Slade

I did think Zak was one of the people who could have been involved but wasn't sure. As I mentioned previously Cain did seem genuinely shocked at whoever did it so I wasn't too surprised. I quite liked the relationship between Hazel and Aaron and was a bit disappointed she left and the circumstances of her departure but I think it was the best thing all round. I agreed with Chas in once sense that Hazel had effectively started to see Aaron as a substitute for Jackson and her being around wasn't doing either of them any good and they both needed to move on with their lives. Don't like Chas one bit at the moment. Didn't like her attitude towards Hazel regarding this Aaron stuff. She seemed jealous even though as I mentioned above they weren't healthy for each other. Really not liking her smugness re the flirting with John Barton and the way she does it right in front of Moira. I don't have any sympathy regarding Moira (Did anyone see her in the film with Jean Claude Van Damme earlier on in the week?) cheating on John but still don't think two wrongs make a right. I don't think John should be getting with Chas in all honesty as it feels like it would be some sort of revenge as opposed to any genuine feeling. Ironic after being vehemently anti-Moira, Holly is now fighting her corner and doing everything she can to reconcile them as the alternative (John and Chas) doesn't even bare thinking about from her perspective. Cain seems to have calmed down since he got bashed. Didn't want Jai and Charity to get married at first but at least it means Cain didn't win that particular battle. Although I really, really want Sarah to get better I'm not taking any displeasure from seeing Debbie's relationship with Cameron being affected regarding Andy. She has to keep making excuses for an over infatuated ex. Cameron can see it and has warned Andy off in no uncertain terms. I have to admit I find it quite funny when Cameron gets annoyed especially when he tries to suppress his anger. I personally can't wait when he finds out Debbie actually slept with Andy (I'm assuming it's inevitable this will come out). Quite impressed with Eric at the moment. Really like the way he is with Amy. Shame the same can't be said for Val. And all this because Amy didn't want to keep Kyle. Started off being disgusted with Carl but rather than tell the police the truth Rodney decided to extort money out of him so I think he's coming across quite badly too. Although I still think what Carl did was worse. Be interesting to see how Nicola plays them (Carl and Jimmy) if she lets them think she's going to report everything to the police.

Baring Zak, Belle and Sam, the Dingles are pretty much unbearable at the moment. I can't abide them. They club together like a pack of wolves. Chas is doing my head in the way apparently Cain can do no wrong since someone gave him what he deserved, really dislike Debbie and I've made my feelings about Cain quite clear. I find them so repugnant right now that I've actually done a U-turn regarding Charity and Jai. I actually hope they stay together now so that Cain and the undesirable Dingles don't win. Although I understood why Charity did it, I was disappointed that she went round to Cain and offered herself to him on a plate so he would change his statement about Jai. And I was fully on her side when she was arguing with the other Dingles. I don't care if Jai had Cain's car tampered with. Two wrongs don't make a right but Cain did the same thing to his dad not to mention all the other acts he carried out in order to bully and intimidate people. Again I could understand why Nikhil reported Charity to the police but I think it was a bad move. I don't think any good could possibly come from doing it and now Jai's chosen Charity over him. I was hoping that the Kings were serious about the deal with Cameron to work down south and he would leave Debbie. I would have really liked that and he deserves better. It interesting that Carl and Jimmy weren't featured at all in this storyline with Cain given their history with him. Although I don't have anything against Andy I'm glad he and Alicia have broken up as I would like to see her get together with David. So I'm actually glad she's living with him again. Part of me was hoping that Amy would keep the baby just so it would tick Cain off. Also it would have been an interesting storyline to see how she coped. Not sure where Laurel and Ashley go from here. Laurel clearly has feelings for Marlon and I can't see them diminishing any time soon and Ashley wants to carry on with Laurel as if Marlon didn't happen so it appears as though they are on different wavelengths although they have been for a while now.

I agree about Lloyd it seemed pretty pointless him going so soon after Cheryl when they could have just left together. Shame he had to leave like that i.e. the person who was prepared to do the dirty on his mate. I've actually really liked Becky as of late. I liked the way she's remained calm with Tracy under extreme provocation and am 100% on her side with regards to Tracy's accusation. I'm not surprised Tracy lied about Becky like that even though Becky was the one who called the ambulance when she fell down the stairs. I said this a while ago but she is a pathological liar. Tracy hadn't been that bad as of late up to that point but the only reason for that was because things were going her way. The ironic thing is if she had simply trusted Steve and not confronted Becky about the affair that wasn't happening she might not have fallen down the stairs. I think what's most frustrating about this storyline is not so much Tracy but other people who are blindly supporting her. Very disappointed with Deirdre. She's not only remained quiet but now is effectively covering for her. The fact that she went to the hospital to visit Becky clearly shows that she knows she should definitely have come clean or given Tracy an ultimatum to. This is the problem with Deirdre. For the most part not a bad person but does seem to suffer from naivety and tunnel vision as far as Tracy is concerned. Not sure what to make of Ken. I find it hard to believe he hasn't pressured Tracy into going to the police or called them himself if he believes her side of the story although he didn't report James for the money he conned out of Kevin via Sophie. So maybe he doesn't like going to the police any more. Again very frustrating with Steve. I thought he and Becky really made a connection when they had their business dinner and didn't like the way he suddenly turned on her after Tracy's unfounded allegation. He was married to her, he knew how desperate she was to have a baby and how good she was and how much she liked children so there is know way she would push a pregnant woman down a flight of stairs. Perhaps he thought she was drunk. Still I'm surprised he hasn't questioned why Tracy hasn't pressed charges given that he believes Becky's been responsible for the death of his twins. Part of me wants him to self the pub buy the house and the find out about Tracy just to teach him a lesson but on the other hand he's only doing what he thinks is right and doesn't deserve to spend a lot of money on a partner to have it fail - again. I was also bit disappointed with Haley at first but I'm glad they're all good now. In saying that at least there were a minority who believed Becky. For the most part David and Kylie act like cretins especially regarding the stuff with Owen but I did like the fact that both of them were on her side. I especially liked how worried Kylie was when Nick pulled her out of the burning flat, how they were at the hospital and all their scenes. A stark contrast to when they had a brawl at Gail's several months ago but at least it makes them believable as sisters. I also really liked the fact that Gail and Nick took Becky's word over Tracy's. Obviously Gail could empathise with her given what Tracy was prepared to do to get herself a better deal in prison. I don't like Nick but as I mentioned above fair play to him for going in and saving Becky like that. I don't like Eva at all so I can't help but smile every time Gail tries to rub her up the wrong way. Long may it continue. What really made me laugh though was when Carl expressed his delight to Steve at the Rovers when he thought Eva was moving out which turned to total dejection when she burst into the Rovers crying that Nick didn't want to live with her. Didn't really like the way Stella was going through the presents Peter's bought like that but now she's seen the necklace for Carla, even though Carl's temporarily put her off the scent the minute Stella sees Carla wearing it, there's going to be trouble. A while back, I took Sunita's side over Amber's but Amber has been doing my head re her attitude with Sophie and I'm beginning to understand why Sunita is so hard on her. In saying that I do actually think she was trying to do Sophie a favour. It's a shame Kevin had to be the one to say something during the wedding rather than Sophie and yet again he'll probably be made out to be the villain but I think it's the best thing for everybody involved. No way should Sophie and Sian be getting married, especially considering that Sophie was prepared to cheat on her just a couple of weeks ago. As Kevin said forever is a very long time. Very bad timing right during the middle of the ceremony but it would have been even worse had they gotten married. Presumably the relationship will end when Sian find's out about Amber which is unfortunate. As an aside Sian's mum's face seems familiar.

