I agree with your opinion. EE seem to be incapable of bringing any storyline to a satisfactory conclusion.

Linda will end up written out before Dean is. From a storyline standpoint one of them has to go. Linda will never be able to move on as a character until Dean is gone and in Dean's case it seems to be a case of out of sight out of mind when it comes to him being a rapist. Bad decision by the writers to keep him around. Viewers will never forget he raped Linda and didn't face any consequences.

Oh dear, some people wont like this. I still think in the end Ronnie will team up with Bobby and kill Dean.

People choose to be insulted by something. I am not going to sit and think about what i should or should not say incase it will insult someone.Everything we say has the potential to be insulting to someone.

Oh Sulla grow up. It's the weakest argument on the soap forum.

I think this decision reveals that DTC obviously regards Dean (and Shirley) as more valuable characters than Linda and Mick.

Mick and Linda will never be able to move on while Dean is still in the show. They're stuck in limbo by the decision to keep Dean in the Square unpunished. All the while, Shirley gets to play happy families blissfully unaware that her son is a rapist. Linda in particular could have developed into a really interesting, dynamic character, but they've hindered her development for the sake of keeping one of DTC's faves in the show as long as possible.

It really comes down to who is more important to the show, Dean or Linda? And theyve chosen Dean. Huge mistake, in my opinion.

No doubt i'll be crucified for this but maybe they should just show Mick and Linda moving on with their lives.

I know it wouldn't be that simple in reality and its not right that they should have to move on and accept Dean goes unpunished. But for the sake of the characters i feel they need to give Mick and Linda something different to do because they have become a bit dull and uninteresting

Terrible news

Why has DTC promised us a 'Satisfying Conclusion' when he's dragging it out for another year?

It certainly feels like they want us to forget the rape ever happened. I don't understand how they thought viewers would respond, as clearly they expected something different. Who decided it was a good idea to play out the rape story before the Shabnam/Jade story?

If they really want to keep Dean around, then they need to find a way to make him work. They started the rape story, so they should finish it (preferably before their 40th anniversary); move the characters forward, have Dean confess, seek counselling even (if they insist on keeping him, then he needs to be seen repenting). Then Linda could move forward in some way without repeating the same scenes over and over.

Oh for ****s sake! He's not even that good a character.

I'd say it's more a case of Shirley being DTC's number one priority. Dean leaving would put her at a loose end until Mick forgives her. This way Shirley's prominence continues forever more. It will take the next EP to sort of the Shirley problem and Dean along with it. This smacks of DTC leaving the loose ends untied so a future EP has to sort out the mess. I wonder if Mick and Linda will still be around at that time. Shirley is not worth all this fuss.

Yes, I've long suspected that the extended Carters were only ever introduced as a quick and easy way of shoving Shirley to the heart of the show. And this decision only does more to confirm my suspicions.

A group of potentially great new characters have been effectively slaughtered at the altar of St Shirley of Walford.

I'm really pissed off now. Mick and Linda are great characters with fantastic chemistry between Dannny and Linda but I am beginning to think your point above is true.

Sick of Shirley again

DTC does focus a lot on Shirley and other characters like Carol get neglected. I'm not that surprised that Lindsey Coulson has quit

Oh wow. DTC obviously has plans for him then. So it sounds like he only signed for another 6 months after his initial year as it's been 18 months since Matt started filming.

Home and away did it too, with Kane. He ended up marrying his victim's sister, which always left a sour taste. I appreciate the point you make about fact and fiction, however there is a big enough problem with 'real life' attitudes towards rape and sexual assault as it is without trivialising it for a storyline. do we really need to see fictional rapists getting away with it when real-life ones often do as well? I really hope they don't go for the 'avoids punishment / gets redeemed / turns into a 'lovely guy' angle with Dean.

Disappointed that Dean isn't going to get his "punishment" but do appreciate that this is a sad fact of real life that the rapist will often go free.

Even more disappointed that a terrrible actor is going to be dragging down the show for another year.

Isn't it just!! Mick & Linda are a very believeable couple & are played by great actors but this storyline is dragging everyone involved into the gutter.

It says more about me than DTC but the first thing that will spring to mind for me about Dean is the rape, so watching him getting all teary eyed over Jade/Roya over the coming months is just going to leave me totally cold. I don't particularly like Shabnam either, so that storyline isn't going to be very engaging for me.

I wouldn't say TPTB feel they have made a mistake making Dean a rapist. I'd say this has always been the plan but I think they've underestimated how difficult it is for a lot of people to forgive and forget a rape, if they ever do it.

I really don't think he is that bad from an acting standpoint, i have seen much worse in EE over the years...and there are worse than him in it right now.

As long as he spends the 12 months either in jail or on the run then it would be fine, or are EE just going to brush the rape under the carpet?

Yes.. they can't pull evidence out of thin air

Calling Bobby Beale
Calling Bobby Beale

I think people have the wrong end of the stick and he's referring to the contract he signed earlier in the year.