Pick of the Plots: Monday 24th March

Today’s storylines from the UK and Australian soaps….

From this week Home and Away, River City and Neighbours join EastEnders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street in ‘Pick of the Plots’…

Lily is struggling to cope with her grief, so Avani suggests that she, Lily, and Amy skip school for a fun day out. They get caught by Priya, but Avani cleverly convinces her to let it go, explaining that she’s trying to cheer Lily up.

The girls are enjoying themselves until they run into Marvin, the boy who sold Avani vapes last year, and he offers them drugs. Avani declines, but soon after, the police arrive and notice the girls are skipping school. They also find a bag of pills that Marvin accidentally dropped near Avani. The girls are taken to the police station, where Jack and Jean come to pick up Amy and Lily.

However, Priya and Ravi don’t answer their phones regarding Avani, and she is horrified when the officers inform her that they need to conduct a strip search, suspecting she might be hiding more drugs.

Meanwhile, Phil is at home, feeling thankful for the support from his family and Nigel, but he’s not ready for anyone else to find out about his stay in a psychiatric hospital. Later, in the café, Nigel makes some mistakes, and Phil blurts out to frustrated Bernie that Nigel is ill. Angry, Nigel snaps back.

Elsewhere, Linda gets a welcome call from the insurance company that they will get the pay out to rebuild The Vic, but her excitement soon disappears when heavy-handed Elaine takes over. As Linda complains to Denise, Kim suggests she should focus on something else and get back into dating, but Linda brushes off the idea and instead shifts her attention to matchmaking Johnny with Felix.

EastEnders, BBC One, tonight at 7.30pm or watch on BBC iPlayer now

Kirby is brainstorming ways that she can publicly call out Contact Agency for their use of the doctored photos of her. With her friends’ support, she decides to stage a protest at the agency’s temporary office in Yabbie Creek and that night, she holds a strategy meeting at the Diner. The next day they meet to protest, and while the turnout is initially small, once they begin a live-streem to social media, people begin to rally. Before too long, it’s a fully-fledged demonstration and they march through the streets, crying out against the lies perpetuated by the agency.

Eden and Cash are all over each other. Their connection is palpable, but with his impending court case and fears for her safety fresh in his mind, he pushes her away. Gary walks in on them, and after Eden leaves, Cash tells him that the kiss was a mere lapse in judgement… it won’t happen again.

Meanwhile, Eden visits Tim in hospital and he thanks her for sticking by his bedside. This small moment of reprieve is broken as Rose arrives at the Hospital to urgently question him about his account of the night that he was rendered unconscious. He recalls that Nerida attacked them that night, and he thanks Bree for saving him the day of the accident – his memory is intact. Rose rushes to Cash and Gary to tell them the news. Finally, things are turning around for them, but Cash seems reluctant to celebrate.

While Nerida is on the loose, Eden is still in danger. Eden goes to visit Cash with questions – with this newfound evidence proving his innocence, where does this leave them?

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

Krista arrives home, determined to make things right with Leo. But she’s knocked for six to learn Chelsea’s back with a baby. The two come face to face, with Krista making it clear that Chelsea’s a monster and needs to stay out of her way. As Krista and Leo navigate their relationship issues, news reaches them that the body of someone they know has been found floating in the lake. Leo is highly troubled and also has a scratch on his knuckles… leaving us to wonder if he played a part in the death…

After a call with her sister Carmel, Susan is more inclined to believe Darcy’s intentions are good, softening towards her nephew, but Karl remains wary. After the Kennedys organise to meet with Darcy for lunch, they overhear him on the phone insinuating there’s another reason for why he’s come to Erinsborough.

Darcy explains he wants to open an integrated health clinic and is looking for investors. At home, Karl’s addiction gets out of hand as he rummages around looking for more pills. Upon finding some, Darcy springs him and calls him out: Karl should know better than to be taking that many painkillers. What will Darcy do now that he knows Karl has a problem?

Amazon Prime, from 7.30am

An emotional Gillian tells Maggie that Sonny checked himself out of hospital after receiving bad news – he has liver failure. Maggie’s words of support fall flat with Sonny claiming it’s too late for him – he might as well drink because his life is over.

Maggie berates his bad attitude and reveals some harsh home truths about what will happen to him if he drinks again. However, Sonny doesn’t want to hear it and reacts angrily.

Taking matters into her own hands, Maggie rushes to the Tall Ship to tell Caitlin not to sell booze to Sonny. Concerned her mother is too involved, Caitlin urges Maggie to focus on her own sobriety and stay away from Sonny.

Elsewhere, Amber feels worse for wear after a night out with Angus. Later, a chance encounter makes Amber question whether she’s got a hangover or if there’s something else going on. Back at the flat, Amber tells a stunned Angus she thinks she might be pregnant but fears it’s too much, too soon for the new couple.

Mikey is unnerved when Jonathon’s memory is sparked, recalling a violent incident from their past. Horrified by this, Jonathon asks Mikey to open up about what really happened between them. Worried about what will happen if he’s honest, Mikey holds on to Jonathon’s promise that they can start making good memories together and put the past behind them.

River City tonight at 10pm on BBC Scotland and across the UK on the iPlayer

Grace is shocked to see Freddie back in the village. He informs his wife that he intends to sell his share of the garage and leave for good. Grace suggests he signs it over to her and she will deal with Robbie.

Meanwhile, Myra visits Mercedes in prison who tells her mum that her chemotherapy is working. Back in the village, Maxine updates Freddie on Mercedes’ health, but with the McQueen now planning to retract her plea, they’ll need his assistance to get her free.

Wanting her hands on the garage, Grace is happy to see Freddie at the door, but things take a shocking turn when she realises he’s armed.

Elsewhere, Sienna surprises Cleo by booking flights to join her in Bali much to Peri’s annoyance. Martha asks Sienna to call things off with Cleo, anxious that she might reveal family secrets.

Marie breaks the news to Peri that Abe’s body has been released to the morgue. Tony offers the grieving mum support and with their relationship going from strength to strength, Tony surprises Marie by suggesting they get engaged.

Tragedy strikes when Sienna’s collapses and is unable to get back up. Lucas is worried about Dillon but Rex manages to deter him.

Hollyoaks available to stream from 7am on Channel 4 streaming or watch live on E4 at 7pm