Inside Soap UK 37 - 2017

“I want a seventh weekly episode!” Do we really need another episode of Corrie every week? Well, I can tell you that if the episodes are as good as this week’s, we’re in for a treat! A few years ago, I may have hesitated. There was a time when the show seemed to focus on the same characters and families, piling drama after drama on them until it became exhausting. But recently, we’ve seen the Corrie love being spread all around and a great mix of stories being told. There are still the big dramas, but then you’ve got plots like Mary and Norris’ wedding – which despite being a bit silly and unbelievable, turned out to be heart-warming, fun and great telly. Then there’s Phelan, who could have been…

Coronation Street gets bigger and bolder than ever before this week, as the soap launches its sixth weekly episode in typically dramatic fashion! We’ll now be treated to an extra instalment each Wednesday night, which means double helpings of the cobbles every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And Weatherfield bosses are kicking off with a blockbuster week, as brides-to-be Eva and Jenny prepare to walk down the aisle – but there’s much more to it than that, as head honcho Kate Oates reveals... “We wanted to make sure there was something big happening in each of the episodes this week,” she reveals. “Our centrepiece for this week is the wedding, but then we have the story between Michelle, Robert and stalker Will. There’s also the emotional plot with Rita,…

This is the moment Eva and Aidan’s big day is brought to a crashing halt, as his mistress Maria bursts in and reveals the whole thing is a sham! Viewers know that Eva is well aware of her fiancé’s fling with her best friend, and has been planning to expose the cheating pair at the ceremony. But there’s an extra twist in the tale, as by this point, guilty Aidan has already broken down and confessed his affair to Eva! So is the scorned woman still set to go ahead with her revenge plan? And what bombshell does Maria intend to drop on the gathered guests? “The wedding day is epic!” chuckles Catherine Tyldesley, who plays the not-so-blushing bride. “The writers have been absolutely phenomenal – everything was so well-written…

We’ve loved watching Eva’s revenge plan take shape. What’s it been like to show the conniving side of her? Heaven! I’ve absolutely loved it. When I first came into the show, Eva was very feisty and had a bit more of a catty side to her. So to see that come back and show that she can kick ass when she needs to is brilliant. What did you think of Eva’s wedding dress? Well, I actually picked it – and as you can see, it’s very subtle! I said to the lady in the wedding shop, “Eva wants to be a princess”, and this was the first dress she pulled out. It was so tight, though – I thought I was going to snap a rib! What would you do…

Jenny’s dreams of a blissful wedding to the man of her dreams look destined to be dashed this week, as she and Johnny face big-day chaos! Ever since Johnny proposed to his jubilant girlfriend, things have been going downhill – mostly thanks to Eva’s plot to destroy Aidan. Despite being fixated with lording it over her Underworld colleagues by having a posh day with her the centre of attention, Jenny has had to compromise again and again. So, after she and Johnny spend the morning of their wedding in hospital with Rita (see opposite), it looks as though they might not make it down the aisle at all… “Jenny must think she’s cursed!” says our cobbles snitch. “When Johnny popped the question, it seemed she’d won the jackpot, but it’s…

Rita finally learns the truth about her condition this week – but the news is hard to take. She’s been in a terrible state for the past month, and Gemma, Jenny and Rosie have become deeply concerned by her behaviour – so it’s a good thing that she’s now under medical supervision and has been tested to find out what’s going on. Rita knows it must be something serious, as she’s been forgetting things constantly, and even believed her late husband Len was still alive at one point. It’s not like Rita to be so confused – she’s one of the wisest women in Weatherfield, after all, and still runs a business. However, it seems that the doctors may have found something of concern as they sit her down to…