Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 15 April 2022

Rather than "What's it all about Alfie?" as Millicent Martin (and later Cher, Cilla and of course Dionne Warwick - whom I rather hope might include it in her set in June when I see her) asked in the 1966 film tonight was rather more "It's all about Alfie" as the small infant became the focus of an intense custody residence battle.  Having strained every sinew to believe that Toyah would accept Imran back into the flat, let alone her bed we then see the social worker (Chloe Pearson played by Lucy Avison) re-appear.

Now the last time we saw the social worker she had not had "gullible" branded across her forehead - but she was listening to Imran and R'Toyota tear lumps out of each other and you might think that the social workers were trained not to be taken in either by

Imran's smug looking "winning" smile (which he only seems to deploy when needing to achieve something unwelcome) together with the outpourings from Toyah who, let us remind ourselves, is a trained counsellor and can therefore be expected to pour oil on troubled waters and to pat everything smoothly into place so that all the fuss simply disappears.

In this household there was a debate.  I take the view that Toyah is only doing this to find a way of scuppering Imran's dinghy of hope with a tsumani and ensuring that he can never get his hands on the child whilst the good lady wife takes the view that Toyah would never do anything to hurt Abi (the sisterhood at work) despite all that has happened - just blaming Imran for his mistake and wanting revenge on him.  

Miss Gullible is an amazing social worker - not only does she believe the tripe she is offered is edible she also has a judge on speed dahl dial on Good Friday and arranges that as soon as Alfie can leave hospital he can return to the loving care of the family which has so far abandoned Elsie and R'Kelly - you never know third time lucky.  My belief that Toyah is looking for a way out grew when even she was surprised that things were moving so quickly.

More surprised than Toyah was Abi who was with Alfie when the fateful call came and she immediately exploded returning to the Street for a shouting showdown with Ms Battersby and her future husband (oh yes she said they were getting married when interviewed by Miss Gullible).  Kev and Roy intervene and the latter walks her back to her flat near the Weatherfield Precinct to stop her doing anything stupid.  Roy subsequently talks Abi down and hopefully redirects her with the power of positive thinking - and after all she is Alfie's mother so her rights are significant.

Elsewhere Kelly, Gary and Maria attend Rick Neelan's funeral which is enlivened by a former customer (Dave Burman played by Andy Salthouse) of the late Mr Neelan turning up to spit on his coffin (grave spitting is so last year).  Gary lands a solid punch in the middle of the church and the miscreant departs in his van - which has his name and address painted on the rear door.  Meanwhile in what will no doubt make life difficult for Councillor (the other sort) Windass, a member of the local press hid behind a huge camera and took pictures of those attending the funeral of a "known criminal".  Once Rick is in his third grave Kelly and Gary say their farewells.  No doubt given that Mrs Neelan admitted to being the killer and that there is no more evidence it looks like the story of Gary and Rick has finally reached a conclusion and that Gary has got away with the factory collapse and Rick's death.  Later R'Kelly goes after Mr Burman and apologises for her father, for Gary and well just about everything.  

The factory gets a look in - the buyer, Mr Geronimo (played by Steven E Harris), whom Kirk sweet talked into an order turns up and after a cardboard box building contest (with Kirk winning) he does offer to discuss a deal with Carla!  Beth demands that in consequence Kirk should be given a promotion and Carla concedes a meaningless new title which to my mind does not sound half so grand as "head of packing".

Amy gets Summer out of the flat and into Roy's for a piece of cake - but she takes her books with her and Roy plies them with bacon barms as he has a new bacon supplier (I still wish for Nina's Noodles) which they take back to the flat.  Summer gets rid of Amy and then visits the smallest room in the flat to relieve her stomach of its contents.  Amy however comes back for her phone (which is odd for a teenager - do they ever put them down?) and Summer admits her need to stay slim.  However in friend mode Amy later denies to Billy that Summer is doing anything wrong.  Difficult choice there for Amy - stand by your friend or bring down the powers which might help her?  

Meanwhile Daisy's green eyes are flashing again given the need for Nicky and Daniel to spend time together to plan the school trip to Edinburgh (we got a day trip to an oil refinery when I were a lad).  Jenny uses her knowledge to suggest that in place of having a cat fight in the Street (shame) Daisy could quiz Nicky about her intentions.  Whilst not revealing the history of their connection Nicky admits that yes she could fancy Daniel but she would never split him and Daisy up because she is not that sort of woman and she is not a home/family wrecker - and she would not want Daniel if he was prepared to cheat on Daisy.  This is such an alien thought for Daisy's brain that she struggles with the concept for a while but will probably accept that such women exist (at least in fiction). Oh - never let Daniel borrow your car.  He always puts windscreen washer in the brake fluid.  At least Abi gets her job back at the garage as they are still short handed.

Adam is a sore loser as we know and it appears that in a recent case the other side used a real dirt digger (paralegal Ben Chancellor) to win a case unfairly.  The agent of evil then gave Adam his card for future business - but Imran talks Adam into throwing the card away.  However in the ongoing residence battle Imran decides that Abi is back "using" and he wants proof so that Abi's "missile cruiser" status in relation to Alfie can undergo a mysterious explosion in the ammunition store and later roll over in a storm and sink; so he rescues the business card and makes contact with Mr Chancellor.  Abi's solicitor is Elliott Newell (a return for Toby Gaffney) who is looking for revenge on Imran - if anyone can remember why let me know please.

