Eastenders >> Bianca realises that Pat is right when she told her to fight for Ricky and she heads off to find him. Bianca has an unfortunate encounter with a vat of rancid oil outside the chip shop and by the time she reaches Ricky it’s too late…

Hollyoaks >> Kris brings in a carrier bag that’s been left outside containing Archie’s T-shirt an address to deliver the money. Zak enters the building, where he sees Archie tied up. But things take a turn for the worse when Elliot and Archie are left wondering if Zak is dead or alive…
Neville plans to give Josh’s car away as a prize; the winner will be the person that maintains contact with the car the longest. But India has gobbled down a pizza that Hayley’s laced with laxatives!
Emmerdale >> Michael tells Debbie she’s the one that he wants but she’s not going to believe him until he calls off his wedding. If he gets married she wants nothing more to do with him. Who will Michael choose?

Leyla, meanwhile, is used to earning her money the honest way. But she’s due to attend a council function with David and is desperate to dress up for the occasion. Leyla’s seen a pair of shoes she likes but she can’t afford them. Just how far will she go to be able to walk off with them?

Second episode, 8pm

Michael tells Debbie he wants her but can’t walk out on his fiancée because she has a young son who looks upon him as a father. That stops Debbie in her tracks and she walks away. At home she tells a stunned Cain everything and he tells her she’s done the right thing. Then Michael turns up and says he’s chosen her! Will he let Debbie down?

The BBC show won best soap storyline, for the episodes where character Danielle Jones revealed she was Ronnie Mitchell’s long-lost daughter.

Lauren Crace, who played Danielle, also took home the acting award for best soap newcomer.

Coronation Street stars Simon Gregson and Katherine Kelly were awarded the best soap actor and actress prizes.

The EastEnders storyline upset some Albert Square fans in April, when Danielle was killed in a road accident just after telling Ronnie – played by Samantha Womack – she was her daughter.

The hour-long episode was a ratings hit, and the BBC defended the twist, saying the show contained all the elements of high drama associated with a great soap episode.

Sam, who was last seen fleeing Walford in 2005 following Den Watts’ murder, makes her return with Ricky, who Phil had sent out to Rio to give her some money.

Sam’s mum Peggy is delighted to see her but Phil is furious, as she is still wanted by the police in connection with the murder, and he orders her to stay out of sight.

However, before long Sam is downstairs in the pub dancing on the table and, by the end of the week, her and Ricky have a shock announcement that will devastate Bianca.

And if you’re thinking that Sam looks a bit different to the last time you saw her, that’s because original actress Danniella Westbrook is back playing the role for the first time in almost ten years. Kim Medcalf took in 2002 and played Sam until her exit from the soap in 2005. Certainly not the first time a soap has switched the actor playing one of the roles!

Also this week, Chelsea has a windfall and Lucas is wanted for questioning.

The budget slashing by cash-strapped BBC bosses has led to anger from some of the cast who will see their pay packets fall by 15%.

Major earners on the soap including Barbara Windsor and Steve McFadden will lose about £54,000 a year from their £360,000 salaries. Pam St Clement, who plays Pat, earns £330,000 and will be stopped £49,500, while Adam (Ian Beale) will get £263,500 instead of £310,000.

The stars are paid their full salaries if they appear in each of the four shows a week, which means they will either have to accept less money when their current deals end or appear in fewer episodes.

Bosses have been slashing pay across all stations to save cash but the latest cuts led to anger among some of the cast.

A show insider said: “Everybody realises there is a recession on and everybody has to do their bit. But some of the stars feel like they are being bullied into taking a pay cut, according to The Mirror.

“The licence fee has stayed the same and the same money is coming in.
“Yet the people who bring in the viewers are being told they have to take a cut. It is not fair and a lot of people are unhappy.

Everyone who comes in can’t work on other shows so they can’t cut their hours and pick up work elsewhere.” But a BBC source said: “Most of the cast understand the reason behind the cuts and just appreciate having work in these difficult times when so many people are struggling financially.”

