Hollyoaks: Goodbye Jesse Donovan

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Still at the wedding, Jesse is determined to tell Sylver about the shooting, although he never actually gets round to it. He announces to everyone, including horrified Courtney that the pair of them are moving away after the wedding. After the wedding, while Courtney packs for the honeymoon and prepares for her wedding night with Jesse, her groom gets drunk in The Loft, chattering away about honesty with Maxine (of all people) and then stumbles outside, collapsing on the ground.

Mitchell cannot control his jealousy over Scott and Azim. Still thinking he is straight, Martine gives her son advice to go after his ex but it all falls flat when Scott informs him that he isn’t interested in him anymore. This leads to an argument between mother and son, where he reminds her that she wanted nothing to do with him as a baby.

Out walking and upset after her argument with Mitchell, Martine finds Jesse on the ground and calls and ambulance. She then calls Mitchell who rushes out and gives him CPR. Oblivious Courtney wakes up to her honeymoon alarm at half three in the morning having not even realised that her new husband hasn’t been home. Meanwhile, Grace and James are on tenterhooks, waiting for the proverbial to hit the fan but Sylver calls to say he’s on his way back and he clearly hasn’t spoken to Jesse and at this rate, he never will. Grace, James, Maxine, Mitchell and Martine converge outside just as the paramedics decide to give up on Jesse. Well, now I feel guilty about complaining about the boring wedding stuff! I liked Jesse! It’s obvious now that he was going to die, being that they were overdoing how happy they were, which is making me suddenly very concerned about Kat and Kush in Eastenders…

Courtney frets to Leela and Liam over why Jesse hasn’t come home and why she can’t get in touch with him. Sylver arrives and offers his full support to Grace who continues to lie to him about pretty much everything. Grace then has to break the news to Courtney (and Liam and Leela) that Jesse is dead. A very emotional sequence at the end of Tuesday’s (E4) episode. Goodbye, Jesse. We will miss you.

At home, Mitchell and Martine comfort each other over the loss of Jesse. She apologises for not being there for him and begs to know why he is so unhappy. He finally admits that he is gay. She completely accepts him and quickly works out that the person he is in love with is Scott. Mitchell is still not prepared to come out and certainly doesn’t want to tell his Grandfather. Scott is proud of Mitchell when he says he came out to his Mum but has to let him down gently when Mitchell still hopes that there is a chance for them. Encouraged by Martine, Mitchell hops onto a dating site but things go wrong when he is nervous about being out in public and his date assumes he is a timewaster and walks out on him. He tells his mother that gay dating is not for him.

Mitchell opens up to his mother about his sexuality…

Damon checks on Maxine and notices how cold it is in her flat. She feels guilty for serving Jesse drinks and being the last person to see him before he died. She tells him how upset he was before he died. Damon visits Maxine again the next day and offers kindness to his ex-wife.

Liam and Courtney turn on each other, each wanting to know what on earth happened to Jesse. The pathology report confirms that Jesse died from alcohol poisoning. Liam is confused as Jesse never hit the bottle that hard. Reading a drunk text from Jesse that says he has something to tell her, Courtney tearfully concludes that he felt their marriage was a mistake. No, Courtney, no! Grace and James are torn up with guilt over having another death on their conscience but Grace’s response is to threaten James into silence. Upon the discovery that Maxine served drinks to Jesse before he died, Liam decides that she needs to pay for his death. He adds her picture to his dartboard, which already has Mercedes pinned to it. Creepy!

While Maxine deals with mouldy bread and no money, Liam winds himself up with footage of Maxine serving Jesse more drinks when he was already drunk. Haunted by the fact that she knows she is responsible for him drinking so much in the first place, Grace desperately tries to stop her brother punishing Maxine. The police come calling and ask Maxine questions about Jesse’s death. When they realise that Maxine doesn’t even work at the club and Jesse continued drinking after she left, the Detective tells Liam that there’s no case to answer. Liam visits Maxine and discovers that all her cupboards are bare and she has no heating. They discuss their love for Jesse and he gives her money, indicating that he will help her in the longer term. I don’t buy it for a second. His first task is to persuade Maxine to entertain some important clients at The Loft. Hmm…

John Paul starts working at the school and immediately gives Juliet detention, during which they bond over her dreams for the future. James accepts the hand of friendship from John Paul. Liam catches James kissing John Paul. John Paul is amused while James is surprised that Liam is so upset; he assumed they were just a casual thing. Well, they’re over now apparently and James joins her and Mercedes on the creepy dartboard (with Maxine right in the centre!)

James and John Paul have a surprise reunion…

James and Marnie struggle when Donna Marie throws her weight around at home. Juliet walks in on James giving Donna Marie a ‘loan’, prompting her to blurt out to her daughter that James and Marnie set her up for killing Mac. James takes the money back and throws her out of the house. They explain that it was the only thing they could do to stop Romeo going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In a rare moment of genuine emotion, James tells Juliet how much he loves her. Unfortunately, Juliet doesn’t buy it and decides to go to London with her mother. The family soon get wind of the plan and when James, who has just been asked out by John Paul, comes home to find Donna Marie off her face on drugs on the floor, he is faced with a moral dilemma. He fails. He takes a photo of Donna Marie to prove to Juliet that she can’t trust her Mum. Then he calls 999 but cancels the call and walks out.

Jordan visits his cousin, Sid at home and immediately charms Leela. He also lets slip that today is Stuart’s birthday. Leela continues to encourage Sid about his future and even buys him a guitar, presumably the one that we saw smashed to pieces in the flash forward at New Year. However, what Leela doesn’t know is that Jordan has persuaded Sid to look after a load of ketamine for him. So, this county lines storyline really is beginning. I mean, I just don’t know. It’s promising a lot but I genuinely can’t tell if it’s going to be amazing or really long and drawn out. I mean, it’s January. It’s not going to even start to conclude until te end of December, guys!!!

