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Digital Spy soaps editor Kris Green rounds up the latest gossip in soapland.
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Corrie's Kim Crowther teases show in web chat
In a nutshell, here's what she had to say:
§ Maggie Jones is making a "slow but steady recovery" and the cast and crew can't wait until she returns to work since her health scare.
§ There aren't any plans for Sarah Grimshaw (Tina O'Brien) to return to Weatherfield.
§ Nick returns with a "harder edge" and he's "grown up a lot" since we saw him last. I can vouch for this one!
§ Barbara Knox is back in the New Year as Rita returns from her cruise.
§ Gary Windass (Mikey North) has a massive story next year and "we will get really under the skin of that character and find out what frightens him"…
§ They're planning "some big event" for the 50th anniversary. Hmm.
§ There's not a live episode planned to mark the occasion.
§ Becky and Steve's marriage will be tested.
§ There are no plans to change the title music or titles at present. Although they surely have to for the 50th, don't they?
§ Simon Barlow has a very big story next year.
§ Lloyd will be coming to the fore in the New Year.
§ They're still discussing producing the show in HD.
§ Sian and Sophie have a big storyline from the beginning of 2010. I expect it to be this one, so click at your peril if you don't like spoilers!
§ And Liz is prominent in the New Year and will potentially have a new man in her life. Who could it be?
If you'd like to read the full chat transcript, then I suggest clicking your way to this page here.
So what do you think? Let me know your views using the usual form below!
If you're desperate for more teasers like this, fear not! I'm chatting to Kim for our annual end-of-year Producer's Perspective next week, the fruits of which will appear on DS next month!
| Posted Friday, November 20 at 18:51 by Kris | Click to see and add comments (0) |
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| Updated today at 00:00 |
First Pic: Billie Jackson returns to 'EastEnders'
As you've no doubt just read, Devon Anderson recently reprised his role as Billie Jackson in EastEnders.
He returned to filming at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Herts - home of 'Enders - last week and will reappear on screen in the New Year, along with the rest of his screen family - mum Carol (Lindsey Coulson), half-sister Sonia (Natalie Cassidy) and half-brother Robbie (Dean Gaffney).
As a special treat for my fellow scoopers, here's the very first picture of Devon back on set. 
For those wondering, Billie - with an 'ie' - is apparently the official spelling of his name.
I always thought it was with a 'y', too...
Let me know your thoughts on the above using the usual form below!
| Posted Friday, November 20 at 00:02 by Kris | Click to see and add comments (6) |
'EastEnders' Lucas on his story twist and character
WARNING: Major Spoiler Alert
The main part of the interview can be found by clicking on this link, but the second half of my chat is below.
Here, Don reveals all about his initial thoughts over the murder twist, Lucas's warped nature, Robbie Gee, Temeka Empson, why Lucas prays alone and more!
What was your reaction when you first heard about the murder twist?
"I was excited. I was very happy but of course it's a double-edged sword. You can only do so many bad things in a soap or any kind of drama. There's a ticking clock to say these characters can only stay for so long once they go down the path of doing so much evil. Somehow they have to make an exit, if it's not with their own death they do a runner or go to prison, but they're not going to be a regular for much longer if they carry on doing these things. That was a secondary thought because I thought that I can't let that get in the way of doing the job itself."
Trina's death is obviously playing on Lucas's mind a fair bit – how do you think he reasoned covering for her death?
"I think he has a warped relationship with what God is. How he squares it with himself is: if he's meant to be found (and this is the wrong thing to do) out there will be some kind of divine intervention. If it is wrong, the police will find out and he'll be in prison rightfully serving a sentence. But if somehow he's able to wriggle out of it or doesn't get caught, it's because they will be done. God didn't want him to be caught therefore it was the right thing to do. His morals are warped because his idea of divine intervention is warped and his whole relationship with God is warped."
He's losing control more easily nowadays...
"The whole thing is about control. As time goes on he seems to have less and less control of the status quo and become more of a fight or flight character. Everything that he does that's immoral is not premeditated - there's no malice of forethought - but it's that demon or darker side which he can't hold back any longer and it bursts out."
Where does this warped nature come from?
