Hell Week: The Aftermath

Friday's episode on Corrie was there to wrap up the week's stories.

The Nazirs and Leanne are in shock. (Why are they all wearing white except Alya? Surely they would as well or is it only for Muslim men? Yasmeen was in an off white/beige so perhaps it's something the men wear. Anyone?)

Sophie is holding vigil by Maddie's side while we wait to see if she'll survive, hoping against hope. Jenny is heaving a sigh of relief and gathering her scattered wits and shattered nerves while the family is there to support Sophie. It's a nice touch, having Norris in a state over worry for Maddie, harking back to them finding a new understanding a few months ago.

I was surprised at Maddie's injury. I know the actor is leaving the show and I thought perhaps Jenny would be directly responsible or that Maddie and Sophie would break up due to Jenny's interference and Maddie would leave. Getting in the line of a secondary explosion in front of the builder's yard was a surprise. The vigil in the hospital was fraught with gut wrenching emotion and as of this writing, we don't know if Maddie will survive the head injury but it's a pretty good bet that she won't. Maddie hit the cobbles in nearly the same spot Tina did when she fell off the balcony almost the same time last year but then Tina didn't hit her head when she landed. Rob did that for her with a lead pipe.

Blame. Everyone's blaming someone. There's really only one person that should wear this and it's Tracy Barlow. She didn't start the fire on purpose but she did sneak into Carla's flat, up to no good and she left the candle burning and well she knows it so she did everything she could to push the suspicions onto her arch rival, Carla, aided by the fire report which is going to show a candle started the fire.

Carla believes she accidentlly started the fire and she's going to turn into the next enemy of the state as far as her neighbours go. They're never short on turning against someone like a pack of rabid dogs, this time, led by Leanne's rage and grief and Norris' nasty accusations and Tracy is most certainly not going to let her forget it, either. She probably thinks all her birthdays have come at once. Even if it was true, it was an accident. Carla would never forgive herself but Tracy can gloss over it in her own mind. She's very good at convincing herself that her problems are caused by everyone else. Tracy wouldn't have been in Carla's flat if Carla hadn't been her enemy so she'll convince herself of Carla's blame rather than her own. Except probably those long nights when she can't sleep.

 

As always there were cast members missing, inexplicably. Where were Anna and Faye? They live a few yards from Victoria Court, surely they would have heard the ruckus. What about Steph? Her flat is right over or next to the builder's yard which had an explosion. Maria is within sight of Victoria Court as well. Eileen was at the wedding and reception but then disappeared when Liz needed her mate the most and Erica managed to get across the city in the space of 20 minutes, a near impossibility in Greater Manchester. I know, I know. They usually don't have the whole cast on hand for these things. Move along.

Nick's probably going to have to live back with mummy again unless he bunks with Leanne to support her and Simon and Carla will be bunking in with Roy. Conveniently, Nick was out of town and Sarah and Beth were at Audrey's when all hell broke loose. Think of it. Sarah and Beth left Italy with very little other than the clothes on their back and  a small bag. No mention if Uncle Stephen sent on their things but presumably, he did. Now everything they owned except the clothes on their back is ashes and what didn't burn won't be salvagable. They did have a throwaway line from Nick that Bethany could borrow some of Kylie's clothes though David didn't like that at all.

And best of all, Kylie's back!!! Bethany was absolutely sure, and she said she knew what Kylie looked like except when she went across the road to confront her for watching them, she didn't seem to know who it was. Ok, Kylie was standing back in the shadows.  It can only be from photos around the house, though. They've never met though possibly have talked on Skype I guess.

All in all, a good week. I might bitch and nit pick but really, I loved this week of Corrie! Next week we will likely find out Maddie's fate and the crusade to crucify Carla Connor will probably begin.

Also, see Monday to Thursday's recap with photos here. 

Wedding Week from Hell

A wedding on Coronation Street is normally a reason to celebrate. Also, normally, something's bound to go wrong. Jiltings, disasters, delays, rarely does a Corrie wedding run smoothly. Steve McDonald's sixth attempt at marrying was no different but in the end, he missed all the mayhem which is probably a good thing. He's still so fragile that he would have "done a Gary" and been found huddled in a corner shaking.

