EastEnders reveals La Voix’s Pride storyline and first image as guest role is confirmed

 The Strictly and Drag Race star is heading to Albert Square.

EastEnders has confirmed the storyline and released a first-look image as RuPaul's Drag Race UK and Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix makes a cameo appearance.

Filmed in April and airing on Thursday, 2 July, La Voix's episode will see her booked to perform in the Queen Vic as Pride hits Walford.

However, the drag star finds herself in the midst of a battle between The Vic and The Albert, as both outlets try to outdo each other on their Pride celebrations.

Will La Voix escape from Walford unscathed? Or will she suffer a slap, get called a slag or be told to get ahhhhht?

Whatever happens to her in the show itself, La Voix had a ball filming it.

"It was an absolute joy to step onto the iconic EastEnders set and become part of a programme that means so much to so many people", she said.

Walking around Albert Square for the first time was a real pinch-me moment! Filming such a special Pride episode made the experience even more meaningful.

"To celebrate love, community and being proud of who you are on a show that has always been at the heart of British culture is something I'll never forget. Everyone was so welcoming, and I can't wait for viewers to see what's in store."

"I'm delighted to welcome La Voix to Walford as we prepare to celebrate Pride, EastEnders-style", the soap's current showrunner Ben Wadey said.

"We hope the audience enjoy La Voix's special guest appearance as much as everyone at EastEnders enjoyed having her in Walford."

Elsewhere in the week, Billy Mitchell gains an ally in his battle against Bea Pollard, Max Branning and Cindy Beale celebrate their engagement, while Avani Nandra-Hart becomes suspicious of mum Priya.

Home and away Justin is caught in a trap as Summer Bay’s crime wave escalates.

 

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Justin is caught in a trap as Summer Bay’s crime wave escalates.

Yabbie Creek police have recently begun investigating a run of thefts in the area, after David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) received reports of multiple cars being targeted nearby.

Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) was keen to take the case himself, but David instead handed it to Richie (Rocco Forrester-Sach), seeing it as a learning opportunity for the new recruit.

With most of the thefts involving tradies’ tools stolen from vehicles, the case takes another turn next week when the surf club becomes the next target.

Alf (Ray Meagher) is left furious after discovering that someone has forced open the garage overnight and stolen a generator. Suspicion quickly falls onto Sonny (Ryan Bown), when it’s discovered that he has broken into the gym for a workout.

The insurance company eventually agrees to cover the cost, but John (Shane Withington) later confirms that the club will still have to pay an excess of a couple of thousand dollars.

David soon brings another update. Sonny has now been questioned, and David is confident he had nothing to do with the garage theft.

David does have one fresh lead, however. Fingerprints found at the scene match prints recovered from other recent thefts in the area, confirming that they could be dealing with a wider crime spree.

As the news spreads, Alf’s frustration continues to grow. Speaking to Mali (Kyle Shilling), he warns him to make sure his stock is secure, as there’s no knowing what the thieves could be planning next.

Mali realises that the robbery has really got to Alf, who tells him that the surf club is the heart and soul of the community.

For Alf, it’s not just about what’s been stolen—it’s the sadness of seeing the club targeted in the first place.

The next day, Alf continues warning the club staff to be extra careful with security, but there’s still no news from the police.

The situation also leaves Dana (Ally Harris) on edge. After John explains that the surf club break-in appears to be part of a wider crime wave, he urges her to stay alert.

Dana later approaches Alf in his office, worried that not enough is being done to keep people safe.

She points out that she, Lacey (Sophea Pennington) and other gym users often arrive early and alone. When Alf asks what she wants, Dana suggests personal alarms, explaining that the hospital introduced them after an attack.

Alf immediately questions the cost, whilst Dana challenges whether money matters more than safety.

When she keeps pushing, Alf snaps that she’s only a volunteer and tells her that if she doesn’t want to work there, she should leave.

Dana follows Alf outside, still insisting on a proper conversation, but he shuts her down just as Roo (Georgie Parker) arrives. Dana tells Roo that Alf owes her an apology, whilst Alf heads off to the diner.

Roo follows and pushes Alf to explain why the row has affected him so badly. Alf admits the break-ins have made it hard not to lose faith in people, but Roo reminds him that she can’t ignore a volunteer’s complaint as club secretary. Unless Alf deals with it, she’ll have to call a full committee meeting.

Alf later asks Dana to meet him at the diner, where he apologises for blowing up and not letting her finish. Dana apologises too, admitting that the break-ins have left her shaken.

Alf agrees to listen to ideas about making the surf club a safer place to work, giving Dana some reassurance that her concerns are finally being taken seriously.

