August 1996

Friday 2 August 1996
Gail finally decided to call the police. They came round and after looking to see what he had taken they said as he left his keys behind he'd left of his own accord and was more likely to be OK than if he'd been abducted.

Don let himself in during this and started sounding off about how he was as much Nicky's grandfather as Martin was his father. The policeman raised his eyebrow and said "Oh so Mr Platt you're not his father then?". Gail screamed at the police "Just find my son!!!!!"

Jack went to see Trish and offered her money for a private abortion.

Vera went round to see Trish later, but couldn't get a word in edgeways for Trish screaming "I am going to HAVE this baby". Jamie was just coming back from playing outside and overheard this. He walked in giving his mother a hurt look, cos she hadn't told him herself. I expect on Monday he'll be in a sulk.

Mavis and Derek both have sprained necks and backs from Rita making them do the paper rounds.

Monday 5 August 1996
Tonight centred again on the disappearance of Nicky, as the Platt family fretted over his whereabouts. Some new routes of action were being taken as Ken suggested monitoring Nicky's bank account to see where he was possibly drawing out his savings.

Martin pursued this line of action but the bank refused to divulge any information without police confirmation, much to Martin's dismay. Gail meanwhile was sat talking to the police whilst Audrey wittered away in the background. Audrey was rapidly becoming a point of annoyance to Gail as she constantly pitched in with her usual caustic words of wisdom.

Gail snapped and sent the speechless Audrey packing out of her house. Audrey immediately retreated licking her wounds to the Rovers. There she confided in Alf and the rapidly escaping Ken over how she felt Gail was ceasing to be rational throughout the whole scenario.

Also Audrey was feeling hurt, and as a result was looking for someone to take out her bad feeling on. The victim was Don who was the nearest target for her venom. She went to his house and launched into an attack on him. Audrey claimed that Don had been attempting to turn Nicky against his own family and paint an unpleasant picture of Martin for the police. Don responded by kicking Audrey and the hapless Alf out of his house.

At the factory Mike was giving a guided tour of the workfloor to his son. Mike also had a plan of action regarding a new sponsorship deal he had secured with a local sports team. Whilst he was away for a few days he was putting Sally Webster in charge. This obviously ruffled the feathers of the likes of Ida who obviously thought she was in line for the job.

Trish meanwhile was on speaking terms with Jack and Vera now and, although Jack was still presenting something of a negative atmosphere regarding another grandchild, it would seem the Duckworths were going to be supportive of Trish after all. Liz and Jim continued at loggerheads over the house with Liz refusing to sell to Jim at any costs. As a result Jim took action in pulling out of the mortgage leaving Liz in the predicament of being unable to afford the payments on the house. Thanks to all the problems Liz was causing for Jim it meant he was finding trouble raising a mortgage for any property he wanted to buy. This left more and more bad feeling between Liz and Jim than ever before.

Wednesday 7 August 1996
Tonight the search for Nicky continued with Don adding his assistance to the matter. The police had printed up a set of posters with Nicky's mug shot on them. Don offered the use of his taxi in order to get them delivered to the furthest areas. They encountered Judy Mallett working in the local arcade and she promised to help wherever she could in the scheme of things.

Derek's birthday was today as well, he was snooping around trying to discover the when and whereabouts of whether there was going to be a party for him or not, he enlisted the aid of Norris to do some snooping on his behalf but to his disdain there appeared to be nothing in the offing for him.

Alf seemed keen to dig his heels in regarding the renaming of Coronation Street in his honour. That was until an impromptu meeting with a council official who took the liberty to inform him of some very confidential information. Apparently within the next five or ten years Coronation Street was about to be subject of some form of major roadworks which would result in Coronation Street being built through anyway.

Alf decided to knock his plans for giving the Street his name on the head. He decided it would be better for his interests if he gave the name to someplace which would be around a little longer than he was going to be. Of course when it came to explaining the situation to Ken and the locals in the Rovers he made out his "change of heart" was something of a selfless act....little do they know.

