rovers…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Inside the house, Geoff taunts and torments Yasmeen, holding a knife, threatening to kill her. Having not eaten in days, utterly traumatised, on medication for the chlamydia he has passed onto her, out of her mind with grief and fear, she lashes out. Now, we don’t know if he will survive. It doesn’t currently look likely. And I’m in two minds over whether it would be better for Yasmeen if he lived or died. On the one hand, if he died, she would at least be physically free of him and the police would have a much better chance of discovering the phone evidence of his abuse – the video he recorded of him tormenting her and the camera he has of the house, which will have recorded so much of what has transpired over the past few months. On the other hand, she has been through enough without having a murder or manslaughter charge against her and she is trapped in such a cycle of abuse that she will blame herself for what she has done when it was not her fault.

And things spiralled out of control at home…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

This episode was so incredible. It was perfectly written and directed and if Shelley King and Ian Bartholomew don’t get awards for their performances, there is something wrong with the Soap Awards. This storyline is so frustrating in all the right ways. All I want is for someone to rescue Yasmeen but the truth is, she has to save herself. This episode was so sad in so many ways but hopefully, whatever the outcome, she will find love and support in Alya when she returns and even those who laughed at her and gossiped (Cathy, Eileen – shame on you) and those who were concerned but not enough to respond (Sally and Peter, I’m talking to you), will be there to help her through these dark days. Well done, Coronation Street. You have excelled yourself.

Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filming

For the foreseeable, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Emmerdale: Drink From the Welly!

(Monday 6^th – Friday 22^nd April 2020)

The thing with Emmerdale at the moment is that parts of it are excellent and parts of it are really dragging and where we are understandably only getting three episodes a week at the moment, the dragging parts are going to be dragging for a long time. However, the fantastic parts, are really shining so hooray for that.

Charity causes a commotion at the hospital…

For example, Charity and Vanessa’s story is so incredibly engaging. My heart is breaking for them both. I am desperate for Vanessa to get well and I am desperate for their relationship to survive. Things get pretty awkward on Vanessa’s chemo day when she has to go alone and Kerry, who turns out to be a hospital volunteer, comes to sit with her. There are some fantastic scenes between them and you can’t help but love Kerry who remains by Vanessa’s side despite her being horrible to her, not wanting her to be by herself. By the end, even Vanessa is grateful that she stayed. I love that Kerry has clearly turned her guilt over Frank’s death into something positive by volunteering at the hospital and also not shouted about it. It’s just something she does quietly, trying to make amends any way she can. Unfortunately, Charity barges in and lays into Kerry, causing a terrible scene, upsetting Vanessa, the other patients and the staff.

The next episode shows some heartbreaking scenes where Vanessa decides to rebel, dragging Rhona out for drinks for her birthday, trying to recapture their youth. She gets into an argument with some arrogant student and ends up going viral by pouring a pint over his head. In another situation, it would be hilarious but the whole time, you can just see how broken Vanessa is and you’re just terribly worried that something bad is going to happen to her.

Charity is livid when she comes home utterly wasted but when they make up the next day, things go quickly wrong again as Vanessa senses hesitation when she asks Charity to look after Johnny if the worst happens. I mean, it seems a silly argument to me. They were about to get married, for goodness sake! Why wouldn’t Charity have expected to look after Johnny is something ever happened to Vanessa? It’s just so sad that at this awful time, they can’t seem to pull together.

Vanessa and Charity are in crisis… #Vanity

A fabulous moment came when Sam and Lydia finally got married. The girls had a somewhat raucous hen night, resulting in Mandy and Lydia ending up in the middle of nowhere (Lydia found her way to safety, Mandy ended up getting picked up by her ex in a very convenient plot device). But eventually, Sam and Lydia tied the knot in a lovely ceremony. They had a fabulous party in The Woolpack afterwards where both Lydia and Vinny were welcomed into the Dingle Family by the traditional means: drink from the welly!

