Yeah I think they must have cut some bits out of that. It was a bit random. The first two scenes Johnny was totally mute! Bit odd. What do we think of the new hair? I preferred the first style - when the Carters started at Christmas

I agree that the scenes with Johnny were a bit weird. I think maybe a conversation between Lee and Johnny may have been cut at the beginning of the episode. Maybe the Anthony scenes were added in fairly last minute (if they were trying to keep it a secret they may have filmed them very recently) and possibly they needed to lose some stuff?

I guess it's just that Johnny was feeling a bit miffed because Whitney is supposed to be his friend and he sees Lee as muscling in - plus he knows that Lee is a bit of a player and that Whitney is very vulnerable when it comes to men. But the fact that Johnny barely even spoke until that final scene was really strange!

I agree that I preferred the style when he first came into it; it's like the styling department don't know what to do with his hair at the moment! I'm quite relieved that he seems to have had a haircut if that 'pregnancy' picture is anything to go by. It's weird because normally I prefer guys with longer hair but Johnny suits that short choir boy haircut because he has such pretty features that it's a shame to have anything that detracts from them. I think Sam probably prefers it longer as it's more in keeping with his casual style, and I think it's fine either way, but I definitely prefer it short.

Yeah I agree that the Anthony Trueman stuff was last minute and they cut down the Johnny scenes as a result. It's almost as if the Johnny scenes last night were fast forwarded as well, felt so quick. Enjoyed seeing Johnny though, missed him

And I agree, I guess Johnny doesn't want to see Whitney get hurt and knows his brother's a bit of a player.

I like Johnny's hair. I really don't wanna be picky but yeah I too prefer it short with the quiff. I don't know what it is about the quiff - I just find it really cute on him.
I think Sam's styling his hair different in public so he doesn't get recognised so much - though he's happy to meet and have photos with fans by the seems of it.

Does anyone know how much control the actors have over their hair styles? Its always something that I've been curious about - just read recently about Toadie in Neighbours how they forced him to keep his horrible haircut for years when he was a teenager. Can't have been much fun.

Ugh, God, Toadie's hair back then was the stuff of nightmares. But I suppose it did define the character as it was something everyone associated with him.

I guess to a certain extent there must be something built into their contract where they can't have anything major done to their hair without the producer's say-so. If nothing else there is the issue of continuity and whether it makes sense within the time frame of the show. But also that the hairstyle is usually something we associate with the character; so if Sharon, for example, was suddenly to rock up to the set with a brunette bob, it would need some explaining on-screen as it would be such a massive change for the audience to get used to and I don't imagine the producers would be at all happy about that (although I think I heard that Lettita wears a wig anyway so maybe that wouldn't be an issue.) Sinead in HO recently went from bright red hair to black, but it fitted with what was happening with her on screen at the time, so it worked.

In terms of Sam growing his hair out, I don't think they'd have had any major objections to it getting a bit longer but I imagine they might have told him recently that he needed it cut as they were finding it difficult to style him in a way that was appropriate to Johnny. Johnny is meant to be a bit naïve and innocent and the shorter hair fits his character more; they could have just let him have it loose and natural in his recent scenes but they seem to be trying to keep it slicked down so it still looks quite short, and that's probably not ideal for the hair stylists. I suppose longer hair on male characters is something we associate more with drifters and bad boys, which is why it wouldn't really work for Johnny.

Unless an actor is a bit of a diva and kicks up a fuss about it, I don't imagine it would cause too many problems. With any job you need to dress appropriately for it, and with actors that means that their hair also needs to look appropriate for the character.

Anyone see the Attitude Hot 100? Sam Strike was only #79!? I would have placed him a lot higher of course, like within the top 10.

So what will Johnny's next storyline be about? Ben? Or is that too obvious? He'll have his resits in August, but that can't be much of a storyline. It would be good if they showed some of him in uni, they never show people with normal occupations so something like that would add a touch of realism to EE.

I would too
I imagine it must be because it's his first year and he hasn't gone shirtless, which is kinda what that magazine class as hot (don't we all) I still loved his photoshoot he looked so sophisticated in his suit, wit woo.
This proves how obsessed I have become as I was watching last nights Hollyoaks, I think it was the Channel 4 one and the new character Cameron who is Leela's ex/Peri's Dad said something along the lines of "oh Sam Strikes again." and my ears pricked up! Obsessed, I tell you!

Haha, I thought exactly the same thing when I was watching that episode of HO. Glad I wasn't the only one.

As for the Attitude thing, I agree that the guys that are quite obviously 'buff' and get their shirts off a lot tend to be the ones who do well in polls like that. I can't bring myself to get annoyed about things like that because I can't imagine for one minute that Sam cares at all about winning awards for himself. He's too shy and self-effacing for that.

In terms of Johnny's next storyline, Al_Stack, I'd quite like to see him and Sharon supporting each other to return to work at The Albert. I'm actually a bit cross that Linda and Sharon have spoken about the attack several times this week and not once have they mentioned Johnny. I kind of thought Linda would be even more horrified about the fact that her son could have been hurt as well as Sharon, and that it was all Phil's fault. It's like they've almost forgotten that Johnny was involved. So it would be nice if we could get some continuity with that and I'd love to see Sharon and Johnny in some nice scenes together soon. They work so well together.

I agree that I'd like to see him at university but I don't think they'd do it unless they had a specific storyline planned for him there. It's very expensive for them to shoot on location so they need a reason for doing it.

