When I read about this documentary programme advertised, I recognised a couple of the things mentioned that would be included, and I had my guesses of what else may be included, so I was really looking forward to watching. Basically, the show was a three-hour collection of clips, focusing on the mostly negative moments on televised soap operas or their actors on TV. These moments included embarrassing accidents and mistakes, awkward and uncomfortable moments, news stories related, and much more, in Britain and/or around the world.
Soaps with things going wrong included: Home and Away with Ray Meagher fluffing his lines; various soaps with a baby farting, corpsing, and props falling; and Coronation Street where Pat Phoenix was hit in the back of the head with a camera. Soap stars making the news for the wrong reasons included: EastEnders with Jo Joyner (Tanya Branning) in a live episode asking "How's Adam?", referring to actor Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale, it went viral; EastEnders actress Katie Jarvis (Hayley Slater) working as a security guard in a shop, being "job-shamed" in the Daily Star, she was interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire, then a video showing her allegedly assaulting someone was released to the press; and Chris Fountain being sacked from Coronation Street due to the disgusting Phantom rap video about rape and violence against women, causing anger on social media, he was sacked and his career was ruined, he was interviewed by Ruth Lansgford and Eamonn Holmes three years later and apologised. Other soap opera mistakes included: Boris Johnson guest starring in EastEnders and Peggy Mitchell is nice to him, he is rubbish at acting; Shila Iqbal (Aiesha Richards) sacked from Emmerdale for racist and homophobic tweets from the past, she interviewed on This Morning to apologise, but fans and press did not like that she seemed to show no remorse; and reality show Soapstars (a spin-off of Popstars) was made to find actors for Emmerdale, Jason Hain auditioning was successful and cast with the new family of five, other cast members didn't like them, he was sacked and he found out beforehand, a second series of Soapstars was dropped. Soap actors making negative news included: Jennifer Ellison (Emily Shadwick in Brookside) became a singer ("Baby, I Don't Care"), and went on to do Dancing on Ice, in week 7 she hit herself in the back of the head with her foot and blade, cutting her head open; I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! With former Mark Bannerman (Gianni di Marco in EastEnders) having a fling with Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews despite having a girlfriend (Sarah), he was first to be voted out and no-one was there to greet him, he dated Cerys after for a while, but it didn't last long; and This Morning saw Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson plugging the "Who Killed Amy Barnes?" storyline, Kieron accidentally gave away that he filmed his last scenes, revealing he's the killer, he apparently broke his contract and walked out feeling humiliated, but the spoiler blunder was all a ruse, it was set up with the Hollyoaks producers and press, he deliberately slipped up to get people talking and watching, Sharon Marshall praised him for the stitch up. More soap star mishaps included: Paul Danan (Sol Patrick in Hollyoaks) seen with a bad attitude and swearing loads on Celebrity Love Island, he turned on the Christmas lights in Preston while doing pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, he was drunk and swore in front of an audience of children, he was fined and had to apologise, he was sacked from the panto and replaced by Jack Ryder (Billy Mitchell in EastEnders), he didn't do panto for years; Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson in EastEnders) joined I'm a Celebrity and entered to do a live Bushtucker Trial, he was hyperventilating, panicking, and screaming, it was hilariously embarrassing but he won 9 stars; and Bruce Jones (Les Battersby in Coronation Street) had a successful career and stayed in Corrie for 10 years, but he became an alcoholic, he went on a bender with a venue promoter who was actually an undercover journalist, he revealed plotlines and bad-mouthed his co-stars, he was suspended then sacked, his acting work dried up, he continued drinking, became homeless and went on benefits, but he got a lifeline being in horror films. Soap stars who went on to do singing, with disastrous results, included: Vicky Entwistle (Janice Battersby in Coronation Street) performing as Bjork on Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, she was very convincing, but she slipped up and fell over; Stock, Aiken & Waterman made stars of twins Gayle and Gillian Blakeney (Caroline and Christina Alessi in Neighbours) as The Twins, but "All Mixed Up" flopped at #74, "Mad If You Don't" also flopped at #75, their third and final single charted at #62; and Abi Phillips (Liberty Savage in Hollyoaks) had success with the song "I'm Missing