Yep the BBC have managed to do it yet again, hire another egotistical maniac.
I got shades of Birkwood when reading Sean's interview with DS a couple of weeks ago. He has that same smug 'i am always right' attitude, along with promising the world and delivering very little, for starters where are all the shocks and surprises promised over this festive season?
He has come in waved his axe around culling some great, and potentially great characters.
And now he has killed off Ronnie and Roxy two important legacy characters in the most bizarre ending I have ever seen in British soap. Not content with just resting the characters till the next producer comes along (he clearly despises them), he had to make sure he smacked those nails into that coffin ensuring they could never return.
For months i have suffered his boring drivvel in the hope the show would get better.
This man is not going to last in the job, i am almost certain of it. What a bloody waste hiring this man when they could have got someone to achieve far better for the show.
In 6 months time its going to be a full on 'cult' show which only the die hard fans will be watching and people on this forum still crowing about the 'community feel'.

Hmm... They've never been seen in the same room together.

Today was a sad day for EE.

Although SOC has stooped to an ultimate low this evening, he isn't quite at Berkwoods level. Although I do believe if you give him time.

I agree 100%. What a mistake to place both Ronnie and Roxy beyond reach forever more. Time and again future producers will lament this decision... and all for what? A few weeks of drama and a beautiful stylised shot at the end of the episode.

I agree that Ronnie and Roxy needed to be rested but this is a huge error.

Screamed at the TV when Cindi was killed off, ditto for Kathy and Angie.

Now they've gone and done it again albeit on screen this time. This will go down as a catastrophic decision. There was no need for it and the drama certainly didn't justify it.

I wasn't watching EE when Kirkwood was in charge but started Hollyoaks in July and have been pleasently surprised. I think he is great. And this episode was great aswell, even if the rest of SOC hasn't been.

Well Birkwood ruined 2 soaps for me, SOC is yet to do that


What i do not understand is why the BBC keep allowing this to happen? Who gets the final say, surely the producer of each show has to answer to some one with common sense?

Add Mark Fowler in there too.

Because we got Kathy back they had to send two in her place?

You've only just started watching Hollyoaks then?
Believe me he is not great, the show has improved over the last few months, but thats not saying much, he made Hollyoaks unwatchable for nearly 3 years with his utterly ridiculous nonsense.

Some people do not believe it will, but I truley believe IT WILL. Watched this show for many years and out of all the soaps its one that just makes the same mistakes over, and over and over....

He is no where in that league, sorry but it does make me laugh at the OTT reactions, you might as well call him the devil and be done with it, characters get killed, his not the first producer, won't be the last.

If anything DTC did far more reaching damage to characters and the show by killing off Lucy and making everyone have a massive personality transplant.

OK, he's the devil 😈😈

It seems mandatory that these producers go around killing off big female characters, from Pat to Lucy to Ronnie and Roxy yet we are stuck with deadwood like Billy and Whitney for eternity.

Sean O'Conor is absolutely nothing like Bryan kirkwood. While Sean O'Conor isn't perfect and he has made, and will make decisians that won't please some, what he has brought to the show has been a breath of fresh air for the most part. Kirkwood and dtc in the second part of his time mostly made the show a laughing stock on the other hand. I'm also sorry Ronnie and Roxy were killed off but that doesn't make the producer rubbish over all. The show needed to be taken in a different direction from the multiple personality transplants, sensationalist drivel and the rest, under the second part of DTC and so far the show is all the better for it. It's not perfect, but it has some credibility again. No matter what a producer does some won't be happy, that's just life.

Can you explain how any of what he has done has been a "breath of fresh air"?

While Kirkwood gets justified criticism he did make some attempt to move the show in a new albeit not successful direction.

If you're going to kill (fairly) long standing characters then surely you'd want to do it in a way that has a significant impact going forward. Like the Lucy story.

Killing them in a freak accident with nobody else involved so therefore no real legacy other than surviving friends and family being upset for a bit, does seem a bit of a waste.I hoped Max would be involved and the ongoing storyline would be Max trying to reconcile with his brother with Jack not knowing he was involved in the killing of his wife + sister in law = future spectacular reveal.

But no they just....drowned.

But that's the current vision for the show. One big damp squib. I actually would take Hollyoaks type sensationalism over this poppycock.

I agree about Billy to a extent but he one of thoses filler characters that Corrie is filled up with, his death wouldn't of made a big of impact like R&R has.


Its a Turing point for the show, the Mitchell sisters have dominated for 10 years, it was a big move on his part it could possibly open new opportunities for other characters who knows time will tell if it was correct or not.

Yes I don't think every aspect of BK time was the worse, he had his highs as well as he lows like any producer, I just don't think his vision ever fit a show formatted like EE, its not HO where he get free reign to do anything, he got the job on the merit of his first successful stint on HO, which was very good but he lost the vigour and passion for the job imo he is more a showman then a creative drive for that show.

A stunt and killing of the week type approach of storytelling is not a good format and kills the show drive in the end.

It's not Eastenders, SOC is shaping EE into a healthy state after so much crap, using HO approach to storytelling is and will never be the answer to filled the void of a lack of creativity.

I don't watch HO but I would like some of its sensationalism in EE at the moment, EE couldn't be more drab and dull, a good serial killer might liven it up with preferably Whitney the first victim of any future Jack the Ripper 2.0.

Remember how fun R&R were on there arrival, where are those fun characters now? The young characters are as dull as the older ones, all Ben does is walk around with a face like a slapped arse and Lauren is now all mumsy, so any hitting the club is probably not going to happen.

It's obvious what his name stands for.

SOC.
Satan On Crack

I don't think people are over reacting, reactions are completely justified!

It just seemed lazy. Okay you want a big New Years Day storyline. A death or even deaths isn't a bad idea. But surely you do it in a way that matters? Make sure there's a legacy from it. Other characters involved, a secret to be revealed, etc.

Might as well have them hit by a bus. Randomly and pointless. Very lazy.

Calling for his axe constantly is OTT imo.

Opinions are completely different, they are what we think, acting like its the done deal isn't.

The O'Connor haters need to make up their minds

You've been calling him boring and when he does something shocking and different you call him the next Bryan Kirkwood.

You can't have it both ways.