Thanks for getting back to me QA. I watch at UK pace and for the most part purposely avoid the Character Discussion or Australian episode forums as I don't want to know what's going to happen in the episode until I've seen it. There was an Avatar which I came across (in neither of the forums I've just mentioned) which had a major spoiler if your watching at UK pace which is unfortunate as it appears to be something I wouldn't have predicted but at least it's been removed now which is something I suppose. Cheers.

The lost treasure of Fiji My brother's kids are down for Christmas and were watching it. It had Tegan from Home and away, she had red hair, was a Pirate and a very bad girl :lol:

I've really liked Sandy this week. I loved his no nonsense attitude and brutal honest regarding Ashley and Laurel. The whole thing seemed like a farce and even on Christmas day Laurel was still pinning after Marlon. One thing I don't like is how Sandy is always made out to be in the wrong despite being the one who has very often been right regarding this whole thing. I don't think it helps that he sounds permanentely drunk. Didn't have one bit of sympathy for Cain when he was attacked and I still don't inspite of being told how long his rehabilitation could take. I think he's brought it on himself and let's not forget he poisioned Jai's mum's cat. Most of the Dingles were annoying me with their attitude towards Cain. There was Lisa and the way she was funny with Jai whilst she was at work. She like most people found Cain pretty reprehensible but when the police arested Jai and Cain accused him, she immediately thought he was guilty despite him telling her he wasn't. I agree that if Cain can fix someone's brakes, break up someone's family, sleep with Jai's sister as part of some mind game tactic, theaten a teenager he impregnated and try to force her to get rid of the baby surely it would be posible for him to lie. It would appear at the moment that Lisa thinks very little of Jai despite how well he supported her and took her side against Derek when she was raped. Chas annoyed me with her attitude towards Moira forcing her to work Christmas day just because she was mouthing of about Cain. Let's face it Moira was only saying what everybody else was thinking and even Chas was disgusted with her brother when his indesretions were exposed. The only person who I was satisfied with was Zack. Although he went visit Cain when his life was in the balance since he recovered Zack's avoided going to the hospital and he's taken Amy's side over his. Really can't stand Debbie. There is just nothing likeable about her whatsoever at the moment and I find I actually dislike her more than I dislike Cain. I don't mind her going to see how Cain is but the way she went to confide in him about Cameron it's almost like she's forgotten how he treated Amy. Then there was her attitude towards Alicia. Don't get me wrong Alicia wasn't helping herself with her sly remarks about Debbie's cooking but she did have a point about Debbie. It's almost as if everyone has to pander to her every need and instead of Sarah's illness being about Sarah it's now all about Debbie. And then Alicia told her what she didn't want to her she tipped a plate of food over her head. Very immature and I'm sick to my back teeth of her. TBH I really didn't like the Christmas day episode. It was just too negative and I struggled to find a single person who was actually happy. One of the things that stood out was Hazel going to Jackson's grave and presumably Aaron had left the can of lager with a note. I liked the fact that Hazel bought Aaron a present too. He obviously still means a lot to her. Thing I liked the most was the way Aaron had practically been ignoring Chas all day, she was visibly upset but near the end when she went to the Christmas tree and found a present from Aaron her face lit up.

Hi Guys, What are the rules regarding Avatars? Are they still at UK pace or are they at Australian pace now? Thanks and merry Christmas.

It did occur to me the baby would be a possible match but we'll see what happens. As much as I dislike Cain I really liked the stuff in the Wookpack on last Thursday with the villagers ralying around one another standing up to him and Chas refusing to serve him. I have to admit I especially liked the part where after walking out he came back into the Woolpack and told certain people how hypocritical they were being questioning his morality and listing their past actions. You often find that with soaps that just about every character that's been in it for some amount of time comes across as hypocritical at some point as they often would have performed some sort of indescrition in the past then try to call someone out or get self-righteous about something. I'd seen the spoilers so I knew what was going to happen. TBH I don't have one iota of sympathy for him and I found it quite annoying seeing Chas and Debbie being so cut up about it. Not because they are his relatives but because he doesn't deserve it. As usual Debbie's been especially annoying. Even before Sarah got ill she was still getting on my nerves. I don't blame Amy for wishing he was dead. Even when he saw her he just couldn't leave her be. He just had to have a dig. Who do I think did it? Probably a bit early to say but I don't think it was Jai, Charity or John. Those people would be too obvious. I suspect it will be a woman as Cain would be less likely to shop her to the police. Cain looked geuinley shocked so I'm assuming he didn't think the person who attacked him had it in them. I think it could be Amy, Moira, Holly and possibly even Zack.

