Yahoo News 8 of the biggest soap mysteries right now
Soaps can only stay successful if they provide enough intrigue to keep us tuning in for the next episode, so it's no surprise that the writers like to keep us hanging with certain storylines before they're picked up at a later date.
With this in mind, it's time for a round-up of the biggest soap mysteries currently keeping us guessing – and sparking fan theories aplenty in the process.
1. What's the story between Joseph Tate and Graham Foster? (Emmerdale)
Emmerdale has finally told us the true identity of "Tom Waterhouse", but even though we now know he's Joseph Tate, there's still another question we're keen to see answered. Just what is the history between Joe and his loyal manservant Graham Foster?
In his recent chat with Digital Spy, Ned Porteous – who plays Joe – revealed that his character sees Graham as a father figure and business associate all rolled into one. That's because of surprises from their past, which have yet to be disclosed.
"They both helped each other at the start and they both kind of saved each other, which you'll find out more about as the story goes on," Ned explained. Hmm, what could it all mean?
2. What is Joseph Tate's plan for the Dingles? (Emmerdale)
Sticking with the Joseph Tate theme (he is the man of the moment, after all), what on earth could he have up his sleeve next after the big reveal of his revenge? We thought that humiliating Debbie, organising a robbery at The Woolpack and arranging for Zak and Lisa's home to be bulldozed was bad enough, but Joe reckons that was just the warm-up. Eek.
In the closing moments of Thursday night's dramatic double bill, Joe told Graham: "You can spare me the dirty looks, because this is only the beginning. There's plenty more to come."
That sounds ominous, but will Graham still want to be part of his boss's plans if he carries on down this dark route?
3. Is the real Dee Bliss still alive? (Neighbours)
We have a feeling that Neighbours will be keeping us hanging with this one for a long time to come, but we're still loving the random reappearances that Madeleine West keeps making in the Aussie soap. We saw "Dee" again in August as she was sitting on a bench in an unknown location, reminiscing about old times – sending fans into a frenzy.
She then popped up again in the 2017 season finale episode last month, spying on Toadie and Sonya Rebecchi on their wedding day.
Each of these guest returns were credited in the closing titles as "Special appearance by Madeleine West", with no character name confirmed. So, is Madeleine back as supervillain Fake Dee, or is she the real deal this time? Can Neighbours please sign her up for longer than a five-second scene next time so we can find out?
4. Who has the missing money? (EastEnders)
Aidan Maguire's group of criminal associates look likely to go down as the worst gangsters in Walford history, but they've certainly provided plenty of laughs along the way with their outrageous heist storyline this week. The latest mishap was Billy Mitchell accidentally burying the coffin which had their loot stashed in, only to dig it up again and find that the money was now nowhere to be seen. Oops.
So, who actually has the cash? Could Aidan have double-crossed the others as revenge for their pathetic efforts in the robbery? Has another one of the group turned traitor? (Maybe Keanu is smarter than he looks!) Or has an outside force like Ben or Jay decided to get their grubby hands on the cash?
5. Is Emily Bishop ever returning? (Coronation Street)
Corrie fans were dismayed when Eileen Derbyshire took a "six-month break" from the cobbles in early 2016 but never returned afterwards. The papers have often speculated that Eileen has no plans to come back as fan favourite Emily Bishop, although Street bosses have always denied this.
There was a ray of hope this week when Emily was suddenly mentioned in an episode without warning, as Ken Barlow confirmed that she'd finally returned from her trip to Peru and was back in the country.
Were the Corrie writers just showing they haven't forgotten Emily – their second longest-running character – or were they secretly paving the way for a comeback?
6. What's the story between Mel Owen and Ciara Maguire? (EastEnders)
When new EastEnders character Ciara picked up the phone and ordered an unknown person to come back to their "old haunt", it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was talking to Tamzin Outhwaite's character Melanie Owen, who's about to make a return.
With Mel's comeback scenes due to air next Thursday, there should be answers on this sooner rather than later. In the meantime, though, there's plenty to speculate over. How has Mel got herself involved with an Irish gangster? Does she know Aidan too? And could the "darker" new direction that Tamzin promised mean that Mel wants to do harm to Ian or Phil?
7. Who killed Hamish Roche? (Neighbours)
On face value, Neighbours' big whodunit storyline was resolved last year when Tyler Brennan confessed that he was to blame for the death of his biological father Hamish. Tyler handed himself into the police on Christmas Day and was carted off to face the music, breaking the hearts of 'Typer' shippers on both sides of the world.
Recent rumours that Travis Burns has quit his role as Tyler could suggest that he really is guilty, but the low-key nature of the "reveal" scene has left us suspicious that there's much more to come. Wouldn't the real revelation of who killed Hamish be far more dramatic than what we've seen so far? If so, who really did it and will they ever come forward?
8. Where is Luke? (EastEnders)
Fi Browning made a low-key exit from Walford after trying to right her family's wrongs, James Willmott-Brown is on his deathbed, while Josh Hemmings is still loyally supporting Lauren Branning at the hospital. But there's still one loose end left over from the hastily-concluded Weyland & Co saga – sinister Luke Browning.
After developing a nasty habit of trying to strangle people and terrorising poor Ben, Luke left our screens on December 5 when Aidan Maguire recruited some thugs to deal with him, as a favour to Phil.
Luke's fate has been left unknown ever since, as he mysteriously stopped contacting his family and he hasn't been back to bother the Mitchells again. Was he killed off, or just scared away? We're starting to wonder if we'll ever find out...
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Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest EastEnders gossip, as Mel Owen's return shocks Ian, while Tiffany is also back to cause trouble.
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