The daughter of Sidney Templeton, Maud's fiance, turned up at the Rovers wanting a word. She was unhappy that she was getting £10,000 off him when his own flesh and blood had been cut out of the will. Maud felt guilty and was about to hand over her inheritance when Blanche intervened: the paper said he'd left £60,000 in his will in total. Steve went off in his van to Amsterdam. He'd swapped cigarette smuggling for something a bit dodgier at the behest of Stephen Graham's Lee. Jim was unhappy, and when Lee showed up in the Rovers, he told him so. They began to argue so Vinny - a drayman who was giving Natalie a hand while Jack was ill - threw them out. Ashley's birth mother Kathleen appeared in Freshco's, buying meat off him without admitting who she was. When Fred saw her he was terrified. He talked to her and she confessed she was now curious about her long-lost son, so Fred told Ashley she lived in Greater Manchester and it was up to him if he wanted to get in touch. Spider told Emily he was going out with Toyah and she was horrified, pointing out he was ten years her senior and she was barely out of school. He said he was doing nothing wrong, so Emily challenged him to prove that was what he really thought - by telling Les.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th September 1997
Vinny got bad news from Nuttall's Brewery, who pointed out that he couldn't be a drayman for them and a potman in the Rovers at the same time. Natalie decided to employ him full time - meaning she'd have to get rid of Jack. Steve received a payment for the dodgy goods from Amsterdam, and Jim kicked off, until Steve revealed it wasn't drugs he'd brought back from Holland - it was a dog called Polly. Maud called Sidney's daughter and told the moneygrabber to get lost. She was going to spend his ten grand flying to the Far East to scatter his ashes, and she invited Emily along. Spider and Toyah told Janice about their relationship and while she wanted her daughter to be happy, she told her not to tell Les or there'd be hell to pay. Ashley got Fred to take him to Oldham to see Kathleen, but he couldn't bear to go inside. It was like that episode of Friends where Phoebe went looking for her dad, except nobody ran over a dog. Ashley eventually decided he was happy with the mother he had and didn't need another. And Alison's mum turned up to talk to her, but she brought up her dead sister again; Alison pushed her out the door and told Kevin she only needed him now.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 6th and 8th September 1997
Maxine's mate Melanie returned with some news: she'd decided to marry her awful fiance after all, so she wanted her wedding booking back off Maxine. Maxine, of course, being the Bride From Hell, refused point blank. Vera realised Jack had lost his job at the Rovers and worried that he'd take the news badly. It turned out he was perfectly fine with it though, confessing he didn't think he was any use to anyone any more. Meanwhile, Vera asked Tyrone to look at her car; for some reason the door was sticking, and he thought it was out of alignment. Remember that, it'll be important later. Alison took the girls out for the day but was late back. Kevin realised he didn't know where she was and admitted to Sally he was worried. He told her about Alison's maybe-murderous past and the two of them started panicking. Alison soon returned; she'd been getting an astronomically hideous professional photo of her with the girls taken as a present. I hope Kevin still has it in the loft somewhere. When she realised he'd been worried she'd done something to the girls, Alison felt betrayed; she handed him her engagement ring and left.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 10th and 12th September 1997
Danny had been on a disappointing dirty weekend with Sharon and he told Sally so. He admitted he had more fun with her than with his girlfriend, and when it came down to it, he still wanted to be with Sally. Blissfully ignorant, Sharon told her all about her great sex life, and how she wanted Danny to move in with her. Alison refused to go back to Kevin, saying he clearly didn't trust her. She bid goodbye to Rosie and Sophie and moved out of the flat. Kathleen turned up at Freshco's again and introduced herself to Ashley. He was upset, since he'd decided he didn't want her in his life; he told her his real mum was the woman who brought him up and that was that. Meanwhile Maxine was so busy faffing about panicking about not having a bridesmaid she barely paid his emotional torment any mind. What a catch she is.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 13th and 15th September 1997
Natalie held a farewell party for Jack in the Rovers, presenting him with a silver tankard to mark the end of an era. Tyrone also had a gift for him: his favourite pigeon, Fergie, stuffed and mounted. Jack was shocked but hid it well. Tyrone returned to the garage and Kevin told him and Jim that he'd been talking to Natalie, and she'd decided they had to be fired because the profits were down. However, he was lying, and when Natalie found out she was getting the blame she lost it with him. He admitted he was in a nark because Alison had left him, apologised, and gave the boys their jobs back. It was the Battersby's wedding anniversary and of course Les had forgotten. In an attempt to bring back the romance Janice cooked a posh dinner for him, but she made the mistake of letting slip that Toyah was going out with Spider. Les barrelled over to the cafe and attacked Spider, telling him he'd break his legs if he didn't stay away. Sharon asked Danny to move in with her, but he not only said no, he broke things off with her. She was left an emotional wreck, sobbing in the middle of the Kabin and asking Sally for advice. Sally shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Next week's Classic Corrie will be a good old mix of tragedy and happiness. Although if he's honest, the tragedy will cheer @merseytart right up.
Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekday afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.
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