Emmerdale

[Zetti]

Great episode last night, all credit to the actors who play the Barton family, especially Holly she really portrays the part so realistically.

I echo that. The doorbell went when Holly was screaming on the bed and I felt so sick watching it, I was half glad and ran out of the room. Sophie is doing a spectactular job with it

[Slade]

I agree with what’s been said regarding the Barton’s. I wasn’t sure about the storyline at first or the actress that played Holly but both have finally come good now. In a way I felt for all of them in particular Moira. I still think buying drugs for Holly was incredibly irresponsible but felt she did the wrong thing for what she thought were the right reasons. She just couldn’t bear to see her daughter in pain and wanted that pain to go away. I also felt a bit sorry for Moira when she got arrested and had to give the name of her supplier. It will be interesting to see if there are any ramifications regarding this. Also if that was heroin John bought did he get if from Holly’s ex as well? The last scene on Friday’s episode in particular was very emotional and it took a lot of willpower for Holly (who again in some of her earlier storylines wasn’t that great IMO but is very convincing now) to choose her family over her addiction but it remains to be seen if anything will come of it.

Not sure how much more they can do with this storyline regarding Jackson. Unless he makes a miraculous recovery the only thing they can do is write him out. I can see him changing his mind about his Dad’s offer. Not sure about Hazel though as they seem to be trying to develop some sort of love triangle with Bob and Viv even though Bob and Hazel are only friends at the moment.

I’m finding both Declan’s ex wife and daughter extremely annoying. I’m almost starting to wish certainly Natasha and possibly Nathan (OK maybe not Nathan) would return. The former just seems to be hanging round like a bad smell deliberately trying to rub Declan up the wrong way and be a nuisance. His daughter’s a nuisance as well not to mention that she’s spoilt, stuck-up and seems to think the world revolves around her. Still kneeing Cain in the groin, taking his keys and moving his BMW blocking her in took some bottle so she scores points for that.

[Red Ranger 1]

In...quite a few minds about the Bartons.Moira came across as a bit self-righteous, I could see she thought she was doing the right thing but even when she'd been arrested and Holly was as bad as ever she still sat there insisting she'd done what she had to.A bit of humility wouldn't have gone amiss.John was a bit too aggressive although his hardball tactics seemed to bear fruit in the end.

I did mention a while back that I liked Ellen when she first appeared but I've gone off her with the way she's barged into Declan's house and life and insisted on doing things her way.Shame it's the end of him and Alicia because the pairing did actually show promise.Not sure what to make of Mia.I was expecting her to be a wild child but instead she seems quite placid, even if she does seem to think she can do whatever she likes.And yes, kneeing Cain where it hurts was definitely a tick in the plus column.

Don't know about Jackson but I'm really not that keen on Hazel, who's another one who needs a dose of humility, acting as though she's better than everyone else where Jackson's concerned and making snide remarks.That said, I did feel sorry for her when Viv was giving her the same treatment. I don't think Bob and Hazel are actually interested in each other, it's just Viv being jealous because they're friends.I keep hoping Bob will wise up to her instead of letting her manipulate him the whole time.

[Slade]

I have to agree about Hazel. She just doesn’t seem very likeable and I thought this was evident in particular at the beginning of the week the way she was towards Jackson’s dad i.e. dismissive (but I think she improved towards the end). I haven’t seen the actor who plays him in years. I remember how funny some of his sarcastic remarks were when he was playing Ollie Simpson in Brookside.

I’m really not sure about this whole Aaron/Jackson thing. In the short term it might be OK but I just feel we’ve already been down this road before and they are both just going to end up miserable. Although it was difficult for both of them I think Jackson was right giving Aaron a wide berth. The flip side to that is if Aaron’s preoccupied looking after Jackson at least there’s a chance it will pacify him to a certain degree. I actually thought it was ironic Victoria of all people was the one who made Aaron see sense. I felt really sorry for Jackson after his night out when the reality kicked in and he broke down.

I’m still finding this storyline with Chas and Carl extremely frustrating. And it really doesn’t help whenever Chas’s moral compass kicks in Charity makes her see the light (or I should say dark). I do feel there is a glimmer of hope especially with Thomas and Anaya flying over for the wedding and Zak offering the Olive branch by way of a dinner invitation which has made Chas reassess the situation. The way things are going I don’t think it’s going to be a black and white as Chas taking him for everything he’s got. I’m sure someone will find out. Maybe someone who can empathise with Chas but on the other hand will feel obligated to tell Carl.

Finding it hard to like Charity at the moment. Like I said above there’s the manipulation of Chas into fleecing Carl and just the general underhand way of going about it. And then there’s the way she openly admits to taking Jai for a mug although I guess she’s making some attempt at trying to convince Lisa to sell up even though she believes that she won’t.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hazel's meltdown in church wasn't as bad as I expected, it seemed like she was just going to leave, albeit pretty loudly and obviously, and Ashley turned it into a debate.And the little scene of her alone in the church was a nice way of capping it off.Not sure if I guessed who arranged for the builders or I read it beforehand but it couldn't really have been anyone else, he's the only person in the village with money.

Good that the Bartons seem to be getting on better because the whole storyline did really seem to be stuck in a groove.Holly seems a bit more relaxed and it's nice to see Hannah smiling again.

