I'm still contemplating that little scene this morning. Most exciting thing to have happened to Johnny since returning. I do foresee that Steven might be trouble for him, but hopefully it's the good kind of trouble.

It is the most exciting thing to have happend since he returned, right along with getting Tom's phone number. ☺

Already on youtube there's a 'Steven & Johnny part 1' video.

'Good kind of trouble' oh yes. Wonder what the new EP's plans are for for Johnny/Steven ☺

Steven has got me watching again after a break of a few months!

That scene with him and Johnny was amazing. I loved the look Steven gave him as he walked out! I am a bit gutted they have put him with Lauren but hopefully that won't last and he can get back to flirting with Johnny. I'd much rather see him with Steven than Ben Bloody Mitchell!

Welcome back!

I definitely think Steven/Johnny is preferable to Ben/Johnny. However with Paul leaving I'm not sure Steven's interest in Johnny necessarily signals an end to the possibility of Ben/Johnny. I'm intrigued to see how they do this.

We could of course have Ben and Steven

Since Johnny's return EE have been teasing viewers with a future relationship for him first Ben, then the scene with Tom and now Steven. We then have Paul leaving and Stephen returning and that scene at the Vic

EE are certainly keeping us guessing as to who Johnny might be with I just hope it does not take too long before we see something happens but with Ben and Steven all loved up at the moment it could take a little while

Johnny could have Tom if Ben and Steven get together so I don't mind too much. But I don't think they'd go there, the family connection makes it all feel a bit too inbred IMO, even if they're not blood relatives.

It does feel that Johnny, under both Ted and Sam's portrayal, has always had the boyfriend idea teased out to viewers but nothing substantial ever coming from it. The first time around we had the brief thing with Danny, which a lot of fans liked the idea of, only for him to be written out before anything other than a kiss and a sleazy proposition could happen. Then he had his brief ONS with Gianluca who disappeared straight after, only for his name to pop up again in December as a reason for Johnny to leave; however to me it never felt like a relationship as they never really spent more than a couple of scenes together on screen. And then there was Ben trying to kiss him a couple of times but nothing more happening between them.

This time around, we've had Johnny looking wistfully at Ben and Paul together, Tom giving him his number and Johnny being completely obtuse to the fact that he was being hit on, and now this with Steven, which is really the first time since Gianluca there's been a two-way spark. So to then find out that Steven and Lauren are together was more than a bit disappointing for those of us who want to see Johnny in a relationship.

I do feel that there's been a weird reluctance to write Johnny into a proper on-screen relationship and I can't really comprehend why that is. It may just be the way it worked out with Sam leaving, which presumably messed up DTC's long term vision for the character, but with Ted now playing him and looking absolutely committed to playing him, there's no real excuses. Most new or returning characters get into relationships within weeks of arriving and I feel very strongly it's time they stopped teasing us with little snippets and get him some proper romantic scenes. At this point I think I'd even accept him having an affair with Steven behind Lauren's back, that's how much I want to see him in some sort of relationship!

Thank you! It's good to be back!

I agree with you that Johnny needs to get into a relationship and soon. All this teasing the fans with longing looks is just annoying now.

I must say that I hate DTC's insistence on forcing characters back into the closet. He has done it with Ben and now Steven, both of whom were out and accepted by their families in their last stints. As a gay man himself it's very odd. You would think EE would want a slice of that online Stendan or Robron action!

Johnny and Steven needs to happen!

I totally agree on the point about forcing characters back into the closet. It was stupid with Ben and it will be stupid with Steven if that's what they're going for. With Steven, however, it may genuinely be that he's realised he's bisexual which I don't mind as I think it is possible for people's sexuality to develop over time. Speaking from personal experience, it took me a long time to stop seeing myself as a straight person and accept that I was bisexual, even though I knew deep down I was attracted to both genders. However they could have explored the possibility that Steven was bisexual during his last stint and they didn't; he wasn't attracted to women but he was to men. It's all a bit confusing at the moment. As long as they're not pretending he's straight I don't really have too much of an issue with the bisexuality.

On Friday this week it's a fairly small cast list with both Johnny and Steven in it, so I'm really hoping we get another Steven/Johnny scene. I think it will become a bit clearer where things are heading if we see a bit more of them.

I always remembered Steven as bisexual but I've heard that he told Simon he was gay in New Zealand who disowned him which is why he went to live at Ian's, who apparently accepted him as gay. Which I don't recall at all.

