The last few months of Classic Corrie have been mercifully Reg Holdsworth-light. Now it seems he's back with a vengeance, not only stinking up the screen with his "comedy" antics, but also appearing onscreen in a pair of boxer shorts. He'd been chucked out by his wife for having it away with the store detective Mrs Dodds and was sleeping in Bettabuys' stock room. The weak-minded fool decided the solution was to transfer Mrs Dodds to Bolton, rather than actually act like a grown-up. He dropped the job of telling her on Curly because of course he did. Gail booked a trip to a catering exhibition in Birmingham, but when Ivy had a go at her for leaving the kids with Audrey, she got upset and confessed to Alma she was going for an abortion. There was a lovely scene where Alma confessed she'd had one too, a long time ago, and it had been the right thing for her. But the abortion caused problems for the Websters, when Sally told Kevin about it and he said no man should lose his child without ever knowing about it. Ken continued to act the victim after ripping off Curly because everyone seemed to think he wasn't a nice guy. He got even more self-pitying when he saw Dave bringing flowers to Deirdre, their flirtation having turned into a couple of dates. He went into the Rovers to talk to Curly but lost his rag when Vera and Jack berated him. Mike intervened, and it somehow devolved into a fist fight, with Ken very much coming off the worse. Good.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 30th April and 2nd May 1990
Wendy discovered the battered Ken on her sofa. She told him to sleep it off, but returned later with a job advert he'd be suitable for, encouraging him to call them and get a head start before it appeared in the paper. He couldn't be bothered. At Bettabuys, Mrs Dodd's angry husband came in looking for the pervy manager he'd heard about, but got confused and ended up shoving Curly into a pile of Andrex. Reg moved out of the stock room and into the flat above Alf's shop; he's a permanent resident now. Oh dear. Kevin finally cracked and told Martin about the baby, so he drove to Victoria and confronted Gail as she headed to Liverpool for the abortion. He even followed her onto the train but she was adamant she was doing the right thing so he dejectedly got off at Broad Green. She changed her mind though, turning up at home, but it wasn't a happy reunion as she told him she felt like she was being forced into having a baby she didn't want. You wait until he comes out, love; you have no idea how much more trouble he'll cause.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 7th May 1990
Gail and Martin had a long heart-to-heart about the baby. She explained that she didn't want him tied to her against his will because she had his kid, and he said he loved her and he'd be with her forever, or at least until he got tired of acting and went off to run a cheese shop. Gail decided to keep it, and looked almost happy. Reg spent his Bank Holiday sleazing all over Alma and Bet in the pub while wearing a cravat. Curly went to see Ken Barlow to once again ask for money for his car, and Ken threw his wallet at him and slammed the door. Curly returned the wallet, because he's a decent human being, but it caused Ken to have a crisis. When Wendy came home he told her he'd ruined everything in his life and didn't want to be with her any more. He packed his bags and left. Wendy to Deirdre's with some stuff he'd forgotten and interrupted her hot date with Dave Barton. In the process she finally apologised for being a harlot, and I think I speak for everyone in the United Kingdom when I say too little, too late.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 11th May 1990
Deirdre received a letter from Ken with his new address, which caused Dave anxiety as he suspected the Barlows would soon be reunited. Tracy decided to meddle and told him that they were getting back together. Newton & Ridley invited Alec to HQ to inform him they were going to refurbish and update the Rovers. The Gilroys went to the Riverboat in Pendlebury, the brewery's new flagship pub, and Bet was horrified to discover it was American themed with Southern fried chicken and Budweiser on tap. Martin and Gail invited the in-laws round to tell them the happy news. Ivy panicked, thinking they were going to get married, but obviously she was overjoyed to learn there was a baby on the way. LOL, not really, she had a face like a smacked backside.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 16th May 1990
Human vinegar pot Ivy Brennan stormed around Weatherfield spreading spite and fury. She accosted Alf and Audrey and demanded they intervene and when she got short shrift she went to Gail and yelled at her for bringing an illegitimate child into the world. She told her she'd planned on aborting it, and Ivy lost her rag again, and Gail pointed out that she couldn't do right for doing wrong. Ivy demanded that Martin and Gail get married so the child was legitimate. On a historic level, this is probably the huge row Mrs Brennan went home and wrote about in her diary, leaving it in the attic for David to find and therefore causing Christmas 2006 to be horribly ruined. Bet was horrified by the Newton & Ridley's plans to transform the Rovers into a New York-style bar called Yankees and told all the regulars about the scheme. "Imagine Betty," she complained. "Twelve months time it could be wall-to-wall estate agents and baseball caps swinging from t'light fittings." The Gilroys were summoned to the brewery to view the plans, with refurbishment planned to start the following week, but Bet continued to stamp her foot and gave Nigel Ridley a piece of her mind. Deirdre discovered Tracy's shenanigans and made it up with Dave, happy she'd nipped it in the bud and put paid to her daughter ever being an underhand duplicitous cow again. Jack persuaded Liz and Jim to let him have a play with the motorbike, and took Vera out for a whirl round the district. He ended up getting caught by the police for speeding on an uninsured, untaxed, un-MOT'd vehicle.
Who's a more repellent human being: Ken Barlow or Reg Holdsworth? Let me know on Twitter @merseytart.
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Thanks for another great review. Reg was only bearable when he appeared in very small doses, I did find him quite amusing back then. But once he was a permanent character, total pain. *shudder* we have that dreadful water bed scene to look forward to before long.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the Deirdre and Dave story, because it's two fingers up at Ken (who was the worse of the two to answer your question) and because they became a real life couple.
Love that pic of Ivy! Lynn Perrie was brilliant as such an unlikable nasty piece of work!