Inside Soap UK 51/52 - 2018

“All the biggest soap plots revealed!” Hooray, it’s Christmas – truly the most fabulous time of the soap year! And what a load of soapie treats we have for you this fortnight. All the biggest plots of Christmas and New Year are revealed, there’s a whole host of fantastic interviews with your favourite stars – and we take you off to a special soapie winter wonderland with some very familiar faces having the ride of their lives! We hope you enjoy reading this bumper issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. So all that’s left for me to do is to thank you so much for reading Inside Soap in 2018, and to wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a happy soap-filled New Year!…

Alfie Moon faces his worst nightmare this fortnight, as the news that he is the father of Hayley’s daughter Cherry goes public – and you can just imagine how the bombshell is received by his wife, Kat! For the most part, Alfie and Hayley have managed to keep their secret safe. Right now, Jean is the only other person who knows the truth, and no one else suspects – even though Hayley decided to name her little girl after Alfie’s mum! However, as Christmas Day approaches, every bit of their deceit will be exposed… “Typical Alfie, he starts juggling all the lies,” explains Shane Richie, who plays the feckless fella. “He’s trying to keep the whole family happy, and he thinks he’s doing the right thing by Hayley by saying,…

Hi, Shane! When you were invited back to EastEnders , did you know it was all heading towards this big Christmas episode? Yeah! I had a phone call about this big Christmas story. Simon Ashdown has written it, and back in the day, he wrote some big stuff for Kat and Alfie – so to have him on board again was great! Only on Christmas Day could this happen. Why anyone would want to live in Walford, I have no idea! Christmas Day is massive, and I’ve been privileged enough to see some of it. How does this rate in the pantheon of terrible Christmases for Alfie Moon? Well, I was talking to someone the other day about how many Christmases Kat and Alfie have been involved…

There’s big drama for Kim this Christmas – as she goes into labour with only Phil Mitchell there to help deliver her baby boy! I don’t think things will ever be the same between them!” A crazy series of events sees Kim and Phil get locked in the Minute Mart storeroom, just as Kim realises that her waters have broken. With baby Hubbard-Fox about to make an appearance, Phil has to find his inner midwife to keep distraught Kim calm, and get the baby out safely. Given their surroundings are worse than a manger and there are no wise men around at all, will this makeshift Walford Nativity have a happy ending? “There’s no way Kim would have shortlisted Phil of all people to be her birthing partner!” laughs Tameka…

Kim and Phil’s birth drama gave Tameka the chance to work with co-star Steve McFadden, and she loved it. Their characters don’t often share screen time, and it was a chance for them both to do something very different… “It was hilarious!” enthuses Tameka. “It’s one of those scenes where you don’t work with someone that often, but when you do, you really enjoy it. I’ve had a few scenes with Steve before, and they’ve been quite intense. This time, it was just so much fun.” However, she says they tried hard to get the right balance between comedy and drama. “We both wanted to make the scene right, we didn’t want it to become pantomime-like,” explains Tameka. “Our characters are very different, and we don’t always mix together in…

Louise decides to move on from Keegan this fortnight – and seduces his brother, Keanu! “Phil might have yet another reason to take a swing for Keanu if he finds out about this!” gasps our Walford insider. “Keanu was doing the dirty with Phil’s wife Sharon – and now he’s daring to hook up with his daughter too! Phil is unaware of all of this, but for how long?” The situation arises after Keanu wrongly believes that Sharon is coming home for Christmas. Excited at the prospect of seeing his lover again, Keanu buys her a gift. However, when Louise catches Keanu and questions him, she jumps to the conclusion that the present is for her! She’s touched by the gesture, and it starts her thinking… “Louise is a romantic…