Director general Mark Thompson told some of the broadcaster’s top presenters in June that those earning more than £100,000 a year face a drop of 25%. Some big earners could see cuts of 40% when contracts are renewed.

This week, Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies revealed he had taken 25% less pay to star in a oneoff episode. The Albert Square insider added that the cuts for the show’s stars could have been much worse if not for savings made in other areas of the budget.

He said: “The show, like other parts of the BBC, has been affected by the downturn, economies had to be made. Costs have been cut in other areas so we do not have to economise that far.”

A bbc spokeswoman said: “EastEnders, along with other BBC programmes, has to reduce its budget over the next few years. Talent salaries are not excluded when looking to make these savings.”

EastEnders also faces increased costs as it moves towards filming in High Definition. The old film set, built in 1985, is showing signs of wear and tear and producers fear viewers will see how worn it is in pin-sharp pictures.

Lucas arrives at his church meeting and while answering people’s questions, Trina turns up at the door. She starts shouting her mouth off and he immediately throws her out, hurling money at her so she can buy her next fix. Later, Lucas tells Denise that he really wants to be with her. With Denise out, Trina hammers on the front door and Lucas is coaxed into letting her in. She claims that she’s there to see Jordan but Lucas says that he’s not there. Instead, she

asks for a shower and he reluctantly lets her. Afterwards, she walks into the living room in just a towel to ask for some deodorant. As he gets up out of his chair, Trina drops the towel and they fall into a passionate embrace…

Meanwhile, Tamwar and Syed tease Masood about the pregnancy and Zainab wanders in drinking water. Tamwar questions why she’s not fasting, to which she replies that she doesn’t have to as she’s pregnant. Zainab vents her frustration at Masood for telling the kids about the pregnancy the way he did. Feeling betrayed, she walks out. Syed attempts to talk his mother around, but Zainab feels suffocated and reacts angrily. Having alienated most of her family, they talk about her in the living room, unaware that she’s listening at the door. She suddenly bolts upstairs.

Later, Tamwar finds his mother running down the stairs with packed bags. Tearful, she pushes by her son and leaves, saying: “Tell your father I’m sorry.” On discovering Zainab’s disappearance, Masood’s furious at Tamwar for allowing her to leave. Zainab eventually calls Masood to allay his fears and insists that she needs time. With that, she hangs up and it becomes clear that she’s staying with Amira.

Elsewhere, Bianca bunks off work for the day, while the children continue asking after Ricky; Mo’s not impressed in the slightest by Orlenda’s Russian pancakes; Bianca and the kids visit Dot and Jim; Mo questions Charlie about Orlenda and Charlie reveals that when he got to Madeira, he and Brenda ended things and he met Orlenda on his way back; Tiffany persists in her request to arrange a homecoming party for Ricky; Tiffany makes a collage for Ricky’s return; Bianca agrees to the party; and under interrogation, Orlenda admits to Mo that she doesn’t have a passport…

Kris Green DSpy.

EastEnders star Samantha Janus has been left devastated after her father reportedly hanged himself.

The distraught Samantha was pictured in floods of tears outside Noel Janus’s one-bedroom council flat in Brighton yesterday.

The 36-year-old was accompanied by her husband, actor Mark Womack, who said: ‘She asks to be left alone to grieve with her family.’

Mr Janus, 60, was the brother of George Best’s ex-wife Angie and was believed to have been suffering from depression.

Neighbour John Austin, 63, said: ‘As far as we knew he hanged himself.

‘He was a nice chap and I got on with him. I saw him coming back with his dog on Friday evening.

He seemed quite bright even though he had heart trouble.’

Samantha, who plays barmaid Ronnie in EastEnders is believed to have had a strained relationship with her father.

The former songwriter, who had worked with bands including Fleetwood Mac, left his wife and Samantha when she was just six years old.

He attended her wedding earlier this year, but was said to be upset when he was not included in any of the photographs from the event.

He described the snub as ‘a dagger to the heart.

