Coronation Street Episode Review, Wednesday 18th January, 8 pm

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Tonight's Corrie picked up where Fridays left off (as you'd expect) so that's where tonight's review will start! 

Summer’s still in a hospital bed, and she gets visited by Mike, who has told the police about the surrogacy fraud, who threatens her just as Todd and Paul walk in. Mike makes a speedy exit in his car, with Todd and Paul soon in pursuit in his work van. Paul (the macho one in the three Dad group) obviously wants physical revenge, and he ends up pushing Mike over, who is soon pavement planking, visibly unconscious. 

Todd calls an ambulance with the boys fleeing the scene. Billy arrives at the hospital to see Summer, who tells him about Mike's reappearance and Paul’s temper. Summer tells Billy she was wrong about the whole surrogacy idea. Billy promises to sort out Paul and Todd, who have left the crime scene, gone for a pint, and have a heart-to-heart about Paul’s past and his love for Billy. Later, the police track down Ed’s van, and Paul, who they suspect of assault. Todd carries the can and Billy then appears, just as Todd is being arrested.

Following the near drug bust, the Bistro is dead tonight, and part-owner Damon promises to start a promotion to get customers in the door. Nick is still worried about his dodgy background, so he asks Ryan to dig some Ibiza dirt. Ryan warns Nick to be careful as his suspicions are confirmed. Confronting Damon with the truth, Nick tells him he knows everything, only for the dodgy drug dealer to announce that he will continue to flood the place with drugs. Threatening to tell Leanne everything and unleash ultra-violence, Nick has no choice but to agree to the deal and tries to warn Damon off of charming Leanne. 

Daisy’s still full-steam ahead on wedding planning, and Daniel (although still looking doubtful) is disgruntled at her social-media-led guest list and decides to track down a few of her old-school friends for the party. Daisy's not best pleased by his surprise and explains that her upset was more to do with her little brother dying. Jenny is somewhat miffed at the top-table arrangements, but I’m far more interested in the Rovers landlady falling under Stephen's spell. At the Rovers tonight, Stephen and Teddy seem to be pals all of a sudden after he breezily blows off Elaine (who is correct about The Beatles, by the way) Jenny joins them, and the trio is soon in the backroom, trying to un-pick Teddy's pre-accident flashbacks. Decamped to the Bistro, Elaine appears to have still not got Stephen’s message, but Teddy certainly gets through to him when he decides to head back to Canada to track down Leo. 

Elsewhere, Ches and Gemma discuss Hope’s latest misadventure with Fiz and Ty, which gives Tyrone some food-for-thought, when Ches reminisces over his support from great Dane dog, Schmeichel. Taking the girls to the pet shop, they soon return with a chinchilla called Cilla! Cheered up by all this, Hope decides she now wants to become a Dobbs!

What did you think of tonight’s Corrie? Let us know in the comments box. 

I am @rybazoxo your Corrie connoisseur and cobbles superfan 

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Precinct Chat - Harriet Bibby

Can we expect Summer down here?

I think so. Hopefully, all the teens down here. I think it’s so normal for kids to go, “Right, you’re coming out, shall we go down the shops?” kind of thing, so I think it’s definitely going to be a bit of a hangout. 

What do you think Summer’s favourite shop would be?

Oh, good question. Probably either the charity shop or Sweety Nuff. Can’t go wrong. 

Summer’s recently moved in with Amy, Jacob and Aaron – what’s it like filming together in that environment?

So fun. I mean, I got the call to say the next storyline was going to be all of us moving into that flat together. I was straight onto the group chat going, “Guess what, guys!” So we were all buzzing because obviously, we’re all friends outside of work, so it’s so nice to come into work and just be with your mates and know that you’re going to have fun. It’s nice, especially when there’s quite a lot of heartache going on onscreen – it’s nice to know that behind the scenes, you are actually going to have a bit of a laugh. 

With everything Summer’s going through, Jacob has her back, but it’s nice that it's strictly platonic, isn’t it?

