Soap posts: Dead wood gets the chop

It was announced this week that Dawn Swann (played by Kara Tointon) and Garry Hobbs (played by Ricky Groves) are to leave Eastenders.

When I read the news I was shocked that the pair, especially Ricky, were being written out of the show. Garry is practically part of the furniture at Eastenders after being on our screens for ten years and Dawn has often been one of the main characters is some of Eastenders biggest storylines.

But recent lacklustre storylines for the characters may indicate that they have simply run out of steam or the writers have just run out of ideas for the pair. The recent storyline of Garry and Dawn starting a relationship together seemed an obvious and rather uinteresting route to take. The only moment of enjoyment I took from the scenes was the comical reference to Garry's disapperance on the BBC News.
Though both characters may have just been background contributors in the show, offering the odd laugh or tear I have enjoyed watching their characters in the past. Garry came in as one of the founder memebers of the Slater family (and with his departure it is sad to see that the original slaters are now low on numbers with only Charlie and Mo left) and over the ten years Garry (with his loyal sidekick and best buddy Minty) has offered some light relief.

The character of Dawn Swann has often been portrayed as a very unlikeable character, interested in only her looks and popularity. But Kara's portrayal of Dawn in the long running Mad May saga was a enjoyable change. The gritty and explosive plot was exciting to watch and I was impressed by Kara's portrayal of the emotional fraught Dawn.

But I think the right decision was made to write out the pair as they slipped more and more into the background of Eastenders.

When I am sitting at University and the lecturer has a pile of marked essays ready to give back, but they insist on talking to us for about an hour. No one really cares about what the teacher is saying, everyone just wants their essays back.

Unfortunately characters like Garry and Dawn, with their rather predictable storylines and uninteresting exploits, are what Eastenders fans have had to put up with while we wait for something better to happen.



Picture from The Mirror