so why was that midwife pulling a face at Billy and Honey's baby?

[aitch71]

i had the sound down and all i could see was that silly moo gurning and biting her lip...

[aaronsmummy]

the baby has downs

[Charleesunnysunsun]

Just read this weeks t.v mag apparently Honey gets PND and refuses to see the baby

Like Claire on Corrie who tries to kill give there baby to the hospital as she says it's to horrible to be her's. Asley get's her sectioned though after she pushes the pram into the road in front of a car.

I never knew PND could get that bad TBH.

[CarlyP]

she has downs apparently

[aitch71]

oh that should be interesting, but i bet that means they'll pack Honey and Billy off so that they don't have to deal longterm with a Down's adult in a soap.
although having said that there was a teenage Down's actor in River City, the soap in Scotland - she was significantly more talented than the rest of them...

[WestCountryLass]

I think Claires storyline from Corrie is actually about post-partum psychosis rather than what most of us recognise as PND.

[aDAdOnMumsnet]

Yes it's Downs. Wish I didn't know that, I've been trying to quit eastenders seeing as it's been rubbish for so long!

[schneebly]

aitch - the girl in river city was brilliant! I know what you mean though - a lot of the rest of the cast are terrible actors!

[misdee]

'yes its downs'

what is downs? the dog, the cat, well-ard?

[Imafairy]

I saw an interview with someone from a Down's society who said they were really happy with the story line and the way 'Enders were dealing it.

[Thomcat]

Aitch - I could, if I was feeling sensitive, could, be a little upset by the 'packing B & H off so they don't have to deal longterm with a Down's adult' line. Could get upset, I'm not going to. But just so you all know, I'm watching ok, any comments that I deam inappropriate I'll let you know , okay

And, in the nicest way possible would you all allow me to point out that it's adult with Down's, not a down's adult, or such like. people first, disability second. Thank you for allowing me to point out a small but important point.

[aitch71]

small but utterly essential point taken, thomcat, i stand completely corrected.

i kinda work in the tv area, however, and there is not a scrap of offence to be taken in my securely-held conviction that the producers of Eastenders, however well they are handling the storyline now (don't know, it's not happened yet) will not be bold enough to keep it going to adulthood. they generally shit themselves when disability gets less 'cuddly' if you know what i mean?

well, apart from River City, to be fair, but the girl's father recently reappeared in the programme (only to be shot, oops) and she wasn't anywhere to be seen. i know the people who were involved in casting that actress, she's excellent. and not in a patronising way, i promise, she really was a cracking actor. name of Paula Sage, she was in Afterlife as well. Made Sean Connery cry, apparently.

anyway, thanks for pulling me up about 'person first, disability second'... i won't balls that up again.

[horsecrazy]

wonder whether baby might have down syndromes....but a shame she pulled a face like that as why should that be a problem.

[aitch71]

actually, talking of which... is little Ben, Phil's son, still deaf? wasn't he going to have to wear enormous hearing aids thanks to being deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other? i know it's a long time ago but im sure i remember phil going beetroot about it. wasn't kathy going to learn sign language?

(again, though, with river city, one of the main characters was diagnosed with alzheimer's in the first few weeks of the show but now seems to, ahem, have completely forgotten about it and is right as rain.)

[horsecrazy]

LOL aitch71 LOL very true........the bad continuation of storylines in soaps huh!!

[misdee]

ben is still deaf, saw his hearing aids last night.

[SueW]

The boy who was being asked to wear a kilt this week was wearign a hearing aid. Is that the child to you're referring to?

[aitch71]

ooh good. that's the first time i've heard of him using them and he's been back in Walford for ages. they must have remembered about it.

[misdee]

no, he always has them in, he hurt baby freddie as freddie pulled his hearing aids.

[Thomcat]

aitch - cheers mate

[aitch71]

ahhh, right. weird, i thought i'd definitely looked for them when he returned to the square and was living with ian. mind you, i don't watch a lot of eastenders these days as i think it's got very boring so perhaps i just missed the mentions.

[Blu]

If they do continue the storyline, there are a number of professional actors with DS. And lots of experienced Youth Theatre child and teenage actors with DS, too.

[Thomcat]

It would be great if they do continue the storyline, and as you say Blu there won't be a shortage of actors/actresses (did they have a boy or a girl?) to step up to play the part.

[misdee]

girl.

[Thomcat]

Cheers misdee