The Talk of the Street: A Coronation Street Podcast

February 26, 2021 - A Pleasant Sharpness

Peter thinks Carla should forgo a business meeting so she can have a takeaway with him, so Carla lies to him and gets bladdered with Jenny, while Ken is annoying about jigsaws. Yasmeen has been collecting envelopes from financial companies and has moved on to the red set, forcing her to conduct business with reasonable bailiffs and an unreasonable bank manager. Despite having a perfectly serviceable sinkhole in their back garden, Gail stores her dead father’s wicker casket in the living room. New Face on the Block, Ronnie, doesn’t do very much this week other than give Paul the nickname Knickers. Dev and Mary decide there’s no better way to prove they’re cool with Asha seeing Nina than with French movies and Cauliflower Wellington. Gary is finding it increasingly difficult to keep a near delirious Johnny safe from his fellow inmates. Leanne employees the services of a Derek Pakora looky-likey to contact Oliver, but Toyah looks to have the measure of the medium. Tim’s Mum buys a chicken. Sam discusses probabilities. Jacob fashions the largest joint in Christendom.

February 19, 2021 - Fridge Acoustics

Abi’s going to have her work cut out for her if she’s going to predictably be the hero again, as Kev and Debbie are cryogenically frozen in the Bistro fridge. A minor health scare that could’ve been treated with half a pack of Rennies forces Tyrone to change his breakfast regime and take up yoga. Johnny learns that the visions he’s having are a result of his MS, which makes him wonder if that imaginary cat is going to imaginarily feed itself. Todd impresses Billy with a getaway to Bletchley Park and finds a buyer to strip all the pews out of his churches. Grace is beginning to wish that the baby in her belly was also her friend, Lisa’s, as Michael promises to be very involved in his child’s birth. The Undertaker is on the look out for someone to drive a fancy car slowly and Eileen thinks she has narrowed the shortlist down to two. Thanks to feathers, Leanne is up cooking pancakes, contemplating hillwalking with Steve, and reckons she’d come out top in a fight with the florist van. Gail’s feet probably can’t reach the pedals. Shona is bored now. Peter has a special dish for the pieces with flat edges. There’s an opening at the leisure centre for swim lessons.

February 12, 2021 - Default Setting

It may not last forever, but Gail’s name being on the deeds for Number 8 is fantastic enough for us to ignore the speed at which the deal went through. Shona is thrilled at the idea of David the Human eating David the Dog's food. Johnny spends most of the week loudly announcing his hallucinations to disinterested prisoners. Rapidly approaching the big four-oh, Tyrone’s nose is easily put out of joint and thanks to an ill-conceived coffee run with Alina, he’s probably got Fiz up to her neck in it with Gary. Ray is getting itchy feet waiting for Debbie to organize his flit to Turkey but her plans seem to differ from his and may make their relationship somewhat frosty. Leanne is still addled with grief but finds some comfort in the discarded plumage of a bird, and the advice of a Scottish TV charlatan. Tim sports a jaunty cap. Billy loves juice. We barely knew Joe at all.

February 5, 2021 - Pint-Sized Sophia Loren

Tyrone is embarrassed when his fancy guest towels are shown to be barely enough to allow Alina to maintain her modesty. Nina’s book of erotic Victorian etchings and ability to quote John O’Donohue gets Asha all in a tizzy. Third time is a charm for Todd as he instructs Will to take a sledgehammer to an innocent upright piano, the wanton destruction enough to send Summer throwing herself in front of a reasonably-priced car. Peter and Carla are back together and celebrate by immediately being dishonest to each other. Gail’s new interest in genealogy leads her to pick up the phone to ask her old dad what he can tell her about his side of the family. Debbie loses patience with the sale of Number Eight and puts it up for auction. Aadi has the bright idea of evaluating Evelyn’s performance in the corner shop, but then has the much worse idea of telling her about it. Simon is single-handedly ridding the world of usable bicycles. Dev isn’t sure if lesbians are still a thing. Two characters called Ted are dead. A good heart, these days, is hard to find.

January 29, 2021 - Gladiator Lunchbox

And poof — just like that — Ray disappears, leaving Debbie to handle a bunch of angry Rebel Alliance members who want their houses back. The unlikely installation of Grace into Aggie’s house is green-lit, a combination of a slightly tiresome commute to Hull for Michael and the chance to see her grandkid eventually being the factors that swing it. Gail’s discovery of an old photo of a relative sets her on a genealogical path that leads to a potential new friend, and requires her to say Fanny quite a lot. Gemma and Chesney struggle to make rent while Sean has his sights set on a new place to live with Dylan. In an attempt to catch up on her school work, Asha studies in Roy’s Rolls where Nina’s perpetual pleasantness doesn’t go unnoticed. The discovery of a farewell note to Simon kickstarts a chain of events that triggers an old man being punched in a hotel, a handsome Irishman being disappointed, and maybe some salvation for Carla and Peter. Tracy has her eye on Number 8. Ken forgets to take his meds. George drains his spuds.

