Darren's grief will be all about Duncan making grotesque faces and eating. Cheryl will take center stage, as always.

I think they wanted some big dramatic death for Steph. The problem is that the show is so empty and gimmicky that it doesn't really work. Look at the emptiness of this story about how battering your lover is hot or whatever.

You know what would be nice? Since Hollyoaks is a fantastical show that doesn't always live in reality, it would be sweet if Max came back as a ghost to usher Steph into heaven.

I doubt they care enough to make that effort though.

I wonder if they'll give Steph a special end credits too, like they did for Max and OB after Max died and OB left for good.

Again, I doubt they care anymore.

Jesus, Steph Waring used to be one skinny bitch!

All of this talk of Stephaniedeladean dying is making me sad. I just don't get how/why people accept it when shows are almost entirely unrecognizable from what they were just four years earlier. I don't have the history most of you guys have with Oaks, but Steph is one of my faves.

And Duncan? Please don't tell me they really want him to happen. He's gross. And not because he's fat.

Edited November 6, 201015 yr by All My Shadows

They did such a fantastic job with OB's exit. One of the best soap exits ever. What would that be now? Oh look, OB fell off a building. He's going offcamera to recover and will never be mentioned again.

All of this talk of Stephaniedeladean dying is making me sad. I just don't get how/why people accept it when shows are almost entirely unrecognizable from what they were just four years earlier. I don't have the history most of you guys have with Oaks, but Steph is one of my faves.

And Duncan? Please don't tell me they really want him to happen. He's gross. And not because he's fat.

It's the constant eating, "I'm sexy." schmaltz, constantly rubbing his dick and then TALKING ABOUT IT!

Max and OB are the greatest partnership in Hollyoaks history. Nothing will ever come close.

To involve Steph, if Matt Littler had stayed, Max and Steph would have been the signature couple of the show. I'm sure they would have had their problems, but I do think the show would have been committed to them in the longterm.

All of this talk of Stephaniedeladean dying is making me sad. I just don't get how/why people accept it when shows are almost entirely unrecognizable from what they were just four years earlier. I don't have the history most of you guys have with Oaks, but Steph is one of my faves.

And Duncan? Please don't tell me they really want him to happen. He's gross. And not because he's fat.

Duncan is, like Cheryl and Brendan, a cheap, easy, one-note character. Silly faces = lots of attention. And they have no real history so Marquess can do what he wants with them.

Marquess is lucky because Hollyoaks was gutted by the last producer before he came along. Unfortunately he has just gutted the show even more and produced some of the most shallow characters I've seen on a soap.

Max and OB are the greatest partnership in Hollyoaks history. Nothing will ever come close.

To involve Steph, if Matt Littler had stayed, Max and Steph would have been the signature couple of the show. I'm sure they would have had their problems, but I do think the show would have been committed to them in the longterm.

After the last few years I don't know. I can easily see Matt being let go even if he'd wanted to stay. Or completely backburnered. I think Allan would have just given him dumb comedy stories and Marquess would have fired him.

I think Carley's leaving came as a surprise to Marquess, he had initially said that Steph's cancer story would run way into 2011, but looks like they had to cut it short when Carley decided not to renew her contract.

Based on the way he handled the story I don't know if he ever really understood the Steph character. I kind of wonder if he would have kept her around. I think that Steph would also have been a threat to his beloved Mitzeee.

That's exactly it, Amello. It just reeks of "Well, he's not a hunk, so obviously we can't put him in any serious storylines. Or serious scenes. Or give him anything serious to say. We have to call attention to his girth as often as possible because if we don't, the fans will be confused. And he must be sexually-frustrated." Judd Apatow would be proud.

And those three are all Marquess creations? Sheesh. Cheryl hasn't been on too much yet for me to fully form an opinion on her, so we'll see. Brendan...ugh. A cartoon.

What really was the deal behind Matt and Darren leaving the show? I haven't really found anything other than they just wanted to break more into behind the scenes work and presenting. For some strange reason, I've always had this baseless notion that they were disenchanted with how soapy/dramatic the show had become as opposed to what I've always figured were lighter and more comedic earlier years. But I could be totally wrong on that.

A horrifying thought just came to me ...

I wonder if Marquess will have Mercedes and Gilly have grief sex?

Well, he hasn't given our Mercy a test drive yet, like half of the people on the show...

Edited November 6, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Oh, and just to say. Technically speaking, this fire looks like crap.