Rita Simons, who played Roxy Mitchell,
is joining the cast of hit West End musical
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. She’ll play
careers teacher Miss Hedge, taking over
from ex-Steps star Faye Tozer. Rita, 42, will
be treading the boards from 5 August to
16 November, and says she is ‘beyond excited’.
Jack ...............................Scott Maslen
Max ...................................Jake Wood
Rainie ..........................Tanya Franks
Denise ..........................Diane Parish
Tiffany .........................Maisie Smith
Phil .........................Steve McFadden
Shirley ...........................Linda Henry
Jean .............................Gillian Wright
Stacey .........................Lacey Turner
Kat ..............................Jessie Wallace
Martin ...............................James Bye
Kush ....................Davood Ghadami
AdamStephen Rahman-Hughes
Habiba ........................Rukku Nahar
Ian ........................Adam Woodyatt
Kathy ......................Gillian Taylforth
Karen ....................Lorraine Stanley
Caren ..........................Amy Robbins
Muski ........................Patrick Cremin
Michael ................Sam O’Mahoney
K
aren’s at The Prince Albert when she bumps into
Caren – the woman she almost got very friendly
with at Walford Pride. Caren insists on buying
her a drink, and the pair enjoy a friendly catch-up. As
Caren leaves, Tina points out to her neighbour that the
brunette was clearly flirting with her.
It seems Tina’s spot-on, because Caren later finds
Karen in The Vic and asks her out on a date. Karen’s
floored by the suggestion and asks Tina for advice. Will
she decide she’s a man-only zone, or act on her and Caren’s
obvious chemistry and take a chance on something new?
W
hen Phil spots Stacey
with a new phone, he
rightly suspects that the
£50k Alfie conned out
of him has ended up in the Slaters’
pockets. Which is quite a leap to
make, but hey-ho, we’ll go with it.
Not prepared to let things lie,
he makes Shirley an offer – if she
can get proof that he’s right, he’ll
give her a cut of the cash.
With pound signs in her
eyes, Shirley wastes no time in
becoming Phil’s super-spy, and
unfortunately for Ben, her activities
aren’t just Slater-based. Seeing the
lad return from an all-nighter, she
tells Phil about his bad behaviour,
and Phil takes drastic action. Come
on, Shirl – the Mary Whitehouse
look really doesn’t suit you.
As she keeps tabs on the Slaters,
Shirley’s suspicions are piqued by
Jean sporting new clothes. But what
she doesn’t see is Jean giving the
items back to Stacey, insisting she
wants no part in Phil’s missing money.
Later, as Shirl accompanies
Jean to the hospital, her friend
inadvertently lands her family right
in it by saying that Kat and Stacey’s
feud all comes down to money.
Shirley relays the info to Phil,
before making him an offer of her
own. The next day, she breaks the
news to Stace and co that Phil
knows they have his wonga, and
she’ll be back to collect it. But when
she tries to do just that, Kat and
Mo refuse to hand it over. Has Phil
found himself a new set of enemies?
Dee decides to face Andrea in
prison, despite Toadie advising
her against the idea. But there
are just too many unanswered
questions for her, starting with
the possibility that the blondes
are actually long-lost twins!
Andrea insists her mum Heather
is certain they’re not, but Dee
demands a DNA test to prove it
once and for all. Will this bring
closure for Dee, or could finding
out she’s related to the woman
who tried to steal her life be too
much to deal with?
Elsewhere, Bea and Finn
are falling for each other, while
Paul visits his killer son Robert
in prison and meets Harlow –
the teenage granddaughter
he didn’t even know existed!
Tori attends her 20-week scan
and is relieved that everything
looks fine with the baby. But
she’s gripped with panic to
be called back in for a second
ultrasound when results flag up
a possible issue. Confirming a
high risk of early miscarriage
due to her short cervix, doctors
explain to Tori that there is a
procedure she can have as a
last resort. It’s all too much for
Robbo, and the dad-to-be
disappears. Has he done a
runner and abandoned Tori and
girlfriend Jasmine yet again?
Also this week, Dean makes
a big confession to Ziggy, and
vulnerable Bella could be in
danger as she makes a new
online friend called TomCat.
Show me
my money!
Phil tasks Shirley
with the recovery
of his stolen cash
Flirtatious:
Caren buys
Karen a drink
Seeking answers:
Dee goes to visit
Andrea in prison
Scared: Robbo
and Tori receive
some bad news
WORDS: ALISON SLADE. PHOTOS: BBC, CHANNEL 5, GETTY
Karen 4 Caren?
Threatening:
Shirley turns
debt collector
Partnership:
Phil asks Shirley
to go undercover
NEIGHBOURS
HOME & AWAY
THE CAST WALFORD EXTRA
TV TIMES 27