Last night for the first time I thought she was actually really good her emotion when she heard Ben died was great. It's not Gillian who has made Kathy weaker since her return I think it was the writing for her.
EE: Kathy Beale
I agree it was well scripted and acted.
To be honest DTC handled Kathy very poorly so hopefully SOC will make her the Kathy of the old.
To be honest DTC handled Kathy very poorly so hopefully SOC will make her the Kathy of the old.
Although some of the writing for the character hasn't been right, I still think DTC did the right thing in bringing her back, for the long term it was the right decision imo 
Really? I thought her scenes last night were just as bad, Im a bit too young to remember what she was like in her last spell in the show but from what I can see now the actress and the character are both mediocre at best.
Gillian is a good actress. She was brilliant in the early days of EE in the 80s & 90s, she was a very well loved character.
And she's been brilliant in other shows she's been in like Footballers Wives. In fact her acting in that was much better than it in in EE now so it must be down to writing.
The way they brought her back was ridiculous but I think it was the right decision to bring her back in the long term. She has the potential to be a brilliant character, the writers just have to use her in the right way & give her good storylines. They'll be no point in bringing her back if she's going to be underused.
I think the storyline with Buster is okay & I think its believeable that they fancy each other, I think they'd make a great couple. Its got the potential to be a great storyline with a big reveal when Shirley finds out & slaps Kathy silly probably! I can see hair pulling too! I think they will fight over Buster.
With Grant coming back soon too, I hope there are some good Kathy & Grant scenes because there was a bit of past romance with these two & I think he holds a grudge against her because Phil apparently took some of Grant's money to help Kathy get away from Gavin. So there could be some arguing scenes with a bit of underlying sexual tension going on! Classic 90s Mitchell's EE at it's best!
So there is a lot of potential for some great Kathy scenes & storylines, whether it'll happen or not though is another thing!
And she's been brilliant in other shows she's been in like Footballers Wives. In fact her acting in that was much better than it in in EE now so it must be down to writing.
The way they brought her back was ridiculous but I think it was the right decision to bring her back in the long term. She has the potential to be a brilliant character, the writers just have to use her in the right way & give her good storylines. They'll be no point in bringing her back if she's going to be underused.
I think the storyline with Buster is okay & I think its believeable that they fancy each other, I think they'd make a great couple. Its got the potential to be a great storyline with a big reveal when Shirley finds out & slaps Kathy silly probably! I can see hair pulling too! I think they will fight over Buster.
With Grant coming back soon too, I hope there are some good Kathy & Grant scenes because there was a bit of past romance with these two & I think he holds a grudge against her because Phil apparently took some of Grant's money to help Kathy get away from Gavin. So there could be some arguing scenes with a bit of underlying sexual tension going on! Classic 90s Mitchell's EE at it's best!
So there is a lot of potential for some great Kathy scenes & storylines, whether it'll happen or not though is another thing!
The scenes last night were embarrassing in my opinion. Kathy was never one of those giggly types and there's zilch chemistry between her and Buster.
I thought her reaction to Ben's "death" was rubbish, actually. The crying was embarrassing. Linda Henry elevated the entire scene.
GT has never been Oscar-winning but her acting is fine for a soap. Last night however was baaad.
GT has never been Oscar-winning but her acting is fine for a soap. Last night however was baaad.
Originally Posted by PorkchopExpress:
“It's comical watching her act as though she passionately fancies Buster.”
“It's comical watching her act as though she passionately fancies Buster.”
I know! I had to look away at those scenes last night. They're trying to make out they're so into each other, like they're loves middleaged dream or something, but it's so false, so cringy, so badly done, that it's just not funny!
I wonder whose crazy idea it was to put those two together.....
I love Kathy, but I can't stand her with Buster!
Gillian must be thinking the writers don't like her... In Footballers wives she got with fit guys, in Hollyoaks she got with Dodger (Lucky cow) and then Eastenders pair her up with Buster!! I'd be asking for some contract changes if I were her!
Gillian must be thinking the writers don't like her... In Footballers wives she got with fit guys, in Hollyoaks she got with Dodger (Lucky cow) and then Eastenders pair her up with Buster!! I'd be asking for some contract changes if I were her!
Her acting is bad even by Soap standards. I never understood why they were so keen to bring her back, she was always dull the first time round. Last night you could see that Shirley was in real pain yet all Kathy could manage was some very badly acted crying. I hope they never give Gillian anything big to tackle because she's just not up to it.
Originally Posted by vald:
“Her acting is bad even by Soap standards. I never understood why they were so keen to bring her back, she was always dull the first time round. Last night you could see that Shirley was in real pain yet all Kathy could manage was some very badly acted crying. I hope they never give Gillian anything big to tackle because she's just not up to it.”
“Her acting is bad even by Soap standards. I never understood why they were so keen to bring her back, she was always dull the first time round. Last night you could see that Shirley was in real pain yet all Kathy could manage was some very badly acted crying. I hope they never give Gillian anything big to tackle because she's just not up to it.”
I agree with this
The writing for Kathy hasn't been great but no irreversible damage has been done. It helps that they've had her mostly in the bg. Yes people then wonder what she adds but that's preferable to her being in it constantly with crap writing. DTC doesn't get the character as evidenced by her blasé reaction to Bobby killing Lucy, which is odd as he's always purported to be such a big fan of Kathy.
I don't see any chemistry between Kathy and Buster but the reaction to it based on age makes me laugh. Kathy is fit and healthy and looks great for her age so why shouldn't she be getting some? I just wish she wasn't going after another woman's man. The storyline doesn't do it for me but meh she can move on from it pretty easily. And people forget that Kathy snogged Grant whilst he was with Tiff. She also rubbed a later ONS with Grant in Phil's face. While she was generally a nice character, she had her faults.
Even though DTC hasn't used her well, I'm still glad she's alive. No other EP would have had the guts to do it. It was also one of the first out there decisions DTC made and it's the one I'm happy to forgive. The show shouldn't have taken any more liberties after that though. DTC soured his era in the end with more and more OTT twists and storylines and Kathy's return just gets lumped in with them, even though in isolation it would've been fine.
I don't see any chemistry between Kathy and Buster but the reaction to it based on age makes me laugh. Kathy is fit and healthy and looks great for her age so why shouldn't she be getting some? I just wish she wasn't going after another woman's man. The storyline doesn't do it for me but meh she can move on from it pretty easily. And people forget that Kathy snogged Grant whilst he was with Tiff. She also rubbed a later ONS with Grant in Phil's face. While she was generally a nice character, she had her faults.
Even though DTC hasn't used her well, I'm still glad she's alive. No other EP would have had the guts to do it. It was also one of the first out there decisions DTC made and it's the one I'm happy to forgive. The show shouldn't have taken any more liberties after that though. DTC soured his era in the end with more and more OTT twists and storylines and Kathy's return just gets lumped in with them, even though in isolation it would've been fine.
Originally Posted by LHolmes:
“And people forget that Kathy snogged Grant whilst he was with Tiff. She also rubbed a later ONS with Grant in Phil's face. While she was generally a nice character, she had her faults.”
“And people forget that Kathy snogged Grant whilst he was with Tiff. She also rubbed a later ONS with Grant in Phil's face. While she was generally a nice character, she had her faults.”
That is true, she may feel guilty about it but sometimes she can't resist the temptation of a man! I think she is a character who struggles with her morals vs her feelings & attraction towards a man. So I suppose the affair with Buster is in line with that because she has expressed her guilt in doing it at times.
