Tag: The Icon

Doctors: Hot Stuff!

(Monday 24th – Friday 28th February 2020)

Ayesha takes her concerns about Bear’s extracurricular activities to Zara and Daniel who reluctantly speak to him about them, having discovered that The Mill is thousands of pounds in credit.  He explains that he has been busy doing deals on the side to make money for The Mill and is deeply offended when they are not impressed.  He is further upset when he discovers that it was Ayesha who raised the alarm, as he is still deluded enough to think he stands a chance with her.  Well, women love guys who ignore them for an entire date in favour of texting.

Karen continues to do good work with her foster daughter, Abz who is clearly getting very attached to her.  Karen overhears her referring to her as her mother when talking to her new University friend and has to delicately encourage her to be open about her situation.  Karen and Rob throw a party for Abz’s 18th.  Valerie and Ayesha pop over to celebrate and her new University friend comes too with her boyfriend, although they don’t stay.  It’s all a bit overwhelming for Abz, who has never had people care about her before.  Afterwards, Karen and Rob settle her into her new flat but it’s clear that it’s going to take her a long time to get used to living on her own.

Emma and Jasmine are the new hot couple!

Emma and Jasmine continue to get to know each other, ending up in bed after a ‘breakfast date’.  However, Emma is alarmed to end up having a hot flush afterwards, alerting her to realise that alongside the flushes of romance, she is also potentially at the beginning of the menopause.  While Zara tries and fails to be sympathetic, it’s a struggle to be honest with Jasmine, who is significantly younger than Emma.

Valerie is all dressed up for a night at The Icon!

To say goodbye to The Icon, Al holds a lock-in for his punters and his colleagues.  Sid takes over by hosting a silent disco, much to Al’s annoyance.  The night goes off with a bang when Daniel discovers that Zara has been watching his private video diaries.  Well, he’s not pleased, as you can imagine.

Daniel and Zara’s night ends in a bitter row…

The witness in Jimmi’s case backtracks over identifying Jimmi, giving him hope for his freedom.  He is also landed with a new cellmate, a police officer who killed his brother.

Doctors is on BBC1, weekdays at 1:45pm

Soap Blog: Monday 16th to Sunday 22nd December 2019

Coronation Street

After just one night, Gemma and Chesney are weighed down by the responsibility of their four new babies.  However, the one resource they fail to utilise is Rita who is absolutely crippled with loneliness and would love to be included in helping them.

Robert is outraged at Michelle’s plans to sell the Bistro but he has bigger problems when the police zone in on him.  They have discovered that his SatNav took him to the woods on the night that Vicky disappeared, which he denies.  Concluding that Michelle must have taken his van that night, Robert accuses her of killing Vicky but Peter and Carla walk in on him threatening her, which does not help his case.  The next thing he knows, Robert is charged with GBH, a stack of evidence against him: witnesses heard them having an argument, he has a scratch on his face, the house was bleached clean, there is blood evidence both in the house and in his van and now his SatNav shows that he went to the woods after he argued with Vicky.

However, what the police don’t know is that during Robert’s most recent argument with Michelle, she slipped up and mentioned the woods, something she shouldn’t know about.  And in one of the most obvious plots ever, while Robert is being charged and held in custody, she heads off to a hotel to update Vicky of Robert’s arrest, who is hiding out and very much alive!  The plan is to sell the Bistro and share the profits.

Things go south, however, when Vicky goes into premature labour.  It’s a tender moment when Michelle acts as midwife and helps Vicky bring her son into the world.  And it’s even sweeter when Michelle puts her own plan aside to call an ambulance, looking out for the welfare of Vicky and the baby and she is taken to hospital.  Of course, that means that Vicky is no longer ‘dead’ and Robert is off the hook for her murder.  Released from custody, Robert attempts to see his son but Vicky is long gone, leaving Robert to confront oddly repentant Michelle.

Kirk kindly donates his football t-shirt and scarf to Roy so that he can enjoy some quality time with his brother.  James also gives him a signed football programme.  But when Roy has to leave him to sort out a disaster at the café and the carer doesn’t show up in his place, Richard ends up collapsing and dying alone.  While Roy is furious with the care team, Nina directs the blame at Roy’s door.  While Roy continues to reach out to Nina, even paying two month’s rent for her, Nina continues to out the world.

Tim finally confesses the truth to horrified Sally that he is already married after a drunken mistake in Vegas.  Gary gives Ryan the chance to work off his debt, which is obviously not going to end well.  Michael creates an entire Winter Wonderland on the Street with his Dad but Grace fails to bring their daughter along to enjoy it.

Gary gets wind of Derek’s plan to get a quick sale for the factory and demands that he buy it from him.  For a pound.  He has no choice but to agree.  Hope ruins the school Nativity and continues to reject Fiz, reaching out to Jade on the phone.

Doctors

Emma arrives at the station, pledging her full support to spikey Zara as they both try to come to terms with the truth of who Gareth really is and what he is capable of.  Zara cannot accept support from Adam who obviously looks exactly the same as her attacker.  Unable to stay with Emma where Gareth has been living or stay with Adam, Zara returns home alone absolutely broken.

Daniel is heartbroken to learn of what has happened to Zara.  He offers his full support to her when she bravely faces work the next day, which clueless Valerie takes the wrong way.  She then faces the prospect of ending things with Adam, unable to disassociate him from his brother.  Daniel breaks the news to Joe.  Is the beginning of Zara and Daniel getting back together?  I would hope that the show wouldn’t rush the story in light of what has happened but I would assume this is where we’ll be heading in 2020.

Tempted to gamble after a bad day, Daniel takes himself off to rather shoddy Gambler’s Anonymous meeting.  But it’s a good job that he’s there as the man running it, who seems like he is suffering from severe OCD as much as a gambling addiction, has taken an overdose and needs to be rushed to hospital!

A man named Trevor Evans tracks Jimmi down to The Icon, holding a grudge for being sent to prison based on his medical testimony.  He hangs around the bar all day, intimidating him until Jimmi threatens to call the police.  I suspect we haven’t seen the last of him…  And seems likely that he is connected to the shock of the week when Jimmi is suddenly arrested for drug dealing and a huge amount of heroin is found in the boot of his car!  While at first it looks like it will all be sorted out quickly as the idea that Dr Jimmi Clay could be a dealer is quite frankly, preposterous, very quickly, he is arrested and charged and then breaks his bail conditions when he confronts a witness who claims he regularly sees him dealing in a car park.  Well done, Jimmi!