Channel 4 at 6:30pm or a sneak peek 7pm on E4

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

Doctors: The Search for Truth

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th 2020)

Jimmi is struggling in the wake of the death of the inmate he so desperately tried to save last week. He is then told by Al that he is struggling to keep The Icon going. On top of that, he is landed with a new, less friendly cellmate. Not a great start to the week. His problems get worse when Rob comes to visit him, making him even more of a target for his bully cellmate.

Emma and Rob team up to figure out just who might have a grudge against Jimmi and want to set him up. They receive a call from Jimmi himself who tells them more about his childhood and confesses that he assaulted his Dad the last time he saw him. Could that be enough of a motive? They are also intrigued as to whether the mugging last year is connected to this. Well, it did seem a bit random and they didn’t revisit it so quite possibly. But Bear is not yet on the list and I remain convinced that he has something to do with all of this… He’s acting shadier and shadier by the day. However, he has problems of his own when a disgruntled woman causes mayhem in the waiting room!

Jimmi takes matters into his own hands by meeting up with his father who is shocked to find him in prison. He was on holiday at the time of his arrest, which checks out with Rob and denies having anything to do with setting him up. He is deeply unkind to Jimmi and still denies child abuse. Jimmi meanwhile, is struggling with other prisoners needing him to be their Doctor and his vile cellmate harassing him and getting off his face on spice each day. Life behind bars is getting harder as each day passes and he is beginning to lose hope. Feeling like he has no options left, Jimmi turns to spice to get him through. An inmate he refused to help gets badly assaulted, although by this point, I think he has actually stopped caring.

Valerie meets up with Rabbi David to learn more about her ‘Jewish Heritage’ and I am possibly about to eat the words from my previous blog about it being an annoying, daft Valerie storyline as it looks like there a genuine spark between them. And I am all for Valerie finding some love in her life! They even meet up a second time and go for lunch where they continue to bond. But alas, Valerie and I both have our hearts broken when David decides it’s too soon after the breakdown of his marriage to start another relationship and he doesn’t want to hurt her (or me, of course) by making false promises. I really do hope they return to this storyline at some point. There was a genuine connection here.

Ruhma decides to learn BSL after struggling to communicate with a deaf patient in labour the previous week and also being that she too is losing her hearing. After a misunderstanding, Zara decides to join her on the course. This could be a potential disaster or a new friendship. The first lesson doesn’t get off to a great start for their friendship though when the teacher points Ruhma out as a gifted student, putting Zara’s nose right out of joint!

I don’t often report the ‘side stories’ but I liked this one: Rob teams up with a junior police officer who is intent on solving a spate of burglaries on a particular estate. She shows a particular interest in a known criminal who has been recently released from prison and is dating a young, single mother who she is also particularly interested in. Rob digs a little deeper and the police officer admits that the young woman, Paige is actually her daughter, who she gave up when she was a baby. She eventually admits it to Paige herself and the pair begin to bond.

Doctors is on BBC1, weekdays at 1:45pm

Eastenders: Scraping the Barrel

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Sonia confesses to Martin that she stole £8,000 from Dot to keep the hit and run victim at bay. He is horrified, as she has created a link between him and the crime that he has worked so hard to sever. She is distraught as she has done so much to try and protect him and he wasn’t even worth it. Realising how much he has hurt her, Martin takes the blame and tells Dot that it was him who stole the money. She is genuinely hurt and asks him to leave before she vanishes to Ireland, leaving Sonia and message of love. However, either June Brown wasn’t available or it’s part of a plot twist, as there is no way on earth that it was Dot leaving that message. It sounded nothing like her! Whoever decided they could do a good Dot Branning impression, they are sorely mistaken!

The pressure of Mick’s birthday gets to Linda and she reaches for the bottle again, ending up in The Albert where she at least manages to make amends with Sharon. But the more she drinks and the more Sharon’s anxiety over Keanu gets to her, the weaker she becomes. She breaks and tells Sharon the truth about Christmas Day, reassuring her friend that although Phil did order a hit on him, Martin couldn’t go through with it and he set Keanu free.

The next day, having disappointed and upset Mick and her family yet again, Linda cannot cope with her confession to Sharon and begs her to forget she ever opened her mouth. Of course, she doesn’t and immediately locates the badly hidden burner phone at the allotment containing the video of Keanu’s ‘death’ on it. Finally with the upper hand, she unnerves Phil without revealing her cards. Worried about her daughter’s state of mind, Lisa decides to take Louise and Baby Peggy to Portugal for good. When Phil and Ben are arrested but released, they, Lisa, Louise and Peggy quickly pile into a taxi, preparing to leave as a family. However, Ben halts things, unable to leave Callum, prompting Phil to instruct him to blame him for everything. It would be a genuinely touching moment if Phil hadn’t basically confessed to murder in front of a London cabbie. I mean, who does that?! But the good news is that Callum and Ben are finally back together! Hooray!

However, things take an even darker turn for the Carters when Mick and Linda are called to the school to be told they have raised a safeguarding concern. In his mood diary, Ollie has alerted them to being unhappy at home and indicated that Linda has hurt him. Misunderstanding that another parent has lied about her, Linda absolutely loses it in front of the Head Teacher, embarrassing Mick, as she protests against a Social Worker being sent to the house. That night, Mick sends Ollie to stay with Chantelle and Gray, having reached the sad conclusion that his son is not happy at home. Linda’s reaction is to reach for the bottle, prompting her to become abusive. With no options left, Mick locks her in their bedroom to keep her safe.

Mick and Linda are called to the school about Ollie…

Locked in the bedroom all night with Mick keeping guard, Linda is an absolute mess in the morning. Mick has to patch her up from cutting herself really badly on glass and despite how vile she was the night before, he is still so kind to her. But she learns nothing from anything that has happened and although she stops Bex drowning her own sorrows, having discovered that it was Sonia who stole from Dot, she ends up drinking her bottle of wine herself instead. She then gate crashes Ian’s victory party (having won by drawing straws) and although she’s actually very funny at times, (“he doesn’t have a big straw! Jane told me!”), it’s utterly heartbreaking to watch this amazing woman and all she’s survived, falling apart in front of the whole Square. I couldn’t actually watch the moment she stood on stage and wet herself before Mick arrived, covered her up and rushed her home. Heartbreaking.

