Inside Soap UK 9 - 2020

Women really are the lifeblood of soap, aren’t they? Let’s face it, the men are only really there to keep the plots going – it’s the strong, gutsy soap women that we truly care about. “It’s the soap women we truly care about!” Take this week. First up, there’s Sharon, mourning her son like she’s never mourned before. She’s seen more tragedy than most, but can even Sharon pull through the worst one of all? Meanwhile, as Emmerdale’s Vanessa continues her cancer battle, Michelle Hardwick reveals her character isn’t taking it lying down – see p42 for our exclusive interview. And it’s goodbye to one of our strongest women this week, Corrie’s Bethany, as she leaves the Street. But will she depart with new love Daniel, or will she step…

The Barlow and Platt families come together this week, for what is arguably the Street wedding of the year – as Adam makes Sarah his wife in a gorgeous fairy-tale ceremony! However, with the bride and her daughter Bethany at loggerheads – and scheming groom Adam taking every opportunity to rub salt in the wounds of Sarah’s former fiancé Gary (see p9) – the road to the swanky hotel venue for their marriage is anything but smooth… “This is Weatherfield, so there will always be drama whenever anyone ties the knot,” scoffs our cobbles insider. “However, in the grand scheme of soap weddings, Sarah and Adam get off pretty lightly. The massive smiles on their faces say it all!” Although, at the start of the week, Sarah is anything but…

Sarah’s marriage to Adam isn’t actress Tina O’Brien’s (Sarah) first soap wedding – with her character having tied the knot to Jason Grimshaw back in 2007. On both occasions the bride looked stunning, although Tina confesses that her TV nuptials are never as glamorous as they look… “You’re wearing the dress for a long time, so it can get a bit smelly!” confesses the actress who, in real life, wed husband Adam Croft on New Year’s Eve in 2018. “By day four, you’re like, ‘Is that me that I can smell in my dress?’ The costume department will kill me for saying that!”…

After weeks of being treated like a pariah over his relationship with Bethany, Daniel is determined to prove that he’s in love – by popping the question! But as Daniel makes his public grand gesture, hollering up to Bethany’s window while he kneels on the cobbles below, she realises that he is proposing with his late wife Sinead’s wedding ring… “When Daniel calls Bethany by Sinead’s name, she is completely devastated…” “Bethany is very confused, because Daniel is really drunk,” reveals star Lucy Fallon, who plays her. “He is slurring his words and can’t properly stand up. It’s a Romeo And Juliet kind-of moment with Bethany up high on a balcony – although really she is just hanging out of the window! But after Bethany realises the significance of the…

Hot on the heels of his ex Sarah’s marriage, Gary tells Maria this week that they should set a date for their own nuptials. However, just as the pair excitedly look to the future, Adam knocks the wind out of Gary’s sails – by revealing all to Maria’s furious fiancée about the afternoon delight she shared with doctor Ali on Valentine’s Day! “The ink has barely had time to dry on Adam and Sarah’s wedding certificate when he takes pleasure in revealing the scandalous truth of Maria’s fling,” frowns our cobbles source. “Seeing Sarah go ahead and marry Adam has to sting for Gary, who secretly probably still holds a torch for her deep down. So after Gary commits to Maria, and then learns that she has been unfaithful, it…

The residents of the Square do their best to return to normal this week, following the horrors of the boat party – but it’s clear that lives have been changed forever by the events of that night… As shattered Sharon prepares for the funeral of her son, she’s blaming herself for his death. But little does she realise quite how deeply her supposed friends and family were involved in the tragedy. And as Ian struggles to keep his own secrets, the truth is revealed in the form of an incriminating voicemail… A MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE “It’s no surprise that Sharon has gone to pieces,” sighs our Walford source. “She’s led a life beset by tragedy, and thought she had already lived through the worst imaginable grief. But nothing compares with losing…