HALF the EastEnders cast must have been having a whale of a time these last few weeks, with plenty of time to catch up on their correspondence, paint the spare bedroom, sort out their sock drawers...

For anyone not in the Ruby/Sean, Billy/Honey or Dawn/Rob storylines has barely had a line to utter for what feels like years.

Still, at least the rest of them have probably got all their Christmas presents bought and wrapped.

But for us viewers, all three plots moving at a pace that would make a snail blush, means it's been pretty boring viewing in the square.

Last night's instalment wasn't much better.

Billy pleaded with Honey (yet again) over her plan to have baby Petal adopted, while bad-boy Sean caused more trouble (yawn).

And why the scriptwriters think we're interested in Dawn and her dodgy wide-boy fella is anybody's guess.

The only bit that made me laugh was when she told him last week: "I'm wearing those fancy knickers you got me."

Now I can't see the bouffant-haired "cockney sparra" without imagining her in some cheap and nasty undies from Stacey's market stall.

Fair enough Jane and Ian had a few scenes earlier in the week, but most of those were spent with one or the other giving panic-ridden or sneaky looks to camera behind the other's back.

I just wish they'd hurry up and get their wedding disaster over and done with.

It's been a good couple of years since Ian Beale had a wife dump him at Christmas after all.