Inside Soap UK 4 - 2020

Those soaps love any excuse for a big, dramatic shindig, don’t they? And we soap fans love it too, because when the soaps hit an anniversary, we basically get served up a special treat as big – if not bigger – than Christmas! “It’s quite the year for celebrations!” This week, we bring you our first sneak peek of EastEnders’ blockbuster 35th anniversary episodes, where that famous view of the Thames that’s opened every episode since 1985 becomes very significant! And it’s quite the year for celebations. We’ll see Corrie’s 10,000th episode next week, while in March those Neighbours celebrate 35 years of sunny shenanigans. Later in the year, Hollyoaks hits 25, but it’s just a baby compared with the grandmummy of them all, Coronation Street, which celebrates 60 glorious…

“Daniel is shocked, he thinks he sees Sinead – it’s too good to be true!” Grieving widower Daniel begs close pal Bethany to spend the night with him this week – believing she’s his dead wife, Sinead! Bethany has been Daniel’s rock in the wake of Sinead’s tragic death, although it’s clear for everyone to see that she would like to be much more than just his friend. So when Daniel suddenly leans in for a kiss, Bethany has no idea that he’s actually confusing her for his late love, Sinead! “Daniel knows he is kissing Bethany, but he’s allowing his mind to trick him,” explains Rob Mallard, who plays the heartbroken husband. “He has just woken up from a nap, so he is a little bit out of it,…

How is Daniel handling this next chapter of his life? He’s not handling it at all! He is in denial, and is just trying to keep his head above water. All his attention is going to Bertie, he is not able to just sit and realise how much everything has changed, because he is focusing on his baby. What effect has Sinead’s death had on how Daniel fathers Bertie? Daniel feels as if he now has to be both Mum and Dad – which sounds like a simple thing to do, but he is completely without any clues as to what Sinead was offering that he is not offering. I don’t think he has any concept of what he will actually need to be for Bertie. He will have to…

The rising tension between Leo and Kat gets completely out of hand this week, as Kat’s boyfriend Kush ends up pushing Leo over a balcony! As the week begins, shifty Leo is causing stress for the market stallholders, particularly Kat, who has agreed to swap stalls with Whitney in an attempt to shield her from her creepy ex. Meanwhile, poor Whit is still feeling threatened by Leo’s ongoing presence on the Square, after she discovered his true identity as paedophile Tony King’s son. However, Leo bites off a bit more than he can chew this week, when he hurls a torrent of abuse towards Kat, who promptly flies off the handle and rips Leo’s stall to shreds! “Leo’s already shown he’s willing to play extremely dirty, by giving a business…

If you mess with Whitney, then you’re definitely heading for a fall, sooner or later! Back in 2011, while trying to put her horrific experience with Tony behind her, poor Whit fell under the spell of Rob Grayson – a pimp who exploited her by making her perform sexual favours for his ‘friends’. Whitney reluctantly obliged – at least initially – thinking that she and Rob were in love, but soon the horrifying truth started to dawn on her. Thankfully, Whitney escaped the clutches of evil Rob, and a few months later, he got his comeuppance when Whit’s half-brother Ryan caught up with him. Ryan and Rob fought on the pier at Southend-on-Sea, and Rob was pushed over the edge and fell to his death!…

Shock waves reverberate around the Dales this week, when Billy and Priya find Graham’s dead body! The pair are searching for missing dog Tip, and neither is ready for what they discover. But after uncovering the body, and the police are called, both are horrified to hear Graham was most likely murdered… “Priya and Billy spot an abandoned vehicle from the outdoor pursuits centre, and investigate,” shares our Dales insider. “It’s clear the van has been in an accident, and Billy suggests they look for clues as to what the driver has hit. After Priya eyes something under the bridge, she takes a closer look – and is sickened to realise it’s a dead body! And she’s further appalled to see it’s Graham.” All the locals know Graham had more…