He may only have uttered two words in the entire episode – "'ello princess" – but the return of EastEnders villain Dirty Den after a 14-year absence sent the programme's ratings soaring. And now two more soaps have jumped on the veteran bandwagon.
Platinum blonde soap legend Bet Gilroy, played by actress Julie Goodyear, has returned to Coronation Street, while Brookside couple Barry Grant and his ex-lover Lindsey Corkhill – played by Paul Usher and Claire Sweeney – are back in the Close as the popular Liverpool-based show closes after a 21-year stint.
Bet's exit from Corrie in 1995 had over 20 million viewers tuning in, and presumably TV bosses are hoping her return – she made a brief appearance last year but dropped out after just two weeks due to exhaustion – will boost the show's ratings. The plot revolves around a Blackpool brewery convention in which Bet bumps into her fellow Rovers Return ex-landlady Liz MacDonald. "The plot promises to be very dramatic," says a spokesperson for the show.
Back at Brookie, scriptwriters are obviously following the "badder the better" vein currently being mined by EastEnders. According to a spokesperson for the award-winning soap, evil Barry – his many crimes included pushing one character and her baby to their deaths – "has lost none of his hard man ways".
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
