Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 17 July 2026

Good day.  Tonight we are back to only 30 minutes and I think this is Thursday's episode but I could be wrong.  Betsy is in hospital and Lauren for reasons that have not been explained in words of one syllable decides to tell Dylan, once DC McLaughlin has taken his statement, that Betsy does not want to see him, although Betsy is desperate to see Dylan and does not want the police involved.  Dylan claims it was all consensual and anyway Betsy was fine when he left her.  Fiz sees the police inviting Dylan to assist with their inquiries.  Sean spends much of the day looking for Dylan eventually finding him with Brody.  Dylan concocts a fantasy in which Betsy cheated with Brody after he had left and that Brody caused the injury.  When will someone admit that they are responsible, however inadvertently.  

Later Lauren tells everyone in the Rovers about Dylan's sexual practices and bans both Dylan and Sean from the Rovers which presumably means Sean has lost his job.  Dylan is particularly upset with Betsy as it seems she wants to see Brody and not him.  And there we have it.  Why would people who love each other cause each other any harm?  Lauren tells Betsy and Brody of the cheating allegation and Brody heads off to sort him out.  Why does Lauren feel the need to lie like this?  

Kit is ensuring that Sarah's and Gary's phones are completely wiped after ensuring that all the important information is stored on a usb drive for his personal use paying Jay to sort it for him.  Jake provides Gary with a replacement phone with a ring tone of "Remember Jake" as Gary has promised to attend his prize giving tomorrow (odd school terms finished today so definitely Thursday).

I get a distinct feeling Mary is not accepting Christina's apology any time soon.  Later Christina's phone pings and there are numerous text messages (unreadable) but this is not over yet I suspect with more parcels being delivered (I think).

Devious Dev borrows the money which is going to be used to keep Joseph at Oakhill now that Linda cannot pay as her business has gone bust.  However the story on the street is that Linda is actually paying and only the grown ups know the truth (Chesney and Gemma are not grown ups).  And frankly how can Dev borrow any money?  Linda is entirely onside with the story.  Can she come back please?

Tracy is none too happy with Cassie warning her off Ross who explains the flowers were for Fiz.  In the cafe Ross also tells Tracy that he wants to slow things down to zero as Ross wants to concentrate on Ty.  Tracy expresses her delight in his decision by taking the ketchup bottle from the table and squirting it on his food and into his brew.  In the Rovers later Cassie admits to Steve that she received cash when Ross slept with her.  She does not want to tell Ty this nugget but at the moment Ty does not think much of his mother anyway so I doubt it would make much difference.  

DC McGlaughlin, the new kid on the block passes DS Swain (Connor-Swain) a brown envelope plus authority from the superintendent to undertake an arrest.  We see Gary walking into the Rovers and it is implied there is enough in the brown envelope to justify him assisting them with their enquiries under caution.

I am not personally clear on why Lauren has quite such a downer on Dylan and I can only assume that she is recalling the no doubt similar abuse delivered by Joel (open to clarification on this).  I hate the story and indeed cannot even understand how or why such an act would even be contemplated.  What happened to people living their best lives on the back streets of Weatherfield?  It looks like Gary will be unable to attend Jake's prize giving.  I hope Dev gets good value for the near £50k he is funding.

Written by Debbie Oates and directed by Jordan Hogg.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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The Big Issue(s)

There are a plethora of common fan complaints when it comes to modern Corrie. Doom and gloom storylines, dodgy and unnecessary camera techniques, movie-style background music, dream sequences and of course…issues-based storylines. Most superfans are on board with many of these gripes. They take us far from where life began on the Cobbles and inject an element of unfamiliarity that is often unwelcome and disconcerting.

And yet…yesterday’s Corrie, a smorgasbord of all of these irritating elements, was absolutely superb.

Telling the story of non-fatal strangulation in a soap can not be easy. Especially when that story involves some of the show’s younger characters. So we were taken through a sex scene without one item of clothing removed, no bed, no violence and no graphic depiction of the act. Just a dance between a young couple, a nod to the intimate nature of the scene, and a hand across the neck, very briefly. It was clever. 

The issue itself is one worth talking about. Social media and internet use is a big talking point in Western societies at the moment as it’s influence impacts all our lives, but none more so than teens and children. With loopholes around access to porn and graphic content, keeping kids safe online is difficult but imperative, so it’s a brave and noble move from Corrie to generate awareness of an important but little talked about issue on prime time telly. It’s in this context of where society currently is when it comes to young people and external online influences that the story of Betsy’s stroke following strangulation during sex is told. 

