Coronation Street Blog: January 2020

Friday, 31 January 2020

Corrie Comicals week ending Friday 31 January 2020

You know where you are with Evelyn. Ty has been trying convince Fiz to ask social services for Jade to have supervised visits with Hope. When he tells Evelyn this she makes it quite clear what her views are of Jade's mental state (above).

Jenny is trying to ruin her business as she refuses (at least initially) to sell Tim some pork scratchings as she is worried about his heart (and the beer is good for it?) as she does not want Sally on her case. Super large lugholes Charlie overhears this and demands to know who Sally is. Apparently she is Tim's sister - as everyone knows. My wife has a great theory about Charlie; she believes Charlie divorced Tim years and years ago and cannot go to the solicitor because she is already divorced.

It is endangered species today at Bessie Street and these two are well into the spirit of the event - Ruby spends both episodes refusing to talk and merely going "Rrrrooooaaaaarrrr" at everyone when she is asked a question. Slim pickings at a polar bear picnic too I think!

So ginger Ches is upset that he is not ginger and Gemma reckons she could not look smart, aspirational and upmarket ever - but we know the image Freschco want and there it is writ large. Who really wants a puffy face or bags under eyes in adverts? Certainly not Freschco!

Sally has been away visiting Gina and although she was pleased to see her sister, she admits she was even more pleased to see Gina getting smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror as the taxi pulled away!

Later this evening Sally and Charlie met in the Rovers and Sally denied she shares a gene pool with "muppet" Tim and states she is not his sister but is in fact Tim's wife. Charlie says that is not possible because she is Tim's wife. And above we can see the reaction on the faces of various Street residents who are in the Rovers to hear this exchange! It will be a shame if we lose Charlie (Sian Reeves) permanently from the Street - but I cannot see Sally being very forgiving.

I am away for a few weeks but will resume these posts when I return from holiday and have caught up with events!

Written by: Cameron McAllister & Chris Fewtrell (Monday); Sam Holdsworth & Susan Oudot (Wednesday); John Kerr & Emily Gascoyne (Friday)
Directed by: Sean Healy (Monday); Pip Short (Wednesday & Friday)

Kosmo
@Kosmo100

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CORRIE & EUROPE

There's a lot of talk at the moment in the UK about British identity. After the decision was taken to leave the EU the country has been having a bit of a nervous breakdown. Today we’re leaving so a bit of national soul-searching will kick in as we find our way in the world post-Brexit.

For me, there's nothing more British than sitting at home on my Swedish sofa, eating Chinese food, sipping a Belgian beer or an American bourbon and watching Britain's best telly programme, Coronation Street. Whilst it might not be a completely accurate representation of British society, Corrie covers a lot.

We Brits are workers, shirkers, lovers, fighters, barmaids, politicians, travellers, homebirds, passionate, nerdy, weird, and funny. We’re black, white, brown, pink, straight, bisexual, pansexual, gay, very gay and painfully gay. We're a nation of Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, sinners and all the rest. We’re men, women, trans, non-gender and everything in between. And over the years the characters in our longest running soap have reflected a lot of this. The Street itself is somewhat stuck in the past, which may be why it appeals to so many. That cobbled road and industrial red brick so synonymous with the North of England. The ever-popular boozer on the corner and everybody knowing everybody’s business. Life’s not really like that any more.

Many of the most passionate pro-Brexit Brits seem to want to take us back to a simpler time when you could leave your front door unlocked and you knew all your neighbours, and social media wasn’t driving us all crazy. I think we idealise the past sometimes and ignore all the amazing progress we’ve made over the past forty years in the EU. But I can understand why some think the pace of change is a bit overwhelming.

I just hope that after today the people of Britain embrace what is genuinely good about this country rather than descending into flag worship and endless renditions of the God Save the Queen. When you really think about it, all that stuff is just a bit weird. We are better than that. Not that a bit of light-hearted nationalism does too much harm in small doses. Corrie has offered a nod to ‘Britainnia’ and royalty from time to time:

BET LYNCH AS 'BRITAINNIA' FOR THE SILVER JUBILEE

But Coronation Street has also embraced Europe. We often forget how many times our favourite characters have crossed the channel for adventures on the continent.

Here a gaggle of absolute icons visit Majorca in 1972, just before Britain joined the EEC:

Becky, Roy and Hayley went on a Romanian adventure back in 2009 to attend Frankie's wedding and house sit while she was on honeymoon:

We were taken to Amsterdam after Hayley finished her transition and Roy sought to bring the love of his life home:

Freedom of movement has allowed many European characters to come and go. Irish hunk Ciaran for example benefited from being able to live and work and seduce women freely in the UK. More recently however, that benefit was abused by people traffickers who brought Alina and others to the UK to be sex slaves:

Anyway we're not leaving Europe, we're just leaving the EU. Holidays might be a bit more stressful and expensive but we will make the best of it. Perhaps our Corrie favourites will visit somewhere further afield next time bosses get the travel bug. I'd quite like to see Sally and Tim wandering round Moscow on the hunt for Tim's accidental trolly-dolly wife who's escaped with the divorce papers.

We should by all means embrace what's good about Britain. There's so much that's good. Corrie's just one of the institutions that makes me proud to be British. And we can want to hold onto everything about the UK that is different and unique to the rest of the world. We can cherish our memories of simpler times and try to reignite old traditions. But we mustn't shut the world out.

