Eastenders Flash Forward: The Twist!

Eastenders has been on particularly good form for a while now. Linda has been breaking my heart in every scene; Suki and Eve set the screen on fire with a mere look across the counter at the Minute Mart; Zack’s diagnosis is moving and frustrating in equal measure; I am so confused by the fact that I actually like Sam Mitchell now; I wish Denise would just ditch both Jack and Ravi because they’re both a waste of space; the sensitive handling of Lily’s pregnancy has been fantastic and every episode leaves me crying out, “Why can’t Whitney just be happy?! Why?!”

The writing is so engaging and one of the best things about the show at the moment, I think, is that it has some of the strongest female characters it has had in a long time: Linda, Denise, Suki, Stacey, Kathy, Sharon, Kat, Jean, Eve, Whitney, Chelsea, Shirley, Kim, Karen… the list goes on. Women who have lived. Women who have loved. Women who have suffered. Women who have survived. Women who are strong.

And this shone at its brightest in last night’s special episode, written by Daran Little, where Linda, Kathy, Denise, Sharon, Stacey and Suki all had a lock-in at the pub. All with their own problems. Linda was distraught over seeing a photo of Shirley with rapist, Dean on social media. Kathy stepped up to support her, a rape survivor herself. Denise was still flip-flopping between neglectful, dinosaur husband, Jack and wannabe lover, Ravi while Sharon had just had sex with Keanu and then found out he’d had a fling with Sam (his third Mitchell woman) while living in Spain.

And my favourite moment of the episode was the heart to heart between Stacey and Suki, who opened up to her about her marriage and about Eve. The dialogue was absolutely amazing throughout the whole episode but especially here. I loved the way the episode was filmed – it almost felt live. I felt like I was right there, on a night out at The Vic. The writing was brilliant and all the actors brought their lines to life.

And then came the twist! Once the women toasted the awful men who have used and abused them, we flashed forward to Christmas 2023 and a wedding. However, it wasn’t Kat and Phil’s wedding, as discussed earlier in the episode (they changed the date to ensure that Lily would be in Walford, not with Ryan, as requested/demanded). It was Sharon in a wedding dress (either that or she really didn’t get the memo over what not to wear to a wedding!) and Kat wasn’t even there…!

Stacey had blood on her hands and looked shell shocked (remembering Archie’s death, perhaps?)

And Denise had a broken bottle in her hands – so, did she do the deed?

The man in question was wearing cufflinks so he must have been attending the wedding… so someone Sharon cared enough about to invite? The groom? Keanu? Phil?!?! No way, would they kill Phil off. But why would anyone kill Keanu?

Who else is Sharon close to… Ian? Is he coming back?! Zack? Martin?

Or is it not about Sharon at all? Just a guest…? I mean, the obvious would be Nish. He’s been controlling Suki. If these women have bonded this night, if he attacked Suki, did they step in and protect her? But wouldn’t Eve have been involved in this story somehow? Or has he found out about them and killed her?! NO! That is NOT ACCEPTABLE!

Or Ravi? Does he go too far with Denise? Or Jack?! His anger has been spiralling rather out of control… Any of these women’s husbands/partners would have been invited to Sharon’s wedding – Rocky, Jack (or Ravi?), Nish… I mean, there are a few characters I could happily nominate to get killed off if you’re taking a vote…!

Could it be someone who just infiltrated the wedding? Kathy promised Linda that they would protect her from Dean no matter what. The lock-in started because she was so distraught over the photo. She never got justice for what he did to her. Is this the final conclusion to that story?

So, in conclusion, I have no idea what’s going on! But I am SO excited to find out over the next ten months! This is the first time, to my recollection that Eastenders have played with time in this way. Hollyoaks did it at the end of 2019, flashing forward a whole year, from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Eve and then the pandemic hit and production got shut down for months. Things got so rushed and confused and I don’t think it turned out the way they wanted it to. I for one, completely lost the whole thread of the story. By the end of it, one of the characters was being played by a completely different actor than in he was in the flash forward! It was such a monumental, never been done before thing for them to do and felt so sorry for them that it all got so mixed up. I really hope everything goes smoothly for Eastenders. I have really high hopes for this story and I am so excited! It already has me completely hooked!

