The week’s biggest soaps news.
This has been a busy week for soap opera news, as Emmerdale keeps revealing details about the Tom and Belle King storyline’s future.
There have been several casting announcements for Neighbours, EastEnders, and Coronation Street elsewhere.
Have you missed any rumours this past week? Fear not—here is our summary of the most significant soap opera news that has surfaced in the last several days.
Emmerdale baby tension for Tom and Belle
One of the creepiest soap opera plots at the moment is the one involving domestic violence between Tom and Belle King. The pair is mentioned in passing in the teasers for next week, but there may be a clue about the plot’s next development there.
We revealed brand-new images on Tuesday, revealing that Belle would test positive for pregnancy the following week. When the outcome is bad, she’s relieved, but controlling Tom looks upset.
Belle had previously discussed having a family with Tom, but she attempted to establish limits by stating that the timing wasn’t appropriate. But given the way Tom is acting, is this a sign that he will soon start ruthlessly pressuring Belle to get pregnant with him?
Preparations for Emmerdale’s special ‘dinner party’ episode in early May are underway, with scenes that set the stage for a tense evening for Tom, Belle, Marlon, and Rhona. Next week on Digital Spy, anticipate complete spoilers and images from this episode.
EastEnders brings back Karen Taylor – again
Karen Taylor, who we joke appears on the show more often than certain current cast members, is returning to Walford. She has made two appearances on the programme since leaving in December of last year. If you include her Christmas video call cameo, that would be her third.
After Keanu’s corpse was recently discovered, fans were informed to anticipate a brief return engagement, as verified by Digital Spy earlier this week. Is it likely that Karen and The Six will face off again?
Coronation Street casts hollyoaks star
The executives of Coronation Street have cast Jacob Roberts, a former Hollyoaks actor, in an unidentified role that will be part of the continuing Lauren Bolton plot.
Prior to being written out of the Channel 4 serial opera as part of a spectacular bank heist plot last year, Jacob portrayed Damon Kinsella.
There are rumours that Jacob may portray a new character involved in the Lauren disappearance story, but the show’s executives aren’t disclosing many more specifics just yet due to the extreme secrecy surrounding the events surrounding the Weatherfield youngster.
Could the solution to the Lauren enigma lie in Jacob’s persona? Let’s hope so for the sake of the ‘Free Roy Cropper’ movement.
EastEnders brings in Olly Alexander – for surprise proposal episode
Even in the absence of Rocky Cotton and his network of VIP connections, Albert Square remains a magnet for celebrities.
EastEnders revealed this week that actor and singer Olly Alexander would soon be moving to Walford. Before Olly’s next performance in the Eurovision Song Contest, he unexpectedly shows up to catch up with his old buddy Johnny Carter.
As if that weren’t shocking enough, the producers of the programme also said that one of the characters would get engrossed in the festivities and ask their significant other to marry them. Since further information was withheld, admirers conjectured widely about the identity of the happy couple.
Chris Clenshaw, the head of EastEnders, recently stated: “We invited Olly Alexander to appear in Albert Square when we found out he was a big fan of the show and a chance came up in one of our storylines.
“We hope the audience enjoy Olly’s special guest-appearance as much as everyone at EastEnders enjoyed having him in Walford.”
Neighbours resurrects a cancelled storyline
Soap fans like us enjoyed hearing all the behind-the-scenes tidbits and rumours about tales that would have been explored if the programme had stayed on Channel 5 until Neighbours was cancelled in 2022.
Among them was the appearance of Victor, Byron and Nicolette’s father, whose narrative arc had to be cancelled since there wasn’t enough time to include it before the spectacular conclusion starring a host of celebrities.
News of Victor’s impending arrival as a part of Amazon Freevee’s revival season first surfaced this week. Craig Hall, star of A Place To Call Home, has been hired in the part; Victor’s premiere is scheduled for mid-May.
With a wonderful combination of massive soap opera tales like Chelsea’s deceit and Haz’s hacking problems running alongside typical Ramsay Street farce like the ‘Dr Pooper’ controversy, Neighbours’ new chapter seems to be going from strength to strength. May it last for a very long time.
Hollyoaks on the rise again
In recent months, fans of Hollyoaks have endured heartbreaking stories detailing the soap opera’s decision to reduce its broadcast schedule to three episodes per week and the ensuing layoffs of cast members and personnel.
Even if the situation for those impacted is still very real, Hollyoaks HQ’s happy news this week as the programme celebrated recent ratings victories was a welcome change.
According to an official press statement, Hollyoaks had an almost 40% increase in streaming views in the first quarter of this year, while the share of the E4 linear broadcast at 7pm increased by 7%.
Under the direction of new executive producer Hannah Cheers, Hollyoaks is returning to telling braver and bolder tales after a difficult few years.
After being at the centre of many memorable sequences in recent months, the adolescent characters Dillon, Lucas, Ro, Frankie, and JJ deserve particular recognition. With some amazing stories, the young ensemble has shown their worth to the programme.
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