It's that time of year so here comes that plotline again: yes, Betty's resigned from the Rovers in a huff. It was down to Vera and Jack this time, as they'd taken over the pub and kept Betty in the kitchen. When Vera then asked her to clean the place as well she hoiked up her bosoms and stormed out. It wasn't the only hassle for the Duckworths' first day, as the brewery took their whizzy electronic tills with them, leaving Vera to dispense change out of her handbag. Still, they were delighted to finally rule the roost at the Rovers. Raquel's modelling agent paid her a visit and his eye was caught by Fiona in the street. After a bit of persuading he convinced her to sign up to his agency, putting both Raquel and Maxine in a nark for being overlooked. Liz persuaded Jim to finally apologise to Mike in the hope of getting his job back; Mike took the public apology then threw it back in his face. It didn't go down well with the residents though and they gave him the cold shoulder, with Gail, of all people, going in to bat for Jim with a big speech about neighbourly behaviour.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 6th and 8th November 1995
Denise put on a tea party for her sister and brother in law. They were so dull even Ken, King of Tedium, found them too much. (Incidentally they've redecorated the living room at number one in a horrible shade of mint green; even that nasty wallpaper they've got today would be an improvement). At the pub, Vera was forced to cater, wheeling out her own version of the hotpot that unfortunately didn't go down as well as Betty's. As a replacement, the Duckworths bought a batch of pies off Fred Elliott, but when the customers started suffering stomach pains Jack told him his dodgy grub was to blame. Fred argued back that it was dodgy beer, and they almost had a fight until Martin told them there was a bug going round. Leo was sacked from Firmans and he turned up at the pub, blaming Raquel for his misfortune and swearing revenge. Combined with Fiona seemingly leaping over her on the modelling ladder, she felt despondent, and cried on Curly's shoulder. Vicky was frustrated with having to deal with Steve's immaturity. When she asked him to tidy up he hired a cleaner, and when they went to a casino with a client he spent ridiculous amounts of cash. Finally she put her foot down and refused to give him any more money, leaving the client smirking, and Steve told her that maybe they shouldn't be married if she was going to be so controlling. He decided to sleep on the sofa bed to punish her (giving us a look at his skinny little body; thank goodness Simon Gregson subsequently discovered the joy of chips because he looks much healthier now).
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 10th and 13th November 1995
Roy's back! And he seems to have been rewritten, because now he's a bit more like the caring Mr Cropper we know and love. He's even got his shopping bag. He was worried about Deirdre shutting herself away in her flat and tried to help her. When she turned him away, he told Mike, who advised her to come out of herself and stop brooding over Samir. Daniel was christened, with a celebration tea in the Rovers and Jack taking the opportunity to trial some beer from Nuttall's Brewery. It went down especially well with Alf, though Percy was in a nark when he saw some of it came out of a can; he also objected to baby Daniel being in the bar because he's a very tedious little man. Reg and Curly were talked into appearing in a line up at the police station as they were trying to identify a flasher. Much to Reg's horror, the witness picked him as the pervert, and the police began to think that maybe he had something to hide. He appeared in another line up and took his wig off to try and avoid being identified a second time, arousing the police's suspicions even more.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 15th and 17th November 1995
It was Jim's 40th birthday, so it was - yes, I know, he's only 40 - and he spent the day getting drunk in the pub. He turned up at Steve and Vicky's for a special dinner absolutely pie-eyed and made a show of himself. Liz was left feeling abandoned and lonely, and she confided in Des. Oh dear. Eric Firman told Reg the police had been asking him about his conduct. At first he was worried, but then Eric gave him some good news: he wanted him to take over a Firman's distribution centre in Lowestoft. Reg wanted to go, because that would escape the whispers that he was a perv, but Maud pointed out it'd look like he was fleeing. Maureen meanwhile was worried about leaving her mother on her own. Judy and Gary Mallett noisily moved into their new home, very much a younger version of the Duckworths, arriving to keep down the house prices on the Street.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 20th and 22nd November 1995
The five-a-side lads went out to play another match with half the street cheering them on. As they watched, Phyllis was accosted by the flasher. Because she's ace, she hammered him with her handbag and he had no choice but to submit (Maxine: "Weren't you upset?" Phyllis: "Was I heck. I said to him, give us a minute while I get my glasses out."). The arrest meant that Reg was off the hook so he decided he could go to Lowestoft after all. Unfortunately he'd already burned his wig in a sulk but never mind. Fiona was taken by mechanic Tony Horrocks, a player on the opposing team, and he bought her a drink afterwards. At the bookies, Liz and Des got even closer, and they shared a kiss. Liz told him they could only be friends but he continued to flirt with her. Des should've offered her a couple of tanks and a rocket launcher to sweeten the deal. Liz felt guilty when Jim cooked her a nice meal to make up to her, but she told him that they had problems that they needed to deal with.
I am pleased to announce that Monday's Classic Corrie will feature the last appearance of Reg Holdsworth as a permanent member of the cast. Join me on Twitter @merseytart to celebrate.
Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every day from 14:50 and you can catch up via the ITV Hub.
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