THERE’s a new face in Weatherfield as local undertaker George Shuttleworth’s welcomes his sister Glenda.
Stage legend Jodie Prenger makes her debut in Coronation Street this week. Here’s what you need to know.
George’s sister Glenda makes her Corrie debut this week
Actress Jodie Prenger was chosen for the role
She unexpectedly saves a funeral from going wrong
But why is she paying her brother a visit?
1. George’s sister arrives
Since his first appearance in the cobbles, after taking over his father’s business, George Shuttleworth has managed to form multiple strong bonds with many residents.
One familiar face from his past has come back to him when his former school bully Frank Bardsley was introduced to viewers.
However, this week, the undertaker played by Tony Maudsley gets a friendlier blast from the past as his sister makes her Corrie debut.
But before he can reunite with Glenda, George faces some dental health issues after he’s given overcooked pork by Sean Tully.
George takes a bite in the meat but is alarmed when he realises he’s broken a tooth.
His partner Eileen Grimshaw (played by Sue Cleaver) urges him to go see a dentist but George insists Mr Pugh’s funeral has to come first.
After a scuffle outside the funeral home, the big day finally arrives and George attends Mr Pugh’s funeral as promised.
But before he can enlist the help of a dentist, he reveals he’s had to take Eileen’s strong painkillers to ease his toothache and Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) realises he’s as high as a kite.
Unable to handle him, Todd shoves George into one of the funeral cars.
Mrs Pugh arrives and gives Todd the third degree – while George’s sister Glenda makes her way towards them.
She unexpectedly saves the day after spotting her brother in the back of the funeral car.
Later on, Glenda, Todd and Sean celebrate how well the funeral went, despite George being unable to be present.
He arrives and is thrilled to see his sister, whom he introduces to Eileen.
But what will she be up to in Weatherfield?
Ryan threatens to throw Debbie under the bus
2. Ryan caught burgling
Meanwhile, Debbie Webster’s financial woes are becoming a growing burden.
After trying to organise events in the Bistro, the businesswoman portrayed by Sue Devaney has enlisted the help of Ryan Connor (played by Ryan Prescott).
The latter recently claimed he is up to his neck in debt.
Desperate for cash, the pair are ready to commit insurance fraud this week – but their plan goes horribly awry for Ryan.
Coming up, in the Bistro, Debbie instructs Ryan to stage a break-in to allow her to make a claim on the insurance.
However, she then tells him the robbery is off and Ryan is fuming.
While Casino Night is underway at the Bistro, Ryan tells Debbie he’ll take the opportunity to fuse the electrics and grab the cash they need from the safe.
The restaurant is soon plunged into darkness and Debbie reluctantly helps Ryan with his plan.
Bistro customers are put off Casino Night after the incident and head over to the Rovers, while Ryan stuffs the cash in his gym bag.
Unfortunately for him, Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) makes an entrance, prompting him to hide.
Leanne flicks the switch and the lights come back on, leading to Ryan coming out of his hiding place, clutching his bag of stolen cash and making out he has just arrived.
Customers in the Rovers are then told that Casino Night is back on at the Bistro by a confident Leanne.
But her blood runs cold when she realises all the money is gone.
As Ryan assures her that the cash is safely stashed in his bedroom, Debbie orders him to call the police.
In later scenes, police officer Craig Tinker questions Debbie, Leanne and Nick Tilsley about the break-in before calling into the Rovers to question Ryan.
Ed Bailey then reveals that the CCTV has a back-up circuit which wouldn’t have been affected by the power cut – something Ryan and Debbie clearly didn’t look into.
Ryan is revealed as the perpetrator when Craig plays the CCTV footage and is arrested on suspicion of theft.
To make matters worse, Ronnie Bailey appears to see right through Debbie’s plan and accuses of trying to commit insurance fraud, which she obviously denies.
Realising he’s lost everything amid a tense police interview, Ryan calls Debbie to warn her he may just throw her under the bus.
What’s next for the pair?
Stu’s former wife Lucy comes to the cobbles
3. Stu’s past comes back to haunt him
After being estranged from his family for multiple years, Stu Carpenter has tried to mend his relationship with his daughter Bridget.
But the former homeless man portrayed by Bill Fellows only got a door slammed in his face and things are only about to get worse for him.
