Ashley leaves Ken's house by the back door the morning after
Kelly invites him around there (when Ken is away on his training
course). They're both hoping that no one will see him leave and
find out they spent the night together, but Ashley runs straight
into Emily in the back lane! Ashley returns to see Kelly the following
night and after a quick shower to get rid of the butcher's shop
smell of tripe and liver, he makes himself comfortable in Ken's
dressing gown... and in walks Ken, home early from the course,
of course. Ken remains calm throughout but Kelly fears that he
will sack her. Instead, Ken tells Kelly to be discreet and not
to give the neighbours anything to gossip about (which they all
seem to be doing anyway).
Deirdre tells Gail that she is going to visit Tracy who is now
living in London, and goes to see Alec Gilroy at his travel agency
to book her coach travel. While she's there, Alec mentions that
he's looking for someone to work full time in the agency and Deirdre
jumps at the chance of working there for him. "I'm supposed
to ask whether you can use a VDU" he tells her "but
I'd much rather ask if you can tap dance".
The owners of Betty's Hotshot are in for a disappointment when
the trainer gets on the phone to Jack to tell them that the horse
has taken poorly and needs a vet's visit and an injection. Things
go from bad to worse when they find out the horse has colic. Jack
wants to put a collection box on the Rovers bar to help pay the
vets fees. Maud and Maureen put some money into the box when they
think it's for an animal welfare charity but soon ask for their
money back when they find out it's for the horse's vets fees.
Steve McDonald calls into the salon to see Fiona. He tells her
he wants a hair cut but soon starts harking back to the "golden
days" when they both shared the flat above Jim's cafe, telling
Fiona they were the happiest days of his life. He wants Fiona
to go upstairs to her new flat with him "just for a chat,
Fi" but she throws him out (good for her!).
Des has had enough of the McDonald clan and when he comes home
to find Andy and Anne along with Steve in his living room he tells
them he's sick of the lot of them and tells Andy he wants him
to move out. "What do you call a McDonald in a suit?"
Des asks them.... "the accused". Andy moves back in
with Liz.
Steve and Vicky are in court with Uncle Nick defending Vicky who
pleads guilty to all charges. And as you might expect, in an effort
to help himself and no one else, Steve pleads innocent. When they
leave the court room, Vicky tells Steve that she hates him and
wishes she had never met him. Steve also moves back in with Liz,
even though she distrusts him and knows he's telling lies about
Vicky to save his own skin.
Bill Webster and Kevin have plans to go to a football match on
Bank Holiday Monday. As Bill is leaving his flat, he bumps into
Jamie who is doing nothing in particular and asks if he can come
along to the match. Bill isn't keen but ends up taking him along
anyway. Jamie is disappointed when he finds out it's not a proper
match they are going to see but a local team and only says thanks
to Bill when prompted by Tricia back at the flat when Bill drops
him off.
Derek has a problem with his car, and when he asks Kevin if he
can fit him in that day Kevin says it's unlikely as he has all
of Don's friends' taxi-cabs to service. When Don finds out, he
over-rides Kevin's decision and tells Derek his car can be done
immediately. Don does a little bit of work at the garage but Kevin
and Don just aren't seeing eye to eye and have an argument. Kevin
walks out on Don, accusing him of watching over Kevin like a hawk.
Don tells Kevin he isn't spying, he just wants to learn the trade
properly and Kevin comes back in to the garage to work. Kevin
isn't a happy chap though, and tells Gail, who tells Sally, who
tells Kevin off for bad mouthing Don in public.
There will be no update next week. I am going on holiday
to the beautiful New Forest here in the UK. I will be back with
2 weeks worth of Street episodes on Tuesday 28th May. See you
then!
