Episode 10277/8 (19th March 2021)

## Plot

**Part One:** Alina buys Tyrone a present for fixing her car. Seb hopes to get back with Alina and takes up Emma's suggestion of making a big gesture to show how much he cares for her. Michael and Grace agree to pull together for their daughter's sake and forget the past. Steve's article is published in the *Gazette*. Natasha returns from London. Sam is upset that Nick has to move out. Sally gets Kirk and Tim to act as the bride and groom as she rehearses her role as celebrant. Ed isn't convinced by Aggie's assurance that he is Michael's father. He struggles to look at his wife the same way now that he knows the truth. Ronnie calls on his brother to further explain himself.

**Part Two:** Ed tells Ronnie he's not welcome - at No.3 or the hospital. Tim sulks at being passed over for the role of best man, after he had Kevin as his best man twice. Tracy insults Cathy by calling her grasping and self-serving over the fundraising. Nick is stunned when Leanne tells him she's not ready to have him back living in the flat. Cathy and Bernie are miffed to read the comments in the *Gazette* article heaping praise on the McDonalds. As they wonder how they can afford a skiing holiday, Bernie suggests that they've been embezzling money Steve raised for charity. Seb cooks Alina Romanian tripe and tells her he wants them to be more than friends again. She tells him she's moved on. Hashing out their marriage troubles over the phone, Ed asks his wife if he was always second best. He's annoyed when she brings up his gambling past to show that she's had many opportunities to leave him if she didn't truly love him. Ed wants to know if she loved Ronnie and she admits that she did. A guilty Alina confesses to Tyrone that she's falling for him. He lets her kiss him.

**Part Three:** Afterwards, as he reminds her that he's with Fiz, she gets flustered and runs off. Steve discovers a load of nasty comments underneath the article online suggesting that they're ripping off Oliver's fund. Fiz comments to Adam that Evelyn has gone on a scenic rail journey with a friend. Amy discovers that the troll posts originated with a user called "Lemon Drop". She's keen to retaliate. The Baileys worry as the baby is put back on a ventilator. Michael discovers she'll be kept in hospital for at least ten weeks. Adam stresses to Tyrone and Fiz the importance of making a will, since they're not married. Fiz thinks it's time they were married but Tyrone, his mind on other things, refuses to do so simply for financial reasons.

**Part Four:** Sally asks Kevin if he can give Tim a role in the wedding. Seb confides in Abi and Kevin that Alina is in love with someone else. Tim is thrilled when the pair ask him to be chief usher. Chesney suggests that Fiz spice things up if she thinks she and Tyrone are stuck in a rut. Nick tries to arrange a short-term rental. Sam asks if he can stay with him and Natasha, and Natasha reluctantly agrees. Alina tells Tyrone that what happened was a moment of madness and they should forget about it. Michael and Grace decide to call their daughter Glory. Ronnie turns up, in spite of Ed, and offers to buy Michael a car to help them out. Fiz secretly considers booking a holiday in Greece for her and Tyrone and tells Chesney that she intends for them to get married there.

## Cast

### Regular cast

* Emma Brooker - Alexandra Mardell *(10277 only)*
* Alina Pop - Ruxandra Porojnicu
* Seb Franklin - Harry Visinoni
* Michael Bailey - Ryan Russell
* Grace Vickers - Kate Spencer *(10277 only)*
* Cathy Matthews - Melanie Hill
* Brian Packham - Peter Gunn *(10277 only)*
* Sam Blakeman - Jude Riordan
* Nick Tilsley - Ben Price
* Natasha Blakeman - Rachel Leskovac
* Fiz Stape - Jennie McAlpine
* Ed Bailey - Trevor Michael Georges
* Tim Metcalfe - Joe Duttine
* Sally Metcalfe - Sally Dynevor
* Tyrone Dobbs - Alan Halsall
* Kevin Webster - Michael Le Vell
* Aggie Bailey - Lorna Laidlaw
* Ronnie Bailey - Vinta Morgan
* James Bailey - Nathan Graham
* Kirk Sutherland - Andrew Whyment *(10277 only)*
* Bernie Winter - Jane Hazlegrove
* Tracy McDonald - Kate Ford
* Leanne Battersby - Jane Danson *(10277 only)*
* Amy Barlow - Elle Mulvaney *(10278 only)*
* Steve McDonald - Simon Gregson *(10278 only)*
* Adam Barlow - Samuel Robertson *(10278 only)*
* Abi Franklin - Sally Carman *(10278 only)*
* Chesney Brown - Sam Aston *(10278 only)*

## Notes

* This was a one-hour episode made up of two production codes and was transmitted at 7.30pm to allow a two-hour episode of *Vera* to be broadcast at 8.30pm. P694/10277 was written by Julie Jones and P694/10278 by Susan Oudot.
* Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this episode was made with social distancing rules being observed by both cast and production crew, even when they were playing family members or people who shared residences.
* For the scene where Alina Pop kisses Tyrone Dobbs, Alan Halsall and Ruxandra Porojnicu recorded their lines separately with the footage being spliced together in post-production to create the illusion of Alina and Tyrone sitting on the same bench. For the kiss itself, real-life couple Alex and Hannah Mulvaney were hired to double for Halsall and Porojnicu, with camera angles obscuring the extras' faces [1]. After the episode was broadcast, the official *Coronation Street* Youtube channel uploaded a behind-the-scenes video showing how the scene was shot [2].
* Aggie Bailey appears only in a video call with Ed as seen on his mobile phone (pictured in infobox).
* In the aforementioned call, Aggie's Auntie Annie's voice is heard, however the part is uncredited.
* The exterior of the main building at the MediaCity studios doubles as the main entrance to Weatherfield General.
* The spelling of Cathy Matthews's user name is shown to be "Lemon Drop" in this episode but "Lemondrop" in the next.
* *TV Times* synopsis: When Alina confesses she has fallen for him, Tyrone is overwhelmed; and as Natasha returns from London, Nick is disappointed to realise his time with Sam has come to an end.
* Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast: 6,180,230 viewers (10th place).