All About Eve!

The rainbow bunting came out in my house recently when Eve marched onto our screens in Eastenders and what a march it was! Honestly, when Heather Peace announced on social media that she had joined the cast… well, it was actually more exciting than the day that Simone Lahbib made her announcement (but only because my wife and I both adore Heather and with Simone, I stand alone). In fact, for the entirety of Simone’s stint, I sensed an undercurrent of jealously – lots of ‘your Simone is on screen’ – that sort of thing. It was all very unbecoming.

Heather Peace as Sam in Lip Service
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But my wife and I were both smitten with Heather since the ill-fated Lip Service, the Scottish version of The L Word. Then she popped up in Waterloo Road. We have seen her twice in concert, including going to see her in Eastbourne for our first anniversary. So yes, you can imagine the excitement at the thought of her being on TV again several times a week!

As for her character, I have to say that Eve made possibly the best entrance I have seen in a very long time! To turn up, flirt with Shirley and then punch Martin and Zack is quite the entrance! I already love the dynamic between her and Stacey (who I suspect she does have feelings for) and since her departure and return, I can see a slight glimmer of her and Jean beginning to bond. It was a great twist that she is actually a solicitor, which adds to the layers of her character (as opposed to the lack of layers when she was wandering around in her pants!)

Eve and Stacey: Reunited
fashionmodelsecret.com

I was very disappointed that Sean and Jean scared her away, although those scenes were brilliant – Heather Peace, Rob Kazinsky and Gillian Wright were just dynamite together. I was thrilled to see her back, drunk and causing merry hell with Suki. Now I am very much looking forward to seeing what havoc she might cause and to what connections she will make. Heather Peace and the character of Eve are most definitely a great addition to the show!

Eastenders: The Lies We Tell

(Monday 2^nd – Friday 13^th March 2020)

Jean gives Daniel’s special bed to Suki. When Suki doesn’t know enough about her treatment, Jean takes her on as a project, wanting to ensure she is getting the best care possible. She even falls out with Shirley, who begins to question the validity of Suki’s illness as they scatter Daniel’s ashes and Suki shows no signs of being unwell. Jean finally accepts what Shirley is telling her (I really do love their friendship) and sets about proving Suki’s lies, outing her as a fake in public.

Surprisingly, Suki admits fairly easily to her children that she has indeed been lying to them and then justifies it, claiming she had to do anything necessary to get her family back together. Ash and Kheerat drag her over to Jean’s to apologise for the way she has abused her trust and her situation. It does not go well.

Masood gifts Keegan and Iqra his old ice cream van for their business but Keegan’s day goes from high to low when someone breaks into the flat and robs them. Keegan and Tiffany give chase, only for the guy to steal Tiffany’s new wedding ring. Keegan chases the guy down and they scuffle, only for the police to grab Keegan instead and the thief runs off. The thief is white, of course. Who else would the police go for?

Ian lies to Peter and allays his concerns that he harmed Dennis, explaining away what happened. Ian then threatens Dotty, making it clear that nobody would believe her, no matter what rumours she tried to spread. However, later, Dotty listens to pocket voicemail from Dennis, crying out for Ian, who has locked him up. She uses it to blackmail him into buying The Arches for her.

Despite Sonia’s protestations, Bex heads off to go travelling, without a single remark from a single person about the risks of the Coronavirus.

