Pick of the Plots: Thursday, April 24th

Today’s storylines from the UK and Australian soaps…

Teddy, Harry and Barney pull out all the stops for Nicola’s birthday, but it’s clear she’s distracted. Nicola summons Ravi to Walford East and offers him £10k for a job. At the Arches, Nicola lies to Harry and manages to secure a customer’s van for the job.

Meanwhile, Nigel is overwhelmed by Phil’s overzealous, caring approach. Phil tells Kathy that Nigel is no longer capable of working at the café.

Elsewhere, Kojo excitedly prepares for his first day at the Arches and he later secures a permanent job alongside an invite to Nicola’s birthday party. Barney frets as Avani accepts his invite to the party.

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

Charity and Jacob prepare for the race. Cain arrives and reveals that he’s there to support Kammy – much to Charity’s dismay. Cain and Charity place a bet and the race begins.

Kammy is jubilant after winning the race, but his joy is short lived when he clocks Sarah’s anger.

Meanwhile, Vinny has a sudden outburst, telling Gabby he doesn’t want to be a dad and leaving her perplexed. Will she get to the bottom of what is really going on?

Elsewhere, Dawn is devastated.

Emmerdale, ITV1, tonight at 7.30pm or watch on ITVX now

John updates Leah on his phone call with Irene. He urges her to join him on another trip to the rehab clinic in the morning. When they arrive, Irene’s not exactly thrilled to see them again so soon. She tries to brush them off, but John’s stubborn – he’s determined to find out what’s really stopping her from coming home for the wedding.

He joins her painting workshop, determined to get an answer, and she admits that being back in Summer Bay would cause a lot of painful memories to resurface, perhaps painful enough to make her have a drink. John reminds Irene that she’s strong, even if she doesn’t feel it, and if she did come home, all her friends would be supporting her. Finally, Irene and John emerge with her suitcases. But is Irene really ready to face life back in the Bay?

Dana confesses to Kirby she’s struggling with writer’s block and hasn’t been able to find the words to write her maid of honour speech. The dilemma is waylaid though when Rose pops to share her big news – she’s moving to the city to become a detective. Rose’s friends are beyond thrilled for her big career move, even if they will miss her dearly.

Abigail reluctantly allows Mali to meet up with Rose and accepts the invitation to come along. She watches on as Mali celebrates Rose’s big news, eyes narrowing as they share a friendly touch. Struggling with their closeness, she abruptly bails on dinner, unable to temper her jealousy. Kirby kindly mentions to Mali that Abigail might be feeling insecure, but Mali shuts this down under his no gossip at work policy. Kirby snaps back though – she doesn’t get paid enough to get caught between him and his girlfriend.

Abigail arrives to work the next morning in a bad mood, and Mali’s a bit clueless as to what he’s done wrong. It doesn’t take too much thought to figure out though – of course it’s about last night with Rose. Abigail was testing him, and he certainly didn’t pass. Mali’s not a fan of being tested, and the couple are far from seeing eye to eye. Mali explains to Rose that there’s a bit of jealousy happening, and she takes matters into her own hands, paying Abigail a visit.

The women have an honest discussion about their situation and clear things up, but perhaps things become a little too clear, as Rose hints at a detrimental flaw of Mali’s. Or as she calls him, ‘Half Truth Hudson’. Having received a clear warning from his ex, can Abigail really trust her partner?

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.

Terese gently turns down Paul’s proposal. Though Paul insists it wasn’t driven by anything to do with Chelsea, Terese stands firm—he’s proposing for the wrong reasons. Marriage shouldn’t be used to patch over conflict. Later, Chelsea spots Paul with the unopened ring box, clearly disheartened, and quietly suspects that maybe there’s still a chance for them. Alone, she nostalgically looks through old photos of herself, Paul, and Thomas, allowing herself to dream of a future with Paul once more.

When Terese vents to Remi about the proposal, Remi listens with empathy but gently suggests that, in his own way, Paul may have been trying to offer her the ultimate reassurance. This makes Terese reflect, and she later reassures Paul: while she may never fully trust Chelsea, she would still be proud to be his wife again—when the time is truly right. The couple share a tender moment of reconnection.

Meanwhile, Remi and Cara are stunned to hear about Chelsea and Darcy’s breakup—until they learn the truth about Darcy’s secret deal with Terese. Later, Cara excitedly tells Nicolette about her plans to apply for the police academy, much to Remi’s quiet unease. As Cara fills out the application, she grows concerned that disclosing her hysterectomy on the medical form could jeopardize her chances. Nicolette and Chelsea suggest she omit it, but Remi strongly argues that honesty is the better path.

Cara ultimately decides to leave it off the form—but later, behind her back, Remi adds the information. Cara sends off the application, unaware. Aaron offers to help her prepare for the physical training. But later, when Cara reviews the submitted form and sees her medical history included, she’s blindsided. Furious, she realises Remi went behind her back, and the betrayal cuts deep.

Elsewhere, Wendy tries to dodge questions from Andrew and Sadie about how her first day teaching went. When pressed, she reluctantly confesses she was pranked—and is now infamously known as “Windy Fartwell.” Nicolette jokingly suggests a job at Harold’s, but the moment lands with unexpected weight. Wendy begins to question if she’s truly cut out for teaching after all.

Amazon Prime, from 7.30am

When Sam’s stag do plans prove underwhelming, Drew is tasked with livening them up. Stung that he’s been sidelined, Best Man Seb’s deflated when he’s given the role of asking Catilin questions for the ‘Mr & Mrs’ Quiz.

Seb’s attempts to do the right thing backfire leading to further hostility between him and Caitlin. He tries to right his wrongs but as the pair relax together, the sexual tension grows and they give into temptation only to have their affair uncovered – with tragic consequences.

Elsewhere, Alex finalises the plans with Lydia and Amber about how best to bait Lenny into a public outburst. Unaware Lenny is secretly watching on, Alex tasks himself with pushing his father to the brink.

Later, outside Amber Cabs, Alex confronts his father about taking legal action to gain his stake in the company. However, to his surprise, Lenny doesn’t rise to the bait leaving Alex confused and frustrated that his plan hasn’t succeeded.

When the cost of raising a baby hits home, Conor frets about how he’s going to pay his way. Determined to do right by Chloe and their baby, Conor considers his options with Tommy and Eddie offering opposing advice.

River City tonight at 7pm on BBC One Scotland and across the UK on the iPlayer. This episode was first shown yesterday on the BBC Scotland channel