On 9/5/2025 at 2:23 PM, BetterForgotten said:

In typical modern EastEnders fashion, this Zoe return story has been overstuffed with a gunshot, secret twins, murder, and an involvement from a returning Max Branning. As soon as this show does something decent, they have to over egg it somehow. 

The best thing remains Jessie and Michelle’s commitment to the material and their chemistry. That was honestly enough to hold up this return story without so many other things tacked onto it. 

Agree. I think Zoe's return is the most compelling I've seen a soap in probably decades, but the Max involvement is so unnecessary and has tarnished it somehow. As you said, Kat and Zoe alone were enough to make this return exciting enough.

21 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Jessie when she gets the chance is the most soulful and visceral performer on the canvas. She can always do a lot with a little. I hope the show will remember that.

I know Jessie's had some personal issues in recent years (oddly, reminiscent to what she went through during her first stint, lol). But I think Clenshaw had a very limited focus, and liked the characters he liked and just let the ones he didn't have the most interest in just roll along. I know he dedicated his last week to Kat/Alfie's wedding, but generally, I don't think he gave the character much focus beyond the surface.

Whether the material turns out good in the long-term remains to be seen, but I do think Wadey at least acknowledges that Kat needs more focus, and apparently his first ideas when becoming EP was this Zoe return and putting Kat back in the Vic. 

 

7 hours ago, Skylover said:

Agree. I think Zoe's return is the most compelling I've seen a soap in probably decades, but the Max involvement is so unnecessary and has tarnished it somehow. As you said, Kat and Zoe alone were enough to make this return exciting enough.

I wouldn't be surprised if that Max idea came from that one trick pony, Simon Ashdown. Who used to be very good, but can no longer hide any bias in whatever he writes.

 

Edited September 6Sep 6 by BetterForgotten

5 hours ago, BetterForgotten said:

I wouldn't be surprised if that Max idea came from that one tick pony, Simon Ashdown. Who used to be very good, but no can no longer hide any bias in whatever he writes.

I remember that name. I'm curious what his bias is.

10 hours ago, Vee said:

I remember that name. I'm curious what his bias is.

He was responsible for the Branning extension in 2006, and most famously, the Stacey/Max affair. He tends to force Max into places on the show he doesn’t even belong, and tends to revisit the Max/Stacey well for the most inane reasons (like when he had Stacey and Max sleep together again in 2018 with no buildup or for no apparent reason other than he wanted them to). That line from Max to Zoe this week about her “reminding” him of Stacey reeked of him, and sure enough, he wrote that script. 

16 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

He was responsible for the Branning extension in 2006, and most famously, the Stacey/Max affair. He tends to force Max into places on the show he doesn’t even belong, and tends to revisit the Max/Stacey well for the most inane reasons (like when he had Stacey and Max sleep together again in 2018 with no buildup or for no apparent reason other than he wanted them to). That line from Max to Zoe this week about her “reminding” him of Stacey reeked of him, and sure enough, he wrote that script. 

I put a lot of that material on John Yorke, or whoever else was in charge (there were claims he was barely involved, and Mark Catley did a lot of the work). That whole period of time put me off because it was clear the show wanted to yank the Slaters back to the early '00s without understanding anything about how they worked back then. The writing was seeped in misandry with every man in the Slater dynamic presented as a cheater, an abuser, an idiot, even - most shameful of all - writing that had Charlie as knowing about Kat's rape before they backtracked. 

They clearly wanted to strip Kat to nothing and rebuild her, which provided some strong work for Jessie, but was not properly put together. Then she was left in a horrible place after Kate Oates came in...sleeping with Kush and fighting Stacey for custody of their son (which Kat would never do).

I don't think Stacey has ever recovered from her night with Max. Nothing they've done with her since has worked. The degradation and regression also made it easier for cheap stories like her sleeping with Jack.

I never understood why they didn't just cement Martin and Stacey and leave them together for the long haul. It worked.

8 hours ago, Vee said:

I never understood why they didn't just cement Martin and Stacey and leave them together for the long haul. It worked.

I think various producers saw Martin as uninteresting and that Stacey always needed to be with other men or on her own. That's one of the reasons I felt nothing when they had all the mourning and suddenly acted like they gave a damn about Martin. I also struggled to accept James Bye as Martin, even though he was an appealing performer, because they rewrote a number of key character traits of Martin, like claiming he was closer to Michelle than Mark (he barely saw Michelle after the age of 10) and claiming that he went around for decades lying that Mark hadn't died of AIDS because he was ashamed.

Edited September 7Sep 7 by DRW50

Jamie Borthwick has been axed, following his recent scandal.

Unfortunate as I've always liked him on the show, but I can't say I'm totally surprised after the rolling series of controversies that seemed to follow him over the last year. That'll be the last time someone at EE disses Blackpool in mixed company.

Edited September 8Sep 8 by Vee

It is an easy cut⏤the character really was not doing much since Lola's death, and with the visit from Max Bowden's Ben, I suspect this opens the door for a full-time return.

He should honestly be grateful he even lasted this long with such peripheral ties and being a supporting character for most of that time. Regardless of his behaviour, this was a long time coming. 
 

It’s almost an out of body experience seeing Kat, Zoe, and Anthony in scenes together again after 22 years knowing their history. 

Bad quality video, but Jessie and Michelle presented Steve McFadden with the Serial Performance NTA tonight:

 

2 hours ago, BetterForgotten said:

Bad quality video, but Jessie and Michelle presented Steve McFadden with the Serial Performance NTA tonight:

Thanks.

I grew tired of Phil too long ago to ever get past that time, but I do respect the work he's done with the Nigel story.

I saw that Jacqueline Jossa told fans to vote for him rather than her.

Some fans still miss the Phil/Kat pairing. Given the years of alleged issues between Jessie and Steve, they did make it work.

Edited September 10Sep 10 by DRW50

I didn't know they had issues, do tell. I was surprised they went there to begin with tbh. It was an odd fit.