Coronation Street Blog: the week in classic corrie

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Saturday, 12 March 2022

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 8th May 2000

Gwen was in a nark because Jim made her cut up her store card. She told him he was controlling and considered moving out, so he agreed to a joint bank account with her to keep her on side. Gail and David went to watch Martin play football - except he was off with his fancy piece so they couldn't find him. He managed to talk his way out of it, but it meant when Gail suggested inviting Rebecca over for dinner because she was such a lonely soul he couldn't deny her. She also invited Gary, with the intention of setting them up. Natalie spoke to Steve and he confirmed that Jez was Tony's killer. He told her to tell the police, but said he wouldn't be a witness because he was afraid of the repercussions. It was useless without them knowing who the info came from so Steve realised he was going to have to talk to the police himself. Alison tried to bond with Sarah-Lou as the two pregnant women on the Street, but Sarah-Lou rightly spotted she was a drip and wanted nothing to do with her. Alison then collapsed with high blood pressure, and had to take immediate bed rest.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 10th and 12th May 2000

Steve went to the police and told them all he knew about Jez and Tony, much to Natalie's gratitude. Jez was questioned by the fuzz and on release immediately rushed round to accuse Steve of grassing. He persuaded him he was innocent, but Jez wanted his £8000 back straight away. When he turned up to pay it though Jez was being taken away by the police. Nita and Curly both went for the area manager's job but they were reasonably convivial. Curly was more distracted by his first weekend away with Emma, a camping holiday, where he struggled over the fells - only for her to reveal they were staying in a luxury hotel. What a card, eh? Danny and Sally's shop was already in poor finances so he took on haulage jobs with his brother to cover the bills. He returned to number 13 drunk and Sally refused to let him near her. He confessed that opening the shop was a mistake. Gail held her extremely awkward dinner party with Rebecca and Gary. Gary tried to be nice to her but she shut him down. The next day, Rebecca and Martin were debriefing one another - in more ways than one - when Gail turned up to return her purse. Martin was forced to hide in the loo.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 15th May 2000

Sarah-Lou was feeling left behind as Candice had a new best mate and she couldn't go to a party. She decided that having a baby sucked and she was going to put her up for adoption. Gail was unhappy and tried to persuade her not to, not realising how much easier their lives would be for the next twenty years if Bethany wasn't around. Sarah-Lou cried to Martin at how she'd ruined her life. Kevin realised that once the baby came the flat above the bookies' would be very crowded. He decided to sell the garage so he could buy a proper family home. Jim and Tyrone both fretted about their jobs. The factory girls did some Sunday overtime but were shocked at how low their pay packets were. Janice realised their new contracts were terrible and laid into Linda for making them sign them. She admitted that she'd propped up their work before - but she wouldn't be doing it again. They tried to find an escape clause, even pulling Dev in to have a look at their contracts, but it looked like they were stuck with it.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th May 2000

Wipe away a tear, because Nita's leaving. What do you mean you don't care? Actually I don't blame you. Nita's had virtually nothing to do since she arrived; she didn't work as a character in the shop, so they stuck her in Freshco, and then Freshco was hardly ever in the show and when it was it was mainly about Curly or Alma. She'd got a promotion to Scotland and had a leaving party and that was it. (Although, delightfully, when Asha was planning on visiting the university up there the other week, Dev arranged for her to stay with Nita!). Gail decided that to stop Sarah-Lou from giving up the baby for adoption, she'd have to help her out, so she told Martin she was going to give up her job to be a full-time grandmum. He realised he'd be the only breadwinner so the odds on him slipping off with Rebecca got a lot worse. Jez demanded to see Steve at the prison, but when he turned up, a little trepidatious, Jez said he knew who'd set him up: Lee Sankey (i.e. Stephen Graham before he was famous). Jack and Tyrone took Monica to a kennel to see if they could put her out to stud and get Ty enough money to buy a car. He was very taken with the kennel maid there - one Miss Maria Sutherland. And Bobbi and Geena, two of the most boring people in the world, decided to share the salon flat together. Can't wait for all the exciting storylines that pairing will generate!