Away from the surf club tensions, Justin (James Stewart) is feeling pressure of his own.

Leah (Ada Nicodemou) notices that Justin keeps checking his phone and asks what’s so interesting. Justin claims he’s just been posting on his socials to try to drum up more business, insisting that things are going well but that it can’t hurt to get the word out.

Later, Justin surprises Leah with a romantic picnic, wanting to make the most of some time together after everything they’ve been through. 

The pair enjoy the afternoon, but Leah eventually points out that they need to get back to reality, as they both have businesses to run.

Justin’s reaction gives him away, and Leah presses him on what’s going on. Justin finally admits that whilst Leah’s business is busy, things aren’t exactly going well for him on the mobile mechanic front.

He’d made out that the business was taking off, but the truth is that it’s slow—really slow.

Back at the diner, Leah looks over Justin’s website and quickly spots the problem. His reviews page is blank, meaning potential customers have no reason to trust him over a garage-based mechanic.

Justin isn’t keen on begging for testimonials, but Leah takes matters into her own hands and adds glowing reviews from herself and Marilyn (Emily Symons).

The plan appears to work when Justin suddenly receives a call about a breakdown, though he has to double-check that Leah hasn’t asked one of her friends to call him out of pity.

Leah is thrilled, telling him that her glowing reviews must have done the trick. Justin thanks her for the help and heads off, hoping to turn the new caller into a regular client.

Following the location pin he’s been sent, Justin drives out to Wapanga Creek Road.

When he arrives, there’s no car in sight. Justin calls the supposed client, explaining that he’s there but can’t see anyone, and asks whether they’ve given him the wrong location.

But Justin can’t make out what, if anything, they’re saying. Justin moves away from the van to try to get a better signal.

He eventually gets through again, but the person on the other end still doesn’t respond properly. Frustrated, Justin says he’s waited long enough and decides to call it.

As he hangs up, he hears the van’s door close behind him and the engine suddenly starts.

Justin realises too late that someone has used the call-out to lure him away from the vehicle. He races back towards the van, but it speeds off before he can reach it.

Justin is left stranded on the roadside, as the crime wave claims its latest victim!

Home and Away is available to stream from 6am weekdays, with double bill episodes airing from 6pm on 5Star.

Hollyoaks newcomer Charlotte Riley explains why Leah has changed so much

 The character returned to the village with boyfriend Imran Maalik.

Hollyoaks newcomer Charlotte Riley has addressed taking over the role of Leah Barnes after the character made a shocking return to the village with Imran Maalik. Leah and Imran met off-screen as they both travelled away from Chester and have now returned as a couple.

While some fans also noticed a change in Leah's personality upon her return, Riley insisted the character is only putting up a front now that's she's back to the place where she grew up.

"It's just one of those things where life changes, people change and grow and that's just what's happened with Leah, really," Riley told the Mirror.

She continued: "She's gone into this new era of life and it's a fresh start coming back with Imran. She's still the same Leah underneath but as you come in obviously you've got this front up and you want to show off how well you've worked and she's got all these ideas in her mind and she wants to do this project and work with people and it's like coming back to old friendships."

Leah, previously played by Ela-May Demircan, left the village in 2024 to go study in the US, entrusting her baby son James to the cares of his dad, Dillon. She had a tumultuous relationship with her brother Lucas, who was devastated when he found out that Leah had slept with his boyfriend.

The character seems to have put all the drama behind her as she embarks on a new life with Imran, with the pair set to tie the knot. But Riley has teased that the truth will "come out", hinting at some twists on the horizon for the new couple.

Leah's come back to a village where she left where she gave birth and coming back to that place is going to be all these little reminders when she goes around the village and she just has to put up this front really and that's what she's doing at the minute," Riley said.

"We've obviously got the big wedding and people are a bit confused to why she's got money and are second guessing things she might be doing and saying and no matter what, the truth always comes out in the end, so it'll all come out."

Home and Away in the UK Sonny’s recovery takes another worrying turn, as his determination to get stronger lands him in trouble with the police.

 

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, Sonny’s recovery takes another worrying turn, as his determination to get stronger lands him in trouble with the police.

Now back on his feet after months of paralysis following the train crash, Sonny (Ryan Bown) is determined to regain his independence by speeding up his recovery—but those around him are already worried that he’s pushing too hard.

Tane agreed to draw up a proper workout plan, but made it clear that Sonny would need to follow it properly—including the rest periods. Sonny reluctantly accepted the conditions, but soon started finding ways around them.

