Derek and Mavis's Holiday From Hell continued, as they were trapped in the departure lounge with Jim Branning in a tam o'shanter. Worse, one of the most famous Cockernee Geezer character actors was trying to do a Northern accent. They finally got word that Rosamund Travel had gone bust and the owner had vanished with their money. Mavis called Rita and and she stormed the Rovers, accusing Alec of being a conman. He went to Manchester Airport to try convincing the Wiltons he hadn't sold them the holiday under false pretences but they flipped at him. He drove them back from the airport but their constant yammering made him stop the car and leave them by the Princess Parkway. The final blow came when they got home and discovered that number 4 had been burgled. I blame Percy, who'd fed Harry the budgie earlier the day, and who was probably too busy patronising The Blessed Phyllis Pearce to lock the door. Alma was also being deprived of a holiday, as Jackie Ingram begged Mike to stay with her to help run the factory and he put his Parisian weekend on ice. Ken was still complaining about the PJ Leisure sports kits, entirely because he objected to the commercialisation of the education system and not, as the headmistress intimated, because he was angry about Phil's burgeoning friendship with Deirdre. When Alec revealed he'd known Phil in his Graffiti Club days, but he'd had a different name, Ken was straight round number 1 to spread the joy. She gave him short shrift, but still brought it up with Phil, who said he used to be called Smith until he changed it by deed poll to escape his criminal past.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th November 1990
The poor long-suffering Wiltons reacted to the burglary in different ways. Mavis went to pieces at the violation of her sanctuary and stayed with Rita rather than returning home. Derek got angry, shouting at Alec that he wouldn't be having all this trouble if he hadn't swindled him out of £800, and accusing Percy of enabling the burglary after a policeman played by a young Mark Jordon said there was no sign of a break-in. Percy took umbrage at the accusation he'd left the door unlocked and resolved to find the burglar himself, though what he actually did was accuse the milkman of doing it and lost Emily's delivery of semi-skimmed. Phil took Deirdre and Tracy to the fireworks (where, if you looked closely, you could see a tiny Andrew Whyment in the crowd) then shared a curry and a bottle of champers with them back at number 1. Ken was outraged to see Phil's Merc parked outside next morning and barged his way into the house to confront him because he wanted to "protect his daughter". There was no sign of Phil, for the very good reason that Don had taken him home the previous night so he didn't drink and drive, but Ken's invasion of Deirdre's home sent her to the solicitor's for a stern letter telling him to back off. Meanwhile Mark was experiencing a certain amount of.... frustration, as Jenny refused to put out, and when things did start getting a bit intimate, Angie turned up in another of her incredible hats and poured cold water on things.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 12th November 1990.
In 2018, relentlessly pursuing your ex-wife against her will despite legal intervention would be called stalking. In 1990 it's somehow seen as romantic. Betty certainly seemed to think so, telling Deirdre that Ken constantly harassing her and turning up in the yard must be proof he loves her. Phil took it upon himself to intervene and threatened Ken if he didn't leave her alone. Ken reacted by... going round to see Deirdre and telling her what Jennings had done. I mean honestly. Mark tried to get Jenny to kick Angie out and let him move in instead, but she rightly pointed out that was insane. Alec got his money back for the holiday from the credit card company so he considered giving the Wiltons their £800 back - swiftly knocking it down to £500 when he decided to add in "expenses". Mavis continued to refuse to return home, and went so far as to claim that the only way she'd be happy would be if number 4 was sold. Derek went to pieces in a distinctly camp and hammy manner. He wailed at his wife and got smashed in the Rovers. Percy's investigations continued: next on his list of suspects was the paperboy, who unsurprisingly didn't take kindly to an old man shouting at him in the street.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 16th November 1990
Alma was worried when Mike didn't call her as usual from his conference in Harrogate. She tried phoning him, and was surprised when Jackie Ingram took the call. Mike lied that she'd turned up out of the blue when he'd deliberately not told Alma she was with him. She was reassured by his story until Ivy mentioned that Jackie hadn't returned the next day, as Mike said, but was still at the conference. Deirdre asked Phil about Ken's story, and he told her a load of guff about it being a misunderstanding. Mavis finally went back to number 4 and a hungover Derek. Meanwhile Percy continued his investigation, fending off the furious dad of Nigel the paperboy and thoroughly irritating Emily. It was a bit of a disappointment when his sleuthing came up trumps. He spotted a Maurice Jones van parked outside what's now Gail's garage (incidentally, isn't it weird that Steph is Maurice's daughter but he stopped visiting the Street the day she moved in) and called the police because he suspected it was be the burglar. It turned out one of the builders had copied the keys during construction and was in the process of letting himself into Steph and Des's house and robbing their stuff. Derek accosted him and lost his filling in the process, but the police got him in the end, leaving Percy the hero of the Street.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 21st November 1990
Remember Eddie Ramsden, the wastrel who tried to marry Tina just so he could keep his baby? It was a really boring storyline that went on forever so obviously it's time to revisit it. Don picked up a woman and her baby and she turned out to be Marie, Eddie's wife. Eddie had run off and left her, which seems incredibly out of character given how much he fought for custody of Jamie in the first place, but it was all a contrivance so they could deal with the SERIOUS ISHOO of single mothers living in dreadful council flats. Tracy Barlow began her career as a sexual predator by ensnaring her first victim, I mean, boyfriend: a lad called Graham with bottle bottom specs and a desire to be an accountant. When Trace brought him round for tea Deirdre was initially concerned they may get up to shenanigans, but after spending ten minutes with him boring the backside off her she packed them upstairs to listen to Bobby Brown. Alma confronted Mike about his relationship with Jackie, but he denied there was anything going on. She insisted that he give up his job then fretted about being so needy and tried to call him and get him to change his mind. Of course, Baldwin had no intention of giving up his job, and the reason he couldn't be contacted on the phone was he was having a romantic dinner at the Widow Ingram's house. They confessed their attraction to one another and took champagne up to the bedroom. Poor Alma.
The only thing sustaining @merseytart through this awful Mike & Jackie storyline is the knowledge that she'll be pointing a shotgun at him in a few months time. He deserves nothing less.
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1 comment:
There were some brilliant Mavis moments in all that drama. Especially funny when Alex kicked them out of the car next to the rugby players changing their shorts. I have a better appreciation of some of the old characters second time around.
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