This week, Yasmeen Nazir (played by Shelley King) could finally figure out what he’s been hiding with a little help from his ex-wife Lucy, played by Lynda Rooke.
It all begins when Suki from the Weatherfield Gazette calls at Speed Daal to interview Yasmeen, Dev Alahan, Alya Nazir and Stu about their food waste initiative.
Stu recently had the idea of giving back to the community and to homeless people in the cobbles, by distributing unused food from the restaurant around Weatherfield.
Stu then tells Suki about his own story, stating Yasmeen gave him a lifeline when he was living in the streets and the journalist is enthralled.
While viewers were witnesses of Stu turning his life around with a little help from Yasmeen, he’s mortified to realise his story makes the front and centre of the Gazette article.
The consequences are immediate for Stu.
What will Yasmeen find out?
4. Yasmeen kicks Stu out
In later scenes, Lucy makes an appearance at Speed Daal and confronts him about going to see Bridget, warning him to stay away from her.
The chef is horrified but Lucy makes things more harrowing for him by dropping a bombshell about his past.
Stu protests his innocence, prompting Yasmeen to usher him out of the restaurant.
Later on, Yasmeen catches up with Lucy in Victoria Garden – what will she be told?
Will Ken and Wendy rekindle their relationship?
5. Ken and Wendy share an evening
Ten years after telling her he wanted nothing to do with her, Ken Barlow (William Roache) backtracks and decides to spend time with his former lover Wendy Crozier (Roberta Kerr).
This is despite Tracy Barlow getting in the way in earlier scenes of the Manchester-based soap due to the social worker’s efforts at ruining Ken’s marriage with late wife Deirdre.
Coming up, Ken approaches Wendy and invites her for a coffee.
Later on at No.1, the Corrie stalwart suggests they share lasagne at his home.
They soon open up to one another and Ken admits he knows what it’s like to feel lonely as he still misses Deirdre.
Is this a fresh start for them?
What is Leo hiding?
6. Leo’s secret is finally revealed
During his time in the cobbles, Leo Thompkins (Joe Frost) has kept details of his life a secret as he’s been seen getting romantically involved with Jenny Connor (played by Sally Ann Matthews).
Coming up, however, Weatherfield teacher Daniel Osbourne (portrayed by Rob Mallard) finds out Leo may be hiding something from his other half.
Leo first reveals he’s looking for labourers and Daniel offers up his services, much to Daisy Midgeley’s amusement.
Later on, Daniel spends the night at the Rovers but wakes up at 3am.
To his astonishment, he finds Leo suited and booted.
The following day, he tells Daisy what he saw in the early hours of the morning, convinced Leo isn’t being fully truthful with Jenny.
He then finds out from Paul Foreman that Leo is going through his last day in his job, prompting him to share the information with Daisy.
Concerned about Leo’s suspicious behaviour, Daisy tells Jenny everything she knows.
In later scenes, Leo makes the most of dinner in the Bistro to reveal all – but what has he been hiding?
Is Tim’s connection with Aggie evolving into something more serious?
7. Tim and Aggie grow close
The Metcalfes haven’t been on the same wavelength in recent scenes of the Manchester-based soap – and things could be getting worse.
After finding out about Tim’s (Joe Duttine) impotence, Sally (Sally Dynevor) has tried to spice things up in the bedroom with minimal succes.
But she’s shocked to discover that Tim has gone behind her back and looked at porn sites, this week.
This leads to her ordering him out of No.4 and to Casino Night all on his own.
Tim is further deflated when he comes back home to find a note from Sally telling him she’s made up the spare bed for him.
In later scenes, he tries to make peace with her but Sally finds it hard to forgive him.
She instead accuses him of shutting her out and suggests they have some time apart and Tim begs her not to give up on him.
Later on, Tim finds support in the form of nurse Aggie Bailey (Lorna Laidlaw) who has been by his side on many other occasions and the pair have a chat in Victoria Garden.
Tim unburdens himself to her before being urged to share his worries with Sally.
He eventually returns home and talks to Sally about his fear of dying.
Relieved they managed to lay things out in the open, she wonders what pushed him to confide in her and Tim fails to mention Aggie.
Once again, Tim and Aggie meet in Victoria and she hands him a book about death, encouraging him to read it.
Sally is proud to see him tackle his issues head on but he never mentions it was Aggie’s words that made him see sense.
Is Tim hiding something bigger from Sally?
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV.
