Ben

So glad they killed him off. In hindsight, I'm happy they killed Maddie off when they did, now that another of her fellow, pointless students have gone, too. I also wouldn't have been able to stand her screaming that Esther was to blame in every scene.

So glad that Bart is getting all the blame, as it he should.

The SORASing of Holly is silly, as she looks as old as Cindy who is supposed to be her mother. Now, Holly has gone back home, so why randomly introduce her then? As first impressions go, Holly's wasn't a good one. That look of disdain at her mother breaking down over her blood-stained wedding dress was bad.

Jacqui is so awesome with this material; she's really selling the grieving widow.

On the subject of Rhys, you may be happy to know, Bright Eyes, that his legacy will apparently live on...

Thanks for letting us know. I won't be watching this show until Brendan and Ste are both gone, but I hope that it works out for them.

Who died?

I love how you want them gone, but hope it works out for them. That's a bit twisted.

So far, these people died:

Rhys, Maddie and Neal. Rhys was the saddest death, as he was pinned under a steal beam, having severed a major artery in his leg. He only had 10 minutes to live. Jacqui was heartbreaking during these scenes, and so was Cindy, who had to stand on the sidelines watching the (other) man she loves die. Not the biggest fan of Rhys & Jacqui as a couple, but they really worked the material, especially Jacqui.

Neal was trapped in the mini van, and everyone thought he was dead. Maddie showed how self centred she was, by protesting all the way through the rescue that she was trapped, not caring about anyone else. Then, at the last minute, George told her to move her seat forward so he could get free, which freed her at the same time, and when George climbed out, Neal regained consciousness and begged Maddie to help him. In a split second, she chose to save herself and fled to safety. 20 seconds later: ka-boom! The van exploded, killing Neal. And in a wicked twist of fate, a piece of debris came hurtling down, crushing Maddie to death.

At this point, Maddie as a character became interesting. Her choosing to leave Neal to die was cold as ice, and it could have been interesting to see that play out. As it stands, no-one knows what she did to Neal, or of her motives for bullying Esther (except Tilly, who disowned her - a scene that was way to short and rushed). Maddie deserved to die, but later, once she had lost all of her friends, instead of dying a "hero", as George called her, seconds before she was crushed.

They could have killed off more teens, as we are still left with major dull duds. Hopefully Bart will go to prison for driving stoned, and causing the crash.

Who is Phoebe and why is she with Jacqui?

Phoebe was a homeless kid, who George met on the streets when he ran out of money. They were both groomed by this couple who kidnapped them and tried to turn them into prostitutes. It was all very grim. George moved in with Kanes (and reconnected with his absent parents who believed he was dead), but Phoebe was still homeless. Her mother is a deadbeat call girl who used her daughter to buy drugs (I think), so Jacqui took pity on her and moved her in with her and Rhys. It took weeks to build up the trust between them. Phoebe has a lot of trust issues, and she doesn't like other people coming between her friends, so she kinda manipulates their lives so all they have is her, like all she has is them. I like Phoebe; she has a lot of potential, and is ultimately very damaged.

And where is Carmel? They keep referring to talking to her on the phone, but I haven't seen her.

After the scarring, Carmel ran away to live with Nana McQueen (off screen). IRL, she had to take time out of the show after her dad died. She's away for a while, but is back on screen now.

If you haven't seen it, yet, or tuned out of the show, make sure you watch the crash episodes, as they have been awesome. I won't spoil the deaths, but one was extremely sad, while Karma acted quickly for another, in the most genius way.

They really blew the budget.

Oh, UK Law, so good to see someone so knowledgeable fill in the blanks. I'm not so good with the finer details on things.

I remember the episode started with the body bag being removed from the Swan, and how it flashbacked to the earlier day, but I had completely forgotten that the whole week was used to tell the story leading up to Pete's death.

The sexing up of the show did feel hollow, but maybe over time that may have fixed itself, but we will never know. Now that you mention it, the show did focus on more younger characters, and people like Sadie were written out, which I thought was a shame. Do you know if David Easter wanted to leave, or was he let go by SO'C?

