Next week on Coronation Street, Beth faces leaving Weatherfield behind, the Institute subjects Amy to a horrifying ordeal, Betsy makes an enemy of Mason, and Joel is a free man.
1) Will Beth be forced out of Weatherfield?
Beth (Lisa George) is faced with an impossible decision next week, after making an enemy of corrupt cop Kit Green (Jacob Roberts)
Beth had recently been using the factory machines after hours to sew counterfeit labels onto knock-off t-shirts. New co-worker Betsy (Sydney Martin) soon discovered Beth’s side hustle and wanted a piece of the action, with Izzy (Cherylee Houston) also coming on board.
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When Kirk (Andy Whyment) accidentally took some of Beth’s stock out on an Underworld delivery, Beth was busted, with Carla confused when her client rang up about the box of t-shirts. Given the factory doesn’t even produce t-shirts, Carla knew something dodgy had gone on… and who was responsible.
Rather than let Carla give her an earful, Beth got in first and quit on the spot, knowing that she had an alternate job lined up through dodgy acquaintance Sid.
However, her plan went awry when son Craig (Colson Smith) and new detective Kit spotted Beth handing over the t-shirts to Sid, and confiscated the goods.
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Whilst Beth was left with no job lined up, unbeknownst to her, Kit had decided to return the t-shirts to Sid on the understanding that he would get a cut of the profits himself.
This week saw Craig finally force Beth to tell Kirk the truth about why she left the factory, explaining that she was hoping to surprise him with a fancy wedding, but it backfired when Kirk stormed out of the pub, angry at all the lies.
With her relationship on the brink, Beth is hit with a further blow this week when she spots Sid flogging the shirts in the precinct, apparently having done her over by keeping all the profits for himself.
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But Beth is stunned when Kit then arrives on the scene, and it’s clear that he isn’t there in an official capacity…
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When Kit realises that Beth has discovered his dirty little secret, he resorts to drastic measures to ensure her silence. Handing over some cash, he orders Beth to leave Weatherfield by the end of the week, otherwise he will destroy her precious Craigy’s career.
Kit’s ultimatum coincides with Kirk deciding that he can’t live without Beth, and in a heartfelt gesture, Kirk brings beloved pooch Peanut into the Rovers wearing a neckerchief with ‘Marry Me?’ emblazoned on it.
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But with Kit’s words ringing in her ears, will Beth be able to bring herself to say yes?
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2) Nick and Toyah exposed?
Over at Victoria Court, with Leanne (Jane Danson) and Sam (Jude Riordan) away visiting Simon (Alex Bain), secret lovers Nick (Ben Price) and Toyah (Georgia Taylor) are looking forward to spending one final day together before their return.
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With Leanne alienating both her partner and sister over her affiliation with the Institute, Nick and Toyah have become pillars of strength for each other, particularly since Toyah’s ovarian cancer diagnosis.
But as the two decide to make the most of the day, heading into the bedroom, Leanne and Sam arrive home unexpectedly early… what will they discover?
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3) Amy sees the dark side of the Institute
Meanwhile, having turned down the idea of investing in the Institute, Amy (Elle Mulvaney) appears to be having a rethink after some persuasive tactics from Rowan (Emrhys Cooper).
“The pressure just is really, really mounting up from Rowan,” Elle Mulvaney tells us. “He’s using lots of tactics to make her feel guilty about not investing, and make her really feel like this is a huge mistake, and that she’s missing out.
“This, combined with Leanne’s efforts as well, is just really putting the pressure on to the point where Amy thinks ‘I have to invest in this’.”
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However, before she invests, Rowan asks Amy to do an ‘upload’, in order to free herself of her dark secrets. Leanne encourages Amy to relive her traumas to help her banish negativity from her life, and so Amy goes all out during the session.
“She sees it as an opportunity to unburden herself and tell him all the darkest things that she’s ever done,” Elle explains. “From her rape by Aaron to her kidnapping a man and spiking his drink.
“It goes from literally the least important things to the most major thing she’s ever done, and she tells him all, and afterwards, she feels relieved so understandably, that’s going to make her believe what he’s saying.”
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However, Leanne is horrified when she realises that Rowan is recording everything that Amy is saying. Could this be the beginning of her realising Rowan’s true intentions?
Later, Amy discusses with grandad Ken (William Roache) about him releasing her £40,000 inheritance so that she can invest in the Institute, but Ken seems dubious.
