Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 24 July 2026

I think we are still on Thursday episodes but next week we might well have caught up!  Much of tonight's activity centres around Maria who decides to visit her murderous mate, Sarah-Lou, in prison and to reveal that Gary has blabbed.  Sarah feels she needs to explain her wish to keep Kit's nose out of it and instead it will cost Gary his wife, his kids and his freedom.  Sarah Lou (as Maria calls her) squirms and accepts that Maria would like to rip her head off.  Maria gets her claws out and digs them into Sarah Lou pointing out that Harry might be used to a new step-father every month - but her kids are not.  Sarah promises that she will never use Gary's name.  She tells Maria to go home and sort it out with Gary.  That seems unlikely.

Shona gets some good news - Harper is coming home tomorrow - that will be Sunday then.  

Carla and Lisa manage to organise a date night until DS Swain-Connor's phone goes off and there is a new development in the Silverton case and she is going to be extra busy for the rest of the day!  In similar good news we also find that Sam is coming home tomorrow to the reveal that Sarah has been locked up.  Nick is worried it will set Sam back.

DS Connor-Swains busy day is driven by Sarah's availability to be interviewed.  The DS has Sarah's phone records and knows that she phoned Gary but before the questioning gets underway Sarah decides it is time to 'fess up and she admits she killed Theo in self defence.  She exchanged a few pleasantries with Gary but he was not involved in any way and she cannot remember what she did with the murder weapon or where it is now.  So it looks like Sarah will be leaving the Street for a while.  However she has not really thought through this whole confession lark so sounds completely unbelievable when the inevitable questions are served up by the DS.  The cracks are showing and the DS is not swallowing the crumbs she has been thrown.  Kit breaks the bad news to the Platt family.  

In case you had forgotten Eva and Maria are not the best of friends - it is all to do with Aidan who had a fling with Maria when courting Eva ending with a fight in the fountain on the wedding day.  At Audrey's they are daggers drawn with Eva refusing to let Maria anywhere near her tresses whilst a little later (and having consumed her body weight in alcohol Maria has more than a few digs at Maria.  Sadly no fisticuffs. 

Anyway we know Kit does not like Gary and also that he loves Sarah - is he plotting to save his beloved at the expense of Windass?  He certainly seems to be implying that Sarah is not going anywhere if he can avoid it.  Sarah says she is letting him go - but Kit is going nowhere and he promises to look after Harry and Bethany.  Sarah also issues Kit with a warning about Jodie.

Returning home very much the worse for wear Maria tells Gary she has been barred from the Rovers.  Gary makes it clear that he loves Maria and not Sarah.  Eventually Maria relents and it looks like Gary will not be sleeping on the sofa tonight.  

We close with Kit and Harry hugging, both wanting Sarah back with them.

Unless there is one of those twists we should have seen coming I have to say Sarah's future looks pretty bleak.  Harper and Sam will be back soon so hopefully the flags will be flying on Sunday.

Written by Ella Greenhill and directed by David Kester.

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Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 20 September 2024

Good evening.  Tonight saw Betsy admit (having been identified by Max as Lauren's visitor in the last episode) first to Carla and then to DS Swain that she had ordered the drugs which Joel administered to Lauren.  Swain with her professional head on is pleased and once again she descends on Joel, this time arresting him formally.  During questioning Joel denies everything and decides to inform DS Swain that Betsy ordered the drugs for herself as she was pregnant and it was nothing to do with Lauren.  Pretty shabby but DS Swain then plays the recording from the drug supplier of the phone call Betsy made where Joel can be heard giving name and his (then) address for delivery of the drugs.  Regrettably the current charge is insufficiently serious to contemplate holding Joel in custody and so he is released on bail during which no doubt he will seek to browbeat and influence the girls who are willing to testify against him.

In ignorance of the net closing on Joel, Lauren is in front of social services in the shape of Ruth, who delivers the opinion that she is currently considered an unsafe mother and who probably sought to endanger the life of Frankie so want her to move to a mother and baby unit for a period once Frankie is discharged.  Dee Dee makes an offer during the Social Services interview - once discharged from the unit Lauren and Frankie can join her in her flat above the corner shop.  There seems to be a growing closeness between Max and Lauren as well as he is visiting her several times in the episode.  

Ryan is suffering from using the sofa at Carla's and has the incredibly bright idea that with Kit moving on he could move into the Rovers.  Daisy is not keen to be living and working with her partner and her reluctance along with the way he saw her behave with Daniel earlier in the week leads Ryan to conclude that whilst the two of them were incredibly shaken by the events around the acid attack it has been misinterpreted and that she really hold feelings for Daniel,  Ryan knows Daisy loves him and he loves Daisy - but Ryan cannot get over knowing that she also loves Daniel. So this is the end, which leaves Ryan stuck on Carla's sofa every night instead of now and again.

Hope (13 going on 53) is told off for vaping by the lockers at school by Sam (13) and Jack (14) although the latter hid her vape in his locker.  Sam tells us all that Acrolein, a weed killer, formaldehyde, used in embalming bodies are in the vape - but he does not get to finish the list.  Later Cassie turns out her PE kit and finds the vape and confronts Hope with it.  Bang to rights.  Hope claims it is Jack's but that crumbles in seconds.  Interestingly Cassie consults Ken for advice and later does a deal with Hope - Cassie will say nothing to Tyrone if Hope promises never to vape again which she does (probably with her fingers crossed behind her back).  