Do you have any idea what they would have renamed the show as?

I think he felt like there was no way out for him. He shot at the police knowing they would shoot and kill him - suicide by cop. I don't remember his mental state at the time, but it was quite a sudden exit.

Eileen was a hot mess. But a fun mess at that. They brought her back b/c she was popular, and the character needed some kind of closure. Fans weren't happy when she left, and felt she should have stayed. No-one else was brought back at all, which may show how random the cancellation was.

Really?! It was a good storyline. Graham was one of those characters who was nice to everyone, but then nasty to Denise. At one point, she let doubt filter through and started to believe she was mistaken and even apologised to him, but then he switched and revealed she was right all along. He was so nasty and creepy, who had no remorse; he totally got off on terrorising/taunting her, knowing that no-one believed her. It went on for months, and was so good when Denise was finally able to unmask him.

Here's Pete and Eileen's bios, and you can see how there stories intertwine.

Pete entered the storyline in June 1997. As Maria's callous former husband he was disliked by most of her friends, the Hart and Gates families and their associates. Nevertheless he took over running the local bar restaurant The Lock where they all regularly hung out. Pete developed a deep seated enmity with Roy Farmer, and later developed similar rivalries with his employee Josh Matthews and Josh's father Dave.

Despite his thuggish tendencies Pete was revealed to have a love of children. During a brief and troubled marriage to Claire Toomey, he was nevertheless a devoted stepfather to her twins Evan and Stella.

After splitting from Claire, Pete embarked upon a De facto marriage to Dave' ex-wife Cat for several months, but it was eventually revealed to have been a con perpetrated by Pete to exact revenge on Dave and to swindle Cat out of her home. He had convinced her to sign over ownership of her home to him as a formality to expedite a business transaction. After this was done he revealed the con to her, ended the relationship, and kept the house. Soon after this Cat found she was pregnant. At first there was doubt as to whether the child was Pete's or Dave's. Tests showed the child to be Pete's.

After selling The Lock and buying the pub The Black Swan, Pete reemployed Josh as a barman to pay off a debt. Pete later murdered Josh, framing his then-wife Siobhan for the crime. She was found guilty and given a suspended sentence. Soon after the trial she realised that Pete had framed her. Pete was imprisoned (on remand) for a lengthy period starting December 2003 after being framed for arson by his then-wife Eileen. He returned after being acquitted at his trial in June 2004.

He continued in Charnham until September 2005 when he was shot dead during an armed standoff with S019 officers.

Pete was a very iconic Family Affairs character. He was born on 9 July 1959 in Liverpool or London but was living in Stepney, London by the time he was 11. His real father's first name is unknown but his Scouse mother Joan, who we saw in the series, remarried when Pete was 11 and Pete suffered years of abuse at the hands of his stepfather. His mum knew but never did anything. Pete was charged for his stepfather's manslaughter in 1975 and sentenced to 3 years in prison. He had an affair the very early 1980s with Patsy Jones, the wife of his mate Reg and Patsy gave birth to Julie Ann in 1981 but Pete never knew Julie Ann was his until 18 years later. He married Maria in the 1980s and made his debut in Charnham in 1997.

Eileen first arrived in Charnham, in October 2002, where her daughters Charlotte and Lucy were living. Charlotte resented this and left immediately, but Lucy was happy to see her mother again. Pete Callan, Charlotte's ex-boyfriend, viewed Eileen with not much regard but things came to a head on Christmas Day when Pete and Eileen kissed.

Eileen went on to have a complex relationship with Pete, which managed to survive her sleeping with Lucy's boyfriend, Jake Walker. When Eileen found out Lucy had tried to commit suicide after sleeping with Pete, who rejected her, she set about getting revenge.

Eileen formulated a plan to marry Pete so she could divorce him and take half of his money, but this revenge plan got complicate once Mike Shaw, Eileen's former boyfriend and pimp was in the mix. Mike organised a scheme to have Pete put away for arson, by setting fire to The local cybercafe which was owned by Pete's enemy, local resident Roy Farmer. The plan backfired as Roy was killed in the fire while saving his wife, Nikki Warrington.