Vera decides she needs a holiday and sends Jack off to see Alec
Gilroy at the travel agents. They finally agree on a trip to Spain
but they have a problem. Who will manage the Rovers while they
are away? Vera interrupts Bill Webster and Maureen having a cosy
drink together to ask Bill if he could look after things in their
absence, but Bill, remembering when Vera sacked him and made him
homeless, says a definite NO. Vera and Jack ask Betty - who is
reluctant at first, but finally agrees to look after things for
them both. Billy feels a little left out of things as there's
not much in the pub he can do. "I don't want you under two
things" Betty tells him "...my feet, and the influence".
Guess who has been shoplifting in the corner shop? Jamie and Tricia!
Tricia is crying poverty once more but when Alf offers to help
her out and pay for some items in the shop, she tells him she
doesn't want his charity. Jamie gets £10 from Jack as an
advance for looking after the pigeons when Jack goes to Spain
and Tricia is moved when she finds out that Jamie has spent the
money on two bags of groceries. Mike Baldwin offers Tricia a cleaning
job in the print shop (cash, no questions asked!) after he tells
Vicky and Steve he wants them out as they haven't paid their rent
for ages.
Alec offers Deirdre the chance of attending a training course
so that she can become "a proper travel agent". Deirdre
jumps at the chance. Steve McDonald calls into the travel agency
to see Vicky but with Deirdre's help, they manage to get rid of
him. Deirdre tells Alec what has happened although Vicky asks
her not to do so. Alec then calls round to see Liz and tells her
that he will call the police if Steve pesters Vicky again. However
Steve does call to see Vicky again and gives her his usual eye
popping, face scrunching story about how much he loves her etc.
etc. (Yawn) Liz realises that nothing she can say to Steve will
have any effect on him and she asks Jim to have a word with him
instead. Jim tells Steve to buck his ideas up otherwise he'll
end up becoming a loser, just like his dad.
Who is this mysterious woman called Claire? Des Barnes seems to
have a new girlfriend who is introduced to us after Andy McDonald
calls round to Des' house to recover a mug he left there when
he moved out.
The course of true love never runs smoothly does it? It looks
like Kelly and Ashley have had their first argument. A night out
in Blackpool has been planned and Ashley is waiting for Kelly,
who is waiting for Ken coming home. Ken eventually arrives home
too late for Kelly to go out with Ashley and she stays at home
while Ashley goes off with their other friends. Kelly tells Ken
that her friend has been offered a live-in job as a childminder
and before you know it, she has Ken bewildered enough to start
considering letting Kelly move in to his house to look after Danny.
A mutual friend of Fred and Rita's has died and they both attend
the funeral together. Alf is also at the funeral but any attempts
he makes at speaking to Rita are thwarted by Fred! On the way
home from the funeral, Fred takes Rita for tea at a hotel and
they chat for a while. Fred tells her he's not chatting her up,
but with that butcher's twinkle in his eye, you know he's up to
something. When he catches up with Rita in the Rovers later, he
brings with him some holiday brochures and suggests going away
on a day trip together. Fred then goes into Alec's travel agency
to book a day trip for 2 on a luxury coach to York but remains
tightlipped when Alec asks him who his guest will be.
Alec tells Rita that he wants to get back into show biz and asks
Rita if she will come with him to see a young singer he's interested
in signing up. Rita agrees to go with Alec, and they make a night
of it with a few drinks beforehand. When Fred Elliot finds out
that Alec has taken Rita out, he isn't at all happy. "Some
women just can't tell the difference between best rump and a piece
of scrag end".
Reg's new girlfriend Yvonne turns up in the corner shop itching
for a fight as she tells Maureen she must let Reg have his divorce
so they can be married. Maud gets her tuppence worth in, then
Maureen takes Yvonne over to Reg's flat where Yvonne reveals that
she is carrying Reg's baby. After a lot of tears, shouting and
crying, Maureen agrees to the divorce under one condition: Reg
must give her his share of the corner shop.
I'm back from holiday, fresh as a daisy and raring to get
back to work (if only!). So here is the last 2 weeks episodes
of Coronation Street for you to catch up on.