However, all this murky gangster stuff with Will, Cain, Billy and DI Malone is so boring. I’m not sure I’m even following it properly anymore. Burnt out cars in the middle of the village, false arrests, all the coppers under this guy’s control, soldering drugs into cars… come on. It’s all a bit far-fetched, isn’t it? It’s turning into an episode of Mad Dogs (or something a little more up to date and trendy).

Another disappointing moment over the last few weeks has been Jamie Tate’s personality transplant. He joined the show as such a moral character, in complete contrast to his wicked mother. Now, he has strung both Andrea and Belle along, settled on Andrea, sacked Belle and now he has taken up with Belle again behind Andrea’s back. It completely goes against the character he started out as. For once, it would just be nice if a good person in the Village could stay good!

Due to the Coronavirus, Emmerdale have had to suspend filming

Emmerdale will now air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 at 7pm

Coronation Street: Behind Closed Doors

(Friday 17^th – Friday 24^th April 2020)

It’s great to see the younger cast taking centre stage in Corrie right now and Tanisha Gorey, is showing what she is made of as she portrays Asha, caught up in the most terrible ordeal of having posed nude during a video call with her boyfriend, not realising he was recording the call. Now, her spiteful friend, Kelly has spread the video around and within moments, it has found its way onto a dodgy porn site and Asha’s image has become global. Such is the power of the Internet.

Asha’s world has come crashing down around her…

It’s such a hideous but important storyline, hopefully showing kids (and adults) the awful dangers of this kind of thing. As her brother tells her, nothing is private. It’s so hard to see how broken she is. It’s lovely to see her protective her best friend, Amy is. There’s a wonderful scene between David and Dev as David is faced with telling him about the video, having found it on his son’s phone. You cannot help but feel for Dev as he charges through so many different emotions but overwhelmingly, all he wants to do is protect his daughter.

Across the street, Yasmeen is an utterly broken woman. Last Friday’s episode was one of the worst in a different way to other episodes. Geoff seems to have beaten her down to a point that she is now the shadow of her former self. And without Alya, she really is cut off from the rest of the world.

An argument with Cathy left Yasmeen more trapped than ever…

Hope arrived in the form of Cathy but while Geoff was overly nice to her, Yasmeen ended up losing her temper and pushed her away, possibly severing their friendship. I am so worried that Geoff has full control of Yasmeen now. All I can cling to is that she does have that bag locked away in the cupboard and that he hasn’t looked at the camera footage and doesn’t know it’s there. She has also reached out the police already. Please muster the strength to leave him, Yasmeen! I know you can!

In other news… Leanne and Steve continued to argue over their son; Johnny ran away from his new B&B guest, taking Jenny to France and leaving Carla and Peter in charge of The Rovers; Ken won the election at Stillwaters, handed it over to Norris, broke up with Claudia and moved back to The Street!

Ken leaves Stillwaters (and Claudia) behind…

Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filming

For the foreseeable, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Coronation Street: Trust

(Monday 6^th – Wednesday 15^th April 2020)

Many apologies for the delay in updating this blog. Easter and everything. Well, the whole world is in chaos right now, isn’t it? Anyway…

Last week was a huge week for Yasmeen as she took a huge step in the right direction toward exiting her abusive relationship. While this storyline is genuinely excruciating to watch, it has me utterly gripped. I love the little details and how honest it is. Yasmeen finally musters all her strength to say no to Geoff and while not ending the relationship, decides to go to Spain for a break and to be with her family. Within hours, she is back with him, having endured countless texts ranging from begging, pleading, abuse and finally threats of suicide.

While Alya cannot understand while her Gran just can’t switch off and let him go, Yasmeen is still tied to the man who has been brainwashing her for so many months, subtly controlling everything she thinks and everything she does. So, she stays. And just as Alya warns her, Geoff waltzes back in as if nothing ever happened.

