Ben

Also of significance: Roxy is in love with Alfie, and he knows it. He knocked her back in favour of being faithful to his wife. Of course, this could all change in the future. Kat used to be better than this, but they have her stuck in repetitive mode. When she and Alfie left in 2005, their story, and especially Kat's, was wrapped up. When they brought them back in 2010, they undid all of that and started to rehash old ground. A lot of it is just lazy writing by the previous regime. Did you watch Michael & Janine's wedding episode? That episode really explains a lot about Michael's character.

Do you mean the Linkin Park one? I love that song; it suited that montage really well. I don't know why they're splicing episodes together? It's so unprofessional the way they edit episodes to fast track a storyline. The McQueens can be fun, but Mercedes certainly isn't ATM. Jacqui, Myra, Carmel and (kinda) Theresa are the best.

Well... Kat is having an affair with either: Michael, Jack, Max, or Derek. Ray was a contender at one point, but they eliminated him from the suspect list. We are supposed to care, but few do. Kat is a serial cheater. She has a son with Michael - Tommy - who is also Alfie's cousin. Tommy was switched at birth with a dead baby last year (by Jack's ex-wife/Roxy's sister), which caused major controversy and rewrites. Kat was abused by her uncle, but she uses that as an excuse to sleep around, and Alfie is too spineless to kick her out. As you know, Ben killed Heather, Shirley's BFF. Ben is gay, and a big disappointment to his dad, Phil; he was abused by his step-mother, and has done many psychotic things since. Phil is a major alcoholic thug/gangster. He and Sharon go way back. Sharon's husband, Dennis, was murdered several years ago. She also used to own the Vic at one point, too. Shirley used to be married to Denise's now dead husband, who is the father of her two kids, Carly and Deano. Shirley doesn't see them as she's a deadbeat mother who's a functioning alcoholic. Denise used to be married to a man who turned out to be a serial killer. He staged her death and locked her up for months. Denise also has two children, who left town to go some place. Denise sees Patrick as the father she never had, even though she did think he was her dad at one point, too. Kim & Ray should work, but the writing for them has been sour. She's trying to bond with his daughter, Sasha, and failing. Ian is an original character. He was all set to marry a woman who didn't really love him, but suffered a nervous breakdown (thanks to half brother Ben 'fessing up to killing Heather), and ended up sleeping on the streets. His ex-wife (and Lucy's mother) was a real bitch. Sometimes Lucy displays some of these qualities. She has a twin, Peter, who is living somewhere else. Bobby is their half brother. Ian has had many weddings. Ian can also be quite the jerk when he wants to be, and was in an on going feud with Phil (Phil did marry his mother at one point). Janine is the bitch we love to hate. She's has so many layers, and is the best thing about EE. ATM, this is the first time we've seen Janine in this role before; this is all new territory for her, and develops her character nicely. Her complexities would take too long to list here. Zainab and Masood may seem like filler characters, but they are a very complex family. They are more popular when they do the lighter stuff, as it plays to the characters strengths. Last year Zainab reunited w/ her evil ex-Yusef, who once set fire to her for falling in love with Masood. He started controlling her and beating her. He ended up dying in a fire. Zainab & Masood are now engaged and planning their wedding; he wants to be a teacher, even though they were/are struggling financially. Their son Tamwar was married to Yusef's daughter, Afia, but their marriage ended earlier this year. He has burns from the fire that killed Yusef. Christian & Syed are also getting married. Syed has a daughter with his ex-wife Amira. You'd need to check out some of their more meatier stories to see how good actors they can be. Christian is a personal trainer, and is kinda Lucy and Bobby's step uncle. The Brannings are a mess of a complicated family. Max has cheated numerous times, and Tanya is no better. She once tried to bury him alive! And their daughter Lauren mowed him down, too. Max disappeared last year and returned with a secret that involves his repulsive brother, Derek. Tanya hates Derek. Tanya's mother Cora, has a secret dead (or not so dead) daughter. Lauren has a drinking problem. Max's brother Jack, is the father of Roxy's daughter; he's also the male whore of the show. Derek is hated by his son Joey, who saw him hitting his mum when he was a kid. Derek also stole money from Lucy when she was at her lowest point; he's racist and is a general thug/wannabe gangster who is quite a vile character. Whitney is quasi related to Janine. All of her relatives are off screen. She was abused by a paedophile, and manipulated into sex trafficking. She's dating Tyer, Michael's half brother/Alfie's cousin. I think that's everything.

