Stephen Reid may be dead, but the Canadian killer continues to cast a maple-tree sized shadow over Tim Metcalfe’s life. Sally Metcalfe realises her husband’s mind is elsewhere and he isn’t listening to a word she’s saying, so she casually mentions that she’s thinking of becoming a Trappist nun. The idea of her joining the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance shocks Tim back to reality. He reveals that he’s brooding over Stephen’s impending funeral, and resents the triple-murderer getting a dignified goodbye. Sally assures him it won’t be a grand affair with a parade of Grenadier Guards. The infantry regiment are the most senior in the British Army, but what Tim has in mind for Stephen’s send-off is more on the level of dustmen and a bin lorry.
George Shuttleworth cautions Audrey Roberts that Tim might attempt to sabotage the funeral. ‘Oh, sound and fury,’ says Audrey, effectively dismissing Tim as an ineffectual Hamlet. Meanwhile, Peter Barlow is conflicted in a similar fashion to Shakespeare’s Danish prince, as he wrestles with the motivations behind his killing of Stephen. But rather than quote from Hamlet, Peter reaches even further back to the Book Of Exodus, rubbishing the notion of ‘an eye for an eye’ when Tracy McDonald insists Stephen deserved to die.
At Roy’s Rolls, Daniel Osbourne and Lauren Bolton are talking PEEL paragraphs. Daniel has agreed to tutor Lauren, who expresses her dislike for the writing method based on a Point, Evidence, Explain and Link structure. Daniel defends the system, at the same time deflecting Daisy Midgeley’s warnings that Lauren is bad news. Aadi Alahan’s potential new job as a Freshco’s shelf-stacker is also viewed as bad news by Courtney Vance. She makes the sarcastic dig that if it goes well he could be the next Elon Musk.
Tim tells Steve McDonald that he’s ready to return to work, but Steve thinks letting Tim get back behind the wheel of a cab so soon would result in Grand Theft Auto-style mayhem and carnage. Tim promises that his recent incident was a one-off, but Steve points out that the captain of the Titanic could have said the same thing. Emergency situations are also a hot topic for Asha Alahan and Nina Lucas. Asha recently had her first ride-along as part of her training to be a paramedic, and she tells Nina the ambulance driver called Isla ‘could give Lewis Hamilton a run for his money’. With her ability to carve through busy traffic while maintaining a calm demeanour, Isla sounds like she would be unbeatable at Grand Theft Auto.
Tim’s feared protest materialises when he parks directly in the way of the hearse that’s carrying Stephen’s coffin. Tim ignores all the objections as he sits in his car, motionless and silent (not unlike a Trappist monk), listening to Yungblud’s 2022 song Tissues. Sally arrives and asks him: ‘Is this making you feel any better?’ She’s referring to the protest, rather than Tim’s choice of music, although both would apply. Eventually, she manages to coax him out of the car.
Daniel spends much of the show with his head buried in a paperback edition of Moll Flanders. The 1722 Daniel Defoe novel was adapted for television by Granada TV in 1996 and the cast included John Savident, who played Fred Elliott in Coronation Street. The Corrie connection was deepened when lead actress Alex Kingston, dressed in period costume as Moll, posed for a publicity photo outside The Rovers.
Coronation Street episode 11095/11096. Originally aired 25th Oct 2023.