Thankfully, this prompts Yasmeen into finally contacting ‘Clare’, the police contact that her granddaughter put into her phone weeks before and she is able to learn more of her partner’s past. While the previously mentioned affray led nowhere, his partner at the time had previously made a complaint of harassment against him. Yasmeen turns down the offer of being taken to safety but she does go home and secretly pack a bag. I just hope that Geoff doesn’t find it, either physically or on that awful security camera of his. He has definitely found the domestic abuse leaflet.

This storyline is uncomfortable in every way that it is supposed to be uncomfortable. The actors and the writing are all superb. Every episode, I am rooting for Yasmeen to free herself. And I truly hope that that’s how it will be in the end, that she will free herself. I know that she has Alya and that there are others on the Street such as Ryan, Cathy and Eileen who are kind of looking out for her to differing degrees but I truly want it to come from Yasmeen in the end. I want her to be her own hero.

Another story that Corrie have done very well, I think, is Gemma’s postnatal depression, which came to a head this week when she left the quads on the bus on purpose, unable to cope any longer. Having shut Bernie out and felt too ashamed to talk to Chesney, we were witness to a tender moment between Gemma to Rita, as the younger woman finally admitted how she was truly feeling. It was a nice reminder of the depth of love between these two women. Rita was so gentle with her as she just sat and listened, took her for some food and then returned her to Chesney so he could take her to the Doctor and get some actual help. Gemma is such a great character to do this story with. She is so loud and bouncy and well, irritating. To see her so vulnerable is really sad. You can’t help but root for her.

My only criticism is that after the emotion of Gemma laying her soul bare to Doctor Gaddas and Chesney, it seemed a real shame to rush the treatment. Surely anyone at home going through a similar situation would care about the conclusion. Instead, Steve bursts in and interrupts them and we find out later that she got ‘a prescription’ and a referral for therapy. It just felt like suddenly they decided they’d spent too much time on this story and they needed to move on. Next!

So, why did Steve interrupt Gemma’s appointment? Well, it all began with Emma having a really bad week… First, she broke up with Seb because she quite rightly twigged that he was still in love with Alina, although he continued to deny it. Then she was left to dog sit, only for Eccles to be rushed to the vet with a tumour on her spleen and have to be put down. Tracy was a complete bitch and blamed Emma for the dog’s death (because the dog sitter is of course responsible for an undiagnosed tumour on a one hundred year old dog) and Ken couldn’t have been more passive aggressive if he’d tried. So Emma moved back into the flat with Seb and tried and failed to get him to move out. Steve left Oliver with Summer to break up the argument and when he arrived home, Oliver had just started having some kind of fit so he rushed him down to the medical centre for help, bursting in on Gemma’s appointment. The kid is fine. He overheated or something. But now things are very tense between Steve and Leanne. Oops.

Leanne blames Steve for Oliver’s condition…

And now it’s time for the teenagers to come into play. I actually can’t believe these kids are old enough for this kind of storyline. How old does this make me?!

Amy decides to throw a party, which immediately gets out of hand, largely due to this annoying friend of her and Asha, some girl called Kelly (that thug Rick’s daughter, I think). The crux of it is that Asha has done something extremely stupid and extremely dangerous, which she confesses to Amy before the party – the night before, during a video chat with Corey, she took her top off. Why do these kids do these silly things? Well, I just hope this storyline serves its purpose and raises awareness because you don’t have to have a crystal ball to work out where this one is going to go… While Aadi (played by newcomer Adam Hussein) gets off his face on vodka, stolen from the shop, Kelly gets pissed off for being blamed for breaking a lamp. So, she takes Corey’s phone and passes round the topless picture of Asha. Because of course Corey kept evidence of the chat. Of course he did! Poor Asha. This boy is the one who has done the wrong thing – and Kelly too for passing the picture round. But it’s going to be Asha that suffers. The only thing she did wrong was trust the wrong person.

Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filming

For the foreseeable, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Coronation Street: Get Away From My Granddaughter!