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 21st and 22nd May 2000

Jim had come into some money after his uncle's death, and decided to use it to buy the garage off Kevin and Natalie. He didn't realise that Gwen was up to her eyes in debt and the bailiffs were circling. Tyrone went to the kennels to get Monica pregnant but Maria wasn't there. He then spotted her on the Red Rec with another lad, and was left heartbroken. Rebecca and Martin were having another of their dull conversations while holding hands in a cafe - and Sally and Danny walked in. She clocked what was going on. Gail told Roy she'd be giving up her job in the cafe to look after the baby so he was forced to look around for help. He settled for Vera Duckworth, who wanted the job to keep an eye on Jack, and she took great delight in telling Natalie she'd no longer clean the bogs at the Rovers. The highlight, however, was Blanche and Audrey having a slanging match in the Kabin. Blanche was disgusted that Sarah-Lou was "flaunting" her pregnancy, not realising Audrey was in the shop. All their family histories came spilling out, with shouting about Tracy's drug taking and Deirdre's prison time, until Rita threw her out into the street. "Why stop at the Street?" Blanche said. "Let's go to the gutter - because that's where she belongs." Magnificent.

@merseytart wants to be Blanche Hunt when he grows up.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekday afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.

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Monday, 7 March 2022

The Fortnight In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 2nd and 3rd April 2000

Vikram had a great idea for his future: setting up a minicab firm. He told Steve about it but confessed he didn't have the money until he could sell Ravi's house and get his half of the profits. As a way of driving Nita out to encourage her to sell her half up, he asked Steve to move in. Gail comforted Sarah-Lou on Mother's Day and told her that you don't let go of your kids until they leave home - in Gail's case, not even then. Sarah-Lou thought her mum would be bringing up the baby for her and she was quickly put right. Curly was having problems with his car being randomly moved round the Street while he slept and he bought a wheelclamp to try and stop it. Colette, a woman he'd met through a dating agency, turned up on his doorstep asking him to stop sending her flowers. He said it wasn't her and they realised they were both being wound up. It was Tony's funeral and Natalie attended with her family and her ex-husband. Also in attendance was Colin Barnes, making sure Tony was dead, and when he was unsympathetic Nick tried to belt him.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th April 2000

Linda was throwing her weight around at the factory, demanding the girls sort out their substandard work. When she tried to sack Bobbi for being useless, Janice - chief rabble rouser now Ida Clough is gone - lead the girls in a strike. Hayley mediated between the staff and Mike and he put Linda in her place: she worked on sales, nowhere else. It did persuade him that the girls needed a superior and decided to appoint Janice as supervisor - but Linda intervened and told him Hayley would be a better choice. Nita was irritated by her new lodger making her feel uncomfortable and things got worse when the boys decided to throw a party. Steve also decided to join Vik in his minicab business. Duggie and Debs got Natalie out of the pub for the evening for a meal and she felt a lot better. However, Vinnie felt put out when she opened up to Duggie far more than she ever did to him. Curly was called into the police station by a DC Cavanagh: his car had been caught breaking the limit on the M60. The weird thing was, he wasn't driving it at the time. Tyrone tried to take his driving test but halfway through his examiner had a heart attack. He was forced to drive him to the hospital - at breakneck speeds.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 10th April 2000

The shops on Victoria Street were finished and Sally and Danny excitedly took possession for their new hardware shop. "It's huge!" Sally exclaimed, and it really is: the set was about 100 times bigger than the kebab shop that currently takes that spot. Steve was annoyed he wouldn't get paid until the units were let out, but Duggie dangled a carrot in front of him - he was hoping to get a contract to build a new medical centre in the old Graffiti Club. Curly caught DC Cavanagh crouched by his car, but he claimed he'd seen someone trying to fiddle with it. The policeman stole a set of keys to number 7 and the next morning Curly discovered all his furniture had been moved around. He reported it to the authorities and a Sergeant Emma Taylor took on the case. The police spoke to Natalie and said they were speaking to Colin about Tony's murder. He was released without charge however because he had a cast iron alibi - he was in bed with Natalie at the time. She was embarrassed about her secret being out and Vinny was disgusted with her. It's about time he learned he was going out with a Known Trollop. Les started community service at the park with his supervisor, Drew from Eldorado, being a kindred spirit in laziness. When he spotted Tyrone and Monica walking through he shot at them with his hose to scare them off.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 14th April 2000