While Rob rules out Trevor as the person behind the obvious set up, people accuse Valerie of gossiping.  However, she makes it clear that she is genuinely concerned about her friend and colleague and has noticed that Bear is not, leading Daniel to discover an old and somewhat ridiculous grudge he has against the medic.  I’ve been suspicious of Bear for a while but is it weak storytelling or is there more to it?  Enough to put one of the nicest guys in soap behind bars?  We’ll find out in the New Year, I suppose!

In celebration of Christmas, Emma helps Al host the cocktail night that Gareth had organised.  It doesn’t start off terribly well, with Emma breaking down and confiding in Ayesha what happened to Zara.  But Valerie takes over as Queen of the Cocktails and everyone has a lot of drunken fun.  Hurrah!  With all the darkness going on the moment with Zara’s trauma and now Jimmi’s wrongful arrest, they need a bit of light in Letherbridge at the moment!

Eastenders

Phil is determined to put a literal end to Jack, incorrectly believing that he has got Sharon pregnant.  I mean, I know he’s got previous with the Mitchell Blondes but still…  He stops short of running him over when Jack is suddenly joined by his kids in the road.  Ben desperately tries to get his Dad to think more clearly about his decisions but I don’t think it’s worked as by the end of Monday’s episode, Phil is brandishing a gun.  By the next episode, he has the poor bloke tied up and beaten unconscious at the bottom of the pit in The Arches.  By the time Ben and Keanu rescue him, he has already poured petrol on him.  Dragging him out of the pit, Phil is still not done but the boys finally manage to talk him out of shooting him.  Jack is adamant that he did not sleep with Sharon or father her child, leaving Phil determined to find out who did and forces Ben to stick with him on the plan to end whoever did.  All I can say is, watch out, Keanu… watch out!

Callum witnesses Ben returning bloodied and broken Jack back to his house and while Jack agrees to leave things as the Mitchells owing him a favour, Callum demands answers from Ben.  When Ben refuses to tell his boyfriend anything, wanting to protect him, Callum opens his heart and declaring his love.  Clearly also in love with Callum but scared of him getting hurt (I mean, look what happened when he was in love with Paul), Ben closes himself off and breaks up with him.  It’s at least temporarily the end of Ballum.  So sad.

Sonia kindly persuades Kush to let Martin have some quality time with his son.  The three of them spend the day at the Christmas Fair, which of course leads to Martin attempting to kiss Sonia because nobody in soap can ever just be mates.  Sonia pulls away but later confides in Tina (who else would she choose?) that she thinks she is still in love with him.  Well, that’s going to work out well when Lacey Turner (Stacey) gets back from her maternity leave, isn’t it?

There is an error at the undertakers and to be honest, I’m not sure whose error it is, with two bodies going to the opposite places.  But Stuart fixes it and saves the day (with newly returned Rainie’s help) and scores himself a permanent job with Jay.  Stuart then decides an insane Christmas display at a funeral home is absolutely appropriate.  Yes, really.

Honey is feeling out of place and out of sorts since leaving Adam and finding that Billy has moved on with Karen, who has made herself right at home with the kids.  The two women disagree about Janet participating in the beauty pageant and Honey objects to Karen doing her hair.  Karen calls her on why she is really so upset.  Well, we all know!  Poor Honey.  However, she does stick to her guns about the pageant, not wanting her daughter to face the same self-esteem issues that began when she was modelling.  If nothing else, I am really enjoying her new friendship with Ash.

The Panesar Brothers reveal to the Slaters that they have bought their house and they will now be evicted, although they will be given until New Year to leave.  Another case of unsound housing law in the East End.  Kat and the oldest brother (I haven’t quite learned their names yet, they’re too annoying but I’m sure I’ll get used to them), seem to reach a compromise but then it all goes wrong when the new landlords decide to just let themselves in the property and the Slaters respond by barricading themselves in.  But not before Kush spots Daniel at the hospital.  He begs him to contact Jean, who is struggling without him but Daniel won’t be persuaded.

Mitch accidentally agrees to write the autism friendly panto for the Queen Vic but of course, is unable to complete the task so with amusing legal advice from Gray, Bailey steps in and takes over.  Mick asks the school Mums to come and be part of the fun but they unkindly refuse, not because of Ollie but because of Linda’s drinking.  The panto is a genuine hit and Ollie is the cutest little polar bear I’ve ever seen.

Emmerdale

Moira is distraught when Cain refuses to let her spend Christmas Day with her sons.  Amy is also horrified when she overhears Cain warning Kyle that Nate is a bad man and he should always stay away from him.  Good parenting can always be witnessed amongst the Dingles!  Cain is furious when the Dingle clan begin to welcome Nate into the fold.  He makes it clear that the family need to choose between him and Nate.  Obviously they choose Cain, which upsets Nate.  He storms out in a rather threatening manner.  Oops.  Well, he is Cain’s son, I suppose!  While Moira rather gleefully informs Nate that he will never be accepted amongst the Dingles.

He tries to communicate with Cain who rejects him in favour of searching for Aaron, who has gone missing after Robert sends Victoria a letter and she and Liv attempt to keep it from him (and the letter doesn’t so much as mention him).  The Dingles all search for Aaron (without Nate) but while out hunting, Liv has a fit all alone.  Wendy finds her and gets her to hospital, leaving Aaron wrought with guilt that he put his little sister in such a vulnerable position.  His response is to engage in a random hook up in a bid to get over Robert and move on with his life.  Yes, I am sure that will work.  I really hope he snaps out of this soon though.  I can’t stand his grumpy little face at the moment.

Rhona is informed that Pierce is up for parole.  It scares her into deciding that she needs to take the job in France.  She cannot even contemplate the idea of having to face the man who raped her ever again.  Compelled by his love for Rhona, Graham forgets his concern that the job has been pushed by Kim and agrees to the move.  I know this whole thing is going to go epically wrong but for now, I do think that the way Graham loves Rhona and wants to protect her is very sweet.  Unfortunately, she backs out of telling Marlon her plans.