To start the slide into that mayhem, last week, Tracy and Tony's plan to take over the Rovers was thwarted  at the last minute by Carla who pulled enough money together to buy Liz's share of the pub. I guess that means Carla's Tony's partner in the business. Steve sold his share to Travis Ltd, aka Tony and then Tony, aka Travis was going to buy Liz's half of the pub and oust all the McDonalds and install Tracy and himself behind the bar only now that won't happen and Tracy's pissed. And when Tracy gets pissed, people get hurt.

The week that was:

There were five episodes across the week, but I'll stick with the first four here.  (I'll blog the aftermath later). The wedding day started off bumpy when the woman scorned, Tracy Barlow, outed her affair to her rival, Liz who was the first victim, heart broken by the realization that her man took up with the absolutely worst person possible. The evidence spoke for itself but Liz is determined to get through the wedding so it isn't spoiled for Steve. Gotta be difficult with so much love around. Carla knows, though, because she found Liz shaking in the back room and Liz had to unburden herself to someone. Carla is probably the next to absolutely worst person to know, though, because she confronts Tracy who has felt like her nose has been rubbed in it all day. Vows of making everyone pay are uttered and even Carla looks like she thinks possibly Tracy means it.

The wedding itself actually went off without a hitch! Unusual for Corrie weddings. Interesting vows, though. And it was nice to see that blonde actor that has often been the registrar in a number of weddings on screen. Michelle looked lovely and I liked her headband a lot. Even Liz looked a bit better than she often does at weddings and I did like her fascinator. Poor woman could hardly keep herself together and you could see her shudder every time Tony touched her.

Liz managed to get Steve and Michelle off to a probably hastily arranged honeymoon in Spain. She said she didn't want them around in case Tracy ruined things but I think she probably figured it was a good idea if they were out of the way, anticipating that she and Tony would have it out. As luck would have it, the neighbours weren't about to let a buffet and a bar go to waste and they decided to continue the party anyway.

Tony never came back from the airport. I wonder if Tracy texted him to let him know because it seemed like Liz didn't until she left that phone message later on. Crushing Liz was only an appetizer for Tracy. Carla was going to be the ultimate victim. There was a distinct waft of deja vu in the air at Carla's flat when Tracy let herself in after lights out. Dark in the flat but Tracy spotted the tall candle straight away and conveniently, since Carla had it lit earlier (while she and Amy had their hot chocolate), there were matches beside it. Yet the candle looked brand new instead of being burned down an inch or so as it would have been. Never mind.

Tracy loves blunt objects, you may recall.  Find the nearest one and... Oooops, there's someone else in the flat! Tracy has no idea that Amy is there (I did not see that coming!) and she left her candle burning near a lampshade which started to sizzle and burn! I didn't really think they would have Tracy kill Carla or even hit her because then they'd have to get rid of the character (Tracy) and they're not ready to do that, but Tracy came close and she knew it. It almost seemed as if she was a bit scared at how close she came. I wonder if she'd have gone through with it had she not been interrupted? I have a feeling she wouldn't have. 

 

Liz, in a rage, pretty much destroyed most of the crockery in the Rovers kitchen until she decided to go out and break Tracy. Luckily, Sean had called Erica who drove from wherever it is her mother lives instead of calling Eileen, Liz's other BFF to walk a few yards to the back room (or from Number 11 if she'd already left the party). Doh.

The fire takes hold really quickly. It was all very exciting, wasn't it? Leanne dragged Carla out but because she wasn't conscious, nobody knew Amy was inside at first. Less smoke in the bedroom because the door was closed and Amy was smart, even though scared, and blocked the door with pillows and stayed down low. Brave little girl!

Little by little, people find out about the fire and there are other attempts at rescue. Kal and Leanne are now trapped in the flat with Amy, though, and it doesn't look good. Tracy's reaction to a fire in Carla's flat was one of curiosity but it quickly turned to horror when she found out Amy was inside. Karma's a bitch, isn't it, Trace?

 

It's episode four, will Kal, Leanne and Amy be rescued? It was all very exciting and you knew that propane tank was going to be trouble, didn't you? I did wonder why it took everyone so long to remember the builder's yard a few feet away to fetch a ladder and I wondered why someone didn't scoot up to help Amy down. She's ok, then Leanne stopped halfway down to tell Kal she'd marry him. It was almost as if she knew he was going to die, I thought.

