Emmerdale should stick to its “human stories” and drop the “rubbish gangsters and bed-hopping” say fans.
Viewers have begged the ITV soap to show less violence, and asked scriptwriters to concentrate on character backstories and emotional plots instead.
Read more: Natalie Ann Jamieson wants an Emmerdale and Coronation Street crossover
Some even claimed the soap was becoming unwatchable due to the arrival of Nate and his “sleeping around” and Billy, who “has brought excessive violence to the village”.
Writing on Digital Spy Forums one soap fan said: “Emmerdale has always been a bit up and down, glory days and doldrums. They did so well with Ashley, but then brought the dross of the Jessie shooting.
“In my opinion, they really need to concentrate on the deeper stuff – we had two baby dying stories both done so well, dementia handled marvellously, Charity and Cain’s backstories brilliantly done… These sorts of human stories they do so well.”
They concluded by saying: “Drop the rubbish gangsters and bed-hopping and get back to humanity at its best and worst.”
Read more: Pregnant Emmerdale star Charley Webb hits back at mum-shamers with sweet pic of son
Others agreed, with one writing: “I thought it had picked up again with the story of Lisa’s illness and death, which really was character driven and had a very genuine feel to it. But now it’s back to the same old same old.
“Billy is just a Ross photocopy. A shame because he had potential, as did Ellis, but I don’t know them well enough to care about whether they’re trying to kill each other this week or not.
“That’s okay in a different sort of drama, but the backbone of soaps is supposed to be that we live with these people, and see them every day, so we get to know them gradually, not that we’re plunged into their melodrama.”
A third added: “All the fighting surrounding Jessie and her sons is like it’s a play written and performed by a class of 10-year-olds. Really, Jessie is the worst character to grace Emmerdale in a very long time.”
“The Ellis, Billy and Jessie stuff is tedious,” agreed one more. “This whole new family was just introduced and shoved in with Marlon and April, completely taking over his house with their nonsense ‘gangsta’ stories. I’d love to see Billy and the mum axed.
“Ellis could be a good character with good development, but right now they’re all just so dull and boring.”
“Billy has just brought excessive violence to the sleepy village,” said another, while one more said: “I quite liked Ellis, Billy and Jessie when they first arrived but this gangster nonsense has killed that.”
Others slated the amount of newcomers, including Nate, saying: “We know very little about Nate, who has been in the village for a few months. All we know about him is that he likes to sling his eggplant all over the village. We have no idea what makes him tick outside of that.”
Another added: “The idea of Mr Personality-free Nate sleeping with everyone in the village is weird.”
Some complained that “good characters like Aaron, Robert, Cain and Moira” have been sidelined.
However, others said it was still “better than Corrie, which is woeful because it has Gemma Winter in it“.
Another wrote: “I think Corrie still tips the balance into worse, and EastEnders last week (Keanu kidnap) came out worst of all three.”
In this week’s Emmerdale, Jessie was shot after gangster Max broke into their home in a bid to get revenge on Billy for ratting him out to the police.
While she survived, some soap fans wished she hadn’t. Do you agree?
Are you enjoying Emmerdale at the moment? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!