Nobody has time for Noah.  Charity and Vanessa are too busy with their lives, the younger kids, monitoring Sarah and that horrible Danny boy and their own relationship.  What they haven’t noticed is that Sarah has been delving into the world of drugs with that horrible Danny and that Noah is desperately worried about her but is also worried about being a snitch.  He does take the drugs away from her, only to be caught with them by Graham who confiscates them.  But when he is left with nobody to talk to, Noah finds one remaining pill and takes it himself.

Andrea and Jamie decide to wait before trying for another baby.  Jacob and Leanna begin to rekindle their friendship but this time in a happier and healthier way.  Leyla battles her feelings for Liam during panto rehearsals and Kim comes on board as the wicked landowner.  Pete and Tracey decide to just stay friends.

Hollyoaks

Mitchell lets Scott down again when he fails to come out and tell his family about their relationship.  In a bid to make things right, Mitchell and Scott spend the whole day together and when they bump into Azim, Mitchell comes out to him and then decides that it’s time to come out to his family.  Well, time will tell about that…  But the romantic scene does complete to a lovely rendition of ‘Finally’.

Alas, everything goes wrong the next day when not only does Mitchell back out of coming out but he panics when he loses a photo reel of him and Scott together.  Witnessing his sheer panic at the idea that someone might find evidence of them as a couple, Scott has finally had enough of the hiding, secrecy and shame.  He doesn’t want to be Mitchell’s dirty little secret anymore.  The next day, Mitchell is jealous when he mistakenly thinks that Scott has moved on with Azim, who encourages Scott to understand things from Mitchell’s perspective.  Scott realises the pressure Mitchell has on his shoulders and doesn’t want to add more by forcing him to come out.  However, after his suicide attempt, he also cannot live a life where he is ashamed of himself.  Their relationship is over.  Martine offers her son unwavering support, although she doesn’t know the full facts.

James and Liam team up for their ‘protection’ business and attempt to intimidate Mercedes into signing up.  Refusing but scared, it’s Bobby’s Christmas list, where all he wants is his Dad’s return, that pushes Mercedes to change her statement and set Sylver free.  However, she is in for a big shock when she discovers that he has been lying to her – he doesn’t love her anymore and he wants to be a family with Grace and Bobby.  Sylver cannot forgive his mother for her betrayal.  She in turn, turns on her daughter in law who is left a complete and utter broken mess.  I have always championed Mercedes, even at her worst.  She is one of the best soap characters in history.  But I think it’s right that her world implodes so that she can start again afresh.  She needs this.

James is alarmed when Liam plans to smash up the pub in order to pressure Mercedes to sign up to their protection scheme.  They are interrupted by Mercedes herself who decides to try and win Liam back.  She is shocked beyond the telling of it when she realises that he is now hooking up with James!  While the boys make fun of Mercedes’ desperation and that she got shot, it’s quite clear to the observant viewer that deep down, Liam still does have feelings for his ex.

That night, Grace and James bump into each other, Grace discovering that James is now sleeping with her brother.  Liam then overhears the pair of them quietly but smugly remarking over the truth of what happened to Mercedes – they both shot her.  In a flashback, we see that Grace fired the first shot and missed.  James then appears behind her and steadies the gun so they are able to shoot her together.

Liam confronts his sister and his boyfriend (?!) about shooting Mercedes.  While Grace attempts to defend herself over how much Mercedes hurt her, James is unrepentant, explaining that he was intent on revenge for Harry.  He also reminds Liam of his own guilt and the role he played in Harry’s death, which prompts Liam to break down in tears and a little bit of bad acting.  Liam reveals that he found Mercedes in the club after she had been shot but he ran away, taking the gun with him, scared that he would be accused of the crime.  He even burnt his clothes to hide any evidence that he had been there.  Armed now with the knowledge of who shot her, Liam is determined to tell Mercedes the truth.  Grace and Liam do everything they can to persuade him not to.  Grace is also desperate for Sylver not to find out, not wanting her new little family to be destroyed.  Ignoring them, Liam and Mercedes admit that their feelings for each other were real.  James interrupts Mercedes asking for a second chance.  Liam struggles to make a choice between them.  He chooses James and the three of them revel in their success at defeating Mercedes and getting a second chance of survival.  Meanwhile, Mercedes has bigger problems as Breda gathers together DNA to ‘prove’ that she is a serial killer!

On Christmas Day, Walter gathers together as many locals as possible to attend church where he gives an impassioned sermon on the importance of family, praising his own family members on how amazing they are.  In the back, Daphne and Celeste, sorry, Toby and Celeste seethe as he tells the locals what a wonderful mother Martine is to her son, Mitchell.  So… we finally know who her mystery child is: Toby!  That’s the big reveal.  I’m disappointed, to be honest.  They’ve only been here for five minutes and they’re already annoying me.  And I heard a rumour that Martine’s secret child was actually Blessing (remember her?)  Now that would have been a good story.  Anyway, Celeste stops Toby from confronting his mother and by the end of the Christmas episode, we see that it was actually them that stole Mitchell and Scott’s photo.  They clearly have plans for the family and judging by their boring storyline with Jesse, the whole village.  I’m sure it will be utterly thrilling.  I don’t apologise for my sarcasm.  Consider it a Christmas present.

Liberty’s pregnancy test is positive, creating what should be the happiest day of Sienna’s life.  Filled with Christmas spirit and inspired by Walter’s sermon, she invites Maxine and Minnie to dinner, pushing Maxine and Damon together.  He cannot trust her when he finds her taking cold medication but actually, she is freezing at home so probably does have a cold.  Sienna tests out a new plot device, I mean, drone and overhears her boyfriend and her sister discussing their infidelity and resultant pregnancy.  For a secret, they really do discuss it openly a lot.  I mean, a lot!  Sienna loses the plot, of course and is rescued by Martine who calms her down and suggests that she plays along.  Otherwise, she loses everything, including the baby.

Luke finally tells his family about FTD and Nana does a fabulous Queen’s Speech.

Home and Away: The Surf Club

Home and Away is on its Christmas Break until January 2020.  Instead, on My5, there is a Christmas themed behind the scenes episode every Monday, hosted by Jason Smith who played Robbie Hunter between 2003 and 2006.

The Surf Club has always played a central role in Home and Away and is a communal area for family and friendship for all the characters.  In this episode, we meet Rohan Nichol (Ben Astoni), Sophie Dillman (Ziggy Astoni), Patrick O’Connor (Dean Thompson) but Kestie Morassi (Maggie Astoni) is unfortunately absent.  Later, Lukas Radovich (Ryder Jackson) and Shane Withington (John Palmer) join the group.