Lola is shocked to discover that she is pregnant. Jay looks a hell of a lot happier about it than she does and while he is keen to become a family, Lola arranges to terminate the pregnancy as soon as possible. Things get more awkward when Jay goes ahead and proposes. She then improves the situation by sleeping with Peter after a row after turning down his proposal. As if nobody saw that one coming! Well, poor Jay didn’t, I suppose. And Lola doesn’t tell him. She has the termination and they decide to carry on as they were. I can really see that working out…

Rainie is horrified when she comes face to face with an ex-client at the undertakers. Wanting to make her happy and prove his commitment to her, Stuart takes a leaf out of Jay’s book (because that went so well) and proposes to Rainie. It goes even worse than Jay’s proposal! She shouts at him in the middle of the restaurant and practically lobs the ring across the room!

Gray is under pressure at work, having taken on two difficult cases with Kush and Whitney. He is working for Kush for free and Whitney’s case is unlikely to be won. He is already in trouble for taking Leo on as an employee in the first place (so you’d think in reality that would create a conflict of interest so he wouldn’t actually be allowed to take the case). His boss warns him to persuade Kush to plead guilty or things could become much more difficult at work. He succeeds in manipulating Kush, convincing him that it will help Whitney’s case if he pleads guilty.

Mitch unwittingly causes trouble for his daughter…

However, when Whitney is refused bail, Gray is suspended from his firm. Stuck for money and with no work at the salon, Chantelle is tempted to take up some hours with Kheerat. I’m sure Gray will be thrilled at the idea of his wife working with the Panesar Brothers! She encourages Gray to continue working on Whitney’s case by himself, which will impress his bosses into lifting his suspension. Not wanting anyone to know what has happened, he goes out to a hotel to work, only to be seen. Rather than confronting him, Mitch phones Gray’s employers and learns about his suspension. He speaks to Gray without having any idea of the consequences of his actions.

Storming home, Gray immediately accuses frightened Chantelle of telling Mitch about his suspension. He then beats the living daylights out of her. Leaving the house, Karen pulls him into the pub, where everyone is waiting to celebrate him for working on Whitney’s case for nothing and despite the way his firm has treated him. He is flabbergasted. He then feels overwhelmed with guilt when he discovers that Chantelle did not tell Mitch about his suspension after all.

Meanwhile, Whitney remains on a hunger strike in prison. She has also stops taking water. One of the prison guards keeps trying with her but she doesn’t want to know; she has given up hope. By the end of the episode, she is suffering hallucinations of herself as a child and Tony’s voice. Worse than that, she can hear Atomic Kitten’s ‘Whole Again’ on repeat. Then she collapses.

Eastenders: The Curse of Queen Victoria

(Monday 10^th – Friday 14^th February 2020)

Callum’s day go drastically wrong when Keanu shows up and abducts him! Poor Callum. See, this is why Ben warned you to stay away from him… Keanu then tracks Ben down and informs him that he wants £100,000 or Callum is dead. Honestly, I don’t know how these soap characters ever expect (or manage) to get hold of these kind of sums or money. It’s just unreasonable. Set your sights a bit lower, mate.

Anyway, Ben spends most of the episode fart arsing around really. He’s certainly not in much of a hurry. He mostly looks after poorly Lexi and looks a bit tense. Oh and he has a go at Martin for not actually committing murder when surely the fact that Keanu is indeed alive would solve most of his problems. Phil could return from exile and Louise would have a father for her child, to name a few. Martin then warns Karen to tell Keanu to back off his stupid idea when she gets hold of him. Phil returns to help Ben so I’m sure this will end marvellously.

Keanu meanwhile, is keen to run off with Sharon and start a whole new life with her and the baby. She manages to talk Denny round. However, she makes a big mistake by lying to him that Phil and Ben did indeed kill Keanu. I mean, they meant to kill him. They fully intended to kill him. But they didn’t do it. And she knows that. And if they do run off together, presumably with Denny, even he’s not dumb enough not to work that out so he’ll kick off yet again when he realises she lied to him while they were making up. For once, he might actually be justified for being an absolute brat. Honestly, he didn’t get any of his lovely Dad’s genes. RIP Dennis Rickman.