During an argument, Bex gives Dotty some home truths about her vile father, including that her Grandma killed him. Wound up, Dotty is about to charge over to Ireland to confront her but Sonia intervenes and tells her everything she needs to know. Dotty offers forgiveness and understanding for her namesake but it’s all fake. As she tells Bex, Dot’s old and rich and she wants her inheritance! Oh, I don’t like her!

Kush struggles to work out why Kat is so on edge so she sits him down and explains that she had an altercation with a man who came to discuss a cleaning contract. The comments that Leo put online put her in a vulnerable position and the man tried to demand sex. She then begins to explain her past abuse but Kush very gently explains that he already knows. Kat is shocked that he is in a relationship with her, knowing the truth about what happened and it’s never been an issue for him. In the sweetest of moments, he just tells her how much he loves her and how amazing he thinks she is. Yes! She is! And I absolutely love this pairing. I dread the day Shane Ritchie wants a job and they bring Alfie back to wreck it. I was a true Kat and Alfie believer once upon a time. He was her true love. He was her Man in the Moon. But that last appearance and everything that happened with poor Hayley was unforgiveable. Kat needs someone like Kush.

And in the least interesting story of the week, Sheree returns, reunites with Patrick and introduces him to her stroppy son, Isaac. And after all her meddling, Denise doesn’t bat an eyelid.

Eastenders is on BBC1 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (7:30pm/8:00pm)

Coronation Street: The Fight for Hope

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

In a slightly clumsy plot twist, it’s actually Ruby who saves the day for her parents. She asks Tyrone when Jade is coming back so they can play hospitals again and mentions the bruises that she painted on Hope. It’s useful but it’s a little obvious. But from there, Tyrone, Evelyn, the social worker and Dr Gaddas are able to ascertain that Jade has been faking the abuse, despite Hope sticking to the story. They then discover Hope’s phone with incriminating text messages between Hope and Jade that blows Jade’s story out of the water completely.

Fiz is upset when Hope doesn’t welcome her back to the family home. All she wants is Jade. And her phone back. In the morning, the family are horrified to find that Hope is missing and report it to the police. They immediately visit Jade who denies any knowledge of the little girl’s disappearance. The police search the property but come up with nothing, although the storytelling attempts to persuade us that she has the little girl hidden in the loft. Unable to stick to the police advice, Fiz storms round to the house in panic although she doesn’t find Hope (or Jade), she does find Hope’s passport and preparations to run away together.

Tyrone and the neighbours go out searching for Hope where Tyrone gets caught up in an argument with Jade who has come to search for her sister. Genuinely scared for Hope, Jade goes to her Dad’s grave where Hope emerges from the shadows. She has been hiding there all night, hoping that Jade would come and find her. Jade genuinely does the right thing and brings her home. Later, not knowing what happened to her daughter (who has been taken to hospital), Fiz angrily confronts Jade who tries to explain things. Tyrone walks in just as Fiz knocks Jade out. Ouch. While Fiz and Tyrone panic and distract Evelyn and the children from walking in, they return to the kitchen to find that Jade has vanished. They confide in Evelyn who remarks that Jade has had it coming for a long time! Ha! Not since Blanche Hunt have we had such a fabulous Corrie character as this!

But anyway, Jade collapses in the ginnel on Victoria Street, to be discovered by Yasmeen, who has just avoided spending time with Alya and taken a nagging phone call from Geoff demanding to know why she is one second late home from the shop. Having found Jade and also received a hang up 999 call from Fiz when the accident happened, the police turn up to ask questions. Fiz, Tyrone and Evelyn all act guilty and weird but send them on their way. Tyrone and Fiz then attempt to actually explain to Hope who her father was and that Jade is wrong about him. Unfortunately, Hope is deeply attached to Jade and is desperate to see her. So when Jade turns up, having lied to the police about being mugged, it’s an emotional conversation as Fiz tries to get her to understand that John was an uncaring man. She had no idea he had a daughter because in all their time together, he never even bothered to mention her. Hearing Jade in the house, Hope is desperate to go home with her but Jade does the right thing for a second time. Later, aware that Jade now has the attack over them, Tyrone suggests that they let her see Hope. But Fiz and Evelyn point blank refuses to listen to him, despite his plea that he would rather supervise an hour in the park between Hope and Jade than visit Fiz in prison. Well, I’m Team Tyrone on this one, personally.

Tim is shocked when his Vegas wife, Charlie arrives to see him, having lost both her jobs and up to her eyeballs in debt. With Tim still pushing for the divorce, Charlie has him over a barrel and demands 5K on top of signing the papers. She then shows up announcing she has been evicted. With Sally having temporarily moved out and needing to pay Charlie off before she discovers that he is a bigamist, Tim decides he needs to sell the business. Eileen, Steve and Kevin are all too happy to do him over for his share until Emma shames them with her kindness, offering to lend him her life savings. His friends then have no choice but to help him out. Unfortunately, despite giving her the cash she needs, Charlie decides to stick around and bags herself a job at The Rovers!

Ray and Abi (who has passed her exams) continue to get to know each other. Bethany mistakenly believes that she is going to be the new manager of The Bistro (and typically tells people) so is devastated to discover that Ray has actually hired Alya. I suspect she has had a lucky escape. Bethany also suspects she’s had a lucky escape and gets information from Carla about what happened to Michelle. When Bethany tries to warn Alya, the new manager disbelieves the story and responds to Bethany (in light of the abuse she previously suffered) in the most unforgivably patronising way she possibly could. A genuinely unpleasant scene, actually. Royally pissed off, Bethany is ready to quit her job and seeks career advice from Daniel, who believes that she should return to her dream of writing. However, he quickly gets distracted by Bertie spiking a temperature. I’m sure the upcoming storyline will be very dramatic and everything but the problem is, I can’t concentrate on any scene Daniel’s in because he looks like Tom Hanks in Castaway. I know he’s grieving but the state of his face is just unacceptable.