 

 
Leanne and Amy got out alive. I have to confess, I knew the actor playing Kal was leaving so it was a pretty safe bet he would be the "expendable crew member" this time around. Very sad for his children, though, to lose both parents and it's no surprise that Zeedan blames Leanne. And the explosion started a fire in the builder's yard around a lot of flammable material which then blew up and took Maddie down. I didn't see that coming, well, not that way anyway. I also knew the actress was leaving the show and expected something to happen though I thought it would be at the hands of Jenny Bradley.

 

 

Completely aside from all of this drama was the goings on in the Webster house where Jenny was getting ready to do a bunk with little Jack under one arm and a suitcase under the other. Capped in a black wig for a disguise, she nearly made her getaway but Maddie caught her before she got out the door. Maddie now realizes that Sophie was right all along and Jenny can't have that. We still don't know what happened in Jenny's past to send her over the edge but it clearly has and it has to do with someone named Tom and someone may think Jenny killed him.

 

All this loved up Sophie and Maddie stuff, though, had me very uneasy. It was close enough to Soap Opera Phrase of Doom that the two of them making plans for their future virtually guaranteed, in traditional Soap Law style, that something was going to happen and it did. Maddie managed to get away from Jenny, ran down to find Sophie and got caught up in another explosion from the builders' yard which caught fire from detritus after the propane tank exploded at the flats. I suppose it must have been internal injuries from the impact of the blast. We will have to wait until tonight to hear of Maddie's fate but I fear it won't be good.

 

 

It was nice to see Zeedan finally admit that he likes Leanne which confused him and made him feel like he is betraying his late mother. Of course he'd feel like that. But Kal understood and in the end, Zeedan gave his father his blessing to ask Leanne to marry him. Poor Kal. It was ok to give Simon the advice to "Be a man and just ask" but he had quite a time asking Leanne, didn't he? She kept thwarting his attempts and then he forgot the ring. Ultimately, they all got trapped in the fire when she went to look for him and discovered Carla's flat aflame.  After Kal was brought out of the fire, Zeedan turned back on Leanne in a totally expected reaction. You can't help feeling for him, though. He'd taken his mother's death so hard and now this.

 

Other observations:
It was a joy to see Mammy and Daddy Connor again, Mammy at her critical best, heckling her husband and deciding Michelle should have gone with a Juliet cap for her headdress. Holy 1970s Batman!

Why on earth is a nearly 80 year old Ken Barlow up a ladder helping to hang bunting!

Wasn't it nice that Sinead offered Steve genuine congratulations and even started up a chorus of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow. Not a grudging bone in her broken body, that one. Except it was one of her candles that started the fire. I suppose she'll blame herself. They were too tall!

I did not see it coming, where Amy is in the flat that's on fire. Nice touch! But you knew she'd get out ok. I say it serves Tracy right, though, yes? And that's the second time that Tracy thought she lost Amy to a fire, the first time being when Karen McDonald torched a car that had baby Amy in the back earlier.

Tim and Sally have officially started a wedding tradition of their own, getting all passionate and missing the event nearly altogether! Love it! I hope the writers continue this!

You'd think there would be a lift in a posh block of flats, wouldn't you?

Jenny certainly took her time packing up and getting ready to leave, didn't she? Hours!! How did she know Kevin would stay out so long? He nearly came home a few times and kept getting persuaded to stay. Then of course he was waylaid by the fire but she wouldn't have known that yet the cab came for her after 11 p.m. Where did she think Kevin would be under normal circumstances? And...that wig.

I guess she wore a wig in case the police were called to find a red headed woman and a child. That's the only reason I can figure for it. But she was ready to get in the cab once she picked up Jack from Rita's. Was she going to wear the wig across the road? That would kind of give the game up, wouldn't it?

Things that irritate me

I love Coronation Street and I'm pretty forgiving of it for the most part. Sometimes, though, little things really rub me the wrong way.

Like "Out of Sight Out of Mind". What I mean by that is a character that has left the show is most often never or rarely referred to again even when they normally would be. In the case of Michelle's switched at birth sons, her biological son, Alex, has been forgotten completely. I get that, though, because it's clear the powers that be realized they made a big mistake and would just rather we forget all about it. Ok. It's forgotten. But what about darling Ryan?

Michelle almost never mentions him, not a call or a text. She's getting married and Ryan and Steve got along really well. Why isn't he mentioned? Is he coming back for the wedding? Is he 'eck. Surely if he was, Michelle would have mentioned it by now. Instead, we'll probably get a lame excuse why he couldn't leave the sun and sand for his mother's wedding. Or we'll get some reference to him living in a place to where we were not aware he'd moved, similar to Cilla suddenly pitching up in Wolverhampton after being last seen on the back roads of South Africa.