Mick and Linda put on a united front for the social worker but still Linda can’t get through it without a few swing of alcohol. She gets the wrong end of the stick when she spots Mick and the social worker talking at the bottom of the stairs and doesn’t believe Mick when he tries to explain. The truth is that he was reassuring her that Linda has never been unsafe with Ollie, which is of course a lie. Unsatisfied, Linda tracks the social worker down and attempts to explain herself, revealing the whole story of Ollie going up on the roof. Mick is absolutely furious. Not only has she revealed herself to be an unfit parent, she has also shown him up to be untrustworthy.

Linda announces the end of her marriage…

Linda takes things further by drunkenly berating Mick in front of the whole pub. Everyone is uncomfortable when she tells them that the Mick they all love didn’t protect her from being raped by Dean or protect Tina from Stuart. She then lays into him about having panic attacks. He manages to get in there first when she is about to announce that they are getting divorced. The moment gets even worse when she falls face first on the floor. Mick doesn’t help her up. He is disappointed the next day to realise that Linda has already sought legal advice from Gray, before she even handed him divorce papers. He goes home and sadly signs away his marriage, unable to change his wife’s mind.

Mo tells Daniel off for being so grumpy with Jean who is doing her best to look after him since he has been told that time is running out. He then buys Mo’s entire Valentine’s stock in a bid to make things up to Jean, wanting them to enjoy the time they have left together. Suki continues to try and gleam as much information as possible from Jean about living with cancer.

Still hurt over her parents’ lies, Bex decides to get a job and move in with Ash, Iqra, Habiba and Bobby. She doesn’t manage the job part but she does move out and she’s welcomed into the open arms of her friends. Bobby tries to enjoy a social life with his friends but they awkwardly alert him to some trolling online. That night, Dotty offers drugs to him and Bex. After his previous experience, he turns her down but Bex goes for it and even wants some more the next day. Not a good idea! Kathy alerts Ian to the online trolling of his son but Bobby doesn’t want his help.

Leo continues to spy on Whitney from the loft. He watches a heart to heart between Whitney and Kush as she reveals that she kept a letter that Tony sent her shortly before he died. Whitney lets Sonia down about the trip away, not feeling it would be right to go and enjoy herself when she has let Kat and Kush down so badly. She does however, go and make things right with Kat. While the house is empty, Leo ransacks the place looking for Tony’s letter. Whitney is shaken to find that someone has been in the house. The police follow protocol but Kat insists that it’s obvious who is behind the robbery. It’s confirmed when Whitney discovers that Tony’s letter is missing.

Things come to a head the next day when Leo confronts Whitney alone in the house with a knife. Trapped, with no exit, Whitney desperately tries to get away from him but things become physical and Leo hits his head. He slips on some spilled water, landing on top of Whitney, the knife between them, the blade stabbing him. Ding dong, Leo’s dead.

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

Eastenders: I Spy With My Little Eye…

(Monday 3^rd – Friday 5^th February 2020)

Linda’s drinking continues to spiral out of control. This week, she is absolutely vile to Chantelle who panics and runs away. My only criticism really is that she leaves Ollie with Linda. She knows she is drunk and out of control. Despite her own anxiety, she should have protected the little boy. But she did the next best thing and went to find Mick, although this seems to take ages. Because in that time, Linda has passed out drunk upstairs alone with Ollie (who is just so heartbreakingly cute) while cooking his dinner. Not even the horrific sounds of the smoke alarm can wake her up, nor his panicked attempt to shake her. Frightened and distressed by the alarm, Ollie covers his ears and takes himself up on to the roof!

Linda gets the shock of her life when she finally wakes up. Shirley tells her in no uncertain terms what has happened. She throws her in the baths and hoses her down with the shower. Then she tells her about Ollie, letting her believe for just a moment that they hadn’t been able to save him. She is forced to confront her issues and agree to get help. It’s a hideous but powerful scene. Mick takes her to an AA group but she refuses to go in when they spot Stuart there. Shirley drags her to the next one but Linda comes home angrier than ever, taking everything out rather violently on Mick. After a chat with Sharon is genuinely seems like she wants to make things work but by the end of the week and in homage to Den and Angie, she serves him divorce papers.

