SOAP WATCH

JACI STEPHEN’S ultimate insight into the week’s soaps

Just as there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is no such thing as a hassle-free wedding in soapland. Ditched at the altar, revelations of affairs, panic attacks – there is no end to the ways people find not to tie the knot. Pete and Leyla failed miserably in Emmerdale, although she appears to be quickly transferring her affections to David (that’s another thing – Recovery Mode post-wedding trauma is very, very quick). This week sees the eagerly anticipated double wedding in Coronation Street, and given the rattling of skeletons that has been going on for months, we can expect them all to come tumbling out of the many closets, come the big day.

Let’s not forget EastEnders’ disastrous double wedding, when Barry married Natalie, and Mel married Ian – only to leave him during the reception when she discovered he lied about his daughter having cancer. With two couples, you can almost guarantee double the trouble.

It’s not like the old days, when couples married and stayed together for better or worse, like the Street’s Vera and Jack. Today, it’s a case of For Worse and Even More Disastrously Worse – even before the cake is cut.