Pete was arrested on his and Eileen's wedding day, which occurred coincidentally on the same day as Roy's funeral. Eileen was made interim licensee of the Black Swan Pub Pete owned.

During this period, Eileen's conscience managed to get the best of her and she told Dave about it. Dave, having a soft spot Eileen, covered for her and agreed to work several shifts in the bar.

When Sam Taylor arrived in Charnham, looking for Bar work in May 2004, little did Eileen know she was staring at the son she had given away. It wasn't until an argument caused by Sam's clumsiness that the truth was revealed. Lucy, who had taken a liking to Sam was disgusted when she found he was her half-brother. Eileen revealed to Sam that Mike was his father.

On the day of Pete's trial, Mike turned up and attempted to rape Eileen, Dave and Lucy were quick to intervene. Mike lunged for Eileen but Lucy pushed him to the floor in the bathroom, causing his death. Pete, having been acquitted of Roy's murder came home to witness this and devised a plan to dump Mike's body at a footbridge.

Mike's body was found and Eileen was forced to come clean to Sam, who lied to the police to protect her.

Eileen then found herself at the mercy of a stalker who had known of her plot; It turned out it was none other than her old friend Trish Wallace, who had also dated Mike when they were younger. It transpired that Trish had been seeing Mike while living in Hastings and fallen pregnant but had miscarried.

Trish then preceded to get Pete onside and provided him with the tape of Eileen confessing to frame Pete. This culminated in Pete throwing Eileen in the River Thames on their first wedding anniversary, after playing the tape back to her.

Eileen and Pete were separated for several weeks with Pete having an affair with barmaid Katie Williams and Eileen seeking refuge with Dave and had a little fling. Both these affairs fizzled out once Pete and Eileen realised they loved each other.

That Summer, Trish returned with the news that she was pregnant. Eileen figured out Pete was the father and agreed to make a deal with Trish about the baby. Pete had always wanted a baby with Eileen but Eileen had suffered several miscarriages. Trish began manipulating things and stirring up trouble for the Callans. Trish eventually gave birth to a baby boy, Thomas.

In September 2005, on the day of Thomas' christening, Trish appeared upstairs at the pub with a gun and held the Callans and Katie hostage. Pete managed to wrestle the gun away from Trish and shoot her with it. Worse was to come when S019 officers stormed the pub and ordered Pete to drop the gun. Pete took a shot at the police and was killed for his trouble.

Eileen was left depressed as Pete had died and left her with nothing and everything to his two sons, Davie and Thomas. To repay Pete for this, Eileen flushed his ashes down the toilet. After Thomas had been taken into care following Trish's arrest, Eileen's mental state went from bad to worse, alienating many locals including her friend, Chrissy Costello.

One night that October, Eileen set fire to the pub. Everyone had feared she committed suicide, but she was alive and well. Eileen decided to bid farewell to Charnham after getting in contact with her brother in Australia.

Two months later on New Year's Eve (the series' final episode), Eileen returned to Charnham having won the lottery and purchased two houses in Chigwell, one for her and one for her friend Chrissy and her family.

Ecstatic. Love that Steph and Sarah are returning, and I'm one of the few (it seems) that actually liked Mark. Some people found him dull b/c he's a nice guy, who has integrity, which makes him seem a bit uptight about things; he was a good contrast to manipulative Dr. Rhys and happy-go-lucky, handyman Kyle, who he shared Number 26 with.

I loved Sarah, but apparently, a lot of people found her boring. Why do nice characters get such bad reps? I'm looking forward to her sharing scenes with Toadie, but more importantly, Karl and Susan. Sarah is probably just a plot device to get Karl and Susan back together, but I don't mind, as it's so good they're using history in a positive way to move story.

But, they aren't permanent, which I kinda knew they wouldn't be. Steph is back for 2 months, Sarah: 6 weeks, and Mark: 1 month.