Next week, Yabbie Creek police are looking into a series of local thefts. David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) has put Richie (Rocco Forrester-Sach) on the case, with Richie checking online listings for anything that might match the stolen items.

The situation gets nearer to home when David is called to the surf club, where Alf (Ray Meagher) reports that the club garage was broken into overnight. A generator has gone missing, leaving David convinced that this is more than just local kids messing around.

As David starts asking questions about who locked up the night before, Lacey (Sophea Pennington) arrives to open the gym for the day.

Before she even gets inside, she realises something’s wrong. The door’s ajar, and the lock is broken.

Lacey then hears movement from inside, leaving her concerned that whoever forced their way in may still be there.

she rushes outside to alert David, who tells Lacey to stay back before making his way inside.

Lacey’s worried that her dad doesn’t know how many people could be inside, but David continues into the gym and calls out for whoever’s there to show themselves.

Instead of finding a burglar, David discovers Sonny working out alone.

Sonny is startled by the sudden police arrival, but quickly tries to explain himself. As far as he’s concerned, the gym was late opening, and he needed to work out.

David presses him on how he got in, and Sonny tries to downplay it by saying he “procured an entryway”. Lacey dismisses the excuse, pointing out that Sonny broke in.

Lacey’s furious, having thought there was a burglar inside, while Sonny argues that it’s all a misunderstanding.

When David says he needs to come to the station for a chat, Sonny’s stunned.

As David leads him out, Alf questions whether Sonny also had anything to do with the Surf Club garage robbery. Sonny insists that he didn’t, but the timing has already cast suspicion on him.

At the station, Sonny continues to deny any involvement in the garage theft. David points out that the garage and the gym were broken into within a few hours of each other, whilst Sonny argues that he wouldn’t have stolen equipment and then stayed behind to work out whilst still having to use a crutch.

When David asks whether police can take his fingerprints to help rule him out, Sonny refuses.

Remi (Adam Rowland) soon hears what’s happened and heads to the station to speak to Sonny. David initially refuses, but Remi later makes a direct appeal—he knows Sonny isn’t a thief, but he also knows his best friend has been going too far with his rehab.

David eventually agrees to let Sonny go, as there’s nothing connecting him to the garage theft and he has no prior form. But he warns Remi that this is Sonny’s only chance. If Sonny goes breaking locks and frightening Lacey again, there’ll be no discretion.

Remi hopes that the scare has worked. Sonny tells him he’s had enough action for one day and promises that the gym is the last place he wants to be right now.

But it doesn’t last long.

Acting on his suspicions, Remi later returns to the gym. For a moment he’s relieved, until Sonny waltzes in a few moments later, ready to continue working out.

Sonny insists he doesn’t need a babysitter as he heads straight to the weights, but a furious Remi refuses to let him carry on.

He physically blocks Sonny from starting another session, reminding him that Tane’s plan was meant to stop him from overdoing it—not give him an excuse to squeeze in extra workouts whenever no one’s watching.

Their argument continues outside, where they run into John. Sonny tries to leave, but John reminds him that he’s currently in charge of the gym and has a duty of care—either Sonny talks things through properly, or he can forget about coming back to the gym at all.

Sonny tries to walk away, but slips as he moves around Remi on his crutches. Embarrassed, he rejects Remi’s help and pulls himself back up.

Once Sonny sits down with John and Remi, he finally admits that forcing his way into the gym was a mistake. He explains that he’s become hyper-focused on his recovery goals and promises that he can now see he’s been going too hard.

John accepts this, but only up to a point. He tells Sonny that he can return to the gym if he sticks to Tane’s programme, and makes it clear that this is his last chance.

After John leaves, Remi tells Sonny that the speech may have worked on John, but it hasn’t fooled him.

Sure enough, Sonny heads straight back into the gym again, with Remi following close behind.

As the pair argue, Sonny compares his training to Remi’s dedication to learning guitar, insisting that he’s simply committed to getting better. Remi rejects the comparison, telling him that this is starting to look like a fixation.

Their confrontation is interrupted when Dana (Ally Harris) arrives after hearing from Alf about Sonny being questioned by police.

Sonny quickly insists that everything’s fine, but Dana isn’t so convinced.

As the three head upstairs to Salt, Sonny tries to stop Remi from staying for the conversation. Remi, however, isn’t ready to leave him alone with a softened version of events.

Sonny reminds Remi of all the times he’s had his back, including during his recovery, and says it’s time to return the favour.

Will Remi stay quiet—or will Dana finally learn how far Sonny has been pushing himself?

Home and Away is available to stream from 6am weekdays, with double bill episodes airing from 6pm on 5Star.