Episode Review: Friday 19 December 2025

Welcome.  Christmas fast approaches but tonight Will celebrates his sixteenth birthday in style.  As far as he is concerned it means that he and Megan are legally able to exchange bodily fluids and he books a hotel room (164 at the Chariot Square of course - in the whole of Weatherfield there is only one hotel AND they book rooms just for the morning!) and he passes a key card to Megan for her to join him later.  At the Rovers Ben, Eva and Maggie play down his birthday to his face and then are busy putting up decorations whilst he is making the beast of two backs elsewhere (although they did not displace many of the rose petals).  He does not answer the phone to any of them but Ronnie Bailey had seen him earlier hanging around the hotel so Ben and Ollie hotfoot it over to the hotel and magically find his bedroom door which allows Megan to head into the bathroom before they enter and find how he has marked his special day.  Will leads them to think it is Chloe and Ben sorts a taxi for her back to the station as they take the lad off to his party at the Rovers where they imply he was simply seeking alcohol and not revealing his actual activities to Eva and Maggie.  Megan shaken by the mention of a Chloe wants explanations in the ginnel where she is found, invited to the party and then also to join the Driscoll's Christmas and stay over rather than having a turkey dinner for one in 'ull.  She accepts and so does Daniel who gets invited along as well.  The Driscoll's are looking forward to a wonderful family Christmas in their new home.  Can anyone spot any possible flaws in this dream?

Over a spot of notional cartomancy readings Maggie and Bernie bury the hatchet - it costs Maggie a dirty vodka martini on the house (not even a double - Bernie is slipping) and they agree not to mention their troubled grand off sprungs (Will and Brody) again.  Glenda explains the conversation between them noting that they speak a completely different language to the rest of us - weirdo-ese!

We were talking of Daniel who managed to find Bertie long enough to palm him off on Ken for the day doing some Christmassy arts and crafts and Bertie (unlike Glory who also popped in out of nowhere - are the schools on holiday?) actually managed a few words almost promising to be good for Ken who will no doubt want to teach him the art of the bells..

Dee Dee departed for Singapore.  There was a taxi, a family group plus Glory and Laila made appearances.  The Bailey family is down two more members.  Only four more to go (please).

Carl has lost his phone and we know that James sent him some sort of text message when hammered (when do sportsmen get hammered - oh yes when playing the Ashes).  Carl asks James if he has seen his phone and the latter tells him he needs to find it before Abi sees it.  Carl eventually finds down the back of a sofa and the message is along the lines of meet me at the Hotel and I will make it worth your while - which Abi reads over his shoulder have silently appeared in the background as he dug the phone out.  Carl explains that he is being excluded from Ronnie's stag night as Kev will be going and that James was offering a few drinks to offset his upset (James was offering the full Will booked room package but we will let that slide).  Abi swallows the story hook line and sinker and goes into battle for her man - after all Carl is also Debbie's brother and so is entitled to a night of handcuffing Ronnie to a lamp-post in his under grollies following the axe throwing and stripper as Glenda so delicately explains the stag evening .  Heaven help us.

Christmas preparations are also going well chez Metcalfe where Joanie Michaelis is finding life difficult.  The two girls add decorations to the tree and then go skating with Tim.  However later Fiz comes around with Hope and Ruby but Joanie feels she has a better offer for the evening as she considers Hope Dobbs is a nutter.  The offer is a party at Taylor Benton's who is in the year above Joanie.  Apparently Taylor is so cool she pierced her own nose with a staple gun!  Sally is not prepared to let Joanie go to an unknown person's house for a party and making friends with a staple gun user is not quite what Sally had in mind.  Sally voice slightly raised tells Joanie to like it lump it.  Cue teenage stomping upstairs.  Later Tim just about stops her leaving for the party and she and Sally argue with Joanie calling her a silly cow and that telling Sally she is not her mother before pulling the Christmas tree over.  Sally responds angrily refusing to keep pussyfooting around and tells Joanie to grow up.  Cue running up them stairs.  Tim takes Hope and Ruby for a can with Ty and Fiz stays to get Sally back on the straight and narrow as Fiz helps discuss parenting.  Later Sally sits Joanie down and tells her far more calmly that she is at a crossroads - they can show her the right road or she can take the wrong road - and they would all prefer she takes the right road.  Joanie at least seems to be listening but she has never known stability and boundaries and is bound to struggle.  When Tim returns Sally and Joanie are under a blanket, watching a Christmas film and drinking hot chocolate and for now all appears well. 

Sorry cannot waste tears on Dee Dee.  A theoretically smart lawyer working the back streets of Weatherfield can get a job in Singapore, taken in by an abuser, and trashing her promises to her brother.  Somewhere it all went wrong.  Will used a card to pay for the hotel room - in what name.  Megan knows the trail will cause her all sorts of problems at some point.  I hope Joanie can control herself - but I reckon she needs to learn coping mechanisms - or at least learning to count to ten.  Not sure when or what I will be reviewing next week.  However - it is time to wish my readers a Happy Christmas.