(Monday 30^th March – Friday 3^rd April 2020)

Imran informs David that he and Shona haven’t been married long enough to get divorced. Eileen informs Gail of David’s shenanigans with Alina and asks her to keep him away from her. Unfortunately, David is unimpressed with his mother’s advice and storms out, right into a confrontation with a gang who pull out a knife on him. He manages to get away and ends up back at home with a Chinese, in a thoroughly good mood. It’s worrying. Very worrying. He apologises to Alina for his behaviour.

David is confronted by thugs…
(photo credit Digital Spy)

Seb begs Emma to believe that she is the one he wants but she is adamant that it’s over and she wants him to move out, especially when she spots the pair of them arguing and it feels crystal clear to her that he still has feelings for his ex. When Seb refuses to leave, Emma decides to go and stay with Steve.

I have literally just realised every time we hear a ‘ding dong’ noise during scenes at Gemma and Chesney scenes, it’s her message tone. That’s why she knows who it is without answering the door. Please forgive me. I am not feeling very well. This time, it’s the hospital to say that Aled’s hearing aids are ready. Cathy ends up helping out with housework, sceptical of how much Bernie is helping. Gemma desperately tries to keep her post-natal depression under wraps. She and Gemma go to the hospital for their appointment with Aled to get his hearing aids. Chesney is thrilled to see his little boy being able to hear and respond to sound for the first time. Gemma is just anxious. She pushes her mother away again.

Ken realises that he is being overcharged for the cleaning at Stillwaters. Is he about to overthrow the leadership?!

Geoff is keen to put doubts in Yasmeen’s mind about the trip to Spain, wanting to put as much distance between her and her grandchildren as possible, aware that Alya is getting too close to the truth. He takes things one step further by faking heart trouble but panics when Yasmeen immediately calls an ambulance. Obviously. Because he is LYING! The paramedics arrive and confirm that he hasn’t had a heart attack but when Yasmeen mentions his heart condition, they recommend he go to hospital, which he refuses. Then he charms them by offering them a shout out on hospital radio.

While Tim and Sally are suitably worried, Ryan and Alya are sceptical, especially as it immediately means Yasmeen has decided Geoff can’t travel and she can’t leave him. Alya points out that he hasn’t even seen a Doctor. She says that Zeedan (who didn’t initially even bother to invite either of them to the wedding) will be devastated.

Things get tense between Geoff and Alya…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Alya discovers that there is actually only one five star hotel in the area that Geoff could have booked. She also discovers that the hotel has no record of him making a reservation or of cancelling it. With her new information, she visits Geoff and challenges him about his lies, accusing him of faking his health scare in a bid to get the trip cancelled. When she tackles him about his police record, mentioning Clare’s Law, he turns nasty. Alya looks genuinely frightened. Yasmeen walks in on Geoff threatening her and says the best words she has said in a long time.

“Geoff! Get away from my granddaughter!”

Finally, we can see that fire, that strength in Yasmeen that we have known was there all along. She may not feel able to protect herself but when Alya was in danger, she stepped up without any hesitation. That fight is still in her. It just needs bringing out.

Unfortunately, Yasmeen decides to ask Alya to leave amid all her new information about Geoff and for now at least, decides to stay with him. Having seen his level of aggression, Alya is more reluctant than ever to leave her Gran alone with Geoff but agrees to go home.

Alone, Yasmeen carefully questions Geoff’s health condition. It does not go well. He loses his temper, blaming her for causing his heart condition in the first place, suggesting they barge into the GP’s office and demand answers if she doesn’t believe him. He suggests they end their relationship. All things that she knows she will back down from.

Later, Geoff books another date with ‘Rachel’ before heading up to have a bath. Yasmeen tries and fails to gain access to his laptop but cannot guess his password. This storyline truly is awful but it’s so clever too. Throughout the episode, not just the ‘big’ scenes, there are constant digs from Geoff to Yasmeen, constant moments of control. They’re subtle but important. Constant criticism and bullying tactics, helping us to understand just how Yasmeen has become so trapped.

