Y&RWorldTurner

This is supposedly just the beginning. Well, at least, it's nice they've noticed that there's too much dead weight on this show. Hopefully, Kat has some nice goodbye scenes with Charlie, if she comes back during that time.

Page 8 out of 9: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/The-Papers---National-Newspaper-Front-Pages-On-Saturday-April-17-2010/Media-Gallery/201004315606027?lpos=UK_News_Left_Promo_Region_0&lid=GALLERY_15606027_The_Papers_-_National_Newspaper_Front_Pages_On_Saturday_April_17%2C_2010

So, I wonder who else will be on the chopping block... I think it's a good idea to pare this cast down....

Keep in mind, EastEnders was up against an hour long edition of Emmerdale, which started 30 minutes before. Also, ITV had a big bump last night with their election coverage, which means EastEnders was going to suffer. But the repeat on BBC3 gave them an additional 1.42 million viewers, the highest since the anniversary show. So really, more people still watched EastEnders than Emmerdale.

Charlie's death (if this happens) is going to devastate Stacey in her already fragile state of mind, but I guess it can be the catalyst to bring Kate and thus Alfie back to the show. The other characters on this reported list aren't even worth mentioning, they're deadwood and I'm glad they're possibly being axed. I expect more axings on the way, and of course, it's still way too soon for the dire E:20 gang to be axed...

Someone on the Digital Spy soap forums is reporting that The Sun is saying that Charlie Slater, Liz Turner, Libby Fox, Adam Best, Danny Mitchell & Minty Peterson will be written off the show soon. This could be just the start of more firings to come. I'm guessing Kirkwood wants to clean house or it's for budget reasons... The only one I'm remotely sad about is Charlie, but I guess they might kill him off, and that's why Kat and Alfie return? As with anything from The Sun, take it with a grain of salt...

It's amazing and horrible how much Lucy Allan has ruined and totally re-written the character of Josh. I can see why Marquess is getting rid of the character, he's been damaged beyond recognition, IMO.

For Amello: http://holysoap.five.tv/hollyoaks/news/thats-al-folks-6711 Alex Carter's last scenes on Emmerdale will be towards the end of May...

Sheree Murphy interview: http://holysoap.five.tv/hollyoaks/news/sheree-changes-could-be-good-6705

A child abuse story after a suicide attempt plot? Really?

Oh, and I hear Marquess' name will be in the credits by NEXT WEEK, but his actual stories won't be in effect until June or so... Which I guess, is right, since he'll have to finish off Allan's junk and transition the show into his own.

I guess this is the article where Marquess talks about Frankie and Jack, and where he thinks Bryan Kirkwood will be a success at EastEnders and how his appointment there is a stepping stone for a bigger career at the BBC. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a214458/oaks-boss-has-high-hopes-for-kirkwood.html I guess Marquess started watching during the time where Anita was faking anorexia and where Hannah relapsed, and where Mercedes had her HIV scare, so that may be why he thought Allan's show was too "dark."

I think Marquess will make the show more campy in the dramatic sense. Which I guess, can work on a show like Hollyoaks. But there also seems to be a generational aspect with the new families, so I guess he'll attempt to infuse more heart into the show. He should really like a quirky family like the McQueen's. in addition to his new families.

It's amazing how ALL of Lucy Allan's new characters have sucked ass, not one seems to have much promise. She also tried so hard to keep the tone Kirkwood brought to the show, but has failed miserably and doesn't have the storytelling mind he had. I'm sure Marquess will get rid of all of these characters, when the actors who play them, contacts expire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRDc6RDe9QQ :P

As Carl mentioned, the only one coming off sympathetic in this storyline is Amira, which seems very unintentional. Aren't we supposed to be sympathetic towards Syed and Christian and them "longing" to be together? The actress playing Amira has been doing her best with the material they've given her, and it's easier to relate to how she's feeling. She isn't coming off as a nasty pervert like Christian or directionless like Syed. As for Ben, he's apparently being bullied by these girls....