Trish was still chasing the Duckworth's for information on the wayward Terry. Jack was of the opinion that Vera should come clean and tell Trish what Terry was responsible for in regards to Tommy. Vera was hesitant not wishing to blacken the Duckworth name any further. Eventually sense and sanity prevailed and Vera and Jack told all to Trish. Unfortunately she seemed to disbelieve that Terry had sold Tommy twice, and still wanted to see him.

Martin put some money into Nicky's account, mainly to placate Gail. Her opinion was that he wouldn't starve if he had money to spend from his account. Martin was begrudging as to the charity being shown to Nicky feeling that the sooner he was skint the sooner he would return home.

Derek returned home after a day of relentless looking for clues to his birthday celebrations only to find there was no celebration imminent. Mavis had miscalculated his age as 59 as opposed to being 60. Hence no big celebration which led to big disappointment for Derek.

Friday 9 August 1996
The continuing Nicky saga showed no new leads in Weatherfield but the police had some information from Leeds on his whereabouts. He had drawn some money from a cash point and the police had tagged him from that information.

Martin decided to take off in search of his missing son, aided and abetted by Ken Barlow and two of his school mates. Gail stayed at home to look after the kids whilst Martin went on the search.

The Square Dealers were braced for a loss of one of their premier members tonight. This left a distinct gap in the roster and there were those who were quick to seek an opportunity to join the ranks of this local institution.

Derek showed definite determination in his quest to join the ranks. He intended to make uses of local resources that could make the path into the Dealers easier. Norris was the prime concern as Derek pumped him for information on whose palms he should grease. Then followed Alf Roberts who found himself the subject of Derek's attentions.

Finally Derek decided to acquire Fred Elliot's help but by using Rita as a go between. However this may have been his plan but Rita has yet to agree to the idea. There was another contender for the dealership place. Jack Duckworth was using the more direct route as far as Fred was concerned on a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" basis.

Sally was being groomed for the task of running the factory in Baldwin's absence. Ida was first to throw the spanner in the works by declaring that Sally was unfit for the post due to lack of experience. Mike was adamant that Sally's lack of experience would stand her in good stead as she was still keen and would not try and skive and possibly pilfer from the factory while the opportunity was available.

Liz finally relented in the business of the house, she decided that she would let Jim buy the house from her without opposition. Despite the fact that it stuck in her throat to do so she told him to go ahead and buy it.

Monday 12 August 1996
Amongst other things the Street saw the return of Josie tonight. It would appear she had seen a poster bearing Nicky's mug shot and turned up to offer condolences to Gail and of course offer her support if she could.

Another reason for her visit seemed to be with the intention of locating Don who seemed to be spending his day in the Rovers getting plastered and looking miserable with everybody.

The new barmaid Sam was revealed to be something of a bike fanatic, which meant she found an instant friend in Gary Mallett. Sam was something of an aficionado on bikes in general, and much to Gary's delight her interest extended to taking a ride on the bike. As a result Gary spent most of tonight's episode with his tongue hanging out every time she was around.

Sally was telling Kevin the details of her day at the factory. It seemed she had wasted no time in getting the rabble in order namely the likes of Ida Clough who had been trying her luck in skiving off. This delighted Mike who rang her throughout the day. However the only reaction that she could dredge from Kev was jealousy. Especially when Sally was too tired to go out that evening.

Des was ready for the off, he was about to go for the canal holiday with his girlfriend and it was obvious that he was hoping to build something of an amorous atmosphere. Any hopes for nookie were dashed when the unexpected occurred in the shape of his girlfriend's daughter turning up to join them for the holiday. This would cool Des's ardour for the time being as they all arranged new sleeping arrangements.

Don was finally tracked down by Josie and what followed was her attempting to get sense out of him. That wasn't easy considering Don was absolutely slaughtered. Josie was trying to find out the fate of the garage but Don was unable to give lucid explanations over anything. His house looked like a bomb had hit it with beer cans everywhere. Josie gave up and angrily declared she would return when Don was sober.