You", she was on the show for over two years but didn't like acting as much as music, she went on The Voice UK, she had a good voice but failed to get any of the judges to turn their chairs at the Blind Auditions. American soaps going wrong included: Dallas actress Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing) suffered from heart problems (although Larry Hagman in interviews claimed she left after being denied a bigger salary) and was replaced by Donna Reed, she signed a three-year contract, but viewers were not happy with the new interpretation, Geddes got better and was brought back, Reed tried to sue for $7.5 million to stop Barbara coming back, she lost the case but was paid her full three-year salary, she died months later; and Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo), married to William H. Macy, was caught in a bribery scandal, she pleaded guilty to paying someone $15,0000 to correct answers on her daughter's SAT, fraud charge could be 20 years in jail, she was found guilty and spent two weeks in prison, fined $30,000 and did 250 hours of community service, it has had huge impact to acting career and reputation. Other soap stars being humiliated included: Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt in Coronation Street) shared on social media a completed Lego model of the Taj Mahal (5923 pieces, 21 hours), he posted a video of it, his girlfriend tried to pick it up and dropped it, and he bashed into it, he was angry, and he tells her to put it in the bin, his girlfriend offered a sweet to console him; and Martine McCutcheon (Tiffany Mitchell) left EastEnders to become a singer, "Perfect Moment" went to #1 and then she went on to musical My Fair Lady in the West End with Jonathan Pryce, but after three stage performances she was rushed to hospital with a mystery illness, she missed shows, she dropped down to less performances with her understudy replacing her, Pryce was frustrated and the public were unhappy, producer Cameron Mackintosh dropped her for being unreliable, her management claimed that her continuing would have damaged her singing voice, she was shocked to win Best Actress in a Musical at the Olivier Awards, Pryce was not happy, apart from Love Actually she has not done much big stuff since. Soap actors having blunders included: Gillian Taylforth (Cathy Beale in EastEnders) was caught by a policeman on the A1 giving oral sex to her fiancé, she went to court against The Sun, she denied the allegation, she was filmed for a reconstruction to explain what she was doing, claiming she was rubbing his stomach, then clips emerged of her drunk with friends simulating sex acts, the jury ruled against her and she was fined £500,000, she left court on a stretcher from collapsing, she couldn't afford the fine and worked for The Sun writing columns; and Noele Gordon (Meg Mortimer) was unexpectedly sacked from Crossroads after her contract ended while the show was going through changes, there was a "Save Our Meg" campaign, the character left on a cruise, she was interviewed on Russell Harty about her upset, she came back for guest appearances, but she later fell ill and died, the show never recovered and was eventually axed. The final soap star seen going wrong was: Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson) left Neighbours and became a pop star, "Too Many Broken Hearts" and "Especially for You" were hits, he was cast in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, but The Face magazine published an article outing Donovan accusing him of being a closeted gay, he sued them and defended his sexuality, he was awarded £200,000 in damages, he was accused of being homophobic and his career was hindered, he lost theatre roles and his music career dipped, he went downward with drugs and alcohol, and he turned down a role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the part went to Neighbours co-star Guy Pearce, he later regretted taking legal action.
I had my guesses what soap opera and related moments would be included, the bad ones, the funny or unfunny ones and the awkward ones, I always enjoy the nostalgia seeing these moments again, but it was good to learn about those I did not know, and the serious stuff as well, overall, it was an interesting and watchable documentary.
Narrated by Jennifer Ellison, with contributions from Kelly Allen, Debbie Arnold (EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Emmerdale), Paula Ann Bland (Grange Hill), George Christopher (Grange Hill, Brookside), Nicholas Cochrane (Coronation Street), Michelle Collins, Paul Danan, Terri Dwyer (Hollyoaks and Grange Hill), Jason Hain, journalist Jack Hardwick, journalist Kevin Hughes, Bruce Jones, Patsy Kensit, Lee MacDonald (Grange Hill, EastEnders, The Bill), Steven Pinder (Brookside and Crossroads), Chris Quinten (Coronation Street), Kieron Richardson, journalist Neil Sean, Graham Seed (The Archers, Brookside, Crossroads), Tom Vaughan (Hollyoaks), Steven Woodcock (EastEnders), and Mal Young (producer, EastEnders 1998 & 2002). Very good!
