Inside Soap UK 18 - 2021

“This week brings the sudden gear change…” Something the soaps can do like no other TV is what we call the ‘gear change’. It’s that sudden shift from comedy or sentimentality to high drama that makes your stomach lurch and your head spin. Of course, it’s a tool the writers like to use to manipulate our emotions. And yes, sometimes they do it crudely, such as when an EastEnders heroine trills, “Oh, I’ve never been so happy!” moments before their beloved goes under a car, bus or the westbound Heathrow service. Recently, Corrie has taken care to show us what a kind and emotionally mature young woman Nina is, while easing us into a charming romance for her and Seb. But this week brings that gear change – and we…

Prepare to witness some truly horrific scenes in Weatherfield this week, as Nina and Seb are subjected to a violent hate-crime attack. The lovebirds are out walking together when they’re set upon by bully Corey and his gang of followers – including Kelly – who lash out at Nina purely for the way she looks. And when Seb steps in to defend his girlfriend, both he and Nina end up fighting for their lives in hospital… “The events of this week will be extremely harrowing to watch – but sadly this is something that does happen in real life,” points out our Coronation Street insider. “Nina’s Victorian Goth identity has already prompted some extremely hurtful comments from the locals, who don’t understand why she chooses to express herself in this…

It’s been clear to Corrie viewers from the start that Corey is bad news – and this week it finally dawns on Asha exactly the type of guy she’s become involved with… Now the teens are living together, it’s obvious they have different ideas of what constitutes ‘fun’. So when Asha suggests a night in with a box-set, Corey instead heads out to meet his dodgy mates. “Corey goes to Speed Daal, where he openly flirts with Kelly!” gasps our sneak. “His appalling behaviour is witnessed by both Summer and Nina, who worry about whether they should tell Asha what he’s up to. In the end, Nina decides that telling her is the right thing to do – but will Asha believe her?” The next day, Asha is horrified when…

For Seb and Nina’s story, Corrie scriptwriters worked closely with The Sophie Lancaster Foundation – a charity set up in the wake of a tragic real-life hate-crime attack which took place in 2007. Sophie was just 20 when she and her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, were brutally attacked while walking in a Lancashire park, simply because of the way they looked. Thirteen days later, Sophie died of her injuries – and her mother Sylvia set up the foundation in Sophie’s memory, to focus on creating respect for, and understanding of, subcultures in our communities. “I came up with the idea of the charity when Sophie was still in hospital,” explains Sylvia. “I was furious that people are so intolerant of people who look different, and decided that when she was better,…

There’s a bombshell for the Carters this week, when Linda thinks she might be pregnant. While meddling in Nancy’s life, she arrives at a clinic to meet her daughter’s doctor – but ends up as the patient herself! Linda has been on a mission ever since she discovered that Nancy is making a big medical decision about her future. But when Linda starts to feel faint, a concerned doctor offers to examine her – and the truth comes out… “Mick’s about to discover if he’s going to be a dad again” “Linda’s had her suspicions that she could be pregnant,” reveals our Walford insider. “She’s been experiencing symptoms for a while, but the hot flushes she was having made her think that she was starting the menopause early – which…

We already knew that EastEnders star Kellie Bright will be leaving the soap to have a baby, but now Linda might be expecting, too! Not only will a Carter pregnancy save producers having to hide Kellie’s bump, but it also brings huge dramatic potential… Linda has been a one-man woman her whole life, but late last year, she did the unthinkable and began an affair with Max Branning. We know that the couple slept together, and that Linda bitterly regretted it. Linda and Mick have tried to put it behind them, but what if Linda discovered she was carrying Max’s child? Might he even return to lay claim to the baby? A Carter pregnancy would certainly get the gossips talking, and we can well imagine Max’s detective brother Jack counting…