Wednesday 14 August 1996
It was Judy Mallett's birthday tonight and she got the day off to a start with birthday wishes from her mother. Judy was looking forward to a night out with her husband but thanks to her mother's intervention things would hardly go as smoothly as she hoped.

Judy's mother was critical of seeing her "daughter" riding a motorcycle as she had done the previous day. Judy of course was non plussed as to what her mother was talking about as the bike rider in her helmet had been none other than Sam, the Rover's barmaid.

This led to a ruck between Gary and Judy as he plead his innocence over the matter. It was made worse when Gary elected to go in the Rovers for a quick drink before Judy's birthday night out. Judy flew off the handle and stormed into the Rovers calling Sam a tart and warning her to keep of her man.

Don was eager to create a good impression on Josie tonight as she got ready to begin a new round of talks and negotiations over what had happened to the garage. Don was thankfully sober this time and made a supreme effort in getting the house looking presentable. Josie arrived and Don was trying his best to be amicable. In fact he was bending over backwards to try and win Josie over.

However this soon went out of the window when he was forced to reveal that the garage had folded. Josie was shocked almost beyond belief. Don however tried to gloss over how bad things had got with a few lightweight comments along the lines of "Well, you knew it was a gamble". Josie merely sat there looking perplexed as Don reeled off what had happened. He then tried to woo Josie all over again by making her a meal and so forth. Josie however was having none of it and was playing hard as nails in his presence.

Des was hardly having the time of his life on holiday with his girlfriend and her daughter. She was having a hard time coming to terms with the nature of her mother's relationship with Des and accused her mother of now conveniently forgetting her father. Des caught up with her after she jumped ship and the two of them sat down for something of a heart to heart. Des compared her loss of her father as akin to his loss of Lisa a few years before. This established common ground and it seemed that a bond could be formed between them at last.

Andy and Anne looked like they might finally be setting up a place together. Although not on the basis that Andy had originally planned. Anne intended to get a mortgage on a place and then take Andy in as a lodger. Liz meanwhile had found somewhere to live although she was laying it on a bit of thick about how small the place she was moving to was going to be.

Gail and Martin continued to fret about Nicky, even though Roy did his best to console Gail about the situation by comparing his own losses in life to hers. There was news to come though, as was revealed later. A camera on a cash point had pictured someone taking money from Nicky's account and they were now awaiting the video tape to show whether it was Nicky or not....

Friday 16 August 1996
There were more developments for the Platts tonight following the discovery of a video tape which showed money being taken from Nicky's bank account. Gail was off to the police station to identify Nicky. Her mood was understandably optimistic. Roy and Audrey were discussing the matter in the cafe. He was peeved at being called in at short notice but his annoyance was only minor and he understood the gravity of the situation as well as anyone.

Judy was still in turmoil following Gary giving Sam the barmaid a ride on his motorbike. Her problem boiled down to good old fashioned jealousy. Gary was too thick to see this and was hardly offering the reassurance Judy required at this moment.

Gary was eager to end his row with Judy as quickly as possible. He intended to do this by collaring Sam and getting her to cover for him by saying she wanted to buy the bike. Sam responded by playing an elaborate wind up on him in an effort to get the bike sold to her at a cheaper price.

She made out the ride on Gary's bike meant more to her than it actually had. She even went as far as to lead him on by suggesting there was an attraction there for her. In truth it simply enabled her to get the bike at a more than cheap rate. Unfortunately we got see how shallow Gary actually is as he celebrated his potential "victory" over Sam. We also saw how manipulative Sam was when getting to grips with the oaf.

Jim McDonald was in a sombre and reflective mood as he prepared to move back into the Street. There was no gloating over Liz being moved out of the house. Andy later dropped the bombshell that he and Anne would soon be moving in together. Jim was unhappy as he thought that Andy was moving out because he moving in.

Gail returned from the police station in a most dishevelled state. The video she had seen had turned out to be more or less inconclusive in shedding any light on the whereabouts of Nicky Platt. The video quality was poor but Gail was sure it wasn't Nicky. In fact she was now sure he was dead, or badly injured at the very least.

