The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 6th February 1998

Leanne started work at the Kabin, with Rita laying down the law.  She was sweetly nervous at dealing with the mighty Mrs Fairclough, even offering to pay for her morning cup of tea, and Rita seemed charmed.  At the Red Rec, Les tripped over one of the concrete bases for the fences and let out a dramatic scream.  He insisted on going to hospital where Martin caught him kicking the vending machine.  He told Les he was a scrounger so when he returned home he told Leanne she couldn't have anything more to do with the Platts.  Les then walked round with a cane and used it to smack Martin in the Rovers.  Gail and Martin returned home and found Leanne and Nicky in flagrante.  (They passed up the opportunity to have him shirtless, for the first and last time in the show's history).  In the subsequent row, Nicky admitted that they were married.  Samantha was still finding Des's undying love incredibly annoying and admitted to Natalie that she didn't want to marry him.  She didn't want to hurt him by ending it though so she went to see Ritchie to ask him to cancel the divorce.  Coward.

TUESDAY MORNING - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 9th February 1998

The Platts were horrified to discover they had a new daughter-in-law.  Martin told Nicky he was throwing his life away while Gail thought he did it purely out of spite.  They went over the road and shared the news with the Battersbys, upsetting Janice but amusing Les, who was glad it would wind up the Platts.  With nowhere else to go, they ended up at Ashley's - number 4 is now basically a halfway house.  Mavis would be so upset.  Steve talked to Fiona and she told him she no longer cared about Jim ruining her life, and maybe he should forgive him too.  He went to the Rovers and shared a pint with his Dad.  However, Maxine was about the throw a spanner in the works.  She went out clubbing and to impress a bloke she told him Hair by Fiona Middleton belonged to her.  Unfortunately the bloke's name was also Jim, so when he did a dedication on the radio to "Fiona Middleton," Steve assumed it was his father and was angry.  Samantha went down to London and explained to Ritchie that she wanted him to cancel the divorce.  He found her duplicity amusing, and suggested they try again, but refused to promise to do what she wanted.  Later that day though he called Des and told him the divorce was off.  Alma decided to set up Hayley with Curly as a way of getting her off her back.  She organised a dinner party (which Mike refused to attend because he's a twat; this is not a criticism) but when a drunken Audrey told him the real purpose of the evening he fled - leaving Hayley to chat to one of the other guests: Mr Royston Cropper.  They ended up sharing a taxi and went for a drink in the Rovers together, both wearing their iconic raincoats, and unsurprisingly they got on like a house on fire.

(Incidentally, not only did ITV3 muck up the scheduling over Easter by sticking episodes on at 6am when nobody was watching, they even left the old Cadbury's sponsorship stings on the end of one of the episodes!).

TUESDAY AFTERNOON - Episodes originally broadcast 11th and 13th February 1998

Steve angrily confronted Jim about the radio message, but he naturally had no idea what he was talking about.  Jim went to the hairdresser's to find out what was going on but Steve followed and the two of them ended up brawling.  Fiona had to explain the truth.  Gail was still distraught about Nicky and Leanne getting married and took out her anger on Roy when he admitted he'd heard them discussing the idea.  (According to Corriepedia Gail called him retarded, but happily this was cut).  Les and Janice were far happier and organised a party for the newlyweds.  Naturally Les got blind drunk and embarrassed everyone with a terrible speech.  Roy and Hayley went out for dinner together, bonding over their lack of romantic experience, then took refreshments to the protesters at the Red Rec.  Unfortunately one of the tunnels collapsed underneath them, ruining Spider's protest.  Des went to London to talk to Ritchie, and Samantha phoned ahead and left a message on his answering machine asking him not to reveal the truth.  Des went in with all guns blazing and Ritchie found it amusing.  He played the answerphone message to Des and he barrelled back to Manchester to confront her with the truth.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 15th and 16th February 1998

Zoe was hungover after the Battersby's party and Ashley laid into her for being irresponsible.  It got worse when he realised she'd applied for Housing Benefit, claiming she was his tenant.  Des told Samantha he couldn't trust her any more, what with her being a lying liar who lies, so she moved in with Natalie.  She begged him to take her back but he refused.  At the Red Rec, Roy was delighted to discover a mosaic floor in one of the tunnels.  It seemed there were Roman relics under the park - perhaps a bathhouse - but the council ordered the bulldozers in anyway.  Emily jumped in front of them while Roy got a historian to confirm the relics were genuine.  Alf called off the development.  Steve went to see Fiona in the salon to apologise and she began to get twinges.  Maud told her it was nothing to worry about, but she panicked, and Steve drove her to the hospital.  She was giving birth five weeks early and, terrified, she asked Steve to stay with her.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 18th and 20th February 1998

Fred was shocked to see Leanne in nothing but a t-shirt on the doorstep of number for and Toyah (or "Toyota", as Fred called her) confirmed that she'd moved in.  Zoe was thrilled because it meant more money coming in and it'd also liven things up, because she was finding sensible Ashley really dull.  Fred became convinced Ashley was running two women at once but was relieved to hear the Tilsleys were just tenants.  He presented Leanne with a rent book.  Des went to Natalie's to see Samantha but she was out.  He talked it over with Natalie, and there was a frisson of electricity between them, but she pushed him away.  Samantha met up with Ritchie in the back room of the Rovers, and Des caught them together.  She told him there was nothing between them but Des still told her to get lost.  Fiona gave birth to Emma's big brother Morgan with Steve in attendance.  (Maxine was not impressed with that name, which is a bit rich from someone called Maxine).  He enjoyed seeing her but her mum - CITV's T-Bag - told Fiona not to let him take advantage of her emotional state.  With the Red Rec safe Spider announced he was off to Kent to protest a road building scheme in Kent.  Toyah and Emily were both sad to see him go, but then he got a job helping with the dig so decided to stick around.  I was mainly concerned about poor Em who'd clearly picked up a rotten cold in the protest and had a terribly croaky voice.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 23rd February 1998

Gail nipped round to number 4 and found Nicky left stranded with baby Shannon.  He was absolutely useless with her - despite his two younger siblings - but Gail helped him out and then asked him round to a special tea.  Leanne gatecrashed the meal, which put her nose out of joint, but she did her best to be polite.  (At dinner, Sarah-Lou asked Leanne if she was going to have a baby; according to Martin she was "baby crazy", which certainly explains what's going to happen in a couple of years time).  Steve continued to visit Fiona at the hospital but she was a wreck of hormones and she confessed she was scared of her future as a single mother.  Fiona's mum, however, was unimpressed, and warned him off.  Steve had already come to the conclusion that he wasn't mature enough to be stepdad to Morgan and she should find a proper bloke.  He decided to scatter illegitimate children all over Weatherfield instead.  Samantha decided to move to London and start again.  Natalie told Des what was happening and he rushed to Piccadilly to stop her - but there was no sign.  It turned out she'd changed her mind and met him on the Street, and he asked her to move back in with him.  She's a very attractive girl but I really do think she's more trouble than she's worth.  

I miss the chocolate people.  Tell me they're not better than the Argos rubbish on Twitter @merseytart.

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

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