BERTIE Barlow’s life hangs in the balance this week as Gemma Winter crumbles under pressure.
But what if the toddler’s death could lead to more murderous havoc in Coronation Street? Get the lowdown on this week’s drama.
Gemma Winter makes a massive mistake this week
Could Bertie pay the price?
1. Devastating death and fan favourite gets blamed
Gemma (portrayed by Dolly-Rose Campbell) and her husband Chesney Brown Sam Aston) have had severe financial woes as they try to provide for their five children with a modest income.
The pair recently tied the knot and their wedding was on a strict budget – although Linda Hancock insisted she could contribute.
Their big day was perturbed when Gemma’s twin brother Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) revealed he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND).
Gemma has been left reeling by the announcement, knowing her brother has a limited amount of time left in Weatherfield.
He found out later on he wasn’t eligible for a potential treatment, leaving him to live out his days with the illness.
To top it all off, Gemma accepted to take care of several children in Weatherfield to help fellow parents and earn some cash but her business is illegal.
The pressure is piling up on Gemma and her husband but it all comes to a head this week on ITV.
Coming up, when Chesney explains they can’t afford for him to attend summer club with his mates, his son Joseph (William Flanagan) is gutted.
Gemma, on the other hand, says she’ll ask Rovers Return landlady Jenny for more shifts at the iconic pub.
In later scenes, Chesney heads off to work leaving Gemma stressed out with five kids to look after.
Overwhelmed, she breaks down to Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox), admitting that she’s utterly exhausted, struggling to deal with Paul’s illness.
She also reveals that she feels like she did when she had postnatal depression.
Rita urges her to talk to Dr Gaddas but it all backfires on Gemma later on.
Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) and Michael Bailey (Ryan Russell) drop Bertie and Glory at No.5 for the day.
They leave and an exhausted Gemma surveys the room full of kids, wondering how she’ll cope.
Having heard about the antidepressants from Chesney, Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) offers to help for an hour while Gemma goes to the café.
But when Beth Tinker (Lisa George) tears a strip off Gemma for slacking, she rushes home, fighting back tears.
While Gemma briefly closes her eyes, Bertie empties her bag and finds the pack of antidepressants.
Daniel and Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) arrive and they’re unimpressed to find Gemma asleep on the sofa.
But they’re soon horrified as they realise that Bertie has eaten the tablets.
Could Bertie be killed off in a brutal and devastating twist, thus bringing more issues to Gemma and her husband Chesney?
Could she have to face justice for negligence and the illegality of her child-minding business?
Could Daniel snap?
2. Dark twist for Weatherfield hunk
Bertie’s fate remains to be revealed but one could expect his father Daniel to be pushed over the edge if he was to be killed off.
Times have been hard for the Weatherfield teacher after his wife Sinead passed away from cancer.
More recently, however, he has had to support his partner Daisy through a horrific stalker ordeal.
But when he was recently questioned about what was ahead for his character, actor Rob Mallard hinted he’d go through another rough patch.
Speaking to The Daily Star, the soap actor revealed who he would like to see come back to the cobbles.
“I’d love it if Sarah Lancashire could come back as Raquel [Watts]“, he said.
He then added: “She doesn’t even have to come back as Raquel, she could come back as Catherine Cawood from Happy Valley if she likes.”
Rob then added his on-screen alter ego could take a dark turn, particularly after finding out about Daisy’s connection with Ryan Connor.
“She could come and arrest Daniel for being a serial killer, or I could finally kill her and do what Tommy Lee couldn’t!”
Is Daniel a villain to be on the look out for?
Will Daisy try to sabotage Ryan’s life?
3. Resident reverts to old ways
Life in the cobbles is slowly getting back to normal for Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott), particularly after Justin Rutherford was found guilty for his horrific crime.
But when he realised Daisy Midgeley was catfishing him and impersonating his Ibiza love interest Crystal, Ryan was left down in the dumps.
This week, Ryan decides it’s time for him to move forward as he confides in Carla Connor (Alison King) he should return to work.
Yet due to his scars, Ryan dreads being in the public eye.
Later on, Daisy tries to make conversation with him but a bitter Ryan makes out he’s already back at the Bistro, insisting she can forget all about him.
Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) agrees to let Ryan come back to work but things get out of hand.
A customer complains about Ryan’s facial scars, prompting Leanne to leap to his defence, claiming he’s a hero.