Josie turned up looking for Kevin, when she finally found him at home she had an offer to make him. She informed the bank would possibly accept £25,000 for the defunct business. Despite Kevin's negative protest the garage was looking distinctly more viable than before.

Monday 19 August 1996
No news on Nicky tonight but the rest of the Street ticked over regardless with a few other storylines beginning to build. Kicking off matters was Alec Gilroy who made his holiday plans clear tonight and invited Judy's mother away for a weekend. At first she played hard to get which almost put Alec off his stride but when she saw the chance of a break away with the object of her desires she quickly changed her mind.

Mike was back from his holiday and his first order of duty was to quiz Sally about what had happened in the factory in his absence. Sally had nothing eventful to report but no news on that front is good news. In the Webster household there was finally movement being shown from Kevin with regards to the garage. Today was the day he was going to ring the bank and put in his offer of £25,000 for the bankrupt business.

Andy McDonald was getting the sharp edge of Anne's tongue at Firman's Freezers. He seemed to be having difficulty coming to terms with his relationship at work being different from his domestic arrangement. Thus as a result there was some slight friction between them in the workplace. She was the consummate professional whereas Andy was looking for a slightly less formal arrangement.

Andy's former housemate, Des, was having trouble of his own with his new girlfriend. He wanted to spend more time with her but she seemed unwilling to commit. It seemed that she was afraid of upsetting the parents of her late husband by coming clean about their relationship. Des even went as far as hammering out the subject with Sean Skinner (long time, no see)who offered his worldly wise advice on women.

Steve meanwhile was on the receiving end of a visit from his dad (complete with new harsh haircut). Jim voiced how he felt Steve would have a new life once he got out of prison. He offered him legitimate work and a roof over his head for as long as he needed it. Steve played along and listened to his dad's plans in mock agreement.

However when his dad was gone Steve was walking round the prison yard with Malcolm Fox and he was effectively knocking the idea clean out of the arena. He seemed keen to pursue his dodgy lifestyle once freedom allowed it.

Kevin voiced his fears to Tony about investing in the garage. Both were in agreement about the price of the garage being a good one. Both believed that going into the garage at this point in time would be the right move. However still Kevin couldn't shake his fears.

However when he got home from work after phoning the bank he did have cause for celebration. He and Tony were cracking open the champagne and when Sally came in she looked pleased. That was until Kevin unveiled that he was going into partnership with Tony. Sally's face dropped and she tore a strip of Kevin for not having the backbone to go into business on his own. He tried to explain that doing it this way would make him feel more comfortable but she was fairly abrupt with him...all in front of Tony as well.

Wednesday 21 August 1996
A traumatic episode for Gail tonight as the police called into the Cafe with some news. They were there to ask Gail for Nick's dental records. It would appear a body had been found and now they authorities were looking to eliminate Nicky as the deceased.

Gail immediately flew into a state of total panic and insisted that she see the body. The officer who had handled the matter in a haphazard matter already tried to explain what she was doing flaunted against procedure but Gail had effectively got it into her head that Nicky was already dead even without proof.

Sam was causing upset in the Street as far as Percy was concerned. She was now the proud owner of Gary's bike and as a result was using it as a logical means of transport. The problems resulted when Emily was almost knocked down as she stood and admired Percy's window cleaning efforts. Percy took this problem to Vera Duckworth as she was Sam's employer but he might as well have not bothered for all the good it did him.

Des was experiencing some difficulty as well with his personal life. His girlfriend dropped by at work to talk to him about their relationship. She wanted them to cool things for a while so she could have some breathing space to get her head together. Des took this as a sign of rejection and he made it clear that's how he felt. When his girlfriend left the bookies there was an air of finality about it.

Kevin and Tony were at the their place of employment essentially to hand in their cards. They were in jubilant mood as they prepared to set up the garage as a partnership. It would seem the hardest part of setting up the garage lay in choosing a name.

