Inside Soap UK 24 - 2018

“Soaps have really come a long way!” Soaps have certainly come a long way. Twenty years ago, the usually reserved Corrie hit the headlines when it introduced soap’s first transexual character in Hayley Cropper. Of course, Hayley went on to be one of the show’s most popular characters ever, with a nation weeping when she passed away in 2014. Back then, a female actress was cast in the role, with producers thinking the public would better accept the character this way. Fast forward to today, and Emmerdale is reintroducing Moira’s one-time daughter Hannah, who now identifies as male, and has found a wonderful transgender actor to play the role of Matty in the form of Ash Palmisciano. This story feels very timely, and watching Moira coming to terms with the challenges…

Just when Eva thinks she’s on the verge of getting her baby back, she’s thrown another massive curveball this week – as Johnny declares that he’s applying for custody, too! The truth is well and truly out in the open now that Toyah has come clean to Peter about Susie being Eva and Aidan’s child, and it doesn’t take long for word to spread around the Street. After Johnny discovers that Eva’s been keeping Aidan’s little girl from him in the wake of his son’s death, he’s furious – and announces that he’ll do everything in his power to make sure Susie comes to live with the Connors… “Eva is so ready for a fight – she has already given up on Susie once, and she’s not prepared to lose…

Relations between Jenny and Johnny reach an all-time low this week, as she refuses to back his plan to take baby Susie from Eva! While Johnny is adamant that Eva isn’t fit to bring up his granddaughter, Jenny reckons that Susie’s place is with her mother. So as the couple go to war over the baby’s future, could this be the final nail in the coffin for their marriage? “Johnny and Jenny’s relationship has been on shaky ground since Aidan’s death,” our cobbles spy reminds us. “Johnny’s been so consumed by grief that he’s pushed Jenny away completely – and even spent the night with Liz behind her back! Jenny is trying to be there for him, but Johnny has hit the self-destruct button. Their marriage hangs by a thread.”…

Killer Lachlan prepares to claim his fourth victim this week, as Belle threatens to leave him for a new life in London – and he takes drastic action to stop her plans. Belle is offered a fantastic work opportunity that would mean relocating to the capital for a year, leaving Lachlan in Emmerdale. He’s incensed to discover she’s considering accepting the dream role – so when he spies a chance to prevent it happening, and keep Belle close, Lachlan readies himself to kill once more! “Every terrible thing Lachlan has done is because he’s desperate to keep Belle,” says our Dales snitch. “Chrissie and Lawrence were trying to take him to Australia, so he killed them. Gerry had information that would put Lachlan behind bars and force Belle to leave…

The couple’s false-alarm pregnancy forced them to get serious – but are babies on the horizon for Belle and Lachlan? We asked star Eden-Taylor Draper, who plays Belle, what she thinks… Is Belle at all suspicious of killer Lachlan? No, she’s oblivious! Belle was so focused on her ‘pregnancy’ when Lachy killed Gerry that she didn’t know what he was doing. Did she want his baby when she thought that she was pregnant? The timing was terrible, but deep down she was over the moon to find out she was pregnant – it was something that she and Lachlan wanted. Belle isn’t keen to try for another baby, though – would you like her to get pregnant? Yeah, I think it would be something different and interesting for her and…

“Carmel is still grieving for Shakil – Max is the last thing on her mind” Desperate Max begs Carmel for help getting custody of baby Abi this week – but will his angry ex even give him the time of day? It’s clear Max is willing to do anything to gain full-time care of his granddaughter, including marrying his former sister-in-law Rainie to prove that he can provide a stable home! However, when it comes to obtaining character references to support his custody bid, scheming Max discovers that he may have burned too many bridges in the Square… “Given that he doesn’t have one friend in Walford, finding someone to be a character reference could prove tricky for Max!” chuckles our EastEnders insider. “And Rainie isn’t that much more popular.…