Probably more of a gripe with Honey's treatment first time round than her brief cameo this week, but why couldn't the writers/ producer have spared Honey the axe in 2008 and let her and Billy be a happy, if put upon, couple.

Not only would it have been a novelty for soapland, we'd have also had the much promised storyline of seeing Janet grow up on screen- and the joys and trials that raising a Downs Syndrome child can bring. Seeing Honey (Emma Barton is a great actress and conveys her so well) and Billy together again this week reiterated what a nice couple we could have had had they been allowed to remain together.

What do you think? Would you be happy with a Honey/ Billy reunion?

It did always seem like a really random axe and didn't make sense that Honey would just leave - I remember after hearing about her axing that I'd thought they'd have to kill her off as her and Billy were so strong and there's no way she'd just leave him.

No. She's far too annoying.

I would've said "But they'd have just languished in the background taking up space and not providing much" but then Billy's not really been given anything to do since she left apart from the odd thing with Lola so maybe having them together wouldn't have been so bad.

They could have also focussed on how they cope with Janet growing up and her condition to provide story lines as she gets older.

But then maybe Emma Barton wouldn't have appreciated being primarily in the background, a lot of people seem to praise her work on the stage.

See, I don't think she is.

I think she's a nice contrast to most of the other women on the square in that she's not deranged or a fishwife. She's just a normal mum- and there's more scope for storylines than you think in a character like that. Plus she has a whole family that could have been explored.

I barely even remember Honey.

Forgettable character.

Yes, she actually made Billy slightly interesting.

so whats the story with her return? was tonight the last we see of her or is she back for more?

Because she's one of the most boring EE characters of all time. Nobody wants to see a happy bland couple in a soap.

I dunno. It's a bit patronising to assume nobody wants to see a happy couple in soaps- Jimmy McGovern managed it in The Street, and he's pretty much the master of serial drama writing.

Happy? That word doesn't even exist in soapland . No couple is allowed to be happy. If they had Billy and Honey stay together, we would've had to endure the inevitable affair storyline of Honey cheating on Billy just to ram home the point that she is too good for him and well out of his league. I mean I'm surprised she didn't cheat on him with Jase back in the day as it was obvious she liked him.

That said, I do take on your point about Janet. It would've good to see Billy and Honey deal with her Down Syndrome together and watch her grow up onscreen. A missed opportunity there to explore the everyday struggles of raising a child with such a condition.

I didn't get it either, if that's it then it was pointless...seems DTC is just trying to relive Santer era with these random characters coming back for bit part appearances (I understand Libby and Christian but they were given nothing to do).

I don't think it's that people don't want to see happy couples, UK soap writers just dont know how to write stable couples without having to resort to infidelity at some stage. It's become quite predictable and tiresome really. No matter the storyline, it always comes back to infidelity in EE . A prime example being Ian recently, his daughter had just died and what does he go and do soon after that? He shags Jane on his sitting room floor and cheats on Denise in the process .

I do believe there is a way to have a happy couple but still create drama and tension within the family unit. I think Mick and Linda are the best example of that at the moment.

They need some happy couples, and some happy SINGLES. Not everyone has to tie themselves into one dysfunctional relationship after another, it is possible to be single and happy.