Kelly is sleeping rough on the Streets and has told Stu to get lost so it is no surprise when a passing drug dealer offers her something to make life easier. She turns him down and later he is chased off by the returning Jacob (you remember Jacob [above] - he dragged little Simon into drug dealing and whom later Harvey Wallbanger wall-banged into hospital when he worked out that Jacob was ripping off the drugs he was supplying). Jacob, some nine months, later appears to have fully recovered and warns Kelly off the first dealer who is delivering "spice" [Spice was banned in 2016]. Stu then turns up and Jacob departs leaving Kelly some tea. She phones (how has her phone got any charge?) the first dealer and given by her wobbliness later has had the free sample as offered by the dealer.
Roy's departure is mentioned briefly and Nina has added more vegan options to the menu - I have mentioned recently that Roy's Rolls set is looking particularly worn so can I hope for a makeover - "Nina's Noodles" perhaps? In the meantime I think someone needs to look at Roy's pricing as I am not convinced that Nina can make any money at the prices quoted on the boards.
Elsewhere Grace Vickers (remember her - Michael's ex and mother to Glory) is constantly arranging for the Bailey family to provide childcare - as Aggie alleges so that she can down expensive cocktails in a variety of City Centre bars. Grace responds that she would not need to get some relief from childcare if the sofa in her free house was comfortable! After some discussion Aggie agrees to fund a new sofa. Much later Grace is enjoying a drink in the Rovers as Michael is looking after his daughter. When she hears that Bernie wants to make Gemma's front room look better. Grace (above) makes it clear that for the right price she will soon be able to sell a new sofa.
"Influencers" are not people who have had the flu jab. They are people who understand these ever newer methods of communication whereby you post a few pictures looking great and everyone rushes out to look the same. Daisy is getting an online following. Apparently she is posting pictures of her and Bertie and not making anything clear in the captions; so firstly she is appearing to be single, then she is appearing to be a parent - which of course makes her a single parent and of course everyone is amazed at how impressive she and the cute baby look. So an "upmarket" baby clothes family sends over the latest collection in the expectation that she will dress up Bertie and undertake some of her impressive photo skills to give the brand a boost. Which might be well and good if she had bothered to tell her "on" (but not public) boyfriend Daniel about it. Which she does eventually and so he storms off and they are "off". When he gets back to the flat they have a good old argument (and as my good lady wife pointed out she remembers Ken saying some very similar things to one Denise Osbourne) - before inevitably the passions are aroused and judging by the above they are back "on" (but not in public).
We are served a brief reminder that it is a year since Oliver left us and Steve, Leanne (above with most of the contents of Preston's Petals) and Nick are doing shift duties at the cemetery today. This lead Abi to be one of the Sam sitters as she looks after the lad with Jack for a while.
Zeedan is still laundering cash (George and Eileen's meal - the former calls the latter "Eyelash") for his "former" father-in-law who is harassing Zeedan down the phone every chance he gets. But he cannot take the daal van to a craft fair so needs to use the Speed Daal till; to minimise watching eyes he sends Yasmeen, Alya and Ryan for a spa day but Ryan returns and almost catches Zeedan in the money spin cycle (above) but Zeedan just about gets away with it - suspicions have been aroused I suspect. Especially when he sees Hashim harassing Zeedan in Vicky Gardens.
Kevin feels that he and Abi need to break the constant cycle of talking and thinking about guns, Harvey, Seb, Kelly, Corey, Nina, Asha, Sam and Natasha. Abi unwisely tries to get Sam talking by playing a game with him and Jack (who is about a foot taller than Abi these days). When this fails to get Sam talking she eventually accepts the need to get away - as Kev puts it so romantically above and which they manage without quite crossing the rehabilitation of Kelly!
Ah yes. Kelly. Stu popped round to Nina's Noodles and tries to get Nina to rethink her position but Asha chases him off. In these episodes Stu seems to have forgotten to cough - but we all know that he is not well don't we? Kelly is staggering around and finds a mixed group of teenagers drinking and asks them for money. One of them offers her money if she debases herself by begging (and by implication, worse). Nina having rethought is walking along the same area and she can see Kelly being shouted at by the teen group as one of them pours a can of beer over Kelly. We get flashbacks for Nina (in panic mode) of the night she and Seb were the object of pointless shouting and the violence which followed. Eventually Nina (after calling the police she alleges) finds her voice and tells them to leave Kelly alone (above). She gets her own abuse (back to the graveyard and similar) but she finds the strength to stand her ground and the group back off as police sirens sound and they walk away leaving Kelly having to find words to say just how sorry and thankful she is. Nina admits that she has had time to think and with a wave of the wand Kelly is spirited to Alahan House and takes up the residence offered several weeks ago.
More seriously Nina was close to a panic attack earlier. Tonight alone in Roy's Rolls she is expecting Asha who is late and is clearly exhibiting further symptoms of panic and all we can ask "is she about to feel further long term effects from the past few months?"
Tonight was written by Susan Oudot and directed by Clive Arnold.
Kosmo
