Who says quick shock exit storylines are meant for smaller characters? I didn't know there were rules?? And what one viewer sees as a smaller character another may see as a major one. I'm an R&R fan myself but It seems your just a bit miffed that they're not onscreen a lot lately.

Feel sorry for the actresses to be honest.
We all know its going to be one of those things where a future producer wishes they were never killed off, but the current egotistical producer thinks he can throe his weight around with this obsurd swimming pool nonsense.

must be for their funeral - whether fake death or not.

Glynis tweeting a lot about Blakes 7 recently.

I don't feel like it needs a huge build up because thats just how it is when someone dies unexpectedly, they are living their lives and then just suddenly it's snatched away, without any warning. The aftermath is what will be important in this.

Interesting OP.

About the time they began filming the wedding Glynis was tweeting about filming on location. So maybe she is back for the wedding too?

Given that this producer has no interest in these characters and is getting rid of them, it makes sense that he might feel no need to feature them much now. Wean people off of them.

Also, if their death comes from nowhere it will be more shocking for casual viewers.

The aftermath is where the story could really be as someone says above. The guilt-ridden mother, alongside the children and the husband. What about Matthew? What happens to him now?

What characters is Sean O'Connor interested in!

Billy, Denise and Kathy, in my opinion.

All of the ones he hasn't axed, presumably.

I would add Jay and Whitney to that list.

And Ben, Sharon and Carmel, for some strange reason.

Everyone is getting decent screen time at the moment. It feels like a genuinely ensemble show for the first time in about 20 years.

I'm glad the majority of the characters are getting equal screentime but there's a few who need to be utilised better. Eg: Kush, Donna, Shirley.

Shirley has had a very quiet year but when she does pop up you can always guarantee a quality scene.

considering its been reported in the press several times, with casual mentions in every soap section, i think its safe to say everybody knows whats going to happen. none of this is a shock

I agree with you there. I suspect the original plan was to keep it under wraps but then the show started getting criticised and so stories started leaking.

Well the death itself will be shocking, shockingly ridiculous.
I was hoping for a Bonnie and Clyde type ending. The swimming drama sounds all rather odd. I am amazed the powers that be have cleared this storyline. Do they want people to laugh at the show?
Personally I want the sisters to survive I don't see why such prominent characters should be killed off just because the new producer (who is doing a dreadful job thus far) doesn't like them .

That works with a character like Lee who has never been a "big character" but not with these two. Why do I care if a baby goes to a father offscreen or stays with Jack? Why do I care about Glenda who is not a character in Eastenders? And Roxy has left behind an 8 year old daughter who again is a bit character as a child. The only real person deaths will really impact for us to care about is Jack. It's different with Lee as he has lots of family around. His death would be one done with impact in the aftermath.

If you kill off characters like R&R you kill them off in more dramatic circumstances. For anyone who has followed Ronnie and her story, her being shown in the odd few scenes happy and Roxy shown to be an outsider from her daughter in the odd few scenes and then a shock accident death? Come on....hardly award winning? If you are going to kill off a character like Ronnie it is your chance for a big storyline to win an award as she is not a "nice" character. The shock deaths with no build up are reserved for the nice characters like Lee with people around who care and grieve in the aftermath.

But given there is no storyline at the moment, there is no point tuning in as I am a casual viewer. I was interested in 1 big dramatic Ronnie storyline before her seemingly final departure but have zero interest in some comedic death and no build up. I'd rather remember the character in her more interesting days.

And right now, Eastenders has few stories of interest. It's all filler day-to-day. The only real storyline of interest to me is Lee and even then I'm not sure if the current EP has the guts for a suicide plot if he can't even come up with a decent exit for R&R.

And my view is taken more as a general view.
Ronnie, in particular, has never been considered a small character and Roxy, unfortunately has played second fiddle to Ronnie as a character but has been in the show 10 years.
And it shows lack of creativity if the EP cannot come up with a decent exit storyline for a character who has been a villain/ammoral type character, capable of turning crazy etc.... These are the characters you use for dramatic exit storylines, not low-key comedic swimming pool deaths. But hey, the EP will just be criticised and out the door like the others in a year with this used as a reason. so his problem. But the current predicted story is not going to go down well with viewers! It is already being laughed at!

And it is not only about the EPs view of the character. He needs to cater for the viewers. That is where prior EPs have failed. You need to consider what the majority if viewers want to see and see an appropriate balance, with new year being usually the time for the big plots.
Last edited by nickymonger : 19-11-2016 at 01:52

I love how so many people are complaining about something that's not even happened yet, and won't be on air for six weeks! No build-up? There's six weeks to go yet.

If, they die - if - and it's only the Sun who has assumed that's what happens and how, despite the BBC suggesting that several endings are being made.... and if is a cr4ppy ending in a swimming pool, then that's the time to complain. If the Sun is wrong, there's going to be lots of people eating humble pie.

I've no idea whether the Sun is right or wrong or if the BBC is filming multiple endings. TBH I'm happy not knowing but given the absolute lack of spoilers these days, I'd very very surprised if there isn't more to it than what the Sun has come up with. If I'm wrong, I'll eat some humble pie.

I agree. Ronnie and Roxy are very popular, even with young girls on twitter ad facebook who are the future. You need to think about the future when SOC has left.

It reminds me of BIrkwood when he killed off Billy because he supposedly didn't like Devon.

Write characters off yes but kill them off? no.

The Sun is right. Trust me I know

They had a year to build up to Pat's exit and she got ill, diagnosed with cancer and died all within a week. Now THAT was insulting.

Although Ronnie & Roxy have reached the end of their shelf life as character's- there are others that should have been axed before them.

I presume both Sam Womack & Rita Simons have both finished filming now on the show?

Yes they both tweeted on their last day of filming, with a picture of the 2 of them and water in the background

Enjoy the last 6 weeks or so of R and R