Inside Soap UK 25 - 2016

It’s that time of year where we ask you to name your favourite stars and stories – but I’m afraid I have to apologise to you all. You see, having put together the voting lists for the Inside Soap Awards 2016, I’ve found it almost impossible to choose who my winners might be – so I don’t envy you making your own choices! But make a choice you must. So either fill in the form on p49 or hit up the Inside Soap website – it’s your chance to tell your favourite stars just how much they mean to you. Also, look out for a load of exciting features in the coming weeks to tie in with the Awards – there are some soapie treats on their way!…

“RAKESH NEEDS A SOLUTION - KIRIN WANTS MONEY HE JUST DOESN’T HAVE” Rakesh is up to his neck in money troubles this week, and decides to fiddle his insurance – leading to catastrophic consequences. Sacked from his job as a lawyer and under pressure to bankroll his runaway son Kirin – while also struggling to keep his expensive development at Mill Cottage afloat – Rakesh is a man on the edge. With nowhere to turn, he takes the ultimate risk by torching the very building site he hoped would make him his fortune, in anticipation of a payout. But when lives are left hanging in the balance after the Mill explodes, how will Rakesh cope with the disastrous fallout from his reckless scheme? “Rakesh is desperate, and this is where…

“AMY WON’T SEE TRACY, EVEN THOUGH SHE’S ON HER DEATHBED” Tracy’s life is in danger this week – when she collapses in the ginnel with serious kidney problems. The symptoms begin as she’s working in the flower shop, and Beth is worried that her friend could be in trouble. But Tracy brushes it off and tries to carry on – until disaster strikes when she’s out walking Eccles. Luckily Robert finds her, and there’s a race to get Tracy to hospital… “She’s decided to deal with this on her own, but Tracy has been more worried than she’s let on,” says Kate Ford, who plays her. “When she wakes up in hospital, it’s a shock. Still, she hasn’t died, and Tracy hopes the one positive thing to come out of…

JENNY BRADLEY She kept Tracy hostage ahead of Carla’s wedding, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of tormenting . Tracy good on her promise of revenge? LEANNE TILSLEY Leanne and newly single Robert made a good team when they worked at the Bistro - and Tracy knows it! Will her jealousy spark a new feud? AMY BARLOW Tracy adores her daughter - but Amy is so over her mum these days. Might Amy have inherited Tracy’s evil tendencies, and end up using them against her?…

“THE MINUTE JACK SEES SAM, HE KNOWS IT’S GOING TO BE A NIGHTMARE” Sam Mitchell comes marching back into the Square for mum Peggy’s funeral this week – but is soon dropping bombshells of her own on the family and her ex, Jack. The minx has been living in Portugal for years, happy to be far away from Walford and her troubled history there. But Peggy’s death forces Sam to come home to mourn – and her return soon stirs up problems for Jack. After all, the pair once had a fling and share a son, Richard, whom Sam has opted to bring along for the ride… “Sam can’t help but cause trouble wherever she goes – it’s in her nature,” mutters our Square insider. “The minute Jack sees her…

TEEN BRIDE Teenage Sam shocked the nation – and horrified her family – in 1991, when she eloped to Gretna Green with boyfriend Ricky Butcher. The marriage soured after just a year, as Sam discovered that life with Ricky wasn’t exciting enough for her tastes. SUMMER FLING In 1995, Grant and Phil were horrified to find Sam in bed with their archenemy David Wicks while on holiday in Spain. She returned to Walford and tried to wreck the relationship between Ricky and his new love Bianca – not realising Bianca was David’s daughter. ALL CHANGE A new-look Sam returned home in 2002 (Kim Medcalf claimed the role from Danniella Westbrook) and later took control of the Mitchell empire while Phil was in prison. She married gangster Andy Hunter, who turned…