If DTC hadn't forced Ben back into the closet we could have been spared the agony of his neverending relationship with Abi. That really annoyed me after even Phil had accepted Ben's sexuality the last time.

It would be good to get a positive representation of bisexuality in a soap so I don't mind Steven being with Lauren. For now. I want him snogging Johnny by the end of the month!

Hey guys!! I'm another backer of Johven!!

It soooooo needs to happen

Wecome to the thread, Lily. Yay for another new recuit.


Admittedly I didn't watch when Steven was in it last time, but I've watched a few bits and bobs on YouTube and from what I can gather from this forum, Steven tried to pass himself off as bisexual but couldn't 'perform' with Stacey and then later said he was gay. In any case, this is why it doesn't bother me too much if he's now being portrayed as bisexual, but it would definitely annoy me if they were saying he was fully straight. I don't think they will, though, as let's face it, he was flirting like hell with Johnny.

And yes, I will be most disappointed if him and Johnny haven't got to at least second base by the end of June.

I like the idea of Johnny/Steven.

If they do this with him still being with Lauren though, it would basically be a repeat of Abi/Ben/Paul after five minutes. Maybe he should have come back single?

Agreed, I really wish he hadn't come back in a relationship with Lauren. Mostly because I don't want my sweet little Johnny to get caught up in a tedious love triangle.

I actually said this in another thread but I'll post it here for discussion sake: I do wonder if Steven is trying to fit back into the Beale family by essentially 'becoming' Peter? Therefore he's kind of using Lauren, as Peter's ex girlfriend, to make himself feel more like solid, dependable Peter and less like unbalanced, black sheep Steven? In his slightly unhinged mind he may genuinely believe that this is the way to get back into the family's good graces? The problem of course will be that he's not Peter, he's Steven. He has a history of mental health problems, he's gay or bisexual, he isn't Louis' real dad and he possibly doesn't have very deep feelings for Lauren, she just represents the type of person he feels he should be with.

I think this would be a really clever route to take the character down, particularly if he then develops genuine feelings for Johnny.

Of course it's also possible the script writers haven't thought about it in any sort of detail and an affair between him and Lauren was simply the first thing they came up with to get them both back on screen.

This would be amazing but sadly I fear you have given it more thought than the scriptwriters!

I am now hearing worrying rumours that Steven is only back for a few weeks... Can anyone confirm or deny if he is permanent? He and Johnny would be so hot together.

Hmm, well, there's been a bit of speculation around whether Steven is permanent for a few weeks now. It hasn't been confirmed or denied either way. A few things make me think he could be permanent: firstly, he had cast promo shots, which most short-term characters don't get (for example Christian and Jane's mum Linda didn't get any), and secondly he was at the BSAs, which I wouldn't have thought they'd have invited him to if he wasn't there for the foreseeable.

With that said, I believe Aaron did an interview where he mentioned being around until the end of the storyline, but this may have been taken out of context, for example he might have meant that he was at least around until then.

I do really hope he is permanent, especially as he's got you watching again!

I really hope he is too! Sadly Ted alone wasn't enough to lure me back. Maybe he is still finding his feet. I don't dislike him but he hasn't captured my attention in the way Sam Strike did yet. He needs something to do other than hang around behind the bar looking cute!

Even as a huge Johnny fan, I can understand this. Johnny's return has been pretty lackluster in terms of the writing for him (specifically not seeming to have many plans for him) and there's been no real hype around it. Ted looks very sweet as Johnny, is obviously trying hard to settle into the role and is improving into it as well, but doesn't have Sam's star quality, IMO (which at least hopefully means he's not going to leave again as quickly as Sam did!)

Steven has been back five minutes and everyone is talking about him. He's just got a real energy around him and lots of potential. Plus bad boys are normally more interesting than the sweet and innocent characters, even if I like both types equally.

I think together the two of them could be dynamite, I really do. I hope that the storyliners know a good thing when they see it!

Maybe Steven could bring out Johnny's bad boy side

Steven could certainly train and open up Johnny!

We were doing so well in keeping this thread clean.

I do think Steven would have a lot he could teach Johnny.

Didnt someone make a thread about a 9PM episode?

I think we'd need a 10pm episode if some of the posts on this forum are anything to go by.

I'd be happy to see one in the early hours of the morning if the folks at EE took some of my requests into consideration.

Never mind Kat and Alfie - give Steven and Johnny their own post watershed spinoff show, 50 Shades of E20.

That I would see! 😉