What's the worst thing a butcher's wife can possibly do? Turn vegetarian, and thanks to lectures on animal welfare from Toyah Battersby, Maxine was giving it serious thought. Fred urged Ashley to take his wife in hand and stop her giving up meat. The Street was abuzz about Natalie sleeping with Colin before his brother was even cold, thanks to Leanne letting it slip. Vera laid into Natalie for being a tart, while the police circled, so Natalie put up a £10,000 reward for info about Tony's killer. Les had his last day of community service in the park and went litter picking on the island in the lake. When his rowing boat got robbed he was left stranded. He was rescued by the police, but they thought he was a flasher, and it was only with Tyrone's intervention that he was released. Tyrone had actually been behind the rowing boat robbery and he mainly defended Les out of guilt. Emma told Curly that DC Cavanagh was a bit of a stalker, and he was probably out for revenge for Curly going out with Colette. Nice. And Rebecca got tired of being Martin's bit on the side and announced she was off to Dubai on a secondment for six months. She told him that if their love was real it could survive a separation.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 16th and 17th April 2000

Vik got a loan off Dev for his half of the minicab firm, and asked Steve for his money. He scrabbled around for it but Jez appeared on the scene and offered to lend him the cash. Steve refused, knowing that he'd pay for it later. Jez went for a pint in the Rovers and Leanne saw him react with horror at Tony's face on the reward poster. She realised he was probably responsible for the murder. Curly got Colette round for a curry to discuss the stalking, but Cavanagh let himself in with the keys he robbed earlier. Curly returned with the food and stopped him and his ranting, but when he legged it, Curly gave chase. Duggie stopped him and he was arrested. Sgt Emma Taylor arrived and shared the news... and asked Curly out for a drink, which is astonishingly unprofessional, proving that Weatherfield Police was terrible even before Craig turned up. Rebecca tried to hand in her notice but Martin refused to take it. She admitted how unhappy she was.

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 21st April 2000

Fred continued to badger Maxine about her vegetarianism. She asked Ashley to stick up for her and, in the middle of rowing with his dad, Ashley said he'd turn veggie too, just to show him. Steve told Leanne that Jez probably didn't murder Tony and she should let it drop. Vik asked Steve for the cash now or he'd lose his chance to be in the firm; desperate, he ended up going to Jez and asking for the money. Jez gave it to him and said there was no rush to pay him back. Sally opened her hardware shop with Danny, with Duggie performing the grand opening and Danny's hot brother Kieran helping out. Gwen took advantage of Hayley's inherent niceness to go furniture shopping with Jim. She persuaded him to get an expensive bed on a new credit card because she couldn't stop herself. When she returned to the factory, Hayley spotted that her work was also suffering, and threatened to report her to Mike. Gwen was outraged.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 23rd and 24th April 2000

With Vik off in his new business, Dev needed help in the shop, and he took on his aunt Maya, played by Indira Joshi out of The Kumars. Steve got his money off Duggie and so was able to pay back Jez - but Jez refused to take it. He said if he wasn't careful Steve would end up like Tony. Rebecca agreed not to go to Dubai and told Martin she was going to divorce her husband. She wanted to move on with her life, and he promised to be there with her. Debs went for a meal with Duggie and invited him back to hers. They kissed, but he couldn't go any further, and legged it. She told him he'd had his chance with and he needed help because he was screwed up.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 28th April 2000