Friction was in the air at Firman's freezers as Anne and Andy clashed in the working environment. Curly seemed content to play the go between for a while on this one as well. Andy's day didn't start as well as he had hoped as he found himself performing menial tasks for the ever efficient Miss Malone. She later called him into the office to inform him she had found a house for them which she was going to make an offer. This coupled with Anne's somewhat patronising attitude got up Andy's nose and he quit his job there and then, and presumably the relationship as well.

Joyce was looking forward to her time away with Alec, but Judy was fretting over Gary. She believed he was looking for an excuse to 'play away' with Sam and had already started looking at her as an available prospect. She confided this information to her mother but was unsure about what action to take.

Gail was more or less encamped at the hospital despite the futility of the exercise. The staff would not permit her to see the body as she had no grounds to do so and had not been through the proper channels (i.e police accompaniment etc). Martin finally got her to come home and persuaded her to put on a smile for the rest of the family. They were all settling down to a very strained tea when who should come walking through the door but none other than Nicky.

Friday 23 August 1996
Nicky came slinking back in through the door tonight which prompted a mass shock amongst the assembled Platt family. Gail took one look at her wayward son and promptly dashed off to throw up whilst Martin decided it would be a good tactic to throttle Nicky (Yeah!). Fortunately for Nicky, Alf was present and was the voice of sanity in an otherwise chaotic atmosphere.

The run-around that Nicky had given his family was over now the questioning would have to begin as to where he had been.

Over at The Rovers there were problems with the staff namely Judy and Sam were at something of loggerheads over Gary. Judy was still of the opinion that her oh so sexy husband Gary was the subject of Sam's desires. Her jealousy was mounting to the point where she could no longer comfortably work behind the bar with Sam.

The two of them simmered behind the bar until the argument exploded and both of the barmaids decided to quit. Vera played mediator and took Judy to one side and had a chat with her. Judy's problem of jealousy stemmed from their different feelings about having children. Gary was essentially more broody than Judy over children.

Andy was drinking in the Rovers with Curly when a somewhat repentant Anne turned up in an effort to calm the stormy waters of their relationship. After a quite chat together about Anne's impulsive "wanting Mr. Yes Man" behaviour it seemed they had settled matters again.

The interrogation of Nicky began with Gail taking the role of soft parent against Martin's hard as nails attitude. The two of them wanted to know what happened to their son while he had been away. Nicky revealed he had been in Leeds following a trip to a concert. There he had slept on the floor of someone's house whom he had met at the gig.

After that he visited London and after taking in the sights he found some work in a cafe to keep some money rolling in. Martin was more interested in knowing if he had been offered drugs. Nicky explained he had been offered drugs but had declined them. There was still some loose ends to be tied up but the two were happy that Nicky was back.

Tony and Kevin were celebrating the acquisition of the garage. Sally was still being something of a cow about the two of them going into partnership. She was giving everybody grief about the subject. Enter Don who had just heard about it whilst talking to Ken in the Rovers. He came to the Webster's house accusing them of "stealing" the business from under his nose at a dirt cheap price. Yet again another rational outburst from Brennan as we have come to expect.

Monday 26 August 1996
Joyce prepared to leave for her little break with Alec after leaving her dog, 'Scamper', with Judy for the duration of her break. Under Alec's insistence the two of them leaving the Street was something of a secretive affair. He made sure the coast was clear before they set off much to the amusement of Judy and Gary Mallett. Upon arriving at the hotel Joyce seemed intent on running up as much of a bill as possible with such extravagances as utilising the hotel's dry cleaning services and calling relatives in Australia off all places. The two of them soon got down to brass tacks and Alec revealed the nature of the trip was only for the company.

Des was still in the doldrums over his relationship with Claire, she was still remaining incommunicado and it was driving Des nuts. Eventually he snapped and went to see her at her in-laws house where he encountered the parent's of Claire's late husband. There Claire's father in law told Des about his son and how he died. That was something that Claire had never seen fit to divulge to Des and obviously a point which hurt the in laws greatly. The scene all ended somewhat abruptly with Claire snapping at Des and him walking out. Things cooled down later when Claire turned up with Becky at Des's house and announced she was moving in..........dodgy!