Soaps with things going wrong included: Home and Away with Ray Meagher fluffing his lines; various soaps with a baby farting, corpsing, and props falling; and Coronation Street where Pat Phoenix was hit in the back of the head with a camera. Soap stars making the news for the wrong reasons included: EastEnders with Jo Joyner (Tanya Branning) in a live episode asking "How's Adam?", referring to actor Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale, it went viral; EastEnders actress Katie Jarvis (Hayley Slater) working as a security guard in a shop, being "job-shamed" in the Daily Star, she was interviewed by Victoria Derbyshire, then a video showing her allegedly assaulting someone was released to the press; and Chris Fountain being sacked from Coronation Street due to the disgusting Phantom rap video about rape and violence against women, causing anger on social media, he was sacked and his career was ruined, he was interviewed by Ruth Lansgford and Eamonn Holmes three years later and apologised. Other soap opera mistakes included: Boris Johnson guest starring in EastEnders and Peggy Mitchell is nice to him, he is rubbish at acting; Shila Iqbal (Aiesha Richards) sacked from Emmerdale for racist and homophobic tweets from the past, she interviewed on This Morning to apologise, but fans and press did not like that she seemed to show no remorse; and reality show Soapstars (a spin-off of Popstars) was made to find actors for Emmerdale, Jason Hain auditioning was successful and cast with the new family of five, other cast members didn't like them, he was sacked and he found out beforehand, a second series of Soapstars was dropped. Soap actors making negative news included: Jennifer Ellison (Emily Shadwick in Brookside) became a singer ("Baby, I Don't Care"), and went on to do Dancing on Ice, in week 7 she hit herself in the back of the head with her foot and blade, cutting her head open; I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! With former Mark Bannerman (Gianni di Marco in EastEnders) having a fling with Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews despite having a girlfriend (Sarah), he was first to be voted out and no-one was there to greet him, he dated Cerys after for a while, but it didn't last long; and This Morning saw Hollyoaks star Kieron Richardson plugging the "Who Killed Amy Barnes?" storyline, Kieron accidentally gave away that he filmed his last scenes, revealing he's the killer, he apparently broke his contract and walked out feeling humiliated, but the spoiler blunder was all a ruse, it was set up with the Hollyoaks producers and press, he deliberately slipped up to get people talking and watching, Sharon Marshall praised him for the stitch up. More soap star mishaps included: Paul Danan (Sol Patrick in Hollyoaks) seen with a bad attitude and swearing loads on Celebrity Love Island, he turned on the Christmas lights in Preston while doing pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, he was drunk and swore in front of an audience of children, he was fined and had to apologise, he was sacked from the panto and replaced by Jack Ryder (Billy Mitchell in EastEnders), he didn't do panto for years; Dean Gaffney (Robbie Jackson in EastEnders) joined I'm a Celebrity and entered to do a live Bushtucker Trial, he was hyperventilating, panicking, and screaming, it was hilariously embarrassing but he won 9 stars; and Bruce Jones (Les Battersby in Coronation Street) had a successful career and stayed in Corrie for 10 years, but he became an alcoholic, he went on a bender with a venue promoter who was actually an undercover journalist, he revealed plotlines and bad-mouthed his co-stars, he was suspended then sacked, his acting work dried up, he continued drinking, became homeless and went on benefits, but he got a lifeline being in horror films. Soap stars who went on to do singing, with disastrous results, included: Vicky Entwistle (Janice Battersby in Coronation Street) performing as Bjork on Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, she was very convincing, but she slipped up and fell over; Stock, Aiken & Waterman made stars of twins Gayle and Gillian Blakeney (Caroline and Christina Alessi in Neighbours) as The Twins, but "All Mixed Up" flopped at #74, "Mad If You Don't" also flopped at #75, their third and final single charted at #62; and Abi Phillips (Liberty Savage in Hollyoaks) had success with the song "I'm Missing You", she was on the show for over two years but didn't like acting as much as music, she went on The Voice UK, she had a good voice but failed to get any of the judges to turn their chairs at the Blind Auditions. American soaps going wrong included: Dallas actress Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing) suffered