Monday, 14 June 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 13th and 15th July 1998

Rita was put in a hyperbaric chamber at the hospital as she was suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Sally and Alec maintained a vigil at her bedside, worrying that she wouldn't pull through.  Curly and Spider threatened to report Fred to the Gazette for trying to bribe him, but Fred maintained it was a misunderstanding.  Curly meanwhile tried to use his campaign as a way of getting close to Lorraine, roping her into helping out, not realising that she fancied Spider.  Liz went to Jim and told him she still loved him and the wheelchair didn't bother her one bit.  However, they decided to take things slow and not rush into a disastrous relationship.  

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th July 1998

A gas engineer visited Rita's flat and pronounced that the fire had been installed wrong, causing the carbon monoxide leak.  Alec realised that Steve had installed it and swore revenge.  However, Steve visited Rita in hospital and persuaded her not to prosecute, as it was ultimately Jim's firm that was responsible for putting the fire in and he'd suffered enough with his disability.  Greg offered Sally a glass of wine after hours in the factory and she unburdened herself on him.  Inevitably they ended up having sex on Mike's desk.  They were almost caught at it by Maxine, who was pathetically puppy dog about her devotion to him.  The incident made Sally doubt her relationship with Kevin, though, and she worried when she saw that he was putting the garage in both their names.  Fred and Audrey went canvassing and they both showed all the people skills of a demented rottweiler, with Fred bellowing in the face of a toddler and making him cry.  


WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 20th and 22nd July 1998

Toyah was feeling patronised and ignored by Spider and his campaign team.  She unburdened herself on Roy and he encouraged her to improve herself.  She complained to Ken that teachers at school didn't take her seriously and didn't teach her about the real world.  He gave her the newspaper and encouraged her to read it.  Meanwhile Janice told Toyah not to bother trying because it wasn't worth it, in a really depressing scene.   Spider, meanwhile, found Audrey's leaflets hilarious with their false promises.  He asked Lorraine to be nice to Curly for his sake and she ended up going to dinner with him.  She found Curly dull but kissed him anyway to be polite.   Maxine planned an exciting weekend away with Greg, hoping that it would reignite their relationship.  She didn't realise that he was busy at the factory diddling Sally Webster up against a sewing machine.  

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 24th and 26th July 1998

It was election day and Fred thought he had a silver bullet to get rid of the competition.  It turned out Spider had been in prison once, and felons were barred from standing.  A cocky Audrey didn't bother campaigning, only to discover that as Spider's imprisonment was for less than a fortnight for non-payment of a fine, but she won anyway by seven votes.  Spider was depressed at losing but Lorraine confessed she had a crush on him.  Rita returned to work in the Kabin, though her brain was still a little addled, and Alec confessed that her near-death experience made him think that maybe they should be more than friends.  Rita dismissed it though as a reaction to nearly losing her.  Alec still had a go at Steve in the pub, bringing up Vicky, but he fought back and accused Alec of being after Vicky's money himself.  Alec reported Jim and Bill's building firm to the HSE for incorrectly installing Rita's fireplace but she still refused to press charges.  She wanted to move on with her life, and she was annoyed with Alec for going behind her back.  Elsewhere, Ken agreed to tutor Toyah, Kevin suggested Sally work in the garage with him - but she wanted to stay at Underworld - and Mike refused to give Hayley a job as a machinist.  To win him round, Roy bet him £100 that Hayley could out-machine anyone else at Underworld.  If he won, Hayley would get a job.


FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 27th and 29th July 1998

Nicky followed in his father's footsteps by taking on a summer job at the garage.  He almost immediately took his top off for no apparent reason (Nicky Tilsley Shirtless Count: 5).  Hayley went into the factory for her demo and turned out to be an amazing whizz on the machines.  Mike gave her a job immediately but the rest of the girls were annoyed at her speed showing them up.  She did some of their work as well to curry favour.  Alec was sad that Rita wasn't talking to him, and finally apologised.  He confessed he loved her and asked her to marry him, but she refused on the grounds that she didn't trust him.  (The fact that he was once married to her former best mate didn't seem to factor into it).  Ken was thrilled by Toyah's progress, as she enthusiastically read Of Mice and Men, but he worried that she was keeping their lessons a secret from her parents.  Having seen how disgusted Janice was that she was reading a book I'm not surprised.  Sally used a visit to see Rita as an excuse to cop off with Greg in a hotel, but when she was unavailable for another session, he went with Maxine instead.  


To be frank, the author finds Nicky Tilsley with his shirt off repellent.  He looks like he's made of plastic.  Tell me why I'm wrong on Twitter @merseytart.

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







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