Y&RWorldTurner

Alvin, what's the order of the Cunningham family?

You mean the siblings?

Most of them aren't on the show anymore.

I think it's Cindy, Jude, Max, Dawn, and Tom. Tom is a half-sibling though.

Dawn died of leukemia, Jude fled the country, and now of course Max is dead.

Niall is worming his way into Tom and Steph's life.

I don't think that will last long.

Niall will be responsible for Kieron's upcoming death, when Kieron finds out that Niall is really Myra's long lost son. I can so see his downfall coming after that.

Shocking spoiler

http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/showbi...il/article.html

HOLLYOAKS producers are to kill of one of the show's babes in an explosive new storyline. The four McQueen girls, Tina, Carmel, Mercedes and Jacqui are held hostage in a church, which is the blown up by their evil kidnapper, and according to The Daily Star, one of the soap stunners will not survive. But it is not yet being revealed to viewers which actress - Leah Hackett, Gemma Merna, Jennifer Metcalfe or Claire Cooper - is being axed from the Channel 4 soap.

I had to bump this thread, because I finally found a longer version of Stone's death theme.

It's from the ABC Afterschool Special Positive: A Journey Into AIDS, produced by Wendy Riche and Shelley Curtis. It detailed Kimberly McCullough and Michael Sutton finding out more about HIV/AIDS and the storyline at the time. The almost 3 minute version of the theme kicks in about the last 3 minutes of this clip, it starts at about the time Francesca James (then GH's Supervising Producer) is talking to Kimberly and Michael about their final scene together.

This score is simply AMAZING, and probably the best score I've ever heard on a soap.

Okay so when this was airing (Late Nov 2006), did the viewers know that JP and Craig were gonna hookup?

It was always the plan according to Bryan Kirkwood, but I think viewers knew that it would happen a few months after John Paul and Craig met. The build up was great to this story, it was gradual, and they played all the beats.

Storylines are written very differently on British soaps. The building and climax are usually already outlined from the start and the writers have a clear sense of where things are going months before it actually airs.

And oh, as the story goes on, you'll see just how stupid Sarah is, and how the signs were right in front of her face that Craig and John Paul wanted each other. The Craig/John Paul/Sarah/ triangle was intense to watch though. Hannah was involved in the beginning too, she was so in love with Craig and it wrecked her to find out that he was gay and used her in the beginning, that coupled with Sarah's then building modeling career led to Hannah's bout with anorexia.

This week was very good, and other than torrents, I don't know who else might upload episodes for you to watch.

I recently started watching again because of Kirsty and I don't miss Sally at all. She was the Christine Blair of H&A, IMO - highly overrated.

For some reason, I knew you wouldn't like Sally.

Everyone has the right to his/her own opinion. However, since viewers watched Sally/Kate Ritchie grow up on the show over the course of 20 years, the character and actress has a special bond with the audience that no one else on the show has (and Alf doesn't count, since he was an adult when the show started). It's like an emotional attachment, kind of like how some were pissed when Cassie was killed off on Y&R because they watched her grow up and she represented a state of stability and familiarity with viewers.

I haven't kept up with Home And Away since early 2007 with the aftermath of Sally's stabbing. However, I did download Kate Ritchie's last month worth of episodes or so. I still can't believe she's gone, she was the heart of that show for so many years IMO.

Has her absence left a bit of a hole in the show? I know Home And Away like many other soaps has increasingly become more and more youth oriented over the years, but Sally was always a vital part of everything right through it all.

Anyway, was it ever explained if Cassie's kid had the HIV virus as well? I know Cassie left with Sally and was still pregnant at the time, but was it addressed before/after they left?

In case anyone's wondering, here is the beginning of Max and Steph. Max tells Steph about how he blames himself for Clare's wrong-doings and how he thinks he's turning into a monster.

Another favourite Clare scene of mine. After Clare had falsely reported Max to Social Services for abusing Tom, she goes to Tom and tells him that everyone who he's loved and that loves him dies because of him. So, when the Social Service Worker comes to investigate Tom and Max, Tom falsely tells the Social Worker that he doesn't want to live with Max anymore because Clare convinced him that Max would die because of him (though he doesn't say that directly), like Tom's other loved ones.

The sad thing is, Clare was right, everyone who loves Tom ends up dying.

Clare is insane, and it's kind of funny in a bad way the stuff she tells Tom.

Also in this clip, Clare had told Calvin that Louise aborted their child together, so that's why Calvin is so mad at her. This entire episode is posted, and this is just part two of three parts.

Shocking John Paul, Kieron, and Niall spoiler, thanks to Anita for PM-ing me this! I don't see how Niall is redeemable after this and all the other things he's pulled.

