Paul Foreman is at Weatherfield General, where he’s issued with a ventilatior to help with his breathing. He jokes that the device will make him look and sound like Mr Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. Alya Nazir, another inhabitant of a famous fictional street, is leaving for her new job in Dublin. Adam Barlow wishes her all the best, and hopes she doesn’t run off with a Cillian Murphy lookalike.
Beth Sutherland agrees to look after Bertie Osbourne. She plans to read him his favourite book, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery. Bertie’s dad Daniel has quoted from the 1943 novella before, so the apple clearly doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Osbourne family when it comes to literature. Meanwhile, Liam Connor shows his mum Maria what he learnt at his Jeet June Do class. She reckons she was an ‘expert in Katate Kid moves back in the day’ and suggests a screening of the 1984 film.
Having discovered the truth about her father’s will, Glenda Shuttleworth is fuming that her brother George kept it secret. Michael Bailey tells her she was right to refuse George’s conciliatory gift of £3,000. ‘He’s no Steven Bartlett,’ adds Michael, who has a low opinion of George’s entrepreneurial skills. However, Bernie Winter is bursting with excitement as she reveals her fundraising idea for Motor Neurone Disease. A karaoke-thon at The Rovers. Glenda also demonstrates her business nous by demanding half the value of the Shuttleworth undertaking business.
Bernie reckons Carla Barlow could do a Kylie Minogue song at the karaoke-thon, while Paul admits to being nervous about his declining vocal skills. After receiving a vote of confidence from the regulars at The Rovers, he reasons that Mark E Smith of The Fall ‘could barely hold a tune’ and that didn’t stop him being a vocal genius. So Paul and his sister Gemma Winter-Brown duet on I Got You Babe (most famously performed by Sonny & Cher), which is their go-to karaoke tune. It’s a pity they don’t choose a Fall song, with Smith once listing his favourite things in life as ‘Scottish people, cats, Coronation Street and Can’.
Coronation Street episode 11260/11261. Originally aired 8th May 2024.
