Coronation Street episode review, Friday 30 December 2016

It’s New Year’s Eve on the cobbles, a time for celebrations, revelations, secret escapes and public farewells.

Mary certainly called it when she said it had been a whirlwind Christmas as she prepares to leave for a new life in South Africa with Jude and his pregnant wife. Having warned Jude to look after her, Norris continues to struggle with the departure of his friend. I despaired when Norris descended into a spiteful, sadly nasty individual during the year, believing he was better than that, and so it’s a relief to see his good side shine through at last. 

One of the highlights of the episode is a tender scene in the Rovers in which he grapples with the prospect of losing another dear friend after the departure of Emily. As Mary struggles to hear him, he says the line twice, thus evoking more sympathy. With a light delivery deliberately designed to belie the depth of what she’s saying, she asks why he hasn’t tried to talk her out of it, and in a similar way, Norris asks if she would want him to, and as they evade what they really want to say, it all comes to nothing. It’s a beautiful dance between the pair, and one of their most moving scenes to date. 

She also shares a very touching scene with Dev, and while the children make her a gift and beg her not to go, their recent antics have me thinking she’s better off in that sense at least. For me, this storyline has moved all too quickly, but I’m very much enjoying the fact that we don’t know if Mary is actually leaving.

Peter is caught on the back foot having learned from an angry Simon that his drone picked up footage of him kissing Toyah in the ginnel. As Simon sees it, it’s proof that Peter came back for her, and not him. Instead of simply saying ‘Toyah wasn’t even here when I came back son, she followed me here, remember?’ Peter fails to deny it, and Simon storms out, vowing to tell Leanne at the first opportunity. The verdict is out with regard to Peter and Toyah, as I’m not quite seeing the chemistry there which he had with Carla, Leanne and Tina, but it’s early days yet, and maybe if their secret is revealed, we'll see more of it.

While we haven’t had the (dis)pleasure of witnessing it first hand, it sounds as if life with Jenny and Gemma in Rita’s is colourful to say the least, but Jenny has had enough and Johnny asks her to move in with him. As they plan to celebrate with champagne, however, he’s called away in a last ditch attempt to save a valuable order in time for the New Year’s sales. I very much enjoyed Jenny's reaction as she is told she must step into the breach and entertain Johnny's guests at this and future Victoria Court soirees. Head cocked and standing a little taller, it was a moment worthy of Sally Webster.

The sight of that Seb sets me on edge, and the part is being played brilliantly by Harry Visinoni. I’m surprised Anna let Faye stay at his place to ring in the New Year, and with Kevin also offside helping Johnny with his broken down van, Anna and Jack are alone when she falls down the stairs coming to help him with his drink. When he can’t wake her, Jack walks out on to the street and we are treated to sad little boy close up number two of recent times as he looks up at the fireworks much in the way Liam blinked through tears with his Llandudno snowglobe. It's great to see both boys getting to put in these performances.

I loved the scene in which Eileen casually revealed over the counter in Roy’s that Phelan is to get out of hospital that day, and reality independently and silently dawns on both Andy and Anna as they sit nursing cuppas.

Fear stricken Andy decides to move to Newcastle that very night, but is caught in the act of making arrangements by the man himself. Andy’s panic is palpable as Phelan threatens him with death in the dark of the ginnel, and is clearly uncomfortable as he moves from the Rovers to the Bistro to continue partying with Steph, Luke and Tracy. Claiming to feel queasy, Andy makes his excuses but his loaded farewell to Steph has her feeling suspicious. 

I loved the shot of her standing alone amid the revellers, and I thought the overhead angle as Phelan and Eileen simultaneously pulled party poppers in the Bistro was great, but, the music. As Andy departed in slow motion to the soundtrack of Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts, it then carried on over the above scenes, and an unconscious Anna lying at the bottom of the stairs, and it just didn’t work. If I had been watching another programme I might have thought the combination of that song and the accompanying shots was evocative and nicely done, but this is Coronation Street, and it simply does not fit the programme. Every one of its actors, writers and directors is well capable of giving us poignant scenes without soundtracks; Corrie has been doing it for 56 years.

I recently wrote about the importance of experimentation and innovation, so I am not averse to change, but this is not a right fit. It jolts me out of the realism that has formed part of the very fabric of the programme since its inception, and if I had one Corrie wish for the New Year, it's that the inclusion of incidental music becomes a thing of the past.