Stepping up in her newly elevated role, Leanne later insists that Amy is ready for her ‘malware session’, a mentally brutal exercise that Leanne has previously faced.
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“When she gets there, she has no idea what this is going to entail,” Elle continues. “She’s just told that it’s a malware session that is what they call it. So she doesn’t know what that means. And anytime that she’s tried to ask somebody, no one’s given her a response because they don’t want to tell her, because if they told her, she wouldn’t do it.”
Amy is blindfolded and taken into the room, where she assumes it’s just Leanne and Rowan, unaware that she is surrounded by members of the Institute.
As they all start bombarding her with insults, and making references to all the things she confided in Leanne and Rowan, Amy is horrified.
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Leanne tries to assure Amy that it’s all part of the process and will ultimately be worth it, but as she becomes more and more distressed, Amy eventually decides that she can’t take anymore.
Removing the blindfold and facing her tormentors, Amy runs out of the room.
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“I obviously ended up crying as Amy, but it was real,” Elle adds. “It felt really real because you feel so disoriented. You don’t know where you are, you don’t recognise the voices. It’s all done to make Amy feel that way, and that’s how Rowan gets you.
“It’s because he wants you to feel uncomfortable, because then you rely on him, he breaks people down for him to be able to sort of build them back up again.”
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When Amy reveals exactly what went down, Tracy (Kate Ford) and Nick are determined to confront Rowan at the hotel and expose him for who he really is.
Later in the week, Tracy decides to take further action by vowing to take their story to the Weatherfield Gazette, and makes known her annoyance with Leanne and her affiliation to the Institute by graffitiing the outside of the bistro.
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Rowan urges Leanne to convince Amy to back off, telling her that her new senior position within the group means that her loyalty to the institute should take any precedence over her relationship with Amy.
But will Leanne be able to continue defending the Institute?
4) Betsy makes an enemy of Mason
Elsewhere, Mason’s (Luca Toolan) continued presence in the street is putting Dylan (Liam McCheyne) on edge, and he’s particularly nervous when he overhears his adversary talking to Betsy in the cafe, telling her that he’s saving up in the hope of renting somewhere nearby.
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Although Mason has managed to score a job at Speed Daal in an attempt to get his life on track, Betsy seems to be a bad influence, convincing him to come back to her place instead of going to work, pointing out they’d have the house to themselves.
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When Mason later plays it cool about hanging out again, Betsy flies off the handle and calls it quits between them then and there. She soon turns her attention to Dylan in an attempt to make Mason jealous, and when he later spots the pair chatting in Victoria Gardens, Mason tells them they’re welcome to each other.
Dylan’s uncomfortable as he tries to assure Mason that he and Betsy aren’t an item, but Mason isn’t interested. Dylan worries, the last thing he wants to do is give Mason even more excuses to come after him.
Betsy continues her campaign, pulling Dylan in for a kiss when she later spots Mason approaching, but soon changes tact when she later tries cosying up to Mason again at Speed Daal, assuring him that she was only trying to make him jealous.
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Mason’s tired of Betsy’s games however, and bluntly spells out that he’s not interested in her. Humiliated, Betsy spots a customer’s bag nearby and swipes a purse out of it, slipping it into the pocket of Mason’s jacket.
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When the customer discovers her purse is missing she lays into Yasmeen (Shelley King) and Stu (Bill Fellowes). But when Mason retrieves his jacket, he’s stunned to find the purse in the pocket.
Will he be caught red-handed?
5) Joel confronts Lauren
Also next week, Lisa (Vicky Swain) is furious when she learns from DI Costello (Daon Broni) that they’re dropping the case against Joel (Calum Lill) due to lack of evidence.
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After Lauren (Cait Fitton) finally came clean to Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown) about Joel’s true nature, Dee-Dee has been on a mission to help Lauren as much as she can and see the man she was all set to marry put behind bars.
Dee-Dee accompanied Lauren to the station where a sympathetic Lisa took her statement, unaware that Joel was in the next room making his own false claims against Lauren.
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Her frustration palpable, Lisa reluctantly tells a smug Joel that he is free to go.
When Lauren later heads to the hospital to visit Frankie, she’s terrified to find Joel waiting for her…
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With Joel now apparently in the clear, will Lauren be able to protect herself and her baby?
