Soap watch with STEVEN MURPHY: Carla gets the boot

• Carla is having a bad time of it in Coronation Street as her co-workers lose faith
• Zack is guilty about the secret he’s carrying in Eastenders and pulls back 
• READ MORE: Grief-stricken Whitney shares a kiss with Zack 

CORONATION STREET 

Carla is having a bad time of it in Coronation Street as her co-workers lose faith in her –  and Peter has to break the bad news 

There’s more bad news for Carla this week. The poor dear is already in a clinic, convinced that her psychosis has returned, plus she’s got Paul breathing down her neck for compensation following her drug-fuelled joyride in the Underworld van. 

Now Peter has to break the news to his wife that her loyal co-workers have voted to depose her at the factory. The queen is dead as far as Underworld is concerned, it seems, and long live the king. 

Well, maybe not. Sneaky Stephen’s barely got his little Canadian tush on that throne when he’s tipped right off. Creepy client Rufus arrives, demanding a bigger slice of the Nippersnapper deal (what is it with soaps and terrible business names? See also Emmerdale’s Take A Vow and EastEnders’ The Kim-fluencer). 

OLD FRIENDS  

While Sarah and Damon may be strangers, actors Tina O’Brien and Ciaran Griffiths aren’t. ‘We first worked together at 14, and now I feel about 102 working with him again!’ laughs Tina. 

If not, he’ll tell everyone about Stephen’s little tricks with Carla and the LSD. Soon, a desperate Stephen is cornered and seeing red. 

Don’t make him angry, Rufus. You really won’t like him when he’s angry… 

Elsewhere, with the Nippersnapper deal done and dusted (so she thinks), Sarah has decided it’s time for fun with hubby Adam, who she’s been neglecting while negotiating multi-million-pound international deals for garish polycotton with the odd questionable slogan slapped on the front. But when she and Adam argue, Sarah heads off alone to the hotel he’s booked for their date night (by my reckoning, this is the same hotel where he once bedded Carla. Maybe not the place I’d have chosen for a romantic getaway Adam, but each to their own). 

Sarah arrives full of fury, but replaces that with prosecco, and soon she’s chatting to a handsome man at the bar. And would you believe it? 

In an only-in-the-soaps occurrence, despite this man co-owning a business with Sarah’s brother Nick and being arrested a few weeks back practically outside her front window, Sarah has no idea she’s chatting to drug-dealing wrong ’un Damon, having never seen him in the flesh. But she’s soon going to remedy that…

EASTENDERS 

Zack is guilty about the secret he’s carrying – he hasn’t told Whitney (pictured) about his HIV status – and pulls back, leaving her more confused and alone than ever

It’s clear why EastEnders likes to pile misery onto poor Whitney. Actress Shona McGarty is just so good at it, breaking our hearts several times in recent episodes. 

Freddie jumps in feet first… 

Skint Stacey is intrigued this week as Freddie flashes the cash. In a slightly weird plot (unless it floats your boat, that is), Freddie is selling pics of his feet online. 

But actress Lacey Turner says Stacey’s not one to judge. ‘She just thinks it’s an odd thing, but it’s good money – if you’re paying the rent, you’re paying the rent!’ she laughs. 

But this week’s no joke – Stacey has a loan shark on her tail and needs cash fast. ‘She’s scared of him,’ admits Lacey. ‘He’s not a normal thug, he’s a creepy thug.’ 

There may be a glimmer of light for Whit this week, but as always there’s another drama hanging above her head just ready to drop. 

The heartbreak of saying goodbye to their baby has seen Zack and Whit push each other away. But after some words from best mate Martin, Zack decides to pay a tribute to baby Peach. 

Touched by his efforts, Whitney kisses him. However, Zack is guilty about the secret he’s carrying – he hasn’t told Whitney about his HIV status – and pulls back, leaving her more confused and alone than ever. 

Step in Sam Mitchell to save the day, as she accompanies Zack to his appointment and asks the awkward questions about sex and having children in the future. All credit to the writers and actress Kim Medcalf for their development of this more mature Sam, playing the role of guiding hand to Zack without losing her Mitchell edge. 

Elsewhere, there’s a blast from the past when Patrick pipes up that it’s his ex-wife Yolande’s 70th birthday. Yolande also got a mention a few weeks back. Are we paving the way for a return? 

EMMERDALE: So what’s the mystery woman really up to?

A leopard never changes its spots, so they say. Well, apart from in soaps, where characters often start as one thing and end up the complete antithesis a few months later. 

Even so, we’ve treated with scepticism the idea that blackmailer and kiddie snatcher Alex has turned over a new leaf. Even Charles – whose main brand value is forgiveness – isn’t buying it, especially as Alex is walking out with his daughter Naomi. 

This week, it turns out we were right when Alex is spotted meeting a mystery woman and child. He’s quick to come up with a story, claiming to Naomi that Clare (above right, with Naomi and Alex) is the wife of a man he was in prison with who he’d promised to help. 

Naomi is left glowing at her boyfriend’s loyalty and kindness. But it turns out the only person Alex is trying to help is himself – to a cabinet of drugs at the doc’s surgery. 

In cahoots with Clare, he’s planning a heist. But there’s trouble afoot when Manpreet unexpectedly returns as Alex lurks with a crowbar… 

Meanwhile, Mack and Charity’s joint stag and hen party has a Yorkshire v Scotland Highland Games theme (what will these soaps think of next?). 

However, it’s Mack’s fling that might see him the loser when Chloe’s injured and he races to her aid. Will he be able to mask his fatherly concern?

In Emmerdale suspicions run high as Alex is spotted around the village meeting a mystery woman

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