Gary and Maria attend a baby scan but their happy news is not met well by their neighbours. Sarah in particular warns her, prompting Maria to accuse Gary of having an affair when he is actually talking to Jake on the phone. Unfortunately, her mistake only seems to cement them together more than ever!

In an act of revenge over the live stream of Kel, someone vandalises Chesney and Gemma’s house and puts a burning rag through the door, sending the quads into hospital with smoke inhalation. When Rita and Billy both scold Bernie for letting her family down, she decides that the right thing to do is move away and let her kids live their lives without her drama. Paul needs to heal from Kel’s abuse and Gemma has enough on her hands with the quads. She says an emotional goodbye to Paul and sincerely apologises for not protecting him as a child.

David is heartbroken as he sends Shona off to the Rehab Centre in Leeds for specialist care and actress, Julia Goulding goes off for maternity leave.

Coronation Street airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30/8:30pm

Emmerdale: Killer Climax

(Friday 24^th January 2020)

So we finally reach the climax of the latest murder in the Dales, the demise of controversial character, Graham Foster. Now, I for one am rather sad to see him go. He’s not exactly the warmest guy in the world but he’s oddly likeable and at least with certain characters, such as Rhona and Noah, he does try to do the right thing.

So, in the fifth and finally episode of #WhoKilledGraham, we see the day from Graham and his killer, Pierce Harris’s perspective. And as suspected, it dates back to the night we saw him cleaning up his bloodied hand with no explanation. He heard a voicemail alerting Rhona that Pierce was due to be released and deleted it, tracking him down himself and warning him to stay away. Well, you can imagine the bile that Pierce, a haggard version of the man he once was, spilled. This earned him quite the pasting from Graham, which ultimately comes back to haunt him. But then when you live the kind of life Graham does, how did he ever really imagine his life would end?

In the woods at the site, the two men argue but Graham is half dead already so Pierce has the upper hand. Pierce mocks Graham over not really being Rhona’s type and that she is only with him because he reminds her of Pierce. He then reveals that he has been watching Rhona since that night and it was him who stole Leo’s passport.

Graham being Graham, he does get the upper hand but he opts not to kill Pierce, certainly not in Rhona’s name and punches him out instead. Well, that turns out to be a mistake! As he is making is escape, he is run over and plunges over an edge. Surely he’s dead now? Piece scrambles down to deal with the body but Graham recovers, sends Pierce flying this time and they go at it again over Rhona until Pierce smashes Graham over the head. Yep. It really is all over now. He half buries him under some leaves (clearly wanting him to be found and Rhona to grieve and feel unsafe) and then heads back to the village where Marlon is at Rhona’s door, wanting to know where Graham is and why he didn’t show up for their meeting. Pierce listens in as Rhona apologises for hurting him and explains that they have now missed their ferry.

Al finds Graham’s dead body and walks away, presumably to report to Kim that the deed is done and claim his money without actually having to do anything for it. While Rhona wonders where Graham has got to, Graham lies cold in the woods. And the sad thing in all of it is that in trying to protect Rhona, Graham has left her more vulnerable than ever.

Emmerdale is on at 7pm Monday to Friday with a second episode at 8pm on Thursdays

Neighbours: Modern Families

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Pierce is in freefall at the prospect of Lisa arriving to sort Hendrix out, believing that she is going to ruin his relationship with his son. While Hendrix is keen to repair his relationship with Chloe, he is destroyed to finally learn the truth about how he actually came to exist. When he and Pierce have a heart to heart, Hendrix finally understands their relationship but he is desperately upset with his mother for keeping Pierce at a distance all these years. Hendrix also apologises to Harlow for the ‘cat toy’ joke and the pair make peace. They will absolutely be dating before the year is out. 100%

Lisa tells Pierce she wants to have another baby with him now that she and her partner have split up. She suggests that she and her daughter move to Erinsborough and they, Pierce, Chloe and Hendrix can be a ‘modern family’. The suggestion is not met positively. Chloe eventually tells Pierce that as children are not an option for her so if he wants to have a child, she would consider allowing him to father a child with Lisa and create the ‘modern family’ she has suggested.

Now that Hendrix has moved out, Bea is keen for Elly and Aster to move back in but as Finn predicts, Elly declines, claiming she wants to be independent. Not that she is getting much of a chance thanks to Aaron and David (who has made a miraculous recovery from the certain death he was facing a week or so ago). They send Elly off for a spa treatment and take Aster to a picnic without taking their phones or telling the kid’s mother whether they’re off to. So when Elly doesn’t find them at home, she flies into a panic. Now, I adore David and Aaron and I have long ceased to be an Elly fan but however well-intentioned they are (and driven by their own desire for children), it seems to me that they smothering her. She doesn’t really want a rest or ‘time off’, she just wants to be with her baby (and Finn – but that’s another story). When she finally catches up with them, out of her mind with panic, she tears a strip off them for not letting her know where they were.

Afterwards, she feels really guilty and frets to Bea and Finn about the way she has treated the boys who have only been nice to her. When she moved in, she was happy to let them help but no real boundaries have been set and she’s been left feeling like a failure as a mother. And of course there’s all the guilt weighing down on her for wanting to sleep with her sister’s boyfriend. I mean, that’s got to be exhausting!

At home, the boys realise that they went too far with looking after Aster but while David worries that that means they might not be ready to be parents themselves, Aaron is surer than ever. Elly comes home and they broker tentative peace, agreeing that they will only help with the baby when she asks for it. But later, they have to physically wake Elly up when the baby starts crying.