In once scene, Betsy says ‘everybody does it’, referring to the act of strangulation during sex. Lisa her mum recoils in shock. This is a clear nod to the problem of trends and influence from online content, and a clear generational gap in knowledge and lived experience. 

As with all issues-based storylines on Corrie, producers consulted experts. The Institute for Addressing Strangulation, who worked with writers and producers on the story, said:

‘To ensure the storyline’s medical accuracy, Coronation Street’s production team worked closely with IFAS, alongside the Stroke Association and Safeline. IFAS experts reviewed scripts and met directly with the production team and cast to help the storyline be told with clinical accuracy and care. IFAS thanks the Coronation Street production team for their thoughtful collaboration and commitment to portraying this issue responsibly and accurately.

The drama lands against a backdrop of stark data. A recent IFAS study of more than 4,100 young adults aged 16–34 found that over 55% had either experienced or perpetrated strangulation during sex, with prevalence highest among 16–20-year-olds. The findings underline how widespread, and how widely misunderstood, the risks of strangulation remain among young people.’

Corrie Blog editor Glenda wrote more about the storyline HERE.

Whether you appreciate issues-based storytelling on Corrie, or would prefer these kind of scenes were less frequent, this particular example hits differently. Not only was it a much less prominent issue to focus on, the intimate nature of the scenes, how we are being informed and who is impacted by the issue make this a really brave move. Of course the actors deserve the credit for their part alongside writers.

Well done Corrie.

(No more background music and wobbly camera shots for a while though please!)

@StevieDawson

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Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 5 September 2025

Tonight the Corrie wheel of fortune whirled around.  So headlines only tonight.  Tia Wardley appeared - I am 100% certain that she is not the real thing as Inspector Costello gave her a pay off for her acting skills.  Whilst Lisa lapped up the news that Becky was not bent I am hoping that DC Green is not as gullible as DS Swain and can guess that someone, somewhere knows that he is being hunted down.   After all "Tia Wardley" has no idea who Inspector Costello is.  However all is rosy in the world of the newly engaged couple - they even received a visit from the national treasure that is Evelyn who took Frida Kahlo to hospital (it is a long story and I do not want to bore you all).

Is Billy / Theo / Todd a triangle of some description?  Billy buys some nonsense from Theo that he is having therapy, even though he does not know when the next appointment will be.  Billy tells Todd and so before we know it Todd and Theo are as one again.  Theo tells Gary he did not attend the session as he cannot tell strangers about his problems so he and Gary go on a drinking spree and yet return remarkably sober, so what was the point?    Gary thought it was too loud and Theo thought it was too dark.   And Todd still thinks Theo is getting treatment for his problems.

Christina is behaving like a lost soul without her Dom.  Sadly George is falling for the flattery and picks up the bill and will shortly be fleeced for everything which Glenda has not had from him.  Glenda please rescue your brother.  Christina is dangling the fishing line well baited and before long George will take a bite.  

Am I sounding jaded this evening?  The programme has always had a huge gem in Debbie Webster since she returned and now we are expected to tolerate her eventual decline and departure.  So why?  Tonight she did an acapella solo with Gracie Fields "Sally in our Alley" (and it is long before Sally Webster / Metcalfe ever existed) plus a superb lecture on re-inventing a chorus for the social media era.  Whilst I despise what is being done to Debbie this is the Coronation Street we should be seeing - character driven stories about those we love (sadly just the wrong person).  Anyway in the short term Glenda and Debbie are going to team up to form a new choir.  

Elsewhere you might think that Betsy is chasing Brody her next door neighbour but Lisa observes that she would rather her daughter was not in a relationship with Kit's son - when Kit is in earshot!  Brody and Dylan are trying to half inch cars but they try to do it on their own doorstep and James threatens to turn them over to the law.  Carl extricates them and it later looks like Betsy might find Dylan more acceptable than Brody.  Has everyone forgotten that Joanie or Shanice (sorry I cannot remember which one) has been taken into care and someone should be trying to rescue her?  

Apologies if the update is a little left field.  I might have had a libation or two and I am off to Spain on Sunday for a holiday so will not be here next week.

Tonight was written by Jonathan Harvey and Julie Jones.  Directed by Matthew Peacock.  Can I thank Jonathan Harvey for his observations tonight on hand-dived scallops?  It is far too pretentious for the Bistro.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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