I like Zak. I think he's a fairly relatable guy on some level. I do think the family could do with a reshuffle. They made a mistake having Belle accidently kill Gemma, as she should have always been the one Dingle that was better than the rest.

I'd say Marlon could go for sure, preferably with Laurel; Chas can also follow him out the door.

I think this story with Belle is too big for the actress to do justice. She just doesn't have the personal experience (or acting experience) to give it the emotional gravitas it needs. I also think they should have had Gemma appear visually when Belle revealed that was who she was talking to, or at least had Gemma's voice echo in Belle's ears. I know they're going for realism, but it's a TV soap, and they're supposed to be visually creative, and I think this was an opportunity for them to be more creative with the material.

Bernice hasn't had much to do, really. She works well with Nicola, Rodney, Diane and Ashley, but her relationship with Andy was random and awful. I really didn't like how spiteful Bernice became over a man she dated for all of 5 minutes, plus she was reinforcing her demon daughter's demonic actions.

I wouldn't have a problem with the show eliminating the Dingles altogether. I've disliked the family practically since they first arrived in 1994. Not all of them all the time, there were times when I liked some of them, like Chas, Lisa and even Marlon when he was together with Tricia. But Eli, Shadrach, Cain and Debbie were/are useless and a waste of screentime. Charity could stay, because she has potential and is the only one to come even close to the queen bitch herself, Kim.

The more positive posts in this thread together with the return of Robert has made me interested in the show again, and I think I might try watching again after the Christmas break we will have here. Of course we're a bit behind the UK, but I will at least give it a try again.

What year is Sweden up to?

If you take a Christmas break, combined with the overly huge number of episodes per week, you will never really catch up! (But, I don't know how many episodes Sweden airs per day...)

The Aaron and Robert storyline is very intriguing....a lot more compelling than John Paul the whore and his latest doomed love.

Ben, I agree about Zak. I love those little moments where he"ll just be watching the television or reading the paper and Lisa will be whinging about some problem and when she yells at him to pay attention, he'll do that gruff he does as if he's just been caught red handed. That said, I would never argue against ridding the show of the stranglehold the Dingle family has over it. Getting rid of everyone, sans Charity, and Aaron for at least this story with Robert, would be better in the long run. I think the pairing with Moira has revitalized Cain and made him human again, but him being this force people can run to for help in whatever problem they find themselves in is boring and played out. Chas was a favourite when I first watched, but after her relationship with Carl was destroyed, she's just increasingly become a pill. Then there's Debbie ... if any character was ever meant to be killed off, it's her.

Carl, as a fellow Bernice fan, I enjoyed her story with Andy. It was, of course, bizarre, but that part was played and there were quite a few good scenes that came out of it. In particular, there was an episode where she'd gotten a modeling job, but then learns she has to be nude for it and another where, after she has swallowed Andy's engagement to Katie, she breaks down and admits (either to Ashley or Nicola) that she just wants to be liked or not be alone or something to that affect. It was actually quite heartbreaking and a really good performance by Giles. Plus, we also got the brilliant pairing of her and Kerry this year and the episode where Bernice completely massacres Katie's face gave me more pleasure than I care to admit.

Also, to answer your earlier questions, Paddy is still married to Rhona (Hordley's real life wife) and he and Marlon amended their friendship quite a while ago, since they had already done so when I started regularly watching again in March. I'm saddened to see you don't like Rhona. The actress was phenomenal in her pill addiction story and the Vanessa twist was so modern and made me love the latter, too. However, I do think she is best when she is away from Paddy. They're a couple I wouldn't mind seeing split up.

On another front entirely, tonight's episode had Ashley officially back where he belongs, as Vicar! Kate Oates has done a tremendous job of revitalizing him to his former glory. He and Harriet have had a great build up and I'm so happy they were smart enough to not overplay the angst of the Vicar merry-go-round.

What year is Sweden up to?

If you take a Christmas break, combined with the overly huge number of episodes per week, you will never really catch up! (But, I don't know how many episodes Sweden airs per day...)

We're seeing episodes from 2013 right now, I'm not sure but it looks like summer, and two episodes airs each day Monday-Friday.

Adam returns and wants ... Victoria? I didn't see that coming.

They hooked up before, didn't they? I guess he just saw it as an easy lay at the time.

I hope they aren't going to have a triangle with Finn, as I know she and Finn kissed.

They dated, but it was during Blackburn's tenure, so I can't recall why they broke up. Today alluded that it was Adam's fault.

The kiss with Finn was literally two episodes. Finn got angry at her for going too far, but they made up when she promised she only did it because she was drunk and lonely. She was shown to be pretty genuine in that respect, so I don't think a triangle is on the cards.

Bright Eyes, as one of the only other Steph fans in the world, I thought you'd want to know I'm sporting a Steph Stokes avatar at Previously TV.

Bright Eyes, as one of the only other Steph fans in the world, I thought you'd want to know I'm sporting a Steph Stokes avatar at Previously TV.

Well, I hope to see you around there. I stay away from the individual TV show threads, for the most part. I'm there for film, TV specials, some theatre, the small amount of foreign soaps and Graham Norton discussion.

I put in the details to start an Emmerdale thread, so if they accept, we can chat there.

And here are the forums! I came up with the thread titles ( in the area where they asked people to submit new threads), for better or worse.

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/1351-emmerdale/

Edited December 19, 201410 yr by DRW50

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2014-12-23/emmerdale-actors-preview-christmas-wedding-storyline/

Why is everyone giving this cute Ross fella a hard time? Jesus lay off!!!

And I hate this woman that Robert is engaged to. She's textbook definition of a shrill shrew...I can't stand her voice and constant nagging.

The chemistry between Aaron and Robert is just electric! And the guy playing Robert is soo good. The dynamic between him and the others in the cast is so interesting. Esp his brother Andy and the girl Katie (who I guess he originally had a fling with?).