As much as we love our favourite soaps and celebrate them daily here on Digital Spy, not every storyline can quite hit the mark. For every award-winning issue plot or laugh-out-loud comedy moment, there'll be another story that we just can't wait to see the back of.

But which ones are currently on our hit list? Here, the gloves are coming off as we take a look at the current stories that really are past their sell-by dates...

1. The bins (EastEnders)

BBC

When EastEnders took on its current "back to basics" approach late last year, sensational plots were thrown out the window in favour of more realistic character and community-based stories. All well and good, but do we really need to know the ins and outs of Albert Square's bin collections?

It's now been six months (trust us, we've counted) since we first started hearing about the bins on a nightly basis, but the Square's rowdy residents still can't get used to the pesky new fortnightly collections. Funny that, as they got over the epic bus crash disaster in two days.

Knowing that fans are fed up, EastEnders have even inserted cheeky nods to their frustration by having characters like Donna complain that they're sick of hearing about the bloody bins. You're not the only one, Donna – but at least the show can laugh at itself.

2. The Morgans in danger (Home and Away)

Channel 5

Just when we thought nobody could beat the Braxtons as the unluckiest family in Summer Bay history, along came the Morgans. Only a few weeks after their arrival last year, we discovered that the secretive clan were actually in witness protection due to their family's links to a sinister drugs syndicate.

Ever since then, the Morgans have faced "terrible danger" literally every week, with a seemingly never-ending collection of villains regularly popping up to terrorise and threaten them. We can't think of many articles we've written about them which haven't ended with: "Will they survive?" (Spoiler alert: Always yes...)

We breathed a sigh of relief recently as the cunning culprits targeting the family were finally brought to justice, but there's still no let-up as next week's episodes see dodgy cop Ranae miraculously escape, abduct Tori and stab Justin.

Seriously, Summer Bay bosses, make it stop! Either kill the lot of them off, or let them go at least a week without being kidnapped or shot at...

3. Sausage-gate (Neighbours)

Channel 5

Neighbours may be the tamest of all the soaps, but that hasn't stopped the men of Ramsay Street from harping on endlessly about their sausages recently. Yes, really. When Karl Kennedy and Gary Canning started competing over who could make the very best bangers, there was endless innuendo and we couldn't help but giggle at Neighbours suddenly turning so naughty.

Well, at least for an episode or two... Now several episodes and many greasy meals later, every possible sausage joke has been exhausted but the guys still can't cut it out. Even the Brennans are getting in on the act, with Aaron boasting about high demand for his sausage. Cheeky!

So, has Neighbours secretly signed a sausage-related product placement deal, or are the writers just getting tired of the show's strict G-rating? If so, it may be time to commission that much-longed-for Late Night Neighbours, so they can get all the sausage thoughts out of their system once and for all...

4. Finn the weirdo (Emmerdale)

ITV

There's been a classic case of "be careful what you wish for" when it comes to Finn. After years of fans calling for him to actually get a big storyline of his own, Emmerdale finally listened. Sadly, it all turned sour very quickly when we discovered their big plan was to officially transform him into Freaky Finn.

When Finn's grief caused him to become obsessed with coma boy Kasim so soon after the death of his father James, we could just about understand it. But it was when Finn started rivalling his mum Emma in the crazy stakes that we started to worry about one of our favourite Emmerdale characters potentially being ruined.

Possessive, clingy and way too over-eager after knowing his new fella for all of five minutes, Finn soon had Kasim running for the hills. Not one to take that lying down, Finn practically stalked him and even trashed poor Kasim's bedroom when things weren't going his way. That's nothing like the character we all knew and loved.

Next week, we'll see that Finn is still feeling sorry for himself when he vows to head off to Australia alone. If he does go, we hope the sun, sea and barbecues do him the world of good and he returns as his old self again. If he decides to stay, it may be time for some therapy – or at least another sudden personality change.

5. Chesney down in the dumps (Coronation Street)

ITV

Poor old Chesney. His romance with Sinead Tinker was supposed to be his happy-ever-after, especially after his unceremonious dumping when Katy Armstrong decided she much preferred the thrill of dating bad lad Ryan Connor.

Sadly, the exact same scenario has now repeated itself, with Chesney being too dull even for Sinead. And let's face it, that's saying something, as she isn't exactly life and soul of the party herself. This all led to the enigmatic (and suspected killer) Daniel catching Sinead's eye instead, stealing her away with hardly any effort needed.

Since then, we've seen Chesney and Daniel keeping Corrie's fight co-ordinator busy with at least three public scuffles. (And they're no Nick and Peter or Ken and Mike, that's for sure.) Ches has also been so petty and petulant towards Sinead that we reckon his cruel mum Cilla would be proud.

Okay, so we don't blame Ches for being a little bit ticked off, but he's one Weatherfield character who's in desperate need of a new direction after years of samey storylines. So rather than moping, it's time to get over it and bounce back with something much more exciting.

6. McHay (Hollyoaks)

Lime Pictures

There's no denying that Ste and John Paul are both classic Hollyoaks characters and they're huge favourites of ours too. But despite that, they were much better off as friends as they've never really worked together as a long-term couple we can root for, especially with so many dramas bogging them down when they were married. Plus, let's not forget that Ste even admitted he found John Paul boring compared to Brendan (which JP has conveniently forgotten).

Although McHay recently missed their chance to get back together, we still haven't seen the last of their romantic connection as they'll soon be sleeping together in the build-up to John Paul's exit.

It's all a bit surprising and pointless, especially as Ste and Harry (Starry) and John Paul and James (McNight) have much bigger fanbases and we know John Paul is leaving anyway. Was their connection better left in the past? We say yes.

7. Michelle and Preston (EastEnders)

BBC

The anticipation levels were huge when EastEnders announced their decision to bring back Michelle Fowler with a brand new face, but would we have all been so excited if we'd known she'd soon be having an inappropriate romance with a teenage schoolboy? Probably not.

Michelle actually broke US consent laws by embarking on her fling with underage Preston, and despite expressing her regrets over what happened, it certainly hasn't stopped her from jumping back into bed with him. But isn't it all a bit creepy?

We've been waiting for the moment the penny drops with the new Michelle and she finally wins our sympathy. At first we thought it'd be in her much-hyped special episode with Sharon, but all that did was unleash the Preston story onto us. And now Preston's here in the flesh, it seems to have gone down like a lead balloon with fans.

Okay, so Michelle does have a history of being infuriating and making poor decisions, but with the added pressure of the recast to consider, it's been a pretty weird way to reintroduce a classic character. Time to send Preston packing and go back to the drawing board.

8. Rob-ecca (Emmerdale)

ITV

Why, Emmerdale, why? The show's producers have their most popular couple ever on their hands in the form of Robron, but for some reason they can't stop shoe-horning Rebecca into their popular storyline.

The final straw came this week when soap magazines revealed that Robert could make a pass at Rebecca while Aaron is behind bars, just two weeks after promising to stay faithful to him on their heartwarming wedding day.

Of course, as Emmerdale has reminded everyone on Twitter, context is everything so we'll have to watch the scenes in context to see exactly how they play out - maybe it won't be as bad as it sounds in the magazines. But we reckon it's time Rebecca had more of a purpose in the show than just the thorn in the sides of Robron and their fans. And surely there's more interesting things to explore with Robert while Aaron's banged up?

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