Patrick and Sophie, who are a couple in real life, discuss their relationship on the show, including Ziggy’s previous marriage to Brody before her friendship with Dean developed into love.  They are described as ‘Summer Bay’s Hottest Couple’.  I don’t think I agree (Willex, anyone?) but I do like them paired up.  They talk about filming the rally where they finally got together and how it was so hot that the cameras were literally melting!

Rohan discusses Ben’s wrongful arrest and how it led to a longer mental health storyline, which he felt flattered to be trusted with as it was such an important story to tell.  He discusses the wider reaching story of what happens to a person’s loved ones, in this case Ziggy and Maggie, when someone is suffering from depression and the helplessness they go through when trying to support them.  He and Shane talk about the strength of friendship in the Bay and how people supported Ben and how that support is returned to John when he is in need, although they didn’t always get along.  This friendship spills over into the friendship between Shane and Rohan who share a dressing room.

Lukas and Patrick also share a dressing room and seem to get up to a lot of mischief!  Ryder really looks up to Dean on the show.  Lukas requested that Dean teach Ryder how to surf, which is leading to an upcoming storyline involving a girl who will potentially stir up some trouble for Dean and Ziggy!  (I think this is a new character called Jade).

Do the cast prefer a White or Beach Christmas?

White Christmas:        Rohan and Lukas

Beach Christmas:        Sophie, Patrick, Shane

Sophie meets a tour bus of fans and joins them as they explore Palm Beach where the cast are filming.  She takes pictures with them and chats to them, eager to find out who their favourite characters are.  There are lots of people from the UK!  I really want to do this one day!  And go to the Neighbours set.  Not that I’ve ever visited any of the available soap sets in the UK…

What do the cast want for their characters in the New Year?

Rohan/Ben:     Peace and quiet and perhaps a new hobby

Sophie/Ziggy:  More work as a mechanic

Neighbours

Having made a very weak excuse to Paul and Terese, Roxy and Harlow head off to the prison to meet Robert who is reasonable and creepy all at the same time.  He cleverly gleans as much information from Harlow about Paul and their home life as he can without her even noticing and agrees to be tested to be a donor as soon as she mentions that Paul would do anything for David.  So… this is the big Christmas story then!  Psycho Robert. 

Back at home, Harlow and Roxy decide to keep their day trip a secret but Paul is already suspicious.  When Robert passes stage one and two, Harlow tells Paul and Terese the truth.  Her Granddad is not happy but with David in severe danger of death – the infection has taken over, his kidneys and liver are all failing and he now needs to be fed through a tube – he and Terese have no choice but to go and see his son.  Robert agrees to donate his kidney in return for Paul assisting him with moving to a lower security prison nearer to Erinsborough so that he can have more access to Harlow.  Well, this is going to end well, isn’t it?  I mean, if only someone else was a match.  Roxy, I’m talking to you!!!

Claudia buys tickets to The Nutcracker for herself, Finn and Bea only for Finn to overthrow his girlfriend for Elly on the basis that Elly and Claudia need to spend more time together.  With Bea really disappointed, Susan buys them both tickets as well to push Bea and Finn back together again.  She also tells Finn off for side lining his girlfriend.  Just like Susan, Claudia is onto him.  Backed into a corner, Finn admits to his mother that he has feelings for Elly.  And quite frankly, I am so disappointed.  I love the journey that Finn and Bea have been on together.  Has someone at Neighbours gone through a bad time or something and now feels the need to destroy every relationship?  They killed Sonya, they let Elly and Chloe last all of an episode, they broke up Ned and Yashvi, Dipi and Shane wouldn’t stop fighting, Kyle and Amy are heading for disaster, David is half dead, Finn fancies his girlfriend’s sister.  If they dare touch Karl and Susan…!

Anyway, conniving Claudia goes right to Elly with her information but Elly insists there is nothing between them and Finn is furious when he finds out what his mother has done.  Claudia is unrepentant and eager to push her last remaining son and the mother of her grandchild together.  We also finally solve the mystery of who set fire to his records before the trial!  Claudia!  But rather than this proving her love for him, Finn is horrified by the callousness Claudia has shown and demands that she leave.  When oblivious Bea asks her to stay, she tells her that Finn and Elly have feelings for each other.  Oh dear.  This is not helped when Bea returns home to find Finn and Elly mucking around with a new baby sling.  They do their best to allay her concerns and Finn goes to enormous effort to show his girlfriend just how much he loves her.  When she makes him a phot album of their relationship, he finally dumps the one of him and Elly, although I suspect this storyline is far from over…

Chloe gets the promo for the Sonya Rebecchi Foundation Concert all wrong, upsetting Toadie but she manages to turn things around.  Toadie admits that he is struggling with the idea of facing his first Christmas without Sonya.  We all are, Toadie.  We all are.

Amy begins to fret that she cannot reach Jimmy in New York.  When she gets word that her son is actually missing, Kyle awkwardly has to confess that he had been told that Jimmy was going through a rough patch and tried to talk to him but when he gave him some attitude, they had words and he hasn’t been able to get in touch with him since.  Amy immediately blames Kyle and shuts him out of any effort in trying to find her son.  Then when Jimmy shows up at the house, a completely different person to the lovely boy he used to be, uncommunicative and a thief as soon as Amy’s back is turned, she also refuses to let Kyle help work out what’s going on with him.  I just object to this story so much.  It’s like the show has completely changed Kyle’s personality, Kyle and Amy’s relationship and now Kyle and Jimmy’s relationship.  The way Kyle is behaving is the way Gary would behave, not thoughtful, kind Kyle.  I understand they’re gearing up for Amy’s exit but I don’t know why they have to do it this way.  Why bother getting us all invested in them back together if this was the plan all along?  It’s all wrong, I tell you!  Wrong!

Soap Blog: Monday 21st – Sunday 27th October

Coronation Street

Against Daniel’s protestations, Sinead’s family organise an early Christmas for her, knowing that she won’t survive until December and will miss Bertie’s first Christmas.  Unfortunately, things turn sour when Sinead and Daniel fall out, her sick of Daniel’s negativity around her illness.  She throws him out of the house and unwittingly into Bethany’s arms, only to be caught out by horrified Ken.

