Doctors: Acts of Kindness

(Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th 2020)

We appear to be landed with one of those stupid Valerie storylines. Don’t get me wrong, I love quirky Valerie. She is absolutely one of my favourite characters. But sometimes I feel like they go a bit too daft with her. Case in point, she is currently obsessed with this DNA testing where she has poor Sid going through every single test result, she is deeply concerned about conditions she might carry genes for and is convinced she is now Jewish. She also fails to recognise that it’s a load of rubbish as the results show that she has the body of an athlete and is unlikely to get cancer. And of course one of the strongest Valerie storylines ever and indeed Doctors storylines ever was Valerie’s cancer.

Rob assists with giving guidance on the perils of crime to an Intervention group but recognises some of the boys as being behind some bike thefts. However, the group leader persuades him not to follow it up, as the boys have had extremely difficult lives and are not desperate to turn their lives around. Speaking of crime, Zara and Emma receive the news that Gareth is pleading not guilty and his case is going to trial.

During evening surgery, Karen and Bear are at loggerheads as Bear fails to respect the depth of the work Karen is required to do as a receptionist. When a frightened fifteen year old Muslim girl comes into the surgery, desperate for help, not only from Emma as a Doctor but also from Karen as a Mum and just as a kind woman who will listen and help her work through things, Bear demands to know what she is doing and why she is away from the desk. He also gets mistaken for a junior receptionist while he is holding the forte! At the end of the night, the young woman manages to sort things out with her family and commends Karen to Bear. Karen, who is beside herself about Jimmi finally gets a visiting order to go and see him.

Karen and Bear clash during evening surgery…

Behind bars and against Emma’s advice, Jimmi finds himself providing more and more medical support for his fellow inmates. He provides one man with a new mental health diagnosis that could potentially change his life and begs a prison officer to get urgent care for another inmate whose life could be in danger. Instead, the officer assaults him… not quite what Jimmi had in mind.

Emma has her own battle on her hands when a man rushes into the Campus Surgery in desperate need of mental health support. Instead, he receives suspicion and fear based on race from other patients.

Doctors is on BBC1, weekdays at 1:45pm

Emmerdale: Who Kills Graham?

(This blog includes spoilers for the following week).

The Suspects:

Charity Dingle: She has been gunning for Graham for a while, blaming him for not helping sooner with Noah when he took illegal drugs and on the day of the murder, Graham is set to hold Ryan hostage and scupper Charity’s plans to marry Vanessa. And let’s face it, Charity is not one to hold back on a vendetta. But Vanessa would absolutely not forgive her so fingers crossed that Charity controls herself.

Kim Tate and Al Chapman: Not only has Graham been robbing her bank account, he has been manipulating her lingering feelings for her. She might well be ready to take revenge on him either personally or by getting that moron, Al to do it for her. She is a high profile suspect and has form (RIP Frank Tate) but then, is it just too obvious?

Jai Sharma: He’s fallen off the wagon and Graham is set to reveal all to Laurel and the rest of Jai’s family, sending his life into a further spiral. It’s possible. Once upon a time, Jai was a pretty ruthless guy and not someone who would have been controlled by the likes of Kim, Al and Graham like he is these days. So it’s possible that he could snap. Let’s not underestimate him.

Marlon Dingle: No way. He’s pretty angry that Graham is whisking Rhona and Leo off to France and even attempts to kiss Rhona this week in a moment of utter confusion. But I think it would be ridiculous to think he would be capable of killing anyone, let alone Graham.

Jamie and Andrea Tate: They both blame Graham for tearing their family apart. At the beginning of their relationship, Andrea and Graham slept together and it’s only recently that Andrea knows for sure that Jamie is definitely the father of their daughter. But all of this is a massive revelation to poor Jamie who is devastated. Their marriage is over, as far as he is concerned. He is angry with his wife and with Graham and she blames Graham entirely. And they are both angry with Kim. Who knows where this could lead? (Although I think Jamie is a little too gentle to kill anyone. I’m surprised he can carry out euthanasia at the vets!)

