The Much Deserved Applause & Acclaim of Emmerdale

While all the soaps are worthy of applause and acclaim in their own rights, Emmerdale certainly deserves a special mention of late. Ever since Kate Oates took the reins as Executive Producer two years ago the Yorkshire based soap has maintained a level of consistently good storylines and allowed the cast and crew to shine to the best of their abilities. It’s not unusual for soaps to have bursts of brilliance only to be followed by a series of mediocre and lackluster storylines until the next big storyline comes along, but I struggle to recall Emmerdale bringing us any mediocre stories and only delivering anything but quality television since Oates took to the hot seat…

This Thursday’s (January 15th) double outing to the Dales stands out as a perfect example of combining flawless scriptwriting and top quality acting to deliver dramatic storylines while keeping the pace and flow of the episode going almost entirely on dialogue, rather than relying on big stunts or fights to keep the viewer engrossed. Many of the scenes in both episodes were stripped back to two character dialogues allowing for a lot of emotion and stand out performances from the involved parties, including Anthony Quinlan and Bill Ward, as Pete opened up to James about the shocking events of the night Emma Barton left her family behind.

Roxy Shahidi, Chris Bisson, Gaynor Faye and Kelli Hollis also turned in memorable scenes as their characters geared up for the impending nuptials of Jai and Megan, with Leyla being left heartbroken by Jai while Megan revealed to Ali the truth about Rachel’s lack of contact since Archie’s return. Two of the soaps finest comedy actors Nicola Wheeler and Nick Miles have been letting their dramatic sides loose recently and they handed in even more poignant scenes in Thursdays double bill as Jimmy and Nicola struggled to come to terms with their pregnancy heartbreak.

Thursday also saw more drama for the Dingle clan, with the wonderful Amy Walsh returning to the soap as Tracy Shankley to cause more trouble for James Hooton’s Sam. While Sam was busy dealing with the reappearance of his most recent ex, his younger sister Belle’s mental illness storyline came to a head when Katie Sugden stumbled upon the teenager mid-argument with her dead friend Gemma (the little cameo from Tendai Rinomhota as the voice of Gemma was a nice touch). Emotional scenes ensued as Zak and Lisa came to Belle’s aid with what can only be described as award winning performances from Eden Taylor-Draper, Steve Halliwell and Jane Cox. Zak’s understanding of Belle’s condition was especially touching…

While Thursday’s episode served as a great testament to the series, there are plenty of other great storylines underway at the moment and in the pipeline. Cain Dingle’s recent medical drama brought Jeff Hordley back to the forefront of the show, but also allowing for some touching scenes from his closest family members wonderfully portrayed by Charley Webb, Emma Atkins, Natalie J. Robb and Lucy Pargeter. Ryan Hawley has managed to make the role of Robert Sugden his own since Robert’s return and his affair with Danny Miller’s Aaron Livesy has been captivating so far, but bound to get even more interesting as Robert prepares to tie the know with fiancée Chrissy.

Gillian Kearney has been an excellent addition to the cast as Emma Barton and her arrival means more screentime for all of the Barton boys, and I’m expecting fireworks from Michael Parr and Joe Gill when their on-screen counterparts Ross and Finn become privvy to the real reason their mother abondoned them. Thomas Atkinson has been another great addition to the show and Lachlan’s growing infatuation with David and Alicia means we’ll be seeing more from the fantastic Matthew Wolfenden and brilliant Natalie Anderson over the coming weeks and months too.

I’d love to continue and try to mention every single cast member, but there’s so many of them it’d probably take a lifetime. The entire cast and crew have been doing phenomenal work though, so kudos to every single one of them. Considering they’re producing more content every week than any of the other soaps, it’s amazing that Emmerdale continues to maintain the perfect mix of comedy and drama six times a week, which I hope will continue to be recognised throughout all of the award ceremonies this year…

Iconic Soap Families

There’s nothing more exciting as a soap fan than the announcement of a new family arriving in any soap, because not only are a herd of new faces coming in all at once, there’s immediately a shedload of drama and backstory to get caught up in.

Some of these families come in for a few years before fading back into obscurity, never to be heard from again, while other families withstand the true test of time and grace our screens for decades, cementing their places in soap history.

When it comes to introducing big soap families that are settling in for the long haul, there are three soaps that do it particularly well – Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, so I thought it was worth having a gander at some of the big families currently knocking back pints at The Queen Vic, The Woolpack and The Dog In The Pond.

The Roscoes – Hollyoaks

While they’ve only been in the village a little over a year now, it would appear The Roscoes will be sticking around for quite some time, despite matriarch Sandy (Gillian Taylforth) having already bowed out from the show – although no reason she can’t return at any point to get her sons in line. The Roscoe boys have been embroiled in the biggest storylines of the past year in some way or another with Robbie (Charlie Wernham) and Ziggy (Fabrizio Santino) being particularly popular with the fans. The love triangle between older brothers Joe (Ayden Callaghan), Freddie (Charlie Clapham) and Joe’s fiancée Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin) has been ongoing since their arrival and has caused a lot of tension between the two brothers. Jason (Alfie Browne-Sykes) has been the quietist of the Roscoes so far, but he should be seen coming to the forefront a bit more in the coming months. Throw Robbie and Jason’s Dad, Rick Spencer (Victor Gardener) into the fold and that’s one testosterone fuelled household. Probably also worth mentioning that the lads are also half-brothers of long-term Hollyoaks favourite Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson), so hopefully he’ll be playing a bigger part in future Roscoe trials and tribulations.

