Inside Soap UK 4 - 2017

I’m quickly losing track of who knows what in Corrie’s very tangled love/baby drama of Peter, Toyah, Leanne and Nick, and their associated friends and family members. In fact, I was going to put a nice diagram in the magazine with all the main players and who knew what – but after a few attempts, leaving me with a mountain of crunched-up paper, I decided to give up and get on with something else. Maybe next week, eh? Mind you, this plot might be a great deal simpler after this week’s episodes, as Leanne walks in on her sister and her ex-hubby looking very cosy on the sofa (see p8). Can even slippery old Peter Barlow talk his way out of this one? And talking of slippery, you better watch…

Wicked Chrissie falls over a banister and lands on a glass table at Home Farm this week – leaving sister Rebecca fearing she’s dead. The two women are involved in a violent skirmish when the incident takes place, and it’s down to Rebecca to try to get help for her badly injured sibling. Chrissie is lying lifeless after the row, which kicks off when she blames Rebecca for the fact that son Lachlan has been sentenced to time in prison. Frantic Rebecca calls for help and prays that Chrissie will make it through – though what will this trauma mean for the fractured White family? “I don’t know if they can ever come back from this,” warns Louise Marwood, who plays Chrissie. “Chrissie can’t help but blame Rebecca for Lachlan…

Ever since Chrissie learned her father Lawrence wasn’t her biological dad, it has changed the way she feels about everything. So the big question is: when are we going to meet the man who Chrissie should have been calling ‘Daddy’ all this time? “I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns up!” Louise tells us. “I’m sure they won’t let that go, he will be out there somewhere. Nothing stays dormant forever in soap.” It’s been fascinating to see Chrissie and Lawrence, who adore each other, try to come to terms with the truth about her paternity – and throwing Rebecca into the mix makes things even more interesting. Chrissie is also struggling with the presence of Lawrence’s love interest Ronnie at Home Farm, not least because she once thought he…

“IF TOYAH HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE, SHE WOULD PROBABLY LET PETER GO…” This could be the moment when Leanne finally discovers that her ex-husband, Peter, is sister Toyah’s secret lover! The rotten pair have been sneaking around for months now, fearful of telling Leanne the truth in case their revelation jeopardises her pregnancy. However, as Toyah and Peter’s romance is thrown into crisis this week, the chance of Leanne finding out is greater than ever… “When she eventually realises what’s going on, Leanne’s main issue will be that they didn’t tell her,” reckons actress Georgia Taylor, who plays Toyah. “Leanne holds no feelings for Peter, so it won’t be that she’s jealous of their relationship. If anything, she’ll be concerned he isn’t good enough for Toyah.” A dramatic week…

NICK HAS A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK… While Leanne seems destined to rumble the fact that Peter and Toyah are having an affair, she has absolutely no idea that Nick is going to ask her to marry him! The Bistro boss tells her to meet him at the restaurant, where he plans on popping the question. However, as Peter and Toyah’s drama looks set to provide the mother of all distractions for pregnant Leanne, will she make it to the Bistro in time for Nick’s big surprise?…

“PHIL FEELS THAT AFTER ALL THE THINGS HE’S DONE, HE DOESN’T DESERVE TO BE ALIVE” Phil may have recently beaten the odds and escaped death, but he seems more depressed than ever this week. The Mitchell hard man reaches out to Antoinette – the wife of Tony, who died at Christmas after Phil received the only liver available for transplant. Just what is Phil hoping to achieve? “The psychology of it all is complicated, though essentially Phil is suffering from what you might call ‘survivor guilt’,” explains our EastEnders source. “Phil feels that after all the bad things he’s done in his life, he simply doesn’t deserve to be alive. Phil’s pal Tony was due to receive the liver transplant that day, but he caught a cold and couldn’t undergo…