Exactly, and I think, obviously, you know, in the land of Corrie, it’s very rare that you get that without something going on underneath. But we spoke about it, and I think it is just them, you know, they’re both so in love with Amy - Summer’s best friend and Jacob’s girlfriend, and they have just found this nice little group that… You do in life, don’t you? You find your people. I think he’s just, like, they get on, and they’re probably the least likely friends because you’ve got this straight-A student who’s a bit of a nerd, and Jacob who’s a drug dealer. Like, they would never be friends, but they’ve actually found each other and just get on, and they support each other, and it’s really nice. 

Summer’s got her three dads now - what’s that relationship like with Dan, Gareth and Peter?

It’s lovely. It’s really nice because I think you come into a show like this, and you are with the same group of people pretty much day in, day out because it’s who you live with on the street or who you work with, and that’s who you see, and that’s it. So I feel really lucky because obviously, Dan, Gareth and Peter are all lovely, they’re all very funny, and it’s just, like, we all laugh so much on set. 

That really translates on screen because you can see you all get along so well. 

Oh, good, good. That’s really nice because we do, and I think Summer’s so close to them as well, it’s nice that it’s real. It’s, like, real chemistry. 

Is it useful for Summer that she can go to a certain dad for a certain problem?

Yeah, you’ll go to a different one for different things, like in real life. I know what I’d ask my mum and what I’d ask my dad – who will say yes or no, or give me the right advice. And I think it is the same with Summer. You’ve got three very different personalities with Billy, Todd and Paul, so I think she knows who she’s going to go to. 

What is Summer’s relationship like with Todd now because it was a bit fraught last year?

It’s funny because me and Gareth were obviously both recasts, and we had to forge a relationship that had existed but was new to us as actors. But we’ve spoken about it, and it’s almost like a sibling energy between them. They can shout at each other and get annoyed and frustrated with each other, but it’s, like, the love between them is so strong as well. I can fight with my sister all day long in real life, but I know she’ll always be there, and I think it’s the same with Todd. I think he’s spent this last year proving himself to Summer and Billy and Paul, and he has earned his place back in the family, I think. 

Sophie Williams

Find me on Twitter @sophie_writer1.

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Coronation Street Episode Review;Wednesday 2nd of November 8 pm

Number 1 Coronation Street has had that scaffolding up for months now! With Steve away at Andy’s, Tracy has taken charge of the repairs, leading to her trademark tirades, outbursts and unique style. Tonight, Arnie’s portaloo has remained outside the house, and Tracy reverts to using the Rovers toilet for a tinkle and a shiraz. I was expecting councillor Maria, to make a stand about the pavement obstruction, or at the very least Ken, but Ed and Aggie were there to keep this funny neighbourly feud going. Arnie is obviously a  cowboy builder, and tonight he persuades Daniel that the roof ‘flashing’ must be fixed. I think that was a technical term meant to confuse us all, but Ed (yes, roofer/builder Ed Bailey) tells Daniel and Tracy that they must get this sorted out rather than erm, Ed, for example. Anyway, I hope that the scaffolding stays up just that little bit longer. This is a corrie storyline with heart and harks back to the show's original conception. 

Which leads neatly to a Corrie conception of a different kind...

Tonight, Summer tells Billy she’s had the termination, and Billy confides in Todd about his concerns and worries. I’d much rather the archdeacon had taken more things more ecclesiastically, and maybe become more at odds with Summer over her abortion stance rather than this gay dad triage. Our friends in the USA have had this debate recently, and with the current Corrie Canada thread, I think it could have legs. Just my idea, if any Corrie writers are reading. As it stands, Summer goes to see Aaron and he tells her that his dad's rehab will cost £10K and they need some money, somehow. Arriving at the hospital to meet Esther and Mike, it's clear that Summer has not had the termination, after all, and she's willing to sell them her unborn spawn to raise that £10K! The god squad immediately make payment, and Summer tells Aaron the truth. Later, Aaron and Summer meet them again at Victoria Gardens and Billy spies the friendly group hug. Summer and Aaron vow to keep things secret, and she lies to Billy about the day's events. It's another sin from Summer, and I hope he gets his archdeacon moment soon!

