Y&RWorldTurner

She was spotted on the set the day they filmed the upcoming Vic fire, so I guess she'll be here until around September or so.

Sheree said she hopes to stay longer than her initial 6 month contract, and if Marquess likes her, I guess she and the actress who plays Anita will be sticking around for a while...

Stephen Uppal (Ravi Roy) is leaving the show. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a245247/stephen-uppal-announces-oaks-departure.html Yet, Anita stays....

I think John Yorke said it best that when EastEnders catches fire, there's nothing else like it in the world. The show gets press attention and viewers for big climaxes like no other soap. Since the 80's, they've had the single most watched soap episode every decade since. It should be interesting to see if Corrie's anniversary week with the tram crash in December will pull in the viewers like EastEnders anniversary week in February did.

It's surprising that all the new viewers that Santer/Treadwell-Collins brought to the show have remained. Whether they did things the best way or not, they really helped to establish a new set of viewers for the show in ways I don't think other soaps have done in recent years. I guess those same set of viewers may be noticing how much more consistent the day to day stuff has been recently too.

It should be interesting to see what the ratings are like tonight, since Friday's are always lower and it's Summer, so people are out.

It's made for a nice change, as most of the stories so far this summer seem more character-driven. I thought Mad May's return and death were a big waste (she had a lot of potential...far more than Dawn if you ask me), and the Nick stuff was a mess, so I think viewers might be happy the show has not tried for a threepeat. The ratings for Eastenders this summer seem more stable than they were last summer, aren't they? Or am I wrong? What's surprising is how horribly Corrie did last night. They barely edged out Emmerdale. I've heard that this is the closet since 2002 that EastEnders and Corrie have been in yearly averages thus far. Though, EastEnders is up 15% in year to year ratings, while Corrie is stagnant or down some. This has surprisingly been a tamer and more understated summer for EastEnders, which I guess might have helped some.

Wow, Danniella Westbrook is looking more like she did in the 90's and more natural again. Definitely a step up from the way she looked in Sam's last return, when she looked more like a whorish Barbie doll. I guess Sam is back for both Minty and Peggy's exits? It appears that she may be using Minty for something though. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1295258/EastEnders-Sam-Mitchells-causing-chaos--upstaging-Heathers-babys-christening-kissing-Minty.html

It's too bad Santer never did much with Chelsea before Tiana quit. Today's scenes with Jordan and then at the Mitchell's proved that she is capable of a lot more when they write strong material for her.

I just hope this group of new students are better than the group Lucy Allan introduced, but it will probably be just as bad.

Andrew Moss (Rhys Ashworth) interview: http://holysoap.five.tv/hollyoaks/news/andy-rhys-will-find-love-8471

Rachel Shenton (Anne 'Mitzeee' Minniver) interview: Part 1: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/interviews/a237545/rachel-shenton-mitzeee-hollyoaks.html Part 2: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/scoop/a237548/bonus-bits-from-hollyoaks-mitzeee.html

Today's episode: I thought Charlie Jones gave one of his best performances on the show tonight. I actually really felt sorry for Ben in those last 10 minutes as he sobbed and was sentenced to 5 months in a prison facility. Peggy has really felt true to character again too, too bad Barbara is leaving. Peggy was tough as nails with Phil in the car, but also vulnerable in insisting that Ben is better off staying to serve his time than run away to Portugal. I cheered when Masood punched Christian, mainly because Christian bugs me. Christian and Syed, I feel like we've seen this stuff a million times already, even as their about to become a legitimate couple. Though, I guess I'm glad they're finally putting them together, so no off and on crap. I also really liked those scenes by the swing set between Chelsea and Jordan. It was one of Tiana's better performances and you really felt how she was not trying to think about Denise, but it was killing her inside. It was a nice touch to have the Michell dinner party for Ben and it was nice to have Jordan visit him before he left. Looks like Stacey is getting tired of Becca and Becca didn't look too please as Stacey kicked out of her that room. With Kat and Alfie coming back, even as Stacey Jean, and Charlie are leaving, the Slater house is going to packed. Becca will have to be kicked out sooner or later. I think this is the beginning of Stacey being fed up with her and maybe laying the seeds out for Becca to go crazy over being isolated by Stacey. Again, I love how Zas Zsa is being phased out with not more than two lines in every episode she appears in these days. Santer really tried to make this character happen in his final months. Overall, I thought it was a good idea to focus on Ben's court case and have the Lucas take a back seat in this episode, it's been frontburner for over a month.