This week was very Peter centric. I watched the omnibus so it was hard to determine where the breaks were but there were a lot of scenes that kept cutting from Peter in one place to him in another. Anyway I think the storyline was good but I was disappointed with him. On the anniversary of the tram crash and his wedding he not only fails to turn up for the speech but gets drunk then cheats on Leanne. I know he didn't sleep with Carla but that was only because she was still suffering from the trauma of the rape. I had reservations several months ago when Peter decided to give Leanne another chance even though I was rooting for them as I felt Peter still has residual feelings towards Carla. This is all going to end in tears. I can just see it. I'm actually glad Leanne can't have any more kids as had she gotten pregnant again this situation would have been even worse. I'm going to assume the stuff with Peter and Carla will develop into a full blown affair and eventually Peter and Leanne will go their separate ways which as much as I hate to say would actually be a good thing. The only thing I can say in Peter's defence was that the guy at the hospital who died hit him really hard and if it hadn't been for that he might not have gotten drunk. I can understand Dev refusing to sell Peter the alcohol and telling Ken but I'm not sure why he was threatening to call the police as Peter left him and £20 note - More than enough to pay for it. I actually thought there was quite a bit of chemistry between Stella and Lloyd and so was not surprised when he kissed her. Too bad as I quite liked that friendship and now they are going to go out of their way to avoid each other. Carl's not going to be happy when he finds out but he is kind of preoccupied with this gambling problem of his which you could argue is just as Peter's alcoholism. I was giving Kirsty the benefit of the doubt previously but I seriously think she's got a screw lose. I do think Tina's overly paranoid with her though but what's turned it for me was when Tina was prepared to let bygones be bygones and Kirsty laid into her. I knew Tyrone was going to let her move in so I would imagine Kirsty will try and make life difficult for Tina and force her out. Although Tina's been paranoid, Kirsty's arguably just as paranoid. She's also possessive and jealous. Although I was kind of laughing when Kylie hid the model stork Owen put in the garden, I think she and David are both extremely immature and it's hard to imagine them brining up a kid but we'll see how it goes with Max. I do think she was right to ask Becky to stay away from him as he still sees her as his mother.

Thanks for chipping in Lise. I don't think many people are watching season 3.

Yeah I do that from time to time. If you refer back to the previous page you'll see I used "Elena". OK been watching season 3 and what can I say...wow. I keep expecting the show to peak and the episodes to decline but it just keeps getting better and better. I'll use spoilers for people who haven't seen it yet:

I think Debbie's past the point of being annoying for me. I'm finding her pretty much unbearable. I've never particularly liked her anyway and have liked her less and less as of late. I've hated the way she's acted towards the people who've been trying to support her - Cameron, Andy, Alicia and even Charity. Like I said about Leah from Home and Away there is nothing likeable about her whatsoever. I'm almost wishing it was her who was terminally ill instead of Sarah. I actually don't mind Jai and Nikhil's mother (Good old June Ackland from the Bill) and I prefer this version of Priya to the first one. I'm glad Ashley knows now and I'm on his side 100%. I don't have one bit of sympathy for Laurel. She didn't stay because of Ashley she stayed because of the kids. I'm glad Sandy hasn't forgiven her too. Cain is the worst I've seen him since he pulled to robbery on the Kings with Saddie several years ago. The stealing of Jai's and Nikhil's mother's necklace was one thing (even giving it to Priya). Although I didn't like it, it was typical Cain and he had helped Jai to rip Nikhil off the satnavs and stole Jai's car a while back so it didn't really bother me. But then there was tampering with the wheels on Jai's father's car which could not only have killed him but possibly pedestrians or other drivers. And also the poisioning of Jai's mother's cat. Is that really in character and is he capable of something like that? If you combine that with using Priya, sleeping with her and sending a naked picture from her phone to Jai just to taunt him and sleeping with Moira you have an utterly repugnant and reprehensible individual whose sole purpose is to make everybody's life a misery who is right at the sociopath level. Even Chas was disgusted with him. Charity really annoyed me the way she was trying to protect him at first.

I really liked the final moments of all the John Stape stuff and was glad that Fiz forgave him. I honestly don't believe he meant to kill or hurt anyone but unfortunately his selfishness ultimately led to his downfall. I'm glad the pretence about Chris pretending to be terminally ill with cancer even though he was in remission came out. I felt really sorry for Lloyd. It must have been hard for him to not take Cheryl back considering that he was prepared to forgive her initially when he found out about her cheating on him. I have to admit if I was in his position I probably would have given her another chance but let's face it she was in love with Chris and the only reason she went back to Lloyd was because Chris wasn't the person who she thought he was and she wanted the stability again. I'd completely forgotten about David and Kylie. I was kind of used to them not being in it and can't say that I'm particularly happy to see them. It's been a while since they've last been on screen so I can't remember what the relationship was like with Kylie and Gail but they seemed to be getting on quite well yesterday and Gail was genuinely over the moon at the prospect of Max coming to live with them. I know Ciaran did the wrong thing gambling the money for his wedding on a game of poker but when he stayed up all night preparing food for that birthday do and roped Tina into helping him, I was really rooting for him to succeed and I found it most amusing, especially the way he was trying to hide from Audrey. Nick had every right to get annoyed with him as it was his business but I still found myself shaking my head. Let's not forget this is a man who was prepared to get a recovering alcoholic back on the wagon just so he could sleep with his wife. Nice bloke! Shame about Ciaran and Michelle now though.

