Inside Soap UK 11 - 2016

Ooh, we love it when a soap pub has a change of owner. You can always guarantee that a new boss behind the bar will breathe fresh life into a show – after all, we seem to spend half of each episode in the boozer! And that’s especially true if that owner is as big (and as bad) a character as Charity Dingle. She’s already the queen of the one-liner, and I look forward to watching Charity banging out a bitchy barb with every beer and serving up a slight with every short. What could be more fun? Find out all the bar-room gossip on p12. As things hot up at the Woolie, it’s getting distinctly chilly at the Vic as the fallout from poor little Ollie’s accident continues to…

“SARAH IS FEARFUL THAT THINGS WILL GO WRONG IF SHE HAS A CAESAREAN” There is horror in store for Sarah this week – when she suddenly goes into premature labour! After collapsing in the middle of the florist’s, Sarah is in agony as she’s rushed to hospital, and is convinced something is terribly wrong. With Todd and David by her side, it’s not long before Sarah is welcoming her baby boy – whose dad is dead-and-buried Callum – into the world. But is her nightmare really over? “Sarah is in massive denial when her contractions start,” admits star Tina O’Brien, who plays her. “She doesn’t want to believe that she’s in labour, so she tries to convince herself it’s not happening. It’s like a defence mechanism, since she reckons something…

“I was horrified when I had to film Sarah giving birth to Bethany in 2000,” chuckles the actress. “I was only 16 years old at the time, and very naive. Since then, I’ve had to ‘give birth’ to triplets on Call The Midwife – and I’ve also played a pregnant character in Casualty . “But this time, it was tiring because, after having had kids in real life, I felt like I was really in labour again!” Sarah’s latest birth scenes will also be a little close to home for Tina’s eldest child, Scarlett – her seven-year-old daughter with Corrie co-star Ryan Thomas (Jason)… “Scarlett has seen me pregnant as Sarah, but I don’t let her watch things that might upset her,” shares…

“IT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE FOR KYLE TO TRY TO REACH OUT TO STACEY AGAIN” This is the happy moment when Stacey returns to Albert Square – and welcomes half-brother Kyle into her life with open arms. It’s the breakthrough that the nervous fella has been hoping for ever since he turned up out of the blue last year and told Stacey they were related. So as her mental health continues to improve this week, it looks as if the pair will finally get the chance to make up for lost time… “All Kyle has ever wanted is to get to know Stacey,” shares our EastEnders insider. “Their dad, Brian, led a double life and had two families – so Stacey and Kyle spent many years not knowing that…

Walford bosses are keeping tight-lipped about what Kyle confesses to Stacey this week – so the obvious question is whether or not he tells her that he was born female. While so far there have been no references to the fact that Kyle’s had gender reassignment, EastEnders fans know that star Riley Carter Millington, who plays him, is himself transgender. So is it Kyle’s honesty that convinces Stacey to give him a chance? Or will it be a while till she learns his big secret?…

“THE WHOLE AFFAIR IS THERE IN BOLD TEXT, RIGHT IN FRONT OF RHONA” There’s a violent showdown in the Woolpack this week, after Rhona tells Pierce the truth about Tess’ secret lover – and he punches Paddy! Although she’s trying desperately to put what happened behind them, Rhona gets a horrible reminder of the depth of Paddy’s betrayal when Pierce arrives, brandishing a mobile phone that Tess kept hidden. When she reads the messages the lovers sent to each other, the pain is too much for Rhona to bear – and she reveals the truth to horrified Pierce. “Rhona just can’t help herself,” explains Zoe Henry, who plays the devastated wife. “Pierce starts to talk about the messages on Tess’ phone, and curiosity gets the better of Rhona – so…