As long as I'm not talking to myself, I don't mind.

That was terrible how they treated her. They reached a point where they didn't know what do with her, so shipped her out with a lame exit. Kim is my favourite character (next to Lady Tara - and Zoe), and even though I'd love for her to return, I know she can't top what she's already done. Besides, Kim has no place in current Emmerdale; they would ruin her the minute she'd take her first steps.

I think Arlo was around for a year or two. I know he was involved in quite a few stories. I doubt they knew they were related when they cast him, as he was guest role... at least, I really hope they didn't! That would be taking the shows title too literal! They liked to live up to their name. Just wait until you see a few other articles, especially all the Pete Callan stuff.

Guess they're shooting new promo shots. But why is it the same old cast that get new shots done, like, every 4 months? When was the last time Patrick, Denise, Kim, the Masoods, Chryed (the latter two groups have outdated photos)... basically anyone who isn't a Branning, had new photos taken? This is true. I guess I'm disappointed with Sharon's return, and I think they could've done a lot better.

Yesterday's ep was so good. Jay continues to shine; it was so sad seeing him breakdown on the bench where his dad's name is carved. His scenes with Billy were awesome, and even though Billy being a coward is in character, I really wanted him to step up at that point, and show that he's developed beyond that. I also loved his scene with Patrick, who is the best older character on the show. Sharon's scenes w/ Lucy and Ian were good, but I wish Sharon had returned with more of a purpose, instead of floating around aimlessly. I think they could have made her loneliness and her lost love for Dennis more of a reason for her to return, instead of it being so random.

I guess that was an interviewer/photographer preference. Susan Ward is pushed to the back and left to last in the spread, so I guess Meg was not a favourite. LOL, Carl, picking out the clothes. Kam would've looked a lot sexier had they dressed her in something sexier.

I think the term docusoap (or reality soap) is used for shows like, Made In Chelsea or The Real Housewives franchise, where the people are actually real people playing an exaggerated form of their lives. EE has moved away from what it was originally conceived as and has evolved into a regular soap opera. I get where Lucy is coming from - she's hurt and in vengeful mode; she's also had an ego boost running the businesses pretty successfully, too. Ian is vulnerable, and doesn't really know what he's agreeing to, so that makes sense, even though with his current mental state, those contracts aren't worth the paper they're printed on. I don't think Lucy will go bankrupt, as she's done a pretty decent job so far, and realistically, they should never have been loosing money to begin with, as they are always full with paying customers, and that's not going to change. What I hate about this story is that Ian has clearly had a mental break, and no-one cares to get him checked out at a hospital! Max & Tanya were so slack and stupid with not taking him to hospital straight away; how is Ian supposed to get better without seeing a medical expert? I hate Jack & Sharon already. It's too rushed for me. Why did Sharon have to sleep with him so soon? She'll be like Kat in no time. I loved the Shirley/Jay scenes - they were awesome, and way better than her scenes with Ben, which felt lacklustre and poorly scripted. Love how Denise & Kim have been in the middle of the murder drama courtesy of their photo.

