DESPERATE for answers about his mother’s death, Sam Blakeman has been asking to meet Harvey Gaskell in prison.
This week, he finally gets what he wished for – but could it backfire? Get the lowdown on the Coronation Street drama.
Sam Blakeman has begged to see Harvey Gaskell
The criminal was his pen pal
Nick finally accepts to accompany Sam to meet Harvey
1. Sam faces Harvey
As mentioned above, the youngster played by Jude Riordan has been eager to meet Harvey (Will Mellor) to ask him about his mother’s death.
The thug made a tragic mistake in 2021 when he murdered Natasha Blakeman by mistake as he was trying to get to Leanne Battersby.
While his father Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) has always refused to allow Sam to speak with Harvey, he’s finally accepted it could be the only way to bring him closure.
Coming up on ITV, the pair meet up with Karis the facilitator and head into the prison.
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Sam interrogates Harvey in the visiting room, leading to the criminal conceding that he intended to murder Leanne all along.
But the lad isn’t as rattled by the visit as Harvey.
When Harvey reveals his own mother died when he was fourteen, Sam suggests her passing may have caused him to go off the rails.
The youngster pushes Harvey’s buttons even further with a series of awkward questions about his mother – and the murderer has had enough.
What does Harvey have in mind?
2. Harvey plans revenge
Harvey strides out, later seen in his prison cell, clearly unsettled.
However, he picks up Sam’s most recent letter, ready to read his questions.
In later scenes, Nick takes a call from Karis who tells him that Harvey wants Sam to visit him again the following day.
As one of the most ruthless villains in the cobbles, could Harvey be planning something against Nick, Leanne and their family?
The thought definitely crosses Nick’s mind, as hinted by the actor who portrays him, Ben Price.
“He thinks Harvey’s thought of a plan to get at Sam”, Ben said.
“He’s more suspicious about why he’s called him back.”
Should Nick worry?
Hope embraces her serial killer father’s legacy – but how far will she go?
3. Hope in armed attack
Meanwhile, Sam’s friend Hope is also on the verge of a dangerous breakthrough.
Fiz Stape and Tyrone Dobbs (respectively portrayed by stalwarts Jennie McAlpine and Alan Halsall) have gone above and beyond to try and stop a book about John Stape from being published.
But after she faced a cardboard cut out of her father and read more about him, Hope (Isabella Flanagan) clearly had an epiphany.
Tyrone opens the door to the outhouse to discover the books he had taken have all vanished.
The mechanic and Fiz both confront Hope about the missing books but she decides to lie to them.
Hope makes out she threw the books in a bin on Tile Street but later tells Sam Blakeman she actually made £75 flogging her father’s book.
In later scenes, Hope joins a group chat entitled “Legacy of Evil” and types a troubling message.
She tells her classmates she’s planning a tribute to John Stape for the following day.
Things take a turn for the worst while she’s at school.
Hope first steals a hammer from Tyrone’s tool box and hides her cash in a tin, stored in a cupboard.
The young girl then approaches a couple of Year 11 girls in the school corridor, announcing that she’ll be giving a reading from the John Stape book later on.
The girls are unsettled and Hope soon overhears them calling her a nut job.
Hope pulls the stolen hammer from her bag and heads towards them…
What will she do next?
After being the target of cyberbullies, Maria could be on Griff’s radar
4. Maria takes on Griff
While she was trying to get a place on the council, Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) became the target of online hatred.
The harassment may have quietened down but there could be new turmoil ahead for Maria as dodgy “eco-warrior” Griff (Game of Thrones Michael Condron) tries to spread his racist views in Weatherfield.
This week, Griff is in his flat with Ollie, David and Spider Nugent.
He announces to them that Maria is planning to turn the community centre into a place for refugees.
In later scenes, Maria is furious to find Griff and Spider handing out leaflets claiming that refugees will be taking over the community centre at the expense of local residents.
Little does she know that Spider, portrayed by Martin Hancock, is actually an undercover police officer keeping a close eye on Griff’s activities.
What is Griff planning to do?
Another one of Ken Barlow’s former mistresses rocks up the cobbles
5. Ken reunites with another ex
The long-standing Weatherfield resident portrayed by William Roache has been feeling lonely since the death of his wife Deirdre in 2015.
Fortunately for him, he’s found comfort in the form of Wendy, with whom he rekindled a romantic bond in the past months.
However, as mentioned above, things could get more complicated this week.
It all begins when Brian and Mary (Peter Gunn and Patti Clare) attend rehearsals at the Community Centre with Ken and Nigel (Richard Elis).
Much to Ken’s shock, Nigel admits he’s going to approach an actress friend with a view to replacing Mary.
This prompts Ken, Brian and Wendy to give her a heads up by tentatively suggesting that she should tone down her performance – but Mary won’t be deterred.
Ken and Brian thus suggest to Nigel that he asks his actress friend to give Mary some coaching rather than replace her altogether, knowing she would be upset.
Later on in the community centre, Nigel introduces his actress friend to Brian, Ken and Mary.
But Ken gets another shock when he realises it’s none other than Martha Fraser, another one of his exes, played by Stephanie Beacham.
Stu is taking care of his granddaughter Eliza
6. Stu makes a mistake
After a series of tumultuous weeks, Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) was left to take care of his granddaughter Eliza.
However, his new responsibilities take a toll on him and he panics, doubting whether he has enough expertise to look after her.
This week, he struggles to get Eliza to school on time – but, luckily for him, it’s all handled by Yasmeen and Alya Nazir.
The Speed Daal co-owners make breakfast for the new lodger and put Eliza’s hair into plaits.
Stu pitches in by making sure the young girl has a structured routine with a weekly timetable listing all of her activities.
The timetable is pinned to the kitchen cupboard for everybody to see.
He insists that Eliza is not to miss out on any more of her activities as Stu can’t cope with the thought of her being even more disadvantaged.
Yasmeen, however, shows concern, believing Stu is taking things too seriously.
Debbie is determined to avoid bankruptcy – but could it lead to more tension with Leanne and Nick?
7. Debbie gives a stern warning
Elsewhere in the cobbles, Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) has been edging closer to bankruptcy since Ed Bailey was hurt in one of her hotels.
In recent scenes of the Manchester-based drama, and after attempting insurance fraud to get the cash she needed, Debbie came to the realisation she needed to make some sacrifices.
She has decided to sell her share of the Bistro – but Leanne and her other half Nick Tilsley (respectively played by Jane Danson and Ben Price) aren’t as ready to let the business go.
Coming up, Debbie shows Lynne, a potential buyer, around the restaurant.
Leanne goes above and beyond to sabotage the sale but her actions will have some harsh consequences.
When Debbie finds out what Leanne has been up to, she tells her and Nick that she’ll force the sale of the whole bistro if she has to.
Can Debbie, Leanne and Nick get along?
Coronation Street airs from 8pm on ITV.
