by More heartbreak is ahead in Weatherfield as couples split and another relationship may be over before it even begins. It begins when Liam Connor and Joseph Brown settle down to watch a movie. When Joe asks Liam if things have improved at school, Liam struggles to breathe and reaches for his inhaler.
Joseph suggests he tell Maria about his panic attacks but Liam refuses because he doesn’t want to worry her. While Joe watches out, Liam goes in the cupboard for sweets. He is motivated by looking for Benzo pills from Paul and puts them in his pocket.
Meanwhile, in the Rovers, Gary Windass watches Sarah Barlow throw back the wine. When he sees her going home with another bottle, he goes over. As he does, Liam returns home to find Gary not coming back, and when he feels a panic attack coming on, he takes out Paul’s Benzo pills.
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Paul’s husband Billy Mayhew discovers the missing pills and, when Joseph points out that Liam was looking for sweets, Billy collapses. Unbeknownst to them, alone in the flat, Liam is lying unconscious, the pill bottle next to him.
Later, Maria explains to Billy and Paul how Liam had suicidal thoughts. Maria returns home to find Sarah and Gary watching them softly and takes a few things and puts a camera to the side for now. As Gary sees Sarah out, they hug and agree to keep their distance from now on but Maria watches them on her phone and her face darkens.
And, it looks like things aren’t going well for the two because by the end of the week, Gary is hoping for a reconciliation, but it’s clear to Maria that that’s not on the cards. Gary is stuck and Maria complains to his brother Kirk Sutherland about how Liam was for his first therapy session and she feels like the worst mother in the world.
Elsewhere, poor Roy Cropper is still behind bars awaiting trial after being accused of murdering Lauren Bolton, after she suddenly went missing. And Roy has the upper hand in scenes of the ITV soap when Dee-Dee Bailey breaks the news that the police have had no luck finding Lauren’s necklace and her mystery boyfriend so it’s back to the latter. Meanwhile, Daniel Osbourne tells his father Ken Barlow that he has decided to meet with Nicky Wheatley because, as a former sex worker, she may have news about Lauren. Ken warns him to be careful.
Speaking of Lauren’s case, Bobby Crawford, Max Turner, Bethany Platt and Beth gather at the precinct to watch the police reconstruct Lauren’s last movements. But, as Bethany looks at the crowd of people, she is horrified to recognize her former abuser Nathan Curtis among them.
As she struggles to keep her emotions under control, Daniel sees Bethany at home in distress. Bethany admits that she is sure she saw Nathan at the mall but he assures Bethany that Nathan is in prison and that she was planning to play tricks. Meanwhile, Nicky calls around and reveals that she is going to meet a girl called Ellie who was groomed as a teenager and who may know about Lauren.
As Daniel continues to claim that her mind is playing tricks on her, Bethany pauses the video of the police reenactment and zooms in to show Daniel’s close friend Nathan. At the police station, DS Swain confirms to Bethany that Nathan was released a month ago so a furious Bethany suggests she pull him in for questioning, convinced that he is Lauren’s murderer.
After doing some research and discovering that Nathan is working on a construction site near the area, Bethany and Daniel track him down. As Nathan rounds the corner, he stops in his tracks. Bethany is shocked to come face to face with her abuser but soon sees red and accuses Nathan of murdering Lauren.
Elsewhere, Alya Nazir tells Adam Barlow that her kiss has ruined her career prospects. Rich meets with Alya and confirms that the work placement in Dublin is still his due to Adam that it was entirely his fault. Later, while Adam is dating Alya, Yasmeen wonders if she’s going to miss him. When he gives her an expensive law book, wishing her well in Dublin, will Alya be able to bring herself to leave?
Meanwhile, when Glenda Shuttleworth guiltily tells George Shuttleworth how she really wants to raise the money to buy Estelle’s Little Big Shotz business, he offers to help her apply for a bank loan. But, looking at her accounts, he realizes that there is no way she will ever get a loan.
With what she has, Glenda makes an offer to Estelle, that she buys Little Big Shotz on credit and pays her back in installments. Concerned, George scuttles the deal by saying she can’t afford to pay the monthly installments. Glenda then complains to Todd Grimshaw about George’s treacherous act and Todd assumes she is referring to his father Archie’s will. But when Glenda demands to know what will happen, Todd realizes his mistake.
Seeking advice, Adam warns Glenda that suing George for half of the business would be expensive, there’s no guarantee she’d win and she’d better forget it. Glenda is crushed and, later, she walks slap bang into Michael Bailey, spilling his drink down her face. When Rupert from Rest Easy calls the undertakers and registers his interest in buying the business, George and Todd are furious to learn that he has put Glenda up for sale.
Also, outside the apartment, Bernie Winter comes face to face with Denny, pushing Paul’s wheelchair. Denny reveals that he is being taken for a service but Bernie doesn’t believe a word and threatens to call the police. Meanwhile, Billy and Paul are unhappy after their meeting with the council about the cuts to MND funding, telling Bernie they need to find other ways to raise money.
After keeping up the karaoketon all night, Paul, Billy and Gemma are dead on their feet and tell Bernie she’s done a great job. With the weight of his guilty secret hanging over him, Bernie tells Gemma she’s sorry she’s such a rubbish mother. Gemma is worried.
