EastEnders thrive on emotional scenes

Next week's episodes of EastEnders seem to be centred around the Masood family, as Tamwar and Afia throw an engagement party, which ends in disaster when the roof of the Argee Bhajee collapses leaving Syed critically injured.

Speaking to Digital Spy over how the story unfolds, Nina Wadia who plays Zainab Masood comments that the stuff coming up is "particularly heart wrenching" and that the next few months will be an "emotional rollercoaster". I've always loved the Masood family, so it's great to read that there's some brilliant material coming up for the family to get their teeth into. I always feel that the Masoods are treated as secondary characters on the show, whilst the likes of Ronnie, Roxy, Phil Jack, Kat and Alfie take up an unfair amount of the screen time. The Masoods are one of the best families to come out of EastEnders in recent years, so it's good to hear they'll be utilised and will be used significantly within the next few weeks.

With Syed's life hanging in the balance, I wonder if the roof collapse will prompt Zainab and Masood to reassess their feelings towards their son. I think the thought of losing Syed for good would really shake up Zainab and she may wish to acknowledge Syed as her son again. I'm sure her motherly instinct will kick in as soon as Syed is injured and that'll be too hard for her to ignore. I think she'll have to face up to the fact that she still loves her son, despite her not approving of his gay lifestyle and therefore, I can see the consequences of the next few weeks resulting in Zainab welcoming Syed back into her life again. However, I think Masood's attitude towards Syed after the roof collapse is too hard to judge. Since they discovered Syed was gay, I always found Masood to be much colder and more hostile than Zainab. So whether, he is able to let Syed back into his life after the accident remains to be seen but I do think Zainab's feelings towards her son will change.

From the interview with Nina Wadia, the next few weeks of EastEnders does sound very promising indeed. It's not news to hear that EastEnders play out emotional scenes very well. It's well known to be the most 'dramatic' out of all four of the British soaps. With a talented cast playing the Masood family, I'll predict the next few weeks will be top notch drama.

Life in the country is far from quiet with Kelly around...

This week's Emmerdale has been going at a steady pace so far but despite no major developments or events, it still manages to be good viewing due to the characters and storylines that are currently running.

First of all, we have Jimmy's story arc continuing to take centre stage. Jimmy's amnesia has been acted out well by Nick Miles so far and he still continues to impress this week as he deals with Kelly's bombshell that he has a son. Kelly Windsor is well known for being a class act at manipulating people and situations for her own gain, and I think this current situation is no different. To me, it feels obvious that she has concocted this story about Jimmy having a son to try and win him over and damage his marriage to Nicola. No doubt, the boy's real father will turn up at some point demanding to see his son and Jimmy will realise that Kelly has been lying all this time. She's done a top job so far in wrapping Jimmy around her little finger and turning on the waterworks to gain maximum sympathy from those around her. It seems that it's only Carl and Nicola who are managing to see through her. I'm loving seeing the devious Kelly back in the Dales though. Admittedly, Adele Silva isn't the best actress in the world but I think her hammy acting really adds a charm to Kelly's character and makes her more entertaining to watch. Moreover, I'm loving the beginning of friendship between both her and Eve. In predictable soap land, these two wouldn't see eye to eye and would be engaging in a catfight before long, but I like the fact that a friendship may develop between these two, as they are actually very similar. Eve and Kelly would make a wonderfully bitchy team. Furthermore, I like how there's been a role reversal between Jimmy and Carl. They've always had a convincing brotherly relationship, but it always used to be Jimmy who looked out for Carl and tried to keep him on the straight and narrow, but now the tables have turned and it's up to Carl to be there for Jimmy and to prevent him from making any mistakes.

Meanwhile, Natalie Anderson is really standing out and shining for me this week, as she plays the troubled Alicia Gallagher. Characters with money worries in soap can get boring and tedious, but this has really held my attention so far this week. I think Alicia is one of the best newcomers to the Dales over the past year. Natalie has really put in an understated performance, making it easy to sympathise with her worried and concerned character. And what a twist that she robbed Leyla's shop. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic changes between Alicia/Leyla/David/Justin once they all discover what she's done. Furthermore, Alicia and Andy have a brilliant chemistry together. They gel really well on screen and I think they'd suit each other as a couple, as they both have a feisty and angry attitude inherent in their characters.

A couple that aren't really interesting me at the moment though is Debbie and Cameron. I'm tired of Debbie being so miserable all the time and Cameron seems to be hanging around her not doing too much, except making enemies with Cain (it's boring witnessing Cain make enemies all the time) But this is soapland, and this relationship with Debbie and Cameron obviously isn't going to be a simple and straightforward one. There's definetly something brewing in the background there and I can't wait for what both characters are going to be hit with!

The Aaron/Jackson/Hazel storyline continues, with no significant developments. I think the way Emmerdale has tackled Jackson and his disability has been an excellent portrayal, which has been acted out so exceptionally well by all three characters. One thing I've liked about this story is how Aaron has matured into a responsible adult. He's needed to grow up because of Jackson's accident. However, it's a shame that there's been a lack of affection between both Aaron and Jackson. I can't remember the last time they showed affection towards each other! It's more that they're close mates these days! It's hard to see where this storyline is going to go... there's been rumours that both Hazel and Aaron will help Jackson end his life, but I hope Jackson starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel soon. It's been very draining to watch him in such a depressive state for all these months.

