Stranger than Fiction 📺
How a storyline in a soap opera got me thinking about the last time I spoke to my dad… and why forgiveness is not always in the script.
There is nothing guilty about the pleasure I get from watching EastEnders. Scoff at this if you wish, but it’s been a staple of my TV life since I was little, and the routine remains the same: curl up on the sofa, shut out the world, and immerse myself in the goings-on of Albert Square.
Those thirty-minute episodes (or more when I save them up and binge-watch on iPlayer) are pure comfort. Do not get me started on my excitement for the Christmas and New Year specials.
The wild and often verging on absolutely ridiculous storylines provide me with escapism that only this stalwart of soap operas can. So, the last thing I expected was my favourite kitchen sink drama drop-kicking me back into reality about my relationship with my father.
I’ve not written anything about him since our last painful exchange. The wound from that time was deep and has taken years to heal. However, something as innocuous as a few episodes of Eastenders was all it took to pick at the scab.
It’s all down to Billy Mitchell (probably one of the most hapless but strangely lovable characters on British TV), who had an unexpected and unsolicited reunion with his father, Stevie, who abandoned him as a child.
If you’re familiar with the far-fetched nature of an ‘Enders storyline, you’ll understand how “WTF?” the unfolding was. But the complexities of their relationship—from the painful reasons why Stevie ‘dumped’ Billy and why it took half a lifetime to find him again to Billy dealing with his abandonment, anger, and trust issues—were explored with such pathos and nuance that I found myself thinking about my failed attempts to reconnect with my dad.