Well who's this cheeky little tyke? It's only Jack P Shepherd, making his debut as David Platt. It was obvious from his predecessor's final appearances that he couldn't quite manage the acting challenge, so it was unsurprising he was replaced. He answered Martin's phone for him; it was Rebecca, letting him know that Jerry wouldn't give her a divorce. Jerry turned violent and Martin defended her, but she felt that she'd have to move to get away from him. Gail was annoyed that Sarah-Lou was confiding in Hayley instead of her. She thought it was because she couldn't have children of her own and asked Hayley to stay away, upsetting her. Gail soon realised her mistake and apologised. Jez forced Steve to take on one of his employees as a driver, annoying Vik as they hadn't even got any jobs yet. Dev chatted up Debs and she realised how nice it was to have a bloke after her. She took him back to her place while Duggie watched. And Mike introduced performance related pay for the machinists, making them think they'd be quids in.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 30th April and 1st May 2000

Curly had another date with Emma where he confessed he was a father. She wasn't bothered, and they ended up kissing. She also insisted on calling him Norman, thinking it was cute. Jack got a new job, as a lollipop man. Vera fretted about his heart but he said he'd be fine. His pitch was a zebra crossing outside the betting shop, a crossing that doesn't exist any more. Duggie was jealous of Debs and Dev (there are too many D names in this). He had dinner with her and said he didn't want to lose her, which was lucky, because Dev didn't seem that bothered with her at all. Streetcars opened for business, and Jez immediately took advantage by getting a free lift, while Danny bemoaned the poor trade at the hardware store.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th May 2000

Vik picked up a woman in his cab and she was amused by his lack of local knowledge. When she told him the right routes to take he offered her a job on the spot - and Eileen Grimshaw became the new switch operator. She was soon knocking the boys into shape, supplying ginger nuts and making them do her a brew. Jez decided to use his new cab firm as a delivery service for various "packages". To try and get out of the deal, Steve went to Natalie and told her Jez killed Tony. Jim returned from a funeral in Northern Ireland to discover Gwen had replaced all his furniture with new stuff bought on the store card. He was livid, especially when she admitted she'd sent his old furniture up the tip, and made her cut up her card. It was doubly worrying as the new way of earning at Underworld meant they were working all hours and barely breaking even. What's worse was they hadn't even met the targets - Linda had secretly sewed some knickers after hours because she didn't want the new scheme failing. Rebecca visited Martin in his office to tell him she had a new flat. She accidentally mixed up their mobile phones meaning that when Gail phoned, she got Rebecca. Martin convinced her it was a wrong number but it was a bit unnerving for the dirty pair.

All this murder chat is getting on @merseytart's nerves. It's like 2022 Corrie.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekday afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Monday, 21 February 2022

The Fortnight In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 27th and 28th February 2000

The Platts continued to struggle to deal with Sarah-Lou's pregnancy as a social worker appeared to evaluate the family. She seemed all sweetness and light but Martin resented her, worrying that she'd assume he was the father because he was the nasty stepdad (a very dark implication that was casually thrown into conversation). It did make him wonder if he'd neglected Sarah-Lou by having an affair with Rebecca. Duggie had taken ~~Patricia Farnham~~ Debs out on a date but when she hinted that she was available for a second he cut her dead. He confessed to her that it was his first time out after the death of his wife and apologised for his unpleasantness. Gwen continued to bury her head in the sand about her debt and refused to let Jim help. He sat her down and forced her to list all her debtors. It brought home to her just what a mess she was in. Alma's sort-of boyfriend, Bob, came round to Audrey's to help her with her council work. He tried it on with her and Audrey chucked him out - then fretted about how she would tell her best friend.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 1st and 3rd March 2000

Jim found a solution to Gwen's money problems: he asked her to move in with him. She was shocked but refused because she thought it was too soon. Also, it was not exactly the most romantic reason. Gail suggested they should put Sarah-Lou's baby up for adoption, but Martin wasn't keen. Sarah confided in Candice that she was pregnant, but broke down at her ruined life. Gail came up with a new way to solve the problem - they could go to Canada, let Sarah-Lou have the baby, then pretend the baby was hers! Audrey told Alma about Bob's pass, but she thought she was stirring things up, and refused to believe her. Alma told Bob and he suggested she should move out because Audrey was clearly an unpleasant liar. In her glamorous new Kabin - it certainly looks better then that it does now - Rita sold copies of the Gazette with Ken's story about the Victorian-era murder. Maxine found it all creepy, and wondered if there'd been many murders in Coronation Street. Give it a couple of years Max and you'll be added to the statistics.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 6th March 2000

