The Carters' backstory is really all about Shirley and Mick. We know very little about Tina's past and Linda's past in comparison to Mick and Shirley. After we find out all the secrets about the Carters, the focus should be shifted to Linda and Tina. So here's an idea:
Linda's mum, Elaine, should be brought into the show. I think she should be joined by a big sister, Sheryl, a bit like a Rainie figure, though not quite. Sheryl left home at 16 and refused to go to John's funeral. Linda and Elaine rarely talk about her and haven't seen her in years. However, Linda never forgave Sheryl but she was unaware of the truth. John, her dad, abused Sheryl when she was young and when Sheryl told her mum, Elaine, she refused to believe her and sent her away. Sheryl did return to Canning Town but burned down the pub to kill her father. Linda finds out about her mother's deception but someone finds out that Sheryl killed John and how far will she go to keep her secret safe?
For Tina, obviously there should be a domestic violence storyline with Tosh but I'd like to know more about her sexuality and how she brought up Zsa Zsa. Therefore, Zsa Zsa should return and perhaps Zsa Zsa's stepdad, Andy, should make an appearance too. That way we could learn the truth behind Tina's sexuality and why she couldn't bring up Zsa Zsa.

We don't need anymore Carters, When the current storyline comes to an end, then the family should take a backseat and let some poor other bugger hog the lime light.

I have an idea...give NANCY a storyline. Thanks.

We will find out more about Tina as the Mick/Shirley s/l is explored, we already know about Linda's upbringing, sort of. I don't think every character should have had a traumatic childhood/past. I think the Mick/Shirley/Sylvie back story is enough at the moment.

I wasn't talking about 'the moment', I was talking about the future. We don't much about Linda's backstory at all. We know some of Tina's backstory but there's a whole chapter of her life missing. I never said that every character should have a traumatic past, but who in EastEnders has a happy, non-complicated past? Name one character?

Ok, ok. Don't have a pop at me. I was merely saying that we have learned certain things about Linda, Tina will be more explored as the Carters history is laid out.

Bib: That is my point, I just think it would be refreshing for some characters to not have had an excessively traumatic childhood is all.

Tina won't be explored as the Carters' history is laid out because she isn't important in the storyline. It's all about Shirley and Mick. We know that Tina had previous boyfriends in the past, we know she was a useless mum and Zsa Zsa left home but there no coherent backstory to Tina. Why is she a "lesbian"? How did she bring up Zsa Zsa? A strong backstory is important to a character, very surprising you don't see that.
All we know about Linda is the fire that killed her dad, she isn't married to Mick, she grew up in a pub etc. Nothing in comparison to most Carters.

If characters don't have a complicated past or backstory what's the point of having a soap opera at all. Backstory is essential to the nature of the character, it's EastEnders not the happy show. You don't seem to understand how it works.

Agreed. As much as I love the Carters and believe they've been a great addition to EE and totally rejuvenated the programme, I also think it's about time they took a back seat for a bit before viewers get fed of up them and start calling it CarterEnders.

Quite a few viewers got sick to the back teeth of the Brannings and with the overload of the Carters nowadays (they seem to be shoehorned into nearly every storyline) I can see a backlash happening eventually.

Makes sense, although I hope we meet Elaine one day.

When Ronnie and Stacey are back we should see more of them and their families and the lovely Charlie and Aleks.

There's also the Masoods.

Future stories I'd like to see:

A romance for Nancy- maybe a slow burn will they-wont they
Linda's back story & family being explained
Johnny becoming more independent & having relationships (not Ben ffs!!) Maybe a bullying at work story given that the legal profession is hard
More of Tina's ex's turn up (this after the inevitable Sonia romance)
We get to meet some people from Dean's past- people he was in jail with, maybe one of his abusers could appear, ex- girlfriends etc. He could even be a Dad!
Lee- a death in service storyline (but hasnt he left the army already??)

I agree with most of these.

Nancy definitely needs a solid storyline already, probably relationship related.

Lindas backstory needs developing, especially after that episode where her and Stan visited their old pub and she reminisced about her father John(ny).

Agree with Johnny - he needs a more serious romance but defo not Ben! They would be so mismatched even if it did have dramatic potential. A serious relationship is the only way Johnny's character would develop really tbh, and I want him to meet someone nice (maybe with a mysterious past but not a villain). Either that or an anxiety storyline after how he's been at the Albert, especially with the attack. Maybe a lovely handsome man cheers him up and builds his confidence up again (please be me please be me ) and one or both of them fall in love deeply with the other.

Tina needs a storyline away from Tosh - maybe Zsa Zsa could return, even just for a couple episodes to clarify some things between them.

Dean is a question mark - I think the thing with Linda might delve into a much bigger storyline for him but thats just my gut feeling.

The death in service storyline idea would be interesting, if they do it realistically. And would be interesting to see how it affects all the Carters, with more focus on Linda and Nancy maybe (Linda as a proud mum of her eldest son as a soldier and Lee having the career Nancy strived for but couldn't have because of her epilepsy and then he dies in service). It would also of course affect Whitney probably as well - if this storyline did happen then not for a while at least - I'm talking late spring next year at the earliest.

I was merely suggesting it would be nice if not every character had a traumatic childhood, not that they all have had a happy clappy life until they came to Walford. I only meant some of the supporting characters anyway. Now, perhaps it might be a good time to work on your people skills, you might provoke a better reaction from me, if you were a bit more polite. And FYI I know perfectly well how soap operas work and just because you do not agree, that does not make my opinion invalid.