Steve returned from Belgium with his package of dodgy ciggies. He gave them to Vik to sell in the shop, but Ravi found them and refused to stock them, while Betty chucked Steve out of the Rovers for trying to flog them there. Worse was to come though as Steve was warned off from selling on the patch of Lee Sankey, a gangster played with customary menace by a young Stephen Graham. It didn't put Steve off though and he returned to the continent for more. Alma saw a solicitor about the divorce. He wrote to Mike demanding half of all his assets. Mike emotionally blackmailed Alma, telling her that the only way he could give her half the factory was to close it down and make everyone redundant. However, he didn't realise that Hayley had seen him being intimate with Linda. She wanted to tell Alma but Roy said she should keep out of it. At the factory, a random employee we'd never seen before robbed some stock from Underworld, and Linda grassed her up to Mike. She was loving her new power.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 25th and 27th June 1999
It was the Freshco's Ball, an evening of pure glittering glamour and delight. Curly took Alma, Fred took Audrey, and Nita took Ravi. It lead to a lot of over-manly pomposity as Fred and Ravi competed for the attention of the two women who were, let's be honest, way too good for both of them. Ashley took Maxine, but she'd slipped on the salon stairs and injured her ankle, leaving her trapped in a booth all night. It did mean that he was vulnerable to the buxom attentions of the abattoir owner's daughter, Belinda Peach, played by Maxine Peake in between series of dinnerladies. Maxine put her in her place and redirected her attentions to Curly. It made Ashley love her even more, and he proposed marriage - not realising that Fred had proposed to Audrey at the same time. Maxine was initially worried that the butcher boys had proposed as some sort of bet, but Ashley assured her he was genuine and she accepted. Audrey, however, let Fred down gently - not for the last time.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 29th and 30th June 1999
Alma realised Mike was lying about his finances and promised to fight for what she was due - not least because she'd heard about his dirty weekend and suspected he had a bit on the side. However, Mike could fight dirty too, and he told the Underworld girls that they'd all be out of work if she got her way. Les accosted Alma for potentially making his wife redundant, but he had more pressing concerns when Owen from the caravan park turned up on the Street to declare his love for Janice. Toyah was disgusted that he'd made a reappearance and told Les who he was really interested in. They ended up brawling in the Street, but when Janice took Les's side, Owen limped away. Rosie was suspended from school for bullying. Sally worried that she couldn't cope, especially when Rosie said she hated her, and she told Kevin that they might need to send her to a child psychologist.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 2nd and 4th July 1999
Maxine introduced Ashley to her mum and dad, who blithely badmouthed an ex of hers without realising they were talking about Ashley. (Her mum, incidentally, is played by 1970s saucepot Prunella Gee, and she'll be a much more important character in a couple of years time). The bigger concern was Fred, who thought Maxine was after Ashley's money, but Maud advised him to make his peace with the relationship or he'd lose his only son. Her wise words didn't take though, as Fred went to Ashley's mum and told her that Maxine was a trollop. When Maxine realised everyone on Ashley's side of the family was against her she decided to break off the engagement. Hayley saw Linda and Mike kissing... and Linda saw her. She told her to keep it quiet and Hayley agreed, purely so that Alma didn't get hurt. Owen caught Janice in the Street and they went for a cup of tea. He told her she deserved better than Les (true!) but she stayed loyal and asked Owen to leave her alone. Back at home, Les was still angry with Janice, but Toyah gave him a mouthful and said her mum would be better off without him. Les realised he needed Janice more than she needed him and announced he'd forgiven her.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th July 1999
Nicky had asked Leanne for a divorce, leaving her miserable at being abandoned - not least because the whole process would take years. When she heard that he had a good job and a flat in Canada she decided she needed to be compensated. She went to Gail and said she'd admit to adultery, meaning a quickie divorce - if she got £5000. Maxine stood up to Ashley's mum, explaining she'd never hurt him, then she confronted Fred. Maxine called him "an overgrown gnome" which was brilliant. Fred apologised and the engagement was back on. They met up with Maxine's schoolfriend Melanie (aka Nicola from Emmerdale) who revealed she was also getting married - remember that, it'll be important later. Kevin and Alison moved into the flat above the bookies. She admitted to Hayley that she'd not told her parents about their relationship because they were religious. Rosie ran away from school, and Alison found her. She took her to the cafe to talk to her, which angered Sally, who thought she was rewarding Rosie's bad behaviour. Kevin argued back that it was better that she was safe than wandering the streets and Sally ended up apologising. And Alma went on a date with Weird Ravi (to the very nice Wharf pub in Castlefield), but she spent all the time talking about Mike, so hopefully that's the end of that.
Save your money Gail, these two are going to be on again, off again for another 20 years. Send it to me @merseytart instead.
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