Inside Soap UK 06 - 2021

“The ‘Ballum’ proposal warmed our cockles!” Well, we’ve made it through January – well done to all of us! The month ended on a high soap-wise, with Ben and Callum’s cute double proposal in EastEnders. We chat to Tony Clay – aka Callum – about the ‘Ballum’ wedding plans over on p48. He’s loving the storyline, and I think it’s lovely to have something so heartfelt on our screens to warm our cockles, as the weather outside certainly isn’t! Talking of feeling the cold, we have some chilling drama on the way in Corrie this week, as Debbie and Kev are trapped in the Bistro fridge, with no way of escape! And things are frosty at Home Farm too, as Dawn finds herself out in the cold, while Gabby is…

Charity’s appalling behaviour crosses a line this week, after she lashes out at Noah and slaps him across the face! Violence erupts when it looks as though Charity has scuppered her son’s chance at joining the Army, prompting the lad to tell his mum a few home truths – including that his life would have been better if she’d gone through with selling him as a baby. Noah’s words cut Charity deep, and she loses control… “Slapping Noah is spur-of-the-moment, yet sadly also the point when Charity realises that she has pulled the trigger on so many relationships in her life,” sighs actress Emma Atkins, who plays her. “Noah desperately wants to join the Army to get away from her, and Charity feels very bitter about that. Deep down, she…

Charity hits rock bottom this week, after her violence towards Noah sees her shunned by the Dingles. Yet just when it looks as if her behaviour can’t get any worse, she falls into bed with her daughter Debbie’s ex, Al! “At this point Charity has nothing else left to lose,” despairs actress Emma Atkins of her alter ego, moving on to the next chapter of Charity’s spiral of shame. “She assumes that Al is just as sad and lonely as she is, and thinks they can be bitter and twisted together.” Sadly for Charity, Al knows exactly what he’s doing as he deliberately takes advantage of her vulnerability. The village womaniser is in a tight spot, following the execution of Debbie and Priya’s plan to fleece him, and as a…

Hi, Emma! Can Charity ever come back from this terrible path? When I get my scripts, I think back to all that she has done over the years. For instance, ‘Has Charity done anything worse than this? And is it redeemable?’ But I’m not sure, I think Charity’s sunk as low as she can go! Is there anyone in the village who can save her? Diane is the only person who doesn’t turn her back on Charity, and so that might be a nice relationship forming. Diane shows her that she has to get her life together for the sake of her own self-preservation, if nothing else! How much fun is it to play Charity when she’s like this? Amazing fun, I feel so bloody lucky! She’s addicted to danger,…

Wicked Ray rumbles double-crossing Debbie this week – so locks her and her brother Kevin in the Bistro fridge. The Webster siblings are left shaking with fear and freezing having been trapped in the cold store, with nobody but Ray aware of where they are. It’s the horrifying conclusion to Debbie’s dishonesty after she pretended to Abi that she’d killed Ray in self-defence and hidden his body. However, just as she’s ready to betray Ray at the final hour, he realises what she’s plotting and decides to take action. “Debbie might have played her final lucky hand,” warns our Coronation Street insider. “Ray has been willing to trust her to secure his freedom and a new life in Turkey, but he has an instinct that she’s going to shaft him.…

We know Ray is capable of anything, but who knew he’d be inspired to do away with the Websters using ‘death by fridge’? As devoted soap fans will know, this is not the first time in soap history that a cold store has been the stage for a tragic demise. It was Anne Malone, an unhinged admirer of Curly Watts, who met her maker next to a box of Freshco fish fingers. She was busy trying to destroy manager Curly’s life by tampering with the frozen foods when she was accidentally locked in, and froze to death. Maybe the memory of Anne’s death lingered long in Ray’s memory, or perhaps his former employee Michelle Connor told him about her own brush with death at the Bistro. Michelle and her then-boyfriend…