I wonder how Craig's return fits into all of this.

http://dailystar.co.uk/soaperstar/view/46262/Hollycroaks/

HERE’S the proof that evil Niall Rafferty does kill gay priest Kieron Hobbs and make it look like suicide.

The plotline had sparked a fans’ campaign to get the writers to change their mind.

But, as our pictures show, Kieron – seen being comforted by his fella John-Paul McQueen (James Sutton, 25) – is bumped off by Niall (Barry Sloane, 27) who drugs his drink.

It comes after Kieron (Jake Hendriks, 27) finds out Niall has been keeping secret the fact he is Myra McQueen’s long-lost son.

A mole said: “This has been building for months.”

This week is going to be good with Jack's "funeral" and the stuff with Newt!

BTW, here is Gemma Bissix's exit interview for EastEnders, she said she'd return to Hollyoaks if asked because she'd like to finish up the stuff with Warren, even if Max is dead, but she'd like to try a variety of things outside of soaps first.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a112553/...eastenders.html

Gemma Bissix (Clare Bates, 'EastEnders')

Tuesday, July 29 2008, 10:29 BST

By Kris Green, Soaps Editor

EastEnders actress Gemma Bissix bows out of the Walford--based soap in a couple of weeks' time when her character Clare Bates is left feeling isolated and unwanted by her closest friends and family. The former Hollyoaks actress finished filming at Elstree Studios last month, and last week we caught up with her to chat about her - albeit brief - return to her roots, Paul Bradley and what's in the pipeline for her in the coming months.

Do you think Clare really liked Bradley? Or was he just part of her big game?

"It was all part of a big game - to start with, at least. Clare's actually got a bit of a softer side to her and she does genuinely care for him."

Clare begins to doubt who she is doesn't she? We begin to see a glimmer of something nice in her…

"Dot's away the week prior to Clare's final week on the Square and Bradley finds Clare's little black book. When he turns against her, it turns into a bit of a drunken mission for her and she wrecks Dot's house. When Dot comes back, she finds her in a bit of a state and hands her a Christianity leaflet. She actually sits and tries to pray."

We only really ever scratched the surface with her, don't you think? There's still a lot we don't know about Clare.

"Oh, definitely. This isn't a closed chapter. At the end of the day, she's been outed off the Square and with the character she is, she doesn't even know what's going on in her own head. Someone like Clare doesn't stick around Walford unless there's a reason. I like to believe in what I do and believe in my characters. I'm not going to stay in a job for no reason. Clare would definitely leave in this situation."

Did you ever bump into Paul Bradley at Elstree?

"Yeah! On my first day. I took my mum with me, funnily enough. She used to chaperone me for the six years that I was with EastEnders before and we all sat in the canteen and had lunch like it was old times."

Do you think you ever left behind Hollyoaks character Clare Devine?

"A lot of people ask me this. Clare Bates is a minx and dresses to impress, using her sexuality to get where she wanted. You'll see in the next few weeks of episodes, though, that Clare Devine doesn't have the emotion Clare Bates does. Clare Devine kills people, she tells little children that they're the reason for their parents' death!"

Did you watch Max's death in Hollyoaks?

"Most definitely. It was very sad watching it. I went up to Liverpool earlier this month, funnily enough, and saw Matt [Littler]."

I read somewhere that you were planning on giving up acting in soaps now…

"Oh no, I didn't say that. If I've been quoted as saying that, I would have meant that I wasn't intending on appearing in another soap. There was talk of me going to The Bill but I wasn't planning on going down any more soap routes. I'm interested in doing one-off dramas."

So you wouldn't consider moving back up north to go back to Hollyoaks?

"I'd definitely go back to Hollyoaks if I were asked. I wouldn't rule it out. Even though Max (Matt Littler) has died, there's still the whole situation with Warren (Jamie Lomas) if and when him and Louise were to get married."

What have you been doing since you finished filming?

"I've got a couple of bits and pieces on the horizon. I've got an episode of Hotel Babylon coming up and I've got an episode of Britannia High, too - a musical drama series that Gary Barlow's written. They're not regular jobs, though, like EastEnders. I'm secure enough now, though, to take a few risks in what I do. I'd like to be able to try different avenues. As an actress, you live by your contract, so nothing's secure unless you have one."

Thanks for sharing. Do you have the clip when Claire finds out that it was Justin who pushed her down the steps?

Here it is, this was one of the best episodes EVER. Justin tells her towards the end of the clip, btw.

Also did you get my last pm with the second part of Guy Burent BSV?

Yes, thank you!

Off topic, but one of my favourite Clare scenes is posted on youtube. When OB confront her and slams her into the wall.

