So am I.

Every second the Philth suffers is a champagne moment for me - I feel absolutely no sympathy for him at all - Gavin is simply doing what he has done to so many people over the years (remember poor Lisa).

I have not seen the episode yet but will look forward to Mitchell in abject misery.

That felt like a Christmas Eve episode ahead of dramatic Christmas Day episode.

It was slightly subdued but it set the scene nicely for another big Halloween. Nice direction by Toby and I liked the flow of the episode.

I like this vulnerable side of Phil that has developed from his torture at the hands of Gavin. His reaction to Ben's sexuality does seem slightly OTT though, even for Phil.

Poor Ben. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Harry portrays Ben's mental turmoil well but he was deluded/naive to think he could get rid of Gavin so easily.

I really like the Shabs/Kush/Stacey/Martin unit but I dread the affair angle being dredged up again. That would tarnish it.

Lee's depression is ongoing. Danny is stepping up to the plate, it's a difficult story for a soap to tackle. It's good that it's showing the effect that it's having on his relationship and work life. His use of drink as a crutch is also a problem.

Sharon is fabulous. Letitia can do no wrong.

The Dean exit story has three interesting angles -Carter/Masood/Mitchell. I hope it's deeper than just a sensationalist murder plot.

The duff duff was a bit Derek 2012. It reminded me of Pat dropping her shopping bags/shagger reveal.

Looking forward to tomorrow. The stage has been set, let the fireworks begin!

PS Last DS Enders is in the games room. #EndofanEra

Name and shame....Dancing Queen, where arth thou?

Merci buckets Hilda!

I think once Phil was a husband and a new father to Ben it brought up all his childhood issues . There is a reason why it can be hard to break the cycle of generational abuse . Suddenly Phil was a father without any idea how to be a good one , he lacked the role model .

Regarding Phil and Ben's sexuality , I think Phil tolerated it because he didn't have a choice and maybe over time he could have made the mental leap to full acceptance (that's what Ben wants) but Ben's prison time (and the no contact thing ) made that impossible (and also stunted Ben's self acceptance) . When Abi basically declared Ben her boyfriend Phil was skeptical and said something like : "But I think you were..." only for Ben to jump in and stopping Phil from finishing the sentence with a "Not anymore " . Until Phil walked in on Ben and Paul they had been in a don't ask , don't tell situation .

Buckets, Buckets!!??? . It's BOUQUET not bucket! Bouquet! Please kindly remember that in the future or you will not be invited to one of my exclusive candlelight suppers! 😁

Well done for nicking Hyacinth's line Hilda brought a smile to my chops after being peeved at everybody slagging my soap off lately

I'm a comedy genius I know and I just couldn't resist bringing in the legend that is Hyacinth Bucket into it! 😁

Maybe you should start a thread asking people including the critics and sceptics MAYBE especially them what BLESSINGS or positives they see in the show currently.

Here's a few imo -the wrong of killing of Soap Queen Kathy Beale has been corrected for the long term even if the quality of hee return is subject to debate.

We have in the casting of Shabnam found an actress whos of higher calibre ability wise if not in appeal than most of the characters in her age bracketish like Sonia and Roxy.

I'd say ability wise although not popularity character wise she's in the same category as Lacey Turner.

Davood plays a character thar could easily have been written as a stereotype but isn't and is rather dreamy too.

Harry Reid is perfect casting and is likely to have a serious non stereo typical gay onscreen relationship in the near future.

Sharon is being featured much more.

Lady Di.

Shabnam is not boring.

Shabnam and Stacey are not boring. Do you think Rakhee and Lacey can act?

Don't you like Shabnam?

It's not that I dislike her, I just find her tedious and boring. But she's not alone, I'd say the same of Kim, Sharon, Martin, Sonia, Paul, and probably a few others.

I agree. Rahkee excelled during the stillbirth episodes but I preferred Shabnams characterisation in her previous stint. I find her quite dull this time around. I agree about Sharon, Martin and Sonia but I do like Kim. I think Paul has potential, if they developed him. Abi and Ronnie are getting on my nerves currently.

Ok so there was that scene in the Caff, with Ben and Gavin, and Ben said Gavin has two choices: he can either go, or stay permanently. Cue the pan to the window where the police were waiting outside. Also in the window was a sign for Hot Pies, and I automatically made the leap that in tonight's episode Gavin will be killed and Ben and Kathy will get rid of the body by baking him into pies that they'll sell from Ian's cafe.

Tonight's ep really has to live up to all the hype! I love that they've given very little away. Can't wait for it!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3...psBbUgibPia5pR

Bad night all round for EE.

Would you keep Shabnam if you were EP? Did you think Bradley was boring sometimes?

In your opinion what is that down to ?Some say lack of promotion and being out of slot but my understanding is there wasn't that much promotion about Corries out of slot Thursday episode last night either?

Is promotion perhaps not as important as many seem to think?

Would you keep Shabnam if you were EP?

I'm no expert. I only know that EE is not something I look forward to watching anymore, and if I was a casual viewer I wouldn't be tuning in. A new foe for Phil *yawn*, Ben trying to please daddy again *yawn*, and another on off wedding...well you get the picture.

And yes, we've run out of excuses. I've read posts all year saying 'but wait 'til Kathy is back, the show will really take off' OWTTE. Well she's back, and already she's wallpaper....it's all about Phil and Gavin. Any bets on who'll win.

Be Careful you'll catch a fly if you keep yawning like that!

Last Week I looked at Dullags posts on the ratings thread with year on year soap ratings comparisions.Even though soaps are still holding up quite well and are a good constant for their respective channels the drops in one year for all soaps seemed quite large and stark to me.

Perhaps the UK public is slowly being weened of them after a long love affair? (for a variety of reasons that can be exacerbated by poor stewardship at any soaps helm)

EastEnders was on at 8.30pm. not 7.30 as planned. I reckon tonight's episode will be rated high.

As I say, I've no idea. I only take an interest in the viewing figures from time to time, and of course I was interested to see if Kathy's return impacted negatively or positively. Bringing her back from the dead was a big risk.

RE Kathy. Her return has been a major success. Maybe not in this forum but lots of people are enjoying Kathy's return according to social media and her initial return episodes boosted the ratings.

For me it was right to bring her back but many aspects of it have been poorly executed and this was totally avoidable.I never personally thought it would have much affect on the ratings but would keep many fans happy.I think the days of returns of and in themselves causing a long term ratings boost are well and truly history!

Only those who knew and liked Kathy. Many thought it was a step too far, for me I was never keen on her so couldn't understand why they were doing it. I feel it was a last straw moment for some after a very poor spring/summer.

Calm down Hyacinth