Having renewed their relationship, Shane and Dipi are keen to spend alone time together. Unfortunately, Shane gets pulled into work alongside Roxy, interrupting his time with Dipi, who spends the evening with Sheila instead. The usual banter continues between Shane and Roxy at work. Roxy admits that she thought Shane had changed their shifts and didn’t want to hang out with her anymore. When he reassures her, she kisses him. Shane is horrified and Roxy is absolutely mortified and apologetic. The next day, Roxy explains that she just got confused because she isn’t used to platonic friendships with men. She begs him not to tell Dipi what happened. Shane changes his shifts again so they don’t have to work together anymore and tells Roxy they can no longer be friends.

Yashvi has returned from training with Mishti but while Ned wants to get reacquainted, she is keen to keep on with the study program she has got into. He decides to help her study instead but it ends up in a falling out. They make up fairly quickly and Yashvi’s new celibacy rule quickly flies out the window! Little do they know that Liam Murphy from Home and Away has tracked them down! How exciting! Of course, I mean, Axle Whitehead, who is guest starring as Zenin Alexio. He follows Ned home and gives him a stern warning that he and Yashvi had better not have seen anything at the fight club or passed any information onto the police. I’m guessing this is not the end of it. While I’m pleased to see Axle Whitehead back on screen, I am not thrilled that this boring story has reared its ugly head. I was seriously hoping it was over!

Ned’s past comes back to haunt him… again…

Harlow persuades Paul to accept a gift from Robert. Her family also help her settle her mind over her mother’s lack of contact with her and she opts to focus on the family she does have that love her.

Neighbours is on Channel 5, 1:45pm and repeated at 5:30pm

Home and Away: Leap of Faith

(Monday 20^th – Friday 24^th January 2020)

Robbo struggles to look after Grace alone when Jasmine goes back to work but he refuses to let anyone in to help him. Eventually, Irene thrusts helps upon him and attempts to persuade him to let his wife in. However, he continues to hold her at arm’s length, aware that she previously made it clear that she did not want children.

Willow and Alex have spent every single day together since they decided to see where their feelings take them. During a dinner date at the gym, Willow attempts to take things further, only to be turned down but Alex who wants to wait, bringing their night to an abrupt end. The next day, Jasmine and Willow both need a friend. Jasmine is feeling frustrated and left out by Robbo while Willow cannot reach Alex. Opening up to Jasmine about her fledgling relationship, Willow takes her advice and insists on talking to Alex face to face. Alex is clearly terrified of getting hurt. She explains that her last relationship last ten years and left her very hurt. She doesn’t want to be a phase. Sweetheart Mason offers her his friendship, reminding her that he is not just Willow’s friend. Also, just as an aside, I love the rainbow in the distance while Willow and Alex talk about their relationship.

Taking her own advice, Jasmine wants answers from Robbo. Why won’t let her anywhere near Grace? He tells her that it’s because she has already made it clear she didn’t want children. Jasmine pledges her full commitment to their family and it looks like Robbo might finally accept it. I think I may be in a minority but I just don’t really like Robbo all that much. There’s nothing particularly warm about him and he doesn’t listen to other people’s opinions. But anyway…

Ryder shows up for a group surf lesson and while he is smitten with a new girl, Jade, Ziggy clearly sees her as a threat to her and Dean. They end up in an argument, as Ziggy demands Dean stop teaching Jade and accuses him of being no better than Brody. Ouch. Willow understands where Ziggy is coming from, pointing out that everyone has baggage and everyone gets scared. Jade attempts to buy Dean a drink but he abruptly avoids her and sets her up for a drink with Ryder instead. He then pledges his commitment to Ziggy, who assures him that it’s not him she doesn’t trust, it’s Jade.

With her own words sinking in, Willow charges back to the hospital and tells Alex how deeply she cares about her, promising that she’s not an experiment. They decide to take a leap of faith and make a go of things. Hooray!

Meanwhile, Ryder gets Jade a job at Salt but while he enjoys spending time with the girl he clearly has a crush on, she is equally as clearly more interested in Dean. Dean begs Mac to fire Jade so that she will leave town and not cause trouble for him and Ziggy. Ryder enlists Dean’s help in winning Jade round, aware that it’s really Dean that she’s interested in. I mean, have some pride, boy! When Ziggy finds out, she reaffirms that she trusts Dean. Dean then makes it clear that Jade does not stand a chance with him. Although she denies she was ever interested in the first place, he stands firm and refuses to have her at his surf school. Ziggy is touched.

Justin takes Ava to visit Brody and the rest of the family, including Tori. Leah confides in Irene that she misses Justin already and thinks she has fallen in love with him. Inspired by the return of Alf and Martha and their decision to move in together, Leah decides it might be time for her and Justin to move in together too. However, when Justin returns, sad at Ava going home to her mother, she feels that it’s not what Justin wants. But Justin pledges his love and commitment to her and very much wants them to live together. Aww.

While Colby and Mac are eager to send Bella off on her photography trip, the teenager is suddenly unwell, causing Colby to have to cancel his plans. Mac is more than a little suspicious. Unable to stop herself, Mac accuses Bella of faking her illness. Bella is furious when Colby doesn’t defend her. Then she collapses. Colby and Mac rush her to the hospital where Alex works to get to the bottom of what’s wrong. She notices that the cut on her hand hasn’t healed and it transpires that she has no medical history to speak of and so is unlikely to have had any immunisations. She is diagnosed with tetanus. Bella firmly rejects Mac who ends up drinking alone at Salt while Colby remains with her at the hospital.

Maggie supports Ben as he reopens the board shop and continues to navigate his mental health struggles. Although business starts slow, they are thrilled when their bank accounts are unlocked and it’s an exciting day when Ben gets a genuine board order for the shop.

(Channel 5, 1:15pm & 6pm (sneak peek, weekdays on 5STAR at 6:30pm)

Emmerdale: #WhoKilledGraham

(Monday 20^th – Thursday 23rd 2020)

And so we begin our week of #WhoKillsGraham, each episode focussing on a different suspect before the big reveal on Friday… So here’s my review of the episodes leading up tothe big reveal… (I’ve written this blog episode by episode so I don’t know who kills him until the end!)

