Why I Love Hollyoaks

In honor of Hollyoaks 15th anniversary, and because I am currently working my way back in to the series, as it starts heating up with it's latest storylines. I thought I would take a minute to talk about what exactly it was that got me hooked on this show in the first place.

To be honest the very first thing that got me involved in Hollyoaks was the pub fire that was used to clean house in 2006. But we will get to that later because what I want to talk about first is the REVEAL! Yes those of you that watched Hollyoaks know EXACTLY what I am talking about. The climax to the John Paul/Craig/Sarah triangle.

First a little background. So in 2006 John Paul (James Sutton) 'came out', this caused Hannah Ashworth (his ex, portrayed by Emma Rigby) to think she had turned him gay and stop eating, we will get to her in a bit. Meanwhile John Paul had a crush on his best mate Craig Dean (Guy Burnet), who was currently seeing his other best mate Sarah Barnes (Loui Batley). Well after telling Craig how he felt and coming out of the closet Craig kinda shunned him...that was until John Paul found himself a boyfriend in the form of Spike (Tom Vaughan)! Craig got jealous and that is when he and John Paul first hooked up. This began the never ending cycle of John Paul hooking up with Craig only to have Craig utter those three evil words after the fact... "I'm not gay!" .......................UGH So meanwhile Craig and Sarah became serious and eventually Craig got down on one knee and tried to make it official. Well a big engagement party was thrown in their honor, only John Paul had enough of the lies, so he got Craig to come up to the bedroom with him, where he stole Craig's cell phone and texted Sarah to come up and be with him....only when she got there she saw John Paul and Craig going at it. Now fastforward about 15 minutes later and we get this AMAZING confrontation between the two star crossed lovers.

"At last... at last he understands!" "Im sorry everyone knows, I am sorry that everyone can see you for the two timing lying little toe rag you really are, I am sorry I ruined your selfish little plans, Im sorry that I forced you to face up to the fact that you get off on undressing boys as well as girls, but I am not sorry for any of that! you caused that, no one else you! You had everything you own way hadn't you?, telling her you loved her, telling me you loved me, I mean playing these games with us, well now you have to deal with the consequences"

BRILLIANT, I mean just totally and utterly brilliant.

But now onto the Fire at the dog.

So a bit of background. This was the culmination of MONTHS of storytelling and plotting. It was also Bryan Kirkwood's (Ex-Hollyoaks Executive producer, now EastEnders executive producer) first massive storyline.

Sam Owen (Louis Tamone) was sent away for rape, but after attempting suicide in jail he is sent to hospital where he escapes! He begins to plot his revenge on the ones who sent him away, and what better way then manipulating his younger sister? Anyways a long story short everyone is gathered at the local pub (The dog) to have a drink, they get ready to leave when Sophie (Connie Powney) gets a call from whom she believes to be Sam's brother (Russ), but it is SAM! Well watch the video to see what happens.

Now as a result of this storyline Sam dies, but not before taking the lives of Melanie Burton (Cassie Powney), Joe Spencer (Matt Milburn), Olivia Johnson (Rochelle Gadd) and Mel's twin, Sophie.

Lastly I am just going to briefly touch upon Hannah's Story. This touching, moving, and award winning storyline was just all together epic. Beginning with a slow build, Hannah Ashworth developed an eating disorder. With her best friend becoming a model Hannah started feeling 'fat' and inept in comparison. Things only got worse when Hannah became friends with Sarah's co-worker Melissa (Carla Chases). After months of building, and struggles, Melissa and Hannah finally decide to leave the village together so they can escape the pesky parents who keep sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. Unfortunately things do not go well, as Melissa is gravely ill, and Hannah is not far behind as the two have been attempting to fit into a size 0, and have finally made it.

Unfortunately the video is not embedable. But you can head on over to youtube and check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZJ5sKtSS5I

So what are some of your favorite Hollyoaks moments?

Why EastEnders Droped The Ball With Danny Mitchell Storyline

Recently the character of Danny Mitchell (played by Liam Bergin) had left the canvas after the revelation of his true paternity was revealed, which took away his Mitchell status by making him not the son of super villain Archie, but Nick Winterton.

EastEnders in my opinion completely dropped the ball on this storyline, Danny Mitchell could have easily been groomed into a redeemable super villain that the soap desperately needs, while making up for the over-the-top storylines that were given to Archie in his final months.

Liam Bergin was a capable actor, and could have easily driven storylines for years to come, but with a regime change comes storyline changes and thus the character of Danny Mitchell was simply tossed by the wayside for the upcoming transition into the Kirkwood era of EastEnders.

Are you upset that Danny is gone? Or are you happy to see the bloke leave the square? Sound off in the comments below.

Barbara Windsor Films Her Final Scene On EastEnders

It's official, Barbara Windsor has filmed her final scene as the legendary matriarch of Albert Square, as Peggy said goodbye to her family and friends.

But the real question is whether or not Peggy will survive the Queen Victoria burning down as executive producer Byran Kirkwood has officially announced that Peggy's scenes have been shot out of order, and the surrounding events around her exit are being kept secret until they air.

So do you think Peggy will survive and have a happy send off? Or will they really kill off one of EastEnders greatest characters? Let me know what you think in the comments bellow.

EastEnders Queen Vic to Burn Down!

News has come out that EastEnders iconic Queen Victoria pub will in fact burn down later this year to coincide with the exit of Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).

It has also been confirmed that the burning of the Vic will result in the loss of a few beloved characters lives, but just who will make it out of the Vic alive to see another day?

What I find amusing about this story is that it is a blatant rip-off of Kirkwood's first big storyline on Hollyoaks in which the local pub (The Dog) got set on fire, killing off, most notably, the Burton Twins.

Are you looking forward to the end of an era as the Queen Vic burns to the ground?

Interview with EastEnders New Executive Producer Bryan Kirkwood

The folks over at Digital Spy scored themselves an interview with EastEnders newest executive producer Bryan Kirkwood. In the interview the former Hollyoaks boss discusses what it was like working on Hollyoaks, the differences between the two shows, how he was accepted and much more.

Here is a quick snippet of the interview:

What's your overall vision for the show?
"The obvious fear is that I'm going to turn EastEnders into Hollyoaks - but that's not going to happen. Quite the contrary. I feel the storytelling tactics on Hollyoaks - like the dream sequences and flashbacks - work brilliantly because that's how it was originally conceived. In contrast, my approach to EastEnders is to make it as real as possible. It must exist in reality. Over the course of 25 years of story, the sense of it being a real place with real people has occasionally been lost. I'd like to retrieve that and ensure that sense of reality runs through every story."

The full interview can be read here.

Are you looking forward to Kirkwoods run on EastEnders?

Mr. Kirkwood's first episode airs on June 7th 2010.