Episode Review Friday 16 January 2026

Good evening.  My airplane landed and I returned home almost in time to watch this live - hopefully no absences for a while.  I only have time to cover Friday tonight but may in future drop in some Thursday information if relevant.  We open tonight with Todd walking towards the undertakers with Summer (who is looking very wintry) telling her that Theo is away pretending to be happily married to Fallon in Ambridge for Christmas seeing his mum who broke her hip last night.  They meet Toyah (who is on a day's holiday) and Sean when the Ambulance brings Billy back to the Street.  They had been expecting a warning from George but Billy returned earlier than planned. Summer later reads to Billy and then rages about Debbie for her drunk driving to Asha.  I have a problem with this.  Debbie may or may not have been driving but she never had the means, motive and opportunity for a murder.  Given that the minibus did not spontaneously combust on impact I doubt that a manslaughter charge could be made so raging at Debbie is completely misplaced.  Ronnie is thinking of what can be said in court to minimise the sentence.  On the Street itself Summer lays a smack on Debbie saying that the charge should be murder and as Summer runs away Debbie agrees that she is right and she does deserve punishment.  Ronnie (and all of us) know different.

Gathered in Roy's Rolls are Mary, Eva, Toyah and Megan.  Eva's phone is low on memory and Megan offers to help - but strikes a problem when Eva refuses to lose any music or any of the 12000 photos she has on the phone.  It includes a video of wellies as Eva did not know which ones to choose and then a photo arrives from Ben of a young Will looking cute (something he rarely achieves these days. Megan's phone buzzes and it is a reminder of an appointment at 14:00 with Weatherfield Reproductive Choices.  It looks like Leanne spots the details visible.  Toyah comes into the cafe and she has been crying - Leanne blames Nick but she explains that Billy has returned.  Eva observes that losing Billy and Paul makes you realise how valuable life is - which unsettles Megan and the decision she has taken.  

At the hospital Harper is hanging in there until the machine starts beeping and a doctor is summoned with David having to pull Shona out of the room.  Later we are told that Harper's blood pressure dropped and an ultrasound has shown that she is bleeding from the mass on her neck.  She is to have a blood transfusion which has risks.  

Debbie is putting her affairs in order for when she is sentenced.  She tells Ronnie they need to cancel the honeymoon which Ronnie agrees to do.  Debbie then asks Ronnie to look after Carl whilst she is in prison - he thinks Carl is an adult now but she is insistent.  

Nick visits the Platt homestead where he is delivering a veggie lasagne which Jodie tells Nick is not to Shona's taste - Nick says she likes his veggie lasagne.  Lily comes downstairs and Nick spots she has pulled the wool over Jodie's eyes and orders her to school now!  Nick and Jodie argue and she refuses to tell him how many children she has - it all seems a bit "odd".

For those who endured Corriedale here is one prediction we would all have made coming true - Asha is going back to being a paramedic in September.  

In an intervention in Victoria Gardens Leanne, having seen the appointment, gets Megan to tell her and Eva that she is pregnant and that she is going to get an abortion today.  In the back room of the Rovers Megan tells them she is not ready for a baby and it could be her only chance as she has polycystic ovaries and the story is familiar to Leanne who managed to have the late Oliver.  (Almost surprised she did not ask if Steve was the miracle father).  Eva suggests that Megan might want to talk to Daniel but Megan knows that Daniel does not want it - implying it is definitely his.  Megan says she has made her mind up.  Leanne follows Megan to the clinic but Megan seems resolved and says she has to do it as she going into the appointment.  

Jodie has a pendant inscribed (I think) I&P with pictures of two girls inside - so does she have two daughters?  Answers on a postcard please.  David updates Jodie on the news from the hospital, in exchange she claims she has made the veggie lasagne for tea.  

Leanne returns to the Rovers and tells Eva that she has decided that it is time to go and see the world.  Leave behind the curry house, the flat and the loneliness for pastures new.  She wants a new start somewhere hot and away from Weatherfield.  Maggie pops into the bar to give Eva a piece of her mind and Eva has a bright idea.  Leanne should buy out Maggie's share in the Rovers and they run it together (how will Ben take the news?).  