It bugs me that characters that have left the show are not brought back for special occasions, funerals at the very least. Wouldn't Curly Watts have returned for both Jack and Vera's send off? Wouldn't Hilda have come to Betty's funeral? In the real world, of course they would but at least in this sort of scenario, I do understand that the actors aren't always available or the studio doesn't want to pay extra for it. In the second instance, shame on them. Would it break the bank to have one or two actors who are willing to return for one or two episodes? Apparently, Chris Gascoyne is making himselef available for Deirdre's funeral as it should be! Still, if the studio didn't want it, it wouldn't happen and that's a damn shame.

Corrie is often good at giving a call back to something back in the show's history or a character's history, but not always when you would logically expect it. A child has given birth. That happened 15 years ago, too. Why hasn't Gail offered any sort of support or understanding to Anna? Why hasn't Sarah spoken to or offered to speak to Faye? Sarah would know what Faye is going through all too well. Even Bethany, much nearer to Faye's age if vastly different in personality could speak to growing up as the child of a young mother.

Neither Michelle nor Carla seem to bother at all with Maria when she is, in effect, part of their family and her son is their nephew. I wonder if Nick and Maria remember that they nearly got married once upon a time?

These are just recent nit picks and, ok, it's not a major issue, it just seemed like it was time for a little rant. There are always storyines I wish would go away, but I enjoy the show overall. People complain that it's not the same as it used to be. No, it's not. But though I can appreciate the older shows, when I watch them now on DVD, I also think how dull they often are. The humour is more forefront and I miss that. In today's world, though, gentle little shows that depict day to day life without too much sensationalism thrown in don't last very long.

There were always affairs, (*coughKenBarlowcough*) and always scandal brewing. There was even the very occasional murder, kidnapping or accident/disaster. There's just a lot more of it these days but competition is fierce and Corrie has to keep up. People have so much more choice on television and online. Gone are the days when the ratings reflected 13 and 18 million viewers, back in the days of just a handful of television channels available. Numbers will never reach those dizzying heights again.

I enjoy Coronation Street even as it evolves and becomes a somewhat different animal than it used to be. Mostly the characters are still reflective of the show's tradition, portraying people you know. The humour is still there, even if in smaller quantities. The quality of writing and acting is still miles better than other soaps most of the time on the whole. There will always be miscasts, and stories that miss the mark but then there always was. I love the show. And I will continue to find little irritations but that's just the way it is.

State of the Street - April

Faye had her baby daughter at the start of the month and didn't want to have anything to do with her. Anna despairs. At least the family of the father of the baby is aware in spite of the little jerk trying to deny it. If I was Anna, I'd be applying to them for some support payment and surely Faye would qualify for some Social Assistance payments as well to help offset the financial problems a baby's going to cause, especially if Anna gives up work for Faye to go back to school which of course she must because it's a soap, right? And she's too young to legally leave school.

I'd like to see more of Social Services' involvement as there really needs to be something in there about finding ways to keep Faye in school, not just let her stay home for a few months and go back in September. She's too young to fall behind and the bullying will be even worse than it's going to be already. And I despair, I really do. Miley? I know, I know. Faye's only 13 and they're probably the only age bracket that really does think Miley Cyrus is cool. It would have been nice to see Faye naming the baby after her late mother but that would probably mean she actually cares about the baby which she doesn't yet.

I'm a bit curious as to where this will go. I'd *like* to see it end up that they give the baby away for adoption but with soaps, it'll probably be the more uninteresting story of Faye finally finding that she does love the baby and couldn't possibly give it up. If Tracy Barlow can find it in her heart to want her baby back, Faye surely will.

Speaking of Tracy, she's leading Tony around, pushing more and more for him to dump Liz and put what money he has into buying Steve's half of the pub. What I haven't figured out yet is why she'd want to be Liz's partner because Liz still owns a share. Maybe she's going to push for that sale as well. Tracy would love to lord it over the Street but she'd end up with no customers at all or nearly so if she owned it. The rest would be Tony's mates selling dodgey goods in the smoking shelter!