The week begins with Kim, Al and Graham all at loggerheads. Kim has worked out that Al is up to his neck in debt and offers to buy him out of the business. She then humiliates herself by telling Graham she loves him and wants to give their relationship another chance. He strings her along by asking for time to think but in that time, Kim discovers his deception: he has been stealing from her. She calls Al back and orders a hit on Graham. Drowning in debt to the tune of £60,000 and now with the loan shark threatening Ellis’s life, Al agrees in exchange for the amount of money that will pay off the money he owes.

That night, Kim almost changes her mind, conflicted by her feelings for Graham. However, we then cut to Graham, dead in the woods. Al returns to Home Farm to tells Kim that it’s done, Graham is dead and he wants his money. However, we don’t see him actually kill Graham and I think this is too obvious a plot. I don’t think Emmerdale would waste a ‘who done it’ on Kim. They’d just let her go for the kill. And to me, it looked like Graham was already dead…

In the next episode, Jai thunders through his day’s work, taking all his stress out on Dawn and Laurel and can only survive the day by snorting coke up his nose. Everything seems to go wrong and one minute he thinks he’s on top of it all and the next, he’s falling apart. In the car, he nearly crashes into Graham, who correctly assumes he is back on drugs, which he confiscates as well as his keys. Laurel is confused by Jai’s version of the accident and challenges Graham about apparently running him off the road. She is horrified, especially as that means Jai was prepared to take Dotty in the car with him when he was high. Jai denies everything. It’s a stupid move really. If anyone would understand and support him, it’s Laurel. She’s been there. But he lies. She walks out on him and he follows her, apologising and admitting it and begging for another chance. She feels like it’s too late. She can’t keep him afloat as well as herself, her own sobriety and look after her children. She throws him out. He orders another ‘special pizza’, only to get caught out by Rishi, who immediately takes the drugs away from him. Jai violently takes the drugs back, scaring his Dad.

Cut to Graham in the woods being hit with what looks like a fatal blow to the head. Jai walks away and passes out. So, could it be Jai? He believes he has a motive, even though actually, Graham is just trying to look out for him. And he is feeling reckless enough right now. He has been pushed and pushed by Kim and Al and he wants someone to take it out on. The odds are potentially quite high even if it wasn’t on purpose.

On Wednesday, Charity struggles to keep control of Sarah, Noah and Ryan as she and Vanessa try to keep their secret wedding under wraps. Charity is horrified to learn of Rhona and Graham’s plans to leave the country without informing Marlon. Tracy then reports that Marlon and Graham have just had a huge fight, leading Charity and Vanessa to conclude that the cat is out of the bag. Charity and Vanessa finally announce to the kids that they are getting married. Before the wedding, Charity and Vanessa share a genuinely emotional, loving moment. It’s not often you see the soppy side of Charity but Emmerdale lucked out with this pairing and long may they continue!

Meanwhile, Graham is impatient with Ryan over getting hold of the rest of Kim’s cash. Graham then has his car accident with Jai, as seen in the previous episode. He meets up with Ryan in the woods by the outdoor pursuit centre, demanding that he makes the final transfer. Ryan refuses so Graham takes the money anyway and denies Ryan his cut. He then locks him up in a shed so that he doesn’t tell Kim about the theft. Of all the terrible things Graham has done, there is just something truly wicked about harming Ryan, one of the nicest characters to ever exist in soap. Unbearable.

Things get tense between Graham and Charity…

Realising that Ryan is not there, Charity phones him. Dawn finds the phone discarded on the ground and the pair of them are able to track him down and rescue him. Charity is broken hearted to then have to cancel the wedding in order to look after her shattered son. Ryan explains the story from the beginning and she gives him all her love and support. She then violently confronts Graham for what he did to Ryan and Debbie and what she thinks he did to Noah. Graham is absolutely vile to her. Charity tells Ryan they are going out and will prove to Graham that he cannot mess with them.

Cut to Graham being thrown to the ground, dead. Charity meets Ryan on the bridge:

“No regrets, Ryan. That’s what we said.”
“Yeah. No regrets.”

Andrea tries to reassure Millie as she struggles to work out what why her family is falling apart. She is then spooked by a man watching them. She tackles him and discovers that she is being watched by a private investigator, hired by Jamie, who she then gets into an argument with. He is unrepentant, claiming he is worried that she might up and leave with their daughter. Graham then brings Andrea some documents that give her every piece of information she could possibly need on Kim. It’s enough to put her behind bars and also has innocent Jamie’s signature on everything and it will give her the upper hand in the fight.

Belle encourages Jamie to play nicely so he visits Andrea to try and smooth things over. When Graham sees Jamie and Andrea spending time together, he cannot help revealing the truth about the files, prompting a fight between the two men. Despite Andrea shredding the documents, their peace is broken. Andrea then witnesses the cruelty Graham dished out to Charity in the previous episode and lays into Graham for destroying all their lives.

Andrea drinks alone while Jamie rants to Belle about Graham. Jamie gets into his car, driving past Priya on the phone to Rishi about Jai. Having been drinking, Andrea also gets into the car. Already clearly in a bit of a state in the woods, a car runs Graham over. Andrea cries in the woods, covered in blood.

In the following episode, Marlon and Victoria are busy setting up when Rhona arrives, and foists Leo on his Dad, secretly wanting them to have one last day together before she sweeps him off to France. Things go wrong when they realise that Marlon forgot to switch the fridge on and all the burgers are ruined. In the chaos, Marlon loses April and Leo and desperately races around trying to find them, sending out a search party. When Graham turns up with the kids, Marlon becomes violent but it turns out that April told him her Dad knew where they were.