Although I thoroughly dislike Cain, I found his tormenting of Moira quite amusing. I really enjoyed the scene were Diane was at the Cafe saw Cain and Moira interacting, put two and two together and realised he was the mystery person Moira confided to her about sleeping with. I wasn't expecting John to find out this quickly but I find it very hard to have any sympathy for Moira. As I said before I don't like her and think she was a complete cow to John when he was simply working his hardest to keep a roof over their heads. I do agree though that she was thoroughly disgusted with herself. When Holly and Adam came home I really wanted Moira to tell them everything but it's been postponed because of Mia. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when they do find out, not to mention some of the other locals particularly Chas, being Cain's sister and not particularly liking his behaviour. I have to say though it's almost ironic this has happened when I think about John's attitude towards Adam after he discovered he was sleeping with Ella. Almost congratulating him. It does strike me that Cain's pretty much a psycho at the moment. I'm honestly not sure what purpose he's serving at the moment other than to make life miserable for anybody and everyone around him. Really not sure what purpose it serves killing Mia off. Declan doesn't really seem to interact with many characters and when he does it's only regarding work. I don't understand where the character development here is. Also what was the point of even having Jai as her birth father if Mia is never going to find out and Jai is never going to spend time with her again? I think it's a silly part of the storyline. I think it was nice of John to offer to send flowers but given Adam slept with Mia and Ella, I don't think it would be a good idea under the circumstances. Didn't really like the way Sandy was made out to be in the wrong previously simply because he quite rightly had concerns about his son being cheated on. I think Ashley did the right thing following her but Laurel very luckily just happened to tell the truth at the right moment when a lot of people would have lied. Still it's inevitable that Ashley finds out something is going on.

I think it was pretty obvious that Cain was going to sleep with Moira but the way it happened I don't find very believable. I don't think there's any likeability about Cain whatsoever and I don't thing he's done a single thing to endear himself so I guess the only think I can assume is that Moira's attraction to him is purely physical. So for the most part she acts like a cow to John and then cheats on him. I presuming this is going to develop into a full blown affair. Perhaps Moira and Laurel can compare notes? I didn't like what Declan did to Andy previously but do admit that when he gave Hannah £100 for a days work just to bait John I did find that funny. John is a very proud person as indicated by the way he paid Declan back and gave Cain half of the money for the 4X4 Moira purchased. I'm sick to my back teeth of this whole Nikhil/Gennie thing. I'm at the point where I'm hoping Gennie does get the job in London and doesn't come back. Gennie obviously likes him but feels he is not right for her. Nikhil really annoyed me when he gave her a bad references regardless of his reasons and I think he really should just forget about her and move on. Katy's attitude towards Nikhil continues to annoy me. Although Debbie is understandably had her world turned upside down with Sarah's illness I thought she was harsh with Alicia but it's obvious when she told her to stay away from Sarah it wasn't just because she didn't want Alicia near her but also because Debbie's never liked Alicia. Can't really say I'm too keen on this new family. I don't particularly like Ali and find Sean extremely annoying (Interestingly, Aaron was able to handle him almost like he could see himself in Sean and could identify with him). I don't mind Rachel however, think Amelia's cute and quite like Ali's partner Ruby. Ruby's voice sounds a little odd. Hard to place the accent although that could be acting as I recall the actress sounding completely different when she was in Bad Girls.

I was shocked and saddened to hear that Betty Driver had passed away on Saturday, especially considering as they announced tonight's episodes were a tribute to her. I always liked her character and although her part over the last few years has been mainly a cameo role, I saw her as a permanent fixture. It didn't actually occur to me that her last episode was earlier on this year. I quite liked the documentary about her life they showed after the first Corrie episode this evening. She was even acting as far back as 1939 and had to stop because of the war and she lived to the grand old age of 91 - wow! I never would have guessed. Rest in peace Betty. With regards to tonight's episodes I did actually feel quite sorry for Carla when she was forced to let Becky, Eileen and Sally go because Frank took his half of the equipment and stock. I was quite impressed with Becky and pleased with Eileen that they didn't blame Carla and could see where she was coming from. I was however disappointed with Sally. Her reaction when Carla broke the news to her was understandable and although she definitely needed a job the whole going to see Frank thing and accept his proposal seemed to be fuelled by getting back at Carla. I am really liking Tyrone and Kirsty and really hope that she doesn't have a screw lose. I think I said this before but there's something about her that bothers me. Although Kirsty probably should have just bitten her tongue as far as Tina was concerned, Tina's attitude still annoyed me and again is ironic given how she reacts to Tommy's pettiness with her doctor boyfriend.

