Close window
Hello, I'm Susan Spence. Welcome to my Soaps Page! Here are the main storylines for the week of February 8th in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Eastenders. SOAPS ON LBC - I'm with Steve Allen on LBC97.3FM on Monday February 8th 6-7am. WEEKLY SOAP PODCAST - The podcast for the week of February 8th will be up on February 8th at www.susanspence.co.uk then click on Spencey on Soaps. Enjoy! SSx
CORRIE	The unluckiest woman in love, Gail McIntyre, lives up to her moniker, when husband number 4, fakes his own death with tragic results. Joe whisks Gail to the Lakes, and then drops the bombshell that because of his debts, he wants to fake his own death and disappear for 7 years allowing her to cash in his life insurance policy. Gail's incredulous, she can't believe he could come up with such an idiotic idea (that's because he is an idiot) and immediately says no. However, Joe is adamant and the pair have a tussle as he scrambles onto the boat and she tries to stop him. He manages to break free and sails off leaving Gail sobbing on the jetty. But tragedy's just around the corner when Joe gets knocked into the freezing water by the boat's boom and drowns - yay! Gail's oblivious and thinks he's gone ahead with his mad plan, so when he doesn't return the next day, she makes a desperate call to David. Now this is one of those times in soapland where you will be screaming, 'why?!' at the TV, because the obvious thing to do is to ring the police. This is where it will all start to unravel – David and Gail concoct a story that Joe's picked up work in Cumbria, and back it up with lie after lie – the problem is that when Joe's body is found, all those lies are going to cause suspicion and put Gail right in the frame for murder. Tina is somewhat suspicious of their story and matters are not helped by Nick's reappearance – he's at the house when David and Gail return, making her very jumpy. We get to see a different side of David – although he thinks his mum is mad, he stands by her 100%, but warns her that she must keep it together or they will be found out. The problem is, what will he want in return, and how will Tina react when she finds out... There's some good news for Tina when Jason proposes! He gives her a Valentine's present – his divorce papers from Sarah – and she's over-the-moon when he then pops the question. Will this news send David over the edge? Peter's on the brink of losing everything this week after spectacularly falling off the wagon. He knows he's let everyone down with his drunken behaviour at the party, especially Leanne, but when he apologises, she's not in the mood to listen. He hits the bottle again, and turns up at George's house demanding to see Simon, but is sent packing. Michelle then refuses to serve him at the Rovers before he heads to the Bookies where he insists Ciaran joins him for a few beers – so much for mates! Although his family are mad with him, they all get together and decide rehab is the best route and George offers to pay. Peter's furious that his family are using Simon as a pawn in all of this and he tells George he doesn't want his charity, he just wants his son back. He bangs on George's door demanding that Simon comes home, but the little lad refuses. Peter breaks down in Leanne's arms and finally admits he needs help. This is actually quite a sad storyline, Peter's actions affect so many people, and it's only going to get worse... Dev's delighted when Sunita asks him to pretend they're still married. Her old Aunts are coming to stay and don't know they've split. It's all very farcical, in a typical old-fashioned Corrie humourous kind of way, however, when it comes to sleeping in the same bedroom, Sunita, wipes the grin off Dev's face when she tells him he'll be sleeping on an airbed!
EMMERDALE	Maisie's been giving Shadrach a run for his money in the drinking stakes, but this week she's way out of control. She sleeps with a horrible stranger, who, to make matters worse, leaves money on the pillow, she slaps Marlon (we'd all love to do that!) and for her finale, she slams her head against the mirror in the Woolpack toilets as the sight of her own reflection disgusts her. It's seeing Ryan and Katie together that sends the poor girl over the edge, ironic then that Katie finds her in a crumpled heap in the toilets and calls Natasha. Feeling totally helpless, Natasha decides it's time for professional help and takes a resigned Maisie to a retreat. I think we'll see a totally different Maisie when she returns and something tells me she'll be the one who unearths the truth about Mark's disappearance. Well done to Alice Coulthard, who is acting her socks off in this storyline – it must be very tiring playing drunk all day! Nathan is furious when he finds Ryan chatting to Natasha at Home Farm – he's decided after all that he wants to know something about Mark. Nathan blames Ryan for his sister's state and as his resentment builds towards his half-brother, he warns him off his family and tells him he won't get a penny of Mark's money. Faye also gets a tongue-lashing from Nathan, so it's only a matter of time before it's Katie's turn... With both her eldest children unravelling, Natasha finds herself in the church where Ashley tells her he's there if she needs him. And she confides in Diane about Maisie and Ryan's relationship – with all these chats and confidences, it's clear Natasha's struggling to hold it together. I'm loving it, but only if Natasha gets to stay! Carl won't be winning prizes for 'Dad of the Year' any time soon, mind you who knows, given that John Terry recently won that accolade! It's clear that he just can't be bothered with Thomas and Anya and it all comes to a head when he catches them lying to him and decides he's had enough and is going to send them off to their Aunt's to stay. The children are disappointed, but mask it well and when Carl drops them off at the bus stop for their first day at school, they decide to bunk off and head for the fields. Carl's disappointed, but not angry at their actions and dismisses Anya's complaints of a sore leg and a rash. However, when the rash starts to spread and Thomas now has it too, Carl rushes them to hospital where the doctor tells him they have a highly contagious and infectious disease. Carl holds a bedside vigil and tells Chas he'll never forgive himself if something happens to them. It's good news though – the children are fine, but the doctor admits he doesn't know what caused the rash. Angry for having taken his children for granted, Carl is now a man on mission, determined to discover what did this to them. The Dingles are first in the firing line, then the Sharmas but with the Bartons losing lambs hand over fist, it won't be long before the spotlight turns on them... Gennie and Jamie are back on – yay! Terry has to tell Bob to stop staring at them, but he knows he's looking at a ticking time bomb. Olena's getting fed up with Sam always hanging around – she's got her sights set on Eli. I think these two will leave Emmerdale together leaving Sam heartbroken. And Val is worried about Pollard's health and persuades him to slow down by taking on Olena in the kitchen.
