The scheduling of Coronation Street episodes has been disrupted because of the Rugby World Cup, so it feels like an age since we last visited the cobbles. Some things never change, though, and Stephen Reid is still sounding like an anaemic Kermit The Frog as the forces of justice close in on him. Brian Packham appears to fancy himself as Weatherfield’s answer to Susie Dent from Countdown. When he tries to elicit the services of Peter Barlow and Tim Metcalfe to help clean up the canal, he calls them ‘gongoozlers’. Brian explains that the 19th Century term means canal enthusiasts, but Peter and Tim have no enthusiasm for the task. Nevertheless, all this talk of Britain’s historic waterways prompts Tim to revisit the location of Stephen’s suspicious activities. His investigations result in the discovery of a body in the canal, in a scene that’s like a particulary gruesome episode of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.
As Tim tries and fails to call the police about his find, events take an even more sinister turn when Stephen gets into Tim’s cab. The Birdie Song ringtone plays on Tim’s phone, which Stephen recognises from when Tim was secretly watching his activities at the canal. After a violent struggle, it looks like Stephen has committed the Cluedoesque crime of murdering Tim by the canal with the lead piping. The cabbie suddenly rallies, and there’s a possibility he’ll survive to drive another fare, but a merciless Stephen snuffs out that hope by adding Tim to his growing list of victims.
At Viaduct Bistro, Ken Barlow is celebrating his 84th birthday. Brian has bought him a gift of tickets to see Macbeth. The Scottish Play, as Shakepeare’s 1606 tragedy is euphemistically known, has a body count of eight, but Stephen looks set to surpass that total before he’s done.
Coronation Street episode 11079/11080. Originally aired 9th Oct 2023.