As this is my last review of 2016, I wish you all peace, health, happiness and joy in 2017, and thank you, as ever, for reading. 

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.net
Twitter: @ELHynes
Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites
Instagram: emmalouhynes

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


NEW! Coronation Street Blog - the book.
A must for all Corrie fans!


Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog

All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 8 April 2016

As brides-to-be go, you’re unlikely to see many as miserable as Kate Connor. Her hen night looming, she battles the excited factory folk, Sophie Webster, fiancée Caz, and her own feelings, and ends up calling it off. Caz puts two and two together, comes up with Sophie, and makes her anger known as Kate sobs. 

Kate is all over the place, and proves herself to be weak as she fails to be true to anyone, including herself. At the heart of it all, whether she likes Sophie or not, she clearly doesn’t want to be with Caz, but doesn’t have the strength to cancel the engagement, and so goes for half measures by postponing the wedding. There is much toing and froing after she gets caught kissing Sophie and tries to convince Caz that it was all Sophie’s fault, and the latter then gets hurt on learning this from Caz before she hops in a taxi. We then hear Kate tell Aidan she knew exactly what she was doing when she kissed Sophie. 

Faye Brookes conveyed the exasperation well in what was a challenging pair of episodes for Kate, but it’s difficult for me to buy into this storyline as I don’t feel much sympathy for any of the characters. Aside from Kate’s irritating inability to face the truth and deal with it, Caz showed a glimmer of her potential for violence which I’m no fan of, and if this develops, it’s not something I’ll be looking forward to watching.

While it’s never good to see the wonderful Tim Metcalfe suffering, I for one welcome the bumpy road that has risen before him with the appendage of Councillor to his wife’s name. Tim and Sally excel as a comedy couple, but for them to be truly authentic, there needs to be added layers to their their relationship, making this latest development an important one.

Both are set to dine with the esteemed Gerald and Anne regarding the new Frescho development, and as if patronising her husband by texting him ‘aide memoires’ concerning potential topics of conversation wasn't enough, Sally insists he be on his 'best behaviour'. He reluctantly gets dressed up and goes to the meal after Kevin advises ‘happy wife, happy life’, but arrives in time to hear a tipsy Sally talk about him being an antique glass dealer and charity worker, and how they’ve sacrificed having a large home in exchange for being at the heart of the community. 

Clearly crestfallen, he walks out, and lets his feelings known later when she berates him at home for not turning up. He recalls her wedding vows in which she said she wouldn’t try to change him and it's therefore as frustrating for me as it is for him to hear her point out the man he could be, even after this reminder. When she finally says it’s okay, it’s something of a triumph to hear him assert himself and say it’s not okay with him.

We all love snobby Sally, but Tim’s disappointment and frustration lends a welcome realism to what it’s like to live with it. He is also sure to let her know that he has been counselling Sophie in her hour of need, and rather excellently too, showing that there is far more to Tim than sneaky swift halves and skiving, and Sally would do well to value him as he is.

As Robert and Tracy snog in the Bistro kitchen, it seems that stepping up to the plate and washing a few pots will suffice in the event that you want to rebuild trust after lying, hiding, spying, swindling and generally being a sly egg. On the lighter side of work romances, Aidan offers Eva her job back at Underworld, and she happily accepts.

She joins in the fun at the Rovers with Mary as Liz keeps up the pretense of being Amy’s Mum to win a night out with Chris. Amy shows shades of being her own person in some episodes, while in others, she’s clearly written to be mini-Tracy. In Friday’s double she manages to swindle £35 out of Liz in exchange for playing the role of her daughter. Liz's face and Chris's reaction were both amusing sights, but I do like to see other dimensions to Amy such as the child who, last Friday, was upset at her Dad not being around. 

If we can thank Brendan of The Inexplicable fame for anything, it’s bringing out the more adventurous side in Mary. Nor did the experience douse her romantic ideals; if anything, it’s added an optimistic, mischievous, twinkly-eyed dimension to them. I find at the moment that, like Amy, different writers pen Mary in different ways. On some nights, she reverts to her pre-Brendan state, but on others, she sparkles anew, and I infinitely prefer the latter. She’s a delight in the Rovers as it’s prettily decorated for the hen that wasn’t to be, and adds a joyous Dubonnet infused dimension to proceedings. Long may her lust for life prevail.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes


Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog

All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 5 February 2016

Hell hath no fury like a Sally scorned, especially if it’s on behalf of someone else, and Jenny bears the full brunt at the factory where she continues to be suspected of stealing.

