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.

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?