I'm not American, ED - I'm English. The reruns have been fad, but I see we've reached the horrible 2001 period, which I wasn't really a fan of. These episodes feel like they've lost something that the previous years had. I had never seen Pippa #1 before, so it was weird seeing her in that role, but I did grow to like a few episodes in. Pippa #2 is Pippa for me, as she's the only one I ever saw originally. Seeing these have reminded me how much I loved Alisa, and how much the show lost when she left - especially Alf. The sets are so much more interesting, too. What happened to the Stewart set? I remember it got destroyed in the mudslide, but I don't remember ever seeing the Stewarts move back in. I hated how they lived above the Diner. Also, what became of Fisher's house? I wish they had kept these sets, and simply moved new characters in, that way the history of the show would be retained. We still have the Beach house and Leah's place, the redecoration has sucked all the life and souls out of them and made them look bland and too similar. The show needs to find its heart again, and be a lot warmer. I find the show can be too cold, and characters just lurch from angst to angst, to violence and murder. The 80s and 90s had a good mix of characters, and storylines were comical, dramatic, down-to-earth, and OTT, but there was variety and balance that brought it all together. Summer Bay House hasn't been the same since the real life house burnt down, and the set was changed and made smaller and the caravan park became a joke, with vans parked on random strips of grass and gravel. The house needs a family - a foster family, with two adults and rag-tag bunch of troubled kids that learn to tolerate and except each other and discover what family is all about. Roo & Harvey just don't cut it. Alf and Marilyn shouldn't be living there, well, not together. Actually, Marilyn should move in with Irene. Perfect. The Braxtons are an odd bunch, b/c on one had they represent everything that is wrong with the show, but on the other, I really like Heath, who has a lot of potential, and Casey does, too, even though I think they've veered off track with him (I saw an episode where he punched his teacher, and I don't think they handled that violent outburst well); Brax is the problem, IMO. I'd kill him off, and see how the other two deal with it. I wouldn't expand this family like the show is doing, otherwise they'll eat it up, if they aren't already. I don't like that they split Liam & Bianca up, with them falling out of love so randomly. There was a lot of story scope for Liam/Bianca/Heath without destroying the relationship. Liam & Indi?! I can't get behind this, b/c it'll probably be another flash in the pan romance that won't go anywhere. Romeo & Indi are end game, or at least they should be. Marilyn and Duncan?! I don't even remember how he left the show. I guess it would cause problems with Alf who would naturally disagree with the relationship. But, I don't think she'd go there with Alf's son, unless Duncan game on to her, but even then it would be a stretch. Marilyn with a younger man sounds good, but not with Duncan. I don't think it would be a good idea to kill off John & Gina due to Jett. And I don't see Roo being the sort of character who would take in random troubled kids.

If you're watching at Oz pace, then I'd say it's probably 2 months ago - right Ed? Neither character has cheated on each other before that kiss. It really isn't in Kyle's nature to cheat, and Jade wouldn't cheat on Kyle either, unless something were to happen that would propel her back into her shell and hit the self destruct button.

These are from the Loaded shoot that the magazine did in partnership with Channel 5.

I see; even though that water looked too clear to have had anyone scrubbing down in it.

What was that?! Why couldn't Shirley take off her own damn ring? It's not like she hasn't done it before. And why was the bath filled with water? I'm glad she knows the truth, b/c it means this horrible story can end at last.

Yeah, Roy stayed with the show for a good few years after his on screen married family were killed off.

A lower keyed entrance would have been better for Sharon, as this whole non-wedding/kidnapping was way too OTT and pointless. I didn't watch every episode, as the story didn't interest me, but I did like her scene with Ian - not sure about Jack. Feels all a bit rushed. I'm gonna block out all of this, and pretend Sharon has simply breezed back in to Albert Square without the OTT-ness. Wasn't keen on the Shirley/Ben scenes either, as they felt a bit off. The last scene was the best, and exactly how I expected Shirley to react.

Pam was around from 1997-99. When the body was discovered, she went to prison. She later returned as a recast in 2005, and was quite bitter and cold; she stayed for several months. The original actor was Sandra Hendrickse, and I wonder if she is any relation to Hollyoaks' Bianca Hendrickse-Spendlove (Texas)? I think they do look-a-like...

I think the above photo shoot with the two V's is pretty rare, as I've never seen them anywhere else before.