Episode 10038 (23rd March 2020)

## Plot

Gemma has a disturbing dream of her putting Aled in the washing machine. Nick snatches a piece of paper from David which turns out to be a visiting order for HMP Stoneway; he's seeing Clayton to make him leave Shona alone. On "Mastering Monday" at Stillwaters, Freda signs everybody up for beginners' graffiti. Ken and Norris go to the watercolours class instead, though Norris isn't in the mood. Geoff works out a new rota at Speed Daal so that he and Alya don't have to work together. Evelyn asks Fiz or Tyrone to walk Cerberus as her hip's playing up. It's obvious to them that she's avoiding Arthur. Ryan fetches Yasmeen from No.6, saying that Alya is in a state and will only speak to her. She's angry to find it's just a trick to lure her to the flat and there are two officers there who have information to share about Geoff's past. Gemma receives a visit from a health visitor who checks the quads. She finds out that Llio has lost weight and is advised to increase her formula feeds as she's not producing enough milk. Gemma is alarmed by the health visitor's questions about her state of mind, including whether she's thought about harming the babies. Yasmeen refuses to cooperate with the police and scurries home without hearing what they have to say. Alya is annoyed as they'll only tell Yasmeen. Tensions are high as David meets with Clayton. Clayton intends to keep up his correspondence with Shona and gloats that David has been frozen out; now he knows how it feels. Gemma feels inadequate as her body can't keep up with the quads. Chesney doesn't understand why it's upset her so much. Tyrone tackles Arthur and tells him to stay away from Evelyn. Norris is miffed when Charles Moore takes over the arts class. He makes little effort and mocks Jackson Pollock's drip technique after Charles sings the artist's praises. Alya apologises to Yasmeen for deceiving her and convinces her gran to take the police officer's number in case she changes her mind. Tyrone doesn't tell Evelyn that he saw Arthur. Clayton tells David that Shona was the one who reached out to him. Gemma can't get the babies to stop crying and goes out into the yard to cool down after she catches herself glancing at the washing machine. In doing so, she locks herself out of the house.

## Cast

### Regular cast

* Gemma Winter - Dolly-Rose Campbell
* Chesney Brown - Sam Aston
* Nick Tilsley - Ben Price
* David Platt - Jack P. Shepherd
* Norris Cole - Malcolm Hebden
* Ken Barlow - William Roache
* Claudia Colby - Rula Lenska
* Yasmeen Metcalfe - Shelley King
* Geoff Metcalfe - Ian Bartholomew
* Alya Nazir - Sair Khan
* Ryan Connor - Ryan Prescott
* Alina Pop - Ruxandra Porojnicu
* Tyrone Dobbs - Alan Halsall
* Fiz Stape - Jennie McAlpine
* Evelyn Plummer - Maureen Lipman
* Alex Warner - Liam Bairstow
* Aled Winter-Brown - Harry & Harvey Thompson *(Uncredited)*
* Bryn, Carys & Llio Winter-Brown - Charlotte & James Holt and Arthur, Lily & Lucy Taylor *(Uncredited)*

### Guest cast

* Freda Burgess - Ali Briggs
* Health Visitor - Fen Wilson
* PC Garner - Karen Asemper
* Clayton Hibbs - Callum Harrison
* Arthur Medwin - Paul Copley
* Charles Moore - Michael Elwyn

## Places

* Coronation Street
* 5 Coronation Street - *Downstairs rooms, Chesney and Gemma's bedroom, landing and yard*
* 6 Coronation Street - *Downstairs rooms and garden*
* 8 Coronation Street - *Downstairs rooms*
* 9 Coronation Street - *Back room/kitchen and hallway*
* Victoria Street
* Roy's Rolls
* 19a Victoria Street - *Living room/kitchen*
* Speed Daal
* Stillwaters - *Lounge and events' hall*
* HMP Stoneway - *Visiting suite*

## Notes

* On the day this episode was broadcast, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new curbs on life in the country to tackle the spread of coronavirus, including prohibiting non-essential travel and imposing two metre social distancing measures in shops and workplaces [1]. The Stay at Home order would remain in place until 23rd June [2]. Following an announcement by ITV on Sunday 22nd March, *Coronation Street* ceased production on this date, in order to prioritise the health and well-being of the cast and crew and their families. At the same time, the network announced that the programme's weekly output would be halved so that it could remain on the air for as long as possible, with a new thrice-weekly schedule taking effect on Monday 30th March [3]. Filming would eventually resume on Monday 8th June, after the longest production break in *Coronation Street* history.
* The episode begins with a dream sequence in which Gemma Winter wakes up from Aled Winter-Brown's crying and bundles the baby into the washing machine. The scene was presented with everything in frame other than Gemma herself out-of-focus in order to give it a dreamlike appearance.
* Mark Strange was the fight arranger in the scene where David Platt and Clayton Hibbs threaten each other at HMP Stoneway.
* *TV Times* synopsis: Gemma is not coping and the health visitor questions her about her state of mind.
* Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast: 7,694,739 viewers (8th place).