When Nick Tilsley repeats his scepticism about Leanne Battersby’s reality coding philosophy, he’s delighted to hear his son Sam Blakeman echo his views. ‘And that’s a boy with a brain the size of a planet,’ says a proud Nick, putting Sam’s mental skills on the same elevated level as Marvin The Paranoid Android from The Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Globe-bonced Sam makes a new friend when he plays chess with a young customer called Anwen at Viaduct Bistro. She jokes about beating the American grandmaster Andrew Hong at the Qatar Open, but Sam realises it isn’t true because he’s memorised all of Hong’s results. Of course he has. Impressed by her use of a Slav Defence, he sks if she’s a prodigy like the Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgar.
DS Lisa Swain has more questions for Daniel Osbourne about the Lauren Bolton case. He feels the repeat visits from the police are starting to resemble the movie Groundhog Day. Meanwhile, Michael Bailey encounters Alya Nazir on the cobbles. He’s aware that Barlow Legal Services and their rivals Fabian’s both want her to work for them, so he describes the budding high-flier as Weatherfield’s answer to Siobhan ‘Shiv’ Roy from Succession. Who needs reality coding when you’ve got skills?
Coronation Street episode 11244/11245. Originally aired 19th April 2024.