Things go from bad to worse when Jack escapes she with the cape and clipboard and makes a run for Underworld where Jenny is working alone after hours. Meanwhile Kevin, Sophie and Tyrone scour the street to no avail. Despite the police usually being called at the mere sound of a glass breaking in the Rovers, they go untroubled on this occasion. As the search party reconvene at the garage, they’re shocked to see Jack emerge from Underworld with Jenny, and a verbal bun fight ensues with Sally arriving on cue.

After sniffling from Sophie, arched eyebrows from Anna, and reticence from Rita, Jack finally tells Kevin the truth, and he’s wracked with guilt for accusing Jenny of kidnap. He says sorry and begs her to stay as Rita arrives with another apology for doubting her. As Kevin removes her bags from the back of her getaway vehicle, we have one of those 'oh how we laughed' moments that seem to appear more frequently in Corrie of late, and herald an instance of 'moving on'. I think we can expect all to be forgiven as far as Kevin is concerned from here-on-in.

It’s clear that Jenny won’t forget Sally’s treatment of her that easily, however, as she delivers an icy threat in the Rovers that the Councillor-in-training had better back off, or else. The question is, do we have a reformed Jenny in our midst who is simply sick and tired of Sally’s swipes, or does she harbour a dark side? The fact that an earlier conversation, in which perky Kirk lightly espoused the merits of dogs, was punctuated by Jenny coldly remarking “You know what happens to flies, don’t you? They get swatted” might indicate the latter. Whatever the reality, I’m loving Jenny’s return.

As Sinéad drops a sugary tea into Johnny, he keeps her back to show her a picture of a leggy model, and asks what she thinks of the image before suggesting he’d essentially like to see ‘real’ women in her place. It was a rather odd turn of events to say the least, and it got stranger after Sinéad passed the idea on to Aidan, and he later confirmed, in the Rovers, that O’Driscoll loved it and would be using it as the basis for their new ad campaign. Not only that, father and son ask Sinéad if she’d like to be the underwear model, and, despite pulling her cardigan tightly around herself, she agrees. All rather bizarre.

Meanwhile, there’s a thaw on between Aidan and Johnny after Kate threatens to cancel her wedding if they don’t sort their differences out.

With accusations of corruption in the Council reducing the election lead-in time to a mere 4 weeks, it’s all systems go for Sally’s campaign; well, at least where she’s concerned.

Like two rival candidates, Sally’s lack of class and upwardly mobile aspirations ran side by side throughout both episodes, finally colliding at the polls in a conversation with Audrey in which she oscillated between attempting to inspire the some time Councillor and widow of same to pass her the baton of electoral knowledge, and bellowing at a passing Jenny Bradley. Having essentially stolen Audrey’s book of contacts out of her hand, Sally hightails it over to Ken’s with the owner in pursuit so he can separate the “somebodies from the nobodies”. As they chat slogans and manifestos, Tim is as useful as the uneaten apple he carries throughout, and Ken is deliciously irritable. In any event, it’s clear that Ken feels they have their work cut out for them, and is none too pleased about it.

Leanne might be afraid to celebrate Simon’s positive progress at counselling, but she happily quaffed something fizzy with Eva in the Bistro as they talked chat up lines with an unusually extroverted Andy. ”Our Andy’s quite the mystery man” Leanne remarked as he revealed his technique. He sure is; he once pretended to be the son of his boss’s father-in-law, and continued to do so even after he’d died.

In any event, the sisters’ planned night of clubbing goes awry when Eva disappears. The blow is softened for Leanne when she’s chatted up at the bar, but she’s not the only one to encounter a stranger, as Eva discovers sixteen year old Marta hiding in Underworld. She’s appalled to learn the she has been working for people who have her passport and she’s afraid to tell the truth for fear her family in Poland will be harmed.