The Carters – Eastenders

I was delighted to hear last year that Danny Dyer was making his way to Albert Square as new Vic Landlord Mick Carter – what I didn’t realise was that the rest of the Carter clan would also be fantastic additions to the cast. The Carters already had ties in the show, with Mick’s sister Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) having been there for the best part of a decade already. The Carter clan arrived to the Square in drips and drabs consisting of Mick’s wife Linda (Kellie Bright), their three children Johnny (Sam Strike), Nancy (Maddy Hill) and Lee (Danny-Boy Hatchard), Mick and Shirley’s sister Tina (Luisa Bradshaw-White), their father Stan (Timothy West), their Aunt Babe Smith (Annette Badland), as well as the return of Shirley’s son Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo). The Carters have been heavily involved in the goings on of the entire Square since they arrived, getting involved in everyone’s business, but they certainly have plenty of secrets of their own, including the fact that Mick is actually Shirley’s son, not his brother, rendering the rundown I just did of how they’re all related completely redundant. While the audience know Shirley’s secret, it has yet to be revealed to the Carters and it’s definitely going to kick off once that does come out. To add to their secrets, Mick & Linda aren’t even married, but the kids don’t know, so ssshhhh…

 The Mitchells – Eastenders

The Mitchells are infamous. Even someone who has never watched a day of soap in their lives have heard the names Phil and Grant Mitchell. Since the arrival of the two brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) in 1990, The Mitchell’s have been an integral part of Eastenders with more and more family members appearing out of the woodwork as the years have gone on. While Grant hasn’t been seen in the East End for years now, Phil has remained a constant on the show and other Mitchell’s currently joining him on the Square are Billy (Perry Fenwick), Roxy (Rita Simons) and Ronnie (Samantha Womack) as well as the extended family, Billy’s Granddaughter Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) and her daughter Lexi, and Billy’s foster son Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick). While it may seem the Mitchells are low in numbers right now, Phil’s son Ben (Harry Reid) will be returing to Walford just in time for his Dad’s wedding to Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), and speaking of the wedding, maybe we’ll see the return of some other Mitchell too – matriarch Peggy (Barbara Windsor) perhaps? I hope they continue to add to their ranks anyway, as a family fued between The Mitchells and The Carters would be fantastic.

 The McQueens – Hollyoaks

The McQueens are Hollyoaks’ answer to The Mitchells. They’ve been knocking about Hollyoaks for 8 years now and while members of the family have come and gone over the years the McQueen house has always been full to the rafters. The original McQueen crew consisted of Myra (Nicole Barber-Lane) and her children Jacqui (Claire Cooper), Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe), Tina (Leah Hackett), Carmel (Gemma Merna), John Paul (James Sutton) and Michaela (Holly Jay-Bowes), who were in time joined by Myra’s long lost son Niall Raffery (Barry Sloane) who causes Tina’s death shortly before dying himself. Other McQueens currently gracing our screens are Marlena aka. Nana McQueen (Diane Langton), Myra’s sister Kathleen (Alison Burrows) and her daughter Theresa (Jorgie Porter), and Jacqui’s adopted daughter Phoebe (Mandip Gill), as well as Theresa’s daughter Kathleen-Angel and John Paul’s son Matthew. With Jacqui and Michaela currently living away from the village and at least two McQueens bowing out later this year, the Hollyoaks crew have announced three of Myra’s nieces will be joining the show to ensure the McQueen name retains a strong presence in the village. Plenty of drama on the way for the McQueens over the coming months with Kathleen lying battered and bruised in a hospital bed unbeknownst to the rest of the clan, Theresa locked up in a prison cell and about to give birth any day now, and the entire family supporting John Paul after he was raped earlier this year by Finn O’Connor (Keith Rice) and the trial to convict Finn underway. Not to mention a big McQueen wedding on the way for John Paul and Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson). Expect lots of McQueen articles from me over the next few months anyway.

 The Dingles – Emmerdale

Last, but certainly not least we have the Dingles, probably the most iconic of all the soap families. Introduced to Emmerdale back in 1994, the Dingles celebrate 20 years in Soap Land next month. Over the last two decades the Dingles have given us so many characters it would be impossible to name them all. It’s the family that keeps on giving – once you think there couldn’t possibly be any more Dingles in the world another relative of theirs shows up in the village. There are currently 16 Dingles roaming about the village of Emmerdale, which makes it almost impossible for them not to be somehow involved in any of the storylines taking place. The original Dingle is Zak (Steve Halliwell) who was the first to show up in the village and is the patriarch of the Dingle dynasty. Zak is joined in the village by his sons Sam (James Hooton) and Cain (Jeff Hordley), Zak’s wife Lisa (Jane Cox) and their daughter Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper), plus Zak’s nephew Marlon (Mark Charnock) and niece Chastity (Lucy Pargeter). Then there’s Charity (Emma Atkins) who is a second cousin of Sam, Cain, Belle, Marlon and Chas, who had a daughter with Cain (they like to keep it in the family), Debbie (Charley Webb). Then you’ve got Chas’s recently returned son Aaron (Danny Miller), Charity’s other kid Noah (Jack Downham), Sam’s son Samson (Sam Hall), Debbie’s kids Sarah (Sophia-Amber Moore) and Jack, and Marlon’s kids April (Amelia Flanagan) and Leo. To add to the confusion you could also include Cain’s wife Moira (Natalie J. Robb) and Marlon’s latest wife Laurel (Charlotte Bellamy) bringing the Dingle count to 18, but chances are they’ll both be ex-wives by this time next year. I genuinely confused myself there, but regardless the Dingles are soap legends and here’s to another 20 years of their company.