Libby was still with the show when Steph went to prison, so she should either be surprised that Libby has left, or she would've been filled in off screen by her mum Lyn, Susan's best friend. Hopefully they'll reference Libby's absence.

Having Lauren return should give Lou a purpose again. I mostly remember Lauren for falling off her horse, being brainwashed by a cult, and that love triangle with Brad Willis and Beth Brennan. She was a bit of minx, from what I recall, so a lot of fun. We'll see if Lauren 2.0 has the same edge, or if she's been toned down. They début in February, Oz pace, so I wonder what changes will take place between now and then? Whose house will they occupy?

(Sort of) big returnees and a new family are coming: Sarah Beaumont, Steph Scully, Mark Brennan, and a recast Lauren Carpenter with her family, the Turners!

Not sure where they're all going to live - the new family in particular - so maybe a few other characters will be leaving soon?

These scans from TV Week, do not belong to me, but http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaffas_mum_uploads/

Looking at Wiki, I'm totally mistaken. It says the Boulters arrived in December 2003 and were all gone by the latter half of 2005. This makes more sense, otherwise their stories would have been all squashed in to a few months!

Here's a brief story overview for Denise Boulter.

Denise, along with her husband Les and children Brendan and Kelly moved into Stanley Street in December 2003 shortly after the death of Roy Farmer in the cybercafe fire. Denise and her husband purchased the corner cafe and number 16 Stanley Street from Roy's widow Nikki Warrington. They started a restaurant on the site of the cafe and the family moved in to number 16. Les's old friend Caleb Andrews (Steve Toussaint) was employed to work in the restaurant as a cook.

Denise initially tried to keep secret the truth about a long-ago affair with Caleb, and the fact that Brendan was actually Caleb's son. Denise and Caleb resumed their affair, but quickly ended it when Denise realised she loved Les, however Les found out about it soon after.

During her time on Stanley Street, Denise built up strong friendships with Cat MacKenzie, Chrissy Costello, Eileen Callan and Cheryl Barker. The five of them formed a pub darts team.

While walking home one night in December 2004, Denise was raped by an unidentified assailant. Les immediately suspected Christian Habgood, Denise's tutor at Charnham College. However when entering the car of local taxi driver Graham Harker (Lee Warburton) Denise suspected him of the crime based only on her recollections of the smell of his aftershave and his usage of the phrase "Scout's honour". The police questioned Harker, but no forensic evidence could be found to link him to the crime and they were forced to release him due to lack of evidence. Denise persisted with her desire to see him arrested, and eventually learned the true identity of her attacker.

Shortly after this Denise discovered that Les had been to see prostitutes on a number of occasions. Marriage counselling was unsuccessful, the couple split and in late 2005 Denise moved away. Her daughter Kelly and granddaughter Susie later joined her.

The longer the show went on, the more diverse it got. I'd say, it was the best at diversity, as you never really had stereotypes, and they weren't afraid to mix it up and have black or Asian characters be both villains and good guys, or gay characters not being just white. You know what I mean? These days, everything is scrutinised and analysed, and people complain about this and that. I guess maybe being a minority soap, it was never in the public spotlight to be critiqued to death.

The Boulters came into the latter half of 2005, and while the family wasn't that great to begin with, Denise's rape put them on the map and showcased how talented they were (well, how talented Denise was - she'll be good on EE, I hope).

I'm sure Sean and Tanya did... it sounds familiar, and a story that writes itself.

I'm not seeing the Lenny Henry comparison, but maybe that's b/c he's older and tubbier these days.

Marc (or the viewers) chose Yasmin. However, Geri ended up getting cancer, and Yasmin, finally finding her self respect and dignity (and out of loyalty to Geri) kicked Marc out and got a divorce! Due to the viewer vote, Marc stayed around for a little while not doing anything, until he left town, only to return a year later wanting to get back with Yasmin.

It was more interesting on screen, however, Marc wasn't an interesting character, really. It was also the first time a British soap had launched an interactive service like this. I did wonder if TPTB were inspired by Days viewer vote in 2001, to choose the father of Hope's baby...

