The Talk of the Street: A Coronation Street Podcast

November 15, 2019 - Let it Go

It’s been five months in the making but Robert’s come-uppence finally starts a-brewing and provides a salient lesson of the disastrous distractions that mobile phones can cause when driving. It can wait, kids. Roy’s mysterious Scrabble-playing leads him and Carla to his half-brother and niece, who reminds us very much of our own niece, Kaylynn (hi, Kaylynn). After a gaslighting fashion, Tim’s Dad heads off to Vegas with Yasmeen, where hopefully his mouth will get him into all sorts of trouble with the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security. Guantanamo Tim’s Dad has a nice ring to it. Gemma and Chesney are surprised to learn how much corporate sponsorship may pay for four wee baby faces and with a bit of luck it’ll be enough to cover the bar bill Bernie wracked up in Wales. Elsewhere, Daniel’s spending so much time on windy moors recently that he’s become a walking metaphor, Emma and Amy go off to see Little Mix, and Steve eats his cereal like an animal.

November 8, 2019 - Massive Gay Anthem

Yet another seven episode week but this one came with extra joy. Come hell or high water, Shona is determined to get married which means getting David out the jail, and the success of their plans may depend on the reliability of Nick’s Rover 75, the worst car ever made on British soil. Daniel has done what any normal Barlow would do in crisis by buggering off to Scotland, and draws Ken’s ire when he announces he has no plans to attend his wife’s funeral and not even Beth being in charge of the headstone is going to change his mind. Ali and Gary continue to swing their proverbials as they vie for Maria’s affections while Toyah’s advice falls largely on deaf ears. In his desperation to keep Tyler away from the street, Robert grasses him in to Steve which results in Amy being grounded and leaves Michelle and Carla to ponder what exactly any of this has to do with Robert. Elsewhere, it’s exam time for Abi and she prepares by getting muellered in the Rovers with a lovesick Kev-shaped puppy, Asha comes home for lunch and Cathy pops the kettle on, and for the fiftieth week running, the character we’d most like to punch in the throat is Tim’s Dad.

November 1, 2019 - Kebab Casanova

Daniel has a Sinead-shaped hole in his life that Beth thinks he’s trying to fill with an omnipresent Bethany, which leaves Daniel with few options for his immediate future. Gemma’s going stir crazy with Chesney and her mum at each other’s throats and spies a chance to get a cheeky wee breakaway to lovely Llandudno where she sees a cable car with her name written all over it, while the viewers see something else altogether, and Chesney has a surprise of his own in store. David may well have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, he may be getting threatened by prison goons, he may be up on an attempted murder charge, and the victim may be about to make the situation worse, but none of this stops Shona sorting out the wedding menu for next week's nuptials. Evelyn has her eyes peeled for her family, trying to maneuver Jade in Michael’s direction and away from Tyrone, while also maneuvering Michael to take care of all the odd jobs that Tyrone can’t be bothered taking care of. Tim’s Dad doesn’t waste any time in infuriating Alya and Yasmeen with his plans for Speed Daal and spending the restaurant’s money on fancy Californian business courses and for reasons no one can completely fathom, his bucket remarkably remains unkicked. Gary and Maria become close and after a successful date at the Rovers they’re in real danger of getting much closer still until Emma’s appendix decides to explode in protest. Elsewhere, Liz takes Tracy to Spain, Cathy memorizes babies, and Gail is dressed like a pirate.

October 25, 2019 - Pull Your Cracker

It was a week of two tales this week, with not a huge amount to smile about. David’s looking forward to getting out of jail in a couple of weeks and then going ahead and marrying Shona a few days later. It’s all booked. So let’s hope that he doesn’t do anything stupid like get involved in a prison riot and wind up in a room with Josh and a pair of scissors and then let’s further hope that footage of that incident doesn’t end up in Max’s or Imran’s inboxes. Oh, wait. In a storyline that began months ago, which involved the birth of baby Bertie and the passing of organic green tea and potpourri advocate, Steph, brave Sinead is approaching the end of her own metaphorical cobbled street, and frustrated by his inability to do the right thing by her, and devastated by the impending loss, a misguided Daniel goes off to find comfort wherever he can find it. Elsewhere, Peter and Carla are back, Kirk breaks a snow machine, Tracy says horrid things, Santa’s fairies do their best to keep him sober for a day, and poor Peanut contemplates getting a new forever family.

October 18, 2019 - Naked Twister

During an autumnal picnic in the community garden, Sinead reveals an unusual dying wish which will involve Kirk getting his kex off. TFD wakes up on Wednesday and decides to make a grab for half of Speed Daal much to Alya’s disgust. A mishap at Weathy County’s turnstile ends in Chesney’s living room filling up with boxes of nappies and Bernie revealing herself to be a PR guru. Shona might need to wait twelve months for that Mother of the Year award and an old face at the jail makes David think that a riot might not be that bad an idea after all. Elsewhere, Ali confides in Toyah, Dev struggles with raising a teenaged daughter, Craig and James are going running together, and the world may just need to go on without knowing what Bethany thinks happens in a New York ad agency.

