It was Sarah-Louise's birthday, and you know what that means? Yes, the Platt children are all going to do some terrible stiff acting. Also cake. Don threw her a birthday party, despite Vera warning Josie that number 5 was haunted by Ivy's ghost. Josie didn't believe in hauntings, but she did believe that Ivy Tilsley would never leave her life, though she reconsidered her position when the candles on Sarah-Lou's birthday cake blew out all by themselves. Mike pushed Alma into doing a catering deal with Stephen, not realising that she fancied the pants off him. God knows why. Fiona was struggling with running the salon, mainly because Maxine was being a pain. She was staying out all night and turning up late. When she closed the salon so she could have an afternoon kip Fiona reached the end of her tether and sacked her, even though they were still flatmates. Elsewhere, Kevin told Ken to stop relying on Sally to childmind because she had two kids of her own, which annoyed her, and Jim and Liz continued to be awkward with one another.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 9th February 1996
Deirdre and Liz glammed themselves up and went for a night on the tiles. Liz was going for a job at a posh wine bar and they wanted to check it out. They didn't realise that Jim was loitering on the sidelines, watching. He went to the pub to find out if they were holding interviews and were told they weren't. He got ready to confront Liz, only for her to reveal they were actually being held in a hotel nearby. Fiona told Tony about her awkward home life and he suggested they move in together. She turned him down, so he went ballistic and they split up. Maxine comforted her so she gave her a job again - just in time for Denise to return to the Street to chat about her managing the shop. Denise then tried to sneak across the road to collect some things, only to find Ken was there interviewing a new child minder. She held Daniel for a minute then broke down, storming out and promising never to return. Sarah-Louise claimed she'd seen Ivy's ghost at the upstairs window, which freaked out Martin and Gail, but pleased Vera as it made her seem less mad. Fat chance.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 14th February 1996
Today's episodes were enhanced by the appearance of a Coronation Street legend: IDA BLEEDING CLOUGH. She'd returned to talk to Vera about the spirit of Ivy Tilsley but sadly she didn't tell Vera to get a grip. Maud volunteered her services as a medium and they went to number 5 to contact her beyond the veil. Don returned halfway through and threw them out. Both Mike and Steve tried to get contracts with Stephen supplying sportswear. Mike discovered that the world of business had changed, as Stephen wanted cost projections and presentations rather than simply shaking hands with him over a Scotch. Jon, the former professional at the salon, turned up unexpectedly - without his sad little goatee but with a big flouncy set of 1990s curtains. He announced that Denise had agreed to sell the business to him. Fiona went to see her at home and angrily called her a cow for selling the lease over her head and putting her out of a job. Denise agreed to sell the business to Fiona instead - if she could raise the cash.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 16th and 19th February 1996
Stephen held his big reception at the Town Hall with Alma providing the catering. It was a hit and Alma was thrilled. (In a moment of Corrie history, Martin was left holding the reins at the cafe, and had to take on Roy to help him fry some bacon, beginning Mr Cropper's career in catering on the Street). On top of that, Stephen gave Mike the contract for his sportswear. Alma celebrated by trying to kiss Stephen, only to be immediately rebuffed. Unfortunately Audrey saw her fleeing his hotel room. Fiona was turned down for a bank loan to buy the salon so she went to her brother, Anthony Trueman from EastEnders. He agreed to lend her the money but she'd have to pay it back in a year. Don persuaded a mate of his to pretend to be a priest and perform an exorcism at the house to try and shut Vera up. It worked for a while, until she felt a chill in the Rovers and became convinced that Ivy's spirit had possessed the pub. So it looks like this storyline is still hanging around whether we like it or not. Andy owed Des fifty quid rent, so Liz gave him the money. When Jim found out he accused her of giving money to her fancy man because he has no sense of proportion whatsoever.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 21st and 23rd February 1996
Jack was convinced Vera was off her rocker, but he decided to indulge her when realised that haunted pubs attract ghost tourists. Roy leant her some books on ghosts (because early Roy believes in the paranormal apparently) and Jack got the Gazette round to tell them the story. He pretended he'd seen Ivy in the cellar to try and keep the reporter (Norman who fell off a diving board in Guernsey out of dinnerladies) interested in the story. Alma apologised to Stephen in one of those roundabout ways that implied she really regretted it unless he was up for it in which case let her know. Audrey confronted him over Alma's hotel visit, and he told her he'd tried it on with Alma to protect her. She apologised to Alma on Stephen's behalf, only to be told that she'd been the guilty party. Stephen finally flew back to Canada, and thank goodness, because he was sending me to sleep. Liz decided to book a surprise trip to Northern Ireland to cheer Jim up, not realising that he'd return to the house in the middle of the day to check up on her. When Bill told her in the Rovers that he'd vanished form work, she went back to endure his jealous rage, and threw the ferry tickets at him. Jim realised he was losing his mind and begged for her forgiveness. Fiona got Tony to paint out Denise's name on the hairdresser's sign. Denise arrived to say goodbye to her and the salon before she moved off with Brian and to establish there was no hard feelings. She followed Kelly the childminder to the Red Rec and said one last goodbye before disappearing forever - or rather, about nine months...
It turns out the author is also being haunted, though apparently it's by the Ghost of Tedious Storylines. Send him the name of a priest via Twitter @merseytart.
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