"Knowing his history, he's had quite a drug-addled past and he's now a recovering addict. Some people choose to go via the twelve steps, other people find God - they find other ways of harnessing this bad side and dealing with anger issues or addiction. I don't think he's been right since. One of the first things he saw with Chelsea for the first time was that there were times when he was in a drug den with needles sticking out of his arms. I don't think he's ever fully recovered - the drugs did something to him so on the surface he's a good bloke until something threatens it. Then you see his morals aren't completely perfect. He treads a crooked path and he still has this rage within him. He needs this idea of God to keep him sane and to keep him from temptation. That's why I always say it's a twisted morality."
What was it like working with Robbie Gee and Tameka Empson?
"I've worked with Robbie before a long time ago on Desmond's and Tameka on Babyfather. They're great characters, larger-than-life and great actors. It was refreshing and comfortable at the same time. There's a great sense of familiarity. It's the same with Diane [Parish]. I've worked with her before and coming into this show and finding the one person you'll be playing opposite most of the time is someone you have a great respect for and rapport with is great."
Why does Lucas always pray alone?
"These are his moments of recharging his batteries personally. It's him and God, it's not about anybody else. It's him saying, 'I need to have my time with God without any disturbances, I need to read passages from the Bible and have this one-to-one'. It's a writing choice that's made you see him do that but it's important that you do see that. You see him take time out when something has happened and he's got away with it. He says, 'Thank you', or he says, 'Thank you for not intervening or for keeping me free of being caught'. It's a weird thing to thank someone for and I think those are put there specifically to show that he has this interesting relationship with God that he doesn't really share with anyone else. There's no-one else really there."
Do you have a favourite writer?
"It's weird but I don't normally look at the writer until after I've shot it sometimes, maybe because of some kind of journey I've gone through then. I don't particularly think, 'Oh, there's the writer - that'll be brilliant'. I look back and I think Christopher Reason is definitely one of the guys who has observed characters brilliantly and Simon Ashdown - I've really liked his writing as well. There was an episode that I wasn't involved in when Ryan was coming back in with Ruth Gemmell playing his mum and Lacey having her first real breakdown as Stacey and I thought, 'This is a brilliant episode - who wrote this?' I found out it was Simon Ashdown. I don't actually know which ones he's done that I've been in but when I watched that I thought, 'I've got to find out who that is and I've got to let every actor in that episode know how brilliant they were!'"
Emilia Di Girolamo wrote two excellent episodes for Lucas, the ones when he was trying to prevent anyone from discovering Trina's body in the summerhouse...
"I just do the job and some things might not necessarily leap off the page but with the intervention of directing you find you're playing it and you look back and think, 'Gosh - those are stunning episodes'. You're right, those episodes were excellent. Next time she's in I'm going to give her a nod and say, 'You're helping to make my character look great - in terms of size not how good he is!' (Laughs) Maybe she'll write something special for me when they finally get rid of me - I'll be her muse!"
Let me know your thoughts on the above using the usual form below!
| Posted Tuesday, November 17 at 06:00 by Kris | Click to see and add comments (1) |
Fancy winning an Inside Soap Yearbook?
To be in with a chance of winning one, simply click here and answer the remarkably easy question contained on the entry page. Please fill in all the details on the competition page so that we can contact you to arrange delivery of your prize!
And now for the boring bit.
Winners will be chosen randomly and notified by email after the closing date of Friday, November 20, 2009 at midday. In accordance with our privacy policy, your information will not be used for any other purpose. This competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom only. Please also note that there may only be one entry per household.
The Inside Soap Yearbook is now available to buy at all good newsagents.
| Posted Monday, November 16 at 06:00 by Kris | Click to see article > |
Owen at Denise's hen night, Molvin nearly caught
By the end of this blog, you could easily find yourself wanting a goat as a pet this Christmas. You've been warned.
It's an explosive week for EastEnders in a fortnight's time as Denise (Diane Parish) prepares to tie the knot with her long-standing lover Lucas (Don Gilet).
On the eve of their happy day, Denise has a hen night at The Vic, while the lads head to Patrick's (Rudolph Walker) for an alcohol-fuelled knees up for Lucas.
At the hen do, Liz (Kate Williams) turns up and reassures a concerned Denise that Owen will soon be out of their hair as he's heading to Croydon. With that, the drag queen that Denise's sister Kim (Tameka Empson) has arranged bursts into a rendition of 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E'.