Linda wanted new challenges at Underworld, so Mike gave her a supposedly impossible assignment. He asked her to get a deal off notoriously tough businesswoman Helen Cooper. She put in hours of research and work and managed to come away with a massive order. Mike was impressed. Martin told Gail that her Canada plan was ludicrous. However, when Sarah-Lou became upset at telling everyone about the baby, she became determined to make things easy for her by taking the responsibility away. She also told them who the father was - a lad in her class called Neil Fearns. Duggie told Audrey that Bob was on the take but when she passed the info on to Alma she wouldn't listen. She didn't realise that Bob had been arrested.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 10th March 2000

Ken's queries had uncovered that the murderer, Bernard Cartwright, had a grandson... Fred Elliott. Blanche soon spread the info around the Street and when it got back to Fred he threatened to sue Ken. He got Curly to withdraw the financial support for Ken's book, but then real-life took over and brought the story into the present day: a body was found in the Victoria Street development. Ken was thrilled, thinking the long-lost Mrs Cartwright had finally turned up. One of the builders on the site, meanwhile, was taken with Hayley, and she enjoyed flirting with him. Les intervened to tell the builder that Hayley was trans because he is awful. Disgusted he railed at her and Roy in the cafe, calling them perverts, until Jim turfed him out. Alma learned that Bob had been arrested and was furious with Audrey that she hadn't told her. Audrey rightly pointed out that she wouldn't have believed her and the two made up. Gail contacted Stephen to travel to Canada, with Martin pleased at the idea of doing without her for a few months so he could see Rebecca. Unfortunately, David returned home to tell them that the other boys had been saying his sister was pregnant. It seemed the cat was out of the bag.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 13th March 2000

Gail decided they'd all be best off leaving Weatherfield for good and starting a new life in Canada. They broke the news to Audrey who lost her temper, calling Sarah-Lou the town tart. Audrey was hurt that her granddaughter was ruining her life the same way she had. She regretted it the next day and apologised, offering all the support they needed. Meanwhile the kids at the school shouted insults at Sarah-Lou in the corridor. Linda thought her big deal would mean she could stop working on the machines but Mike said she'd have to stay there until he found a replacement. She went on a go-slow, so he suggested she plan their wedding to cheer her up. Fred's new notoriety brought a load of rubberneckers to the butcher's counter so he exchanged gossip for meat products. At the building site, however, the police made a new revelation. The body wasn't a hundred years old - it was a recently murdered man.

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 15th and 17th March 2000

Geena pretended to Les that she was blessed with psychic powers but he kept harassing her for racing tips. She picked names at random, but when he kept losing money, Janice asked her to stop. She told Les that her vision decreed a woman should place the bet, so he gave Janice the money instead and she pocketed it. The police did the rounds of the Street, looking for info on the murder victim. Norris was thrilled, as was Fred, now that he knew the body was nothing to do with his granddad. Audrey spoke to Gail and said she didn't want Sarah-Lou to put the baby up for adoption, remembering how she'd felt when she'd let Stephen go. Mike admitted to Linda he wanted her to give up working completely when she became Mrs Baldwin. She refused, but it may be that she was in a mood because of his choice of best man: Mark.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 20th March 2000

Sally was all excited about taking on one of the new shop units to be a hardware store with Danny. He was less than thrilled, and when they talked about it, he admitted it was because he was scared of the commitment. She suggested that he move in with her at number 13. Blanche gossipped in the Rovers, saying that Gail was pregnant, and Alison admitted she'd seen her in the ante-natal clinic. Audrey came in and misunderstood what they were talking about and started defending Sarah-Louise. It was soon all over the Street and Blanche delighted in telling Martin and Gail when they came in the pub. A new girl started at Underworld, Bobbi, meaning Linda could move into the sales position she wanted. She didn't succeed at her first call, however, and cried on Mark's shoulder. He confessed that he couldn't stop thinking about her - and she said the same about him. They nipped to a hotel for an hour of shenanigans.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 24th March 2000

