opinion Lucy HewlettStudying English Literature at university, soap fanatic and an ardent book reader who also loves to write. Saturday 7 Jul 2018 11:30 am
With the vast amount of characters within soapland, it would be impossible to give all of them their own storylines all at once. This year, the soap Gods have given us some extremely important storylines to raise the awareness that is much needed such as Emmerdales Ross acid attack horror and Chas and Paddys baby being diagnosed with bilateral renal agenesis, Aidan Connors suicide and David Platts rape in Coronation Street and Shakil and Keegans knife crime storyline in EastEnders.
As well as highlighting these important issues, these challenging stories have given talented actors a chance to showcase their incredible performance ability and we can all agree that they are absolutely smashing these scenes. With that said, there are a few characters that have recently been on the sidelines for a while, so I think its time that they were given their own opportunity to shine.
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Victoria Barton – Emmerdale
Victoria had her heart shattered when she discovered that she couldnt have children with the love of her life, Adam Barton, due to him being infertile. Since he left the village on the run, viewers have been eager for her to have her own storyline after being a supporting character for the last couple of years.
After coming to terms with the loss of Adam in her life, its time she found happiness again. Now that her friend Matty Barton has returned, will this friendship eventually blossom into romance? No pressure, but whatever happens, were all on board for this friendship and its clear that these two are becoming a fan favourite already. Vatty has risen people!
Robert Sugden – Emmerdale
Emmerdale viewers were over the moon when Ryan Hawley won best actor at the TV Choice awards last year. He had blown us all away with his performance during Roberts revenge against the White family that ultimately led to Lawrence and Chrissie Whites exit. I dont think anyone will forget his outburst in the portacabin when his plans were foiled. Hes also claimed the title as the king of facial expressions from fans. We can only hope that one day his much loved character will be given his own issue led storyline. The audience have witnessed scheming Robert, which is great, we all love a scheming Robert! But now I feel its time we see his past come to light.
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When he returned to the village in 2014 with fiancee at the time, Chrissie, he appeared to be money focused and power hungry. As they say, dont judge a book by its cover and there turned out to be a lot more to Robert than meets the eye. When he began a relationship with Aaron Dingle, this persona that he had adopted began to fade and we witnessed them fall deeply in love with one another.
During super soap week Robert opened up to Aaron about how he had tried so hard to be the person his father Jack had wanted him to be. So he buried his sexuality and instead, worked for years to become someone he felt his father could be proud of. This was the first and only time the conversation of Roberts past had been brought up since his return, and now we want to know what happened during Roberts nine year absence from the village. I think that this would make for such an engaging storyline, bringing those issues with his father to the surface again. As we all know, Robert is yet to tell step mum Diane and his sister Victoria about what happened. As well as this, could we see him possibly open up to a friend down the line? We have already witnessed some great scenes with Vanessa but there is certainly room for this to be developed more.
Robert has also recently hinted on screen at the possibility of having more children with Aaron. He playfully said We should run a foster home or something to which Aaron replied I think weve got enough kids in our lives dont you? Robert then said yeah course, do you? Major awwww moment! After their second wedding set to take place this summer, could there be a storyline in the making for Robron surrounding adoption?
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Graham Foster – Emmerdale
The Dales very own James Bond! Since his arrival in the village alongside Joseph Tate, there has always been a sense of mystery about Graham. I mean you dont just learn those ninja fighting skills out of nowhere!
Aside from being a father figure to Joe, his moral compass if you will, he has recently had a one night stand with Megan that Frank is yet to find out about! Nothing in soapland stays hidden for long and for now it doesnt appear that he and Megan will go anywhere, after all she is engaged to be married! So maybe a new love interest is on the horizon for Graham? Or perhaps we could learn more about his past which had been touched on when he told Debbie he had served time in the British Army and lost his wife and his unborn child in a car accident when he was driving under the influence of alcohol? Of course there is a charm to Grahams cool and serious demeanour, but it would be great to see some happiness head his way after everything he has been through.
Ali Neeson and Ryan Connor – Coronation Street
Ali Neeson, Michelle Connors biological son, has been working on the street as a trainee GP. So far we have seen him and mother Michelle try to patch things up with their relationship. He has also had a brief fling with his mothers best friend Carla! Whether this will be picked up again isnt clear, but for now I would love to see him bond with Ryan Connor, Michelles son who has recently made his return to the cobbles, seeing as they seem to hate each other at the moment. Some viewers have even suggested that the two of them develop into a couple as they arent actually related in any way. Time will tell I suppose!
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Tracey the bar maid – EastEnders
No I havent just thrown Tracey in here for bants, I am deadly serious. She may be an extra in the show but shes been on the square since 1985!
Tracey briefly got her own storyline in 2017, when she lost her job at the Vic and ended up working at Vincents bar. However, the community rallied round and got her old job back. While this was an exciting time for viewers who had been waiting for her to share the spotlight with the rest of the characters, it was short lived and I would personally love to know more about Tracey and her background.
Shirley Carter and Tina Carter – EastEnders
Both of these characters have been unlucky in the love department. Shirleys last relationship was with Buster Briggs, her first love. However this didnt work out in the end as he had an affair with Kathy Beale. Tinas love life hasnt been plain sailing either as her relationship with Sonia Fowler broke down when Sonia had fallen out of love with her. Will they both find love again? Or Maybe Tinas daughter Zsa Zsa could return and the two could begin to repair their relationship?
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