AS she continues to grieve for her husband Imran Habeeb, Toyah Battersby also faces immense trouble with the law.
The young widow is on trial for murder this week in Coronation Street. Here’s everything you need to know.
Toyah Battersby is accused of killing her husband Imran Habeeb
She’s been accused of crashing her car on purpose which resulted in the solicitor succumbing to a heart attack
Toyah takes the stand this week
But she’ll have to face Imran’s mother Saira who believes she killed him on purpose
Leanne goes above and beyond to help her sister
1. Toyah makes a shock confession
Emotions will be running high this week for Georgia Taylor‘s character as the big day is approaching fast.
Toyah has insisted she’s innocent since she was first accused of crashing her car on purpose in June, 2022, which resulted in the solicitor dying of a heart attack shortly after.
However, some individuals in the likes of Imran’s mother Saira believe she’s actually guilty.
Throughout her ordeal, Toyah has received the support of multiple residents, including Weatherfield mechanic Abi Webster.
This week, Abi (Sally Carman) knows Toyah must be on edge due to her upcoming trial.
She asks her if she’d like to have Alfie for a couple of hours ahead of the fateful day.
But when she gets to spend time with the baby, Toyah later cries over Alfie’s pram… and dropping a bombshell by telling him how sorry she is for taking his father away from him.
The most shocking moment happens in later scenes when, back at home, Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) walks in to hear her sister confessing to Spider Nugent (Martin Hancock) that she DID lie to the authorities and crashed the car on purpose.
Toyah confirms that her intention was, indeed, to kill Imran as she grew tired of him wrecking her dreams of a happy family.
What is Spider hiding from Toyah?
2. Spider’s motive revealed?
Spider and Leanne reel from Toyah’s confession but when they head to court, Leanne begs her sister not to say anything she could regret and to let her solicitor do the talking.
In court, the prosecution barrister paints Toyah as a murderer while Adam Barlow (played by Sam Robertson) and Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson) are called forward as witnesses.
Saira Habeeb then takes the stand against Toyah, claiming she saw her kiss Spider and suspects she was having an affair in Imran’s back, which prompted her to kill him.
Little does everyone know Spider Nugent (portrayed by Martin Hancock) is keeping something from everyone around him in the cobbles.
Leanne goes above and beyond to defend Toyah but, awash with guilt, the accused decides it’s time for her to take stand.
The verdict is then given – but will Toyah go to prison?
Meanwhile, Spider asserts he intends to stick around… and meets up with DS Swain to discuss his job.
Kelly Neelan is getting ready to tie the knot with Aadi Alahan
3. Loan shark Sharon returns
Meanwhile, love is still in the cards for wayward teen Kelly Neelan, as she’s ready to get hitched with Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain).
With Kelly by his side, the lad breaks the news to his father Dev who, in turn, responds by railing at him for wanting to be with someone like Kelly.
Kelly and Aadi decide to throw an engagement party to prove how serious they are about one another.
But while Dev Alahan is clearly against the pair getting married, Gary Windass (Mikey North) advises him to accept the union or he could risk losing his son altogether.
Whether Dev accepts and takes in Gary’s advice remains to be seen but, much like the former military, there’s another individual who has decided to support Kelly’s choice.
And it looks bad for Gary.
This week, Gary gets a nasty shock when Sharon Geary (Naomi Cooper-Davis), who hasn’t been seen in Weatherfield since September, 2021, pays Kelly a visit to celebrate her engagement.
Gary begs Rick Neelan’s former loan shark accomplice not to ruin Kelly’s happiness by revealing he killed her father, although Laura Neelan took the blame before dying.
Aadi then lets slip that Kelly was kidnapped by some of Rick’s victims before being saved by Gary.
Still moved by his devotion to her and as her guardian, Kelly asks Gary to give her away at her wedding – and Sharon is horrified.
Will she say anything to Kelly?
Gary could be caught up by the truth soon
4. Kelly makes a huge discovery
Unfortunately for Gary, the truth could be catching up to him in upcoming scenes of the Manchester-based soap.
But Sharon won’t be the one to put Gary’s secret in jeopardy.
In later scenes, Kelly receives a holdall of her mother’s belongings which were left in Spain.
The youngster scrolls through a digital camera and she’s shocked to see the holiday dated as June 17, 2019 – the day her father was murdered.
This gives Laura a solid alibi, proving she never actually murdered Rick.
Kelly later returns home and shows Gary the photos, telling him she wants to know the truth about her father’s death.
As mentioned above, Laura Neelan told the police she was guilty of her former husband’s murder in an attempt to give Kelly the secure life she deserves.
This also meant she sacrificed her relationship with her own daughter, as Kelly couldn’t forgive her mother for supposedly killing her father.
Laura Neelan breathed her last in April, 2022, before Kelly could get any closure.
Will Gary finally be exposed, three years after Rick’s death?
James Bailey’s future looks uncertain
5. James returns home after surgery
Weatherfield County footballer James Bailey (Nathan Graham) gave everyone a fright when he trained and played with the Rovers football team and collapsed during a game.
The athlete was taken to hospital – where he found out he suffered from a heart condition called cardiomyopathy.
This led him to undergo risky surgery and his family was mortified during his time on the operating table.
This week, James returns home and his future on the field appears uncertain.
However, he tells his mother Aggie (portrayed by Lorna Laidlaw) that he can’t even think about living a life without football.
He adds that he can’t wait to get back on the pitch, despite his condition.
As a nurse and a mother, Aggie fears for her son’s well-being but masks her inner turmoil from him.
In later scenes, the Baileys welcome James back home to an impressive pile of “get well” cards from his fans.
James may believe that he’ll be able to get back to playing but a visit from the Weatherfield County team manager may dash all of his hopes.
Will he get the all clear?
Stu Carpenter is struggling to fully clear his name
6. Speed Daal becomes a target
Yasmeen Nazir and her family have taken a liking to the former homeless man portrayed by Bill Fellows.
Despite initially believing he did murder his former mistress Charlie, the Nazir finally saw reason after some digging done by Zeedan and have decided to stand by him.
However, this comes at a cost for their restaurant, Speed Daal.
Coming up, Sean Tully (played by Antony Cotton) gets ready for his birthday with a celebratory lunch at Speed Daal.
Everything is going well for Sean as his new love interest Laurence showers him with gifts, although his face falls when he finds out he can’t make it to his birthday meal.
In later scenes, as Sean and his friends take their seats, a man enters Speed Daal and explains he was a friend of Charlie’s, the girl Stu is thoughts to have murdered.
The stranger produces a box and removes the lid – but what’s inside the box?
Later on, Alya Nazir meets with a solicitor who specialises in miscarriages of justice, alongside Stu.
They’re floored to find out they’ll have to pay a whopping amount of money as the fee will be £15k.
What will they decide to do?
Jenny Connor is Stephen Reid’s new target
7. Jenny is in danger
Elsewhere in the cobbles, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) continues to resort to his manipulative tactics and Rovers landlady Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) is his new target.
Coming up, Jenny’s boyfriend Leo Thompkins enthuses about their new life in Canada just as she tries to appear upbeat.
But at the same time, she has to face a new employee of hers, Glenda Shuttleworth, much to Eileen Grimshaw’s annoyance.
Glenda starts her first shift behind the bar and Daisy Midgeley goes all out to persuade Jenny she’d be the perfect manager.
The shady businessman takes advantage of Glenda’s lack of experience behind the bar by telling her she gave him the wrong change.
Could it play in Daisy’s favour?
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV.