On April Fool’s Day, Tim and Geoff play a trick on Yasmeen and Sally, pretending that Tim has chopped his thumb off, washing up. Yasmeen cleverly suggests that Tim and Sally show them their new wedding venue on Geoff’s laptop and is then able to watch him type in the password. As soon as she gets a moment alone, Yasmeen logs into Geoff’s laptop. She discovers that her husband has been using an escort. He catches her in the act and although she challenges him about it, he still manages to turn it all around on her and she ends up apologising for snooping. I really thought this was going to be her moment. He changes his password.

Yasmeen begins to discover Geoff’s lies…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Yasmeen also mentions that she couldn’t find evidence of him booking the hotel, which is why she looked on the laptop in the first place; she was trying to prove Alya wrong. With no options left and convinced he will always have the upper hand anyway, Geoff admits that he lied and there was no booking. He insists that the lie was out of love and wanting to make a grand gesture that he couldn’t follow through but she has easily worked out that everything, including his ‘heart attack’ was a lie. He is mortified when she decides to go to Spain without him. Go Yasmeen! He tries to emotionally blackmail her and then fights to keep her from packing her things. When she insists on leaving, he slams the door, insisting that she is not going anywhere…

Due to the Coronavirus, Coronation Street has had to cease filming

For the foreseeable, Coronation Street will air on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm

Emmerdale: Here Come the Girls!

(Monday 30^th March – Friday 3^rd April 2020)

Rhona buys into the farm…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Rhona and Moira bond over a vet visit to the farm. Unfortunately, it looks like Moira will soon have to hand over the farm to Kim as she can no longer afford to keep it on and Cain refuses to help. However, when it transpires that Graham has left all his money to Rhona (and it appears to be rather a lot!), Rhona decides to step in and go into business with Moira. That way, she can save the farm, save her from having to sell to Kim and rub Kim’s nose in it all at the same time. They very smugly inform Kim of their plans.

Brenda panics to Eric about Dan. He encourages her to get rid of any incriminating packaging that could link her to poisoning him. He then visits Dan himself to talk him down over his anger towards Brenda. Dan points out that this is the second time she has poisoned him in recent weeks. Furious that Brenda is now denying responsibility, Mandy goes rooting through the rubbish and finds the incriminating evidence. Rodney just about persuades her to keep to café open, only for Amelia to turn up and publicly lay into her, damning her to hell, which coming from a committed Christian really stings!

Mandy searches for evidence…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Charity goes hand gel crazy in preparation for Vanessa returning home. I wonder where on earth she was able to buy that luxury item from! She rejects Rhona’s flowers for fear of contamination. Tracy is clumsy when talking to Rhona about Pierce. Charity is ready to make a fuss of her fiancée as soon as she returns home from hospital.

Harriet takes Cain aside, worried that he is working Will too hard. Cain confronts Will for still working for DI Malone. When Will confesses to getting rid of a van, having first welded drugs into it, Cain takes his wage for it. He orders Will to pick a side and advises him to chooses his. While Harriet cannot make head nor tail of the conflicting stories she is being told by Will and Cain, the former of whom is moody and pushing her away. Will is torn between pressure from Cain and the power DI Malone has over him, leading Billy to find him having a panic attack in the garage. Feeling pity for him, Billy tells Will that he doesn’t have to work for Malone anymore; he and Cain kept the car they were meant to get rid of as insurance against him. However, he stupidly gives away the location of the car and sure enough, when he and Cain go to the farm, the car is gone. Unfortunately, this plot has not vanished with it. And now, with only three episodes a week, it’s going to drag on forever.

Al and Priya grow closer…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Priya and Jai are enjoying working together, although not quite as much as Priya and Al are enjoying working together, as the pair of them begin hooking up (and are nearly caught out by Jai). I mean, come on! Surely Priya has better taste than Al? He has about as much personality as wallpaper paste!

Due to the Coronavirus, Emmerdale have had to suspend filming

Emmerdale will now air on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV1 at 7pm