While Bethany confesses all to understanding Audrey, Daniel makes amends with Sinead, regretting his actions and vowing to support her to the end.  Unfortunately, Sinead accidentally gets hold of Bethany’s short story, basically describing all her feelings for Daniel.  Sinead confronts Daniel but ultimately forgives him, knowing they need to be a family at the end.  Beth and the other struggle to be as kind and Bethany becomes the Street pariah.  Gail returns home from her big trip away in order to support her grandchild.

Growing weaker by the moment, Sinead records video messages for her son and says goodbye to her loved ones.  While Beth believes she ought to be transferred to a hospice, Doctor Gaddas explains that it is now too late.

In a well scripted, constructed and acted episode, the time comes for Sinead to say goodbye.  She spends one last day with her family, including Daniel and passes away in bed while he reads a story to their son.  It’s not particularly romanticised, which I think is important and it is sad.  I had three different people ask me if I’d seen it!

Max makes amends with Shona and his grandmother agrees to drop the custody battle.  Unfortunately, their troubles are not over as a riot breaks out in the prison.  Having found out about Josh raping him, David’s cellmate slings Josh in his cell and provides him with a weapon and opportunity to finish Josh off once and for all.  David refuses to kill Josh, wanting him to suffer for his crimes but all injured Josh can do is gloat about walking away from it all.  When Josh is stabbed, it remains unclear exactly what has happened and who the culprit is except that David asks Shona to call his lawyer.

Doctors

The staff at The Mill cannot seem to feed themselves with The Icon round the corner, prompting Al to decide he wants to take it over with Jimmi as his partner and turn the place into a real ale pub.

Becky is nervous to meet Daniel’s daughter, Izzie and although things go well, Izzie doesn’t think Becky is interesting enough to make a relationship last.  However, Becky has huge news for Daniel – she is pregnant.

Zara meets a surgeon called Adam and the pair of them arrange a date.  And to improve Zara’s week even further, she and Izzie finally make peace.

Sid and Immie end their relationship.  Ayesha take charge of the flu vaccinations.  Valerie gets caught up with a couple who have been lying to each other.  Ruhma is wrong accused of neglect over a birth she delivered twenty one years ago.

Eastenders

Chantelle enjoys helping out at the salon, against Gray’s wishes.  What she doesn’t know is that he has spotted her in the window and subsequently plans a surprise party to announce her pregnancy to the whole family (and the rest of the Square) with unwitting accomplice, Karen.  Sadly, in the toilets of the Vic, Chantelle begins to have a miscarriage, which she dares not tell her husband about, largely because the baby is her only protection from his awful violence.  The next day, she goes to the hospital and is treated by kind Doctor Ash, Iqra’s girlfriend and later confides in her mother about the loss of her baby.

Martin confides in Kush about the situation with Ben and then seeks help from Jack.  He is thrilled to think that he has finally won but it is only a temporary state of affairs.  By the end of the week, Ben and his gang have Martin literally hanging upside down off a bridge, threatening to murder his wife and children if he tries to break the rules again.  Martin is left a broken man with no more cards to play.

Jay is stunned when Terry, the man who murdered his father, Jase is brought into the funeral home with a whole load of fanfare.  At first, he refuses to do his funeral and is even further upset when his wife doesn’t even remember him.  But later, he confides in Billy that he does plan to do the funeral and he also plans to get up and tell the whole congregation just who Terry really was, warning Billy that if he interferes, he will never forgive him.

Leo continues his pursuit of Whitney, having already scored a job with Gray.  But with Callum still a big part of his ex’s life, Leo digs around on his social media to find an awful video of Callum laughing with his friends around a seemingly unconscious woman.  He tells Gray that he has the video for a case and then ‘accidentally’ shows the video to Whitney who berates Callum for his actions.  Desperate Callum tries to explain that the woman got up and punched one of his friends and the video is not what it looks like but Whitney accuses him of all sorts.

Adam tries to make amends with his foster parents but Arshad cannot forgive him for his affair with Habiba and his continuous treatment of Honey, finally telling his wife what he knows.  Inspired by Daniel, Jean attempts to be more truthful and less tactful but things don’t go quite to plan.

Emmerdale

Despite being reassured, Faith remains convinced that Moira and Pete are having an affair and feels she has no choice but to tell Cain the truth.  He takes his anger out on her and then shuts her out, turning his fury towards innocent Pete.  He ties his up and demands the truth from him, forcing him to confess that it isn’t him who is sleeping with Moira – it’s Nate.  Cain is horrified, having sent Moira and Nate off to a farm show overnight in order to get them out of the way.

Moira and Nate meanwhile have very much enjoyed their hotel room, which to be fair, makes a change to that grubby caravan.  However, it doesn’t make them any less grubby.  But with poor Pete tied up in the barn and only Faith to save him, Cain has made his way to oblivious Nate and Moira to catch them out.  He takes them on a boat trip, where he reveals he knows the truth to Nate before knocking him out.  Nate has further bombshell (which literally every viewer guessed from the second Nate starter sniffing round Moira and generally interfering in Cain’s life), that he is Cain’s son.

Their fight leads to Moira being knocked off the boat, prompting Cain to have to save her (Nate can’t swim) but then of course, the boat explodes and Cain has no choice but to save both of his current enemies.

At the hospital, Nate explains that his mother’s name is Cara, a girl that Cain dated with he was young.  As far as Cain understands, Cara vanished and he was very upset when she did but he had no idea that she was pregnant.  But Nate believes he is lying, explaining that his mother has told him she tried to contact him many times and he sent her away.  Cue Faith – she knew about Cara’s pregnancy from the start and knowing Shadrach’s racism, sent Cara on her way, thus preventing any opportunity for Cain to step up for his son.  All this time, Nate has been getting revenge on the wrong person.

Meanwhile, back in Emmerdale Village, there is chaos at the pub reopening as Chas and Marlon get locked in the pub toilets, thanks to a faulty door – just as Chas’s waters break and she goes into labour!  In some of Emmerdale’s finest, most classic scenes, Marlon supports Chas while she endures contractions, Mandy etc. get drunk and Paddy arrives just in time for the birth of their baby girl, who they expected to be a boy.  Brilliant!  They call her Eve, despite Eve being the name of the woman that Chas’s ex-boyfriend cheated on her with years ago.

