Deirdre and Samir went to see a solicitor about his possible deportation. Apparently they interrupted the lawyer during his second job at a Christmas grotto because he had a table covered in wrapping paper and Sellotape. Samir was pessimistic about his chances, and about Britain in general, so he said he was moving back to Morocco. Deirdre was horrified but finally agreed to go with him. Christmas arrangements caused hassle all round. Steve invited himself round Fiona's so he didn't have to spend time with Jim and Liz. Martin went into work on Christmas Day, leaving Gail in a nark; he stayed late for wine with a colleague because he couldn't face going home to the miserable Platt family. He ended up snogging her, but was spotted by Alf during his mayoral rounds. At the Duckworths' Jack and Vera exchanged presents - fags for him, a bread board for her. Vera gave Cliff a nice jumper, which narked Jack, but she reminded him that he'd get the jumper in Cliff's will when he died. And festive salutations to you too Vera. And Curly unveiled his present for Raquel: a star he'd had named Mrs Raquel Watts. But the best Christmas present of all came in the form of Phyllis Pearce, who made her first appearance for nearly a year as Jill Summers had recovered from her illness. She was as randy as usual, conning Percy into a kiss under the mistletoe, and it was delightful.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 28th December 1994
Mike indulged in another round of his favourite hobby: winding up Ken Barlow. He gave Deirdre £15,000 for number 1 as ready cash, saying he'd sell it on later and give her the money. Deirdre said her goodbyes to a disbelieving Street. Liz thought she was mad, while Tracy thought her life was ruined and attacked Samir. Deirdre came back and reconciled with her daughter with a hug. Martin had a word with Cathy about their one night stand, and she told him to get over himself. He took Gail to a nasty looking restaurant out of guilt and admitted he'd been finding their relationship tough. She was far more understanding than he deserved. Curly bought Raquel a ring and she showed it off in the Rovers. Cliff signed everything over to Jack in his will, roping in Kevin and Raquel as witnesses (he suggested Phyllis, but Jack rejected her on the grounds you needed someone "sound of mind and body" - her face was a picture).
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 30th December 1994 and 2nd January 1995
A new year meant new beginnings all over the Street. Nicky got sick of being left at Don's all on his own while he worked nights and moved back into number 8. He was still a sulky little twat. Derek decided to start a health regime, which meant he ran around in a tracksuit way too much. Raquel and Curly decided to have an engagement party. There was a lovely bit of banter between her and Bet as Raquel realised she'd forgotten to invite her landlady, but Des was less excited to receive an invite, and politely declined. Cliff gave the Duckworths' stone cladding a makeover by painting selected bricks bright blue; Jack was horrified but Vera thought it was delightful. Deirdre and Samir departed for Morocco, with a last minute hug from Emily and Ken watching wistfully from down the street. He had more important things on his mind as Denise went into labour at the cafe. At first she refused to let Ken near her but then, as the pain got worse, she begged him to come to the hospital.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 6th January 1995
There were mysterious callers to the Duckworth house, arousing Vera's suspicions. She thought Jack must have a fancy woman. In reality they were trying to get hold of Cliff, and Jack was batting them off - unsuccessfully, as he ended up with a black eye from someone who thought he was his brother. Eventually Cliff's wife Elsie arrived and took him away, leaving Vera to think she'd maybe got the best Duckworth after all. Denise gave birth to baby Daniel and made up with Ken as she huffed and puffed. He tried to buy number 1 off Mike but he refused out of sheer bloody mindedness, I mean, because he was planning on renting the house out. Derek was going all out on his health kick, jogging and buying vitamins, though he was secretly stuffing his face when nobody was looking. Des turned up at the engagement party (soundtracked by the M People because it's the mid-90s) and cornered Raquel. He told her not to marry Curly; he said he loved her and she should marry him instead. A tearful Raquel told him he ruined everything and asked him to leave... but his words rang true, and she confessed to Curly that though he was a lovely man, she couldn't marry him.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 11th January 1995
The street was reeling from Raquel and Curly's broken engagement. The general feeling was that Curly didn't deserve to be treated that way, with Bet and Betty taking turns to tell Raquel how cruel she was being. Curly realised that Des had proposed to Raquel at the party and it pushed him over the edge. He went to the betting shop and challenged Des to a fight, only for it to be broken up by Don, then when he went into work at Superscooper he cracked and went nuts pouring beans and pasta all over the shop. He resigned and went home despondent. Bet assured him that Raquel hadn't been deliberately malevolent but Curly still ended up crying into her bosom. Denise came home with Daniel but refused to accept visitors. The one that she really wanted to get rid of - Ken - was determined to help, making up a bed on the sofa and generally getting under her feet. That didn't last long, did it?
@merseytart is quite glad they split up to be honest because Raquel is way too good for the lot of them.
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