Originally Posted by Corrie_Fan2:
“At this a rate it's barely been worth re-casting him. The talk about him going with Tom Pepper or Christian are interesting but would they not be a bit too old for him, he's certainly not Christian's type though - we know that from his past. I think he'd work brilliantly with Steven Beale or Ben Mitchell. The issue you've got with Johnny is he's far too clean cut, and there's only so many stories you can tell with a character like that - pairing him up with Steven, Ben or *wishful thinking* Jay would provide him with the opportunity to be dragged kicking and screaming into some drama and a bit of adventure. Are the producers afraid of actually exploring his personal life because of the nice lovely young man routine they've carved out for him.
The worst thing about the re-cast is also that Ted Reilly looks a few years younger than Sam Strike which limits who you can pair him with without it looking a bit dodgy, it's sound ridiculous but in this day and age scenes between Ted Reilly and John Partridge of an even remotely sexual nature would probably attract criticism. Steven Beale could probably work, and if he's not reformed would be ideal. I think Steven's come back to exact revenge on Bobby for killing his sister, I'd love to see Johnny fall for him and struggle to decided between his morals and his heart.”
I agree about Christian; he is far too old for Johnny (I'd assume he's actually older than, or certainly the same age as, Mick and Linda?) and a pairing between them would do nothing to disprove the common TV stereotype that older gay men are predators (though of course straight male characters are seemingly allowed to get away with seducing much younger female characters without anyone batting an eyelid.) Anyway I doubt John Patridge will be sticking around too long, he never does. If Johnny does ever get with an older guy, I want it to be his hot lecturer at the university.
It's ironic that Ted is actually older than Sam but does look a good couple of years younger than him. It does make any scenes with older male characters look a little bit unbalanced, even Tom who I assume is only mid-twenties or so but definitely looked a lot older than Johnny did in their scene together.
As for the dramatic potential between Ben/Johnny or Steven/Johnny I can see where you're coming from. Johnny
is a very clean cut character and I'd actually like to see him stay on the 'good' side of the moral spectrum (it is possible for interesting characters to do that) but yes, a relationship with either of those two would at least inject some drama and tension into his life, which is sorely lacking at the moment. I do agree that the producers almost seem afraid to experiment a bit with Johnny; I wonder if that's because, with DTC basing Johnny on himself, he was simply too emotionally close to the character to make any tough decisions about him. Maybe SOC will see him more through a fresh pair of eyes.
Out of Ben and Steven as a potential match for Johnny, Steven would be my first choice, simply because Johnny doesn't know Steven's history and therefore it wouldn't feel like such a stretch that he'd fall for him, as it currently would with Ben. That's not to say that the idea of Ben/Johnny doesn't appeal to me at all, but I think they could be more of a long term 'endgame' rather than being right for each other within the next couple of months.
Wow, he doesn't look it. The persistent rumour, confirmed by someone who usually gets their spoilers right, is that he's going to be in a relationship with Lauren. So it might be that they've commited gay-erasure on him, but I think if he is bi then there's a chance his head might be turned by Johnny. Or maybe not, as then Lauren would be the second Branning sister to fall for a guy who cheats on her with another man. 
I definitely think the male cast is hotter now than it's ever been, there's someone for every taste. 