Heartbreak: Samantha Janus has been left devastated by her father’s suspected suicide

‘The whole of Sam’s side of the family, including myself and her mother, have been completely left out of all the photos.

‘They show only Mark’s side of the family. It’s like we weren’t there – we don’t exist.’

His daughter also refused to allow him to walk her down the aisle or make a speech on her big day.

Mr Janus had told neighbours he was suffering from heart trouble.

Mark Berridge, 49, said: ‘He told me he was going to the hospital to get results on his heart.

The actress married long-term love Mark Womack earlier this year

Mr Janus was the brother of Angie Best, George Best’s ex-wife

‘When he got back I asked him how he got on and he said he was fine.

‘For all we know he might have known his illness was going to kill him and decided to take the easiest way out.’

Mr Janus lived in a flat at Mimosa Court, Burstead Close, Brighton.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: ‘We were called by an ambulance crew at about 1.30pm on Saturday.

‘The death is not being treated as suspicious. An inquest will be held in due course.’

Relations between Samantha and her father had reportedly been so bad they had not spoken for 20 years.

Their relationship was rekindled in 1996 when Mr Janus sent her a surprise parcel to  London’s Dominion Theatre where she was performing in Grease.

Samantha said at the time: ‘The only way I can cope with it is to block it out. It was very traumatic.

‘You have a fantasy figure in your mind and that’s suddenly shattered by this real person – an ageing adult with problems and insecurities. I was reluctant to give up the romantic image of him, but life’s too short and I guess it’s what you have to do.’

The tricky reunion wasn’t made any easier by suggestions that Mr Janus only got back in touch because his estranged daughter was now a star, but she dismissed the idea.

In one interview she fondly recalled: ‘I remember sitting on my father’s knee with him playing the acoustic guitar.’

Samantha and her husband Mark, who have been together for ten years are parents to Ben, eight, and three-year-old daughter Lily-Rose.

The couple met when they worked together on the police drama series Liverpool 1.

Samantha was accused of wrecking Mark’s marriage after he walked out on wife Therese to be with the star.

The affair also led to the end of the actress’s marriage to British Airways steward Junfan Mantovani.> D Mail.

Zainab takes Tamwar to school to pick up his A-Level results and they bump into Denise and Libby. The Masoods take Tamwar to Fargo’s and they celebrate with Libby and her family. Zainab is sad the last of her children is leaving home.

Bianca convinces Ricky to ask Dr Al to meet her at Argee Bargee for a date. Al isn’t interested and Ricky sheepishly finds Bianca at the restaurant and reveals that Al isn’t coming. Bianca is furious.

Dot is evasive when Liz asks her about the mystery gift that she binned. Dot is delighted when she learns that Jim is ready to come home. At closing time in the launderette Dot takes some handcuffs from lost property and cuffs herself to a shelf. What is she up to?

Ricky searches for the mystery smudged name on his speed-dating card. The surname starts with an ‘M’ and Ricky panics that it may be Peggy or Ronnie. But he realises that it’s Roxy and arranges a date!

Brenda confesses to Charlie she’s moving to Madeira with her brother’s family, but she didn’t have the heart to tell him. Brenda leaves, but Charlie tries to stop her bus by jumping out in the road and is knocked to the ground…

“I’ve been asked to go on EastEnders since I was 17,” the 43-year-old told OK! magazine.

“First I was asked to be Sharon’s sister, then I was asked to be Peggy’s daughter, then I was going to be Nick Cotton’s gangster moll wife. I quite fancied that last one. I’ll definitely do it one day when the time’s right.”

The former glamour model also said she wants hard-rocking Motorhead frontman Lemmy to give her away, when she ties the knot with her partner and manager Myra Stratton.

The couple are planning an unusual ceremony – possibly in Siberia – and Fox said she would like Boney M singer Liz Mitchell, who is a pastor, to conduct the service.

The model-turned-singer also defended Katie Price, who has been pictured cavorting in Ibiza in the wake of her split from husband Peter Andre.

“Give her a break! Katie is a strong woman. She wanted to show the world she was getting on with her life,” she said.