Vanessa tells Rhona that she and Charity are getting married. She beds Rhona to be beside her on her wedding day. Rhona is regretful but refuses to stay. Vanessa is horrified to discover that Rhona hasn’t told Marlon that she is leaving with Leo. Marlon has a heart to heart with Rhona but gets overwhelmed her and tries to kiss her. Alarmed, Rhona tells him about the move to France, escalating into a huge row. Marlon charges out of the house, determined to stop Graham taking his son away. Sometime later, Graham returns with a cut lip from his fight with Jamie to find Rhona distraught after her row with Marlon. However, she is still determined to forge ahead with their plan. Before they set off, he receives a text from Marlon and arranges to meet him at the outdoor pursuit centre (where he’ll later be murdered) and stupidly asks Rhona, ‘what’s the worst what can happen?’ and then tells her that he’ll see her on the other side. I mean, has he never seen a horror film before? Doesn’t he know the rules?

While Leo takes pictures of Rhona on her phone at home, Marlon seeks out Graham in the woods at the centre, amid lots of creepy music but misses Graham’s final moments when… drum roll please… Rhona’s ex-husband, Pierce Harris, who has just been released from prison for rape, delivers what is presumably the fatal blow! Oh Emmerdale, you do try to fool us! But despite not being on the list, he was still one of my suspects.

So, let’s all look forward to tonight’s complete explanation of Graham’s final, chaotic day…!

Emmerdale is on at 7pm Monday to Friday with a second episode at 8pm on Thursdays

Coronation Street: Trapped

(Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th January 2020)

Liz is surprised to arrive home and discover that Amy has moved out and so has Steve, thanks to Tracy’s one night stand with Paula. Steve is surprised to learn that Amy already knows and feels guilty that his daughter has been put in such an awful position. Steve decides that the way to save his marriage is to propose to Tracy in the middle of the pub. Obviously. She turns him down. Instead, she suggests couples counselling. It’s explosive to say the least.

Geoff sets up a ridiculous cleaning rota, claiming that he has dust allergies. He then leaves Yasmeen to complete all her chores alone. Yasmeen works hard on the house but then gets distracted by Cathy. At first, Yasmeen is very anxious to get back to her jobs but eventually, one bottle of wine becomes two and the women are having a lovely time. Then Geoff comes home. As soon as they are alone, Geoff lays into Yasmeen, furious with his wife for slacking off and revealing that he knows she didn’t complete everything as he set a trap for her, making a deliberate mark on the skirting board that she would have known was there if she had cleaned it.

Yasmeen is a victim of coercive control…

Later, Yasmeen tries and fails to stop Cathy popping in to retrieve her handbag. Not realising that she is in the house, Geoff lays into Yasmeen again and Cathy is horrified by what she overhears. He gets even worse when she leaves. Cathy is suitably worried. Geoff meanwhile, lies to Yasmeen that his health condition has worsened and that’s why he needs the house so clean. This of course makes her snap to it and believe he is being reasonable. Subsequently, she stays up all night adhering to the complicated rota, utterly exhausting herself.

When Cathy approaches Yasmeen about her concerns, Yasmeen is clearly conflicted but plays the situation down. Geoff accuses Cathy of being a lesbian and fancying Yasmeen! He states that they should keep their business to themselves. However, things escalate when, on Cathy’s behalf, Brian approaches Geoff with concerns about his behaviour and that it might be seen as controlling. Geoff hits a new low by informing Brian that Yasmeen is an alcoholic and his behaviour is out of concern and trying to manage the situation. The obsessive cleaning is to cover her tracks. He implies that she has been physically abusive and begs him to keep it to himself. He then returns home and attempts to persuade Yasmeen herself that she’s an alcoholic, which she finds hard to accept. Because she isn’t!!! The next thing they know, Peter is knocking on the door, offering to take her to an AA meeting with him.

Alone again, Yasmeen is distraught to have been made out to be an alcoholic but once again, Geoff manipulates her into believing she is the one at fault. He tells her that his ex, Tim’s mother was an abusive alcoholic and every time she drinks, he is taken back to that time. He tells her that he believes the abuse will inevitably follow if the drinking continues. When she throws all the alcohol out and vows to stop, he still isn’t happy, claiming that just because she has to stop drinking, doesn’t mean he intends to stop, although later, he offers to cut down around her! Oh, this storyline makes me so angry! It’s such an important storyline but it is so, so difficult to watch.

When Brian and Cathy approach Alya with their concerns, she doesn’t believe it for a second. At least she knows that there is something wrong between Geoff and Yasmeen. Unfortunately, by that point, it’s too late and Yasmeen has already been brainwashed. She tells her granddaughter that she does have a problem with alcohol and that’s the end of it. I just hope that Alya doesn’t allow herself to be pushed away. Geoff takes things one step further by taking Yasmeen’s bank cards away. Yasmeen just lets him. The next day, Geoff keeps Yasmeen at home, away from work, cleaning the house and with only a little bit of pocket money. She cancels going to her book club with Cathy, who remains deeply concerned about her friend and not convinced she is an addict. She is still suspicious of Geoff, who comes home irritated that Yasmeen has cooked the ‘wrong’ dinner.

With Fiz having been honest with the police about the gun, she is formally charged. Social Services conclude that Tyrone and Evelyn are not a threat but are still investigating Fiz. Subsequently, the kids are allowed to return home so long as Fiz moves out. Tyrone tries to get the truth out of Hope but it seems like she has been completely brainwashed by her psycho older sister. News begins to spread about Fiz bringing the gun to the Street but Evelyn is quick to shut any gossip down. With Imran representing her in court, Fiz is given a suspended sentence of four months and a fine. Fiz apologises to David, who hadn’t yet found out about the gun. Jenny gives her a hard time in the pub and she continues to be the town pariah. Jade is horrified to learn that Hope is back living with Tyrone. She books a one way ticket out of Wetherfield for herself and Hope.

David remains by Shona’s side, playing her sounds from home. When she opens her eyes though, she doesn’t seem to remember David or her life with him. She struggles with any recall at all. The hospital recommends a neurological rehabilitation centre in Leeds. At first, David can’t accept it and brings the kids to try and trigger his wife’s memories but she mistakes Max for her older son, Clayton, the one who murdered David’s late wife, Kylie. David reluctantly accepts that Shona really does need specialist care.

