Boris Johnson makes his EastEnders debut

Posted by Will Parkhouse

Tuning into EastEnders last night, you might have noticed a rather strange scene in which giggly matriarch Peggy Mitchell, standing behind the bar in the Queen Vic, suddenly went all gooey over a round-faced customer with an identical haircut to hers.

“Oh, please call me Boris,” said the Mayor of London, for it was he. Apparently Mr Johnson’s bike had got a puncture, leaving him stranded in Walford. During the stilted chat, he rather pointedly declined a top up of his beer, and for some reason we got a close-up of Boris thrusting his hand over his glass, as if concerned Peggy might be about to spike his drink.

Coronation Street, Wednesday, ITV1

Posted by Liberty Jones

Corrie’s Steve McDonald has apparently been sprinkled with an invisible pheromone that makes him irresistible to every woman in Weatherfield. How else do you explain the vast number of notches on his bedpost?

Not satisfied with his gorgeous fiancée Michelle, the pigeon-chested cab boss’s wandering eye recently alighted on comely barmcake butterer-
turned-barmaid Becky. Back in June, the seemingly mismatched pair shared a drunken night of passion – and ever since then their relationship has been simmering away nicely.

Last night, things reached boiling point after Steve provided Becky with a false alibi at her trial on theft and assault charges. Quite frankly it was a miracle he made it to court at all – what with a bolshie Michelle insisting he stay at the Rovers to help her organise a 40th anniversary party for her parents. “Except it’s more like an Asbo that says I’m not allowed out of that door,” a henpecked Steve grumbled to mum Liz.

Unwilling to let Becky down, Steve embarked on a series of far-fetched – but highly entertaining – escapades to make sure he was on the witness stand. Meanwhile, professional curtain twitcher Blanche, who had turned up in court to rubberneck, looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp when she heard Steve tell the judge he and Becky had been having an affair for the past year.

When she was acquitted, a suitably grateful Becky rewarded Steve with a huge smacker… and it didn't stop there. Before you could say, "But what about Michelle?" the lusty couple were heading off to the nearest Travelodge for a celebratory romp. “I don’t usually do this sober,” the barmaid panted as she stripped to her shocking pink bra. Yeah, that’s what they all say, love…

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EastEnders, Thursday, BBC1

Posted by Liberty Jones

We wouldn't have thought there was room in Albert Square for another feisty woman of a certain age. But it looks as if Pat Evans and Peggy Mitchell are going to have to watch their bouffants – because they've got some serious competition in the shape of larger-than-life Linda Clarke, who returned to EastEnders this week after a two-year absence.

Last time she was in town, Jane and Christian's domineering mum caused all sorts of trouble – and it looks as if the pattern is set to repeat itself. Last night, Linda – played by Lynda Baron, best known as Open All Hours' Nurse Gladys Emanuel – exerted her buxom charms on Charlie Slater in the Queen Vic by asking him to give her one (a drink, that is). "I'm not going to buy you a drink," Charlie said, looking for all the world like a rabbit staring down the barrel of a shotgun. "We don't even know each other."

"We're ships that pass in the night. We don't need names – just a place to pull into port," Linda insisted. "Yeah, but madam," Charlie protested, casting anxious looks in lady friend Brenda's direction. "I'm with someone." But Linda wasn't going to be put off that easily. "She won't do what I will," the tipsy minx purred. "You'll have a much better time with me." Ooh-err, pass the sauce!

It looks as if Linda's going to be around for quite some time. What's more, soap bosses have revealed that Linda's arrival will bring several skeletons rattling out of both Jane and Christian's closets. "It's going to be a very interesting time for all concerned," a BBC mole told the Daily Star. Yowsers... bring it on!

Picture: BBC

Coronation Street, Wednesday, ITV1

Posted by Liberty Jones

Last night saw the nail-biting climax of Corrie's kidnap drama, as Rosie made a successful break for freedom after five weeks of being held captive by her former lover John in his dead gran's house with only a copy of Heat magazine and a packet of Hobnobs for company. God knows why it took her so long when weedy John looks as if a puff of wind would blow him over.

Meanwhile, back in Weatherfield, the Websters were moping round the breakfast table – Kev sporting his best neglected basset hound look, Sally wearing one of those clingy polo necks that makes dads of a certain age bristle with lust. It was Sophie's birthday but nobody felt in the mood for celebrating. Sally was so distracted by her elder daughter's disappearance, she hadn't even remembered to take the price label off Sophie's birthday card. Tsk.

As they waited for the police to arrive, a whey-faced Rosie was comforted by Fiz, who'd finally managed to convince her one-time love rival she knew nothing of John's evil machinations. As the man in question emerged from the house, Fiz brandished a tree branch and warned him to stay away. "I know this looks bad," John whined. "You're not kidding, Sherlock," the feisty redhead fired back.

EastEnders, Thursday, BBC1

Posted by Claudia Pattison

"Hallowe'en..." Dot declared in last night's action-packed EastEnders, "night of restless spirits and pagan worship. I'll be better off under the blankets." We bet Max wished he'd stayed at home, tucked safely up in bed. As it was, he had a perfectly nightmarish evening. First up, Jack took him to a deserted warehouse and gave him a good hiding as payback for Max's attempt to frame him for attempted murder earlier in the week. So much for brotherly love, eh?

Later, a blood-splattered Max went telling tales to estranged wife Tanya, and before you could say "pass me a toffee apple" they were sharing a tender kiss. Cripes – and here were we thinking the pair's relationship was dead and buried (especially in the light of that unpleasant business in the woods earlier this year).