Paddy had been absent for the whole thing up until the actual birth, of course, because he had locked himself and Liv in the house with Aaron in a bid to persuade him not to attempt to break Robert out of jail.  And it works.  Hurrah!  However, at court, where Robert is given a minimum of fourteen years for murder, Victoria is horrified to discover that Luke, the guy she has been chatting to at the hospital, is actually Lee’s brother.  He seems as shocked as she is, insisting that he had no idea who she was but she is convinced that he is a liar.

Hollyoaks

Edward makes himself useful to Diane while quietly making it clear that he does not accept Finn.

Cindy’s plans for the village are in jeopardy thanks to the rare birds and the Roman Tunnels.  However, Edwards manages to get rid of the birds and she persuades the builders to plough on, despite the tunnels, ignoring Tom’s fretting.

The truth about DJ’s paternity comes tumbling out at his christening, sending Darren into despair and Luke back to the bottle as he realises that even his son didn’t believe he was a good enough option to be a father.

Goldie continues to worry about her mother and nearly discovers Tony when she comes looking for her at the pig farm.  What she does discover however, is evidence of Harry.  Backed into a corner, Breda breaks down and admits that she thinks she killed Harry, blaming her so called dementia.  Believing that her mother is unwell, Goldie agrees to keep her secret.

With everything crumbling around her, Breda is persuaded by Tony to let him go in time to attend Harry’s funeral.

Home and Away

Irene’s trial begins but the defence team are horrified when Tommy himself shows up, having been told that he was too unwell to attend.  Furious, Colby is removed from the court but Bella bravely manages to testify on Irene’s behalf.  The support for Irene outside the court, led by Teresa begins to become a little too intense.

Alex supports Raffy and her family as they worry about her epilepsy.  She finds another potential medical trial, which Justin refuses as it’s too far away.  However, Raffy can stay with Brody and Simone if she is accepted and she is desperate to try.

Alex also puts in a good word for Mason regarding his internship at the hospital.  On a night out, Mason hits on Alex who lets him down awkwardly, explaining that she is gay.

Things become stressful as Dean tries to keep Karen away from Mackenzie.  Eventually, the two women have to meet but bond over their hatred of Rick.

Desperately worried about the threat against his wife, Robbo arranges for Jasmine to leave the country.  However, the move is intercepted and Jasmine is kidnapped, leaving Robbo’s colleague injured on the side of the road.

Neighbours

Paul discovers that Scarlett provided fake references but when he challenges her, she reveals that she knows all about the hidden cameras, forcing him to back down.  What he doesn’t know is that she is the person who has the footage from the cameras herself.

Her next move is to stage an attack from a motorbike, stepping up her boyfriend’s attacks on her a gear.  Of course Ned is with her at the time and gets caught in the crossfire trying to protect her.  Meanwhile, at the house, David and Aaron install a new security system to protect them all from Scarlett’s imaginary ex.

After a night in hospital, Scarlett persuades Ned to move in with her and therefore manages to block all contact between him and Yashvi.  From there, she and Ned get together for real.

Finn and Bea end up in an argument over Bea’s obsessive suspicion of Scarlett and in a fit of anger, Bea accidentally calls him ‘Patrick’.  They recover but it’s a real setback in their relationship.  The upset is extremely badly timed as shortly afterwards, Finn receives word of an avalanche in Switzerland – Shaun is missing and presumed dead.

Sheila agrees to bide her time with Clive so that he can break up carefully with Beverly and get back together with her.  Wanting to keep him interested, Roxy helps her sext Clive.  Unfortunately, she sends the message to Gary instead!

Amy receives a very tempting job offer.  Kirsha helps Toadie with some background work with the Sonya Rebecchi Foundation, making him realise just how clever she is.  He also realises that she is struggling with the lack of attention she is receiving from her parents.  She attempts to speak up and asks her parents if she can apply for a scholarship to a school in Sydney but they do not support the idea.

The Melbourne Cup arrives at Lassiters but when Pierce lets Hendrix down yet again, Hendrix steals the cup and hides it in Harlow and Roxy’s car.  The girls can’t resist taking some photos with it before they return it to frantic Pierce, Terese and Paul.  They are just about to get into trouble when the unrepentant culprit is revealed.

Soap Blog: 14th – 20th October 2019

Coronation Street

Sinead is pleased to see how far her friends will go when she dares them into a game of naked twister and they are willing to do it – but puts them out of their misery by telling them at the last minute that they don’t actually have to go through with it!

Harry gets knocked out during a game with Lily and Max, the latter of whom gets into trouble for the fray.  Max insists it was Lily who pushed Harry but Shona won’t listen, even going as far as shaking him.  Sarah feels that she is being judged at the hospital, with she and Shona having had a couple of drinks while the children were playing.  Shona panics when Max runs off – he has gone to his paternal grandmother’s house.  When they get into an argument, with Max’s grandmother accusing Shona of being drunk and Shona at the end of her tether with Max, a fight for custody is quickly on the cards – both of Max and Harry.  Marion turns to Adam for legal advice.  Later, Lily confesses that it was actually she who pushed Harry.

David is disturbed to find himself face to face with his rapist, Josh in prison.  Josh has been put in the hospital wing after other prisoners found out has been put into custody for rape – yet another victim after not being punished for assaulting David.

Geoff and Yasmeen want to buy into Alya and Zeedan’s business.  Alya is happy for Yasmeen to buy in but isn’t sure about Geoff, which of course enrages him and makes him blame Yasmeen, putting her in a very difficult position.

Chesney and Gemma win tickets to the football but taking photos outside, Gemma gets stuck in the turnstile.  With the story getting into the press, Gemma is approached by a publicist but Bernie takes over the job instead when Gemma has a health scare with the babies.

Doctors

In a particularly interesting episode named ‘Samuel Page’ Sid and Ruhma become involved with two patients who are sisters.  One is a pregnant novelist, writing about slavery and the other is suffering with her mental health, a historian who has become tortured by their family’s heritage as slave owners.  It all surrounds a particular painting, hosted by Imogen’s art exhibition, which also hosts the novelist’s book launch and the painting inspires Ruhma’s contribution to the art project at The Mill.  She talks to Karen’s camera about the painting, one that reminded her very strongly of Heston and for a moment brought him back to her.  It depicts slavery and it was one that the two of them had discussed at length.  This is one of those special, significant Doctors episodes.  In a less good ‘arty’ episode there is a whole episode dedicated to two comedians with a direct line to Tony Hancock.