Daniel has made a decision.  He has decided he can trust Megan and therefore he can invite her into Bertie's life - something he does not do lightly and he can see that Megan would be good mother material.  He suggests a bottle of red to celebrate but she is sticking to water for now.  

The good lady wife (TLGW) and I disagreed over Megan last night.  I took her decline of alcohol from Daniel as a sign she did not go through the medical procedure planned whilst TGLW said that she did and that she was merely feeling it ill-advised following the procedure.  As I personally postulate that neither Daniel or Will is the father I am clinging to the usual - no alcohol so must be pregnant routine.  Feel free to put me (or TGLW) to rights.  Toyah is not happy - she did not get her massage, wasted money on a taxi and then the fish was off - not because it was off but because Nick got the order wrong.  Is all sweetness and light in the Bistro?

Written by David Isaac and directed by Aashish Gadhvi.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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Episode Review Friday 2 January 2026

Happy New Year.  Welcome to Weatherfield, well almost.  Virtually the entire programme comes from Monkford Hall Hotel and I find it absolutely amazing that "Take a Vow" the wedding planner used by Debbie to bring the event together does not appear anywhere to ensure that it all goes smoothly, lousy wedding planner who would get a poor review in my book (can you ever give no stars when reviewing anything these days?).  Getting ready Bernie finds she has left behind her lucky pig so she and Bernie get lost in the woods seeking some yellow jasmine flowers (in January) and also find a golf buggy to enable return to the hotel in time for the ceremony.

Abi finds the money missing from the bank account as cash in one of Carl's bags (can I remind the writers that in the UK the banks refuse to handle more than £10k of cash at any one time without going through significant procedures - you cannot walk in ask for £18k cash).  Once at the hotel she swaps most of the cash for a bundle of newspapers and stashes it somewhere else (this was not shown but she later checks the bag and shows relief that the newspapers are still there).  She knows that Carl has a one way ticket and she also tells James that she knows the secret and he does not need to tell her that Carl is a bad egg, she exchanges similar confidences with Kev.

Carl has also found the post it note which Debbie wrote reminding her to phone Elaine and that it has been ticked so Debbie did phone her and knew she was about die.  So Carl has good reason to feel unhappy with Debbie.

Asha has told Amy that she is not taking her meds any more.  Quite why this needs to happen on the way to the wedding will probably become clear on Monday.  Billie is apparently a qualified minibus driver and brings all sorts of odd invitees to the party and later he tinkles the ivories - so many talents will be missed.  Amy tells Cassie, wearing a rather smart red outfit about Asha who advises Amy to keep talking to Asha to support her.  Tracy uses it as an opportunity to have another go at Cassie but the latter gets the better of the exchange.  

At the start of the wedding ceremony Debbie sings a solo verse of "On Top of the World" with the rest back by the dementia choir.  In print I cannot convey how well she did this.  Ronnie makes his vows and Debbie had some written vows she decided not to use them - but just to tell Ronnie how much she loves him for joining her on her journey she is his now and forever.  Later Debbie makes Ronnie throw away his prompt cards and speak from his heart in the same way.  He calls her many wonderful things and adds the word complicated and the rest of the top table agree with the word being used!  He toasts Deborah his wife for life.  

Kev has seen Jack's drone footage of Carl driving off in the stolen car which mowed down Tyrone some months ago.  So once the wedding has happened and it is Kev's turn for a speech as one of the bride's best men (complicated) he plugs in Jack's computer but instead of playing the drone footage he wants to discredit his brother he plays the recording of the dance moves he and Jack recorded the previous day, so Carl lives to breathe another five minutes.  Much later we see that Carl had swapped the laptops before Abi calls him heartless and selfish and she accuses him of hitting Tyrone and that she knows he is going to Germany.  He drops the incriminating laptop on the floor.  He claims the file is corrupted - but most people could pay for recovery.  She admits her stupidity in what she did.  She cannot forgive him for hitting Tyrone.  She takes her bag and goes.  (She should have picked up the laptop).  Carl thinks he still has the money when Debbie confronts him about Tyrone - but he responds with the post it note.  She blames her memory.  He shouts at Debbie for keeping him from his mother.  He takes the bag and goes.  She is utterly distressed in the show's closing shot.