Good news guys! It looks as though w/c 4th August Johnny will be on a lot in that week. Missed him

Yeah I've had a few moments like that too. My crush on him has continued to grow. I think I need help

I agree, Sam Strike is a more reserved guy - which for me makes him more endearing and sexy tbh. Whether he goes shirtless or not he'll always be hot in my eyes. He literally takes my breath away.
For me he was always gonna be #1 on that list (in the nicest most romantic non-creepiest way possible).

I too would like to see the return of Sharon/Johnny scenes. I was expecting Linda to mention Johnny when Sharon told her about Phil - the only thing Linda said was that Sharon can have Johnny's bedroom. Does Johnny not get a say here (though I'm sure he wouldn't mind anyway)? I also wonder whether Johnny will find out that it was Phil behind the attack - and how he'd react and what Johnny would do there - that would probably be a good way to bring Johnny back into this story as his involvement and how it has affected him has since seemingly been forgotten.

OKS the living arrangements in The Vic are getting silly. We have Linda and Mick, Johnny and Lee, Nancy, Shirley, the old man in the living room (seemingly permanently) and now she offers Johnny's (and Lees) room to Sharon?! Where will the boys sleep? The kitchen? This kind of thing really annoys me and detracts from the story line!

You and I seem to be on the same wavelength, Elly!

Yay, looking forward to it. He's in every episode except Friday. Thursday is an hour episode which I assume will be two played back to back, so I guess there is a chance he won't be in either the first or second half as well. But still, lots more Johnny to look forward to than we've had recently!


The only thing I can think about why they haven't really mentioned the break-in at The Albert in relation to Johnny's character since it happened is that possibly the producers weren't expecting the negative reaction from some viewers about Johnny hiding? So maybe they're trying to distance him from it now, as it wasn't meant to depict him in a bad light but some people were critical anyway? Otherwise I really can't see why they haven't mentioned it since. It was such an important event for Johnny that really gave us a lot of insight into his character and I personally think it's a shame that he or anyone close to him hasn't spoken about it since.


I thought that line from Linda was really weird. If Johnny can move in with Nancy, where is Lee currently sleeping? I thought Lee and Johnny shared a room; they definitely did before Lee went back to Afghanistan as Johnny said about him snoring. I wish they paid closer attention to detail. The Vic is meant to have four bedrooms so surely it's Mick and Linda in one room, Johnny and Lee in another room, and Nancy and Shirley have their own rooms (Shirley was probably sharing with Tina before Tina moved out.) And yeah, Stan in the living room (poor Stan!)


Definitely.

Is it bad that my first thought upon seeing that picture of Sam on his new motorbike wasn't "OMG he looks so hot!" (which he did) but actually "OMG I hope he drives that thing safely." Mopeds I can just about deal with but motorbikes scare the crap out of me. I hope he knows what he's doing, getting one of those.

I miss Johnny! I hope we get some more scenes between him and Sharon soon. Hopefully we'll see him back in The Albert!

It's a shame we didn't get any scenes tonight between Sharon and Johnny. Would have been nice to have had him pop in to see her when she returned to work. I wonder if he's even still going to be working there?

He was very cute in the scene where Lady Di came home. But he really is due a haircut.

I think this was filmed around when they had the recent photo of all the Carters. It's annoying that since Johnny had that lovely heart-wrenching scene with Sharon in the hospital that he's seemingly (by writing) forgotten about her and the Albert attack. I hope he goes back actually, his chemistry with Sharon is great and if I'm honest he wears some pretty gorgeous outfits when he works there He looks stunning all the time of course but his Albert outfits are a stand out for me. And I love his hair though I admit I prefer the quiff and shorter length just a little bit.

He's always cute around dogs by the seems of it. Cue fantasy of me and him watching a film, snuggled up together on a sofa around 10pm at night with a small Jack Russell or small dog on our laps.

Not a fan of the new hairstyle

Looks like though Johnny will be in most episodes next week he'll be in the background. He's looking extremely cute as per norm though - though I do prefer his hair shorter with the quiff.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...oLlZL2DkKlhth1

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...oLlZWmSslLbcRu

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...oLlZZZAK9quJd9

I like his red varsity jacket in the first picture, don't think we've seen him in that before.

Does anyone remember a while ago Matt Di Angelo tweeted Danny and Sam with something like 'Today's the day' with a picture of Borat in that green swimsuit thing? I presume that was to do with the swimming event. I know that Dean and Mick are both swimming but it's weird that he tweeted Sam as well with it. I wonder if Johnny could be swimming as well?

Get voting guys! Johnny's been nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Storyline surrounding Linda struggling to accept his sexuality. And the Carters have been nominated for Best Family, which I think they'll get tbh.

https://www.demographix.com/surveys/2KVG-RM5T/AEEMYXKF/

Yeah new hair is unflattering!!

I wouldn't go as far as to say that his new hair is unflattering. He's still the most beautiful man in the world to me.

But though I love his hair I do prefer it short with the quiff.

https://twitter.com/showbizsecrets/s...67193610866688

Picture of the centenary storyline going on. Should probably say something meaningful but instead I'll comment again on how much I like that jacket on Johnny.

I'll be honest initially I was thinking it looked just alright on him but its growing on me. In fact, I'd quite like a nice warm hug from him wearing that jacket.