Written by Owen Lloyd Fox and Debbie Oates.  Directed by Matt Holt.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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INTERVIEW- Tina O'Brien: Where do Sarah's loyalties lie?

As we all know, Gary's just been knocked over by a car after Sarah ran into the road, trying to call the police after his revelation that he is indeed a murderer. Even though he did it with good intentions (?), murder's still murder and Sarah attempted to do the right thing by calling the police and nearly got herself killed in the process. I sat down with Tina O'Brien via Zoom to talk about Sarah's sticky situation. 

When Sarah ran into the path of an oncoming car, Gary could've believed in divine intervention and let her die. Instead, he came to her rescue, which has now put Sarah in a difficult position; does she now owe Gary a favour, or do her feelings about her ex run deeper?

"I think she's a bit caught, really", Tina said. "She does actually say to someone, you know, 'he's under my skin', and I think she would be the first person to say that she would never go back to him, you know. I think they had quite a toxic relationship towards the end... the fact that she really did truly love him, I think she feels that she doesn't want to betray him." 

Following Gary's revelation that he will always love Sarah, they share a charged moment later on when he goes to find out from Sarah what she has said to the police, or Adam. Tina said: "I think it’s that feeling of ‘Oh my gosh, I could love you and hate you in equal measures’, if that makes sense because that thing there, you know, it’s like he gets her and I think he presses her buttons but I think he also... she knows that he does care about her and I think she's a bit of a sucker for the fact that she knew how much he loved her, so I think there is that moment that she thinks something could happen, but I think she would say she’s probably relieved that she doesn’t."

With all of this going on, Adam's suspicions are heightened after Sarah very blatantly lies to the police. He already has it in for Gary, but now he starts to think that maybe his wife still has feelings for her ex. 

"It’s a tricky one because I can understand why Adam thinks that Sarah’s got feelings for Gary because, you know, she isn’t being very honest with him and she isn’t behaving as she should really, she should be more open with him. 

"I think she’s got trust issues based on what happened with Callum that she maybe doesn’t want to open herself up, but I do think that she is under no illusion that if she carries this on, she could lose her husband."

Even though Sarah knows that Gary killed Rick, he also knows Sarah's darkest secrets. 

"I think she's incredibly torn because she loves her husband... but she also knows that he is gunning for Gary and he would do anything to see him go to prison and I think she’s worried that if she tells Adam the whole truth, then she’s going to compromise herself as well because she’s never told him about what happened with Callum and she’s kept that a secret" 

Sarah has got some tough decisions to make in upcoming episodes. Will she protect Gary, and will she lose her marriage? 

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @soph_journo.

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INTERVIEW: Mikey North- Gary saves Sarah's life in world's first socially distanced stunt

Gary Windass has been strutting around like Coronation Street's alpha male for far too long now, but it's not going to stay that way for much longer. Sitting down with Mikey North via the magic of Zoom, he revealed how the net is quickly closing in on a worried Gary.

It all starts when Brian finds Rick Neelan's watch in the woods when metal detecting. "He finds out from Brian of all people that they've been to the woods with their metal detectors", says Mikey.  "Bernie's found a watch, Bernie sells it to Sarah, [Gary] finds out and he has a bit of a meltdown in the street and smashes up Brian's metal detector in one of his true Windass episodes."

Gary is horrified when Rick's watch is discovered... and then sold to Sarah.

With their highly fractious relationship, Sarah is probably the worst person to be in possession of Rick's watch, and this sparks worry within Gary. Mikey said: "Sarah kind of starts to put things together. Adam's obviously been after him for a while as well; the net's closing in. Sarah will approach Gary and sort of ask him straight, "did you do it?""

We've seen Gary become over-confident, but that is set to the change. "I think Gary's been really confident, Mikey less so", Mikey laughed. "I think he's felt invincible at times and his split personality comes out and he thinks that nothing can get to him, really. But that's now going to catch up with him and his luck might be running out.

Sarah finds Gary's murdering tools

After finding Gary's murder kit in the back of his van, Sarah begins to add all of the evidence together and after a heated confrontation with Gary on the cobbles, she runs into the road and is about to be hit by an oncoming car when Gary pushes her out of the way, resulting in him being hit instead. The question is, why did Gary save Sarah when she could have taken his secret to the grave? The answer is simple.

"He still loves her, doesn't he?" said Mikey. "I think he probably always will. Everything he did with Rick, you know and Rana of course with all the roof stuff, was all to sort of help them out and save her and protect her. I guess he feels hard done by that he's had to do all this and she's off with someone else and doesn't like that.

Gary saves Sarah's life- but at what cost?

"Don't get me wrong, he does love Maria, you know, she's been so nice to him and kind, and he does love her, he really does, but the stuff with Sarah will always be bubbling under and this obviously brings it all to a head."