Duggie took Debs out for the evening and they went back to his. The house was covered in pictures of his late wife, however, which ruined the atmosphere, and while they had a bit of a snog that was all. Debs realised she'd have to play it cool. Mark told Linda that she was only working as a sales rep because she was sleeping with the boss. She realised it was because he was jealous. She told him they'd have to end things so they didn't hurt Mike. The police uncovered the identity of the murder victim and went to see Natalie. She was horrified as they told her they believed the corpse was her son, Tony. Elsewhere, Curly joined a singles club, Gwen lied that she'd won two grand on the bingo to cover that she'd taken out a loan, and Rebecca got Martin a mobile phone so they could talk dirty to one another.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 27th March 2000

There was a crisis in the salon: Maxine spotted a mouse. She overreacted of course while Audrey worried that it'd wreck trade. She hired Pat the odd job man to catch them and she promised him a fiver per mouse. The police confirmed that the body was Tony. He'd been beaten to death with a baseball bat and while Natalie was upset, there was a part of her that thought he'd got what he deserved. His criminal antics had resulted in Des's death and she could never forgive him for that. Gwen admitted to Janice that she had a very good reason not to move in with Jim - she didn't love him.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 29th and 31st March 2000

Gail received a visitor in the cafe - Neil Fearns' dad. He offered to help with the baby but Gail turned him down. She said that Neil at least should keep his childhood. Sarah-Lou was chuffed that she wouldn't be stuck with Neil for the rest of her life. Pat uncovered ten mice in the salon and demanded fifty quid. Audrey paid up even though she knew it was a scam, but Tyrone twigged how the con worked. He approached Pat and borrowed his mice to try and pull the same trick in the Kabin, but Rita realised what was going on and chucked him out. Audrey cornered Pat and demanded her money back. Loan sharks visited Gwen and told her the debt had been sold on to some very dodgy folks. She suddenly decided that moving in with Jim was a very good idea indeed and he happily took her in, not realising she'd fled her house under cover of darkness. It did mean that Steve would have to move out. Natalie had hit the bottle to try and cover up her feelings. She bellowed at the patrons in the pub for their fake sympathy, knowing they were happy to see Tony gone. Duggie gave her a shoulder to cry on and agreed to help her with the funeral arrangements.

I've been trying to decide who the most boring character in Classic Corrie is at the moment. For a long time it was Vinny, then Geena came in to steal his thunder, but Gwen's money problems are bringing her right to the front of the queue. Let me know what you think on Twitter @merseytart.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekday afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Saturday, 5 February 2022

The Fortnight In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 23rd and 24th January 2000

Kevin and Sally were wracked with guilt about their night together, and he considered chickening out of his wedding to Alison. In the end he went through it and Sally sadly saw him off to his honeymoon. Perhaps the most significant part of all this was the first appearance of Helen Flanagan as Rosie, taking over from Emma Collinge who'd played the part since birth and wanted to concentrate on gymnastics. It should be noted that Helen is great right from the start; this Rosie actually has a personality. Steve palled up with builder Pat Hegharty to take Duggie's contract at the Victoria Street development, but he was forced to go 50/50 on the profits because nobody else would give him the time of day. Rebecca's estranged husband Jerry turned up at number 8 and told Gail that Martin was diddling his wife. She told Martin she knew it was false but obviously he panicked. Amy spread it round the Street that Dev was trying to get her to abort her baby and the locals turned on him. Nita saw her put on a performance when there was a witness and put her in her place. Dev considered disappearing from Weatherfield forever, but Amy turned dramatic, saying he'd never see her again and driving off into the night. (And yes, that's another episode broadcast exactly 22 years later to the day!)

