The Carters

I am continuously impressed with the storylines The Carter Family are thrown in Eastenders. Individually, each character stands up on their own, dating back to when Shirley turned up as Hev’s mate, full of attitude and from the off, the family were thrown in at the deep end. We’ve had some amazing and emotional stories such as the truth about Shirley being Mick’s mother, Linda’s rape, Johnny’s coming out, Lee’s depression and last year, we had the incredible Kellie Bright tackle some of the strongest episodes ever as Linda was caught up in the midst of her battle with alcoholism.

We then suffered the horror of watching her and Mick drift further and further apart as Mick couldn’t open up to Linda about his childhood sexual abuse but despite her own experiences, she couldn’t seem to recognise the signs of trauma and instead, got sick of him pushing her away and bedded local lothario, Max Branning. It was hideous, shout at your screen viewing.

Frankie has found a family in The Carters

Thankfully, it seems to have all turned out okay. The truth is out, Mick and Linda are stronger than ever, he has pressed charges against his abuser, Katy, and they have even welcomed the daughter he never knew he had, into the family home. And it truly has been lovely watching them very tentatively getting to know each other. Frankie is one of the best soap characters ever written. She is so feisty and so funny. She allows no sympathy for being deaf. It is not a disability, it is part of her and unlike Ben (who appears to have had this operation and very unrealistically had his hearing restored to absolute perfection the second he woke up), she wouldn’t change it.

I am enjoying watching her get to know Shirley. There are a lot of similarities there! And this week, Nancy returned, which is brilliant in itself but throwing in the sister she never had is only going to make that all the more interesting. My only sadness about Nancy’s return is that it is likely to spell to end of her and Tamwar.

As for Mick and Katy – this story has been absolutely incredible so far. I think it is some of the cleverest casting ever. Danny Dyer is so brilliant in Eastenders anyway and although Mick is very capable of being a gentle character, he is usually cast in the ‘tough guy’ role and has been throughout his career. Casting the incredible Simone Lahbib as Katy was a stroke of genius. She is always the girl next door; she is always the one you are rooting for. As Helen Stewart on Bad Girls, you were so desperate for her to succeed, to overthrow the system and of course to get a happy ending with Nikki Wade. So I think it’s really clever to essentially have a role reversal of the ‘good girl’ in the evil role and the ‘bad boy’ as the person who has been the victim of abuse. It’s very clever writing and the way all the actors have portrayed these scenes (especially in the current circumstances) has been amazing.

Plus, I am sure I am not the only lesbian who feels a little conflicted during her scenes in Eastenders – I feel the suitable amount of hatred for the character of Katy but I adore Simone to the point that my wife is finding Eastenders a little irritating. In fact, Katy hasn’t been on screen for a while. Is she coming back?

Throwback to the days of Bad Girls – Helen and Nikki got their happy ending!

Eastenders: Lost in the Dark

(Monday 9^th – Thursday 12^th November 2020)

Well, the first thing I have to say is that I am so impressed with Simone Lahbib’s arrival as Katy Lewis. The story unravelling is engaging and deeply uncomfortable in equal measure. I had no idea how it was going to play out when Katy arrived on the Square but the way it has, blindsided me. This woman is clearly a master manipulator. She is wrapped up in beautiful smiles and a gentle voice and it was so unsettling to watch her persuade Mick that nothing had ever happened between them. Danny Dyer was incredible in these scenes as Mick began not to trust his own, very clear memories of how their relationship began. And she was so convincing! And so lovely to him at times. So bloody clever.

Katy is a master manipulator…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Tina was delighted to see her and looked like she had as much of a crush on her as Mick once had. She forced Mick to persuade Frankie that he had been wrong and couldn’t be her Dad. Frankie was furious and disgusted with him that he could have let her believe her Mum was a paedophile. It really has been awful to watch but also fascinating. Eastenders has cast this so well. She is the nicest, girl next door type character. And yet, there she was, pressuring Mick, manipulating him, without him even realising it half the time. Changing his memories. Confusing him.

Mick suffers in silence…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

However, could I just suggest that the obvious answer is a paternity test? Just saying.

With Mick still in a dark place and his family not understanding why, Tina very sweetly persuaded Ian to ask him to do a shift at the Vic. And for a moment, Mick was back in his stride. But conversation between him, Tina and Shirley soon turned to Katy, he dropped an expensive bottle, Ian told him off and accidentally revealed that it was a pity shift. Mick was back to square one, leading to a very emotional scene between him and Tina where he so nearly told her the truth. I actually begged him out loud to tell her! But he closed up and kept his silence.

