Ben

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 When was the last time Patrick, Denise, Kim, the Masoods, Chryed (the latter two groups have outdated photos)...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?

But I would find it difficult to believe that Sharon would willingly return to Walford after everything that happened with Dennis. It is far more believe that circumstances forced her return. I don't mind her floating around aimlessly. I think that writers are trying to show how lost and lonely Sharon has become.

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.

Thanks for those high quality pics! The shots of Krissy Carlson look way better than she ever did on the show. Shocked to see her front and center when she was a more minor character compared to the other women in the spread

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.

BTW, EastEnders is a documentary soap, right?

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 am just loving Jack and Sharon although I am surprised that she slept with him so quickly. He obviously already has it bad for her which I like.

Ian is such a mess, but I don't know why he signed over his businesses to Lucy who will no doubt lose everything in a blink of an eye.

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.

How long ago did Kyle and Kate kiss? And has either of them cheated on the other before?

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.

I did not like those Shirley/Ben scenes either. I thought Ben trying to pull off Shirley's ring was comical. However, I am glad that Shirley knows the truth.

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.

Diane is stuck behind the bar. . .

Diane is currently MIA. Months ago she had a random scene where she said Bernice needed her, and off she went. Months have gone by and no-one ever mentions her at all.

I've quit this show, now, as I just couldn't take any more of its predictable, boring, miserable, character-destroying direction. I can't tune in for David and Nikhil alone, as they don't feature much. I will watch the Live episode, and whenever Nikhil & Gennie get married/give birth. Each new storyline destroys another character. Zak, Lisa, Marlon, Laurel, Ashley, Victoria, Moira, Cain, Jai, Chas, Cameron, Val... all ruined/being ruined. Rachel gets more annoying by the second, while the Maceys are an awful family, along with the Spencers, and Amy is an abomination.

Did I scare everyone off with my boy talk?

I can't be bothered to type out a reply right now, but just had to post that I LOL'd when you said that. I don't care whether you gush about guys, gals or aliens.

Thanks Carl for sharing. I have a couple of those already.

It's a shame Nick Kiriazis hasn't popped up in many things.

Sydney Penny was a much better acting Meg than Susan Ward was; she brought much more variation to the role.

I don't know why I called Brian Park, Paul Marquess?! Doh! Guess I was mixing up sensational producers that this show had.

This is why I don't remember him in Corrie, as it was way before my time.

Do you have a few of these articles from Inside Soap? Have you spent time in the UK, as I've always thought you are American, Carl?

Well, looking at BARB, the ratings for the show always seemed to be inconsistent during 1998-2000. The show could easily rate 1.15-1.60 in a week, but it looks like in late '99 the show did gain a small increase and was hitting 1.85 for some episodes, but for others it would fall back to 1.40 and thereabouts. I guess the show was inconsistent. However, the first half of 2000 saw the ratings slip to lows of 1.10 and not really reaching passed 1.30. So, Paul Marquess' sensational revamp was a failure as he couldn't sustain the viewers for not even a year. The show did pick up again in the latter half of 2000 to 1.40-160, so they must have revamped the show - again. Judging from BARB, the ratings pre-PM were not bad, and didn't really need to be revamped, as the audience was increasing the more Channel 5 became available.

I never saw him on FA as I wasn't watching then. I was kind of an inconsistent viewer during this period. IA, I wasn't a fan of Tom King on Emmerdale. When was he in Corrie?

You didn't piss me off, even though my opening line may sound like I'm on the attack. That's just me. It would kinda boring if we all thought the same. I could list an entire rap sheet of all the things Kate has done wrong - and that's just from this year!

With that homophobia story, when is it the right time to stand up and say something or just let things go? If Chris hadn't of done anything, and that guy had returned and said the same things again, or other customers displayed homophobic ideals, when would the right time be for Chris to expect Lucas to stand up for him as an employee? Without Lucas voicing his opinion, it also looks like he was condoning it, much the same way he ignored a customer who was sexist towards Steph. Steph called Lucas out for being gutless, and she stood up for herself, and no-one said she was being naive, or that the business needs to come first, so what's the difference? Does Lucas want his business to be associated with this type of customer? How is that good for business if word got out that he excepts homophobic customers? I was very much on Chris' side when this went down, as it is the principle of the matter, and it is important for Chris to know his boss has his back. Chris shouldn't have been expected to just brush it under the carpet. If it had been racial slurs or anti-Semitism would you feel Chris was being naive and overacting and that business should always come first? I really feel people shouldn't have to take any kind of offensive crap, no matter what. Otherwise, the world will never learn. And I assume with your stance that you wouldn't have been offended by the homophobic comments?

I don't think my analogy was the best, but what I was trying to say is that I don't think you have to identify with every gay character just b/c they're gay. Granted, you may share similar experiences, but everyone reacts to / and deals with them differently, so I wouldn't expect everyone to relate to every gay story. That's like saying every black person should be able to relate to every black character, or all Muslims to identify with all Muslim characters, just b/c they share similar experiences. The colour of one's skin is very much identity affirming and a big part of life, and so is religion, and the same for sexuality; it doesn't mean you should be able to identify with every portrayal.

The writing for Chris/Aidan was a bust, and went against everything Bower said it would be (but I'm not surprised, after all, Bower was always spinning everything into a positive bubble that veered into delusion). Aidan didn't do that much for me; he worked well with Chris/Tash, but outside of that... nothing major. I'd say he's coming back b/c he was popular, and or his relationship with Chris was popular, which may have been more to do with the fact it was the shows first gay relationship which was popular. And there's nothing wrong with that, it just means there's room to build. But, Aidan had no chemistry with Chris - there was a spark in their last episode - and bringing in someone new would work better, someone who has chemistry with James Mason.

Again, this was a Bower thing, where she didn't want to upset racists, much like how she didn't want to upset homophobes, so has introduced the Kapoors slowly, b/c apparently, this will help white people adjust to seeing Asian characters on screen. Sheila's introduction has been like this b/c Collett Mann had already pre-booked a theatre gig, I think. Besides, there's nothing worse than new characters being rushed and thrown at us, and while this excruciating slow pace is not much better, I'd take it over the former any day, as at least we are ready for this characters to come to the forefront, instead of wishing they'd go away.

I like Rani, and Ajay's great, and I've liked Priya even during her "unlikeable" start. Not that fussed about Toadie getting another cousin. I would father have more airtime for Rhys and Elaine's relationship, or more Pappas scenes or bringing back an established relation of Toadie's, like Tad or Janae, or beef up the Robinsons. Giving my feelings on Kate, you probably can guess my feelings on the whole Kate/Kyle kiss; love Zoe and wish she was staying around; no too sure about the Lucas/Vanessa/Rhys triangle, and Vanessa is nice and all, but she's no Emilia... Vanessa's introduction was a bit of a mess, and didn't do the character any favours.

Wow, Ben is your second fave soap character of all time! I knew you loved him, but didn't realize quite how much. There are no words.