A child's gone missing in Emmerdale?Must be Christmas.

[Slade]

I suspected something had gone on between Leyla and Justin a while back when he made his first appearance but dismissed it after they both denied it so am not really surprised he’s Jacob’s real dad to be honest. It was obviously hard for Alicia to deal with her sister’s betrayal and David to deal with Leyla keeping yet another secret from him. I do agree with Leyla that they really need to put all the disputes to one side so they can concentrate on finding Jacob which looks unlikely now although this is soapland.

Declan’s wife continues to annoy the hell out of me inviting Declan’s dad around for Christmas (and probably new year/beyond) in an attempt to deliberately stir the pot. I wish she would just get the first bus out of town. His daughter isn’t as bad but she would be better without her mother.

I’m pretty fed up with this Chas storyline and just hope it’s over soon. She’s clearly having second thoughts but I suspect Charity will quash any attempts for Chas to be pacified and she’ll go through with it in the end.

[Red Ranger 1]

Yes, I think I thought Justin was going to be Jacob's biological father when it was first mentioned Leyla was his mother then when they didn't mention it I thought I was wrong...Hope Leyla and David work through this latest drama, I do rather like them together.

In two minds about Declan's dad.I think Declan's overreacting but only slightly.He seems to be a bit of a lazy so-and-so but that's not really a good enough reason to want nothing to do with him.It is a good enough reason to not want him to suddenly turn up at the house and move himself in though...

[Slade]

I knew Chas was going to go through with it for the simple reason that the writers had tried to make such a point that she was having doubts. I’m really not pleased with the storyline as I keep stating and even though Chas was quite ruthless in the end at least they did it in such a way that Chas was sympathetic to a certain extent. I’m presuming it was the drink she had with Paddy that turned her in the end. Some people will say Chas was being hypocritical because of what she did to Paddy and I completely agree with this but I think the difference between her cheating on Paddy was that she was in love with Carl but with Carl and Eve, for Carl it was simply lust. The thing which bothers me the most about the whole thing is that effectively it means that people like Charity and Cain have won. Charity was actually the main reason I wanted Carl to discover what happened as I absolutely hated the whole way she manipulated and pressured Chastity into going through with it. In saying that I did like that whole scene in the church and thought it was very well done. I could completely understand why Ashley wasn’t happy about being deceived and having everybody else’s time wasted which is why I don’t understand how he just stood there through the whole thing without saying a word. I really think Carl should take Jimmy’s advice and just go on the honeymoon and try and concentrate on his kids though.

I’m glad Leyla, Alicia and David have sorted things out but with Leyla and Alicia it does feel that they’ve buried the hatchet simply for a convenient alliance against Justin and not because there’s any forgiveness there although at least they both have Jacob’s best interests at heart.

[Red Ranger 1]

I did wonder why everyone just sat there and let Chas give her performance.You'd expect the Dingles to do a bit more than exchanged shocked looks.Wasn't really happy with the way they all raised a toast to her afterwards like she'd won a great victory.Ironically and pleasingly, it doesn't seem to have made her feel any better and she seems to be drinking herself silly.Actually felt sorry for Carl even though he was largely responsible for the situation, he seemed to be genuinely looking forward to marrying Chas and being a father.Don't really think that what Chas did to Paddy is any better than what Carl's done:She might have decided she was back in love with Carl later on but she seemed to sleep with him out of a combination of lust and nostalgia, try to hide it and carry on as normal, then get back with him when she didn't have anywhere else to go.Bit hard to stomach Katie acting all superior with Eve like she hasn't slept with half her friends' boyfriends as well.

Michael Feldman, there's a blast from the past.Guess that plot thread's been dangling for a decade and a half, about time they picked it up.Did feel sorry for Eric, I think Val's one of the few people he's ever been genuine about.

Leyla and Alicia are very believable as sisters, don't think I noticed that before.Pleased that Scarlett slapped Ella, she was being annoying.Glad she had the sense to wait until she'd come down off stage instead of making an exhibition as well.

[Slade]

Bit hard to stomach Katie acting all superior with Eve like she hasn't slept with half her friends' boyfriends as well.

And Gennie sleeping with Bob although it was more understandable with her as Chas is her sister.

Since Chas jilted Carl at the altar and she’s gone on a drunken frenzy she’s gotten more irritating. I’m finding it hard to care about some of the storylines at the moment. Not sure how much more they can do with Jackson. Can’t really get excited about this Adam/Scarlett/Mia thing although I didn’t mind the stuff yesterday and I too quite liked Scarlett slapping Mia (at least Scarlett’s done something exciting for once). I’m finding Amy annoying as well and not really sure if she has much purpose. She doesn’t really interact with any of the younger characters except for Victoria but then again Scarlett only really interacts with Adam. Again I felt quite sorry for Eric too because whatever he’s done in the past I do think he’s a different person now. I’m getting quite frustrated with the stuff with Andy and Katie as they seem to be almost going round in circles. I really didn’t like Henshall’s whole attitude towards Ryan during the Mark Wylde murder investigation but don’t mind him now. It’s a shame because I think he is probably behind the break-in at Katie’s. I mean who else would it be?