Unless Corrie's on.

@StevieDawson

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Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 29th Jan 7.30 & 8.30 pm

Daniel may still be weighed down by the grief from Sinead's death, but his misdemeanour with the missed measles immunisation is about to have very serious repercussions. Baby Bertie may have bounced back to health but pregnant Maria's condition rapidly deteriorates, and she's soon heading to the hospital accompanied by Dr Ali. Sadly, it's too late and she suffers a miscarriage. Ali then recognises the symptoms of measles and Maria wonders where she's caught it from.

Unaware of the imminent fallout, Daniel thanks Bethany for being by his side. Later, Daniel defends Bethany when faced with a few home truths from Beth about his friend's obvious infatuation

Talking of childcare, Paul and Billy offer respite to look after the quads, giving Gemma and Chesney some much-needed breathing space. At Victoria Gardens, Chesney feels amorous but Gemma admits to being down with baby blues and hang-ups about Bernie. I doubt she needs Freshco's photoshopping her body onto the back-end of a Weatherfield wayfarer either! Back home, Tara from Freshco's defends her marketing techniques but Gemma's fuming! Questioning the contract's validity the couple decide to visit Imran who tells them they've no chance of winning a fight with Freshco's. Chesney wants to keep the cash and carry on but Gemma's grievance seems to be cemented. Will the Frescho four campaign continue?

Meanwhile, Fiz and Ty arrange to meet with Christine to discuss Jade's access to Hope. Fiz and Ty seem to be settling back into family life now, so why involve Jade again? It can only mean more drama? I like Jade though so that's ok with me.

With Sally still away, two-timing Tim is keeping busy with his bigamy farce. I'm guessing Charlie will either become good friends with Sally or depart via Gatwick. However, she's hiding paperwork behind the bar, so surely that's an indication of her reluctance to divorce Tim? As I said last week, I do think that Tim is showing sides of his Father's sinister personality. I've called it first, just in case I can use this blog for social media boasting in a few months. In other news, Nick gives Sarah some time off to go Wedding dress shopping. Will Adam be in a kilt for the Scottish themed big day?

Returning from the hospital Maria sees that Gary is also back and breaks the devastating news. The hothead gangster plays it cool when he finds out, even approaching Ali with a handshake to thank him for his help. Is this a truce between the warring pair? Will Charlie sign the papers, and will Bethany and Daniel remain just good friends? I think all three questions have the same answer!

What did you think to this mid-week Corrie? Let us know in the comments section.

If you enjoyed this review give us a follow @rybazoxo over on twitter, your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'

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Preview of tonight's Coronation Street - Fri 31 Jan

FRIDAY 31ST JANUARY

Having phoned her Mum, Maria tells Audrey that neither she nor Kirk had measles vaccinations when they were children. Audrey reveals that baby Bertie’s been in hospital with measles and that she must have caught it from him. Maria’s shocked to hear that Daniel failed to have Bertie vaccinated, whilst Gary is livid. A furious Gary rails at Daniel, blaming him for the fact Maria’s lost the baby.
SALLY GETS A BIG SURPRISE Returning from Gina’s, Sally makes it clear to Tim that he’s still in the dog house. Tim assures her his divorce is all in hand and he’ll soon be shut of Charlie. But when Charlie summons Tim to the Rovers and admits she hasn’t signed the divorce papers as she reckons they should make a go of their marriage, Sally is horrified to realise everyone knows Tim’s a bigamist.
GEOFF FEARS YASMEEN WILL SEE THROUGH HIS TRICKS As Alya assures Yasmeen her drinking is fine, Geoff does his best to undermine her confidence. Peter asks Yasmeen to join him at his alcoholic support group. With Geoff’s words ringing in her ears, Yasmeen agrees.
ELSEWHERE In a bid to cheer up Gemma, Chesney offers to look after the quads while she goes for a drink with Emma. On the advice of the marriage guidance counsellor, Steve and Tracy make and effort to be nice to each other but it’s clear they’re both out of their comfort zone.

FRIDAY 31ST JANUARY

DANIEL WRAPS HIS ARMS AROUND THE GHOST OF SINEAD Back at the flat Daniel tells Bethany to put her wet clothes in the dryer and use Sinead’s dressing gown. Waking from a nap he thinks he can see Sinead and in his emotional state, Daniel confuses Bethany for Sinead. Kissing her tenderly he asks her to stay, will Bethany agree?
How will Charlie react to the news that Tim is a bigamist? Sally rails at Tim for failing to face up to his mistakes and by telling a pack of lies which has only made matters worse. However when Tim reveals he’s confessed all to the police, Sally’s furious and accuses him of making everything doubly worse.
GEOFF WORKS HIS MAGIC ON PETER When Michael hires Geoff to perform some magic tricks at Tiana’s birthday party, Yasmeen remarks that he’s a bit rusty. Geoff seethes. Returning from the meeting, Yasmeen tells Geoff it’s made her realise she doesn’t have an alcohol problem. Incensed, Geoff cracks open a bottle of wine and forces her to knock it back. Peter calls to check on Yasmeen and is concerned when Geoff claims it’s done more harm than good and she’s started drinking again!
ELSEWHERE Steve and Tracy find themselves railroaded into attending Ken’s book club as part of their relationship building exercise.

Glenda Young

Author of dramatic, historical novels with Headline

Twitter: @Flaming_Nora

Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor

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