Meanwhile, Tyrone’s taekwondo lesson from last week must have fringed towards boxing as he punches Nick Tilsley tonight over Hope’s latest misdemeanour. With the Weatherfield gazette spewing tabloid-style tripe about John Stape (I love this storyline) from Phil's book serialisation, Hope flees school in shame and hides out with Sam at Victoria Gardens. Fiz and Nick have a parental clash, and after hearing about Nick’s frank talk, Ty heads over to Victoria Court and punches Nick in the face. Adam gives the newspaper some legal advice, telling Fiz they need to mitigate the damage. Later, Leanne storms around and confronts Ty and Fiz, whilst Nick tells Sam his walkie-talkie friendship with Hope is off. 

Also tonight, Griff’s grooming of Max appears to have sped up the pace. The angry teen is still scathing at David, and Griff invites him to his flat for a get-together. Griff offers Max a look at his right-wing books collection, and he meets the pretty blonde daughter of one of his host's friends. Max is caught clean in his net.Hook.line.sinker. Later, the vulnerable youth tells David and Shona about the book but they both brush it off, glad that he is studying something. 

Elsewhere, Sean’s latest romance with dentist Laurence comes to an abrupt end. It turns out the picture that Todd saw, WAS Lawrence's wife but she died years ago, sadly from cancer, and he explains it all to Sean. Skilled at pulling teeth in his day job, Lawrence painlessly extracts Sean from his life, and the lovelorn barman is back on the single shelf. 

I am @rybazoxo over on twitter. A die-hard #Corrie fan who remains a viewer regardless - through thick, and thin, good and bad. 

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Coronation Street Episode Review; Wednesday 19th of October 8 pm

In tonight's Corrie, Summer and the gang have prepared the charity stall, and various residents have donated generously. It's a good storyline feeder; Daniel donated some of Sinead’s old things, Carla empties her glamorous wardrobe, and Gemma grabs a bargain denim jacket. Summer is kept busy but remains downhearted following the split from her boyfriend. As Aaron works at the garage, Asha acts as a relationship conduit, telling him about Summer’s sadness, but he admits to being too busy coping with his Dad’s rehab. I was hoping Corrie could get Peter Barlow involved here, but it seems he is also too busy protesting with that pal of Spider. With Gemma blagging herself a nice denim jacket, Chesney's mortified when meeting her at Roy's, she goes to the toilet, he goes to answer her mobile, and manages to find a positive pregnancy test in the jacket pocket! 

I imagine Chesney was envisaging hitting himself over the head with a brick again but was soon relieved when Gemma told him it wasn't hers. Gemma then wonders whose pregnancy test it is! Carla and Daisy are soon suspected, but when Summer tells Paul she’s misplaced her denim jacket, and Gemma tells her brother about her bargain purchase, the secret's revealed. Summer is pregnant! By the end of the episode, she tells Aaron the news - the gloomy duo is back together. 

Meanwhile, it's doppelganger duplicity, as tonight's episode gave us the tail end of Fern's jewellery heist, fleecing the shop while dressed up as Bernie. After splashing the cash at the Rovers with Dev, the police are soon knocking on Bernie's door, and when shown the CCTV, she knows it's Fern, but will anyone believe her? 

Sam’s still pushing for a meeting with Harvey, and today is the anniversary of Natasha’s murder (I'm still fuming with you, Corrie!),he's finding it a struggle. At the anniversary memorial Bistro meal, Nick delivers a rather unsubtle speech - Sam is not impressed, deciding not to read out his poem, instead, he tells the family about his letters to the killer. My stand-out scene from tonight's offering was that between Audrey and Sam -a masterclass in Coronation Street. Audrey thinks she persuaded him to stop writing letters to Harvey, but he later tells Hope he was lying. Steven also visits Audrey and sees his ex-wife Gabrielle having her hair done. Later on, we see him on the phone with some business contact - it seems he is still trying to fleece Audrey for her cash. I also think Glenda mentioned seeing blood on a jacket at the bring-and-buy and we know she's no fan of Steven. Was this a foreboding future thread - could it be Leo's blood, perhaps? 

Elsewhere, Stu tells Dee-Dee about his guilt for Eliza. We then find out that Lucy and Bridget have been arrested, charged, and sentenced - all in one week. Stu is now in limbo with his acquittal, whilst social services tell them that his granddaughter has to go into care.

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

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