..who doesn't think Sophie Powles as Holly Barton is wooden?
I think she just has a lackadaisical manner ( which the actress herself probably has naturally). Some people just aren't very animated.
I'm finding her portrayal of the despair and loneliness of drug addiction very convincing, and she cries really well - unlike a certain other cast member who cries really badly at the drop of a hat and gets awards for it ( no names, no pack drill )
I'm just posting this out of interest to see if there's anyone else who agrees with me.

If not, I'll just resign myself to being a totally out of step weirdo

I certainly don't think she's the worst actor in the cast...

No, the actress can act and yesterday's episode proved it.

I think the reason why she can come across as wooden is due to the nature of the character.

She was decent in last night's episode, I think she's ok, fairly convincing, I think she's improving too.

I think she's good at the addiction stuff but with other emotions she seems very awkward. I find her quite moving when she's focussing on addiction, but she' s not very believable in more everyday scenes eg with Adam. You' d think as a character she' d be relaxed with HIM as they' re meant to have a good relationship but it doesn' t come across.I can see it, if they portrayed her as being awkward with other characters, but not him.

She was ok last night

She is an ok actress - does drug addiction better than other actors I have seen

I think she's pretty wooden, but she's honestly not the worst I've seen.

And hey, never feel bad about being an out-of-step weirdo, we've all got some views other people might find a bit strange.

You might just have to put up with quite a lot of jokes about her, because they've developed a life of their own.

BIB: That is so true. James is one of my favourite characters so that makes me a double out-of-step weirdo on here

Freak.

But then we both liked Ali Spencer, didn't we? Solidarity.

Yes to both

Holly put on a good show yesterday

I feel sorry for actors who have to play characters like Holly. She's an empty vessel who gets to feel emotion either by doing drugs or causing trouble. The character is actually realistic but not at all likeable. The portrayal is better than many addicts in soap.

The other character that is criticised for his acting is Lee Carter with long term depression. Again character portrayal is seen as bad acting.

The problem with the Holly is that the actress isn't good and the character is extremely annoying which makes her very hard to take. Holly makes me wish Debbie were back, I'll take resting bitch face over Holly any day, at lest with Debs you know Charlie Webb will deliver a good performance.

To me Debbie is the female version of Aaron, she's always miserable and/or surly - that could explain why you like her

LOL no I cannot stand Debbie, she is nothing like Aaron. Aaron can show way more emotion than Debs. My thing is Holly is so bad she's making me wish Debbie were back. Debbie would have realized Holly's game along time ago and handled her so it wouldn't cause trouble for Moira and Cain.

I don't see emotion in Aaron. I see tears and a red face but not actual emotion. It's like when I chop onions - I have tears and a red face but I'm not actually crying about something.

LOL well Aaron is crying about something and he shows anger too and on the rare occasion happiness. Debbie on the other hand has one emotional state.

She is dreadful, the worst actress in emmerdale by a mile. I have no idea why she was brought back.

That's who I was talking about in my OP ( as if you couldn't guess )
Totally overrated actor imo

This is what my daughter said when I told her I rated the actress.
I don't dislike the character either. I can understand why she acts the way she does. She's an addict. Addicts don't behave morally like they would if they weren't an addict.
I can think of a whole lot of other female ED characters who are more loathesome than Holly; Charity ( top of the list by a mile ), Debbie, Gabby and Rhona are all awful without any excuse.

You really think she's worse than the girl who plays Gabby? I've seen less ham in a butcher's window.

Pointless character, dreadful actress. More wooden than Ikea and has as much life in her as a Dignitas patient. Heaven knows why they bought her back.

Charity is anything but loathsome, she is the best female character on Emmerdale. I agree with you on Debbie and Rhona I can't stand either one of them but they are played by very good actresses which makes them easier to watch than Holly. Plus Rhona and Debbie has show at time that they have more to them than just being bitchy like when Debbie helped Andy deal with his grief over Katie. All we have seen of Holly since her return is plot to destroy Cain and Moira. If they want her character to work they are going to have to develop her character more and find a way for the audience to sympathize with her.

Debbie helped Ross aswell after Donna died, I dont like her particularly but other characters such as Laurel and Holly are 100x worse.