Bernie is recalling some of the more outrageous funerals she has attended in the past when Summer arrives with a lot of Paul's clothing but clearly Summer is struggling to hold it together.  Bernie that the hat smells of Paul - but he did wear it for five years.  Bernie wishes Paul had laid down his funeral plan.  And the word compromise is mentioned.  Later Summer is seen crying and Asha visits to reassure her that whilst she might want to be strong for Billy this is the third parent she has lost and she still has two Dads around!  Asha and Nina have made her a cushion from Paul's shirts!

Betsy remains really worried about Frankie and when Max and Lauren return to the ward Lauren spies a nurse attending to Frankie but all is well and she says perhaps Lauren would like to hold him for the first time?  Later she shows Dee Dee the pictures of her holding Frankie and in return she is told that Joel has been charged - and Lauren looks terribly apprehensive of the immediate future.

Ryan tells Carla that he and Daisy have split whilst at the Rovers Daisy, having been dumped twice in a row!) admits to Jenny that Ryan has a point - she has never stopped thinking of Daniel.  She concludes that it is a mess.  

Since last week I have visited Belfast for the first time ever.  For those who have never been I would say that it is a rather special city.  Impressive Victorian architecture from a time when the city was riding the waves of the linen and shipbuilding industries; the history we all know of oppression through the period from before to creation of the Irish Free State to the Good Friday Agreement and the less well known story of the cooperation and rebuilding so obvious in the last 25 years.  Young, knowledgeable, welcoming staff in the hospitality industry plus the Giant's Causeway and the wonderful countryside around the Antrim Coast.  I like to hope that the murals which are displayed are more to remind us of the "Bad Times" than to underpin current antagonism.  Certainly our guides made it clear that the general feeling is that the politicians need to keep finding ways of working together and for the devolved coalition to function but admit it stops every so often.  If you have never been then go!

Written by Julie Jones and Susan Oudot.  Directed by Vicky Thomas.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 13 September 2024

Good evening.  Billy is in a right two and eight because he failed to be with Paul when he died.  Everyone lies and assures Billy that Paul heard his last message.  Bernie is on a mission trying to sort out the funeral etc.  Todd tries to tell her that Billy needs to lead the process but she wants to get things done.  Daniel, Dee Dee and David all talk to Billy but he almost does not want to know.  Obviously the quads have to be told and Gemma having lost her twin is bereft.  Todd points out that death either divides people or brings them together and tries to ensure that all will work together.  After Billy leaves the flat Bernie makes a slip and admits that Paul had died before Billy said goodbye.  At the end Billy regrets his earlier harsh words and that he misses Paul so very much.  Bernie gets the closing shot as we know she is holding to a huge secret.

Talking of working together there is a moment when you think the knife Leanne is using to chop up a veggie chili might equally well be used to disembowel Toyah -  but the moment passes with no harm to anything other than the vegetables.  Again reconciliation is needed - but at the moment it seems a long way away.  Meanwhile in a brief visitation to the flat Nick reports that the police have charged Rowan with blackmail and fraud but the rest of the Institute continues to carry on its bad ways.  Toyah tells Leanne that some of the Institute teaching was not completely wackadoodle and it might be worth persisting with the positive elements.  

On the subject of reconciliation, Tracy, following prompting from Amy (who is going on a not-date with Aadi in Tracy's leather trousers) is going to give Tommy O another go [it is warmer in Spain and you can go to the beach in October] and will return to Spain.  Before she goes she runs into Steve in the pub and says that he needs to move on as well and as he always like gobby cows he should see the upside of getting together with Cassie.

Police IT specialists have proven that Joel was in using his phone to message Ellie.  To be honest I think the timeline has gone wonky as I thought he had left his old employer a long time before Ellie appeared on the scene but never mind.  Now DS Swain cannot interrogate the system to search for Ellie - so she talks to PC Tinker who has a quick google and not only finds out that Ellie was done for shoplifting and that Joel did represent her - but also tracks down her current address.  Amazing detective skills.  Armed with this knowledge DS Swain drops in on Ellie and achieves precisely nothing but over a pint in the Rovers Daniel explains that he may have another way of reaching Ellie, if it is the same girl via a connection who has an outreach programme to assist sex workers.  [Daniel if you are going to talk to Nicky please talk to Bethany first or she might take the 'ump].

Along at 9 Coronation Street Hope and Ruby do not want Dorin to go home tomorrow and try to get Ty to say he will stay.  Fiz is softening and suggests a holiday in Romania next summer.  However hiding in the yard Tyrone phones Adam and tells him that he wants to proceed with the Prohibited Steps Order to prevent Dorin leaving the country.  [Ty - it might be wise to discuss with Fiz first].

In other news during her brief visitation Tracy has organised a complete makeover of Preston's Petals including a huge expansion of the shop area and a completely new layout and change of furniture.  And I do not recall it being mentioned once or anyone explaining where the money came from.  The biggest change is that it seems much larger - I thought they used the actual "unit" behind the window - but this set would not fit there.  Can anyone tell me?

And in case it never happens again - Amy in leather trousers.

That's it for tonight.  I am off to Belfast in the morning for a few days but plan to be back here this time next week.

Written by Ella Greenhill and Steven Fay.  Directed by David Kester.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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