January 22, 2021 - Señor Muppet

It’s Move Day! The occupants of numbers 4, 6, and 8 get ready to flit but the reintroduction of a friendly gangster may put the kibosh on the whole deal. Yasmeen finds that getting back into the swing of her old life takes more than a couple of pep talks from her Alya and Tim’s Mum. Gail’s freedom from the tyranny of David means cleaning a factory and making eggs and soldiers for Nick (and David). Gemma and Chesney’s eternal money woes worsen as Kirk’s loan of Christmas money needs repaid and Sean’s contemptable journey to homeownership makes him an even worse human being. Michael turns to his Big Book of Hare-Brained Schemes in an attempt to prevent Grace and his unborn baby moving 100 miles along the M62. A determined Abi stumbles upon a sure way to put an end to the whole skyscraper storyline, but does that orange juice taste funny to you? Tim’s Mum tells a sad story about sausages. Aggie needs a foot rub. No one fixes the heating in the Bistro. Ray had better call Saul.

January 15, 2021 - Swearing Too Much

Peter’s continued and inexplicable solo residence at the Rovers is threatened when a stolen bottle of whisky gets him on Jenny’s radar. A chance conversation between Tracy and Nick eventually puts Leanne’s plans of spending the week in her jammies pretending to be in France in jeopardy. Dev decides to treat his time-traveling twins on the occasion of their — ahem — 16th birthday by airbrushing their mother’s name from the front of his shop. Asha listens to the advice of Nina and Yasmeen, does what she’s told, decides to forge her own path, and tells ITV Corey that he can keep his birthday present in his trousers. It’s musical chairs time for Seb, Emma, and Alina, as an impending skyscraper forces them to get creative to find new places to live. Faye’s sickness and constant traveling up and down the Stairs of Discovery leads Sally to believe that she knows more than she’s letting on about Gary’s incarceration. Ray calls Roy an imbecile and as a result is almost immediately accosted by two masked thugs. Johnny forgets what Jenny smells like. Ally McAllister really should’ve taken a transfer when he had a chance. Sandra is shown the outside menu. Ruby’s rash is back.

January 8, 2021 - Sprite Police

In prison, someone has stolen Gary’s shoes and socks but he still manages to give a fairly bleak message to Faye to let him carry the can for Adam’s assault. Abi gets her hands on a big pickup truck and a teeny tiny bullhorn as the residents continue their protest against Ray’s Coronation Towers development. Arthur’s return last week turns out to be fleeting and he threatens to take our Evelyn with him as he gives her 24 hours to decide if she wants to join him in Canada. No one is prepared for the suddenness of Grace’s release from prison and reintroduction to the street. After around forty years, Johnny’s day in court finally arrives leaving a frantic and panicked Jenny to get her felt tips out. Aadi is reminded that there really is nothing he can do to earn any lasting praise or attention from his father when the mock results are announced. Angsty teens, Simon and Kelly the Chin, find some common ground in Speed Daal but Leanne’s attempts to pretend to be in France threatens to scupper their plans. Imran is 1 for 2. Dr Gaddas doesn’t recommend coffee after six. Roy knows arguably too much about donkey jackets. PC Tinker urges calm.

January 1, 2021 - Joe With the Glass Eye

Tim’s Dad’s been dead for a couple of weeks so the decision is made to bury him so that jokes can be made about him being trapped in a box. Now that everyone’s forgotten why they were angry with Todd, he can expedite his latest stupid plan to oust Paul, while making time for a cheeky game of Mysterium with Summer. Imran and Toyah are trapped in their own A Quiet Place as they attempt to do the dishes and keep Baby Mason asleep. Nick turns to Sam for advice on the intricacies of commercial real estate contract law. Asha threatens Dev with a Christmas tree decoration. Steve and Tim go to the toilets together. Tom needs to write up his report. Billy is surprised.

December 25, 2020 - Fa-la-la-la-la La-la-la-la

Natasha has a surprise new job in That London and has to move there on Christmas Eve and she’s taking a reluctant Sam with her. Toyah and Imran take custody of wee Mason but have to rely on Gemma to be taught the importance of an armpit dummy and an empty plastic bottle. Todd and Will’s machinations are predictably causing a rift between Paul and Billy, the latter of whom makes Billy Bob Thornton seem a Decent Santa by comparison. Chesney and Kirk are forced to resort to a Plan B when their stall takings and stock are stolen, although we never find out what that plan is, or if the only thing Joseph gets for Christmas is a bath. DS Whatever is closing in on Gary, which makes it a very inopportune moment for Kelly the Chin to turn up again looking for an update on her dad’s whereabouts. Last week’s Bistro shenanigans may well be the final straw for David and Shona unless the spirit of the season and a six foot cuddly rabbit can do something about it. Christmas proves difficult for Yasmeen until Tim’s Mum arrives with some timely advice. A cheesecake is used as a metaphor. Lily inhales beads. Leanne has a moussaka in the oven. Tim gets a decades-worth of back presents. Everyone splits up.