Coronation Street Episode Review, Wednesday 25th January, 8 pm

With Speed Daal readying to host the refugee Q & A drop-in session, the Coronation Street right-wing radicalisation storyline continues to run through my Wednesday night episode reviews- and I'm here for it! With Max now 100% Nazi, and his pal Blake seemingly the same, I knew this episode was promising something. Having seen zero spoilers, and writing this on a Friday night due to being busy at my new job, I sat at the laptop with trepidation wondering what was to come. A few days ago, I read on the national news website about a northern UK teen being jailed for radicalisation, so fair play Corrie for being current, relevant, and supplying high-end drama. 

We start tonight with Darryan handing out flyers for the gig, and Maria busying herself, much to Gary’s worry and frustration. It's good to see Gary and David at loggerheads again, right? Maria remains worried about Max’s temperament and decides to invite the youngster to the drop-in session. Max, however, is watching Blake’s online racist vlog live-stream and it's made clear that Blake is heading to Speed Daal with violent action in mind. David steals Max’s phone and tells him to go to the drop-in to try and change his views. 

Over at Speed Daal, Maria gives a TED-talk speech on community cohesion, awareness, and woke Weatherfield, which seems to have been the button to press for Blake to reveal his knife, just as Max gets his phone back to retune to the live stream. Running over to Speed Daal, Max is aware of what could be about to happen, and (once again) his warnings of terrorist activity fall on deaf ears, and (once again), Alya comes off worse, and this time it's a stabbing! Gary and Darryan wrestle Blake to the ground, whilst Speed Daal is cleared, and the police are soon on the scene. Max is immediately a suspect cohort, whilst Alya's rushed into surgery. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Corrie spectrum, Fiz explains she's off to see her Mum, Cilla, for the night, and Evelyn worries about Tyrone being on his own. At the garage, he’s propositioned by the chinchilla blonde/pretty pet shop woman, which his granny spots, and tells him off for flirting. Flying off the handle, Evelyn tells Roy all about it, only to see Tyrone head out to his car all suited and booted. Evelyn suspects the worse so tells Roy to fire up his woody! At the Chariot Square hotel, we watch Tyrone arrive, and then the penny drops in my Corrie brain - he’s meeting Fiz! - after the spicy sex advice from street siren Sally! Yep, Fiz is in a blonde wig at the bar, with Evelyn and Roy springing Tyrone only to discover the newlywed's role-play sauciness! - love it. Corrie may encompass modern storytelling with the right-wing radicalisation thread but still gives us some light-hearted sauce that reminds me of just how good this programme can be.  

At the Rovers, Daisy gets another expensive gift delivered, and her Mum is charmed upon meeting Stephen whilst he lies to Jenny about Teddy and Leo. Following his disposal of Teddy, Stephen is buoyant tonight and asks Jenny on a date, only for her to dismiss his charms. Outside of number one, Daisy bumps into her Scottish stalker who admits to sending the gift. Later, Stephen is late night packing at Underworld when he meets Dick Haversham, an old work pal. He lies about his factory job and Carla shows him up. 

Elsewhere, Gemma’s childcare business meets its first client, which unfortunately makes her realise there's still a lot to learn. Gemma's trip to the kebab shop, whilst all hell broke loose on Victoria Street, was hilarious; just not sure if it was supposed to be. If Ches does a veggie option for that craft burger - I'm in!

Love! Dee-dee’s new hair, spotting the Weatherfield community hub branding, and Evelyn and Roy are the comedy detectives we all need! Could they ever be more than friends?

Also worth mentioning is some brilliant direction tonight, what with the camera work on Max’s running shot, and the speed daal stabbing aftermath. Some hilariously written and quite subtle innuendo made for top-tier Corrie tonight. What did you think? 

I am @rybazoxo self-styled cobbles connoisseur & Coronation Street superfan. 

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Coronation Street Episode Review, Wednesday 4th January, 8pm

Happy New Year to all Coronation Street Fans! 

This is my first episode review of 2023 and the fast-paced, issue-based, high-intensity of Weatherfield drama continues in earnest. 

Wednesday night's episode began with the Victoria Street Christmas Market reemerging as the Peace Market. In this early morning episode opener, Alya and Maria are out and ready to get the market going. Alya clocks the speed daal van and thinks she sees someone in it. She doesn't, but viewers see Lauren’s Dad steal the van. Max then meets with the gang, who subtly hint at a peace festival protest, telling him they nicked speed daals van and ditched it in the canal. Reece warns Max that he and Lauren must stay out of the way of the festival. Later, Speed Daal's van reappears on the street - viewers see a homemade explosive device attached to its ignition!! With his conscience pricked, Max tells Lauren about the beating, Spider's undercover work, and the market protest plan (thank you, Max, I missed the Monday episode) 

Realising the gang's plan to blow up the van/market, Max races to inform Yaz and Alya about the unnoticed disappearing/reappearing van, but of course, they have no interest in heeding his warning. Checking the van, however, Alya spots the improvised explosive, and with Lauren having already called the police, our heroine decides to drive away with a bomb on board! Reece returns looking for Lauren but is quickly bundled into a car by Griff and his cronies and driven away.

With the clock ticking, Alya has to dispose of the van before the bomb goes off, and on a phone call with a panic-stricken Yasmeen, she resolves to head to a canal!

Meanwhile, Spider is still in the hospital following the attack, but Teddy has recovered and is released. With Jenny offering Teddy some convalescing in the Rovers, Stephen is panicking and stirs things up, as he always does. I despised! this character to start with, but the Hillman / Phelan undertone has been a masterstroke in Corrie's plotting. Teddy doesn't remember anything, and still thinks he met Leo in Canada, so Stephen's murderous manipulation continues. Later, Spider wakes up, explains the grooming premise to Toyah, and defends Max's predicament. 

