Soap Weekly: Lenny’s erratic behaviour is cause for concern in River City

Soap highlights for the coming week from River City, Neighbours and Home and Away…

This week in Shieldinch… After his ultimatum backfired, Sam finds little sympathy from Maggie who urges him to speak to Conor and make things right. Although surprised to hear Chloe’s going back to Hong Kong, Conor tells Sam he doubts he’s got what it takes to be a dad. Surprised, Sam listens intently as Conor shares his family’s complex past and reveals he’s worried history will repeat itself and he’ll fail at fatherhood. Sam urges Conor to see sense and not live with regret.

Elsewhere, Lenny’s erratic behaviour is cause for concern. Lydia meets with Alex, telling him she’s worried Lenny’s insomnia has worsened and so too has his paranoia that Harry is after him. Alex vows to do some digging and chats to Tyler to subtly suss out what’s going on within the Foulkes family. However, when Lenny finds out, he’s furious at his son, convinced he’s made things worse.

Amber and Angus desperately try to find some privacy. After persuading Bob to leave the flat for the day, Angus and Amber’s alone time is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Sonny. The couple take pity on Sonny when he admits it’s his birthday and he’ll be spending it alone, inviting him to stay for lunch. With one interruption after another, Amber tells Angus there’s an obvious solution to their problem – they should move in together.

After being summoned by his dad, Tyler is on edge as Harry makes it clear his son needs to get back to work. Although Tyler’s in no fit state, he doesn’t want to appear weak. However, returning to the Jailbirds proves traumatic for Tyler. He finds solace in Maggie who is there cleaning and urges him not to push himself too hard. Later, Maggie confides in Eddie who finally gets Tyler to open up. Sensing Tyler’s apprehension about being back in the criminal fold, Eddie promises he’ll stay by his side. However, when Tyler’s first drugs exchange goes wrong, he’s gripped by a panic attack.

Elsewhere, keen to get hitched sooner rather than later, Sam suggests bringing the wedding forward. Touched by his enthusiasm, Caitlin happily agrees but is quickly overwhelmed by his plans.
Later, Sam is stung when he overhears Caitlin making fun of his wedding ideas to Karen.

A regretful Caitlin enlists the help of Karen and Drew to make Sam’s wedding dreams come true.

Mikey’s first day back at work doesn’t go well as he fails to juggle work and his homelife. Gillian pulls Mikey in for a chat who confesses he feels overwhelmed. Concerned about her friend, Gillian suggests a period of phased return to work.

River City Monday and Wednesday at 10pm on BBC Scotland, Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm on BBC One Scotland and across the UK on the iPlayer

This week in Erinsbrough… Though Terese is impressed by Roxy’s productivity at Eirini, Roxy knows she still needs to show she’s a better operations manager than Susan. Helping this situation along, Roxy sabotages a toilet paper order Susan arranged before leaving, as well as sabotaging an entertainment Susan organised, swapping out a magician for a “puppetry of the penis” type act. While Vera is much titillated, Terese is shocked and worried how this could have happened. Afterwards, Roxy implies Terese might not know Susan as well as she thinks, just as the pair clock endless boxes of toilet paper on Eirini’s doorstep.

Roxy swiftly deals with the mishap, impressing Terese again, who justifies Karl’s accident must have thrown Susan off her game. Roxy “reluctantly” points out that these tasks were organised prior to the accident, ensuring that Terese is given another reason to doubt Susan. Jane is devastated over the discovery of Clint’s admission, despite her loved ones’ kindness and support.  It’s not the news she needed going into her meeting with Department who already consider the fact of her seeing Clint inappropriate. During the meeting, she struggles to explain herself, but luckily Byron’s old lawyer skills shine through as he draws on previous case law and department policy to defend Jane and argue that her mistakes do not at all reach the level necessary for a dismissal.

Jane is let off with a warning and Jane and Byron are relieved. Afterwards, Lana pulls Byron aside, impressed, and requests to have another chat sometime. Celebrations for the outcome are in full swing, but when Aaron pulls Jane aside, it’s clear she’s still heartbroken. Clint was supposed to be her fresh start.

Caught out, Cara decides she’s unable to lie any longer. She fills Remi in on the recent Chelsea search and why she kept it secret – initially Chelsea’s pregnancy was just too painful to talk about, coming so soon after her own hysterectomy – and then later when Nicolette found out, the lies just got away from her. Remi is incredibly hurt by the secrecy, especially as this isn’t the first time Cara has kept something huge from her… But the next day Nicolette goes to bat for Cara, reminding Remi that Nic is the one with a track record of turning situations toxic, not Cara.

Krista is apprehensive over asking Fallon to be her bridesmaid, worried about causing upset after Fallon’s own wedding disaster. Sensitive to the situation, Leo suggests they do away with typical wedding party roles and Krista is grateful for his sacrifice. Meanwhile, when Holly assumes that Fallon will be Krista’s bridesmaid, she lets slip that Aaron is going to be Leo’s best man…

Back from her whirlwind trip to Darwin, Roxy’s good hit of family time has reminded her how much she loves being busy. Roxy is quietly keen to channel that energy into her role at Eirini Rising, but fears she may be robbed of the chance as she learns that Susan and Karl are heading home imminently.

