The use of children in any drama, but particularly soap, has always been one of my bugbears. I’m constantly distressed by seeing youngsters sobbing their hearts out in scenes, while the adults around them are milking the show for realism. In the US, for the most part, they get around it by filming any shouting or aggression without children in shot.
I see that less in our soaps. Whenever I, or people whose job is child welfare, have addressed this with TV companies, all we get back is a polite letter assuring us that no children were harmed during the making… blah blah blah.
But even if not appearing in a scene, can you ever really be sure how storylines affect children? For example, I am increasingly upset by Hope’s cancer in Coronation Street. To me, the little girl doesn’t seem to be acting; she just looks dazed by the things being said and performed around her.
Yes, I know it’s not real, she will have been told it’s not real – but is that enough to allay the fear of a very young child being exposed to the horror of something from which she should be protected? I doubt it.
Phil gives Sharon a right earful
I’d never celebrate anyone with an alcohol problem heading back to the slippery slope, but as Phil Mitchell is a fictional character, I can safely say hoo-flamin’-ray! I can see why marriage to Sharon would send a man that way, but why has he switched from vodka to champagne? Then he turns to whiskey and decides to down it in The Albert, where his beloved is bound to find him.
How hard would it be to find a bar where nobody knows your name? I think Phil has a death wish.
As the situation deteriorates, Sharon finds the only solution is to lock Phil in the bedroom. But guess what? He finds a bottle of booze wrapped for Christmas.
Yay! Santa has come early, even though I doubt anyone on the planet wraps their presents a month in advance. Heck, the residents of Walford can barely manage to get their turkeys killed in time for Christmas dinner.
Somehow, despite Phil lashing out and injuring Sharon’s ear, she manages to get him back into the locked room. Who’s her karate teacher, that’s what I want to know.
At least Linda’s hen party will put a smile on everyone’s faces, especially when Sharon surprises her with a 90s-themed bash.
Let’s just remind ourselves of what happened in Albert Square during that period. So, are you coming as a murderer, a thief, or a pregnant teenager?
The stars of CCTV
Debbie is still having trouble getting through to Emmet and thinks the funeral will have to go ahead without him. It dawns on Eoghan that Tommy should have footage of the night but Tommy insists that there’s none.
However, when Tommy leaves his laptop unattended Eoghan opens it and is floored when he learns that he was in fact the one who hit Michael and caused his injuries. Farrah is keen to stay in Dublin but it doesn’t seem to be what Max wants.
Heather goes against Max’s wishes and gets in touch with his old boss and learns the real reason why Max left Australia. His hand forced, Max comes clean to Farrah about why he came back and she is upset that he made out he came home to save their marriage. Farrah accuses Heather of getting revenge for her ringing Brendan.
Kerri-Ann is worried about Louise and how she is dealing with Michael’s death. After advice from Charlie, Kerri -Ann plans an arts and crafts night with all Michael’s friends to help them grieve together. Leo’s and Decco’s reactions to her idea leave her upset.
Child for sale:One very careful owner
Simon and Amy are at loggerheads again, and when he grabs her mobile and throws her against a wall, you have to wonder where it’s all going to stop. Still, the good news is, maybe Tracy will now upgrade her daughter to an iPhone 6S, if the current model turns out to be the source of the conflict.
Leanne finally comes clean and reveals the extent of Simon’s violent behaviour, but Tracy is not taking the situation lying down.
When she becomes jealous of what she perceives to be Leanne’s closeness with Robert, she… well, quite frankly, does a bit of a Simon. I can’t help feeling that the whole Barlow clan has gone downhill ever since they haven’t had Deirdre’s stuffed marrow to sustain them.
It looks as if Mary is destined to be unlucky in love again when, after inviting her to an Inexplicable magazine convention, Brendan lets drop that he has a wife.
Let’s not be too pessimistic though; maybe she’s from another planet. There’s a lot of dull padding coming up, with Luke taking to the racetrack again and Jamie’s blackmail. When Andy decides to take matters into his own handszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
No, I can’t go there. It’s another difficult week for Tyrone, who faces not only greater debt and a TV subscription he can’t afford, but a deflated Santa. You’ll have to see it, really.
Stabbing and stripping- Let’s hear it for the village people
Well, I told you it was only a matter of time. Sure enough, the latest GAWKO campaign (Get Andy With Kit Off) gathers momentum, when Kerry tries to persuade Bernice that there are alternatives to Lawrence.
Will Bernice succumb to The Pectorals once more? As if this weren’t excitement enough, there’s someone at large with a knife. Let’s just say they’re not on a spud-peeling expedition. After an accidental stabbing, there’s worrying news at the hospital for the victim.
Anyone ever long for the days when the greatest fear was whether Jack’s flock would make it to the sheep dip on time?
Setting up a date night
Detective Garda Rory Walsh arrives at the Neptune at closing time, Chinese take away in hand, and seizes the opportunity to have a date with Katie.
Detective Rory is curious about Katie’s family, but will he be scared off by the Kiely’s criminal past?
A taxi robbery goes horribly wrong and the guards find a dark-haired man with track marks down his arms and no ID has been fatally injured.
It dawns on Angela that her son Conor fits the description.
She frantically runs to the accident, arriving just as the paramedics pull a blanket over the body.
Garda Rory is suspicious of taxi driver Victor Buhari’s jumpy behaviour at the scene and investigates further to find out that the driver has been living in Ireland illegally.
The post EVOKE SOAPWATCH: From Simons terror tantrums to Phils death wish, Jaci Stephens reveals all this week appeared first on EVOKE.ie.