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 28th January 2000

Gwen had a cold, so she hit the whisky at lunchtime. What's wrong with a Lemsip, eh? This got her drunk, so Mark sent her home. Apparently this was a problem for Jim, for some reason, and he bellowed at Mark. Gwen was mortified. Mark had other things on his mind, i.e. Linda, as she floated round the street fluttering her eyelashes at him. He finally gave in and they had sex, though Mike almost caught them. (Incidentally Mark has a shower in the first episode and is seen post-coital in the second; his shirtlessness is becoming almost as commonplace as Nicky Tilsley's). Leanne fretted about her new best mate Amy who didn't turn up for work. Dev was unconcerned but she reported her disappearance to the police. He soon changed his mind when Tyrone discovered a note in her digs saying she didn't want to live without him. Duggie tried to make amends with Tom but let slip that he'd be around more as landlord of the new shopping parade. Tom didn't want him anywhere near however, so he packed up his stuff and vanished to Leeds. It's funny to see him go, leaving his dad behind; Tom barely existed in the show (and I'm convinced he was originally planned to be Corrie's first gay character, but they chickened out) while Duggie will end up being so important to the programme he'll even end up buying the Rovers.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 30th and 31st January 2000

The Street gave Dev the cold shoulder, thinking he'd driven Amy away - or worse. He tried to ignore it but when the police took him to view a body on the off chance it was her, he began to get seriously concerned. The body wasn't Amy though. Tyrone was trying to read a book in the cafe and Les spotted him. He realised Ty couldn't read and found it hilarious because he is absolute scum. Mark couldn't stand Linda wandering around pushing her heaving breasts at him so he told Mike he was going off travelling again to get away. Mike was upset, not knowing what he'd done wrong, and he tried to persuade him to stay. Mark was adamant however.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 2nd and 4th February 2000

The building site on Victoria Street was a hotbed of activity. Steve spotted that one of the houses had some genuine old fireplaces in them. He ripped them out without telling Dougie and flogged them on the sly. Meanwhile, David climbed into a skip to retrieve his ball and ended up with a cut leg. Steve took him to the hospital, where Martin attended to him, with Rebecca helping out. Martin confessed to her afterwards that he loved seeing the two of them bonding. Mark decided not to leave after Linda promised to stay away. She tried to be nice to his girlfriend Claire to make up for it. Amy returned to Weatherfield, her wrists wrapped in bandages and telling Leanne that she'd lost the baby. Dev demanded to see her and called out her lies, but the locals believed her, not him, and boycotted the shop in protest. Les appeared in court for his benefit fraud hearing and he lied in the dock, saying he was trying to support his pregnant wife. He was given community service and told to pay back the money.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 6th and 7th February 2000

Even though I write a lot about Coronation Street, my heart secretly belongs to Brookside, Channel 4's soap opera that ruled the airwaves from the early 80s until it went absolutely insane in the late 90s and started crashing helicopters and blowing up shops every other week. It means I'm going to seriously struggle with the appearance of Natalie's long sister Debs, played by Gabrielle Glaister. You might know her as Bob from Blackadder but for me she'll always be Patricia Farnham, the Close's resident yuppie, and no unconvincing Northern accent can convince me otherwise. Debs was back in Weatherfield for a while and so Natalie let her stay in number 6 and introduced her to Vinnie. Dev told Amy he wanted to be with her, but it was a ruse; he pulled off her bandages in the Rovers in front of everyone, revealing she had no wounds on her wrists at all. She told the locals they were thick for believing her - particularly Leanne, who she called a coke-head. Elsewhere, Duggie discovered the fireplaces were missing and demanded them back off Steve, Alma got her divorce and reverted to her maiden name, and Les started his community service alongside a tattooed Hells Angel called Dennis Stringer. Remember that name, it'll be important later.

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 11th February 2000

With Amy gone, the Rovers was short-staffed, so Vinny took on an old mate, Geena. Natalie was angry and reminded him that she was the landlady and he was just an employee. He sulked behind the bar because he is pathetic. Les scrubbed the walls around Coronation Street clean as part of his community service, only to find the graffiti reappeared when he turned his back. His supervisor assumed he was dodging doing any work and threatened to send him back to court. Jim talked to Gwen and they agreed to start going out again. He discovered she was short of cash again, and her phone had been cut off this time, so he loaned her the money to clear her debts. Audrey had been getting visits from a planning officer, Bob, played by Michelle's lecturer boyfriend Geoff from EastEnders. (Yes, I watched a lot of soap operas in the 1980s). Audrey thought he was after her, but it turned out he fancied Alma, and he asked her out, much to Audrey's annoyance. Sarah-Lou was putting on weight for some reason, much to her concern. She started avoiding meals to try and keep it down. Oh, I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 13th and 14th February 2000