Probably for the first time since I resumed watching Emmerdale after I stopped watching it for years I'm wondering if it's worth it any more. I'm finding a significant number of the characters so unlikeable at the moment and the ones I do like I don't find very interesting. I was really annoyed with Cameron, Cain and Charity this week. The underhand way in which they went about stealing Carl's vans thereby ruining his haulage business had me rolling my eyes and shaking my head. Incidentally Carl really annoyed me last week when he slashed Cameron's tyres but I don't think he deserved that. Debbie's probably annoyed me the most however. I don't particularly like her but in a funny sort of way respected the way she single handedly raised Sarah on her own and ran her own business. Granted that I don't expect her to rat on her own family and it's one thing keeping quiet or acting completely ignorant like the way she did when Jai and Cain ripped off Nikhil but she actively participated in the theft. She spoke to Enda and knowingly distracted her so Charity could steel the keys to Carl's office. I know Carl was the one that started this but I thought that was taking it too far. I really hope that there are consequences for Cameron, Cain, Charity and Debbie but I suspect nothing more will happen with regards to the police so it will be interesting to see what Carl does. And that's twice he's effectively ended up losing a lot of money because of the Dingles. It's also annoying because of the storyline with Sarah (and now it seems her condition is more serious) and what they did to Carl kind of detracts from that. Cain's attitude towards Amy this week shows precisely why I dislike him so much. He should be ashamed of himself threatening her like that. Don't like Victoria one bit but lucky for Amy she has a friend like her who was prepared to stand up to Cain and invlove Charity. Although Charity semi redeemed herself warning Cain to back off Amy, I still don't like her at all. It was obvious that she and Cain were going to get back together and if he'd stayed away from Amy she would have happily done the dirty on Jai. Nikhil comes across as quite naive when it comes to women and relationships but even he can see the affinity between Charity and Cain and it will probably always be there. The best thing for Jai would be for him to finish with Charity and have nothing more to do with her but he is so smitten although deep down he knows there is a problem he's given her the benefit of the doubt. Moira is seriously doing my head in. I can't stand the woman and for the most part she is acting like a complete cow to John. Every time he does anything she always has a go at him and seems to constantly bite his head off. In saying that I didn't particularly like his attitude towards her when she told him about the truck they'd bought of Cain. One of John's biggest problems is that he is a very proud person and although I agree they shouldn't trust Cain one bit, I really don't think they have any choice in the matter. They are that close to losing everything. In saying that Moira is playing a very dangerous game not telling John about the repayments. I always thought that Cain was only doing Holly a favour as an excuse to get closer to Moira and now that Charity has quashed any chance of a reunion, and Moira will have to see him on a regular basis until she paid back the money she owes him, she's going to be spending more time with him so I expect them to get closer. Like I mentioned before reeks of similarities to the storyline with him and Angie several years ago. Alex and Victoria were quite annoying the way they deceived the estate agent and used that as an excuse to squat at Declan's house and it was frustrating seeing them being so stubborn refusing to move out but what Declan did to Andy was really low, even for him. I'm struggling to understand who Declan has the issue with. Is it John or Adam? Because if it is Adam then there was no real reason to hire Andy thereby removing him from working for John and then fire him so quickly. I would have thought he would have done something more direct. On the other hand if his problem is with John as John himself has already suggested then it is more understandable to do that to Andy as an indirect way of getting at him although I fail to understand why Declan would have a problem with John. It's not as if John's ever done anything to him personally. Disappointed is the word I would use to describe what's happened with Marlon and Laurel. Really not happy that the writers have gone down this route but I guess it's a storyline nonetheless. So far it's just been a kiss so it will be interesting to see whether it develops into a full blown affair. If it did that would be the second time that's happened to Ashley. Up until she declared her love for Andy, Alicia was really annoying. She was so wrapped up in herself and acting completely selfish. Ironically after being quite irritating himself with regards to his attitude towards Cameron regarding Sarah, I don't mind Andy at the moment. Still I can't say I'm over the moon about his reunion with Alicia as part of me really wanted to see Alicia get together with David. One positive thing about this week is after having Aaron shoved down our throats, wallowing in self pity and treating the people closest to him like cr*p, at least they've toned his amount of screen time down which I guess is a blessing.

If I'm being honest, I actually thought they were different so that's my bad. I don't normally look at the end credits so I didn't know what her name was. Just to show you how bad I am, apart from Nina Dobrev i.e. Elanor/Katherine and I know that the actresses who play's Caroline's first name is Candice, I wouldn't be able to tell you any of the cast. Not even Damon or Stefan. Anyway although I would have preferred it to start in January so we could have a clear run, Season 3 starts on ITV 2 this Tuesday. Should be good.

It's been very good week in terms of plotlines. I have to say I've really enjoyed this rape storyline with Carla. In terms of comparing it to Home and Away I think we have to give it a bit more time. Immediately after the rape I thought Bianca was quite traumatised but the problem is it's been intertwined with Liam returning and getting beaten by one of the River Boys so she's veered from trying to be a good girlfriend to someone deeply affected by her trauma. I have to be honest and say there are times where she doesn't seem like someone who has been raped and if I hadn't seen the rape episode or didn't know about it then I wouldn't be able to tell. Still I do think Home and Away have progressed from their stance in previous years where they wouldn't even use the word "rape". They would say "assault" or "attack". The storyline that's springs to mind is the one with Dani and Kane about 10 years ago. There were so many references to it because Kane was with Dani's sister for quite a while. I also don't think it helps that there have been so many characters that have actually been raped. Anyway I think the actress has handled the role of Carla really well. Even though she was in love with Peter she didn't want him anywhere near her. In fact she didn't want any man near her. I'm glad Maria was there for her. I knew Carla would tell her as she would be the one person who would understand. And I really liked that scene where Carla let Maria in, Maria took one look at Carla and immediately knew what happened. I'm really not sure what to make of Frank. We know he tried to force himself on Maria previously but I was hoping that was an isolated incident but it would seem not, which is a shame because I was actually starting to quite like him. I honestly didn't know what to make of his reaction immediately after the rape. At first I thought he was so deluded that he didn't actually think he raped her but the way he was watching the flat afterwards (where for a second I actually thought he was going to run Peter over), turned up with the flowers and bottle of wine, taunted Peter about Carla liking it rough and the way he suddenly changed and tried to make out Carla was hysterical back at the factory all suggested he's a calculated and accomplished liar. Carla was probably right not to listen to Frank when he tried to talk her into dropping the charges. If he's tried to do it to Maria and done it to Carla there's every possibility that he could do it to someone else. At least Carla has people on her side such as Sean but Dev really seems to be the only person who is really giving Frank the benefit of the doubt. Disappointed is the word I was used to describe Peter assaulting Frank. Although it was understandable how irate he was, I'm with Leanne on this one. It's extremely worrying to see him acting like that and considering that Carla fessed up to being the one who actually hit Stella whilst drunk behind the wheel, you have to ask yourself if he really only sees her as a friend why he seemed to be reacting like that. He wasn't thinking of Simon or Leanne at all when he was pummelling Frank. And although they've had problems for a while I think Peter and Leanne are in serious trouble. He was honest about going back to Carla's when he suspected something was wrong but he told an out and out lie when Leanne asked him if there is even one kiss between him and Carla. The sad thing is if he had been honest I think she would have been hurt but tried to find a way forward. However I feel part of Peter doesn't want to tell Leanne not because he's worried how she will react but because he doesn't want to. He wants to spend time with Carla because he has feelings for her. When Peter went round to see Carla I actually wonder what would have happened if she had let him console her. Anyway that is secondary. If it comes out that Carla was the one who ran over Stella, Frank covered it up and Peter knew about it and lied to the police, there really will be hell to pay. I did wonder if Frank was going to try and blackmail Carla but at the moment I don't think he will because he feels he can get away with this. If he does actually get charged, ends up going to court and being found guilty he'll have nothing to lose so I think he would spill the beans then. I couldn't stop smiling through all the Anna/Owen scenes. I did actually quite enjoy them and would actually like to see these two together as a couple. Anna makes Owen so much more likeable too as I've said before. Although I understand Tina's concern I've found her really annoying this week. If someone blocked my car in like that I would probably be annoyed (although I wouldn't have reacted like Kirsty did). Then the was the way she switched Rita's note with one that clearly indicated some sort of grudge. So I was glad Rita told her off and made her apologise (even though it didn't seem genuine for one second). And then there her attitude towards Kirsty even in Tyrone's presence. She had better watch herself because she is a lodger at his house. It's also ironic given Tommy's attitude towards her new doctor boyfriend. I do actually like that Tyrone's in a relationship after everything that happened to him after the past year but I have to admit there is something about Kirsty that makes you think you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her. Also if she is a police officer I find it a bit odd that she took Tommy's money in the club to make Tyrone think that she was interested, even though she was interested in the end. If she hadn't given the money back you could almost say that she prostituted or perhaps I should say escorted herself. Almost.

