Its quite the accolade as an EastEnders star to be sat down and told that you are going to be the cast member making up one half of a two hander. In the same way that Christmas TV is more synonymous with someone dying in Walford than any speech from the Queen (soz, your Majesty), EastEnders is known for its two hander episodes. They are something quite special.
But theyre not easy to get right. An episode focusing on Linda Carter getting a confession out of wily sleazeball Stuart Highway could very easily have been a dull, cat and mouse affair with endless clunky dialogue.
What we got instead were one of Kellie Brights infamous powerhouse performances, an atmosphere of darkness and grit, a serious foreboding that comes with watching a thriller, Ricky Champ portraying the unpredictable Stuart at his most frighteningly repulsive and a fantastic pay off that we have been waiting for.
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This story has been building up for quite some time. In the age of Netflix, on demand television and binge watching, we have all (myself included) forgotten how to respect the slow burning storyline.
When Stuart was brought in as a mischievous old friend of Micks, it appeared to be sold as a comedy storyline that would see Mick getting into drunken larks with his mate. Lads, lads, lads and all that. Drinking pints of shandy and yelling at the croquet or whatever lads do, I dont know.
But Stuart came with a plan – and its one that has taken a very long – and often frustrating – route. However, the layers that were brought in that made Stuart quite a unique villain needed to be explored to make the ending (or the beginnings of an ending) work. Quite frankly, we really needed to detest this guy so that we could really enjoy his comeuppance. Parts of his attitude where he didnt care if men were innocent before hunting them as predators as well as his own disregard for his physical health to wind people up were baffling at the time but built Stuart into the unpredictable wreck he was tonight.
The guy is a narcissistic control freak with a penchant for getting smashed over the head, beaten to a pulp and even shot just to get one over on someone he thinks has wronged him.
Thats why it was never going to be easy for Linda to catch him out. Stuart had her plan to record him sussed the moment that she mentioned Micks name in the bedroom but this time, having learned his behaviours over the weeks she had pretended to get close to him, Linda was the one who was the step ahead.
We have endured weeks of a smug Stuart swaggering around Walford, chuffed with himself and like a very sinister cat who got the double cream on offer at Waitrose.
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But this was his downfall. The ending which saw Linda pull out a recording hidden in her iconic bun was a cheer at the screen moment but the drama which came before was just as powerful and engaging.
Seeing Stuart go from lusting after Linda to angry and dangerous to exploding in a jealous rage to then the darkest side of his personality being laid bare in its ugliest form as he threatened to rape her was a heart in your mouth experience.
Many viewers have spoken consistently of finding Stuart repulsive and creepy, which means Ricky has done his job.
And Kellie – who has blown us away numerous times with her insanely good performances – shone brighter than ever, able to carry an episode filled with huge emotional shifts, long reams of dialogue and tricky physical acting like an absolute pro.
This episode was all about Linda Carter. She would do anything for her family and when someone has hurt her husband or her kids, the inner beast is unleashed and no-one is a match for her, no matter how smug they are or how clever they think they have been.
Linda telling Stuart exactly what he is and how he disgusts her was reminiscent of her huge scene with Dean Wicks which saw him crack and admit what he did and scenes later on which saw Linda taken back to those dark places when Stuart threatened to rape her were harrowing.
This was not a two hander of two people having a conversation around a table. Soaps have to fight not to become background TV that people only half pay attention to while browsing Facebook or doing the washing up after dinner.
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Its becoming rarer and rarer for soaps to be event TV and thats fine – they now have shifted their place to being something you catch up on and talk about and engage with differently, such is the way the fast moving world changes.
But every so often, an episode comes on which means you leave your phone forgotten, forget to check your work email and dont even notice the cat headbutting its empty food dish.
Tonights half hour of drama was just that – and to resurrect EastEnders former slogan, everyone is talking about it.
MORE: EastEnders spoilers: Mick Carter return revealed as he sets out to kill Stuart Highway
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