October 9, 2019 - Emotionally Stunted Manchild

A shortened week on The Cobbles sees Ken deliver a soliloquy to beat all soliloquies. Ali and Maria’s hugely questionable relationship come to a perhaps temporary closure when he falls asleep at vital moments during the plot line. Dev takes Asha to see an utterly fabulous Dr Gaddas but still manages to ground Asha and Aadi simultaneously. Robert is presented with something of a Sophie’s Choice between waking up to a naked Michelle in Majorca or just getting on with his work in the Bistro kitchen. Sophie is off to Cambodia so Brooke Vincent can finally have her baby, David teaches that bloke with all the pen on his face how to cut hair, Ken is a jolly good fellow, and Emily’s Skype call is hugely disappointing. But Norris is back, so that’s okay.

October 4, 2019 - The What Theory

Another week peppered with If You’ve Been Affected By This Storyline storylines, but done incredibly well. Paul realizes that his memory of events with Kel may be unreliable and in the Alley of Doom (h/t @merseytart), he comes to a startling realization. Jade is getting her feet under Fiz’s table and her mitts in Fiz’s sideboard and seems to be ingratiating herself very well, with perhaps only Evelyn wondering if our Brummie Mary Poppins is all she’s cracked up to be. Kev’s sister, Debbie, makes a very welcome return and despite being off the show for decades, looks like she’s never been away. She arrives with some sad news about Auntie Vi and some potentially awesome news about Kev’s bank account. Michelle continues to be a cow and not content with keeping two women on the go, Robert takes to impersonating Steve McDonald to get a cheffing job. Asha’s date with Corrie Corey ends up with spilled drinks, an assault from Pastel-Blue with a splurge gun, a birds and the bees talk from Mary, and a heart-breaking scene with Dev who realizes that helping his daughter is going to require more than telling her everything is going to be okay. Adam continues his pursuit of Gary, but not like that. Fiz gets a job, loses the job, gets the same job back again. A woman decides not to buy clogs.

September 27, 2019 - Her With The Teeth

Gary finds Ryan’s lackadaisical approach to debt repayment unacceptable while Adam finds Manchester’s worst private investigator. More concerning than Weatherfield High’s choice of high school musical is what Asha managed to smuggle back in her carry-on from her recent trip to India. Hope’s grasp on mathematics leaves a lot to be desired as does the professionalism of Jade, one of the teacher assistants at that fancy school in Birmingham, who Fiz introduces into the home. Michael approaches James with his suspicions on James’s sexuality and is disappointed to find out that, aside from Ed, everyone already knows. Elsewhere, Max’s sideline to get a one-way ticket to Barbados is revealed, an old photograph triggers Paul into remembering more about his relationship with Kel, and Billy would like some salad with his omelette.

September 20, 2019 - The Queen of Hearts

It’s been a while since Paul has been a happy-go-lucky-cheeky-chappy and there’s no sign of that guy returning any time soon, because, instead, a blast from the past in the shape of his ex-step-father has turned up on the scene and despite Billy’s best efforts, Paul’s demons refuse to surface. Daniel insists that Sinead resume treatment and refuses to contemplate a future with her in a hospice, a brace of decisions that come back to take a munch out of his posterior before the sun has gone down, which forces Sinead and Beth to plan The Purge and Sinead to reveal how she wants to be buried. It’s Ed’s birthday and Aggie’s plans for a birthday party cause three or four storylines to combine, culminating in a family member confessing a deeply-held secret to Bethany. Suffering severely from withdrawal, Ali finds an ally in Toyah who is allowed, for the first time in a while, to get some use out of that therapy training she got all those years ago. Elsewhere, no matter how hard Gary tries to be the tough guy, he has no shortage of blokes lining up to question his authority; Ryan won’t pay him back, and now Derek looks to exploit one of many flaws in Gary’s master plan, Jenny’s anniversary with Johnny this year doesn’t feature her getting drunk on her own in a hotel room, but does include Dev trying to flog her some past their sell-by date blooms, Mad Max’s issues are continuing to fester, and Steve’s new haircut is better than anyone could’ve hoped.

September 13, 2019 - Law and Order NUPVC

After her ill-advised involvement with Steph, Sinead’s fate has been up in the air but this week is the week that the helium leaks from that balloon and her destiny comes crashing home to roost. Robert is pissed when he and his extra caviar are surplus to requirements and he abandons his duties at Sinead and Daniel’s proper wedding to go and watch Thor movies with Irish Tina. Kevin discovers that his rants and bants are an internet sensation and then contributes to Abi’s checkered employment history by sacking her again — why does no one listen to Tim? Just when everything is looking rosy for Ali and Maria, a peculiar arrest is the catalyst to a very bizarre outburst that leaves Maria upset and confused and Ali convulsing on his living room floor in front of a bewildered Ryan. Fiz is on the phone for five seconds. Kate leaves and no one cares.