This is the last batch of articles. I'll post some character/story bios to help fill in the blanks of some these, too.

I'm so sorry Carl (and to anyone else) that the articles have all been deleted. Photobucket redesigned their layout, so I took the opportunity to reorganise the scans, not realizing the links would change! Doh!

I don't remember too much about the Cheryl stalker story. She was a guest character, so she didn't stick around for long. She and Dave weren't that great a couple, IMO. They seemed like they were for the long haul.

Yasmin's story with Deke and Ziggy wasn't a main story; it was probably a C-story. I never liked it. None of it felt true, and Yasmin never suited either character. Both characters were dire. I was glad when they left town.

The crime stuff was toned down, but not for long...

Charlotte didn't stick around for as long as I would've liked. She was a good character, who only lasted several months. I can't remember if Charlotte was still around when Pete/Lucy happened - I want to say she wasn't... But don't quote me on that. LOL.

That episode looks like it is from 1998-99, give or take a year.

This first article should have featured further above.

Oh, it was very well researched and plotted. All of the Costellos big storylines were.

She was the first actor to ever win a BSA for the show, and rightly deserved it was. It put the show on the map, and got people to look at it differently. This was why the cancellation was such a shock. I guess Channel 5 were tiring of the show, and thought the positive exposure of the awards would suddenly translate into bigger ratings, which didn't happen. They said the show had a £1 million budget, and it was a cost saving measure; I guess splashing £40 million on Home & Away left them strapped for cash...

The Costellos stayed until the end of the show (minus daughter Melanie, who was a poor man's version of Sara Warrington. She made a return in the final episode).

They did give the Costellos a lot of dark plots. If you think that's dark, following on from this was a paedophile story involving Chloe and young family friend, Bradley. From here it launched into the next big story, and the reason why Chrissy was sectioned.

So, they did it. They killed Carl, and made him and evil, attempted rapist to boot. More character assassination from SB.

What a horrible story. Cameron should have died. Carl should never have been ruined and written out. This story is so predictable. Chas thinks she killed Carl, and Cameron will let her believe it (or some variation), while Jimmy will be the number 1 suspect, due to his cuts and bruises from the fight with Carl.

The Gennie/Nikhil scenes were great. They had some good character interaction during the birth, with Val wanting her to mess the carpet so she could claim it on the insurance, and Lizzie the blind woman, being the only one not to have had a drink and fit to drive her to the hospital. Sian Reece Williams did a great job in those scenes.

IA, too much Debbie. Her giving birth in this episode wasn't necessary, IMO.

I quite liked the Declan/Katie/Megan/Robbie scenes. Maybe it was b/c something was happening. Although, when Katie was recapping everything, she forgot to mention how Robbie attacked her, which is what started her and Declan's revenge on Megan. I guess Katie is the villain in the story.

The Live episode was produced well, and the acting was good, shame about the suck-y writing.

The awards the show won were for stories before O'Conner took over. He came in right at the end of 2005, with apparent big ideas, like renaming the show!

Oh, yes they did. It wasn't all bad. Clive was a nightmare, but when they introduced Sami in 2005, he was as camp as a Christmas tree, but he was a really good character. It took me awhile to get to like him, but once they peeled back the flamboyant façade, he had a vulnerability about him, and his friendship with Yasmin was sweet. He was soaps first gay Muslim, a fact that gets forgotten about now that Syed exists.

I don't think I've posted anything on Lucy, yet. But Dave has already appeared in the last page, I think. The one about him fighting custody against Pete.

Pete had been with the show since 1997, and it was only in 2002-ish that he started taking breaks.

Well, the show was left with Pete, Sadie, Yasmin, Dave, Cat, Geri, Eileen, Lucy, and any randomly new characters that were being brought in. This was when Roy, Nikki and Sara, Andrew, Luke, Becky, and her brother (the Warringtons) were written out, along with Matt and Karen, Jim and Paul Webb. Paul chose to leave to take up a role in Shortland Street. FYI: Matt was Nikki's brother, a fact that was never portrayed well in screen. I'd completely forgotten that they were even related.

