Inside Soap UK 28 - 2019

“Samia has been an absolute delight” Do you know what’s just made me feel really old? The discovery that – as she tells us in her chat on p40 – Corrie’s Samia Longchambon (or Ghadi, as her surname was then) has been on the Street for just shy of two decades! I mean, I remember writing the feature when she arrived on the cobbles, as the pretty kennel maid who caught the eye of young Tyrone. Since then, we’ve been on quite the journey with her – and as Samia tells us in her interview, we should count ourselves lucky to have survived such a long time with Maria, given her history of dead boyfriends! Every step of the way, Samia has been an absolute delight, and when she chatted…

Distraught Lydia packs her bags to leave Emmerdale for good this week – as the Dingles reel following the truth about her tragic baby. Sam is stunned, having discovered that the skeleton of a newborn – which was found on the site of Jessie’s school – was Lydia’s secret child. Consumed by shame and guilt, Lydia books a taxi and prepares to slip away without Sam realising. But her devoted fiancé refuses to let her go without doing everything he can to stop her. “This is one of the most shocking stories that Sam has ever heard, yet it hasn’t changed his love for Lydia,” explains our Dales insider. “He knows Lydia and what a good, pure soul she is. What happened to her baby was utterly tragic and heartbreaking,…

Hi, Karen! How did you feel when you were told about Lydia’s secret? It’s not your run-of-the-mill story, and I wanted to make sure I did it justice. I was interested in Lydia’s psychology and the reasons behind her behaviour – the cleaning, and her desire to control how people perceive her. Now that’s going to unravel – and it’s daunting, but a fantastic challenge. Does Lydia feel that she should be punished? Yes, she’s carried the guilt and shame through her whole adult life and now there’s no more hiding. This is her day of reckoning. At heart, she’s a good person and feels that she did the worst thing possible, so she should be punished. Can she deal with her guilt? I think there’s a way to go.…

Emotional Gary bears his soul to shocked Imran this week – and takes responsibility for his sister Rana’s death! The solicitor can’t believe it when Gary arrives at his office to hold his hands up. With the police having just re-arrested him and quizzed him about his involvement in the factory collapse, Gary knows the net is closing in. So will he confess all and face his punishment? “Gary has a plan as to how he’s going to get out of this for now, but once he actually reaches the solicitors’ office, it gets a bit too much for him,” reveals Mikey North, who plays Gary. “It all comes back to him, what he’s done, and he ends up levelling with Imran a bit more than he intended, and gets…

After Peter discovers that Gary’s back in the frame this week, he heads over to have it out with Gary there and then – a scene which Mikey says was heated on screen and off! “It gets really intense – Peter pins Gary up against a wall!” shares the star. “You don’t mess with Chris Gascoyne [who plays Peter] in scenes. Normally we get a fight director for stuff, yet out of nowhere, Chris picked me up and threw me against the wall! It was really good, and I loved it because it was so real, it wasn’t acting! My back’s not been right since, but the scene looked good!”…

Disaster strikes for Rainie this week, when the money she nicked from Jack vanishes – just as she’s about to steal Max’s granddaughter Abi away from him again. In a determined bid to keep Abi safe and out of Max’s life, Rainie is forced to take desperate measures – but she’s set to take a terrible risk in doing so. So can anyone manage to persuade Rainie that it’s time to return Max’s granddaughter to the safety of Albert Square, before it’s too late for them both? “This was meant to be a whole new start for Rainie and Abi,” shares Tanya Franks, who plays Rainie. “As far as she’s concerned, it’s over between her and Max, and she doesn’t want to have to face him or Jack again –…