Firstly I thought Tyrone, Tommy, Kirk, Gary kidnapping Leon and holding him hostage was beyond stupid. This was probably the one time I was actually grateful to Norris although the fact that they have appeared to have gotten away with it, with Leon safely behind bars and the way Fiz went psycho on Ruth and Ruth was immediately scared (despite being backed up by several other inmates) were both equally ridiculous and unbelievable. I've been surprised at Gail's attitude towards Kylie. She appears to have done a U-turn again. I have to say she missed a golden opportunity to finish her off once and for all but I actually thought she was the better person and did what she felt was best for everyone involved. I was hoping that all this stuff with Lloyd and Chris was over but it seems as though Chris is very cunningly taking advantage of Lloyd's good nature trying to kiss Cheryl behind his back then sabotaging his date with her the following day. Still at least they put aside their differences to find Ross. Tracy's back! I wasn't sure whether she had gone for good and she's pregnant by Steve again. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to this. I'm actually glad Steve and Becky are getting on OK. Becky has actually been reasonably likeable as of late. Even though she wanted Roy to lie for her about the job interview I still liked the way she took the news when Roy told them the truth. I also liked the way she got behind the bar to help Steve when Stella was taken to hospital and wouldn't take his money when he offered to pay her. I really liked to chat they had and when she said she forgave him. It does seem like a case of can't live with each other, can't live without each other. Oh dear Carla. I really wasn't sure what to make of Frank covering up the fact that she hit and seriously injured a pedestrian whilst drunk behind the wheel and caused serious damage to someone's business. In one hand I could understand why he did it being in love with her. But part of me felt there was a duty to Stella's family to let them know the truth. I'm not sure there's any point in saying anything now as they'll both be in serious trouble so they haven't really got anything to lose by keeping quiet. Wasn't sure what to make of Peter lying to the police for her too. She's obviously been in love with him for quite a while but in spite the fact he told her he didn't love her you do wonder why he kept quiet. Would he really protect the woman who ran over his wife's mother simply because he could empathise with her from an alcholic's perspective? It seems now that she's going to make herself even more miserable and stay with Frank out of grattitude and loyalty as opposed to love. I really like Stella and didn't want anything bad to happen to her but I'm glad something like this happened for the simple reason that Leanne is prepared to put the past behind her. I thought she was really horrible to Stella before Carla hit her but the main reason for that was because Eva was being her usual annoying self and seriously rubbing her up the wrong way. I was hoping that they would settle their differences too and initially was optimistic when Eva let Leanne comfort her but Eva's gone right back to acting like a spoiled brat - She's MY mum no one else can have her but me!

Well predictably Adam and Mia didn't last 5 minutes. I don't think for one second that he loved her. To me it was just lust because he was single. I have to admit I did like that scene in the Woolpack where Adam and Ella were publicly exposed (although it would have been even better if Cain had been there). Best part was Chas's raised eyebrow when Mia outed them then her slightly impressed expression when Mia kneed Adam in the groin. I didn't particularly like the way Declan stormed round to the Bartons and threatened them but I do feel his behaviour is understandable given his state of mind at the time. I do sympathise with him at the moment. His whole world's been turned upside down, found out his best mate slept with his ex wife behind his back, is the father of the child he brought up as his own, is torn between resenting his daughter and loving her and in the end decided he didn't want to be around her. I'm not too bothered Mia's gone. Although I liked the story line I didn't find her to be a very interesting character. Well at least Declan's got Katie I suppose. I'm not sure if Hazel's gone for good but I actually don't mind her ATM. I liked that Chas wished her well and despite the fact that I've been pretty annoyed at Aaron's attitude towards her, I think him turning up even half acknowledging her was his way of burying the hatchet. It is a sad storyline with Sarah's illness but I don't find it remotely interesting if I'm honest. I have to admit I did find it funny when Andy blamed Debbie's parent's "inbreeding". Regardless it is a very valid point though. The idea that family members having offspring with each other has the possibility of passing on illnesses inherited via recessive genes. I was over the moon when Charity was outted. Fair play to Gennie and Chas too for not denying it too and understanding Jai's point of view. And I liked the way everyone turned on her then Jai finished with her. Getting back with her is one thing but I think he needs his head read if he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Still it was worth it just to see Nikhil's reaction, also Cain and Debbie's. I'm actually not that annoyed about it because of the way she was outted previously and that everyone had a downer on her although I do wonder if she is still carrying a torch for Cain.

