It's that time of year again: yes, Betty's walking out of the Rovers in a huff. The cause this time was her realising that the Duckworths had found an anomaly in the books while she was away. They finally got her back by confessing that the profits were actually up, and she pointed out it was because her and Billy weren't helping themselves to the takings. That left Jack and Vera watching each other to find out who was swallowing all the money from the till. Tricia started work at the factory but Ida Clough was annoyed because she was no good. She assumed she was Baldwin's bit on the side, but when she explained her circumstances, Ida melted and lied that she was doing well. Meanwhile Roy bought Jamie some lunch by pretending to hire his baseball cap from him, because he's lovely. Steve began life in prison, with it plastered all over the Gazette, much to Vicky's embarrassment. The rest of the family visited and Steve asked if they could get Fiona to see him. She agreed to think about it. Meanwhile, Steve's dodginess was causing problems for Andy, as Anne's family thought he was from rough stock and wanted her to dump him. If they think Steve's dodgy, they should take a good look at their psycho daughter...
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th June 1996
Norris and Angela were having terrible rows and marriage problems, with Angela realising what the rest of us know: he's a bit of a drip. He managed to persuade Mavis to let him stay at number 4 after she threw him out, but when Derek went round to see Angela, she was nowhere to be found. He convinced himself there was something odd going on. Fiona was confused about Steve's request to see her. She realised that the only way she'd find out what he wanted would be to actually go to the prison. Obviously, she kept it a secret from Tony, because people in this show always make things complicated for themselves. Steve confessed he'd been thinking about her and asked her to visit more often. Andy took matters into his own hands and visited the Malones to persuade them he was a good bloke. They actually took to him quite well, which infuriated Anne for some reason, so she dumped him. And Stephen was coming back to visit, which thrilled Alma, as she still held a torch for the boring piece of wood. No idea why.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 10th June 1996
It was the end of an era, as Vicky McDonald left the show (though she'd come back a couple of times for guest appearances). Rather improbably she was off to Lausanne for a course in hospitality management, which seems incredibly random, but she said goodbye to everyone in the Rovers and they waved her off. Betty even gave her the recipe for her hotpot as a gift. Raquel gifted her a farewell massage in the back of the salon, which meant Vicky and Fiona had an awkward goodbye. Mike was anxious about Stephen's factory visit, though not as anxious as Alma, who realised she definitely still fancied him. The Mallets got a surprising visitor: Terry Duckworth, who let himself in, not realising his mum and dad had moved. Vera was delighted to see he'd brought Tommy with him but Jack was naturally suspicious about his wayward son's motivations. Norris volunteered on the Wiltons' allotment, digging an incredibly deep hole for some reason, which further raised Derek's suspicions that he'd murdered Angela.
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 14th June 1996
Terry's arrival soon brought a pair of other visitors - the Hortons, Tommy's other grandparents who'd bought the little boy a few years back. It turned out that they'd tried to get out of paying their annual fee so Terry had snatched him as punishment. Terry meanwhile claimed that he'd changed his mind and wanted to care for his son full time. Derek went to the allotments to see what was buried there. (Incidentally there was a moment where Rita bemoaned how murder was just another story in the paper these days, not realising that thirty years later she'd be living on Manchester's Murder Mile). Rather than finding a corpse, however, Derek found Angela's golf clubs, and when Angela then called Norris the Wiltons could finally relax. Stephen went to dinner with Mike and Alma, and they brought Deirdre along to make up a foursome. Stephen and Deirdre got on really well, which made Alma simmer with jealousy, and she confessed her crush to Mike. He admitted he'd already worked it out and she became upset that he didn't seem to care.
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th June 1996
Don had finally realised that he'd bought a lemon. More equipment at the garage failed and had to be replaced, and he blamed Mike for it. When Josie then discovered that Baldwin had conned them into paying over the odds for the business she left the factory job, which worried Don, because they needed every penny they could get. Terry proved his worth at the pub by dragging a thug out of the bar. Vera was so pleased she asked him to stay on. What she didn't know was Terry had paid the thug to cause trouble in the first place so he could act the hero, and he was mainly sticking around for the Duckworths' cash. Elsewhere, Joyce sold some dodgy catalogue products, mainly to Judy, Mike made up with Alma via expensive jewellery, and Norris returned to Angela and unhappily married bliss.
There's something quite thrilling seeing Don and Anne on the start of their descent into insanity. If you agree let me know on Twitter @merseytart.
Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekdays from 14:50 and is also on the ITV Hub.
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