It’s wonderful to be the invisible guest at the Rovers bar in the company of Liz, Eileen, Erica and Mary. A highlight was surely their faces after Mary declared, “Amongst you all, the corpses of dead relationships must lie ten deep” before rushing to the bathroom. There has been a clear, if rather speedy, recovery for Mary over the last few episodes, perhaps inspired by Erica encouraging her to think of herself as a woman of the world. Tonight, as Sean put ‘I Will Survive’ on the jukebox for her, we had a visual of her resolve in motion as she listened and nodded profusely. 

It appears almost every writer at the moment is dusting off their quill to pen her lyrical effusions of love, loss, and the merits, or otherwise, of keeping one’s hand on one’s ha’penny. Mary may not dare to admit it herself, but it is as if she has now transitioned into enjoying the drama of it all as she declares herself more fit for the Victorian age and announces “Brendan’s gone back to wifey, and I’ve been used, abused and cast aside” before popping a digestive into her mouth. As with Kevin’s attitude towards Jenny, from tonight, I feel we will see less of heartbroken Mary, and the emergence of a new dawn.

Gloria Gaynor wouldn't have it any other way.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog

All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 11 December 2015

There’s another visit to Rob on the cards for Tracy, but in the meantime, Johnny attends for his. It transpires that Rob has seen a photo of him in the paper connecting him with Underworld, and this, combined with a memory of his drunken mother telling him about a one night stand she had with Johnny in his Vauxhall Cavalier, is enough for Rob to presume Carla is his daughter. Johnny’s reaction is all that remains to convince him that it’s true. Johnny’s weak deflections are not enough to dissuade Rob, and £10,000 is the price to keep him quiet. While Johnny seemed ruffled, his departure was somewhat triumphant, revealing that Tracy is shacked up with someone else, and announcing that he’s off for a pint.

To me, this feels like a storyline that’s been wedged in, with explanations peppered about to justify it. Why haven't we seen so much as a glimmer of this possibility in any scenes between Johnny and Carla? Why did Rob never tell Carla about his mother's confession? Apparently because he never believed her. Why would Rob, who was so traumatised at the prospect of going to jail again and whose sole motivation for keeping his murder of Tina a secret was keeping out of prison, risk adding time to his sentence by engaging in further illegal activity? Who knows. What we do know, is that his deviousness arises from boredom. The insertion of a Bill Clinton-esque line from Rob, “Did or did you not have sexual relations with that woman?” seemed rather odd as he was referring to his own mother, and didn’t appear to be making a joke. I did enjoy what were strong scenes between Johnny and Rob, however, and it’s great to see the return of Marc Baylis.

Johnny later attends Nick and Carla's engagement party at the Bistro. After telling a concerned Carla that Rob merely wanted to know how things were going at Underworld, he looks wistfully on as she asks Roy to give her away. I found this to be a rather awkward scene. Roy saying it would be an honour was lovely, but Carla made some rather strange expressions in response. Considering their friendship, and Carla’s ever confident demeanour, I didn’t think her response to a question she had posed would cause her to feel so uncomfortable.

Elsewhere at the party we had ill-wishing Gail swilling the sauvignon, Sally discussing Tim’s toenails, and a frankly bizarre set of scenes involving Aidan’s missing silk seal-pup-like socks in which emergency phone calls to Spain, thievery and flirtatious sock related one-liners all played a part. In fact, I can’t decide which was the stranger; the socks, or Johnny buying a green shirt on the basis that he heard Liz liked Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood. In any event, she likes the shirt, and almost hears a confession from tipsy Johnny, but Carla interrupts and her parentage remains a secret for another day.

Ever the good friend, Roy is disappointed that Ken doesn’t make it to the ball. After Audrey deliberately gives Nessa the updo from hell, and Amy has a good laugh at her expense, Ken's lady friend swaps her party frock for Tracy’s dressing gown and a takeaway. He can’t say or do anything right, and judging by the disgruntled looks on his face throughout, he appears to be wondering if all this is worth the hassle. He still agrees to her staying a second night, which leaves me wondering, who’s looking after Alex?

Sadie Shimmin is doing a great job at portraying this playful, nosy, coy, yet strangely insecure character. Nessa has a presence about her, and I can see a role for her on the street, but not with Ken. At least the Renshaw twins thought her hair was "chic", and I would pay good money to see David Platt cutting their hair simultaneously.

