Guess Who’s Back…

Executive Producer Brigie de Courcy promised in a recent interview that we’d see the return of some old favourites to Fair City in the coming months. We’ve already had a fleeting return for Rose Henderson as Val O’Dwyer who made an appearance for Christy Phelan’s funeral, which also saw the comeback of Una Crawford O’Brien as Renee Phelan who seems to be making herself comfortable and settling back in to life in Carrigstown.

When Christy passed away many assumed that would be the end of the Phelan’s, but it seems if anything it’s bringing them back into the fold stronger than anything, with Christy’s daughter Farrah and ex-wife Renee unpacked and back running the family shop. As sad as it was to see actor Tom Hopkins say goodbye to Carrigstown after such a long run in the soap, it seems Christy’s death is the gift that keeps on giving with his brother Hughie making a surprise re-appearance in the final scene of tonight’s episode…

Ask anyone who’s been watching Fair City since the early days who their favourite character has been, an awful lot of people will say the name Hughie Phelan. Joe Hanley was the first member of the Phelan clan to step foot in Carrigstown and it was through him that the rest of the family were introduced. Hughie and his wife Natalie are one of the most loved couples in the history of Irish Soap (with the exception of perhaps Glenroe’s Biddy and Miley), but settle down Natalie fans as sadly it looks like Hughie has returned on his tod this time.

While it may seem that Hughie is only in town for a flying visit to say a final goodbye to his recently deceased brother, word from the Soap Opera Rumour Mill is that it may be a extended return for Fair City’s Prodigal Pizza Chef – let’s hope so anyway, because even from that brief 30 second scene we saw him in, it’s an absolute pleasure to have Joe Hanley back on screen. Hughie won’t be the last returnee in the near future as another familiar face will be making an appearance this week, albeit after a much shorter stint away from the show…

Fair City Marks 25 Years With Street Fighting, An Explosion & One Heartbreaking Farewell

The Cast & Crew of Fair City pulled out all the stops for the show’s 25th anniversary celebrations as things kicked off big time in Carrigstown this week and three of the biggest storylines of the past few months all escalated into exciting developments.

The fallout of Niamh and Michael’s affair has been on the cards since very early this year and it certainly didn’t disappoint as Niamh finally decided that Michael was the man for her and was forced to break the news to Paul that she was trading him in for a younger model. Tony Tormey and Clelia Murphy who play Paul and Niamh have always been two of the strongest actors on the show and both managed to outdo themselves once again as Paul reacted to the latest news, by taking to the street and attempting to beat Michael to death with a piece of pipe. Queue massive street brawl involving half the residents of Carrigstown. In the end it was young Rachel who convinced her dad to stop acting like a mental case, allowing Niamh and Michael to retreat to their new appartment. Everyone has calmed down for the moment, but the drama is far from over and I can see this storyline bringing us into next year.

Meanwhile, the most charming villain in Soap Land, Robbie, has decided to stitch up his old army buddy, by lining Dan’s car with drugs and arranging a time and place for a run in with the Gardaí, unbeknownst to Dan. Carol catches wind of Robbie’s plan and races off in her van (seriously, where did that come from?) to try and warn Dan before it’s too late. She catches up with Dan just in time and the two of them torch the car and hide out in the back of the van as the Gardaí arrive. While waiting for the Gardaí to disappear again Carol and Dan decide this will be the perfect time to get jiggy with it, even though they’re no longer an item and Dan has just moved in with Yvonne. Not to mention Robbie is still trying to win Carol back. It’s all very confusing and that’s certainly going to get messy.

And then there’s poor Christy! Having suffered a stroke earlier this summer, Christy has been having a hard time of it, trying to please both his protege Sean and his recently returned daughter Farrah and her new husband Max, all the while being completely helpless and take care of himself. Sadly Christy went to the big Spar in the sky this week as he took another turn while home alone with Max, and Max did nothing to help – The Bastard! I knew he was bad news right from the start. Tom Hopkins who played Christy will be sorely missed, but what a way to go. The aftermath of Christy’s passing should be interesting and hopefully Max will get his comeuppance. I was lucky enough to meet Tom Hopkins on a couple of different occasions – an absolute gent and a wonderful actor. Gone but never forgotten.

Hopefully the whole Fair City crew can keep the momentum that they’ve built this week going for as long as possible and mark a new era for the show. Having added a plethora of new cast members to the books in the past year and with plenty of old favourites still in the mix (despite the sad farewell we’ve just given to Christy), there should be lots of good stuff still to come.