Having caught the end of her outburst, Ryan hurries out.
Leanne agrees Ryan can work behind the scenes till he feels more confident and suggests he starts by sorting out a new wine contract.
Ryan flirts with the supplier, Rose, on the phone in a bid to obtain a good deal.
But when Rose reveals she’s checked out his socials and wonders if he’s still single, Ryan’s thrown, especially when Leanne thanks him for securing such a great deal.
Things could finally be looking up for Ryan but could Daisy be jealous once she spots him with Rose?
Daisy is known for her short fuse and her jealousy led her to ruin Ryan’s relationship with Alya Nazir.
Could history repeat itself?
Could Sarah grow tired of Adam?
4. Explosive exit
Adam Barlow (played by Sam Robertson) is showing his dark side after being betrayed by Sarah (Tina O’Brien) and former client Damon Hay.
Recent scenes have shown the solicitor ready to come to blows with the Weatherfield thug but he soon hatched another, more brutal, plan for revenge.
Damon was left with no other choice but to skip town after Adam turned to Niall and warned him his rival would grass on him to the police.
Knowing what Niall is capable of, Damon packed his things and fled the cobbles before it was too late after leaving Sarah with one last message.
Since then, Sarah found out she was pregnant and, with her marriage hanging by a thread, she was terrified the baby could be Damon’s.
Fans of the Manchester-based drama have taken to social media, sharing their theories about who the baby daddy could be.
“We’ve seen the same old story before but let’s take a guess I know Damon is going to be the father because the show’s bosses do it every single time it’s not an original idea anymore”, one viewer complained
Another added: “They’ll lean it towards Damon then at the last minute reveal it’s Adam’s.”
But viewers are now speculating Sarah could leave Weatherfield altogether as Adam grows increasingly violent and paranoid.
Coming up, Adam lets his jealousy get the best of him and his paranoia leads him to get on the wrong side of Owen (Ben Hull).
It all begins when Adam admits to Daniel that as much as he loves Sarah, he’s struggling to trust her and doesn’t like her spending so much time with Owen.
He calls at the Underworld factory with lunch, but when he finds out that she’s at the Chariot Square Hotel with Owen, he’s hard put to contain his anxiety.
In the hotel bar, Adam heads over spoiling for a fight, convinced Sarah could be cheating on him again.
Could Sarah walk out on Adam and start afresh away from the cobbles as a result?
Will Elaine be killed?
5. Elaine hatches plan
Meanwhile, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) could be making another victim this week.
His plan was recently foiled when Carla Connor (played by Alison King) let him know she was planning to sell the Underworld business.
Newcomer Owen (Ben Hull) made his intentions clear – he is not only ready to buy the knicker factory but after Stephen’s interference in his relationship with Jenny Connor, he’s willing to fire him.
Stephen has tried to convince Owen to spare him but this only made his fiancée Elaine Jones (Paula Wilcox) increasingly suspicious of him.
The pair became engaged earlier this year and while Elaine’s intentions are sincere, Stephen is only looking to get his hands on her money by embezzling money from Seagull Ltd.
Coming up next week, Stephen’s plan could be turned on its head again when Carla demands a meeting with Seagull Ltd.
Stephen begs his ex-wife Gabrielle (Helene Maksoud) to masquerade as a consultant from his fake company, promising to make it worth her while.
He later watches as Carla attends the zoom call with Seagull and Gabrielle gives a sterling performance, with the businesswoman clearly taken in.
But when Sarah Platt returns for her laptop, Stephen’s thrown into panic.
The outcome of the run-in remains to be seen but, in later scenes, Stephen tells Elaine that he’s booked her a wedding consultation with a personal shopper and his mother Audrey will be going with her.
As they return with their wedding outfits, the good mood is broken when Elaine’s son Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) makes his dislike of Stephen clear and tells them not to bother sending him an invitation.
And things are about to get even more sinister as Stephen could be ready to kill again.
On Stephen’s advice, Elaine writes Tim a letter telling him how much he’s hurt her and how she can’t take anymore.
He later tells Dr Gaddas he’s worried that Elaine is depressed, refusing to seek help and might do something drastic.
But what is Elaine, unbeknownst to Stephen rumbled his true motives and is secretly working against him?
Could she be the one to expose him before he kills again?
Coronation Street airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.