Or could it be a wildcard? Soaps love a wildcard, including Emmerdale. I’ll never forget my closeted teenage self being utterly delighted when I rightfully guessed that Charity was actually having a secret affair with Zoe Tate – who was not on the list of suspects! I just had a feeling… So could it be Rhona Goskirk who does Graham in? Perhaps she finds out the dark depths of her partner and loses it during a showdown? Could the suddenly frequently mentioned Joe Tate return for one final confrontation with the man who wrecked his life? Could it be Cain Dingle? They’re not exactly friends after what happened with Joe. Or could Rhona’s ex-husband Pierce Harris who was recently released from prison be planning to keep Rhona in the country? Or, as the rumour mill suspects, has Graham already dealt with him?

I’ve been complaining about the lack of enthusiasm in Emmerdale for a few weeks now but it genuinely looks like it’ll be an exciting week this week. Every episode focuses on a new suspect and how they affect Graham’s day before Friday reveals the culprit… Maybe this is the ‘plane crash’ the show needs to revive it! I for one, am very much looking forward to this week!

Emmerdale: Under Pressure

(Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th 2020)

In the middle of the Woolpack, Cara attempts to drag Nate away from the Dingles and bring him back home with her, citing all the horrific things she has been told by Moira. Cara is upset to realise that several things, particularly Belle’s crime, have been completely taken out of context just to hurt the Dingles and get Nate out of the Village. She gives Moira a dressing down in front of everyone and Cain tells Moira to leave. Moira confesses all to Matty and decides she needs to change her ways. She says goodbye to her kids and goes to stay with family for a while to get her head straight in order to move on and start again.

Aaron is struggling to move on with his life…

Having been told that now Robert is off the scene, his access to Seb has been cut off, Aaron is in an even darker place. He ditches Liv to go to a party with some random blokes. In the morning, the guy he hooked up with tries to steal from him. Having seen the boys fight, Victoria struggles with flashbacks from the rape and opens up to Liv about Lee, overheard by Wendy. I think she is starting to suspect that Victoria is telling the truth. Come on… she must be! I genuinely think that when she admits it, she and Victoria could have a connection and be part of each other’s lives. Or am I just being idealistic? Aaron decides to agree to a divorce and finally let Robert go.

Ryan catches Graham out in his thievery but ends up being forced to help him instead. Graham is acting shadier and shadier, presumably in the lead up to this big murder storyline that Emmerdale is hoping will save their show. That night, Graham cleans up his bloodied hand, which he tries and fails to hide from concerned Rhona in the morning. Marlon overhears them arguing and becomes even more concerned about Graham being involved in his son’s life.

Meanwhile, Jai is under more and more pressure to impress and meet impossible deadlines. A business meeting goes badly and Al scapegoats him yet again. Jai turns down Laurel’s offer of helping him pull an all-nighter at work. Instead he orders a pizza with a side of cocaine to help him work through the night. Oh dear. As if he doesn’t have enough problems! But the next morning, having not touched the coke, Jai has a fresh new perspective on life. Things unravel rather quickly though when Brenda pulls out of the catering and Al interrupts the presentation, having learnt that Ellis is about to demonstrate the zip wire. Having previously posed a Jai, Al signed off the installation, knowing it wasn’t complete or safe to use. He blames Jai, claiming that he signed the paperwork (and with his signature on it, he can prove it), losing Jai all credibility. Jai opts to get drunks, fights with Graham and lands himself back on drugs. He hides it from Laurel despite her giving his every opportunity to tell her the truth. Kim begins to suspect that Al isn’t as credible or as cashed up as he claims when she learns how underhand he has been with Jai.

Graham then has to do everything he can to keep Kim away from the business account as he prepares to run off with her money. Vanessa and Charity have to referee a huge row between Rhona and Marlon when Rhona accuses her ex of stealing Leo’s passport, desperately paranoid that her secret plans to move away will be scuppered. Well, they will. If she’d only pick up a TV magazine, she’d know that! Undeterred, Rhona attempts to get a new passport as quickly as possible. Vanessa is desperately hurt to discover her best friend’s plans.

