I am made it there and back, Northern Lights ticked off the bucket list (just) and Iceland did not erupt! So back to Weatherfield where it appears events took a grisly turn in Lauren's flat with apparently everyone being accused of a murder and no-one has a body! Daniel feels he has dodged a bullet and he is convinced that Master Max is responsible for his police interview. He challenges Max on the Street but makes no impression on the lad and is only stopped from assaulting him by Ken. The missing person is the subject of gossip all over the Street and the internet trolls are out in force alleging that Roy should be answering questions. Suki from the paper later comes into do another missing persons appeal and says that comments on the earlier article have now been disabled. However DS Swain arrives to arrest Roy Cropper on suspicion of murder. Suki gets her headline and one of the observers manages to video Roy being taken away in a police car - simply because he likes bats and steam trains apparently.
To help Simon reform he is going to a meeting of "The Altovalent Institute" at Chariot Square Hotel, Debbie is more interested in selling Leanne and Nick a wedding event - she has a few spare dates so how about a booking - some people book 2 years in advance. Nick eventually mans up and admits that he loves Leanne but does not feel they should be marrying at this moment. They argue and Simon seems fired up with his session with "The Institute". Leanne remains at the hotel to talk to Debbie and gets into conversation with Rowan who overhears her conversation and starts on about mantras and rebooting and so on. Leanne admits to being a worrier and Rowan's face looks as though he is calculating, Rowan talks to Leanne about needing to live authentically and fully. Lots of mumbo jumbo there to unpack. Later Nick and Leanne agree they want to be together - but perhaps forget the wedding for now.
Joseph is keen on going to Oakhill, unlike Gemma who appears only to be able to shout at everyone all the time. And in case we had all forgotten they were related Linda had lunch with her daughter. Izzy seems less than enamoured of her mother's plans for Joseph and the lack of equal concern for Jake which enables Izzy to hand out a piece of her mind. I am not surprised that Izzy is angry and when Gemma asks for equal treatment for the quad squad, Linda nearly has a meltdown and Izzy storms off! However later on the pressure on Gemma from Paul, Chesney and others means it looks like he will be going to Oakhill after all there is the archery and games coding to be considered.
Eliza has both Stu and Dom twisted around her little finger. After months of things going back and forth Dom and Stu have a proper discussion and Stu then gets Bridget to agree to a new plan. Dom tells his German family about his daughter and before long Eliza will be heading to Hamburg to live with people who have only just found out that she exists and Stu is paying for her to attend an International School in Germany.
Toyah lets slip to Steve that when Amy lunched with her mother Tommy O was present as well. Steve does not want to damage his relationship with his daughter and accepts that she has to know about Tommy. Toyah later apologises and buys Steve a drink. Collecting a curry in Speed Dahl Steve and Amy talk - she says she was curious about how serious Tommy O was to be with Tracy. Steve lets slip that Tommy may be moving abroad.
Roy, being Roy, wishes to cooperate with the police. Roy admits to cleaning the flat whilst wearing gloves - second nature in his job after all. Roy confirms that the money under the mattress was the wages he had paid - the notes have his fingerprints and he paid her an extra £27 to round up the amount he was paying. DS Swain says that no body has been found but that they are of the opinion that Roy was the last person to see Lauren alive (and we all know what that means). Roy confirms he had Lauren's phone number and yes there were a lot of messages as she was not always entirely punctual. And Roy denies any online contact and did not follow her on social media. Roy had no knowledge of Lauren undertaking sex work. But he is not entirely surprised recalling that she once offered herself to him. Roy knows that her values were warped due to her father and his associates. The broken chair had traces of Lauren's blood and tissues on it. However DS Swain has a condom wrapper which does have Roy's fingerprints - but he found it after removing his gloves. Roy is eventually released on police bail and placed on curfew which as Roy acknowledges will kibosh his cabaret career. Whilst Roy believes the truth will prevail, Dee Dee seems less certain.
Strangers in bars rarely remain strangers for long. Leanne ought to know better than falling for a smooth talker given her history but you never know. I assume that Eliza needs a couple of years out for exams or similar, so a path is being provided. I am liking the scenes between Steve and Amy as they negotiate Tracy's decision - but what will Tommy O actually do? And is there anyway Linda can become more or less permanent and rebuild a proper relationship with Izzy and work with Gemma and Chesney? No doubt all this and more will be covered next week.
