I liked Steve but not so much when they had him in the feud with Phil (which he was going to lose of course) and the relationship with Mel. I thought he was best with Matthew Rose.

Me too, I loved Matthew.

I agree that they planned to take Stacey as the new Kat. While that might not have been the best idea ever it could have been more fun and balanced than all the misery piled on Stacey. She has just been buried in it for years.

I love the Jacqui character on HO when they get her right, and part of that is the resemblance to Kat. Mercedes also has that resemblance but Mercedes has no heart. Jacqui does. So does Kat.

So many soaps tried to have their own contemporary tart with a heart Kat Slater-type character over the past 10 years, it's funny. Kat had a huge impact on the show and soaps in general during her original 5 year run on the show.

I would definitely say the McQueen's on Hollywoaks were fashioned on the Slater sisters on EastEnders.

I think the Watts legacy as it was had already been all but forgotten anyway. Sharon was there but as much as a Mitchell than a Watts. He hurt it but also helped bring it back. I think the biggest mistake was the casting and writing for Vicky.

Vicky was such a lost opportunity, things got especially bad when they had her switch accents with no explanation. I think it also hurt that they couldn't bring Michelle back.

If Sharon ever returns, I have a bad suspicion that they'll go back to pairing her with Phil, or if Grant returns, they'll revisit that. I don't know if I ever want to see that again.

That would be interesting. The last soap which did that was Brookside, 20 years ago.

Has the show ever had a recurring supporting Oriental character? I can't recall off the top of my head, but an Oriental family would be so interesting and different from what all the other soaps are offering.

Do you have any ideas for a potential new family?

Michelle not being there hurt a lot. On many levels, with Den as well as Vicky and Sharon and Pauline. I almost wish they had just recast.

I do think that Dennis, Sharon, Chrissie, and to a lesser degree Den, helped revive the Watts and showed what the family can be.

I don't think Grant will ever be back but if he does come back I agree I wouldn't want him with Sharon, or Phil with Sharon. Hopefully that would not happen, it's so lazy. The past is sometimes the past for a reason. I really want Sharon to find out that Phil caused Dennis to die, or helped anyway.

The last Oriental character I remember on Eastenders was a con artist named Li who was involved with Mickey Miller. Santer wrote her out in summer 2007. She didn't want to commit to Mickey so she moved to be with her mother.

As for ideas, I would bring Kelvin in, perhaps single, with some kids, and an estranged wife who pops in and out.

I would bring in a lesbian couple, one of whom used to be well off but lost a lot of money in the recession, the other came from a poorer background. They could have one or two kids. The one who is more from money fits into Walford more easily, in spite of some culture shock, whereas the one who was poorer struggles to deal with memories of the rough treatment she faced when she lived in places like Walford.

I would also bring in Kenny Beale for a visit, to introduce some of his kids (perhaps Elizabeth who was on the show with him in 1988) and grandkids. I know the actor who played Kenny is dead but they can recast.

I watched the most recent Peggy promos. The "Go Now" one was a lot of fun.

When was Peggy pushing the bust off the bar, and smashing things with a bat? And who was she enraged at when Mel held her back?

I would bring in a lesbian couple, one of whom used to be well off but lost a lot of money in the recession, the other came from a poorer background. They could have one or two kids. The one who is more from money fits into Walford more easily, in spite of some culture shock, whereas the one who was poorer struggles to deal with memories of the rough treatment she faced when she lived in places like Walford.

Wasn't it revealed that Diane Butcher (Ricky and Janine's sister) is a lesbian? Do you think Diane and her lover would work on the show now?

BTW - Here's a great YouTube Channel devoted only to the Slater family:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Sammie1Million

That's right. I forgot about Diane. That could be interesting.

I keep meaning to watch more of that channel. I am afraid of jinxing it.

I was just thinking about Peggy and how the yelling tends to suit her character...I think Eastenders has two modes of iconic female characters, those who are loud and proud to mask their pain but are dying inside (Peggy, Angie, Kat, Pat, Stacey), and the woman who struggles more quietly but is a survivor (Michelle, Sharon, Kathy - when she was on the show). I think the show was trying some of the former with Roxy and the latter with Ronnie, although it hasn't quite worked out.

I'm not sure what the recipe is for a male character, although the "hard man" seems to be the most known.

I've always liked Jake Wood but there's always been a certain wall there for the Max character, mostly down to his stories always being about him screwing up. I feel like the last year has broken through a wall for the character, and I feel like if they keep on this way he could become one of my all time favorite characters (although that list is kind of odd -- I'm sure Sue Osman, Nigel, Punk Mary, etc. would get a shrug from a lot of viewers). I also think he could become a huge asset to the show. To me he's carried a lot of 2010, even if he hasn't gotten the attention.

Too bad Max already screwed her cousin (Stacey) and Kat is tied to Alfie. I think Jake Wood and Jessie Wallace would be electric together, Kat and Max both have openly flirty personalities with the opposite sex.

Edited August 28, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Max and Kat could be riveting. I say they should think about going for it.

I also wouldn't mind seeing him in more scenes with Denise. They had that bad date a few years ago.

I'm so glad that over the last 5-6 months they have had Denise stop screaming. I think for a few years someone thought every woman on EE needed to scream her lines, if she could. I don't think that suited Diane Parish.

I didn't realize photos had already come out for Tanya and Greg. I saw one at Walford Web's forums, as a banner. He looks a bit terrified behind the smile, perhaps because he knows Max will try to tear him limb from limb...or Tanya said, "I buried my last man alive," right before the photo was taken...

I have just heard that the queen vic will explode in a sequence of huge fireballs.

Edited August 28, 201015 yr by dannigold

Yeah, it's spoken about at this Masterclass panel discussing primarily the live episode. John Yorke, Diederick Santer, and Simon Ashdown all contribute to the discussion.

Simon Ashdown also says he would like to bring David Wicks back. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns in the next year...

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/s2/eastenders/news/a269100/live-eastenders-at-25-masterclass.html

Now follows a preview of September scenes: the Queen Vic, which subsequently explodes in a sequence of huge fireballs; Alfie and Kat return to the Slater family.

18.00: DS always wanted to bring Kathy and Cindy Beale back - "but both characters were dead. Further shark jumping." SA would bring back David Wicks.

Edited August 28, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

They tried to bring David back this year (which must be why they suddenly acted like Bianca longed for David), but Patsy said that Michael French was too busy working.

I still think there are plausible ways to bring back Kathy or Cindy. If you don't see someone die oncamera, they don't have to be dead. Bringing back Kathy or Cindy is no more "shark jumping" than burying a man alive.

Edited August 28, 201015 yr by CarlD2

Big Stacey/Ryan/Peggy spoiler:

Stacey corners Ryan in the Vic at his wedding recption and tells him he is baby Lilys dad. Also Stacey reveals to Peggy it was her and not Bradley who killed Archie.

I wonder why they wanted her to tell Peggy that. I remember Peggy making a big condemnation of Bradley but it hasn't been mentioned since the funeral. Perhaps Stacey doesn't know about this anger she feels because Stacey wasn't there at the time.

Here are some magazine scans someone posted on Twitter with pics of the Vic on fire, and reactions from the characters:

http://twitpic.com/2izpdo

http://twitpic.com/2izv49

Is that Charlie next to Janine and Ryan?

They are dressing Sam much more like her 90s persona.

I thought that was Janine for a minute, not Stacey.