from heart problems (although Larry Hagman in interviews claimed she left after being denied a bigger salary) and was replaced by Donna Reed, she signed a three-year contract, but viewers were not happy with the new interpretation, Geddes got better and was brought back, Reed tried to sue for $7.5 million to stop Barbara coming back, she lost the case but was paid her full three-year salary, she died months later; and Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman (Lynette Scavo), married to William H. Macy, was caught in a bribery scandal, she pleaded guilty to paying someone $15,0000 to correct answers on her daughter's SAT, fraud charge could be 20 years in jail, she was found guilty and spent two weeks in prison, fined $30,000 and did 250 hours of community service, it has had huge impact to acting career and reputation. Other soap stars being humiliated included: Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt in Coronation Street) shared on social media a completed Lego model of the Taj Mahal (5923 pieces, 21 hours), he posted a video of it, his girlfriend tried to pick it up and dropped it, and he bashed into it, he was angry, and he tells her to put it in the bin, his girlfriend offered a sweet to console him; and Martine McCutcheon (Tiffany Mitchell) left EastEnders to become a singer, "Perfect Moment" went to #1 and then she went on to musical My Fair Lady in the West End with Jonathan Pryce, but after three stage performances she was rushed to hospital with a mystery illness, she missed shows, she dropped down to less performances with her understudy replacing her, Pryce was frustrated and the public were unhappy, producer Cameron Mackintosh dropped her for being unreliable, her management claimed that her continuing would have damaged her singing voice, she was shocked to win Best Actress in a Musical at the Olivier Awards, Pryce was not happy, apart from Love Actually she has not done much big stuff since. Soap actors having blunders included: Gillian Taylforth (Cathy Beale in EastEnders) was caught by a policeman on the A1 giving oral sex to her fiancé, she went to court against The Sun, she denied the allegation, she was filmed for a reconstruction to explain what she was doing, claiming she was rubbing his stomach, then clips emerged of her drunk with friends simulating sex acts, the jury ruled against her and she was fined £500,000, she left court on a stretcher from collapsing, she couldn't afford the fine and worked for The Sun writing columns; and Noele Gordon (Meg Mortimer) was unexpectedly sacked from Crossroads after her contract ended while the show was going through changes, there was a "Save Our Meg" campaign, the character left on a cruise, she was interviewed on Russell Harty about her upset, she came back for guest appearances, but she later fell ill and died, the show never recovered and was eventually axed. The final soap star seen going wrong was: Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson) left Neighbours and became a pop star, "Too Many Broken Hearts" and "Especially for You" were hits, he was cast in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, but The Face magazine published an article outing Donovan accusing him of being a closeted gay, he sued them and defended his sexuality, he was awarded £200,000 in damages, he was accused of being homophobic and his career was hindered, he lost theatre roles and his music career dipped, he went downward with drugs and alcohol, and he turned down a role in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the part went to Neighbours co-star Guy Pearce, he later regretted taking legal action.
I had my guesses what soap opera and related moments would be included, the bad ones, the funny or unfunny ones and the awkward ones, I always enjoy the nostalgia seeing these moments again, but it was good to learn about those I did not know, and the serious stuff as well, overall, it was an interesting and watchable documentary.
Narrated by Jennifer Ellison, with contributions from Kelly Allen, Debbie Arnold (EastEnders, Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Emmerdale), Paula Ann Bland (Grange Hill), George Christopher (Grange Hill, Brookside), Nicholas Cochrane (Coronation Street), Michelle Collins, Paul Danan, Terri Dwyer (Hollyoaks and Grange Hill), Jason Hain, journalist Jack Hardwick, journalist Kevin Hughes, Bruce Jones, Patsy Kensit, Lee MacDonald (Grange Hill, EastEnders, The Bill), Steven Pinder (Brookside and Crossroads), Chris Quinten (Coronation Street), Kieron Richardson, journalist Neil Sean, Graham Seed (The Archers, Brookside, Crossroads), Tom Vaughan (Hollyoaks), Steven Woodcock (EastEnders), and Mal Young (producer, EastEnders 1998 & 2002). Very good!