On the street, news of the bomb spreads, and the Victoria Street peace market begin evacuation. Max and Lauren race to David to explain, with Max finally realising what he got himself into, and Alyla arrives on a disused wasteland, where the bomb explodes the van. Alya has been thrown from the vehicle, unconscious on the floor, but manages to stumble home, with the police finding her on Balaclava Terrace. The police then head next door and arrest Max. 

Elsewhere - Damon tells Jacob to quit the Underworld job to work at the Bistro full-time, which he does, telling Nick to double-pay his son, and it's clear that Damon is obviously planning something when he wants a mysterious package delivered. Gemma and Bernie are upset at Bessie Street's reluctance to take on BSL usage, so they head over to shout it out. The snooty school teacher ignores their pleas, so Bernie, Gemma (and Michael Bailey, randomly) decide to do a sit-in protest. With one Corrie cause celebre slowly nearing completion, they thought it was time for another. As someone who wears hearing aids, I get what this is about, so I am all for it. 

Elsewhere, I loved Roy's astonishment at the banality of mobile phones, memes, passwords, and emojis misuse. Brian needs to reintroduce those peace cakes to Mary. I’d love to see a modern retelling of the famous 2003 scene (episode 5581) where the old-guard patrons got stoned at Roy's Rolls. Peter’s barter storyline is also enjoyable. 

What did you think of tonight's Coronation Street? 

Let us know in the comments box. 

I am @rybazoxo self-styled cobbles connoisseur & Coronation Street superfan. 

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Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 24th of Oct 7.30pm

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of the Coronation Street Blog and the first of tonight's two episode reviews.

Mary's shocking suffering at the hands of her son Jude, have undoubtable ramifications for the street favourite.Covering up her bruises, she's hardly looking forward to the Good Samaritan awards, to be held today at Speed Daal. Will little liar Jude win the accolade?.

As Lewis ravishes Audrey with flowers, an air of romance is present in Weatherfield this evening. With Chesney preparing to date Gemma, some mutual confusion causes the barmaid to bring 'friend' Spike, luckily for Chesney, Emma comes to the rescue.

Weatherfield General's latest injured resident Leanne has Nick and Toyah at her bedside. An unwelcome Nick offers the sisters a rent-free flat for 3 months- charming!. Unperturbed by Toyah's disgust, Leanne happily agrees.

At Speed Daal, a nervous Mary arrives with Roy and subtly conveys worry at what the event will bring. Unable to contain her emotions, the pair swiftly retreat back to Roy's Rolls, where Mary off-loads Jude's list of lies.

Will Jude win the award or will Mary interrupt the ceremony, to tell the truth?. 

Keep your eyes peeled for my 8.30pm episode review, to find out!

In other news; Jack Webster has a half-term holiday club crush, and Brian's bullish headteacher causes concern for Cathy.

Keep your eyes peeled for my 8.30pm review, coming to the blog tomorrow on the @CoroStreetBlog 

I am @rybazoxo your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.

TARA!

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A Magical Day in Weatherfield

Every time I visit the set of Coronation Street I count it as my last. You never know when, or if, you'll ever get the privilege of visiting again. That's probably why myself and fellow Corrie blogger Emma were one of the last to leave the ITV backlot in Salford earlier this afternoon.

A panoramic view of the new Victoria Street

As you will all know by now, a brand new extended Victoria Street was unveiled earlier this afternoon and we had a special invite to attend the celebrations. Cast, crew and media professionals hoarded the small area as rain poured down onto the cobbles. We were well and truly soaked, but it was worth it.

Speak of the Daal...

To put it into perspective as to how big such a venture is for the programme, I wasn't even born the last time we saw a new street appear on the show. I grew up always knowing that Roys Rolls and Fred Elliott's Butchers were around the corner from the main attraction, in a little cul-de-sac of their own. But the old Victoria Street never felt right. It wasn't realistic in the slightest, and was cramped and dingy. The new Victoria Street has spent four years in the making, and is a spacious and flexible space for characters to interact. Tina O'Brien who plays Sarah Platt will soon be entering her 20th anniversary year as the character, and myself and Emma had a wonderful chat about with her about what the extension will bring to the show. She told us she'll probably first find herself enjoying a curry in Speed Daal, Zeedan Nazir's new restaurant.

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to make of the new area, but I was thoroughly impressed. The attention to detail is awe inspiring, remarkable and commendable. One thing I loved was that the door handles on the Metrolink station are from the original 1982 Rovers. The design team on the show have really pulled off a brilliant job in making the buildings appear to have stood for over 100 years. For Coronation Street, this was forming fictional roots in the past to provide quality entertainment for the future. The new additions of Costa Coffee and Co-op have proved to be controversial online, but I'm confident that they'll blend nicely on-screen with the fictional locations. I wasn't too sure first, but now I've seen them in person I think they look fantastic.

The urban garden - a jewel in the crown of the new Victoria Street

A little park area has been created opposite the Metrolink station. Overgrown and gritty, the new urban garden certainly finds beauty in its imperfections. A pretty pastel mural brightens up an otherwise dull and crumbling wall, and a pavilion allows for reflective moments away from Maxine's bench. The real highlight of this new open space is the mosaic bench in fitting tribute to friend of the blog Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester attacks last May. The plaque also remembers the other victims who lost their lives. Myself and Emma were quite taken aback by it.

Here's to the future of this fantastic programme... and it all starts on April 20th when the Victoria Street extension is seen onscreen for the first time.

You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk

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