Sunday, 31 January 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 18th and 20th August 1997

It was Jack and Vera's ruby wedding anniversary and the rest of the Street joined them in the Rovers to celebrate.  They handed out free first drinks but Alec kept a tab on who got one so he could charge the Duckworths for it later.  Gail made up with Sally and invited her to the pub.  She enjoyed herself - until Natalie and Kevin turned up.  Sally lost her temper and called her a hypocrite for celebrating a wedding anniversary when she was a dirty homewrecker; Natalie fought back and told her she'd rescued Kevin from a boring marriage.  Vera capped off the night by presenting herself to Jack in a filthy negligee she'd got off Angie, and he realised he was going to have to have sex with her (Bill Tarmey practically broke the fourth wall as he pulled his horrified faces, pleading with the audience for help).  The police told Les they'd found his car but (a) it was a write off and (b) it was nicked in the first place.  To stop them from suspecting him, he gave them the name of the bloke he bought it off - and threw in the lads who robbed the corner shop as well.  Maud identified them down the police station and gave the Battersbys their shopping for free out of gratitude.  

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 24th August 1997

Natalie's ex-husband stopped her money because she was living with a new bloke.  It meant that Kevin couldn't afford to give Sally the same maintenance but he refused to drop the amount.  Natalie took it upon herself to sort it out, and turned up at number 13 to ask Sally to drop her demands.  Kevin was disgusted that she'd gone behind his back and they rowed.  He finally realised he should never have left Sally in the first place and walked out on her.  Good.  Samantha decided to leave Weatherfield and move down to London.  She had a goodbye meal at number 6, and Des begged her to stay.  Alec meanwhile was unhappy to hear Sam was leaving because that meant the pub was lacking a sex bomb.  He told Vera that they needed a younger clientele with a jukebox and fewer old faces behind the bar, but she misunderstood what he was hinting at and thought he wanted rid of Betty.  Betty did her usual outraged act but Alec said she'd be in charge of the catering; in a first, she didn't storm out in a huff, so they must be saving the 1997 version of that storyline for later in the year.  When Vera realised he meant her she was furious and said she'd never leave.  Maureen decided to sell the shop, but Fred had a different idea: marry him and combine the shop with the butcher's.  She agreed but warned him she didn't really love him.  


WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 25th and 27th August 1997

Zoe got lathered on vodka and smoked a few fags with Leanne because just because she's pregnant doesn't mean she can't have some fun.  In a moment of karmic justice she promptly went into labour.  She was forced to have a Caesarian, but soon gave birth to a little girl.  Judy was there the whole time and was thrilled that she finally had her daughter.  Maud was disgusted to hear that Maureen was engaged to Fred and vented her frustration by dousing him with a fire extinguisher in the shop.  She thought Maureen was being a mug again.  Fred argued with Maud, telling her that she only cared about Maureen as a nursemaid.  Kevin stayed away from Natalie and told Sally it was all over and he wanted to return.  She pretended she didn't care, but was secretly thrilled; when he spent the evening with her and the girls she realised how much she wanted him back.  Unfortunately in the meantime Kev had made up with Natalie.  At the Rovers, Vera decided to take over the catering so they could get rid of Betty.  The only problem was she couldn't cook and she promptly burned Curly's insides with her chili.  On the plus side, Sam agreed to stay, so they still had a saucepot behind the bar.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 29th and 31st August 1997

Natalie, lacking basic human decency as usual, took on a job at the Rovers.  She didn't understand why it would be a problem.  Everyone except Alec thought this was a bad idea, with Betty refusing to talk to her and Rita boycotting the pub on principle.  Vera was disgusted and called her a "known trollop".  Alec pointed out that if they barred everyone who'd had a bit on the side the pub would be empty.  Sally tried to get Kevin back, but he told her he was with Natalie now, and she sobbed to Gail about how she wasn't wanted any more.  Judy tried to persuade Gary to put his name down as the father on the birth certificate, but he was wary as it was a legal document.  Also he didn't want everyone to think he was a pervert who had sex with a teenager.  However, yet again, Judy sobbed and begged and he caved.  They called the baby Katie and brought her and Zoe back to the Street.  


FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 1st and 3rd September 1997

The factory girls went in the pub for their lunchtime pints and were horrified to see Natalie.  Sally left, and Janice followed; they decided that they were going to boycott the pub while she was working there.  In a moment that deeply disappointed me, Ida got bored of it and soon wandered back.  Vera took the battle to her marriage, refusing to cook or clean for Jack while Natalie was there.  He finally got up the courage to sack her but she resigned anyway.  Sally got her own back though and told Natalie Kevin had wanted to return to the family and she'd turned him away.  Zoe put on a show for the midwife but she resented the way the Malletts pushed her in the background.  She showed the baby to Leanne, but Judy came back in and disapproved.  It seemed she was starting to bond with Katie whether she liked it or not.  Angie and Chris looked at the flat above the bookies but she wasn't keen.  He realised that she might not be that keen on their relationship either.  Deirdre was excited to be moving in with Jon and showed Liz the outside of his posh house.  As they drove away, the real owner turned up...


@merseytart will never forgive Natalie.  Never.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday afternoon and is also on the ITV Hub.







All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

No comments:

Post a Comment