Lucas, meanwhile, is concerned that Owen will uncover the truth about Trina's death and tell Denise what he's discovered, resulting in the wedding being called off. Confronting him in the Square, Lucas tells him to leave Walford, but Owen - who doesn't yet know the full extent of Lucas's involvement in Trina's death - threatens to expose his lies.
With that, Owen storms into The Vic and shouts at Denise not to marry Lucas as he's dangerous and was involved in Trina's death. With the music on hold, Libby (Belinda Owusu) demands that her father leave, before storming out herself. Owen follows Libby, as does Chelsea (Tiana Benjamin).
As Owen's packing to leave, Chelsea turns up on his doorstep and asks to talk. Owen's intrigued when Chelsea asks him to stop talking about Trina's death because she's worried for Denise - as she has Trina's bracelet. Curious, Owen asks why the evidence has been withheld and Chelsea reluctantly admits that Lucas asked her to keep quiet about it.
At that moment, Owen realises that Lucas was directly involved in Trina's death. As Chelsea leaves, Owen tells his mother to cancel his taxi and dig out his suit - he's attending the wedding... 
These scenes air on Tuesday, November 24 at 7.30pm on BBC One.
Over on Coronation Street, Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and Molly's (Vicky Binns) ongoing affair is nearly rumbled when Sally (Sally Whittaker) returns home in tears.
Excited about the risk they're running, Kevin and Molly decide to have sex in the Websters' bed. Sally, meanwhile, is over at Underworld brown-nosing Carla (Alison King) in the hope that she'll award her the supervisor job that's vacant - as does Rosie (Helen Flanagan).
Carla later calls an excited Sally to the factory office but she's devastated to learn that Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh) has been chosen for the position over her.
Furious, a tearful Sally rushes home to the arms of her husband and is a little surprised to find Molly there. Sally, however, is more bothered about having been overlooked for a promotion, while Kevin lies that he was reprimanding Molly over the state of the garage accounts.
These scenes air on Thursday, November 26 at 8.30pm on ITV1.
Emmerdale vixen Charity Tate (Emma Atkins) finally comes to her senses as she realises that she can't betray Cain (Jeff Hordley) and steal his money - but loses everything anyway.
With the swipe card and copy of the master key in hand, Charity heads to the storage unit where Cain stores his cash, but fairly soon after her departure, Cain realises that his wallet's been moved and he's missing the security card. Curious, he rushes to the garage and sees that the master key to his secure location is there.
Even though he knows that the master key is needed, Cain goes to the storage unit with Debbie (Charley Webb). Just before they arrive, though, Noah's constant questioning over his mother's actions prompts Charity to realise that Cain means more to her than a pile of notes.
At that moment, Cain bursts in with Debbie in tow and they're stunned to see Charity kneeling before his bag of money. It looks like Charity's been caught red-handed trying to make away with the cash but Cain sees red. With Debbie and Noah out of the way, he throws Charity against the wall in a rage, before walking away and locking Charity in the storage facility. 
These scenes air on Monday, November 23 at 7pm on ITV1.
And finally to Hollyoaks, where Newt's (Nico Mirallegro) a lad on the brink. The pressures of returning to school mount up on the youth and after enduing a difficult day, Newt reaches breaking point when he sees Rae (Alice Barlow) and Gaz (Joel Goonan) together.
Confronting Gaz, Newt's anger boils over and the pair come to blows. It's only when Jack (James McKenna) breaks up the fight that Newt calms down. Listening to Newt's fears about school, Jack suggests that his return may have been slightly premature.
These scenes air on Monday, November 23 at 6.30pm on Channel 4.
Oh, and remember at the top of the blog when I suggested that you'd probably want a goat by the end? Here's why...
Introducing... Rudolph Goat.
Yep, while Dom's (John Pickard) asleep, Michaela (Hollie-Jay Bowes) decides to steal his Rudolph impostor for a laugh... 
These scenes air on Wednesday, November 25 at 6.30pm on Channel 4.
If anyone's wondering what I'd like for Christmas, I'd like a Rudolph Goat. No idea where he'd live, but still.
Let me know your views on the above using the usual form below!
> Click here to vote for DS's 'Soap Of The Year' 2009!
| Posted Sunday, November 15 at 00:02 by Kris | Click to see and add comments (2) |