Holly is worried about Max’s lack of contact, but Andrew doesn’t have enough proof to investigate. Holly approaches Roxy, Max’s cousin, hoping she will share her concern. The women put aside their personal differences and begin an investigation – and looking at Max’s recent texts, they realise there’s several ways they’re not his usual style. They realise if he hasn’t authored these recent texts, he’s most likely in serious danger.

Holly approaches Andrew with the new information, but, again, Andrew can’t help without more evidence a crime has been committed. Frustrated, Holly asserts she’s going to have to call in the big guns: Max’s father, Shane Ramsay. Later, Roxy runs into an acquaintance from up north, having no idea he’s connected to Sadie’s kidnapping – and also Max.

Amazon Prime, Monday to Thursday from 7.30am

This week in Summer Bay… The grand opening of the new Bait Shop is tomorrow, and everyone is pitching in to help Alf. Roo can’t resist a lighthearted prank and tells her dad that council has pushed back the opening by another week. Roo rallies a reluctant Marilyn, who doesn’t want to lie to Alf, but is strong armed by Roo and reluctantly agrees. She plays her part perfectly, and Alf is so incensed that he rushes to investigate the build, where he’s surprised to see that the new Bait Shop is ready and open for business. Alf is nostalgic as he looks through old photos, and he confides in Marilyn and Roo – he couldn’t be happier that the community has banded together to help him out.

Cash meets Nerida and lies that he has evidence from CCTV cameras proving her guilt. He finally has her in a corner, and with this false evidence, Cash makes her promise to stay away from Eden and Tim, and in exchange, he will plead guilty. Nerida accepts the deal, and it seems Cash has sabotaged the case for his acquittal to keep Eden safe.

Gary turns up at the Bay, as John planned, and when Cash arrives home, his foster father is there waiting for him. Cash insists he’s okay, but Gary puts him in his place – he promised he’d reach out if he was ever in trouble, and he’s very clearly in trouble. Gary questions Cash – Why aren’t you standing up for yourself? But Cash has clearly given up. When Gary realises that Cash has been running his own investigation though, he’s suspicious. He goes to Eden, searching for more answers, but it’s Abigail who delivers them. She explains the situation to Gary, and he now knows that Cash has tried to cover up the truth. He visits a dejected Rose, and together they plan to clear Cash’s name. Whether he likes it or not.

Shocked by what he’s just witnessed, Levi grills Abigail on her secrecy over Mali – it’s too soon for her to be in a romantic relationship. She doesn’t appreciate his heavy-handed approach though, and soon she’s walking away from her concerned older brother. Levi goes to Mackenzie to offload, but off her reaction, he gleans that she already knew. She urges him not to micromanage Abigail’s relationship, but when he runs into Mali at the Surf Club, it’s obvious that he knows. Mali reassures Levi that they’re being careful, but Levi confirms Mali’s own worst nightmare: She’s not ready for a relationship, and they both know it. Levi asks Mali to consider what’s best for Abigail, and end things with her.

Alf takes Roo and Marilyn for a meal to thank them for their support over the new Bait Shop, and Marilyn raises a toast – to many years of happiness to come. On site the following day, Alf is in his element, inspired by his new surrounds and feeling the support of his community. Roo is warmed to see her dad this excited, and she even gets roped into helping out! Tane comes home from the hospital relieved – Harper’s contractions have subsided, and she will be coming home soon herself. When she does, Tane insists on some alone time so that they can discuss their future with the baby arriving soon.

Meanwhile, Remi’s been out of town for a few days, and he returns to the Bay with an exciting announcement to make – he’s bought a converted warehouse in the city, and he’s put down a holding deposit so that they can all move up there, stat. The band’s individual members go through the motions, deciding if this is the best move for them. It seems to make sense for Lyrik, but Justin questions Remi’s motive – is he really doing this for the band?

Kirby continues to battle Contact Agency about using a doctored photo of her without her permission, and the Diner Ladies rally around her. This type of ethical malpractice is rife on social media, and it’s being relayed directly to the youth. They collectively brainstorm ways to move forward, and when Kirby proposes to directly confront the agency to hold them accountable, the ladies agree to help her cause.

Rose and Gary are hard at work investigating all angles of the case against Cash, and Townsend tells Gary his son’s conviction is a question of “when” rather than “if”. While Cash, still on bail, checks in at the station, Townsend pushes him to confess before the trial. Gary steps in, still unable to understand why Cash would confess to something he didn’t do. Gary and Cash have a moment alone later where he finally gets through to him. Cash confesses that he took the fall for Nerida so that she’d stay away from Eden and Tim. Gary tells Rose, and they are stumped as to how to turn Cash around when he’s intent on taking the fall for the real culprit.

Home and Away airs 1:45pm on Channel 5, Monday to Friday and at 6pm on 5STAR with first-look screenings of the following edition at 6:30 pm. The series also streams on My5.