But the thing is, Liz is starting to take Tony for granted as you tend to do when you're comfortable in a relationship and he's got a sexy chick beckoning from across the road. Surely Tracy wouldn't be slicking smelly stuff on her legs or leaving her bra and tights hanging in the bathroom. You don't think? Most people are attracted by the thrill and excitement of the chase and the forbidden pleasure. When they finally leave their partners for the other person, they find out quick enough that life isn't all that different with the new than with the old and in this case, Tracy is probably worse. I reckon Tony's just stringing her along about the money and the pub but if he plays her for a fool, he might want to hide the blunt objects and watch his back. She's got form!

Eileen has finally met a nice man through the dating site. He's not dynamic and he's not exciting but he's stable, pleasant and seems to be a good guy. Naturally, she's all in a tizzy about some other guy on the dating site that sounds a lot more hip and exciting and if she's not careful, she's going to lose a good man to a fantasy because that's exactly what it is. It's actually Todd playing mean games with his mother, and for what reason? Nobody knows. I don't know. I don't care, frankly. I've lost all interest in why Todd does what he does. I don't care what happened to him in London to make him turn so horrible. I don't know why his family keeps getting sucked in and then forgiving him.

I hope Eileen manages to keep hold of Adrian after disowning Todd yet again but I haven't high hopes. And people wonder why Eileen is always so bitter? You'd think she'd wonder by now why she hasn't actually talked to "Jeff" either by phone or on Skype and has Todd only sent one photo of Jeff? If he's sent more, and remember, this is supposed to be a random photo I think, how does he find more photos of the same random guy? Nick them off his Facebook site, I suppose.

David has found out about who Andy really is and by the end of the month, Luke has found out as well. For the life of me I can't imagine why Gail has continued to put flowers on Gavin's grave. Once, maybe that's marginally understandable, doing it for Michael's sake but over and over? It makes absolutely no sense and is the only detail in this storyline that's fallen flat for me. I've enjoyed it otherwise but this is stupid but there is a reason, now that I thought about it. The reason was so that David could follow her and find out. I doubt she's going to take any more flowers to the grave now. And him using Andy to try to get back at Callum was kind of stupid too. Callum has been hanging around Coronation Street for months, in the pub and shops and in the Bistro WHERE ANDY WORKS and he didn't recognize him? Really? I don't buy it, people.

But that whole Callum and David fighting over Max storyline is boring the life out of me anyway. I know they had to do something while Kylie was away but geesh this is getting on my nerves. Kylie should be back (by the end of May?) and I can't wait for her to kick Callum all over the place for trying to take Max from David. I'd love to see her find a way to put Callum back in jail for a very long time or at least she needs to back David up with the courts. She's Max's mother and she should have a lot more say in whether Callum gets to take Max from David. She'll have to prove that she's got past the drugs, though.

Sally continues to be a joy to watch! I love to see her sniping at Jenny or trying and failing to lord it over Alya at the factory and being a slave to her own snobbery in other little vignettes. Now that Tim is a grandad, she'll have a superior attitude about her own parenting skills compared to Anna's when really, the only reason she might consider herself a better mother is that neither of her two got pregnant as teens! They caused plenty trouble otherwise, especially Rosie!

As for Jenny, it's becoming more and more obvious that she's got some really big issues to do with children. Did she have a child and lose it somehow? Illness? Accident? It seems likely she's a bit shaky, perhaps had a breakdown. I expect her to go completely doolally and walk off with Jack, convinced that he's her child. Nobody will be surprised when she goes off the rails. By the end of April, she's quit her job but lied that she got fired, and will be looking after Jack while the child minder is off with a broken leg. It also felt like there was a little thaw between she and Rita but Rita certainly won't be surprised when Jenny goes over the edge and Sophie already thinks there's something off about Jenny. Sally will have plenty of I Told You So's, too! I am enjoying this storyline quite a bit, though. Great performances all around.

Steve's recovery has been quietly subtle. He still has good and bad days but he seems to be coming to grips with it all. I like that it took Lloyd awhile to really get his head around it and he still seems to be slightly suspicious that Steve hasn't just found a new and different way to skive. Michelle has been supportive as I expected but I had hoped she'd and Liz both would be a lot harder on themselves for how they treated Steve than they were. Liz didn't seem to take any blame at all when she was just as bitchy as Michelle back before they knew Steve was ill. I think Liz still believes in tough love to help him get over his illness but she's coming around.