It's been quite a while since I saw season 2 but I just wanted to say the last set of episodes - from the moment Isobel returned, right down to the very last scene was simply brilliant. I thought Isobel was a great character and was really disappointed when presumably Klaus compelled her to commit suicide although technically she was already dead. Even though they appear to have recast the character I still really liked her, the brief interaction with Katherine and it's a shame we'll never get to see more of that or more importantly her rebuild her relationship with Elena. I thought it was really sad when Jenna was killed and the funeral afterwards but I'm not that disappointed she's gone as she didn't feature in the episodes too heavily. I had heard early on in the season that one of the characters was going to be killed off but I was hoping it was Bonnie if I'm honest. She's probably the character I like least. I thought Elijah was honorable until he double-crossed Elana, Stefan etc and the ironic thing was that Klaus ended up double-crossing him and then went on to break the curse. I think we're in an interesting situation now as there's kind of a role reversal. When Vampire Diaries first started Stefan was the good vampire whereas Damon was the evil one. Now it seems as though because of the deal Stefan made with Klaus he will now effectively become a one man killing machine but the only real option for Damon I can see is to become good. I'm glad Katherine came through for Damon and I hope that's not the last we've seen of her. I loved her departing line to Elana - "It's OK to love them both. I did". Under normal circumstances I wouldn't particularly like Elana kissing Damon behinds Stefan's back but in terms of the storyline I think it's great. It will be really interesting to see how things develop considering that Stefan is off with Klaus. I'm kind of glad that Liz knows about Caroline now. I know she found out before but Damon compelled her to forget so it I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop as she's obviously going to be torn. OMG - Anna (Yes, yes, yes) and Vicky returning. And that's one of the things I love about Vampire Diaries. They're creative, never afraid to take risks and are full of surprises - you generally have to learn to expect the unexpected. Personally I'm really looking forward to season 3 but part of me is hoping that they show it in January so we can see the whole season rather than periodically taking breaks like they had in the second one.

I really enjoyed the scene where David, Kylie and Gail saw Becky in the kitchen in just a shirt obviously having spent the night with Nick. I have to admit she can look quite attractive when she wants too. See this is what I mean about Becky. Over the last week she’s actually been OK. Perhaps she shouldn’t be getting so close to Hope but I quite enjoyed the advice she gave Fizz. I have to say what Fizz did was pretty stupid and as incredibly naive. She got a smack in the month on Friday’s episode but there’s bound to be further repercussions with some of the other women. I was getting pretty fed up of Leanne’s attitude towards Carla (even though she had good reason) and it did annoy me the way she was right in Carla’s face and wound her up but I am kind of glad they’ve reconciled as I was fed up with the bickering. I thought Frank came across really well during the whole thing trying to play peacemaker despite him remaining oblivious to what happened with Peter and Carla. It never ceases to amaze me even in soaps whenever someone actively decides to propose in front of a public audience. I thought Frank getting on one knee and asking Carla for her hand in marriage was just asking for trouble. Her saying yes was even worse and only felt like a response to Peter rejecting her. I kind of smiled when Carla told Peter he thought highly of himself when he kept quizzing her about her actions. He has every reason to be sceptical as she declared her love for him and came on to him just prior to her and Frank going to Italy. I was starting to like Eva but I went right off her when she took the Stella’s birthday card from Leanne, tore it up then threw it away. She wasn’t even the least bit sorry. And then there was her baiting of Leanne when she saw her in the Rovers talking to Carla and Frank. And I was glad Frank was sarcastic to her then Leanne and Carla told her where to go. Even when she was drinking at the Rovers with Kylie and those two blokes she was still being annoying winding Gail up. I would really like to see her taken down a peg. *Sighs* I was starting to think Gail and Kylie had really made some progress but it seems as though we are back to square one without David there to act as a buffer but Kylie’s behaviour to bait Gail still shows how childish and immature she is. I could understand Gail locking her out even though it seemed petty and equally immature. I’m still left wondering why David didn’t even call his own wife on her Birthday though. I found it interesting how Owen’s attitude to Chris immediately changed after finding out about his brain tumour. I can understand Chris being proud and frustrated at his condition being public knowledge. I know Lloyd only let Chris stay because of Cheryl but I still have to say hats off. I was really glad when Tina decided to go out with the Doctor effectively blowing out Tommy. I don’t particularly like the guy. He’s obviously a player and let’s not forget when Rosie came on him as an attempt to expose him, he definitely would have slept with her if he could have knowing full well she was going out with Jason. Sylvia has been absolutely brilliant over the last week. I loved the way she tried to cut costs when she temporarily took over the Cafe. Some of her one-liners were classic too and had me in stitches. Really liked the way she gave Owen a miniscule breakfast, wouldn’t refund Kirk for not using the toilet and banned Karl. None of them deserved it but it was still funny. The best part was where she locked Norris in the toilet all night. What she did was wrong but he so deserved it so I was glad and was really annoyed on Monday the way Roy went crawling then pandering to him. It was even worse when Norris was incredibly smug as Roy was serving them a free dinner and the way that cretin Mary had to stick her nose in. What does it have to do with her anyway?

