Episode Review Friday 30 January 2026

Bernie emerges from Weatherfield Emergency Department whilst Dev, Asha and Gemma are all worrying about where she has spent the night.  She seems in no hurry to tell them anything deleting the missed calls and unanswered messages. Given that it is Brody's birthday her absence is raising huge concern.  Gemma lets Roy know that Bernie will not be in and Ryan sat at a table tells her that he saw Bernie last night in the Chariot Square Hotel in one of the rooms with a man and possibly with drugs.  Bernie arrives home and refuses to explain to Dev.  However Gemma challenges her mother but Bernie does not have time for her interrogations.  Gemma is not happy.  At the party Kit thanks Tim for giving Brody and the girls a proper home.  Tim thanks Kit for getting a games console in the house!  Bernie eventually arrives at the party where Dev can hardly contain his pending nuclear explosion.  Brody finally admits that perhaps he now has family.  

Over at worst nightmare flat Theo opens Todd's post to find he has been missing payments on his £7k credit card debt.  Theo is of the opinion that Todd needs help managing his money and suggests that as they are together they should have a joint account and it will all be quite simple for them to share.  Todd can do little other than accept.  Todd decides to invest in his relationship by buying steaks for dinner which Theo castigates as waste and identifies that Todd does not grasp the real value of money to which he has a solution.  They should both rely on cash and only cash (not to be recommended around here as the pubs have gone cashless in the main) and then when they spend something they can see they are handing over twenty pound notes rather than just going tap, tap with a card.  Within seconds Theo has improved his thinking further and asks Todd for his cards so that he can cut them up - which he promptly does although we do not see him cutting up his own cards.  Until the joint account is set up Todd should hand over the internet banking details of his current account and Theo can manage that as well and Todd merely has to ask if he wants some cash and Theo will simply hand it over as it will make it all so much easier for them to control their expenditure.  Todd cannot think of any reason to deny Theo and hands over control.

The electrics in the flat above Roy's Rolls are playing up and  he has asked a website for an electrician.  The electrician when he arrives apologetically is the man who thumped Roy and spent the evening with Bernie at the Chariot Square.  Mal has his electrician tools to prove who he is.  After he has attended to the electrics he reveals that he has left Alice whom Roy and Mal agree has treated them like a pair of fools.  Mal is not going back to Inverness - he has found he can get work in Weatherfield through the website so can stay in the area.  Roy offers to help Mal as he feels responsible.  There is an intermittent wiring fault and Roy offers to pay Mal in advance for the work providing he starts as soon as possible.  They shake hands on it.

Abi arrives at the garage with a morning coffee and discovers Kev sleeping in the back seat of a car under repair and no-one is answering the persistently ringing phone.  He hangs up on the caller as Abi tells him she has come to see about the roof.  Kev is not in a good mood and he tells her not to worry about him, although he is clearly falling apart.  He shouts at her to go.  Debbie is practicing for prison - sleeping on the floor, drinking skimmed milk and peeling potatoes and is surprised when Abi advises her that she will get full fat milk inside.  Abi tells her about the state that Kevin is in and that he needs help.  Abi thinks Kev might be depressed (really?).  Debbie says she will go and see him in the morning before she goes to prison.  Abi reminds Debbie that she managed to get out of prison in one piece so Debbie can.  Debbie, right now can manage, she is worried that the Debbie she will be by the time she emerges will be different.

Bernie leaves the party to put some recycling in the right bin when Gemma chases after her.  Bernie explains that she misses Paul and that most of the time she is in control, but last night she had a wobble as she could not cope.  She tells Gemma that she wants to forget last night ever happened.  Gemma goes back to the party and coming in the other direction is Mal - the dodgy man she was with last night.  After a chat Mal appears to agree he will say nothing about last night.  However he hopes there might be a next time.  Bernie tells him she is married and does not want to see him again.  He will however be working locally so they will see each other again.  

If you know Todd or anyone else who has handed over control of their finances be worried, be very worried.  If I were Mal I think I might be buying a lottery ticket this weekend.  A job, money in advance and freedom, Weatherfield is miraculous.

Written by David Judge.  Directed by Michael Lacey.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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