Sarah Platt seems to be under an unwarranted amount of surveillance with Kylie now getting in on the act by reading her phone and searching her bag. I’m not sure what Kylie ran out of the pub for on finding an address for an abortion clinic in Sarah’s purse, as she didn’t urgently impart the news to anyone, and the next we saw of her she was calmly doing her make-up at the kitchen table. In any event, she squeezes an admission from Sarah and sympathises with her at the news that she has booked in for an abortion.

It’s a bit of a contradiction to find Rita joining in with Norris and mocking Mary and her “crackpot convention” while at the same time showing concern when she realises Brendan is married. While she is coming across as interfering, she seems to have Mary's best interests at heart, and one of my favourite scenes of the two episodes was when she revealed the news to Mary only to learn she is already fully aware.

Mary proceeds with their day out together, and as they talk of their mutual enjoyment of the convention, the pair kiss. There was a point some time back when Mary’s character took an unwelcome turn, but in these scenes, and over the past few weeks, she has been one of the highlights of every episode. From confessing that her favourite part of the convention was the moment when Brendan put his hand on her knee, to bashfully telling him “I’ll be thinking of you”, she was a joy throughout. I never would have had Mary down as a mistress and can see her character being vehemently against infidelity, but I feel the manner in which this has played out justifies a change of heart on this score. She is focussed on what she wants it to be rather than what it is. As Mary continues to reside in the afterglow of her magical day, Rita persists with home truths telling her Brendan doesn’t love her, and won’t leave his wife. “I can’t stand back and say nothing” she tells Mary who replies, “You can and you should" and accuses her of being sanctimonious and bitter. 

While I'm no fan of infidelity, you can't but feel sorry for her, as I do fear things will turn out as Rita predicts. Here's hoping the outcome is that it won't be long before Mary meets someone who deserves her, as being loved and in love certainly becomes her.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog

Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net


All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street episode review, Friday 30 October 2015

Mary’s quest for adventure has been answered by the arrival of a dashing knight in cream chinos in the form of Brendan, the editor of her favourite magazine, The Inexplicable. Positively beaming, she rivals her alter-ego Roxy in the passion stakes as she gushes over its creator. He too leaves her in no doubt of his attraction, and makes a solemn commitment to locate the one edition she is missing; “I will find you the elusive number 65" he broods, before quipping "if it’s the last thing I do - in this life or the next”.

Sure enough, he presents her with the magazine wrapped in a bow before gallantly resuming his delivery, ensuring that other fans of The Inexplicable won’t be left wanting.

This alive and invigorated Mary is infinitely preferable to the surly incarnation, and when combined with Brendan’s sublime delivery, there is definite potential for them to be a great couple. My hope is that their relationship constitutes a passionate and linguistically florid liaison and an exaggerated and comic homage to classic literary pairings. In fact, in many ways, they already remind me of Brian and Julie, which is no bad thing.

The only blot on the landscape came courtesy of Norris and Rita who saw fit to mock and sneer. While best ignored, I don’t understand why this continues to be included as a response to anything positive and joyful.

While love blossoms in the Kabin, petals fall at the Nazir’s as Alya pleads with Gary for forgiveness and a second chance. Meanwhile in the Bistro, Sharif confidently rebuts an angry Aidan by telling him “We know our granddaughter”. His words later serve to mock him as Gary reveals to the family how Alya slept with someone, and it wasn’t him. At one point Gary tells Alya to "stay classy", but to my mind he could apply this to himself, as making this announcement to her family seemed unnecessary and beneath him.

Fans have been wondering about Alya’s pregnancy status since Sinead found her test three months ago, and Zeedan asking this very question tonight appeared designed to solve this puzzle once and for all for viewers who learn definitively that she isn't pregnant.

Despite her infidelity, Alya cuts a sorry dash as she loses her fiance and the support of her family. Her grandfather telling her he is ashamed of her ensured added sympathy. Things get worse for Gary when, after counselling his supposed friend all these weeks, Jason confesses to it being him. You’d honestly wonder if there is any going back from this for either the couple, or the two friends.

Sophie seems intent on re-housing Kevin’s expanding empire, and has found just the property at the minimum distance from the current location. "Leave it with me" she tells him, and it appears that, yet again, Tyrone's feelings are the furthest thing from anyone's mind.

Missing Alex is found by Ken and Audrey quaffing ale in the Rovers, and his relieved mother Nessa and annoyed aunt Cathy aren’t far behind. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Roy where he and Alex spoke about the difference between living alone and living with others and the contemporary reliance on technology before engaging in a spot of darts. While I hope we see more of Alex in the episodes to come, Audrey may not feel the same about his mother, as Nessa’s bold flirtation with Ken rose more dander than the salon floor.

