Brian Packham is back in the Street, following his holiday with Isabella Benvenuti. The perma-glum look on his face speaks volumes about how unpleasant the trip was, but Mary Taylor still feels the need to ask if Isabella’s departure for Italy is still imminent (or Operation Isabrexit, as she calls it). Brian is relieved to be home. He discloses that the lowest point came when Isabella told an ice-cream man he looked like Benito Mussolini. It’s pretty insulting to compare someone with the Italian dictator, although it’s possible she just meant his ice-cream van always ran on time. A desperate Brian declares his only option is to fake his own death, ‘like Canoe Man’. He’s referring to former teacher John Darwin, who was believed to have died in a canoeing accident in 2002, only to turn up alive and well five years later. Darwin and his wife Anne were both jailed. The BBC dramatised the story in the film Canoe Man, with ITV following suit last year with the series The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe. Corrie fans may recall a 2010 storyline where Gail Rodwell’s husband Joe McIntyre attempted a similar scam, but drowned himself for real at Lake Windermere.
At the scene of Toyah Habeeb’s kidnapping, there’s more death fakery as Spider Nugent lies motionless after being shot. He’s OK, though, thanks to his bulletproof vest. The experience makes him reconsider his plan to quit the police. He decides to stay on and tells Toyah he has to think about ‘the needs of the many’. Spider is continuing the resurrection theme with his comment because he’s quoting Mr Spock from the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. Spock was killed at the end of the movie, but brought back to life in the next chapter of the sci-fi franchise. Meanwhile, serial killer Stephen Reid is organising a trip to Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District, for himself and Elaine Jones. He intends the moorland plateau to be the scene of Elaine’s demise, with her death being absolutely final and no fakery involved.
Coronation Street episode 11007/11008. Originally aired 17th July 2023.
