Inside Soap UK 30 - 2016

One character I’ve always loved is Corrie’s Leanne. It’s almost two decades since the gobby lass first blasted on to our screens as part of the rough and ready Battersby clan. In that time, we’ve certainly seen Leanne go through the mill – and the men – as she faced the dramas of Weatherfield! We’ve also witnessed her hold down careers from newsagent to drug dealer, through exotic dancer to restaurateur – she’s definitely a Jack of all trades, our Leanne! So it’s great to see her get a big, fat, juicy plot now that she’s pregnant with Steve McDonald’s baby. Jane Danson has always been one of the Street’s standout stars, but the past couple of years have been a bit quiet for her alter ego, so I’m excited…

“ONCE TODD THINKS DAVID IS THE KILLER, HE JUST CAN’T SEE PAST IT” All hell breaks loose when the Platts assemble to bury Kylie this week – and Todd forces a shock confession out of Sarah over Callum’s murder! As the day of the funeral arrives, David is barely holding on to his sanity as he, Max and Lily prepare for their hardest goodbye – but the grieving husband is determined to do his late wife proud. Sarah, meanwhile, has discharged herself from hospital to be by her brother’s side during this devastating day. However, it all goes wrong when Todd becomes certain it was David who murdered Callum – and the web of lies comes unspun. IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO? The drama begins when Sarah checks in at…

Wicked Macca arrives to put pressure on witness Gemma this week – and tries to force her to retract her statement concerning Kylie’s stabbing. Her account of what took place is bad news for Macca’s brother, Clayton, the evil thug who killed Kylie. With her connections to the crowd at the Dog & Gun, Gemma is uniquely positioned to help the police get their man, and she wants to see justice for her murdered friend. But Macca’s violent confrontation scares Gemma half to death – until help arrives in an unlikely form. Craig, who was so ashamed by how he reacted during the incident with Kylie and Clayton, spots Macca threatening Gemma and pulls him off her. As she tries to recover, Craig calls the police and makes sure that…

“CAIN SOON REALISES THAT HE’S DONE WRONG, AND THE NEXT DAY HE FEELS REGRET” Wicked Charity swoops in to bag her man this week – as Holly’s drug addiction finally drives Cain and Moira apart. Charity spots her chance when Cain discovers that Moira has hidden her daughter’s relapse – and her own encounter with a dirty needle – from him. The scale of her betrayal hits Cain hard, and he tries to force Moira to choose between him and Holly. But when she refuses, he storms off to the pub, where he ends up with Charity… “Cain is in a bit of a strop – actually a lot of a strop!” admits Jeff Hordley, who plays the reformed Dales villain. “Bailey is working behind the bar and winds Cain…

James finds himself on Cain’s hit list this week – after he tells Moira that her husband spent the night with ex-lover Charity. The information is the final nail in the coffin for the Dingle marriage, as Moira orders Cain out of their home and out of her life. So when Cain spies James in the path of his car, he decides to exact his revenge in deadly fashion… “It’s a ‘Cain of old’ moment,” says Jeff. “He spots James and sees red. After stewing on it all day, he gets more and more annoyed. So this is the moment when he decides he’ll run James off the road!” As Cain’s car speeds towards him, it’s a life-or-death moment for James – but it’s also a huge turning point for…

“GRANT WON’T LET THE MITCHELLS FAIL IF HE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT” Grant Mitchell is forced to return to Walford this week – upon hearing that Ben is missing and the family are on the brink of collapse. Desperate Sharon secretly calls her ex-husband as she fears that worry over Ben is taking a deadly toll on ill Phil. The last time Grant was in the same room as his brother, he swore revenge on Phil over money owed to him. However, he can’t abandon the clan when Sharon begs him to help – so can Grant put right what Phil is too sick to handle? “Peggy’s dead, Phil is dying and Sharon is overwhelmed – only Grant can sort this,” says our Walford insider. “Given how toxic his…