The phantom graffiti artist was revealed - it was Tyrone, getting revenge on Les for him for taking the mickey out of his illiteracy. Serves him right. However, Tyrone began to feel bad when he heard Les might go to prison for failing to complete his community service, because he is a nicer man than me. Audrey was in a nark with Alma for going out with Bob, which Alma found hilarious. Valentine's Day brought out the romantic side in the residents, with Ty dropping a card off with Toyah (they should absolutely reunite these two as a couple, they're lovely), Vinnie embarrassing Natalie with a load of balloons and flowers behind the bar, and Rebecca telling Martin she hated being the other woman. Martin said she was the only one he loved, and said he was going to finish things with Gail soon enough - although he admitted they were still having sex. She got in a nark about it because she has no sense of perspective. He ended up confessing his affair to Danny, saying he didn't know what to do.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 16th and 18th February 2000

Look out everyone: Ken's written another book. This one was a history of Weatherfield and, you'll be surprised to hear, nobody wanted to publish it. He decided to self-publish but couldn't get the money together, so Emily suggested he donate the profits to charity to attract sponsors and raise the cash. Fred had a ricked back, and one of his customers, Mrs Mawdsley, told him about her massage business. Fred was delighted by the rub down he got and went back for more. Of course, it was secretly a knocking shop, and of course it was raided by the police, with Fred being dragged out in full view of Tyrone and Monica. Linda organised a party for Mike's birthday, doing her best to make it as classy as possible. (Amusingly, none of the guests seemed to know exactly how old he was). Mark took Leanne instead of Claire, finding her more exciting, but Mike thoroughly disapproved. Gail went through Sarah-Lou's bag and found that she'd skipped her lunch, though she was still putting on weight. She tried to get the day off school because she was feeling weirdly sick in the morning. That's not significant in any way, I'm positive.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 20th and 21st February 2000

Fred stood up in the Rovers and tried to put paid to the gossip by telling everyone the police wouldn't be pressing charges. It was too late - word was already out, and the neighbours were giggling behind their hands. Mark tried it on with Leanne but she told him she didn't want to be his bit on the side. He broke up with Claire for her, which cheered her. Vinnie quit his job at the Rovers in favour of working as a labourer on Duggie's building site. He told Natalie that working and living together was ruining their relationship and this way they'd be happier. Rebecca told Martin she was jealous about his marriage, and he realised he had to make a decision. He told her that he loved her and that night he was going to end things with Gail. He didn't realise that Gail had other things on her mind - she'd taken Sarah-Lou to the doctor's to discuss her possible eating disorder. The doctor confirmed there was something wrong with her: she was pregnant.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 23rd and 25th February 2000

The doctor confirmed she was five months gone to a gobsmacked Gail and Sarah-Lou. She admitted she'd had sex just once so well done Neil Fearns' sperm. She said they'd been hanging out, having a laugh, and then it just happened, which rather makes it sound like he slipped it in when she wasn't paying attention. A broken Gail told Martin about the baby before he could tell her about Rebecca. He realised he couldn't leave now, not when his family needed him. Ken's historical research brought up the fact that Victoria Street used to be called Cartwright Street, much to his confusion. He did some more digging and discovered that the man the street was originally named for had murdered his wife so they changed the name. Jim found Gwen handing money over to a debt collector and, when she interrogated her, she admitted she was up to her eyes in it and had no idea how much she owed. And Leanne and Mark got back together and he invited her to Bruges with him - leaving Mike Baldwin seething.

Throughout all this Thomas Ormson has been getting more and more lines, as the writers expanded David's part to accommodate the new importance of the Platts to the show. Don't get too attached though because he's only got a few episodes left before Jack P Shepherd appears and takes the part on. You can donate to my charity giving support to abandoned Corrie child actors on Twitter @merseytart.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekday afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.