Don spent the episode whinging to anybody who would listen about his misfortunes with the garage and how Kevin had cheated him and stabbed him in the back. He found few sympathisers in the Street though, so he turned his attentions to taking Nicky fishing. Speaking of Nicky he had been showing his stroppy side tonight, especially with Martin. Gail as always was trying to calm the situation between them but it wasn't going to happen because the police wanted to have a word with him.

Wednesday 28 August 1996
The first part of tonight's episode was taken up with Joyce and Alec's little sojourn to the lakes. It was their last day and Alec went to pick up the bill only to be shocked by what he saw. He saw the results of Joyce's handiwork in running up the bill of the century for him. It turned out that she thought that the trip had been a Sunliners freebie laid on for Alec. As a result she took advantage of what she thought were the "free" services of the hotel. In fact nothing was further from the truth as she found out when he explained the truth to her.

Back in Weatherfield there was none other than Vera starting the tongues wagging in the Rovers. Joyce nipped in for a drink on her return and Vera was full of many subtlety free remarks such as "Where's Alec been this weekend" etc etc. Joyce was content to keep shtum until Gary stuck his foot in it by mentioning out loud to the assembled people in the bar at the Rovers where they had been.

Des was settling his new live in guests into his house, although there was still a very "wrong" atmosphere in the way things were going I'm sure Des couldn't see it. Becky was still somewhat grouchy and Claire was definitely on edge. It was made worse by the fact her ex in-laws turned up to stir the waters a little further. I maintain she is at Des's simply to get out from under her ex in-laws feet.

Fiona returned with a new hairstyle tonight but she seemed a little put out that everyone around her seemed to be in relationships while she was on her own. She had a little set to with Andy but the two of them cleared it up later.

Sally was offered a permanent promotion as Mike's second in command at the factory. She seemed delighted but decided to sleep on the decision and speak it over with Kevin. The likes of Ida and Trish seemed to have taken a definite dislike to Sally now she was no longer one of them.

Friday 30 August 1996
Romance seems to be in the air for the residents of the Street no matter how ill fated it looks like becoming. The lighter side of romance was catered for by Joyce and Alec as she showed determination in repaying his kindness while he bumbled about like an overgrown shy schoolboy.

It seemed evident though, despite all the will in the world, an attraction appeared to be forming between the pair and they do look good together as a couple. Joyce seems intent to speed things up and hinted after a meal about perhaps spending the night. Alec of course froze and bottled out.

On the darker side of romance Des and his new found relationship lurched awkwardly from one crisis to the next. Jamie played the snitch by informing Becky of Des's relationship with Liz McDonald and how he "had broken the McDonald marriage". Becky's opinion of Des of late has been poor to say the least so this put the icing on the proverbial cake.

Becky told Claire which left Des feeling the need to justify his past to his new found family, he came over all moralistic, and I'm sure sincerity was his goal, but methinks in Becky's eyes this story took on more water than his old boat.

Speaking of Liz she seems more than content to simply wander around causing grief these days. Still intending to sting Jim with a legal bill she figured it might be best to clear off for a week to let the dust settle when he found out. She rather reminds of a mischievous child who rings a neighbour's door bell and then runs away.

Sally was showing competence at the factory, cracking the whip with the old hands like Ida but showing compassion for the likes of Trish. Her approach seemed to yield short term results as well.

Suddenly out of the blue pops Steve, all the way from Canada on business. Initially there to see Mike Baldwin about a supplier who had let him down. Steven wished to know if Mike could handle the extra work. Mike looked positive but could greed get in the way of quality and screw up the contract for him.

Steven's next step was a mission of a personal nature. He dropped in on the Platt's with an offer for them to return to Canada with him for a holiday. Nicky was keen of course but Gail and Martin were against the idea for obvious reasons.

Nicky figured this to be a personal vendetta against him and this fired up more bad feeling between him and his parents. Steve apologised for putting his foot in his mouth unintentionally but told them to keep an open mind on the offer for the future.

Andy McDonald seemed to wander round telling everyone Anne's offer for the house they were buying had been accepted......change the record Andy!

 

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