Ayesha helps a young artist involved in Imogen’s art project process the pain of his father walking out on him as a young child.  However, when his father shows up to see him, he learns that actually, his mother took him away after an argument and his father was unable to find them again.

The art project at The Mill begins to help Valerie process her pain as she talks to camera about her cat, Geoffrey’s art work.  And things get emotional when Zara brings Joe in to talk about one of his own pictures and he discusses his parents’ breakup.  Karen share a piece of Imogen’s work, becoming emotional about the joy that her daughter’s art has brought to their lives.

Rob supports Imogen as she runs an art therapy course for people with PTSD and three men bond over their art and their stories as they recover from their individual traumas.

The community art project finishes their mural and despite a big row between a man who thinks he knows it all and a woman supporting her child with selective mutism, it all goes very well.

Imogen opens up to Rob about the lump she has found, requesting that he keep it from Karen for now.  He and Sid manage to get a private specialist appointment to speed things up but Rob also finds out from his sister that on his side of the family, there has been cancer.  Thankfully, Immie’s tests come back positive and she is cancer free.

Valerie is shocked to discover that the beloved Icon has been closed down!

Eastenders

Martin remains under pressure from Ben to carry out bailiff jobs.  Unfortunately, he cannot help taking pity on his targets, which keeps getting him in more trouble with Ben.

Tiffany and Keegan get carried away on a romantic night in a hotel and decide to get married!  Their families are not impressed.  I mean, I think they’re a very sweet couple but come on!  Silly, silly plot.

Rainie reaches breaking point, knowing that she cannot control her addiction anymore and is putting baby Abi at risk.  She deliberately gets herself arrested in a bid to get clean, breaking Stuart’s heart in the process.  Taking pity on him, Kathy offers Stuart a job.  Of course, Ian is quite the barrier.

Big Mo hides an eviction letter from her family.  Leo attempts to keep Whitney and Callum apart.

Emmerdale

When Victoria hears that Lee has died from his injuries, meaning that Robert will now be charged with murder, he and Aaron decide that going on the run together is their only option.  Their loved ones are heartbroken to say goodbye but accept that they are desperate not to spend their lives apart.

When Liv decides that she cannot live without her brothers, she begs to run away with them too.  However, they persuade her to stay behind, not wanting her to live a life on the run.  Unfortunately, just as they are about to make their break, the police hone in.  By that time, Robert has already secretly decided to give himself up.  Aaron is utterly distraught to see his husband hand himself in and be taken into custody, blaming everyone around him just because he can.

Graham hooks up with Kim again, only to decide that he really wants things to work out properly with Rhona.  Rejecting Kim, he and Rhona make a proper go of things, deciding to take things slowly and have a real relationship.

Faith becomes increasingly suspicious of Moira’s behaviour, reaching the conclusion that she and Pete are having an affair.

Hollyoaks

Joel confronts Mercedes with his discovery on Harry’s phone, agreeing to give her one day to confess all to her family before he goes to the police with his evidence.  Instead, she turns to Liam, who has just signed adoption papers, allowing Jesse to become Iona’s legal father, for help with her predicament.  Liam promises to shut Joel down.  However, after failing to steal the phone by breaking into the house, he assaults him and puts him in hospital.  Lying in his hospital bed, Joel finds himself face to face with Mercedes and is still determined to tell the police what he knows – until Mercedes goes as far as threatening Goldie, her own cousin’s life.  With Cindy having seen Liam at the scene of the crime, he is arrested but scared of what Mercedes is capable of, Joel insists that it was just a random attack.  Liam prepares to leave with Mercedes but he is heartbroken to discover that she was only using him to get rid of the recording.

Goldie is worried when Joel talks about Liam in his sleep, that he really did beat him up over something he has on him.  She confronts Liam, who isn’t bothered but Mercedes warns Joel to shut his girlfriend down.  Mercedes attempts to clear the air with Liam but of course, what she doesn’t realise is that of course, he never got rid of the phone.  He still has it and the recording.

Scott and Mitchell have spent another night together but Scott refuses to be Mitchell’s dirty, little secret, especially as it’s only Anita that Mitchell is actually attracted to.  However, he soon gives in and the pair are unable to keep away from each other.

Peri finds Romeo hiding out in the Maalik house.  When she threatens to tell the family, he opens up to her about everything that has happened with his father.  Peri eventually spills the beans to Marnie about the attack and she is able to reconnect with Romeo.  When Juliet finds out what happened, she lays into James.  Romeo and Marnie walk in just as James is shouting at Juliet, prompting Marnie to lay down the law to her son.  He has to leave the family home in order to protect the children.  He stays the night with Kyle and a very reluctant Nancy.  After a chat with Kyle, James returns home, reminded that he pays the mortgage and the bills.  He is back in charge, although happy for his family to stay.

Leah and Charlie fall out at school when Charlie overhears her talking about him behind her back.  Leah desperately tries to become her friend again as she was just showing off – with Ste has her Dad, she doesn’t really have anyone other than Charlie who will give her the time of day.  She wins him round and the pair reconnect.  Could it be love?

Pregnant Liberty is desperate to try and get Brodie and Sienna back together or at least talking enough to attend the baby’s first scan.  However, Luke’s ‘help’ ends up with Brodie connecting with Cindy instead (although they don’t sleep together).  Despite not doing anything wrong, Brodie hides Cindy from Sienna at the Love Boat, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.  Of course, they get caught out anyway.  Cindy does the right thing and makes it clear to Sienna that nothing happened and in fact, Brodie cried and talked about Sienna all night.  Brodie goes to see Damon for a pep talk and he and Sienna reunite only for Liberty to break the news that she has miscarried.

Marnie supports Diane as she attempts to plan Harry’s funeral without Tony’s support.  They are interrupted by the arrival of Edward, Tony’s estranged father who quickly makes his presence felt.  Goldie discovers that Breda is still lying to her and the pig farm is still not for sale.

Home and Away

Alf is concerned when he spots Ben bonding with Karen, drinking together at the caravan site.  When Alf reports to Dean that his mother is in town, Dean hurries to retrieve her and enlists Colby’s help in keeping his mother and his sister apart.  Dean also hasn’t told her about Ziggy.  Ben is surprised to realise he has been getting drunk with his daughter’s boyfriend’s mother.  Dean and Karen discuss Rick.  Bella feels connected to Karen when she tells her that she is the spitting image of her mother, her best friend.  However, when Ziggy finally discovers that Karen is in town, she blunders in and the women do not make a good first impression.  Maggie attempts to rectify things by inviting Karen and Dean round for lunch.  She also hopes to get closer to her husband again.  Lunch is awkward as Karen tells awful stories and flirts with Ben.  She then picks apart Maggie and Ben’s relationship.  She then makes things even worse by making it clear she’d quite like Ben for herself!