Written by Julie Jones and Chris Fewtrell.  Directed by Kodjo Tsakpo.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 29 August 2025

Welcome to this review.  I open with Carl who commences by saying I love you to Abi before she heads off to the sun and gets her to promise that she will not sleep with her husband whilst she is away and to leave finding the money for Tracy'luv to him.  He then spends the episode dodging and diving leaving poor Ty to assess the brakes on Ollie's car which was given an MoT by another garage which Fiona uses; surprise, surprise those brakes are way dodgy, who would have guessed it.  Carl has an exchange with James in the Rovers whilst skiving about it being good to get and hot and sticky in a gym session.  Without an obvious leadup that has indicated that Carl has the slightest interest in men or indeed wants anyone other than poor Abi we get the picture above after Tracy once again attempts to return to evil self and trap him.  Coronation Street should be driven by strong consistent characters living their lives on the backstreets of Manchester.  As I said about Abi recently I have trouble believing that people behave like this.  James leaves a message saying that he would be up for more fun in future.  Carl reads it then tells Abi to enjoy quality time with her boys and he will be waiting for when she returns.

The Kabin is back again with Jenny pursuing Christina and Dom online as she convinces herself that they are about to fleece George in some way.  Steve has to be served bon bons by Rita who is also on duty.  Later Jenny thinks George and Christina are exchanging amusing texts (they are but not with each other) which leads to her absolute conviction that there is no body in the coffin and to prove it she enters the undertakers and removes the lid of the coffin - which obviously does contain Dom's body.  Jenny is left with egg on her face.  George's romance was going so well with Cheryl he gets dumped by text, never having actually met her.  To calm Christina down George magics up a bottle of brandy and they steady their nerves following the earlier ructions.  And before you know it Christina is flirting with George, not exactly the grieving wife as Jenny observed earlier.  Christina then takes Cheryl's place for dinner at Speed Dahl.  

Asha skips work using different excuses for different people.  In the cafe Summer, Amy and Nina all say how good her job must be, how brave she is, how well she is doing and how important saving lives must be.  She does not tell them how she is feeling about the stresses.  She crosses paths with DS Swain later who asks if she is feeling better and offers to listen if Asha wants to talk.  Sienna tracks her down in the Rovers where she appears to be feeling much better.  Asha seems reluctant to talk.  Sienna warns her she looks like she is crumbling and that she does not want that to happen.  Asha pleads not to be reported and that she will sort herself out.  However this is a last warning.  

In a rare scene involving Tim and Abi the latter reveals she is being wound up by Tracy who is being her usual charming self with Tim saying that she will have forgotten her troubles once she is sitting in the sun holding hands with Kev.  (For those not aware in another world these two are married).

Needless to say that Billie has advised the police of the assault by Miles; he did try to talk to Miles but achieved nothing which made his mind up  {Given the education of children these days do any of them really consider homosexuality a problem - this story might have worked 40 years ago but now?).  This rather overshadows Summer Spellman's 21st (she has been around in various guises since 2017) - a girl with more fathers than I have had hot dinners this week.  Given she has her degree why is she not at work?  Miles apologises to Billy at the party in the Bistro and then gets invited by DS Swain to answer a few questions down the station.  I am surprised Billy making the report - surely he has heard about turning the other cheek?  Obviously not.  During the interview Miles reveals that he will not be involved with Noah any longer and Danielle is on board with that.  Theo gets ever more objectionable in that he rails at Billy about seeking to get his son a criminal record calling Billy a self-righteous prat.  Later Theo uses it as a weapon to tell Todd to choose between him and Todd which Todd conveys at the end of the episode saying that he and Billy have nothing to discuss and that Billy needs to stay out of his way.

Due to holidays I may well not be here next week and I certainly will not be here the following week.  I hope by the time I return that something will have changed.

Written by David Isaac and Ellen Taylor.  Directed by Merlyn Rice.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 20 June 2025

Debbie takes centre stage in this episode as we open with her in focus and the rest of the world out of focus as she stares through the blinds in the cafe and her "other worldliness" only comes to an end when Bernie touches her back points out that she has not paid for a coffee.  Debbie hands over a £10 note and tells Bernie to keep the change.  Debbie's phone goes and she hurries away to Speed Dahl where she arrives in a tizzy and finds Ronnie assisting Leanne prepare the food for the librarian awards at the Chariot Square Hotel (frankly this made about much sense as the stories around Millie).  Debbie was told that the conference room is flooded and cannot be used after a bath was left running overnight.  Leanne suggests that they simply bus everyone over from the hotel to Speed Dahl and hold the ceremony there rather than the food going the other way.  A little later Ryan is getting the PA working and Debbie is struggling with the constant noise as she tries to work.  Abi and Kev come in for a meal and Leanne says that is OK as the librarians are not arriving until 3pm.  Ronnie tries to find out why Debbie was not herself yesterday and says that he is worried about her.  Debbie is giving nothing away.  Subsequently Carl has replanned events to allow for the additional bus journey but Debbie cannot understand it until he explains it and then she asks about the buffet which has gone missing but part of the change over was to move to table service.  Then the room around Debbie goes out of focus and she collapses eventually into Kev's arms.

