Pick of the Plots: Thursday, 22nd May

The latest storylines from the UK and Australian soaps….

Stacey steps out of the house for the first time in weeks and returns with plans for a family meal. Kat is worried that she is doing too much too soon.

Stacey realises that her coat and mobile phone have accidentally fallen into the laundry bag and Freddie has taken it to be washed. Stacey explains that the mobile contains voicemails, photos and texts from Martin and they will be lost forever if the phone is damaged. As she races off to rescue the phone, Alfie is shaken when Arthur tells him a secret.

At the laundrette, Kat and Lily try to calm Stacey, fearing she’s experiencing a bipolar episode.

An incident between Stacey and Lily leaves their relationship at breaking point.

Meanwhile, Lauren opens up to Stacey. She and Peter share an emotional moment as Lauren tries to convince him that things are going to be alright.

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

John vows to fix things.

Meanwhile, Belle vows to get to the bottom of Nate’s disappearance.

Elsewhere, Sarah attempts to talk to Cain and Charity, but with both busy, she calls her mum Debbie. Sarah is sideswiped by her mum’s revelation.

Also, Ross acquires a few cannabis plants from Lewis for medicinal use. Mack is suspicious over Ross lurking at the farm and sees the cannabis plants. Sworn to secrecy over Ross’s illicit plan, Mack sees a solution to covering the farm’s fines.

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

Lacey and Gage stop by the garage and check out Theo’s wheels. After some negotiation and Lacey’s input, Gage finally gives in and allows Theo to race his car. From the garage, they make their way toward the beach, crossing with Cash out the front of Salt. Cash reminds them that they’re banned from the establishment, and warning he could ban them from the beach too. Not shy of authority, the couple saunter off.

John barges in on Cash and Eden, interrupting their alone time on the hunt for a wedding chat with Tane. John reminds Cash he’s got a speech to write, but Cash struggles to find the words, and is soon drowning in scrunched up failed-attempts. Justin notifies Cash of the River Boy hanging around looking for Theo, and something about it’s not sitting right. Cash wanders over to the garage to see if he can get more information out of Theo himself. Theo attempts to be dismissive, but Cash knows something’s up.

While Cash is out looking for Theo, Eden takes a peek at his speech attempts. There’s really not much to work with. While Cash is snooping around, placing a tracker on the River Boys’ car, Eden has managed to write up an entire speech. When Cash reads it, he admits it’s beautiful. It’s just not true. Cash simply can’t get past the fact that the groom’s not even a little bit in love.

At work, Irene takes the workload as Leah struggles over Theo’s River Boy involvement. Irene rushes out to meet John standing in the dining area. She wraps him in a warm embrace and apologises for chasing him out of town. John understands and they’re friendship is as strong as ever. But when John finds out Irene’s still not going to Harper’s wedding, he feels he must intervene, making a bunch of promises to get Irene to change her mind. But will it be enough?

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.

Paul’s been waiting for the right moment to ask Terese about her reluctance to give Darcy a long-term lease on Number Twenty-Two. He’s hoping her reasoning is to provide back-up accommodation for Nell, but when Terese truthfully reveals she’s feeling so insecure in her relationship with Paul that she wanted to keep her property as her own personal bolt hole, Paul feels hurt. Terese apologises for upsetting him and is fully aware she needs to work on her insecurities that have stemmed from Chelsea and Thomas becoming a constant presence in their lives, so when the opportunity arises for Paul to look after Thomas overnight without Chelsea around, everyone agrees it’s a good opportunity for Terese and Thomas to bond.

When Dex spies Taye with several unfamiliar women, as well as seeing money exchanging hands, he correctly assumes it’s got something to do with Taye’s side hustle, but what exactly is it

Relieved that Dex’s innocent mind hasn’t leapt to the obvious conclusion, Taye claims he’s a personal shopper, helping women to revamp their wardrobes. But Taye’s lie backfires when Dex presents him with a new client, Vera Punt, who’s keen to hit the shopping mall and purchase some sexy attire.

Chelsea makes good on her promise to leave Thomas with Paul overnight, secretly hoping this will cause more friction between Paul and Terese. Chelsea also attempts to make Paul jealous by claiming she has a date for the evening and deliberately dresses in a provocative manner when she drops Thomas off at the Penthouse. In truth, Chelsea has a meeting with Jeffrey (the real father of Thomas) who’s keen to collect his blackmail money. Getting wind of their meetting, Paul is confused and angry. He also makes it clear that he doesn’t want Thomas to have anything to do with a conniving man like Jeffrey. Pot and Kettle Paul!

Amazon Prime, from 7.30am