Mick temporarily gets his groove back…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Meanwhile, Jay confronted Lola and Peter about their infidelity but a chat with Honey made him realise that he and Lola were not meant to be and actually, he felt okay about it. She didn’t want his baby, she didn’t want to marry him, she didn’t really want to move in with him. Finally, he has realised he deserves better! Hooray! May I suggest he gets together with Honey? I hadn’t seen it before but recently, I’ve concluded they would make an excellent match.

It’s the end of the road for Lola and Jay…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Kat made her presence felt at Phil’s when she did the cleaning, stealing a football shirt in order to get his attention. She then requested his help in the robbery again. My wife and I actually laughed out loud when Kat turned up at the office with Phil in a cleaning pinny, allowing Kat to make fun of him in front of the security guard she had befriended, with a view to rob the place the next day. It really was funny. However, Phil decided that was no point robbing the place for a few grand and backed out, frustrating Kat. When he spotted the fancy cars parked in the underground car park though, he was much more interested and a new plan began to form. Kush was hurt when Kat refused to let him get involved, admitting that she didn’t trust him.

Sometimes pictures don’t need captions…
(photo credit: WhatsOnTV)

Stuart and Rainie were told once and for all that she could never carry a child. Having been friends for all of ten seconds, they then asked Tiffany if, for £10,000, she would be their surrogate. After a lot of thought, she agreed but Keegan was not happy about it.

Keegan isn’t happy with his wife’s decision…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Jack was supportive as Denise continued to try and bond with Raymond and help him through the grief of losing his parents. They took him to his old church, where he finally smiled and began to come back to life. Denise was able to speak to the church leader and find out more about Raymond and his family, as well as to get some advice about the way forward. Is this the storyline that will bring evil Lucas back into Denise’s life, I wonder…?

Denise will do anything to reach out to her son…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

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

Eastenders: The Truth Comes to Light

(Tuesday 3^rd – Friday 6^th November 2020)

After Kheerat persuaded his mother to let the Slaters stay, albeit at a much higher rent, Kat and Kush’s relationship was left hanging by a thread. In desperate need to raise funds, Kat happened upon a new scam to commit a robbery but even Phil rejected her request to join in. He did offer to let her clean his house though.

While Tiffany scored a job as a beautician at the undertakers, Keegan accidentally ran Rainie over on his moped. At the hospital, Rainie was distraught to learn that she wasn’t pregnant but having a phantom pregnancy. She attempted to run away from her husband but he persuaded her to stay, offering nothing but love and support. Bonkers that Stuart came into this show as an absolute monster.

An accident leads to a revelation about Rainie’s pregnancy…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Lola and Jay were preparing to move in together despite the fact that she looked like she would rather move into a jail cell than live with her boyfriend. After spending some time with eligible bachelor, Isaac, he called her out on her reluctance to move in with Jay, forcing her to confront how she really felt. She finally admitted everything. And I mean everything. She even confessed to sleeping with Peter! Ouch.

Lola confronts the truth about her relationship status…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Mick finally caught up with Frankie who wanted nothing to do with him now she knows that she is the result of her mother abusing him. He was distraught when she referred to her mother as a paedophile. Shirley became suspicious of Mick’s fidelity when a random man barged into The Albert, warning Mick to leave Frankie alone.

Mick denied an affair and attempted to explain his apathy towards Shirley for abandoning him, something it had been easy to assume has been sorted out as they do normally get along. But obviously there is a lot of deep rooted pain that we were only just beginning to scratch the surface. He told her in great detail how he struggled in care and that it was Frankie’s Mum, Katy who was there for him, looked out for him and helped him survive. It was Katy who made him feel special. He didn’t tell her about the abuse, which he doesn’t seem to understand himself yet. And he didn’t tell her about Frankie.

One interesting part of his dialogue is that he told her about trying to contact Katy multiple times, right up until Lee went to secondary school. So… twelveish? Around the age he was when Katy abused him?

Mick was furious when Shirley, unaware of what had truly happened between him and Katy and feeling desperately guilty for letting him down as a child, contacted Katy and invited her to the Square. He accused her of not listening to him and was shocked at the end of Friday’s episode to find himself face to face with his abuser. For me, this is possibly the most brilliant casting ever. Katy is going to be so awful and so complex. And yet she’s played by such a beautiful, lovely actress who I’ve adored since the late nineties. It’s unsettling. Very unsettling.