Ellis adopts a rabbit for Belle with Jamie’s help. It’s a lovely gesture apart from the fact that Belle clearly fancies Jamie and she has a really weird reaction. She has a go at Jamie for interfering in her love life and it seems to come from nowhere apart from a small flirtation at Christmas. So either Emmerdale missed a scene. Or we’re supposed to be confused and not know that they got up to something they shouldn’t… But I just feel that that would be hypocritical considering his reaction to Andrea’s affair. But he’s currently single and Ellis is kind of annoying so if Belle ditched him then…

As for Jamie, he wants to move himself and Millie out of Home Farm but Millie doesn’t want to go. Kim steps in and demands that Andrea be the one to leave. She takes it one step further and offers her money to get out of their lives for good. Jamie is furious when she takes the money but Andrea announces that she using it for legal fees to ensure that she gets to keep her daughter. Jamie is livid with his mother for falling into such an easy trap, throwing money at the problem like she usually does.

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

Hollyoaks: A Unique Fight for Custody

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

Sienna and Warren finally come face to face…

In the salon, Warren tells Sienna that Sebastian has leukaemia and urgently needs her to get tested to see if she is a bone marrow match in order to save his life. He explains that Sebastian is in a private hospital and promises to let Brody go if Sienna will go through with the transplant. Sienna agrees to go through with it but she is horrified to realise when Warren accidentally refers to ‘Sean and Ursula’ instead of Sophie and Sebastian that she was right last year and abducted the twins – they were her babies after all.

Sienna gets tested and she happily reports that she is a match. She returns home and tells horrified Liberty and Damon everything, believing incorrectly that Warren has changed his ways. Of course he hasn’t. Actually, they are at the local hospital and Joel is on board with his Dad who begs his forgiveness and has promised him that he has changed too. But really, his plans are to take Sienna’s bone marrow and leave her bereft of her children yet again.

Unfortunately, Sienna hits a snag. Her chemotherapy means that she is excluded from donating bone marrow. Catching on to his lies, she pretends to go through with the transplant and sends Maxine ahead to find details of Brody’s location. Damon and Liberty head off to find Brody while Maxine helps her abduct the kids. Sienna is just about to escape the hospital when she is stopped by Joel. Well, at least it wasn’t Warren! She hurriedly explains things to Joel, who is devastated to realise his Dad hasn’t changed at all. He helps her escape with the kids but it’s too late for her to meet up with recently rescued Brody and has to go it alone with her children if she wants to escape Warren for good. Desperately worried about Sienna, Brody and Joel have no choice but team up with Warren in order to try and track her down.

At home, Tony is an absolute mess. He cannot talk about the trauma of being held captive. Diane is impressed when she listens to Edward being kind to Tony, promising him their never ending support. However, once she is gone, Edward is really harsh with him, warning him that he needs to be a real man or Diane will find someone else. He takes things further by locking Tony in the bathroom. He rescues him just before Diane gets home so she finds him a complete and utter mess. Come on! The poor guy has been through enough! Edward spends the night with Marnie (who has no idea that he was previously seeing Diane or that she’s about the date yet another bad man).

Tony struggles to cope after his ordeal…

This boring wedding storyline rumbles on. Seriously, the only time that faffing around preparing for a wedding is interesting is when it’s your own. Watching Courtney and Jesse fuss over the intimate details of their big date is not good TV. However, the big day does finally arrive. As much as I like them as a couple, I am looking forward to it finally being over!

The only highlight is that wedding planner Azim and Scott are now seeing each other. Not if you’re Mitchell, obvs. And that one of the random extras appears to Mark Own from the 90s… Literally, what he looked like in the nineties. Blink and you’ll miss him.

James returns to the Village and is eager to pick up where he left off with Liam who invites him to be his plus one at Courtney and Jesse’s wedding. James is devastated to discover that Breda was the serial killer and Mercedes didn’t kill Harry; James therefore shot her for no reason. He has an emotional encounter with Juliet who has just been extremely rude to Sid in a panic over not wanting to sleep with him again. They genuinely bond and she sort of hints that she is struggling with her sexuality. Perhaps James will help her in the future? She consoles him about Harry. Then Donna Marie returns! Oh yay. She wasn’t annoying at all. With Breda having been discovered to be the serial killer and responsible for Mac’s death, there are no charges to answer. This leaves James squirming as he is the reason she was jailed in the first place…

Grace and James feel guilty for shooting Mercedes but while James wants to confess, Grace is determined to keep them both quiet and make the best of the situation. Of course, right before the wedding ceremony, Jesse overhears them talking about the shooting (because nobody in soap talks about serious crime in code or in private) and confronts his sister. I mean, you’d think in his family, he wouldn’t be so stunned! The couple get married, surrounded by their family, friends and bridesmaids in their ugly dresses and it’s all very lovely. Sally cries. Maxine is starting to be forgiven and welcome back into society and Jesse has asked her to work the bar for some desperately needed cash. When he finally confronts Grace properly, Jesse agrees to keep the police out of it but determines that Sylver needs to know the truth.

