The caravan holiday wound up with Toyah hoping she'd get to see Owen again. She didn't realise he was mooning after her mum, sending Janice a love letter after they got home. She chatted to Gail about it because apparently they're best mates now? Janice called him and told him to stay away, but Toyah discovered the letter and accused her of chucking herself at Owen. She begged her not to tell Les. Nita left the Corner Shop to start at Freshco, and Ravi immediately started charging her rent on the shop flat. Vikram was too distracted by Leanne to care about his new job, taking her out to a casino while wearing a tuxedo like he was James Bond with a Manc accent. In other retail news, Rita presented Sharon with the Kabin, gift wrapping it and handing her the keys. Mike went to Alma and asked her to decide if she was coming back or not. When she hesitated, he decided he'd had enough and announced he was divorcing her. Alma was horrified at being forced into an ultimatum. She spoke to Mike and he said either she forget all about Julia and they get on with things or she could go. She decided to go. And Gary started work as Jack's assistant cellarman, which lead to a very awkward scene where he revealed he'd found a nudie pen next to a cushion in the cellar. The implications were... unsettling.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 9th June 1999
Danny looked after Sally's stall while she was on holiday so she took him out for a pint as a thank you. However, she was worried that he might get the wrong idea, so she dragged the Platts over to make a foursome. (Incidentally the "market" is a few stalls wedged round the back of the garage - you can see the viaduct in the background). Ashley was uncomfortable about Vik staying the night at the house but Leanne told him to butt out - it was her room and she could do what she liked with it. Things got worse when the phone bill arrived and they were lumped with paying for all Nicky's phone calls to Canada. Leanne refused to pay it, mainly because she was spending all her money at the casino. Curly found Alma crying in the loading bay and accompanied her to Wethy Quays so she could get the last of her things. Mike came home early and caught them. His nasty attitude convinced Alma she was doing the right thing and she threw her wedding ring at him. He was left alone but he got an unexpected visitor - Linda Sykes. Gary managed to disturb a burglar while he was doing his window cleaning, but the homeowner caught him inside the house and thought he was the robber. He was interrogated by the police but the truth soon came out. If this storyline happened in 2021 he'd have to be wrongly imprisoned for six months first.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 11th and 13th June 1999
Leanne was behind with the rent. She lied that Natalie hadn't given her a sub to cover the fact that she'd lost the money at the casino. When Ashley discovered her hosting a card game he lost his temper with her. Leanne threatened to move out - and he said that was a good idea. She ended up back in the Battersby house while Maxine buoyed up Ashley and told him he deserved better. The lady who was burgled, Mrs Hardy, turned up at the house to see Judy. She apologised for the mix up and gave Judy some flowers and then got the Gazette to write a piece about her hero Gary. Mike worried that Linda was taking the mick with her overtures, but she assured him she was sincere. He got all ready for a sexy night with her but the only person who knocked on his door was Derwent from dinnerladies, Emmerdale's Liam Fox, as a pizza delivery boy. She did turn up the next night to, ahem, keep him company.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 16th June 1999
Steve got a bill for unpaid VAT that needed to be paid sharpish. He borrowed £800 off Jim - not to pay the bill, but to get him to Belgium. His newest scheme was buying cheap fags in Europe and then flogging them back in the UK. Gary appeared in the paper (on the front page! Clearly it was a slow news day) but in the photo Mrs Hardy was all over him. Her husband appeared and told Gary to stay away, but Gary then saw him in a pub with another woman. Mike asked Linda to be discreet about their liaison. She agreed, but also told him she was off out with her boyfriend. There wasn't actually a boyfriend though. She lied that she'd dumped him for Mike and spent the night with him. And there was an incredibly dull storyline about Rosie becoming a bully at school, which was only notable for the fact that Kevin has grown an absolutely terrible goatee.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 18th and 20th June 1999
Ashley helped Maxine redecorate the hairdresser's flat. It made her wonder if she'd made a mistake dumping him, and they shared a kiss. Fred was unimpressed however and he tried to set Ashley up with the daughter of the abattoir owner at the upcoming Freshco ball. Meanwhile Ravi smarmed all over Audrey and Alma, asking for a dance at the ball, and being really really creepy. Rosie got in trouble at school, so Sally grounded her for the weekend and wouldn't let her go out with Kevin and Sophie. However, Danny persuaded her to go out for the day - only for Rosie to act like a nightmare. Sally told him she couldn't seen him as it was disturbing Rosie, though Kevin was more annoyed that he'd missed out on a day with his daughter while Sal went gallivanting. Gary opened his front door and immediately got punched in the face by Mr Hardy. His wife had discovered his affair and he blamed Gary, shouting "stay away from my wife." Judy wondered if he'd been playing away but he convinced her it was all innocent. Mike told Linda to keep their relationship secret, but then got offended when he heard her laughing about him with the factory girls. He took her away for a dirty weekend at a country hotel - not realising that Alma had resolved to screw him out of every penny he had.
With all the chopping and changing of character relationships and jobs and residences, it feels like a new broom is sweeping through 1999 Corrie. Let me know if you think this is a good thing or not on Twitter @merseytart.
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