Des' new girlfriend Claire is a widow and has an 11 year old daughter
Rebecca. She tells Des things must move slowly between them as
she and her daughter have to get used to having a new man in their
lives. Des tries his best to get on with Rebecca but her verdict
is that he is "a plonker".
After Alec takes Rita out on the town for an evening, Fred demands
to know what is going on between Rita and Alec. Rita tells Fred
they are just good friends, and insists that Fred has no right
to tell her who she can and can't be friends with. She tells Fred
she won't be going on the day trip to York with him, although
he's already bought the tickets. However, they do go together,
in the end.
Ken seeks advice from Deirdre regarding letting Kelly move into
his house as his live-in child minder, and Deidre reminds Ken
how difficult it can be living with a young woman in the house
(remember Tracy!?). Despite this, Kelly does move in, and Ashley
rings in sick to his uncle Fred so that he can help Kelly move
in. However, Ashley is found out when Fred sees him and they have
an argument which ends with Fred sacking Ashley. Kelly can't take
being in love with an unemployed butcher so she tells Ashleigh
it's all over unless he asks for his job back. Meanwhile, Fred
asks Rita for advice on the situation but gets irritated with
her when she tells him how to manage his staff. Eventually, Ashley
does apologise to Fred, and he gets his job and his girlfriend
back and Fred takes Rita out for dinner. Kelly pesters Ken and
in the end he gives in... he's going to teach her to drive!
In the Rovers, while Jack and Vera are still away on holiday,
Billy has a few drinks too many while he's working behind the
bar. He starts playing away on the old piano in the bar and everyone
joins in singing until Betty finds out he's drunk and drags him
"through the back" by his collar. Jack and Vera return
from Spain to find that in their absence, the Rovers has made
more profit than usual.
Desperate for money, Trisha does some cleaning for Mike Baldwin
in the old print shop. As Mike pays her in cash for the work,
2 men are looking on from their car parked in the street (always
a dubious sign of something tricky going on...) Was it the Social
Services? Perhaps it was, as Trisha has her housing benefit stopped.
In a rage, she flies into Baldwin's factory, tells him it's all
his fault that she's broke and that he must offer her a job. He
throws her out of the factory after giving her a good bawling
at, in front of Josie, Ida and all of the other staff. Later,
Josie tells Mike that what he did was despicable and that he should
realise that he is the only person that can offer Trisha some
work. Mike tells her to mind her own business, and she is all
set to walk out of her job, but he gives in (he must be getting
soft in his old age..!) and eventually agrees to give Trisha an
interview for a machinist position in the factory.
Mavis and Derek decide to have a go at growing prize turnips.
When Des finds out, he tells Derek that he has decided to grow
prize turnips that will beat Derek's own, as Des' father was the
champion prize turnip grower of the north. Derek goes golfing
with Norris and Angela while Mavis has lunch with Emily in the
Rovers. Norris and Derek arrive home early with a broken golf
club after an argument between Norris and Angela turned nasty.
Norris gets a bit drunk and puts his feet up on Mavis' coffee
table.
And finally, the Steve/Vicky situation is sorted out but not without
a lot of tears, crying, and emotional scenes from Vicky and a
lot of lies from Steve. Vicky overhears Jim talking about her
to Kevin in the garage. He says that Vicky bought Steve's affections
and that she deliberately set out to capture Steve with her money,
and that she is self centred and only thought about herself throughout
their marriage. Vicky is enraged when she hears this but understands
a lot of it to be true and starts blaming herself for everything
that went wrong. Steve is also busy blaming Vicky for everything
and tells his family that he had no knowledge that she ever gave
the money to Malcolm Fox. The day of the court case arrives and
Steve tells lies as if he's lying for the Olympics when it's his
turn in the box. Luckily, the jury see through him and he gets
sent down for 2 years!! Malcolm Fox gets an extra 12 months on
the sentence he's already serving and Vicky gets 12 months suspended
sentence. Vicky decides she is going to leave the Street behind
her and start the future someplace else, far from Weatherfield.