This was the set-up for the Who Pushed Clare mystery. Clare mentions "two for the price of one" as the night Mel and Sophie died. The night they died, Mel was going to expose Clare for the liar and cheater she was (Mel found out that Clare was sleeping with Warren and her illegal activities I think) and was going to tell Max about it. OB already knew and he never liked Clare from the start. Mel and Clare hated one another from the start too, and Mel was battling alcoholism, which made many not believe her claims towards Clare. The irony is by the night that Mel died (along with twin sister, Sophie), she had finally won her battle against alcoholism. Sophie and Mel were close with Max and OB.

Anyway, Justin, who is the brother of Mel and Sophie, overheard this confrontation between OB and Clare and pushed her, which was later revealed. It was a good umbrella story/mystery.

Oh, and by this time Clare had gotten Social Services to take Tom away from Max.

So why are Ross/Mercedes getting a divorce?

A summary from Wikipedia.

Warren Adultery

Mercedes and Russ reconciled, but she slept with Warren again on Tina's hen night. Feeling guilty, and perhaps having clearer judgment due to cheating on Russ, Mercedes then asked Russ to marry her (whilst he was planning on asking her the same thing) at the reception for older sister Jacqui's sham wedding to Aleksander.

On the build up to her and Russ' wedding, Mercedes booked the same day as sister Tina's wedding, knowing it's Nana McQueen's birthday, Myra convinced them to have a double wedding. The wedding looked like it was nearly off though when Russ' ex Dannii Carbone returned and Mercedes believed they were back together but Russ and Mercedes sorted it out and Danni left Hollyoaks Village behind. Mercedes once again slept with Warren behind Russ's back during Tina's Hen Night. However, Jacqui found out about the affair the next day because of Mercedes' guilt-ridden demeanor.

When Warren used Mercedes as his alibi (regarding the attempted murder of Clare Cunningham) , Mercedes completely denied it to save her wedding. Warren's girlfriend Louise crashed the wedding to confront Mercedes, but Tina lied about her whereabouts the night of Clare's fall. This resulted in Warren's continued incarceration and Mercedes being plagued by guilt.

The truth is revealed

With Warren's court case fast approaching, Mercedes was receiving threats and pressure from everyone who knows. In August, Russ found out she has been visiting Warren in jail and it didn't take him long to figure out why.

Mercedes' conscience caught up with her and she appeared as a witness at Warren's trial, as she came in at the last minute. After Russ found a note from her in the apartment saying "I'm so sorry. I love you" and he headed to the court in time to see Mercedes takes the stand. She told the court that she was with Warren on the night that Clare was pushed. After hearing that she was in bed with Warren, Russ stormed out of the court room and she attempted to follow him but is stopped when the judge threatens to hold her for interrupting the trial. Her statement later results in Warren's release.

She found Russ and tried to explain she did the right thing not letting an innocent man go to prison, but Russ dished the insults to Mercedes that he should have stayed with Sophie and if it wasn't for Mercedes she would still be alive and says that he wants nothing more to do with her.

Oh, and Mercedes doesn't know that Russ is actually little Max's father through the one night stand he had with Tina. I'd love to see how she reacts to Tina and Jacqui when she finds out.

So are both kids Ste's?

Leah isn't, but Ste doesn't know. Amy has been trying to pass Leah off as his kid for a long time now. The kid Amy is expecting is Ste's kid though.

WOW, Friday's episode was great. I LOVE that Amy's finally left Ste, after he beat her up AGAIN. It's sad that she has yet another baby on the way though, that's the last thing she needs in her life right now. I love how Tina is consoling her though. There was such a theme of parenthood in this episode. Like Amy raising Leah in an abusive relationship and being pregnant, Tina regretting giving Max to Jacqui and Tony, and Kris' bad relationship with his own father. That's why I love Hollyoaks so much, no matter how different everything is, there's always so sort of unifying factor going on somehow.

I've seen Monday's episode too and its even better.

Last Friday and Monday's episodes were AMAZING! Wow, Newt is going crazy by blaming himself for Jack's death, and it's nice to see sympathetic side of Darren, even if he's concealing a lie. This whole thing is really screwing him up, and it's nice to feel for him, since he's an otherwise unsympathetic character.

The family drama invovled in all of this is outstanding, and Ashley Taylor Dawson (Darren) is really acting his ass off, this is probably the best acting I've ever seen him do.

When is Craig's return, Anita? It's just weird that they haven't mentioned him, as he's Frankie's son, Steph's brother, and was close to Jack and Darren.

While I love Hollyoaks, I need another international soap to watch (in addition to Hollyoaks). Any recommendations?

EastEnders is pretty good right now as well, and Coronation Street is also getting better at the moment.

You might like Emmerdale, I think out of all the UK soaps, it's probably closer to American daytime soaps, as it can be sleezy and trashy at times. I personally can't stand the show though.

I was totally fooled by the beginning of Thursday's episode! I was like, "Not another death!! Not Jack!"

A little too JER-ish for you, eh?