EASTENDERS	It's a big week in the hunt for Archie's killer. So much going on that it's impossible to cover it all, but in a nutshell: Max is left reeling when Bradley reveals that Archie raped Stacey and is the father of her child. He also confesses to hitting Archie on the night he died, but insists he didn't kill him. Jack wants his nephew to tell the police everything, but Max thinks Jack's only trying to protect Ronnie and advises Bradley against it. This kind of thing is Bradley's idea of a nightmare and he loses the plot at various times over the week, even catching the eye of Marsden at one point – never a good idea. He's not the only one losing their cool. Ronnie's fed up of Archie being everywhere she turns so she pays Leon, Zsa Zsa and Fat Boy to paint over the poster of Archie in the Sqaure. However, when she discovers Roxy stopped them, she screams in front of a packed pub, 'What have I got to do to make him die!' - not the best thing to do in the middle of a murder investigation. She then heads over to the poster herself where she finds Marsden waiting for her. As Ronnie launches at it shouting, 'What do I have to do to make you leave me alone!' (again, not good) Marsden grabs her, but Ronnie lashes out and accidentally elbows the police woman in the face knocking her to the ground. Oopsie! A nice little charge of assaulting a police officer awaits. Although, she's released, Ronnie decides it's time to jump ship and asks Phil for help, but while Ronnie's under the spotlight it takes the heat off him so he refuses to help. So much for the famous Mitchell family values! A woman on a mission, she ransacks Roxy's room, steals her passport and quietly slips out of the Vic unnoticed. Phil's got his own worries when Shirley finds a cufflink he was wearing on Christmas Day under the bed, but where's the other? And Janine's quick to inform the police that Ronnie's done a runner – she returns in the nick of time - but is stopped in her tracks by the Mitchells. Elsewhere: Sonia's back on the Square, but minus Martin and Rebecca. She's here for Bianca and Ricky's wedding and later confides in her half-sister that her marriage is on the rocks. Robbie turns up too for the big day, but is saddened to hear the news that his beloved Wellard has gone to the kennel in the sky! Bianca's hen night is exactly what you'd expect – naff but fun! There's a moment where all the girls talk about their great loves and in a bid not to hurt Whitney's feelings, Bi says Nathan, Whit's dad, was the love of her life. The problem is Sonia's filming the whole thing and Ricky ends up watching it – matters aren't helped by Bianca's comments about Dan Sullivan, her mum's boyfriend. Ricky's upset by the comments and together with Zainab's rumours that Bianca has slept with stripper, Leon, he's beginning to wonder if marrying Bianca is the right thing. It turns out that Leon was in bed with Lucy Beale – with Jane desperate for a child, wouldn't it be interesting if Lucy fell pregnant... Meantime, Billie and Whitney are fighting their attraction. Whit ends things with drippy Todd, but she needs to be careful as it's clear that Billie's hiding something and may not be all that he seems... Evil Dotty continues to play Dot for a fool. This week, she tries to get Jim sent back to the nursing home by pouring water on his lap, but catching her in the act, Dot slaps her legs just as Sonia walks in. Dot feels bad, but with Sonia's support hopes things will get better. I wouldn't bank on it Dot, the spawn of the devil is plotting revenge... Manda fears Minty's cheating on her and when he reveals he's been visiting Sam in prison and still has feelings for her, Manda decides to leave Walford telling him that it's clear they'd both rather be with a Mitchell. Of course, it's a lie on her part, it was Minty she wanted not Phil. It's difficult to feel sorry for a character you're just not bothered about and for me that relationship never worked from the start. And Janine's Florence Nightingale routine didn't last long - after a row about Archie, Pat's had enough and moves back in with Bianca.