After a make or break conversation about their marriage, Ziggy is desperately worried to find her Dad depressed on the beach and her mother drunk at home.  Justin attempts to support Ben but he is rejected.  Ziggy supports her mother.  The women finally admit that Ben is depressed and call support services for help.  They then go and sit with Ben, genuinely offering him kindness, love and support without any pressure.

Jasmine confides in Alex about the situation she and Robbo are caught up in as Robbo becomes more and more frustrated by his lack of memory regarding Dylan Carter on the boat.  Alex then offers hypnosis to try and retrieve the memories, although there is no guarantee that it will work.   Although reluctant, Robbo agrees and through the hypnosis, he begins to remember the boat he was taken hostage on.  Remembering waking up and seeing Dylan Carter who calls him Beckett, he launches himself at Alex and attacks her.

Feeling terrible, he leaves, despite Alex insisting that she is fine and wants to continue to help him make progress.  She and Jasmine track him down to the gym, persuading him to try again.  He agrees on the promise that he is strapped down and Mason is there instead of Jasmine.  Under hypnosis, Robbo and Dylan Carter fight and Robbo shoots him.  But then Dylan Carter knocks Robbo out and into the water.  Another boat comes and takes the Dylan Carter aboard.  Coulson, the man recently murdered is also aboard.  Robbo is full of hope that he has a new direction with his investigation.  Afterwards, Mason and Willow both ask Alex out for a drink.  She has to turn them down, as she still has work to do.

Irene reports that thanks to Bella, her lawyer thinks she is now in with a good chance in court.  Sadly, she is left distraught by some hideous things people have written on the internet.  Locking up the Diner alone for the night, Irene leaves a note for Leah, intending to run away.  However, she is caught immediately by Leah and persuaded to stay.  Irene is told that her trial is likely to be delayed as the judge believe the jurors are probably going to have been influenced by the articles online.  Unfortunately, Bella is already desperately worried about getting things wrong in court.

Raffy and Ryder finally make peace after their breakup and force Bella to come back to school with them.  Raffy meets with Maggie, keen to start planning her future.  She also offers Maggie her support, knowing she is going through a difficult time herself.  Unfortunately, the next day, Raffy has a fit at school.

Neighbours

Shaun and Elly discuss baby names and there is definitely a spark between them, leading to a kiss.

Mark and Aaron return from their mother’s without Chloe, frustrating Pierce.  However, what he and nobody else knows is that Mark has decided to return to his mother’s for good to help Tyler and Piper look after her and make a fresh start after everything that has happened recently.  After a run in with Roxy, he departs Ramsay Street, having recorded videos for all the people who mean something to him – Paul, Roxy, Ned, Toadie, Aaron and David.  He also records a message for Elly who rushes off to say goodbye to him properly.  They make peace with each other before he leaves for good.

Pierce turns to Susan for help with Hendrix.  She and Susan plot to make Hendrix work off his bill to the hotel by cleaning the room up himself.  Hendrix is horrified but concedes.  Delighted, Harlow tells Mackenzie the news and she confronts him over him dumping her at the dance.  He is unapologetic and blames her.  She officially ends whatever might have potentially happened between them.  Hendrix quickly ditches his job at the hotel and Susan asks Toadie and Gary to support Pierce while she is in London with Karl.  However, Pierce soon realises.  They talk him out of being offended.  They talk about their own lives as rebellious teenagers and how they turned their lives around.  To thank Susan for all her help, Pierce arranges a car to take her to the airport and upgrades her ticket to first class. 

Hendrix and Pierce tentatively bond as Pierce engages his son in his wine business but things turn sour when Pierce throws him over for a phone call with Chloe.  He responds by stealing Pierce’s car and going joyriding and hits Harlow with the car, causing minor injuries.  Despite his fury with his son, Pierce covers for him with the police.

Mackenzie tells Shane that despite how things have turned out with her Dad, she still feels like she has found family in Erinsborough.

Paul gives Scarlett a hard time at work.  Out for a drink with Scarlett, Ned realises that she has feelings for him (as do Paul and Kyle).  He lets her down gently but she acts embarrassed, insisting that she only wants to be his friend.  Bea enlists Toadie’s help to get to the bottom of what really happened the night Yashvi walked in on Ned and Scarlett together.  When they arrive back at the house, someone throws a brick through the window with ‘you’re mine’ written on a note attached to it.  Scarlett announces that it’s her ex-fiancé’s writing.  Concerned, Ned brings Scarlett to stay with him.  But of course, Scarlett has paid some girl to throw the brick and nearly gets caught sending her on her way.

The next day, suspicious Bea takes the lead and offers to spend the day with Scarlett.  She uses the time to find out as much about Scarlett as she can.  Scarlett tells Bea about being in a car crash which killed both her parents.  She scampers off for lunch with Ned the second she gets the chance.  Bea feels sorry for Scarlett but she is still worried about Scarlett’s attachment to Ned.  Finn is concerned that Bea is getting too involved.  Meanwhile, Aaron is worried, from a safety perspective, about Scarlett continuing to live with them.  She manipulates her way into staying at the house.  Later that night, Ned and Scarlett finally end up in bed together.  While Ned clearly regrets what happened, he confesses to amused Roxy while Scarlett is smitten and announces their dalliance to shocked Kyle and Amy.  She also tells Yashvi.  However, when she realises that Ned is about to turn her down, she turns him down first.  He is horrified to learn from Bea that Scarlett has told Yashvi about their liaison.  Yashvi angrily confronts Ned in public.  Scarlett lies to Ned about the way Yashvi was told – that she was put into an awkward position and couldn’t lie, rather than she walked right up to her and told her deliberately.

Finn, Amy and Kyle encourage Scarlett to attend a domestic abuse support group with Amy even offering to go with her.

Sheila gate crashes and important dinner for David, Aaron, Clive and Beverly, insulting Beverly and almost costing David a chance to speak at a medical conference.  When Clive drags Sheila back home, an argument over behaviour quickly leads to passion.