Ahh....so that dude with Newt wasn't real. I wondering who he was. How/Why is Newt schizo? He was adopted by Jack and Frankie?

Newt is a foster kid that Jack and Frankie took in last fall, he's definitely had a troubled past.

Summary from Wikipedia regarding him being a schizo:

On Friday 20th June, Eli and Newt were set to run away together and restart a life on their own. Newt says his last feeble goodbyes to Lauren and Jack who do not suspect that Newt will be gone forever. He meets Eli at the bus stop and they reflect upon their plans. Meanwhile, Lauren watches one of Newt's many tapes and sees that it was him, not Eli, who wrote threatening messages onto the Dean Residence walls. She sees Newt graffiting and smiling at the camera. Meanwhile, Eli and Newt start chanting 'Eli's gonna get you.' They chant this until Eli fizzles away from the shot, leading the viewers to realise that Eli is really a figment of Newt's imagination, and not a real person. This may therefore show that Newt is actually a schizophrenic. Newt's mental health will be revealed on the 7th August 2008.

Speaking of Kris, I guess he's a cross dresser?

Well, kind of, he's a gay man who loves wearing female clothing. LOL!

How did Jack become bankrupt and how did Darren get in debt with the loan sharks?

Darren lost his half of The Dog (the pub/place where Jack, Frankie, and Darren lives) in a game of poker to Warren. In order to get Darren's half back, Jack took out a loan. However, this caused him to go into huge debt, which is only getting worse.

Darren had a gambling addiction that set the whole thing off earlier in the year. Jack and the rest of the Osborne/Dean family disowned him for a while, but eventually Jack forgave him. Jack suffered a heart attack initially when he learned how Darren lost his half of The Dog.

Darren's gambling problems got so bad that he started stealing Frankie's jewlerly to pay off his debts. Jack initially thought it was Newt who was the theif, so he kicked Newt out. He eventually invited Newt to come back, but since then "Eli" has been telling Newt that Jack wants to send him back into the foster care system and the only way to stop this is if he kills Jack.

Darren or Jack better tell them the truth very quickly.

Darren is trying to cover his own ass, most of this is his fault. LOL!

Jack will make his grand return at his own funeral.

Thursday's show was so good. Newt is obviously a schizophrenic, and Eli is a figment of his mind that's controlling him.

Darren is stupid. He never thinks anything through. However, I guess he doesn't know that it was Kris' dad who died, with whom he had Jack switched identities with.

BTW, Jack is bankrupt and the only saw he can afford to pay off his debts is if he died and his life insurance can cover the costs. So, Darren convinced him to fake his death..

I like how's this is incorporated into Newt's schizophrenia, since the voice inside his head (Eli) is telling him to kill Jack.

This is going to crush Frankie and Steph when they come back.

I love me some Hollyoaks, especially John Paul and Kieron.

There's so much speculation going around about what's going to happen to Kieron when Craig returns. I think he's a goner (in more ways than one!).

Wednesday's show is a good set-up for tomorrow's shocking show. Even though Jack brought a lot of this on himself, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I also liked how everyone is trying to help him out, the sense of community is really essential to any soap, IMO.

Poor Newt, he really misunderstands the whole situation. I never thought I would like this character, but he's grown a lot on me.

Anyway, tomorrow's episode should be great.

God, Niall is such a nasty psycho. LOL! Did you see how he looked when he realized that John Paul and Kieron had worked things out? He really wanted John Paul to get hurt.

I don't want Steph anywhere near him. Maybe they'll hook up and Steph will come to know what a lunatic he is and dump him. I still can't believe that after how many times he's tried (and succeeded) at breaking Max and Steph up, they'd even consider pairing Niall and Steph.

I feel really sorry for Newt, and Jack. That story is really heating up, what Jack will do this week is really desperate and sad.

Anyway, another Max and OB video a friend of mine made set to Leona Lewis' Footprints In The Sand. The song is so perfect, especially with these clips.

I liked the Frankie and Steph scenes today, they were sweet.

It looks like Jack's financial woes are catching up to him this week. I still thought it was pretty low of him to hit Steph up for money, considering the state she's been in lately.

Jack is going to fake his death to get out of his financial problems later this week.

I hate that Steph told Niall that she knew him running down Max was an accident. I wanted her to hate his psycho ass much longer. But I loved how he told her that he was there if she ever needed anyone and she replied, "Well, that's what my family is for!"

I will be really pissed if they decide to pair Steph and Niall in the future. I also can't wait for Niall to be exposed in a few months...

Blanche is hilarious.

Oooh, I just saw it! I can't say I feel sorry for Ste, after the way he's physically and mentally abused Amy. I'm glad she's finally left him and I hope she doesn't take him back.

I really want Amy and Josh to reconnect, I loved them together!

The link to the spoiler photos:

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/m.../07/080711.html