The second part of this episode marks the 11000th outing for the world’s longest-running soap opera. On such an historic occasion, it’s appropriate that Daisy Midgeley is musing behind the bar at The Rovers about how things change over time. She observes that the name John is far less popular these days (it was the first choice name for a boy in England a century ago, but has now dropped to 26th) and Tim Metcalfe says the same thing applies to his monicker (currently the 385th most popular). Stephen Reid is mentioned and Daisy reckons there are always lots of Steves (although Steven/Stephen has also dipped massively in popularity as a name for newborns). As far as Tim is concerned, he’d be very happy if there were one less Stephen in Weatherfield.
Adam Barlow arrives at Underworld with a box of falafels for his wife Sarah. In his smart suit, Kirk Sutherland thinks Adam looks like the Cadbury Milk Tray man. Actor Gary Myers played the original confectionery courier in a TV ad in 1968 and retained the role for 16 years. Adam can’t compete with that iconic status, but he can lay claim to having the first ever male name (still hanging in there in 44th place). At Viaduct Bistro, Carla Connor asks Leanne Battersby how ‘Boy Wonder’ is doing. She means Ryan Connor, giving him the nickname most famously associated with Batman’s acrobatic sidekick Robin. A little later, wine supplier Rose calls him ‘Buns Of Steel’, which could be regarded as a sexually objectified variant on Superman’s Man Of Steel sobriquet. Ryan wrongly assumes the worst when Rose asks if he’d like to go for a drink. She storms off when he suggests she’ll post their date on her socials and label it Beauty And The Beast.
Carla is enjoying a celebrity magazine binge, reading about a woman who says she was abducted by aliens. The woman claimed the extraterrestrials tattooed Rod Stewart on her bum. Presumably, when the tattoo was being applied, the first cut was the deepest.
Coronation Street episode 10999/11000. Originally aired 7th July 2023.
