Weatherfield's retail scene was undergoing a price war. With Nita selling papers in the corner shop, Sharon fought back by sticking milk and paper on the shelves at the Kabin. She warned Nita that Rita was a local treasure and she shouldn't come up against her. Ian was annoyed that Sharon was keeping the shop open late to rival the one opposite and decided to drown his sorrows at the Rovers - with Natalie. Roy and Hayley prepped the all new Roy's Rolls. He considered renaming it Hayley's Pantry, then, in typical Roy style, immediately said that would be a bad idea. Hayley, however, spotted a nail sticking out of the skirting board and yanked it out. She didn't realise that it had been hammered through a water pipe and soon the cafe was flooded. Roy realised it was down to Steve's shoddy workmanship and threatened to sue him. The Battersbys suffered with no electricity, and now the rent was due. Janice begged for a sub from Mike, but he refused, so she went to Leanne. She lent Janice £200 but kept it quiet from Les and Nicky. And Rosie had an accident at school, but Kevin was on a date with Alison so he couldn't be contacted. Sally wasted no time in blaming him for all the woes in the world.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 24th and 26th February 1999
It was the day of the family court hearing, and Sally and Kevin tore lumps out of one another. Their solicitors trawled up all the dirt they could and made both of them sound like awful people. The judge went with Sally, however, and gave her custody. Kevin was depressed and upset at losing the girls. When Sally said she wanted number 13 as well, he told her to go to hell. Nita and Sharon were matching each other's prices so Les ran from one shop to the other playing them off against one another to try and get some cheap fags. Sharon implied that Nita was selling dodgy stock and that was how she was able to undercut her prices, leading to Nita promising to fight dirty. Roy and Hayley cleaned up the wreck of the cafe, with Steve getting them a stand so they could sell food outside on the street in the meantime. Finally it was ready and Ken was the first customer, ordering a cream cheese bagel.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 28th February and 1st March 1999
At the pub, Natalie told Jack to get rid of the pigeons that were still in her yard. He tried to palm them off on Tyrone and the two of them bonded over the birds. Having got rid of one lot of vermin, Natalie welcomed in another, as Ian told her he'd broken off his engagement. She went out on a date with him. Gary organised the christening for the twins but was horrified when Fred told him you needed three godparents for each baby. Rita came back to find she was trapped in a pitched battle with the corner shop. She stomped her foot down and reasserted her dominance, getting rid of Sharon's video rentals. She also tried to talk to Nita, but got nowhere; however, Ravi realised that with such keen pricing they weren't making any profits.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th March 1999
Maxine was rushed off her feet at the salon and took on an assistant, Tom. Yes! A man in the salon! Toyah was immediately taken with him. Ravi spoke to Rita and declared the price war over, saying they'd be better off working together. Kevin was still missing so Alison went to the police. They were concerned about his mental state. She went into number 13 to try and find a clue to his whereabouts and Sally turned up. She rowed with her and demanded Alison handed over her door key, but she refused. Ian and Natalie continued their relationship, and Betty caught them snogging in the back room. She saw him leaving the Kabin and discovered that he was engaged to Sharon. Betty went to Rita, and she took time out from Sharon's hen do in the Rovers to nip into the back and tear a strip off Natalie.
FRIDAY - Episode originally broadcast 7th March 1999
Natalie told Rita that she didn't know about Ian's engagement, though unsurprisingly she didn't believe that known trollop Natalie Barnes wouldn't happily diddle a man in a relationship. She went and confronted Ian and he suggested they continue their affair after he got married...next morning. Natalie told him to get lost, so Ian went to Rita and begged her not to tell Sharon. He said that Natalie did all the running. Rita believed him and was willing to forgive him, but Natalie called him up while she was listening in and proved that he was perfectly willing to continue their relationship. Rita couldn't let Sharon get married in these circumstances, and told her about his affair. Sharon made excuses for him and walked down the aisle - only to belt him at the altar. She ran out of the church and laid into Natalie. Gary's brother, Simon the cult leader from Brookside, turned up for the christening. He said it was lucky the twins looked like Gary and not the bloke Judy had an affair with, which was charming, At the church, Jack discovered he couldn't be godfather because he'd never been christened himself. The vicar quickly baptised him so they could proceed and so Les Battersby wouldn't be forced to stand in. Back in the Street, Jackie got a knock at the door and answered it to discover... Curly!
There was also a storyline about Lorraine finding Ashley too boring to go out with which the author refuses to cover because frankly Lorraine makes Ashley look like Peter Ustinov. Complaints to him on Twitter @merseytart.
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1 comment:
I love reading these recaps! I remember watching these episodes when they aired way back in the day - and I remember that any man wearing a purple shirt was doomed!
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