The beginning of Trial Week in Hollyoaks

So far this week, we've witnessed the rape trial against Gilly Roach kick off in Hollyoaks, and I must say the way it's been handled so far has been fantastic. All the actors, particularly Claire Cooper have put in some impressive performances so far. The way she retold her experience in the increasingly atmospheric court room was very credible and convincing, but the tension within this story is ever present as the outcome of the case could go either way. What's made this whole story so good, is that both Gilly and Jacqui are genuine, likeable characters so we are torn over who to believe. I think this story highlights just how complex a rape case is and how the lines between rape and consensual sex can be so easily blurred. It's not a case where either Jacqui or Gilly are lying about what happened, but it's clear to see that both characters are being truthful with their points of view and how they perceived the events of that night. Gilly genuinely believes he didn't do any wrong, juxtaposed to Jacqui who genuinely believes that he took advantage of her. It's really left the viewer torn over who to side with and with Gilly's fate being too hard to predict, the result is the viewer being left hooked over this particular story. Moreover, the flashbacks that have been used to compliment the characters' testimony has proved to be really effective and successful. Sometimes, the flashbacks that Hollyoaks uses can feel contrived and shoehorned into the script, but these flashbacks alongside the court room scenes really work well. When Hollyoaks gets it right, it demonstrates why it's so unique when compared to the other three British soaps.

Meanwhile, it's not just the trial that's unfolding this week. We have Ricky dumping Ruby and her planning revenge, alongside the scenes with Cindy, Noah and Ste. I think these stories were meant to help balance the tension and drama we have been witnessing in the court room, and whilst it may be refreshing to see some other characters, I was itching to get back into that court room and see more of the drama unfold. I was left feeling a bit bored with seeing the likes of Ricky, Ruby and Cindy, whose acting leaves a lot to be desired. However, it's nice to see Ste and Noah getting close. After everything Ste went through with Brendan, it's nice to see a possible new interest on the horizon for him.

EastEnders - Breaking up and Making up...

Lately, EastEnders has not been at its best. We get the odd outstanding episode, such as Heather's centric episode and the episodes focusing on Whitney but then we return to episodes of a mediocre standard.

Tonight's episode was one of the mediocre ones. We have Kat and Alfie breaking up and making up, then breaking up again, then getting back together again - it really is an endless cycle and becomes very boring to watch. I do like Kat and Alfie, but they need to stop being so overused or I will soon get tired at the sight of them. Alfie's being portrayed like Mother Teresa, helping the woman with her bags on the way to the Tube and putting up with Kat's behaviour. I hope we start to see some of his flaws soon, or Alfie being the saint will start to wear thin. Their grief at losing their child has been acted out extremely well, but everything involving them seems to be going round in circles. There's no plot development at all. I have a feeling that Kat and Alfie won't get any further development until Ronnie gives them their baby back...

And talking of Ronnie, this is another character I'm starting to get tired of seeing. It's the same case as Kat and Alfie - there doesn't seem to be any plot development or progress at all. In each episode, she's still disliking Michael and she's still pulling the same miserable face. In my opinion, the baby swap should have ended when Tommy's funeral was taking place. Ronnie was on the brink of confessing then, but she never did. She even handed the baby over to its own mother, but the truth still didn't come out which I found highly unconvincing! This has lead to the baby swap plot dragging on and on ever since. Maybe the writers had something big planned to drive the story forward, and this may have been stopped because of the baby swap controversy over the New Year. Whatever the reason, this story has really dragged and made me really dislike Ronnie. It would have been great to have seen some twists and turns in this story, but this hasn't happened, maybe due to the high level complaints that the BBC received from angry viewers. Whatever the case, I can't wait for it to all come out in the open now and for Kat and Alfie to be reunited with their son.

Despite the negatives, there were some positives to this episode. I'm starting to really like Michael Moon. As a character I think he has brilliant potential. He could shape up nicely as the next villain of Albert Square, if the writers play it right. The actor who plays him seems to bring a lot of mystery and charm to his role, making him good to watch on the screen. His pairing with Roxy does seem a tad contrived though, just to make the fall out of the baby swap even bigger as it will obviously affect Michael and Roxy's relationship.

One thing EastEnders has done well with over the past year is improving friendships and introducing a sense of community in the Square, which was sorely lacking in Deirdrick Santer's era. I'm loving Tanya and Syed together, and Fatboy and Ian provided some amusing moments tonight. These friendships could develop into something credible and convincing to watch on screen. I think in particular, Fatboy bounces off a lot of different characters very well. His scenes with Dot are always a joy to watch and I hope to see some more scenes between him and Dot in the future.

Speaking of Dot, Carol ended up really saying the wrong thing didn't she?! But it's what we were all thinking of as viewers... I think this Mr Bishop guy has the right intentions and there's nothing wrong with them both seeking companionship with one another, but he needs to remember that Dot is a married woman.