The women of the Street were in various states of emotional turmoil. Denise cried on Bet's shoulder, upset that Ken no longer wanted to know and worrying that she would be alone forever. She ended up making a move on him. Bet had problems of her own, dealing with a continually late Tricia in the Rovers; when she deducted money from her wages Tricia resigned. Reg forced Maureen to go to work in the shop, even though she was sick as a dog. Maureen collapsed and Deirdre was forced to step in. She had a great time though, which convinced Samir that they should live happily ever after in Weatherfield after his operation. Dum-dum-duuuuuuum. To give Maureen a bit of a break while she recovered, Reg took on Tricia in the shop. Audrey convinced Alma to go for the pub catering job she'd set up with that bloke they encountered in Southport. Audrey was really after a bit of flirtation with his mate, but Alma actually succeeded in preparing a sample menu for him. Steve went to Dublin with Vicky, which was bad news for Fiona when a thug who couldn't act for toffee turned up at the flat and threatened her because Steve owed money. Steve returned and was incredibly uncaring, dismissing it as standard behaviour, because he's a twat.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 29th and 31st May 1995
I know it's been keeping you awake at night but I have good news for you: Arthur the gnome is back. He was left on the doorstep. Afraid that he might go missing again, Derek tried to persuade Mavis to let the gnome into their bedroom. This is just plain disturbing. Andy comforted a scared Fiona, which was more attention than Steve had given her. Alf got a letter from the Queen; he'd been nominated for an OBE. Audrey wasted no time in announcing it to the pub even though he'd wanted to keep it quiet. Maud wasn't impressed with Tricia - until she stood up to her, at which point she decided she had the right stuff. But the big news was that it was the day of Tracy and Samir's operation. Ken took her to the hospital, but Samir needed time to think, so he said he'd walk to the hospital. For some reason he went via the centre of Manchester, and ducked down the canal by the side of Deansgate station. Under a bridge he encountered a gang of drunken racists...
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 2nd and 5th June 1995
Poor, poor Samir. He was found on the towpath and Deirdre rushed to his side. He had a brain injury and wouldn't survive; she gave permission for him to be harvested for his kidney and Tracy was saved. And that was the end of the third Mr Deirdre. If you're thinking the circumstances of his death seem a bit weird and contrived, you're absolutely right. The original idea for the plotline was that Samir would die on the operating table, but the organ donor people rightly worried it would put people off donating, so the script was changed at the last minute to have him murdered instead. On the plus side, Tracy was recovering well. That terrible thug turned up again, but he frightened Steve this time; Steve tried to get some cash off Vicky, but when she refused, he fled to London to try and raise some money. Fiona, meanwhile, was thrilled to be asked to manage the salon so that Denise could take step back and look after Daniel. Billy took Betty to a tea dance and tried to persuade her to come away with him for a mucky weekend. She agreed to sleep on the idea.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 9th June 1995
A grieving Deirdre refused to see Tracy; she blamed her for Samir's death and wished she had died instead. Rita gave her a talking to, using that posh sensitive voice she wheels out in times of crisis. Tracy finally realised something was up. While Deirdre took his body back to Morocco, Ken told her Samir was dead. There was happier news for Betty, as Billy proposed marriage; she refused because she thought she was married to Cyril for life, and he told her to let her late husband go, which upset her further. Vicky worked with Alma on preparing her new catering contract, because apparently she's some kind of whizz kid after half a term doing Business Studies, while Maxine moved in with Fiona to give her some company while Steve was away. Feeling better, Maureen let Tricia go from the shop. She tried to persuade Maureen to let the shop flat to her and Jamie, but Maureen plain didn't like her, and refused.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 14th June 1995
Vera had been sacked from Bettabuys. She'd been deliberately denting tins to get them cheap. She felt useless and decided to retire, trying to persuade Jack how nice it would be if he came home every day and she was there waiting for him. He rushed out to find her a job. Steve returned from London, full of apologies to Fiona. There was a weird homage to Pulp Fiction as he went in the print shop and found a baseball bat on the side; it had been left there by a thug who was in the toilet. While Bruce Willis managed to kill John Travolta in the film, Steve came off worse and ended up in hospital. Fiona thought she'd been stood up and went out clubbing with Maxine. She was mortified when she got back and found him in a state, though Denise advised her to get out while she could. Fiona couldn't say goodbye though because she loved him. Meanwhile Vicky was horrified to learn her business was being pursued for its debts by violent scumbags. Alma got £500 for her catering consultancy, which amused Mike, and he patronisingly told her she must've only got the deal because the bloke fancied her. At the hospital, Tracy was upset because she realised Deirdre would never forgive her for being partly responsible for Samir's death. Oh Tracy, you're going to do much worse.
In retrospect, I think Samir was the best of all Deirdre's husbands; at least he never cheated on her - though in fairness, he never got the chance. Let me know if you're #TeamRay, #TeamSamir or #TeamKen on Twitter @merseytart.
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