Pick of the Plots: Thursday, 19th June

A look at the latest storylines from the UK and Australian soaps….

Kat tries to talk to Alfie about her fears for Tommy, but things go from bad to worse for Kat when Alfie tells her that he needs to go to visit Spencer in Australia as he’s in turmoil. Tommy tries to avoid Joel but is shaken when Vicki collars him and warns him that she will implicate him in what happened to Isla if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut.

Elaine wakes up with a vicious hangover and refuses to engage with Linda, who is still reeling at her decision to book Priya on the cruise.

Later at The Vic, Phil realises just how much Linda is struggling to cope with the pressure. Later, Phil chastises Elaine for treating Linda so carelessly but when Elaine tries to talk to Linda, she continues to downplay her true feelings of overwhelm.

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

Sarah’s secret is out. Over at the hospital, Sarah undergoes her procedure and gets reassuring news from Dr Knapp — a good number of eggs have been retrieved and look viable. But the celebration is short-lived.

Charity answers a call on Sarah’s phone… and what she hears leaves her shaken to the core. By the time Sarah gets home, the writing’s on the wall — Charity knows about the cancer.

Meanwhile, Mandy puts her matchmaking skills aside and focuses on something far more serious — helping Paddy face up to his mounting worries about Bear. She urges him to take action, but when Paddy finally plucks up the courage… Bear and his motorbike are nowhere to be found! What is Bear running from — and where has he gone?

And just when Aaron and John thought life couldn’t get any more complicated… BAM! In walks Robert Sugden – again – fresh from prison  – again – and casually announces he’s home to spend more time with his family. Cue dropped jaws, awkward silences, and a whole lot of trouble for John. Is Robert back for good — or will he go the same way as Nate?

Secrets are spilling, faces from the past are returning, and Bear’s done a disappearing act.

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

Caitlin’s back in town. She admits to Maggie that her time away with Seb was wonderful, but she needs to face the music. Although Sam wants nothing to do with his ex-fiancée, Maggie warns him he can’t ignore her forever.

Later, Caitlin awkwardly apologises to Sam but it falls on deaf ears and he delivers some harsh home truths – she’s a cheater and she’ll never be happy. When Seb finds out about the outburst he confronts Sam and tensions between the brothers boil over.

Seeing Mikey downbeat, Gillian suggests they go celebrate Pride together, but he worries about bumping into Jonathon. Emma and Gillian decide to bring the Pride celebrations to Shieldinch but the party mood sours with the unexpected arrival of Jonathon and a startling confession, leaving Mikey heartbroken.

With debt collectors after her, Madonna lies about her money woes to a concerned Callum. Taking drastic measures to make some quick cash, Madonna feels the pressure of her spiralling debt.

River City, BBC One Scotland, tonight at 7pm. Across the UK on the iPlayer.

Eden laments that with the River Boys trailing Cash, her impending engagement is on hold. She makes the most of Cash’s absence by planning some girl time with Kirby. Over a beer, Kirby gets an alert from her socials – the article Seb wrote lambasting Mali is getting some traction. Kirby is nervous that Mali will catch light of the article.

Remi’s priority is discretion as he brings some essentials to Sonny, still hiding out at a hotel. Unbeknownst to Remi, Sonny is currently enjoying a bottle of wine with his guest Dana, while she tells him about nursing. Even though the pay is rubbish, you get to truly understand the essence of people when you see them at their worst. She admits that when Sonny was in pain, she noticed he was still doing everything he could to help Theo.

Remi arrives, interrupting the moment. Kicked out, Dana listens by the door as Remi reminds Sonny of the intensity of danger he’s in with the River Boys. Not to mention putting Dana at risk. Dana comes back into the room after Remi leaves, and Sonny tries to kick her out, but she stands her ground and tells him that she can look after herself. Unable to deny the spark between them, Sonny and Dana share their first kiss.

Cash turns up to the hospital to reassure Theo that Lacey is under police protection and safe from the River Boys, he’s also organised police protection for Theo. Lacey finally gets a hold of Theo after their lengthy isolation and makes it clear to him that she needs to end things, for both of their own protection. Cash organises a commute for Lacey to be escorted her new safe house for further protection whilst he acts as a decoy ensuring that the River Boys don’t secure her location.

Theo blames an overprotective Leah for his breakup with Lacey. He snaps – shouting at both Leah and Justin to leave his hospital room and not return. They insist on staying, but Bree asks them kindly to leave, reiterating that Theo is well within his rights if he doesn’t want any family visits at the hospital.

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.

As the Eirini Rising residents grapple with the fallout of Darcy’s actions, Terese encourages Paul to surprise Leo and Krista overseas. Paul is reluctant to leave her with she has so much on, but Terese assures she has support in Colton, who’s eager to make a positive mark on his first day. As Vera voices her discontent, Colton soothes her concerns, bringing her around to a more forgiving point of view, impressing Terese in the process.

Aaron’s on cloud nine after an enjoyable date with Colton. But when Colton rejects Aaron’s advances to get physical not once but twice… Aaron’s left to wonder if Colton’s just not that into him.

Byron, in shock after Amanda’s death, is also worried about how Sadie’s coping with the news, while wondering if maybe the truth coming out could bring them back together. On behalf of his family, he reveals they want to put some of Amanda’s money aside for Sadie to undertake corrective surgery for her back scars. Sadie’s deeply touched by the offer. As they share stories about Amanda and start to come to a better place, Byron misreads the signals and goes in for a kiss. Sadie rejects the advance, questioning if his offer was conditional, and firmly restating they’re relationship is over.

Sadie’s unhappy to learn Andrew and Wendy are at odds again when Wendy admits she upset Andrew by contacting his biological family. Meanwhile, Holly suggests to Sadie that Andrew should look more closely into the claims of Gretchen, his apparent biological sister. When Sadie shuts the idea down, Holly does her own digging. Learning Andrew’s father isn’t the deadbeat Gretchen described, she fills Andrew in and proposes she and Andrew go to Sandy Point and see for themselves. Will Andrew go?

Amazon Prime, from 7.30am