Inside Soap UK 19-2023

“Stacey prepares to butter her baps” It must be a funny old life, working as a soap storyliner. You’ll be on constant alert; always on the lookout for a news headline, illness or quirky new piece of technology that might be deployed as your next shock twist. There’s not a gadget – from cassette tape to webcam to bluetooth speaker – that hasn’t been used to accidentally transmit a secret affair, so our storyliner will often be found trawling their local MenKind gadget shop for inspiration. I can guarantee that, at some point – my guess is around 2025 – we’ll see a family robot blurt out what its owner has been up to with the neighbour’s wife. And with artificial intelligence on the rise, it might even do so out of…

First with the week’s HOTTEST headlines Sick Lola receives the news she’s been dreading this week – her palliative chemotherapy treatment hasn’t worked. It’s after Lola goes missing from her salon farewell party, and Billy finds her confused on the floor outside the gym, that Lola ends up in hospital. And with Jay, Ben and Billy by her side, Lola is told the devastating news that her treatment has reached the end of the line… “Lola’s known for a while that she’s living on borrowed time, but she was hoping to have at least six months left to spend with her precious daughter Lexi,” reveals our Square spy. “Yet now she’s faced with the fact that the end of her life is much closer than she or her loved ones imagined. It’s a…

Jay vows to make every last second of the time he has left with his wife count this week – so he breaks Lola out of hospital, and takes her on a fun-filled trip to the seaside! The husband and wife know that the days they have left together are limited, so they’re determined to forge some more happy memories before it’s too late. Which is why Jay whisks his missus away on a romantic trip… to Margate! “It’s not exactly Paris or Rome, but Lola is thrilled by the gesture nonetheless,” reveals our Walford insider. “She’s still feeling fragile from the events of the past 24 hours, so going any further afield just isn’t possible right now. However, the sea air and the change of scene is just what the doctor…

The McDonalds face a new nightmare this week, after Amy goes public about her rape ordeal – then Aaron’s dad threatens to sue her for libel! After Amy shares her story online, Eric kicks off – though supportive Steve and Tracy are determined to back their girl all the way. But that could mean losing the businesses they’ve worked so hard to build up over the years… “Amy recognizes this is going to be a really expensive court case for her family,” explains Elle Mulvaney, who plays the traumatised teenager. “The money situation is terrifying, but equally, Amy doesn’t regret what she said – and she doesn’t take it back because that’s the truth.” The trouble starts after Amy spots Aaron’s ex Mia at the garage. Amy explains that Aaron raped her, leaving…

“When I’ve spoken to people who have been victims of rape, or when people have confided in me, they’ve all said there isn’t an easy road to just, ‘Oh I’m fine now’,” explains Elle. “That isn’t how people work. So I think it’s really interesting seeing somebody go down all these different paths, first going back on her allegation, then putting it out again, and then posting it. That’s the truth of the story. “Survivors deal with things in different ways,” she continues. “There’s no right path and also there’s no easy route to just accepting what’s happened. I think that’s something that Corrie has done really well in making this story into what it is, rather than just, ‘She’s been raped, she’s devastated, end of’. Because that’s not real.”…

Caleb’s dastardly plan to position himself at the centre of Kim Tate’s business empire is under threat this week – and in a desperate bid to prove his loyalty to suspicious Kim, he forces Moira into a corner where she has to give up her home, farm and livelihood! With her business collapsing around her, defeated Moira confesses to Cain that she can’t see a future for Butlers Farm any more, so turns to flash brother-in-law Caleb for business advice. Caleb suggests her worst nightmare – to sell up – is now her only option. However, little does Moira know she’s a pawn in Caleb’s scheming hands… “He throws his own family under the bus!” declares Will Ash, who plays the master manipulator. “At first, they’re not interested in selling the land,…