Inside Soap UK 09-2023

“It sets the blood pumping” This week, Inside Soap has its knickers in a twist about EastEnders’ flash-forward to Christmas (just 299 sleeps to go!). And here I must make a real buzz-kill confession: I’m not usually a fan of trippy gimmicks in soap. To me, what makes soap special is the way the viewer is granted a god-like view of everything. The fun comes from knowing secrets the characters don’t, not from information being deliberately withheld by some mere scriptwriter. Frankly, there shouldn’t even be whodunnits in soap! However, it’s all about getting the audience talking, and when done this well – I love the cheeky reveal of Sharon in her wedding dress – it sets the blood pumping and the theories flying. And we’re all for that, as…

First with the week’s HOTTEST headlines Terrified Daisy hopes to finally put an end to Justin’s creepy harassment this week – by taking out a stalking protection order against him. It seems that Justin’s delusions know no bounds, and the week kicks off with Daisy discovering that he is her mum’s new boyfriend – before he breaks into her house and corners her! It’s clear Daisy is at breaking point, but is there anything the law can do to stop Justin before things get any worse? “Daisy is scared to step foot outside her house, and now she doesn’t even feel safe within her own home,” gasps our Street insider. “The only way she can see to stop him is to take out this order, then at least if he…

Hi, Rob! How helpless does Daniel feel right now, not being able to protect Daisy? Daniel feels really helpless – he suggests to Daisy that the way to solve this is to come off social media, but Daisy is having none of that. Daniel is not in the online world, so it is completely unknown territory to him. He doesn’t have a presence on social media himself to be able to wade in on anything. How does Daniel react when the wedding dress company refuses to work with Daisy? Daniel starts to think that Daisy sees the wedding as a sort of military operation, it has to be the way that she wants it or not at all. For Daniel, that is really confusing because he thinks the point of…

“No parent should have to say goodbye to their child” The heartbreak is unbearable for broken Whitney and Zack this week, as they say an agonising farewell to their baby daughter Peach. The grief-stricken parents struggle to cope in the wake of Peach’s death and find themselves at loggerheads time and again. Whitney’s decision to terminate her pregnancy after Peach’s tragic Edwards’ syndrome diagnosis has destroyed her, while Zack is in the depths of misery and feels unable to reach Whitney. But they are united by their devastation when the nurse invites them to spend some precious final moments with their little girl. “No parent should ever have to say goodbye to their child, it’s the worst pain imaginable,” shares our Walford insider. “It’s hard for Whitney even to comprehend…

Sadly, Whitney and Zack are far from alone in experiencing the devastating loss of a baby before 24 weeks, and a new health initiative is being introduced to support grieving parents by acknowledging the traumatic situation. Plans are in progress to introduce a baby loss certificate that recognises the death of babies lost before week 24 of pregnancy. Until now, baby loss from conception to this stage of pregnancy has been classed as a miscarriage, and no death certificate is issued. Babies who die after 24 weeks during pregnancy are classified as stillborn and are registered as such. Campaigners hope the new law will provide comfort for parents who’ve endured this tragic experience.…

Devoted dad Cain makes an astonishing U-turn in the battle for custody of Kyle this week – by deciding to cut himself out of his son’s life for good! The heartbreaking decision comes after another turbulent week for Kyle, in which his distraught parents struggle to do what’s best for him. Cain has been gunning for Amy since finding out that she plans to apply for sole custody of their son. But after another worrying incident with Kyle, Cain concludes that he’s the problem – and he needs to stay away from his boy… “It’s an unbelievable move from Cain – nobody saw this coming!” whispers our Dales insider. “Kyle is Cain’s world, and he would have gone to prison for life just to save him. However, he comes to…