Who knows, as Hollyoaks was the last multi-day soap created back in 1995... But the UK soaps have a better chance of staying a live for years over the daytime soaps in the US. Corrie and EastEnders can still pull in 7-9 million viewers a night and over 10 million viewers with heavy climaxes or big events. I think C4 won't replace Hollyoaks for the immediate future because they might not have anything to replace it with, and the show seems to be pass the million mark again in viewers...

The new students who will start off in the online spin-off: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/scoop/a244534/meet-the-new-hollyoaks-students.html Lee Hunter will also be making his comeback on the online spin-off apparently.

Carol's mentioned in spoilers during the first week of August. Could she finally be getting a story?

Shane Ritchie (Alfie Moon) interview from Walford Web: http://www.walfordweb.co.uk/item.php?id=2522

Yes, the "old person's soap" stigma seems to be one of the prevailing stigmas about the show. Even Corrie doesn't seem to have that and its been on longer! But I wonder if people find the show over the past year or two to be too understated? Maybe as Carl mentioned, they need to make sure some of their storylines end with a bigger bang? I like subtle storytelling as much as anyone else, but that could also prove to be problematic for many viewers if they aren't careful.

Jessie Wallace and Shane Ritchie have started filming for their return. I guess we can expect to see Kat and Alfie return by either late August or early September... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1294586/EastEnders-Jessie-Wallace-Shane-Richie-arrive-set-prepare-return-Kat-Alfie.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Maybe if she wants better ratings and more fan support, she should step down? http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a243537/neighbours-boss-calls-for-fan-support.html

The reasoning behind it also seems a bit absurd and forced. A relationship that ended badly 6 years ago killed his sex drive or willingness to want to have a sexual relationship with someone? I haven't been watching consistently to give a good assessment of the day to day writing and consistency. Emmerdale's never really been my cup of tea to be honest, the most I followed it was in 2004 after the massive storm, which was considered a highlight for the show back then. I know Anita Turner's year at the helm was considered to be horrible, inconsistent, and plagued by low ratings. The show must have spent most of 2009 in transition to get to the stable place they're in now. It's funny that they don't have a lot of those "wow moments." Didn't the show develop a reputation after the plane crash and through the 90's and into the 00's for being too "sensationalistic" and American-like in its soap storytelling? The show is particularly well-noted for its disaster events. As for why I personally have never been drawn to watch consistently, I think I've always found the show to be a little too stogy, artificial, and cold for my tastes. I don't really feel welcomed when I watch it, or it doesn't particularly draw me in for some reason. I also think the rural atmosphere and some of the outrageously glamorous characters they have provide a weird mix for me. It almost feels like they never touch on the struggles between the classes and the masses enough when I watch, which could be a really compelling long-term dynamic. Oh, and the Northern/Yorkshire accents tend to grate on me after a while. Though, it always feels like the show is always overlooked by the UK press, even the UK soap press. I think the rural setting might be to blame for that, and why more people don't watch it compared to its two rivals. Even as the show is now a more contemporary show, that rural setting seems to turn many people off from watching.

It almost felt like I was watching Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman during the build up and immediate aftermath to Nikhil revealing he's a virgin to Jai. That's it? That's the big bad secret that's been troubling him? And over a bitter break up from 6 years ago? I thought it was going to be something more serious then they hit me with that.

Doesn't Cheryl have enough money to get her own place since she just won the lottery? Why the hell is she moving in with Steph? Oh God, just don't tell me Frankie will start thinking of Cheryl as a daughter when Steph leaves...

Marc Elliot interview: http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/soaps/eastenders/interviews/a-quick-chat-with-eastenders-marc-elliott/9523 Interesting what he says about Christian and Syed's big fanbase being teenage girls.

Yeah, Kirkwood has seemingly added some subtle filmic elements to the show, which I guess is an influence from Hollyoaks. They've been well done. I agree, and next week seems like it's going to be a major week with Denise's "funeral" and all.