Coronation Street is dubbing this crash the world's first socially distanced stunt, and Mikey talked about filming his own stunt involving a car going at full speed.

"I always ask to try and do my own stunts if I can, it's just I enjoy it; it's one of the best parts of the job for me so luckily they let me do it on the bonnet of the car. It's good fun and I really enjoy it, getting bashed about.

"This stunt guy showed me what to do and it was quite wet on the bonnet actually and I thought, 'I'm going to lose my grip and probably get hit by car', but luckily I got away with it somehow, but yeah, it was pretty nerve-wracking, the first take."

Mikey North filmed his own stunt

Due to social distancing precautions, the process of filming had to be altered slightly. In order for Gary to be able to push Sarah out of the way of the vehicle, a dummy wearing Sarah's clothes had to take Tina O'Brien's place at times.

Mikey said: "We're having to shoot things quite differently. There's more camera trickery to make us look closer than we are. In the stunt, it was just me acting with a dummy Sarah at times. Its not easy but we've done as best we can."

A dummy version of Sarah had to be used due to social distancing precautions

With every soap villain, their time on our screens is almost always put on a timer as soon as they commit that first murder. However, Mikey hopes that Gary's redeemable qualities will mean he can stick around. "I hope that the bad things that he has done at the start were all with good intentions at heart, you know, he was trying to help his family out through his desperation.

"I know there's been times over the last year probably where he has gone a little bit too far and that is in his nature as well, that nasty streak within him. But I do hope there is that good guy somewhere. Hopefully we can get past this, maybe bring good guy Gary back at some point.

"I hope there is a way out of this for him."

Obviously, Coronation Street has had an extensive break from filming due to lockdown, and Mikey found he was quite nervous to return to work. "It was quite nerve-wracking getting back to work actually because obviously none of us have picked up a script for three months which is quite rare as an actor that you go that long so it was like learning to do it all over again.

"I've loved it, being back. It's so nice to get back and see everyone and just be working again. We're so fortunate being in a soap at the minute that we're working because nowhere else is and you've got so many actors that would love to be working right now."

Filming a socially distanced stunt can't be easy, and Mikey explained what is was like: "It's not how you want to do it. I mean, when you're trying to act with a dummy version of Tina O'Brien, it's not as good as the real thing. But we're getting used to it now, trying to keep the distance is not easy... but we're doing our best and as I say, it's just nice to be back and getting the opportunity to work again and hopefully we'll be back to normal soon."

With Gary's net quickly closing in on him, how much does he reveal to Sarah and will she keep his dark secrets? Don't miss this action-packed episode on Wednesday 29th July!

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter soph_journo.

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Coronation Street Episode Review, Weds 19 June 7.30pm

If you go down to the woods today be sure of a big surprise... or not, as Gary and Rick do battle again to find out who is Corrie's ultimate alpha-male!

Joking aside, a fresh grave has been dug but is anybody going inside it? As the camera pans across the desolate woods we are left to wonder.

Back on Coronation Street, Sarah is beside herself with worry at Gary's disappearance, and Tyler tells Robert the baby news. At the Bistro, the surprise proposal party is yet to start and with Robert obviously waylaid fighting with Tyler, Michelle's detective skills require little effort. Finding everybody 'hiding' and a 'comedy' celebration cake, it isn't long before she opens a box and a 'happy engagement' balloon pops out.

Roy's had Wayne and Brian run rings round him over Sylvia's mysteriously bequeathed jewellery. Now that Roy's investigation has proved his mother had an affair, can anything further come from Wayne and Brian's sleuthing? At the shop, Brian has somehow got hold of a box belonging to Roy, and the investigation appears to continue.

At the Baileys, Aggie's one noise women crusade against Claudia continues. With Aggie eagerly bashing Ernest's Bishop's piano, Claudia decides to delve into Ken's eclectic vinyl collection in hope of drowning out 'chopsticks'.

Arriving home at the same time, Ken and Ed decide not to disrupt their respective partners and head for a peaceful pint instead.

Before Sarah has had time to tell Bethany anything, Gary suddenly arrives at the Platts and he's on his own. Sarah decides it's time they had a talk.

Heading over to Roy's, Brian and Wayne have met a lady called Alice Parrot, who appears to have a connection to Sylvia's ring and ask to go upstairs to Roy's flat trying not to disturb Ken and Beth's photography class. Can a competition with the Gazette fire up Bethany's interest in the classes?

Back at Roy's flat, Alice tells Roy all about his mothers' affair with her father and Roy discovers a different side to his often cold and conceited mother.

Meanwhile, Michelle heartily accepts Robert's proposal but he struggles to mask his fight wounds.

Over a heart-to-heart, Sarah admits her affair with Adam and Gary takes the news badly. Struggling to accept that it's over, Gary pushes Sarah against a wall. Swiftly leaving, Gary takes Bethany's car and is soon back in the woods.It's dark, and he's got rubber gloves, which surely only leads to one conclusion. Has Gary killed Rick?!

Join me later today for a review of tonight's 8.30pm episode to find out!

Speak in a bit!.

You can follow me @rybazoxo over on Twitter, your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.

TA-RA!

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