By Emma Hynes
www.emmahynes.wordpress.com
Twitter: @ELHynes

Download our free App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook | Visit Corrie.net



All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street episode review, Friday 9 October 2015

“Eh up, more fun and games over at the Platt’s” chirps a nosy Tyrone, as Kylie chases Sarah down the street pleading with her not to go to the police. Sarah still believes the body in the canal could be Callum’s and when Kylie assures her it isn’t, she begs her again for the truth.

While I can see why they had reservations, confessing all to Sarah has been a rather drawn out process, and I was glad it finally happened tonight. Before it did, however, Kylie agreed to tell her everything later, allowing Sarah time to break down in front of Michelle, reveal her suspicions about the body in the canal, and go to the police.

There was a touch of time travel between her departure from the Rovers, Kylie finding out from Michelle an hour later, going home to fill David in and arriving at the police station where Sarah had yet to be seen. Nevertheless, Kylie convinced her that they’ve too much to lose by confessing to their involvement and they leave the station. Kylie tells her, “If we were going to report this, we should have done it the night it happened”. To be fair, that would've been the wisest option, but I’m glad they didn't, because we would have been deprived of that cracking live episode. At length, David and Sarah stand peering down at the wet manhole as Kylie announces “this is Callum’s final resting place”. Yet again, Tina O’Brien excels as she breaks down at this revelation.

Drama aside, there was some laughter in my house at Kylie’s comment about David lighting the touch paper on a loose cannon. A case of mixing up her metaphors, she left us with an image of David Platt running around the deck of a ship, torch in hand trying to catch hold of a wayward cannon to light.

Sarah wasn’t the only one with the potential for having her fuse lit, as Luke respectfully complained at his exhaustion from working a 58 hour week with no prospect of it letting up. When Kevin cheerfully announced he’d secured yet another contract and joked that he’d ordered a Robo-Ty to cover Tyrone’s shifts, Luke warned him nicely about their ability to keep up.

Speaking of burgeoning tycoons, I’m still getting the measure of the new Connor clan, but Johnny seems like he might be a good addition to the factory. Peering through the office blinds asking “Do you employ Kirk to fulfil some kind of quota?” it’s clear that what he lacks in tolerance, he makes up for with wit.

Aidan, Carla and Johnny join Kate for dinner at the Bistro where she’s already chatting to Robert about being born in Spain but seeing herself as English which nicely dispenses with any questions regarding her accent.

Johnny did show a soft spot when he sympathised with Carla, told her not to worry, confessed to having experienced low points himself and observed “None of us are superhuman”. He has two conditions to being part of the factory however, and they are that he wants to be a hands-on manager, and for Kate to have a job. It appears she's not as keen.

Beth, Kirk, Chesney and Sinead want to help Fiz and Tyrone in any way they can, and so they arrange for Sinead to babysit while they all go to the Rovers for a few drinks. While she was perhaps being reasonable, Fiz telling Tyrone not to drink too much in case they were needed irritated me as it added to her cumulative haranguing. Let's just say her mithering was to no avail, as Tyrone left in rather robust spirits.

Ken and Roy debating the merits of Shostakovich and Vivaldi as they headed to a classical concert in their suits and ties was a heartening sight and the highlight of the episode for me. I loved Roy’s assertion regarding Vivaldi that “Just because his work is popular doesn’t make it any less accomplished”. Roy’s lack of snobbery or arrogance concerning what he enjoys is another charming element of his impeccable character.

After putting an enthusiastic face on it, Cathy is endearingly embarrassed to be even confessing to Anna that she is a tad jealous. She is very happy to hear, however, that he had intended inviting her, but was being a true friend to Ken who, he felt, needed the outing more. The two men return exhilarated with Roy noting, “live music does rather get the heart pounding”. A beaming Cathy proudly tells him “You are the nicest man in the universe”.

I know the camp is split on Roy and Cathy, but I’m a fan and it was brilliant to see her unselfishly appreciate Roy’s gesture towards Ken. It says a lot about her, and adds to the many other things that, to my mind, make her a fitting companion for Roy.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

Download our free App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook | Visit Corrie.net



All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License