Unfortunately, Denny is just fine after being pushed over by Bobby, who is overwrought with guilt. He sincerely apologises to Denny who behaves like a six year old… actually, that’s unfair. I have six year old nieces and nephews and they would never behave like that. Anyway, Denny’s nasty response is to pour a whole can of drink all over Bobby in the middle of the café. Sharon is horrified and clearly feels protective of Bobby. She is genuinely really sweet with him and clearly has more of a connection with him than her own child. It’s sad really. Sharon’s son is horrible but she loves him. Bobby wants his Dad to love him but there’s no connection there either. I just hope Sharon and Bobby’s relationship remains mother/son and he doesn’t end up with a weird crush on her or something!

When Iqra overhears Ian, the Councillor making offhand remarks about Muslims, she makes it clear that he isn’t coming over well, especially considering just how many Muslim constituents he has. He decides to celebrate Bobby officially converting to Islam by holding the ceremony in the restaurant and while at first, Bobby is thrilled and feels it means he and Ian are drawing closer, he is soon disappointed to realise that the press will be there and it’s really just a moment for promotion.

While Sharon reaches out to Denny with tickets to a football match (I think… sport of some kind), he uses the moment to fiddle with Bobby’s computer and report to the police about web searches for Islamic Fundamentalism. The police return Bobby’s laptop and he is in the clear but he and Bobby argue and Ian refuses to attend the event but Bobby is thrilled with the turnout for the day, including Kathy, Max, Ruby, Iqra, Habiba and Ash. When Max brings Bobby home to work things out with Ian, another argument ensues and this one is absolutely earth shattering. It’s like Ian has been holding all this pain in for years and he finally throws it out, shouting at Bobby for Lucy’s death. It’s awful. Absolutely awful. Essentially, it doesn’t matter if Bobby is trying to rebuild his life and do good and repair the damage he caused. He killed Lucy. He hurt Jane. He ruined Ian’s life. It’s done. There is no coming back from that. Well, I hope there is. I really do.

Meanwhile, Suki gathers her family around for her birthday, pretending to them all that it will probably be her last. A misunderstanding means that Iqra attends the meal and Suki makes it quite clear that she is not wanted, either as a Muslim or a woman dating her daughter. When the girls have left, she informs her sons that Iqra has to go. She is quietly terrifying.

Karen cannot cope with Bernie’s desperation to find Keanu and confesses that he is still alive but needs to stay away. She spares her the details. Bernie admits that she stole her phone and texted him to say that Phil has left Walford but Karen believes he isn’t stupid enough to come back while Ben is here. Wrong! Clad in a beard that will clearly make him invisible to the naked eye, Keanu returns, begging Sharon to go on the run with him! Well, for starters, she wouldn’t be able to fly right now, mate. What are you going to do? A coach trip?

Denise returns (I hadn’t actually realised she’d been away until I noticed she hadn’t stuck her beak in over Sheree’s return) and immediately sticks her beak in over Sheree’s return. Patrick discovers that Isaac is his son. I mean, I am absolutely on the edge of my seat with this story. Can you tell?

Whitney admits to Kat that Leo has her log book and as things stand, Kush is charged with GBH. Desperate to save her friend, Whitney meets up with Leo who drags her to Tony’s grave. In a particularly hideous scene, Leo hurls all kinds of abuse at her while she is forced to kneel at her abuser’s grave and apologise to him and declare herself a liar. Deciding that that’s not enough, Leo takes Whitney to the Vic where she announces to the whole pub that she lied about Tony abusing her for attention. Leo looks on as nobody believes her and everyone stands up to protect her, including Mick, Sonia and Kat. Leo is forced to leave but as it turns out, he doesn’t go far. While poor Whitney thinks her bedroom is a place of safety, actually Leo is living in the loft above her with a small hole cut into the ceiling for his beady little eye to peer through. Honestly, it’s one of the creepiest scenes in soap. Just thinking about it gives me shivers!