I guess the smaller soaps could get away with telling more risqué stories, and they probably saw incest as a ratings grabber.

Sadie's plastic surgery story was a sad one, especially when she realized she couldn't have the actual surgery and could have been worse off. Sadie arrived during the first revamp, after the Harts were blown up, and stayed until 2005, when they wrote her out along with Dave Matthews, Lucy Day and Pete Callan. This all occurred when Sean O'Connor took over as Executive Producer, only for the show to get cancelled. I disliked that Sadie and Pete weren't around for the end (it was only 4 months off!). The finale end up being about new characters who nobody really cared about.

After some research, I now know who you are talking about. Clive Starr and his best friend Gabby Johnson; the cop was Adam. This happened in late 1999-early 2000. I vaguely remember this story, but I don't remember Adam's character at all. Clive used to bug me, as he was the stereotypical gay guy - flamboyant, loud, bitchy - think a fatter, warmer version of Corrie's Sean, with some heart. I didn't watch much when they were on. And I have nothing on this story. Sorry. Ooh, Adam was the same cop who returned to investigate Josh Matthews' murder. Nice bit of continuity that went over my head at the time. That's how much I paid attention to his earlier story with Clive and Gabby.

This was a rushed period, it seems. The brother/sister story wasn't that interesting, as they were all new characters, including Tanya, and no-one cared that much. None of them stuck around for long, either. It was sad to see Declan leave as he had been with the show for 3 years, but in the third year, he was on the backburner a lot, and was given bit stories that did nothing for him, so it was time for him to leave as you could tell they didn't know what to do with him.

Laila also starred in Hollyoaks and Footballers Wives, and up until a few of months ago, Holby City. I do like Laila, but she never stays with a show for long.

The Davenports were a disaster. They were so boring and uninteresting. Cameron stayed around for the longest. The father should have gone with his wife and daughter. He didn't work with Cat at all. There was also the false rape allegation that Cat's niece Geri, lobbied at him somewhere in there.

Conor stayed for a few months, and from I remember, that was his only story. Bit of a pointless character, IMO.

The characters sound familiar, but I don't think I do. The only character to have a gay best friend was Tanya (not the same as above) with Sean (the Will & Grace couple). Unless you're referring to Melanie Costello, whose boyfriend Brendan cheated on her with Sean, and it was revealed Brendan was bi? I have something on that.

Yeah, from those, I can see how Sara's stories could be confusing. She stayed with the show for about 1.5 years. She became a lap dancer, and used that money to buy cocaine. She OD'ed, and Arlo skipped town, fearing she was dead. The whole thing with her mother's boyfriend wasn't good. He was coming on to her, but no-one believed her, and her jealousy got in the way; he eventually left town under a cloud. Up until that story, things made sense with Sara, until TPTB decided to write her out in 2001. She had a lame exit.

I hope those make sense, story wise. Nikki's love life got a bit complicated for a while. It made more sense on screen.

You can't get rid of Texas, Carl! Texas and Dodger are one of the best couples this show has had in years.

I fell for their romance story, but so far they have done zero as a couple. I think you could blink and miss the fact they are finally together.

Hit list: (I don't think many of these need much explaining outside of: they suck.)

Ruby

Sinead

Jono

Bart

Neal

Ally

Liam

Jen

Tilly

Esther

Liberty

Dennis

Leanne

Ste

Brendan (I'd substitute him for Walker)

Joel

Theresa

Diane doesn't harm anyone; she's recurring, and barely at that, but she does steal the scenes she's in. I also like her friendship w/ Martha, and she does need a friend.

I think Annalise and Barney have potential. Rob, as a supporting player is OK.

If they can do something with Texas & Dodger, then she can stay, as they do make a lovely couple. But, she's very wooden, and if she and Dodger fail, then she should go.

I like Cheryl, now. I used to think she looked like a drag queen, too, Carl, but since they've straightened her hair and dressed her better, and toned her down, she's a much better character, IMO. But, without Brendan and Lynsey, she would have no connections left, so I'd get rid of her.