At number 11 Theo is snapping the bands on his wrist when Todd comes in and apologises for his behaviour the previous evening.  They have reconciled when Millie materialises.  Theo has said she can have the day off school, although she is reportedly "fine".  Apparently Danielle is a helicopter mother monitoring her condition and it was Danielle's worrying that led to Millie going to the hospital.  Theo suggests that Millie stay longer.  Later in the day Millie is lazing around and tells Todd that Theo has had to go to site to sort a problem.  Todd advises her that her mother knows far more about pregnancy than either he or Theo and her mother's support will be essential - so she might fare better at home.  Millie seems to accept this and goes to pack.  Once Theo returns Millie reappears and explains she has to go home because she is not welcome in this house (which is not quite what Todd said of course).  Another argument ensues until Theo is forced to admit he has been hurting himself again.  Millie simply observes that if her dad were at home all would be well.  Theo moans on and on and Millie blames Todd - Theo would be fine at home.  In a complete giveaway Millie, whilst on the phone to her brother Miles, then confirmed my beliefs and ordered herself a baby bump.  I like her less than her father.  

Talking of which in a scene which beggars belief and demonstrates to me that Theo needs to be given a bum's rush very urgently was his appalling comment to Summer above.  Sorry but I think Danielle is a saint to have put up with him this long.

James is complaining that Laila gets through more costume changes than Lady Gaga to Dee Dee.  James thought she did well in the radio interview and he did notice that she called Laila "my little girl".  Dee Dee assures him that she does not mean anything by it - and James knows it is too easy to use the wrong words by accident.  Dee Dee is off to spread the message at the church over the campaign and similar and all is well between them.  Later Dee Dee returns and she has been doing some deep thinking and there need to be some changes.  She does not want Laila back and she plans to focus on the future - she has joined a women's group at the church - some like minded mates.  And so she now cannot wait to take Laila to church to see the colours and hear the music.  James says that Dee Dee can spend as much time as she like with Laila but he cannot agree to this "church" thing.  He does not want any of that for Laila.  It is a line in the sand.  

In the café Aadi is waxing lyrical about spreadsheets to a bored looking Summer and Amy.  Bernie buts in and talks about finding out about herself and the world and inveighs against spreadsheets - the kids should be out on the town enjoying life.  Bernie approaches Aadi in the shop later suggesting he should be doing more at his age - it is Friday - go out and paint the town red or any other colour.  He says that there are no takers - and Bernie says they need encouragement.  The three pensioners later re-group and Aadi says that changes are afoot. They are to plan a mega party.  Aadi is serious - there is a need for some fun.  The three of them are to become the "fun".  

Debbie slowly recovers and has to admit to the diagnosis of vascular dementia she has been given and Carl gives away that he has known.  Abi drives Debbie to hospital in Debbie's car whilst everyone else is annoyed with not knowing.  After assessment Debbie is told she has had a TIA and amongst other things she should not drive for the next month.  The medic goes away to make a referral to the TIA clinic and ensure that the surgery knows the situation so that her meds can be monitored.  Carl and Kev arrive at the hospital, apologising about the earlier argument to Abi but then Debbie is nowhere to be found.  Debbie is in the driver's seat of her car and after some looking in the mirror, drives away.  Carl soon confirms that there is no car in the car park.  She has done a runner and Kev blames Abi.  Back on the Street Ronnie and Ryan commence a woman search.  Abi wants to help Kev - but he remains concerned that Debbie did not tell him and yet she told the recently returned Carl.  Abi points out that Kev has his own problems at present. 

Later Abi visits the garage and tells Carl that she loves her husband and she cares for Carl as a brother in law and nothing more.  

Written by Alasdair Morrison and Carmel Morgan.  Directed by Matt Hilton.

Tonight was a Matt Hilton special as the directorial tricks were cranked up to 100% to deal with Debbie and we also had a different camera angle on some items such as this shot in the Rovers where it appears that Summer is as keen to show her legs as Sarah!  Lauren by the way is not quite creating the right atmosphere in the Rovers.  

In other news Daisy Midgeley will be appearing as "Amber Gordon" in Ambridge next week although it is not yet clear what she is doing; oddly although Harrison Burns has left Ambridge for a mystery undercover role as someone called Theo his dulcet tones will also return to the Ambridge airways.  The soap crossovers get ever more complex.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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