Just a note on this whole thing with Cain and Moira. It reeks of similarities to the storyline with Angie several years ago when he used Ollie to get closer to her, bedded Ollie to make Angie jealous then did get with Angie in the end. I think the show’s been quite eventful as of late. I am starting to get really fed up with this storyline with Aaron and whilst I appreciate it is quite a sensitive issue it’s been incredibly frustrating still seeing him act like a jerk, pushing away all the people who are trying to help and support him such as Chas, Hazel and Paddy. I didn’t blame Rhona for pressuring Chas into getting him to move in with her ASAP or Diane for wanting him to leave when he did move into the pub. Who in their right mind would want to live with someone acting like that? The whole thing when he was speeding, lost control of the car and crashed it was pure selfishness. He didn’t once think about Chas in all of it. He didn’t think about how it would affect Chas if something did happen to him or even Chas getting injured. I don’t normally condone violence but when Cain caught up with them and pulled Aaron out the car I probably wouldn’t have minded if he’d decked him. And I think even Aaron conceded that Cain would have been within his rights to have done so. I very rarely agree with anything Cain does but I thought he was absolutely spot on to sack Aaron and was annoyed when Chas talked him into giving Aaron his job back. I do think Aaron’s realised the implications of what he’s done and we did see a slight change in attitude and hopefully that will now continue because the way he’s been as of late I’d rather not see him at all to be honest. I’ve had very little sympathy for Amy as of late and was really glad she was outed by her former foster brother like that although the fact that she was only partially at fault meant she gained a certainly level of sympathy from Zak, Alex and Victoria which I don’t think she deserved. Regardless I do quite like the relationship with Amy and Zak and she seems to treat him more like a parental figure than she does Val or Eric. Likewise I don’t feel very sympathetic towards her about being pregnant. Irrespective I think having an abortion is a sensible option given that she wouldn’t want any attachment to Cain Dingle. However I did feel a bit sorry for her and it really annoyed me the way Cain got heavy handed and tried to bully and threaten her into a termination and assuming that she goes along with it I really don’t like the way that he’s won...again. But I still think it’s the best thing all round. A while back I said I really disliked Charity, well the dislike is starting to turn to hate. She deliberately stuffs the order up on the computer then gets the women at the factory riled up so they can rally around each other and make life near impossible for Nikhil as an employer although admittedly he still at times has very little tact and does himself no favours. I didn’t like the way Lisa was with him but it was understandable given the circumstances. I also didn’t like the way Ros very childishly made the prank call to Nikhil then told him to stick his job. Jai really annoyed me the way he immediately sided with Charity and refused to take anything Nikhil said into consideration although I fear it will be to late before he realises. Oh dear, David is coping really badly since Leyla left although it was quite amusing seeing him burst into the Woolpack in her wedding dress. I liked the way Pearl stuck up for David and told Alicia that he took her in when she needed help so she could help him out now he’s in a similar situation. I’m glad she did go round to help him even though her cooking has a lot to be desired. It was also really good seeing Nikhil there to. It’s actually good to see Nikhil with a friend and doing something which actually doesn’t involve the factory or work. What Adam is doing is beyond stupid and incredibly selfish I might add. How long does he actually expect his rekindled romance with Mia to go on for? Has he thought about how it will affect her when she finds out about him and Ella? (Because believe me she will!) Has he thought about his parents livelihood when Declan finds out about them? Still I quite liked Holly’s reaction when he told her but to reiterate what I just mentioned even she thinks this will all come out. I found it quite funny when Mia saw Declan and Katie together and was very grown up about it. I liked the way Declan was a bit suspicious and made the remark about his cheque book being burned (or something like that). What I liked best about the stuff with Declan and Katie was the way it wound Ella up. I LOVED that! Although not completely at fault, Ella cheats on Declan and does the dirty on her daughter and acts like the victim but now both Declan and Mia are in relationships and she’s all on her ownsome and is forced to kip at a mates house. Aint life grand?

I had completely forgotten what happened with Pete and Josh but a quick look on Wikipedia reminded me. And I do recall the episode where Pete actually hit him across the head with the candlestick holder. Although I still enjoyed Family Affairs afterwards, I thought it would have been better if they had only killed some of the Harts off leaving the rest to deal with aftermath. Apart from Jack (who killed himself) I thought the male family members were pretty useless so I would have kept Mel, Holly and Annie and maybe Sam. Anyway, I don't know what happened in that episode to make Sunita a right cow towards Amber. Dev's attitude was more understandable because he was acting like the overprotective father who was extremely disappointed with his daughter for being chucked out of Uni. I felt Sunita on the other hand was acting the way she was because she resented Amber staying there. I thought both Becky and Gail were being pretty immature about Nick's job offer working behind his bar. Becky was trying to wind Gail up and Gail only wanted to go for the job because she didn't want Becky getting it. I do feel Gail has more of a reason to have a gripe as Becky barged pass Gail in her own house, threw cutlery around attacked Kylie then assaulted David when he tried to break them up. I think Gail is usually quite harsh with Kylie but not only was she quite perceptive figuring out something was wrong when Kylie received the telephone call but surprisingly showed a remarkable degree of compassion and overall came across quite well yesterday. I thought for the first time she acted like a mother in law. I felt a bit sorry for Kylie when she was crying because she wanted to be a mother to Max but felt she wasn't good enough and he deserved better. I think Gail did too hence the reason why she adopted a different approach to usual. As harsh as Gail is I think she can be quite good in those sorts of situations. I recall her having a similar chat with Tina several weeks ago when Graeme left with Xin. I have mixed feelings about this overall though. Whilst I think in most cases a kid should be with his/her mother and would like to see things work out I remain sceptical. Having a kid in a reasonably overcrowded house could cause quite a strain on everybody and could have an adverse effect on David and Kylie's relationship. Gail might have been the one to convince Kylie but we'll see what she's like in a few weeks when Kylie and David get fed up of looking after Max, decide to go out and leave her holding him. There's also the fact that Becky lives on the same street and she's bound to want to get involved. Incidentally I have to admit I quite enjoyed the scene where Becky saw David and Kylie, made snide remarks towards them and Kylie retorted by saying that her and David were going to ask to have Max back. That wiped the smirk off Becky's face. Didn't even think of the significance of the damage on the bumper to Owen's van until he confronted Chris at the Rovers. They way Chris reacted and the fact he has been a lose cannon in the past leads me to believe that he could have damaged the van then simply forgot about it. There was also the fact that he didn't really argue when Owen said he would be docking his wages and shortly afterwards dropped the drinks so presumably we'll find out what's wrong pretty soon.