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

These reviews are based on the E4 episodes

Neighbours: Three’s a Crowd

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

Nell has run off to see her mother’s mural, beautifully painted by Ned as a memorial to Sonya. And it really is a beautiful piece of art. I really hope as this kid grows up, they keep the actress on. She is such a little cutie and you can see her budding talent. Torn up with guilt for being distracted over his grief over losing Amy and not keeping an eye on the kids and aware that Terese has lost faith in him, Kyle offers to step down from the Buddy Club. Toadie will not hear of it and pushes him forward regardless. Terese interferes with Kyle’s first lesson, not completely trusting him but actually he really impresses her and bonds with a boy called Seth. Will this be Kyle’s redemption at long last?

Dipi grows increasingly uncomfortable with the blossoming friendship between Shane and Roxy. She confides in Sheila over her marriage woes, feeling that she and Shane are no longer close and Roxy is relying more and more heavily on her husband. Spurred on by Sheila, Dipi arranges to seduce Shane while he is closing up at work but things go wrong when she ends up flashing Gary instead! Shane has rushed out to rescue sad, drunk Roxy and doesn’t end up getting home until two in the morning. The couple argue but Shane cannot understand why his closeness with Roxy is such an issue. The next day, when Dipi sets up camp in the bar to do her books, things become more than a little awkward between Shane, Dipi and Roxy, especially when Sheila puts her foot in it about Dipi flashing Gary the night before! Whoops!

Three’s a crowd in Dipi and Shane’s marriage…

Shane angrily objects when Dipi demands that he swaps his shifts so that he doesn’t work alongside Roxy anymore. Then when Sheila changes their shifts anyway, Shane thinks Dipi is responsible. Dipi turns to Gary for support and he explains that going in hard is only going to make Shane push back. Sheila then gives Shane a talking to about his marriage, making Shane lose his temper with his wife again, made worse by Roxy calling him in the middle of it! She has now found out about the shift change and she is not a happy bunny. But when she tries to change them back, Sheila lays down the law. Back at home, Shane and Dipi do eventually make up. She understands that her husband is just being protective of a vulnerable young woman and he promises to start putting his wife first. As they wave Toadie and the kids off to go and see his cousin, Roxy is upset to have her call rejected by Shane. Roxy and Harlow make friends again.

Bea, Finn and the Kennedys are all missing Elly now that she has moved in with Aaron, David and Kyle. She is also struggling to adjust to her new surroundings and feels guilty that the baby is up crying at all hours and disturbing her new housemates. They invite Bea and Finn round to the house to help settle her in. But of course, it’s extremely awkward, especially when Elly and Finn go off to tend to the baby together and it’s all charged and weird while poor, oblivious Bea sits in the garden completely unaware that her sister is about to run off with her boyfriend. In the middle of the night, Susan catches Finn about to sneak out to be with Elly and Aster. Bad move, Finn. Bad move. Susan goes round instead and it’s clear that both of them are in her bad books. Elly promises that she would never act on her feelings for Finn. Like she didn’t with Chloe. Oh, wait… But there is a very cute moment when the boys look after Aster and do a little photo shoot for her at home.

Meanwhile, Finn and Bea go on a date where, keen to prove his love, he proposes. Thankfully, she turns him down. Cue: Elly the Green Eyed Monster, stage left.

Hendrix and Chloe bond when he helps her with a report at work that she thinks she has lost. Unfortunately, his lust wins out when he steals a naughty photo of her that she took for Pierce’s benefit. Feeling guilty, he confesses to Karl who advises him to put it back and tell his father. Chloe catches him returning it and she lays into him for what he has done. The next day, Hendrix is in big trouble with his Dad. All he can do is apologise and beg for help to make things right with Chloe. Taking pity on time, Pierce appeals to Chloe who is livid that he has gone soft on his son. She then appeals to Hendrix’s mother for support, infuriating Pierce as Lisa declares she is on her way to Erinsborough.

