(Monday 13^th – Friday 17^th January 2020)

Liz is surprised to arrive home and discover that Amy has moved out and so has Steve, thanks to Tracy’s one night stand with Paula.  Steve is surprised to learn that Amy already knows and feels guilty that his daughter has been put in such an awful position.  Steve decides that the way to save his marriage is to propose to Tracy in the middle of the pub.  Obviously.  She turns him down.  Instead, she suggests couples counselling.  It’s explosive to say the least.

Geoff sets up a ridiculous cleaning rota, claiming that he has dust allergies.  He then leaves Yasmeen to complete all her chores alone.  Yasmeen works hard on the house but then gets distracted by Cathy.  At first, Yasmeen is very anxious to get back to her jobs but eventually, one bottle of wine becomes two and the women are having a lovely time.  Then Geoff comes home.  As soon as they are alone, Geoff lays into Yasmeen, furious with his wife for slacking off and revealing that he knows she didn’t complete everything as he set a trap for her, making a deliberate mark on the skirting board that she would have known was there if she had cleaned it.

Later, Yasmeen tries and fails to stop Cathy popping in to retrieve her handbag.  Not realising that she is in the house, Geoff lays into Yasmeen again and Cathy is horrified by what she overhears.  He gets even worse when she leaves.  Cathy is suitably worried.  Geoff meanwhile, lies to Yasmeen that his health condition has worsened and that’s why he needs the house so clean.  This of course makes her snap to it and believe he is being reasonable.  Subsequently, she stays up all night adhering to the complicated rota, utterly exhausting herself.

When Cathy approaches Yasmeen about her concerns, Yasmeen is clearly conflicted but plays the situation down.  Geoff accuses Cathy of being a lesbian and fancying Yasmeen!  He states that they should keep their business to themselves.  However, things escalate when, on Cathy’s behalf, Brian approaches Geoff with concerns about his behaviour and that it might be seen as controlling.  Geoff hits a new low by informing Brian that Yasmeen is an alcoholic and his behaviour is out of concern and trying to manage the situation.  The obsessive cleaning is to cover her tracks.  He implies that she has been physically abusive and begs him to keep it to himself.  He then returns home and attempts to persuade Yasmeen herself that she’s an alcoholic, which she finds hard to accept.  Because she isn’t!!!  The next thing they know, Peter is knocking on the door, offering to take her to an AA meeting with him.

Alone again, Yasmeen is distraught to have been made out to be an alcoholic but once again, Geoff manipulates her into believing she is the one at fault.  He tells her that his ex, Tim’s mother was an abusive alcoholic and every time she drinks, he is taken back to that time.  He tells her that he believes the abuse will inevitably follow if the drinking continues.  When she throws all the alcohol out and vows to stop, he still isn’t happy, claiming that just because she has to stop drinking, doesn’t mean he intends to stop, although later, he offers to cut down around her!  Oh, this storyline makes me so angry!  It’s such an important storyline but it is so, so difficult to watch.

When Brian and Cathy approach Alya with their concerns, she doesn’t believe it for a second.  At least she knows that there is something wrong between Geoff and Yasmeen.  Unfortunately, by that point, it’s too late and Yasmeen has already been brainwashed.  She tells her granddaughter that she does have a problem with alcohol and that’s the end of it.  I just hope that Alya doesn’t allow herself to be pushed away.  Geoff takes things one step further by taking Yasmeen’s bank cards away.  Yasmeen just lets him.  The next day, Geoff keeps Yasmeen at home, away from work, cleaning the house and with only a little bit of pocket money.  She cancels going to her book club with Cathy, who remains deeply concerned about her friend and not convinced she is an addict.  She is still suspicious of Geoff, who comes home irritated that Yasmeen has cooked the ‘wrong’ dinner.

With Fiz having been honest with the police about the gun, she is formally charged.  Social Services conclude that Tyrone and Evelyn are not a threat but are still investigating Fiz.  Subsequently, the kids are allowed to return home so long as Fiz moves out.  Tyrone tries to get the truth out of Hope but it seems like she has been completely brainwashed by her psycho older sister.  News begins to spread about Fiz bringing the gun to the Street but Evelyn is quick to shut any gossip down.  With Imran representing her in court, Fiz is given a suspended sentence of four months and a fine.  Fiz apologises to David, who hadn’t yet found out about the gun.  Jenny gives her a hard time in the pub and she continues to be the town pariah.  Jade is horrified to learn that Hope is back living with Tyrone.  She books a one way ticket out of Wetherfield for herself and Hope.

David remains by Shona’s side, playing her sounds from home.  When she opens her eyes though, she doesn’t seem to remember David or her life with him.  She struggles with any recall at all.  The hospital recommends a neurological rehabilitation centre in Leeds.  At first, David can’t accept it and brings the kids to try and trigger his wife’s memories but she mistakes Max for her older son, Clayton, the one who murdered David’s late wife, Kylie.  David reluctantly accepts that Shona really does need specialist care.

Frustrated with the police’s progress with Kel, Bernie takes it upon herself to catch him out.  She poses as a fourteen year old boy and arranges to meet him in the park, live streaming it online.  Paul and Gemma catch on and go with her along with worried Billy.  They do catch Kel, who is armed with booze and condoms but the police are not impressed with Bernie’s efforts, explaining that the CPS could see it as entrapment and it could be detrimental rather than good for the case.

On the day of Richard’s funeral, Roy discovers that Nina’s door has been egged.  He determines to clean it up for her and finally begins to make progress in bonding, although she turns down his offer to let her move in with him, feeling closer to her Dad in the flat.  Roy acts as a model for Nina’s dressmaking project and he opens up to her about his life with Hayley.  When a brick is thrown through the window, Nina admits that she is engaged in an ongoing dispute with someone.

Coronation Street airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30/8:30pm