I hope Kirkwood pisses all over Treadwell-Collins' "Greek tragedy" or replaces him when he gets settled in. Though, Treadwell-Collins gets so much praise from the press and John Yorke, it might not happen. Though, hopefully, Kirkwood will set a better tone and direction for the show and balance him out better than Santer did.

Christian is a nasty little creep. Ugh, he's just one of those pervy characters I hate. Poor Ben, that actor must get picked on a lot at school for this stuff. :lol: Fatboy is the most hideous and vile thing I've ever seen. I hope he never gets a main story and is written out very soon. I didn't mind Lucy, all she did was support Christian in this episode, and compared to the other younger actors on this show, the actress isn't that bad. I wonder when the reveal comes out in the Chyred story, how much longer those two will last on EastEnders. They might as well write them out soon after Amira leaves, since I doubt they'll be getting much when/if they become official. There's no chemistry AT ALL between Christian and Syed.

I must say, it seems like Marquess wants to make Hollyoaks more of a multi-generational show with all these families. It seems like the parents of many of these young characters will be heavily involved in stories, even leading them.

Sheree Murphy has told Inside Soap that she's only contracted for 6 months, but hopes to stay longer, and she'll initially be "in and out" like a recurring player as her story builds...

I wonder what the plans are for Ronnie. Apparently, Santer and Collins love her, but all they do is have her walk abound town moping. I wonder if Kirkwood will have any interest in her or if he'll have her written out by next year.

I enjoyed some things about Monday's show... I liked seeing Dot, Pat, and Peggy actually doing more than greeting people. Poor June Brown has to prop that albatross Billie/Devon Anderson, though. But it was nice seeing Dot in various scenes with various characters. Zainab buying sex toys for Amira was hilarious. :lol: :lol: I actually felt a little emotion with those final scenes between Jack, Dot, and Jim. Seeing Jim break down was sad. I have a soft spot for Ben, and it was hard watching those girls beat him up and make fun of him. Poor Ben.

I think Clare's return was lost in the shuffle. Kirkwood admitted in an interview that Lucy Allan would be rewriting a lot of his final material before it aired. Also, that exit for Clare thanks to Sasha was just days into Allan's time as Producer. I wonder how Kirkwood would have had her last exit turn out. He loved Clare and Gemma, I can't imagine him being too happy with how Allan handled her exit and the aftermath of Warren's death. I wonder Kirkwood will re-hire Gemma at EastEnders and attempt to make up for that dreadful return Santer and Collins gave to Clare Bates. I don't think there's room for her right now, but they really dropped the ball with her at EastEnders.

I don't think so, Neighbours, though it isn't as highly rated as it was during its peak in the late 80's, was canceled during its first year and then brought back after it got renewed interest from viewers with, I think, repeats. Though, I believe, Home and Away continues to be one of the, if not the, highest rated show in Australia. It's funny, though she was a nasty piece of work, I never wanted to see Clare get her comeuppance. She was too fun to watch, and I especially loved it when she told that brainless twit Louise, "The only meaningful relationship you've ever developed was between yourself and your makeup bag. Any more concealer and you would have wiped away whatever personality you've got left!" :lol:

I think Home and Away is the closest parallel I can draw to Hollyoaks. That show is very different from what it was 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and yes 20 years ago. Kind of like Hollyoaks in a sense. There's no real core to it and "older" actors don't have much of a presence on that show. Home and Away, for most of its existence, has always been about the youth demographic, and once characters reached a certain age, they were downgraded to supporting or written out completely. The show became more about the stories it was telling than about characters that had been there for years. If the new characters were interesting and the stories were good, it made the show better. I guess that would be better for some to watch than to watch once interesting characters being fed crap story after crap story for years or be rendered useless. Familiar actors and characters are nice, but with a show that's never had a solid identity like Hollyoaks and generally looks down on older characters, there's only so far they can take things. If the show were better at creating new characters and writing better for existing characters, I think it would be enough to get things back on track.