Also, to commend Neighbours, this week, they quickly filmed an extra scene regarding the horrific bush fires that are going on in Australia at the moment. Sheila, David and Aaron are seen discussing a fundraiser at the Waterhole to raise money for the bush fire relief. They also discuss their families and others affected by the terrible fires and smoke. As soon as the cast came back to filming, they threw in this extra scene, feeling that it was really important to talk about it. They had a lot of praise for doing so. There was also a link at the end of the episode for donations: https://www.channel5.com/wednesday-15th-january/

Channel 5, 1:45pm and 5:50pm

Home and Away: #Willex

Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th January 2020

Things remain tense between Robbo and Jasmine as they look after baby Grace. Robbo continues to shut Jasmine out of Grace’s care, suggesting that she return to work as she’s not needed at home. He is oblivious to how much he is hurting her, believing that she shouldn’t have to look after Grace as being a full time Mum isn’t what she signed up for.

Ava is desperate to meet her baby cousin Justin ends up arguing with Robbo over the baby. Taking matters into his own hands, Mason takes Ava to see Grace himself. Robbo and Jasmine are pleased to introduce Ava to her cousin. Unfortunately, the day is ruined when Justin charges in, threatening legal action if Robbo doesn’t let him have access to his niece. While Leah and Jasmine attempt to calm the boys down, it’s Mason that eventually puts Justin in his place, reminding him that he needs to stop wasting time fighting Robbo over Grace and be there for Ava instead.

Justin and Robbo both want the best for baby Grace…

Robbo does the rounds introducing Grace to everyone but with his hope beginning to fade for Tori, Justin backs away from his niece. When Marilyn mentions that Justin snapped at Ziggy and sent her home from the garage, Leah is concerned enough to go and find him.

Alex expresses concern about Bella after the incident the other day. When Willow speaks to Bella, the teenager assures her that she is fine now that Colby and Mac are over for good. However, Willow remains concerned, as Colby admits that he and Mac are just on pause until Bella feels more settled. Bella’s hopes are shattered when she witnesses Colby and Mac meeting up in secret, putting their relationship in jeopardy all over again.

Willow and Alex have resumed their flirtatious relationship. Later, Mason teases Willow about her ‘date’ with Alex that evening and it does very much seem that way as Willow is all dressed up, waiting nervously and downing shots as she waits for Alex to arrive. In a moment of panic, Willow invites Jasmine (who also remarks that Willow looks like she’s waiting for a date) to join them. Jasmine declines and Willow and Alex enjoy a night of flirty banter, exchanging life stories and a lot of tequila. Willow couldn’t make her attraction to Alex more obvious. Okay, she could. She does. At the end of the night, she kisses Alex, who reluctantly turns her down, not wanting to take advantage of her when she’s been drinking, or wanting to be a morning regret. Willow is mortified, not least when she realises that Irene has seen everything.

After being turned down by Alex, in front of Irene, Willow crashes in Dean’s caravan, although she doesn’t feel able to tell him what happened. The next day, Irene, desperately tries to find Willow to talk to her about what she saw. Willow bumps into Alex and panics, lying to her that she doesn’t remember what happened the previous night. Irene gives Willow the chance to talk through her feelings for Alex. Willow then texts Alex to confess that she does remember. They meet up and talk honestly, deciding to take things slowly and not label their relationship while they explore their feelings for each other.

Ben gets the happy news that all charges against him have been dropped. He decides he wants to open the board shop and asks Dean to help him. Unfortunately, this leaves Dean in a very difficult position. He is already struggling to manage the Surf School alongside his shifts at Salt. The Surf School doesn’t bring in any money yet but Salt pays the bills. Adding in the Board Shop only applies more pressure but he doesn’t want to let Ben down. To solve the problem, Mac fires Dean! She then gives him a hefty loan for the Surf School which he can pay back over time. She wants him to live his dream and be able to help Ben. What a brilliant sister! Maggie looks after Ben when he has a wobble over his ability to run the business. Going forward, he decides to go back on the antidepressants in order to make everything be as successful as possible for himself and his family.

John completely misses the point when Marilyn worries about how Raffy is doing and is desperately lonely without any kids to look after at home. Thankfully, sensitive Ryder realises and offers her the hand of friendship. He raises the alarm with John who eventually supports his wife and understands how she is feeling.

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

(These reviews are based on the Channel 5 episodes)