Is it confirmed that someone is going to die on the live episode or is that just an assumption?

It has been confirmed. Someone will meet their maker in the Live episode. SB has said the person "has it coming".

Sean - just pointless and awful. If you need a weak token then whip up another one. He actively kills scenes.

Gloria - only interesting thing about her is whether she had a bad facelift

If Anthony Cotton is friends with SB, then Sean won't be going anywhere.

Gloria is played by a seasoned actress, who is very well respected. I love Sue Johnson, and she hasn't had a facelift (I don't believe) - I think it's a load of make up, as the character is supposed to have that look. Plus, she does have pretty good skin in real life, whenever I've seen her around. Gloria as a character has been created with the wrong image in mind. I think she would have worked better if she was more like Cora from EE, and less like a Blanche rip-off. Decent writing could turn her around. The same for Stella. Even though I don't think Stella brings anything to the show.

Hit list...

Karl: Pointless.

Fiz: Out stayed her welcome ages ago.

Chesney: See above.

Owen: He's such a boring character. Anna can do so much better than him.

Izzy: Needs to leave once this surrogacy reaches its messy end.

Katy: See above. Plus, she adds nothing to the show.

Elieen: Overrated, and run her course.

Paul: Miserably boring.

Sean: Do I really need to state a reason?

Aidan: A guest character he may be, but a pointless one nonetheless.

Brian: Annoying and pointless.

Beth: A Cilla clone.

Tina: She's lost her way, and has been dragged down by misery.

The ones I can't decide on are: Leanne, Peter, Mary, Norris, Julie. For the first time, I felt Mary had a purpose when she was crushing on Roy; I liked the potential of a Hayley/Roy/Mary triangle, especially when Mary can be so unhinged. I think she has potential to be developed in a serious way by exploring her tragic childhood, and out of the comedy bubble. I like Leane, but that story with Simon's custody battle painted her in such a horrible light.

Firstly, I wouldn't get rid of Rodney. I think he is an underrated character, and one who is integral to the show. He's Nicola's dad, and has history with Diane and Bernice. He's also the only character to showed kindness and support to Ashley in his time of need. For that reason alone, he should stay.

Secondly, I see no reason why Amy should stay simply b/c she has some fans - the show does not need to pander to fan bases. Also, they haven't built that much around her that they can't rip down with her finding happiness and moving away.

So, hit list...

The Spencers: Every single one of them needs to go. They don't fit into the show at all. Rachel was OK to start with, but this baby story with Jai has really brought out the worst in her personality - the way she's so judgemental, always sticking her nose into other people's business, things are always someone else's fault, never hers. Ruby has potential, but without Ali, I see no point in her sticking around.

Declan: He's had ample time to work, but hasn't. It's time Home Farm had a family it deserves.

Megan: Stunt casting is right. She's neither here not there as a character, and without Declan, she has no point staying in the show.

Robbie: Terrible character. Totally miscast. Poor development.

Laurel: Ruined beyond repair. She needs to go pronto. Preferably meeting a sticky end.

Marlon: I used to like Marlon. I think he represented a certain type of person. Now, he's been ruined by his "epic love" for Laurel. Is death his only option for an exit?

Andy: Outstayed his welcome. Nowhere else to take his character.

Amy: Annoying she may be, she has done a lot in a short space of time. Where else can they take her?

Kerry: Without Amy, she has no business staying.

Bob: Sadly, he no longer has a real place in the show without Viv.

Brenda: She's a spare part, like Bob, for most of the time. She should have left after Terry died.

Chas: Where can she go from here? She eats away at the show whenever she gets a frontburner story. The character needs a long rest.

Debbie: See above.

Alex: Deadbeat character.

ETA: Who do you think they'll kill off in the Live episode? I hope it isn't anyone I'll miss, like Carl. Or anyone who is old and doesn't want to leave, like Alan and Betty - I wouldn't want TPTB to kill one of these 2 off for shock value, unless they wanted to leave.