I Am A Swede

I've said it before, but Jack and Marian could have conceived a child when he went to Rome to support her in 1991 when her husband died. She wanted to keep it a secret since he chose to stay with Sarah, and that's why she didn't attend her own father's funeral later that year. As for Joe, I wouldn't mind a similar scenario and reveal that his first wife, Christine, was pregnant when their marriage collapsed and she kept her pregnancy a secret from Joe. Now he/she has found out the truth and comes looking for his/her relatives. That child would be in his/her early 40s now and have children thereby extending the Sugden family tree with several new members in an instant.

The treatment of Robert has been horrendous. I know that Robert wasn't exactly an angel before he left, but he had a reason for being the way he was. He was constantly overlooked by Jack in favour of Andy, and probably felt more close to Sarah. When he then found out that Andy was responsible for her death, and that Jack knew and covered for him, it was only logical that he would grow even more resentful towards Andy and do what he could to destroy his life the way he probably felt Andy had destroyed his. But the Robert we've been shown has very little resemblance to that Robert, and his only value to the show seems to be as a trouble-maker and to elicit sympathy for poor Aaron. I have just two things to say about bringing in more Sugden relatives: Sandie Merrick and Sam Skilbeck! With Robert back nothing would make more sense than to have him reach out and seek contact with his older half-sister and her family. As for Sam I realize that there is virtually no hope of TPTB bringing him (or Matt and Dolly) back, but if the incredible was to happen I would do cartwheels of sheer excitement.

Nick Kyrgios wins in Brisbane. http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/42595696 Could he be the one to end the wait and do what Pat Cash, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter couldn't, give the Australian audience a home win for the first time since Mark Edmondson in 1976?

I've never watched Guiding Light, and I'm not even sure it has aired here in Sweden, but if these Shaynes you talk about were only half as annoying as the Dingles then I pity long-time viewers who had to put up with that. My history with Emmerdale stretches back to the late 1970s, and I have such a strong emotional attachment to this show that I can't let it go completely even though my viewing has been a bit off-and-on on occasion. But the presence, and prominence, of the Dingles has been a nuisance more or less constantly ever since they first turned up in 1994. I took an immediate dislike to them and that dislike has over the years turned into full-blown hate. For all I care TPTB could write them all out tomorrow and never even bother to explain where they've gone. They have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I guess they must be popular with the audience though, since they have been kept on the show while other characters have been written out left and right. But for me they are all a waste of space. The fact that two of them, Chas and Charity, have taken ownership of The Woolpack is enough to almost make me weep with frustration. To think that the legacy of Amos and Mr. Wilks is defiled by those two is infuriating. Joseph Tate's return has given me a glimmer of hope that someone will finally be able to really inflict some pain to this horrible family, but knowing how TPTB seem to love the Dingles I fear that it's only a matter of time before they have him panting after Debbie. I pray to every deity that has ever existed that that day will never come.....

Meaning me! For me the mere fact that they exist is enough. I've always disliked them intensely. Sometimes a few of them have been tolerable, but as a whole I feel they have almost ruined this show, and I deeply resent the fact that they get to multiply and have new family members pop up on a regular basis while longstanding families like the Sugdens, the Bates family, the Windsors etc have been more or less wiped out.

RIP France Gall (1947-2018)

Oh my god, did Charity really do what I think she did in the house?! What a disgusting bitch she is! Even though it would be great to see them again, I think that Kim should stay away. Her run was iconic and she had a perfect ending. Any return would only diminish her and I prefer to remember her the way she was.

Please, Helen Keller could see that one coming!

That's wonderful news, and I certainly wouldn't object to seeing Zoe again. If Joseph stays around and continues torturing and humiliating Dingles it would be a wonderful incentive for me to start watching regularly again. But I know that this show has a raging hard-on for all things Dingle so I'm fearful of what the future will bring. I'm not sure I could stand for Joseph falling for Debbie, or the Dingles in any way getting the upper hand on him. The mere thought of that makes me want to throw up.

I think it has been so common and so widespread that it has become the norm, and it's not until this #metoo movement that many have realized what they have been subjected to, or what they have subjected others to. This is not meant as an excuse, but I think that some of the perpetrators really haven't realized that what they've been doing is wrong, simply because it's been so common. At least I hope that is the case, because I'd hate to think that there are so incredibly many sleaze-bags out there.

With Leah Bracknell's health problems I think that's doubtful, unless they recast.

Hmm, I don't know how I feel about that. On one hand I'm impressed that they actually remembered he exists, but on the other hand I'm terrified of what they will do to him. I'm sure he'll be a Dingle cheerleader in no time, just as soon as he falls in love with Debbie for real. Please, please, please show, prove me wrong on that!!

Doreen Keogh, an original castmember of Coronation Street, has died aged 91. She played barmaid Concepta Riley during the show's early years. http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/coronation-street/news/a846520/coronation-street-star-doreen-keogh-dies/

Happy 99th birthday to the Grande Dame of Emmerdale, Sheila Mercier. Let's hope she'll make it to 100, if her health permits.

Who could possibly think that people would want to see something like that? This show has become so dark and depressing.

I do hope that the rumour about a new twist is true, because right now that story is going from bad to worse. Cain emotionally blackmailing Adam into taking the blame for Emma's death is really disgusting. And you have to wonder if he's really thought it through. If Moira is having this much trouble coping with the fact that she caused Emma's death, I doubt that she will find it any easier to cope with the knowledge that her own son is being blamed for something she's done. It will eat away at her mind all the time. If they had to go this way it would have been better to have Moira turn up and try to stop Emma from killing herself, Emma insisting and during a struggle between them Emma losing her footing, falling to her death. Then have Adam turn up and take Moira away from the scene while trying to remove any evidence she was ever there.

Beautiful music from a BBC adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" from the 1980s.

I have a feeling that the viewers would have been more accepting than expected. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I feel that if the writing was good enough the majority would go along with much more than anticipated. The networks and the sponsors were probably more nervous than what was necessary, and most likely pulled the plug on a lot of stories too soon.