But that wasn't the most shocking part of last night's tense double bill. No, siree. The stomach-churning climax came as Max walked across the Square to dispose of that gun. All at once, a car came speeding towards him – and, dazzled by the headlights, Max was a sitting duck. In gruesome scenes, the car rammed straight into him, throwing him over its bonnet and onto the ground, where he lay twitching like a chicken with its head cut off. Did the driver stop to lend a hand? Did he hell!

Which just leaves the question, who was behind the wheel? Frankly, your guess is as good as ours… Max has peed off so many people, we're surprised they didn't all club together and hire a double decker bus to run him over.

Picture: BBC

Liam meets a dead end

Those tricksy Coronation Street bosses are pulling out all the stops to keep the details surrounding swoonsome Liam Connor's imminent death a secret – by filming three different endings. In a special week of episodes that will cover one 24-hour period, fans will be biting their knuckles as megalomaniac Tony Gordon sets about dispatching his love rival with brutal efficiency.

One possible ending sees Tony lure Liam to his upmarket housing development. He then confronts him over his affair with fiancée Carla before pushing him over the balcony, as this dramatic picture shows. A second scenario sees Tony use his stag weekend paint-balling outing as cover to pull a real gun and shoot his rival dead. In the third ending, Liam is run over in the street by a hit-and-run driver and dies in Tony's arms.

As we reported last week, there’s a tragic twist when Liam's wife Maria discovers she's pregnant, but doesn't get the chance to tell him before he dies. Meanwhile, a distraught Carla is forced to hide her grief and continue with her plans to marry Tony – unaware he's murdered the man she really loves. Soap fans can see the tear-jerking drama unfold on 13 October.

Sources: Daily Star on Sunday, News of the World
Picture: ITV

Corrie fans see red

Frothy-mouthed football fans have forced Coronation Street chiefs to remove a derogatory reference to Rangers FC from a forthcoming episode, following complaints from the team's fans. ITV's switchboard received calls from dozens of supporters last week after the character Tony Gordon, who supports Celtic, voiced his dislike of the Ibrox side.

In a discussion with his fiancée Carla Connor, Tony quipped: "I could no more be interested in Rosie Webster than I could support Glasgow Rangers." A second reference to Rangers, which had been set to air in Wednesday night's episode, has now been removed. The scene would have seen Tony claiming that he is allergic to "warm beer, the English national anthem and Glasgow Rangers".

An ITV spokeswoman said: "Both comments were in keeping with the character of Tony Gordon. But we have to bear in mind that it does seem to have caused some upset, so the decision was made to take the line out.”

Source: Digital Spy

Hollyoaks wedding shock

She’s barely out of her teens, but Hollyoaks sex kitten Mercedes McQueen is already heading for her second marriage. The brunette beauty was gobsmacked when lover Malachy Fisher discovered he was HIV positive and is currently awaiting the results of tests to see whether or not she has contracted the potentially deadly virus.

Despite her shock at Malachy’s diagnosis, brave Mercedes agrees to stand by him and when he pops the question, she doesn’t hesitate to say “yes”. The couple’s wedding will take place later this year.

Mercedes’ first marriage – to Russ Owen – ended in tears and actress Jennifer Metcalfe, who plays her, isn’t holding out much hope for wedding number two. "I think Mercedes is better when she is on her own causing as much chaos as she possibly can,” she told the Daily Star.

“I can’t see her settling down for very long. She’ll get itchy feet and then it will be on to the next adventure. Although I think the HIV scare may put her off sleeping with loads of men, it may cure her sex addiction." Needless to say, we’ll be following Mercedes’ exploits with interest…

Source: Daily Star

Soap shorts

Jaws around the country dropped to the floor last week when Corrie’s Rosie Webster posed provocatively in a skimpy white basque as she filmed a seduction scene with businessman Tony Gordon. Now it’s emerged that actress Helen Flanagan, who plays the teen temptress, was so taken with the sexy Agent Provocateur lingerie, she bagged it for herself. “I asked the team who would be wearing it again in my size. Blanche?” Helen told the Daily Star on Sunday. “So they said I could keep it.”

EastEnders star John Altman has revealed that June Brown, who plays his screen mum Dot Branning, is responsible for his return to Albert Square. The 56-year-old actor will make a dramatic comeback as evil Nick Cotton on this Christmas. "The reason I'm back is because June wanted me back," John told the Daily Mirror. "She's been campaigning for my return and phoned my agent. I think she must have missed me."

Wendy Richard has revealed she is fighting cancer for the third time. The 65-year-old star, who played EastEnders matriarch Pauline Fowler for 22 years, has already battled breast cancer twice – but now the disease has returned and doctors have told her it is terminal. Brave Wendy has already written her will and planned her funeral. And she is set to get married for the fourth time to John Burns, her partner of 12 years, this week before she starts a course of chemotherapy.

Sources: Daily Star on Sunday, Daily Mirror, The People

Neighbours footage leaked online

Posted by Stewart Turner

Bosses at the Aussie soap Neighbours have been left reeling after footage from a future episode – which hasn’t even been seen Down Under yet – was uploaded to YouTube.

The clip features Rachel Kinski being invited up on stage by a new character Ty Harper – played by Dean Geyer, who was once a contestant on Australian Idol – to belt out the stomach-churning ‘Unforgettable’.

"It gets kind of complicated, but after Rachel sings 'Unforgettable' on stage, Ty records her singing the track and buys her a keyboard to further her interest in music. Someone gives a radio DJ the tape of the recording by mistake and it hits the airwaves..."

Hmm… hang on a minute… leaked? I smell a rat. Could this just be Neighbours bosses trying to ram the latest Kylie/Craig McLachlan/Natalie Imbruglia/Angry Anderson down out throats! The rotten dags.

Take a look and tell us what you think.

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Soap gossip and previews >>