It's a year since they finished the posh side of the Street, and they've finally got round to filling some of the vacant units. Phil took over the factory unit - again without telling Deirdre - as a place to refurbish his arcade machines. He also told Alec that he was lying low so he wouldn't be called as a witness in a trial. The shop unit on the corner, now better known as the salon, became a charity shop. It turned out that was the reason for Emily's hospital visits - the shop would be raising money for Weatherfield General. I'm not sure how the producers thought a tatty charity shop would be good for drama, but there you go. Reg's wife Veronica returned from New Zealand and went straight round to the Kabin. She called Rita out as his latest fancy piece and told her she was welcome to him, as she was off with another bloke and selling the house. Rita told Reg to get lost as he'd said they were separated. It was all badly timed for her relationship with Jenny, as she'd just given her a big talk about the perils of being a mistress, and Jenny wasted no time in smugly calling her a hypocrite. Vera buried her mother, and was surprised by a caveat in the will asking her to take care of Amy's friend Joss Shackleton. When she asked him who he was and why he was so close to her mum he revealed the truth: he was her biological father.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 27th February and 1st March 1991
Deirdre officially opened the Friends of Weatherfield Hospital Charity Shop. The first storyline was Percy doing the old "charity shop worker leaves his coat lying around and it's sold" warhorse. Once again, what is the point of this place? Vera was adjusting to her new parentage, but finding it filled in a lot of gaps in her past and was strangely comforting. She invited Joss to stay, booting Curly onto the sofa. Phil and Alec hatched plans to reopen the Graffiti Club, now rechristened the "Al-Phi-Bet" after its owners. Bet was unconvinced until Phil suggested that she run it, but her enthusiasm was quickly dampened when she learned Alec would have to invest £60,000 in the project. Jenny and Rita finally made up as she dropped a bombshell: Robert had left his wife, and she was going to move in with him. Incidentally, the actor who played Robert would later return to the show as Ian Davenport, who had a filthy affair with Sally behind Kevin's back, so he's clearly a cad. She offered her a heartfelt goodbye and left the Street (for a couple of years). It's a shame to see her go, but it was clear she wasn't working as a character; Jenny came back from her holiday in France and transformed into a completely different person, which usually means the producers don't know what to do with her and were trying something out. Still, we all know she'll be back in twenty odd years to pull amazing faces and rule the Rovers, so it's just au revoir.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 6th March 1991
Alec continued his pursuit of the AlPhiBet Club by looking to borrow the £60,000. After he recovered from the shock of a woman bank manager (played by Paul the Fireman's wife who electrocuted herself) he was offered only £30,000. Bet agreed, after a bit of sentimental hemming and hawwing, to sell the Rovers to pay their share, only for Phil to turn up and tell him he was going into partnership with a couple of mates and he didn't need the Gilroys any more. With Jenny gone, Angie needed a new housemate, and she found one in the form of Curly, who was sick of sleeping on the sofa while Jess took his bed. Raquel was unamused by him having a female housemate and even more unamused when she saw how pretty she was. Angie also turned out to be the one who bought Percy's waistcoat, which she'd transformed using her mad fashion skills, but the miserable old sod demanded it back anyway. Liz was rooting under Andy's bed - never a good idea with teenage boys - and found something shocking. No, not a well-thumbed copy of Razzle; a chocolate box containing eighty quid. And at number six, Des's devotion to the boat was causing trouble between him and Steph. She felt ignored so she booked a skiing holiday. For one.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 11th March 1991
Jim sat down with Andy to discuss the money under his bed, anticipating a horrorshow. He confessed that he'd raised the money by running a book on the FA Cup. Instead of being annoyed, Jim was delighted at his son's entrepreneurial skills, though Liz was less keen. Steph spent £500 on skiwear for her holiday and Des pretended to be delighted, hoping that reverse psychology would work and get her to stay. Alec was still furious at Phil, and Percy gave him the idea to block the new club by getting the Council to refuse planning permission. That wouldn't happen while Phil's girlfriend was on the committee so he buttered up Alf in a bid to get him to run for Councillor again. Audrey did not approve. Raquel had won a place in the Miss Bettabuys North West Regional Finals, meaning she'd have to go to Buxton for the weekend, and Curly naturally volunteered to be her chaperone. Randy Reg however thought he should spend the trip with her and bumped Curly off the trip. Quick reminder that Raquel is an adult human with her own thoughts, not a bargaining chip for a couple of old pervs to fight over.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 13th and 15th March
Jim refused to punish Andy for his book, leaving Liz feeling lonely, and even considering grassing him up herself. She didn't need to though because Ken Barlow heard Jim talking about it in the Rovers and immediately got on his high horse. He tried to lecture Jim about families destroyed by gambling, only to be told that families also got destroyed by the dad playing away, if you catch my drift. The Barnes continued to war. Steph refused to do the housework, but finally caved, only to have Des take the mick. She smashed all the plates in a rage. Des continued to refuse to take her seriously - buying paper plates because they couldn't be broken - and she went to the Rovers, on the verge of tears. Also experiencing marital problems were Alf and Audrey, as she refused to go to another of his boring Weatherfield Traders meetings. He got tipsy and got a lift home off Betty from Emmerdale, who flattered his ego and told him the public needed a Councillor like him. He announced he was throwing his hat in the ring. Curly blackmailed Reg into backing out of the Miss Bettabuys trip by revealing he had the book of raffle tickets from the dodgy trolley dash. Raquel was disheartened by the competition, and ended up coming nowhere, but she did attract the eye of Chief Judge Brendan Scott. He knocked on her hotel room door with a bottle of champers and two glasses only to find Curly in a state of undress. Upset, and probably rightly sick of being treated like a slab of meat, Raquel slammed the door on them and left them both out in the corridor.
@merseytart still can't believe anyone thought a Charity Shop would be a valuable addition to the Street.
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