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

Eastenders: Over the Edge

(Monday 27^th – Friday 31^st January 2020)

Leo shows just how vile he can be when he goads Kat, ridiculing her and shaming her. She trashes his stall and knees him in the balls. As for Whitney, she is so stressed that her hair is starting to fall out. Needing to distract themselves from Leo, they decide to go out a party with Kush and Martin, who considering he is at risk of being hunted down by the Mitchells, is extremely jolly. Of course, Leo shows up and harasses Whitney and as soon as they’re out on the balcony, we know someone is going over it. An argument breaks out and Kush steps in and… over Leo goes. Didn’t I say Kush and Kat were too happy?

Martin, Kat and Whitney quickly cover and ensure that everyone knows it was an accident. But Leo, who is miraculously pretty much unharmed, makes it clear that Kush pushed him intentionally (he didn’t) and he is arrested. While Kat defends her man, Kush is devastated to be responsible for injuring Leo, even though it really was an accident. Whitney takes it upon herself to persuade Leo to drop the charges against Kush, even suggesting that they get back together. Sadly, he sees through it and he takes her little book of evidence against him. No chance, Whit. But a good try.

Linda battles her addiction (to the most disgusting looking bottle of wine in the world)…

Mick continues to struggle to manage his own mental health and Linda’s excessive drinking. They have a heart to heart and she admits that she doesn’t want to stop. As much as she hates her behaviour and she is mortified and disgusted with herself for missing Christmas Day with her son and wetting herself in front of her friends, alcohol is the only thing that will blot out the pain she’s in. Despite feeling like they might be getting somewhere with discussing rehab or a support group, Mick gets distracted by the social worker arriving and leaves Linda alone with a bottle of wine. He genuinely has a successful meeting with Ollie and social worker who believes he is providing a happy home for his son. Cue Linda marching in drunk and injured from the other night. Worried that the social worker thinks he has been harming his wife, Mick has no choice but to be honest and admit that Linda is an alcoholic and they need help.

Father, mother and son have one good day together where things almost feel normal until Linda takes a call from Social Services and she discovers Mick’s ‘betrayal’. The next day, she takes Ollie out of school on a fake dentist appointment, gets drunk, scares the kid and disrupts the whole family all over again.

The Panesar Brothers excitedly welcome their mother, Suki to the Square. She is dying of cancer but clearly quite a formidable woman. I think it will take me a while to work her out. She has a brief meeting with Jean, who I wonder if she might become friends with. She also demands to see Ash and they reunite but clearly a lot of hurt has passed between them. It’s also clear, especially after a conversation with Jean who really does have cancer, that she later repeats to her family, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the woman except perhaps compulsive lying, a controlling nature and cruelty.

Sharon is convinced that Phil has taken Denny to Portugal with him but actually, he never showed up and has since been hiding out at the empty house (Kathy has been away). Shirley tracks the kid down and gives him some tough love. You’ve got to love Shirley, haven’t you? However, things go drastically wrong when she finally brings Denny round into the Warring House of Beale where he is absolutely brutal to Sharon, Ian and Kathy. Losing his temper, having tried desperately to bring the family back together, Bobby tells Denny exactly what he things of him. But in one of the most awful moments ever, he shoves him and he hits his head on the coffee table, just as Lucy did. I feel so, so terrible for Bobby (I couldn’t care less about Denny – sorry, not sorry). Bobby has tried so hard to put his life back together and seek redemption for what he did. He didn’t shove him out of cruelty. He shoved him out of frustration. Denny was being hideous. And for the that exact thing to happen was terrible. Terrible. But very good viewing.

In one of those annoying side stories, the Council come calling to find Tiffany living in Ted’s flat and aren’t happy to find him subletting. She therefore pretends to be his wife and gets Patrick to pose as Ted. As if that would even work. Meanwhile, Keegan loses his contract with Gray’s firm on suspicion of theft. He believes it is due to race, compounding his experience with the stop and searches with the police.

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