Sinead is also recovering in the first realistic storyline ever with a paralysed-from-accident character. Even Peter Barlow was up and staggering 2 months after the tram crash. Sinead has now been in hospital since early January, inching her way along the parallel bars with the encouragement of her new mate, Sam, who I think has a lot more feelings for her than he's letting on. I also think Chesney spotted it even if he doesn't know why he's jealous. Sinead doesn't seem to have the same feeling though but if Chesney starts acting out, it could spell trouble.

Steve and Michelle are going to get married and Liz is trying to get Tony to help pay for the wedding. When really, you know, if you're broke, you shouldn't be planning anything elaborate. It doesn't cost much to get married at the registry office and I'm sure Michelle can find a nice dress that doesn't cost hundreds. Gail probably knows where you can get a good deal on a dress. She's had to get 6 wedding dresses (so far!) and she hasn't always had much money to splash out. A few sandwiches and sausage rolls in the pub you already own and job's a good'un! Wedding on the cheap!

Speaking of Gail and weddings, round 2 of her sixth wedding and though she had a wobble at I Do, she did. She's the leader in the soap wedding/partner race, having had six full legal weddings (and a seventh that she missed by minutes) and five husbands. Steve is runner up, heading towards his sixth wedding but one of them didn't go through because the bride was too drunk and he's only had four wives among the six wedding ceremonies, including the upcoming one, providing there is one, of course. It's a soap, that's never a given until they actually say those two little words. Deirdre and Ken both had four ceremonies and three partners as a commendable Also-Ran.

I like Michael, I like that he's emotional, not all stiff upper lip like all the other men. I think he's a lovely man who made a mistake out of desperation and now he's got his life back. Well, sort of. That heart condition may kill him yet. I'd like him to get a heart transplant and be ok because after all her dead husbands and divorces and disasters, Gail deserves to be happy. 

And that, folks, is the State of the Street for April

Good Bye Owen

(Oh dear, I forgot I had this sitting in draft form and meant to post it the other week. You won't mind, will you?)

We've just seen another character leaving Coronation Street, this time in his own van rather than a taxi. Owen Armstrong has had a bumpy ride on the few years that he's been with us. The character was brought in and likened to the classic Len Fairclough. Len was a builder and was rough around the edges but had a good heart. Owen? He's a builder, too. And rough around the edges? As rough as a badger's arse. Does he have a good heart? Kind of. He does love his two daughters, Izzy and Katie but in trying to keep them safe and having to raise them on his own (more on that in a minute), he goes a bit over the top.

You see, Owen has a temper, also like Len Fairclough and Owen is a bit of a bully, too. When we first met him, he was presented as an over-protective father to disabled Izzy who was determined to be more independent. Izzy has a syndrome that means she spends most of her life in a wheelchair though she can stand and move around a little bit, though it's painful. Izzy is just as stubborn as Owen and they locked horns a lot, I think. Owen's younger daughter, Katy, almost 16 at the time she was introduced, was also a handful, kicking back at her father's attempts to keep her under his protective thumb. She is also headstrong and stubborn like her father. I can well imagine the rows in that house!


I don't think Owen ever struck his children but they certainly have implied that he lost his temper a lot. Having said that, we have seen Owen lash out and give Faye, Anna's daughter, a slap across the leg for a serious transgression, something she did specifically to hurt Owen. He dismantled the rotting shed in the back garden and built a fish pond. Faye killed the fish with creosote.  I seem to recall Izzy and Katy inferring that it wasn't an out of the ordinary action for him though I can't see him striking Izzy in any way when she was young but we don't really know. Anyway. He's got a temper and is willing to use it. He may or may not have hurt his children but he certainly can be handy with his fists with adult men if need be. We do know that he had Jim McDonald beaten up. Owen was getting close to Liz and saw her ex as a threat, which he probably was!

All in all, Owen has never really been a sympathetic character overall even if he has times when he's gentler and kinder and more understanding. One incident that reflects those sides of him was when Izzy was with Gary. Gary was in the army and was injured in Afghanistan where he saw his best friend killed after saving Gary's own life. Gary went through nasty Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and though Izzy was supportive, Gary became very over protective of her and ended up keeping her locked in the flat, scared she would be hurt. Gary had a breakdown and freaked out and Owen broke into the flat to find Gary cowering in one corner and Izzy cowering in the other. Owen gathered Gary in his arms and assured him everything would be ok rather than thump him one for scaring Izzy. It was pretty clear at that moment that Gary was in a bad way and Owen knew it. Mind you, he was pretty strongly against Izzy wanting to reconcile with Gary a few months later and Gary's short temper was the beginning of the end of Owen, though it was a long game to get here.

