FORMER homeless man Stu Carpenter is closer than ever to ridding himself of the weight of Charlie Walters’ murder.
The barmaid’s true killers are exposed and arrested leaving him with some major responsibility in Coronation Street.
Stu Carpenter has been desperate to clear his name
And he may be closer to his goals this week
1. Charlie’s murderers are arrested
The Speed Daal chef portrayed by Bill Fellows was thrown in prison after he was wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering his former lover Charlie.
His past caught up with him in recent months in the ITV soap but it’s become clear he was actually innocent all along and he’s been trying to clear his name with the help of the Nazir family.
In recent scenes, Stu was finally able to spend time with his estranged daughter Bridget and meet his granddaughter Eliza, despite his ex-wife Lucy trying to get in the way.
But in a shocking twist, Bridget and Lucy were closer to Charlie’s murder than he had anticipated.
This week, Stu finds out that both Lucy and Bridget have been charged.
However, he’s forced to hide his anxiety for Eliza’s sake as it becomes clear he is the only family she has left.
Meanwhile, Alya Nazir (played by Sair Khan) is awash with guilt as she succeeded in proving Stu was innocent at a horrible cost.
This prompts solicitor Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) to tell her that she did the right thing.
Bridget later calls her father from prison and tells him that both she and Lucy have pleaded guilty to murder.
She then drops a bombshell on Stu, telling him she’d like him to take care of Eliza for her – and him and Yasmeen reel in shock.
But steps are taken for Eliza to settle in the cobbles.
In later scenes, a social worker named Felicity calls at No.6 with some bad news for Stu and Yasmeen.
Stu’s murder conviction still needs to be officially quashed for him to take care of Eliza.
In short, the young girl will have to be taken into care before she can live with her grandfather.
Stu and Yasmeen are devastated – but could they find a solution to keep Eliza close to home until his name is completely cleared?
Will Mellor reprises his role as Harvey Gaskell this week
2. Leanne visits Harvey
Harvey Gaskell’s return was teased in recent weeks and actor Will Mellor is set to reprise his role as the criminal in upcoming scenes of the Manchester-based drama.
Coming up, Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan), his father Nick (Ben Price) and Leanne (Jane Danson) prepare to mark the anniversary of Natasha’s death.
Leanne and Nick have both received prison visit demands from Harvey.
The former says she’s going to the cash and carry – but instead sets off to see the gangster behind bars.
And he has some troubling news to break to her…
Harvey reveals Sam has been in touch with him
3. Sam drops a bombshell
The Bistro co-owner is shocked to find out from Harvey that Sam has been writing to him and he wants it to stop.
Leanne later tells Nick what she has been told and the pair of them confront Sam who tells him he just wants to know why Harvey murdered his mother.
The lad then make a horrifying request to Nick and Leanne.
Sam suggests he will stop writing to Harvey if he can visit him instead.
When the couple express their horror, Sam is adamant it’s not their decision and he’ll find a way to get to Harvey.
In later scenes, Sam, Nick and Leanne gather in the Bistro alongside the rest of the Platt family, Audrey, Gail, David and Sarah.
Nick makes a speech about the mother of his child but Sam takes offence, explaining to the family how he wants to meet Harvey to find out why he acted the way he did.
Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) is alarmed and gives Sam a pep talk, believing she has got through to him.
But Nick’s relief could be short-lived.
While in the back yard of No.9, Sam tells Hope Stape that he’s sent another letter to Harvey and that his father would be fuming if he knew.
In his prison cell, Harvey opens Sam’s letter… and he’s amused to find a questionnaire to fill in about his violent past.
Will Sam get the answers he desperately wants?
Stephen Reid is desperate to keep his involvement in Leo’s death a secret
4. Stephen panics
Could Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) be exposed for killing Leo Thompkins (Joe Frost)?
The businessman is preoccupied when Leo’s father Teddy comes to the cobbles searching for answers.
Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) confides in Stephen, telling him she believed her former flame met somebody else and has decided to start afresh with them in Canada.
The Rovers landlady has no idea that Stephen actually murdered her fiancé and believes he left for another country without her, despite their plans.
Stephen feigns sympathy but when Teddy calls at the local pub, telling him and Jenny they should alert the police about Leo’s clear disappearance, he can’t help but think of the worst.
Will the truth about Leo come to light?
Bernie Winter is cornered by police this week
5. Bernie is in danger
Always ready to get her hands on some spare cash, Bernie Winter (Jane Hazelgrove) has been earning some money by impersonating her lookalike Fern (Gabrielle Glaister).
But things fail to go according to plan for the pair this week.
Coming up, Bernie convinced Fern to attend a high-end cleaning job in her name.
In full guise, Fern sails through the interview and is offered the job before being sent straight to work at a jeweller’s.
The shop owners leave her to lock up the shop once she is finished, assuming Fern to be Bernie.
Fern then heads back to the shop, dressed as Bernie and the boss, Walter, informs her there and then that he’s heading out to lunch.
She then robs the shop blind while dressed in Bernie’s clothes.
This leaves Bernie in a tricky situation as, back on the street, Bernie and Dev Alahan head back to No.5 – only to find a police officer wanting to question her.
Bernie is told by the officer she’s being arrested on suspicion of theft.
The penny drops for Bernie who is shown CCTV footage of her robbing the jewellers.
She realises Fern as framed her.
Bernie pleads with the authorities, insisting she’s innocent, but she’s having a hard time proving she didn’t do anything wrong.
Soon enough, as she tries to get in touch with Fern, she realises the latter has completely vanished.
Could Bernie be punished for a crime she didn’t even commit?
The pair’s emotional affair has been exposed
6. Tim and Aggie face the music
Throughout his struggles in the cobbles, the cabbie played by Joe Duttine has found a perpetual source of support in the form of nurse Aggie Bailey (portrayed by Lorna Laidlaw).
However, their closeness often raised suspicions among fans as some believe both characters have been intimate with one another.
To make matters worse, Tim even gave Aggie a necklace to thank her for helping him remember his anniversary with his own wife Sally (Sally Dynevor).
The Underworld factory machinist is shocked to discover her husband bought Aggie a necklace.
She then admits to Aggie that she’s hurt to think that Tim prefers her company.
The character goes a step further by suggesting that Aggie should focus on her own husband Ed Bailey (Trevor Michael Georges) and leave Tim alone.
Aggie follows Sally’s advice in later scenes of the Manchester-based drama.
She calls at the builder’s yard and apologises to her husband Ed for keeping her friendship with Tim a secret from him.
How will Ed react?
Can Sally and Tim solve their own issues?
Who is expecting a baby in Weatherfield?
7. Shock pregnancy is discovered
Chesney (played by Sam Aston) has struggled financially to keep things afloat for his family.
This was to the point where his son Joseph was almost sent away from the cobbles to live with his grandmother abroad.
Another pregnancy is definitely not in the cards for Chesney.
But in upcoming scenes, the Prima Doner assistant panics when he finds out it could be a possibility for his partner Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell).
In the café, Gemma shows him a jacket she bought from the clothes swap before heading off to the loo.
Her phone rings, prompting Chesney to get it out of the jacket – and a positive pregnancy test falls out.
Chesney is beside himself but he’s relieved when Gemma tells him it’s not her pregnancy test and she’s determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Daisy Midgeley and Carla Connor are the first to be pointed out as potential mothers-to-be but Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) finds out who it really is.
He’s shocked to recognised the jacket as Summer Spellman’s but covers his emotions.
Summer is soon questioned over the pregnancy test – what will she say?
Could Summer really be pregnant amid her relationship struggles with Aaron Sandford?
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV.
