I really think Emmerdale needs a proper cast clear-out. A lot of dead wood should just be dumped.
Dan and Amelia - what are they for? Virtually every other member of their family has been killed off, yet still they hang around doing nothing of any real note. When Dan and Kerry split up, she did this whole ‘I know I’m not yer mam man, but I still love ya Amilyuh’ routine with Amelia - yet when Kerry reappeared after 18 months, she didn’t even pop by to say hello. If they’re not even involved in that storyline, what’s the point?
Amy and Matty. Dull, dull, dull. Amy was clearly useful for Nate’s introduction, but for the last year she’s generally just hung around in the back of other people’s storylines. As for Matty, I think the producers were so excited by the transgender storyline that they forgot he’d need other plots after that. The writers then obviously decided that coupling up the characters would save them both - but it’s turned them into one dull blob.
This one is the hardest to say, as I think soaps thrive on long-term characters, but I think Bob has finally had his day. He hasn’t had a decent plot since splitting from Laurel (which was a weird development anyway). The Wendy not being a real nurse storyline has gone absolutely nowhere and, as with Matty and Amy, two not very useful characters do not suddenly make an interesting couple.