Theo and Todd drove up last night.  At the reception Theo reminds Todd they are not drinking so Todd takes orange juices whilst later Todd spots Theo necking a glass of champagne.  James knocks a pint of beer all over Todd (and splashes Theo) so Todd goes to the bathroom to wash his shirt and Billy follows and sees the bruises from Theo's most recent brutal kicking.  Todd explains to Billy that it is not Theo's fault and takes him to show him the video of events.  Billy realises that the video has been edited and starts a lengthy watch of the unedited video footage and he tells Todd that Theo is gaslighting him.  Billy says that Todd has to get away from the toxic Theo.  

Becky has Lisa and Betsy holed up in a hotel room and gets the latter two to have over their phones and sim cards so that she can do phone swaps to prevent them being tracked by whichever gang she alleges is after them and who firebombed the house (which was Becky wearing a rather fetching balaclava).  Even Lisa hands her phone over whilst Becky assures Betsy all her photos are safe on the sim card which is news to me.  Lisa puts Carla's engagement ring in an envelope which she passes to Sarah for Carla as it also contains the house keys.  Sarah takes a look at Carla's latest socials and can see that Carla is still wearing the ring in the envelope as she shows Kit.  DC Green turns his brain on and thinks that there is something suspicious going on.  He and Sarah head back to the flat where we know Carla was in the closet and this time finds a hair which is later confirmed as Carla's.  He finaly tells Sarah that he has been investigating Kim/Becky for some time.  

The hotel used for the location is The Saddleworth Hotel, Oldham and this shot of Kev and Abi shows some of the wonderful scenery from that part of the world - not all old smoky back streets and the huge mill facilities and pre-eminent textile processing which characterises the location.

Written by Debbie Oates.  Directed by David Beauchamp.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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Episode Review Friday 26 December 2025

So Daniel got hit over the head; turns out that Will was responsible for the initial assault which Maggie witnessed from the upstairs window at number 1,  She left number one and went round to the entryway or ginnel and removed his watch and wallet which have now been found on a rough sleeper who is being detained at His Majesty's local residence on the belief that if he has the stolen items he must be responsible for the assault and theft.  We know different.

Talking of things we know but most of the Street does not yet know.  Becky has Carla contained in a closet - or she did.  There is a mystery phone call where someone has done something for Becky so I think we might assume that Carla is no longer in the closet.

Elsewhere we have known for some time that Carl is a disreputable, dishonest Tyrone injurer and all round bad egg.  Tracy has been on his case for some time and has a few words with Abi about men being deceitful.  Abi also spots that Michael has a necklace identical to James who reveals that they both had the same gift from their mother Aggie this year and she ahs already seen the identical one of the sofa in the flat.  By dint of asking Carl to type in his passcode to his phone and reading the messages Carl has been exchanging with James it is now clear that Abi has her worst suspicions confirmed - what Abi does not yet know and Debbie has not yet worked out is just how much Carl has ripped off of R'Debbie.

Theo has booked a spa break for himself and Todd - and inevitably it falls on the same date as Summer has organised for her and Todd to attend a film festival and Q&A with Andrew Scott, which was not in the diary so Theo knew nothing about it.  Inevitable Todd feels he has to go on the spa break and Billy tells Todd how he has changed since got with Theo and leaves a sour taste all the way round.  These things happen - but we all start wondering where the hotel is - apparently Anne Boleyn stayed there but it turns out it is in Somerset.  

Unsolved crimes against storytelling this week.  Alya has been homeless as far as I am aware since Yasmeen sold the house to Carla.  Amazingly she is going to move in with Adam - wherever he is living?  Also worth noting tonight was Evelyn who was wondering about stirring the pot with Abi. Maggie and at the start of the episode walking Roy's dog she found Daniel lying down.

I should be here next week but will definitely not be here the following week as I am once again going on holiday.

Written by Carmel Morgan and directed by Gill Wilkinson

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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