Owen was offered a partnership with a man called Pat Phelan. The deal felt a bit dodgey because Phelan was bankrupt and was encouraging Owen to put his own money in to the refit of an old building into new flats. It would have made Owen a great deal of cash if it all went smoothly but the project was in Mrs. Phelan's name due to the bankruptcy issue. It might have been legal but only just. Owen was persuaded to go ahead and he and Gary and other men hired got stuck in. But Phelan, sleazy Phelan, had his eye on Anna and was putting the moves on her, making her very uncomfortable. She didn't want to cause trouble because she didn't want the deal to fall through but when Gary found out, he lunged at Phelan and assaulted him for badgering his mother. Big mistake!

Phelan now had control over Gary and Owen. He could have Gary sent to jail and financially ruin Owen if he wanted to. And he did do the dirty on Owen financially but blackmailed Anna into an afternoon of sex in a hotel to save Gary's backside. Anna felt like she had no choice and went through with it. Eventually, of course, Owen found out and it nearly broke them permanently. This whole incident, starting with Anna's son, Gary, causing the problem and ending with Anna in that hotel roo was more than a crack in their relationship, it was a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon and they may have patched it over but it's a weak spot. Owen had to sell the builders' yard (to Tony Stewart) and scraped to get odd jobs to get by while Anna was working two jobs to make ends meet. He even lost the house to the bank and they had to move to the flat over the bookies'. That's a lot of stress on that patch job.

Recently, Owen's ex-wife landed on the doorstep. We had always been told that his wife, Linda, abandoned the family after Izzy was diagnosed and Katy was just a toddler. She never came back and Izzy always felt it was because of her illness that their mother left. Owen never said any different. But now we discover that Linda did have an affair and had left but only for a short time. She had trouble dealing with Izzy's diagnosis at first but knew she'd made a mistake. Owen refused to take her back and was adamant that she would never be allowed to see her children. She tried but he blocked every attempt, threw out every letter and card. Eventually, Linda left the country for Portugal. Now, 16 years later, she's back and she wants to get to know her adult children, much to Owen's annoyance. He couldn't get out of it because Katy caught him on the doorstep. She had no memories of her mother but Izzy was horrified.

And of course, the real truth came out about what Owen did. Izzy was absolutely crushed that her father let her believe all her life that it was her fault that her mother left. That's not something you get over easily. Anna saw the beautiful Linda as a threat to her little family and indeed, she had something to worry about. Linda told Owen she still loved him and wanted him to come to Portugal with her and the girls. That's even more pressure on that papered-over crack and it looks like it's starting to pull away at the edges.

I can't quite understand why you would still harbour feelings for someone who never forgave you and kept you from your children for nearly 20 years but there you go. Does Owen have unresolved feelings? Possibly. But to give him credit, he did come clean right away to Anna about what Linda asked. It didn't really help matters when Katy decided she was going with her mother.

Anna has had to carry most of the financial load for the family over the past couple of years. She's had to do things she never thought she would to keep her family together. She's worried about her son, and her adopted daughter Faye. She's seen Faye's father return to her life and worried he might take Faye away. She thought she might lose Owen to his ex. The stress and worry have built up over time.

The straw that crashed through the camel's back was her 12 year old daughter Faye giving birth at Easter. Faye herself didn't know she was pregnant until she was about 7 months gone, only worried she was getting fat. Nobody noticed that Faye's weight gain seemed to be solely in one spot of her body which she hid under baggy clothes. Anna was too distracted by everything else to really pay attention to the finer details of Faye's life. Once the shock of the baby's arrival wore off, she had Owen to contend with. He was positive that Faye's friend Craig Tinker was the father and roughed him up. That's Owen's usual response, violence.

Anna wants Faye to keep the baby but Owen knows that Faye, at this point, doesn't want anything to do with the child. He thinks the little girl should be adopted but Anna won't hear of it. Family is important to her and in all likelihood, in true soap fashion, Faye will eventually bond with the baby but she has gone past her ability to handle anymore stress and has made him leave. He thought he could go for a little while to make her realize she'd miss him and need him but since she was adamant, he's gone for good.

While I didn't like the character much, he was always interesting and the actor was quite good.