Frustrated with the police’s progress with Kel, Bernie takes it upon herself to catch him out. She poses as a fourteen year old boy and arranges to meet him in the park, live streaming it online. Paul and Gemma catch on and go with her along with worried Billy. They do catch Kel, who is armed with booze and condoms but the police are not impressed with Bernie’s efforts, explaining that the CPS could see it as entrapment and it could be detrimental rather than good for the case.

On the day of Richard’s funeral, Roy discovers that Nina’s door has been egged. He determines to clean it up for her and finally begins to make progress in bonding, although she turns down his offer to let her move in with him, feeling closer to her Dad in the flat. Roy acts as a model for Nina’s dressmaking project and he opens up to her about his life with Hayley. When a brick is thrown through the window, Nina admits that she is engaged in an ongoing dispute with someone.

Coronation Street airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30/8:30pm

Eastenders: Honey Gin

Monday 13th – Friday 17th 2020

Overwhelmed with the guilt of leading Keanu to his death, Louise contemplates smothering baby Peggy. Lisa catches her just in time and is amazingly supportive as her daughter breaks down and tells her everything about Keanu’s murder. However, Lisa cannot believe what she is hearing and thinks Louise is having a breakdown. She books her an appointment with a therapist and even mentions the murder plot offhand to Ian and Sharon. Well, that’s going to come back to bite them! She turns to Phil and Ben about Louise, prompting Phil to finally speak to his daughter and offer some sort of support. I’m not even sure they’ve had a scene together since Christmas… it’s all been on Ben! He admits to horrified Lisa that what Louise has told her is true.

Callum returns and after a quickie in the car lot office, Ben dismisses him again. When Callum begs him to give their relationship another chance, Ben puts all his cards on the table. He tells him that a man is dead because of him, that’s how serious his life is. Callum leaves. Ben breaks down in tears. Callum attempts to date someone new but he is still stuck on Ben.

When the police come calling, asking about Keanu’s whereabouts, Karen has no choice but to lie to them for the sake of her son. Phil and Ben go into panic mode as they try to work out who may have rolled over on them, suspecting Sharon. Correctly. Despite his anger with his mother, Denny warns her that she is in the firing line.

Linda returns from visiting her mother, oblivious to the suffering of her husband who along with continuous panic attacks, has found an anomaly on their credit card statement. On New Year’s Eve, Linda booked a hotel room. Linda has no recollection of this at all and is horrified by the idea that she may have cheated on Mick and terrified that the man the hotel confirms was with her, may have done something to her against her will. Of course, viewers know that Linda did go to a hotel room with a man, completely out of her head but when he tried something and didn’t take no for an answer, she shoved him away and bolted.

Mick accompanies Linda to a sexual health clinic but it’s all too much for Linda who returns to her secret drinking while claiming to be completing dry January. Shirley, backed up by Tina, makes it clear that she does not trust Linda and is looking out for her son. Mick’s anxiety grows when the Queen Vic is named the Best Pub in London and they are awarded a day out on a boat for themselves and all their locals with a free bar. Well, that’s clearly going to be a big episode!

Leo is frustrated when Kat takes over Whitney’s stall but he quickly makes some calls to lose her cleaning business as many customers as possible. Habiba gets confused when Jean asks her to arrange a surprise 50^th birthday party for Kat, thinking it’s for Big Mo! It’s really quite amusing. Stupid Dotty decides to make a move on Leo, not realising that he is blatantly trying to morph her into Whitney! Well, not until they’re making out in the alley and he actually calls her ‘Whit’. Then she walks out on him.

Billy is determined to support Honey, no matter what, although she is reluctant to let him in. Honey frets that she may be pregnant with Adam’s baby. Catching on, Ash buys her a pregnancy test but thankfully, it’s negative. Ash explains to her that her eating disorder is very serious and is affecting her cycle and will be affecting other parts of body. She begs her to accept help. Please!!! While she attempts to push her loved ones, including kind Ash away, Honey eventually breaks down and talks honestly to adoring Billy about how much Adam destroyed her and how engulfed she is by her eating disorder. She decides that she has to go away and get some actual help and tearfully says goodbye to Billy and the kids.

Acting as the least casual spy in the world, Sonia approaches Martin’s hit and run victim while she is at work to find out what he knows about the accident. He doesn’t know much except that one of the people who hit him was called Martin. For some reason, Sonia lies to Martin about this, reassuring him that everything will be fine. I really don’t know what Eastenders are doing to Sonia at the moment. I mean, she’s always a bit annoying but it’s like they’ve removed her spine or something. She’s this whimpering, simpering mess who’s suddenly obsessed with her ex-husband. She’s more in love with him than she ever was when they were married. It’s very weird.

Anyway, she returns to visit the patient who was clearly suspicious of Sonia. Who wouldn’t have been? He has worked out that she is the partner of the man who ran him over and wants £10,000 for his silence. Okay, so she needs money now. I get it. So why was she trying to rob Dot before?! Did they run that story too early by accident or something? Anyway, she clears her savings of two grand and robs the rest from poor, trusting Dot.

Kush catches onto Sonia and Martin being back together. However, Sonia is left heartbroken (surprise, surprise) when Martin receives divorce papers and realises that he still loves Stacey. Wow. Nobody saw that coming! He also admits that he lied to Stacey about cheating on her with Sonia and clumsily tells her it was the worst thing he could think of to could say! No, Martin, that was the worst thing you could say! Meanwhile, Dot is beside herself as she discovers that has been robbed – someone has written themselves a cheque without her permission. Um… Sonia? Do you have something to confess?

To cheer things up, the cutest couple on the Square, Jean and Daniel, decide to take their relationship to the next level. And Mitch makes some gin and punts it around the Square, including in the pub where Mick and the rest of the punters try it and fall in love with it. Mitch is then horrified to discover that, thinking it was cold water, Karen bathed in it! Mmm… yum!

Eastenders is on BBC1 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (7:30pm/8:00pm)