Couldn't agree more, I think I watch most of my recorded episodes through my red wine fog as I can't remember half of these story lines lol. I've almost caught up now on about 50 pages on here and my God I've had so many laugh out loud moments this thread is a corker

And couldn't agree more about the fake tans, heavy OTT makeup and hair and designer clothes not forgetting women trotting around on killer heels on cobblestones. In the old days you had just ordinary looking women with the odd "glamour puss" like Bet Lynch or Raquel thrown in for a bit of variety but as has been mentioned in this thread you never see any of them without makeup and hair done even at 7 o'clock in the morning. Almost all of the women are very slim and dolled up to the nines. Coronation Street needs to get back to it's Northern roots. It's not Real Housewives of Cheshire or a before and after plastic surgery makeover show it's SUPPOSED to be set in a normal Manchester town. I live in a Northern town and very rarely see women dressed or made up like this except for the odd person here and there. It's leggings, jeans, t shirts, jumpers, raincoats and wellies in the rain or flip flops or sandals in the summer not teeter totter heels and we don't even have cobble stones.

Rant over.

But Leanne has the pragmatic approach to management which most managers are too rule-bound to achieve.

If a restaurant isn't making money, burn it down for the insurance. How many would think of that solution?

Catherine Tyldesley has done absolutely brilliantly with losing all that weight and keeping it off.

The image she has on Corrie is down to them. A promising character who has been reduced to nothing more than a glamorous blonde and shallow dimwit. And according to others on DS a bunny boiler! Now that would be a good SL!

Maybe so - but the outcome was in little doubt!

Aye. If in doubt. Torch it.

Just look in the the yellow pages under lightning rod Leanne, you might be on hold for a while. That will give you an indication how many are thinking about it.

I'm off to google this now, I don't remember this at all!!!

http://coronationstreet.wikia.com/wiki/Leanne_Battersby

I lost the will to live half way through Leanne's story. The torching must have been when I lived in Australia and Corrie isn't shown on mainstream telly.

I see what you mean but the real tans from real holidays they have, so blatantly disregard the seasons and what in happening in the programme itself. But the main thing for me is the Botox which I am sure many actresses use in real life. They appear in films and short series but in a soap they undergo these makeovers almost overnight and the effect is very obvious.

Sometimes they smile and there is no movement in the cheeks or rest of the face as if they are frozen stiff but you almost expect their eyebrows to move in unison with their lips.

There is a lack of professionalism about it.

As for males it is unusual that only one young male actor on CS has adopted the bushy beard look now so popular. Not sure why.

I seem to recall she promised the Duckworth child a freebie if he helped her, but I don't think she actually delivered.

It was very much deliberate.

Was it? I'm afraid I got confused right away because Caz is such a mumbler, and when she was talking to Luke I thought she was referring to her own mother. I realised that was wrong later, but I still got muddled with the carnation/roses thing. It doesn't help that Caz mumbles expressionlessly, sometimes looking down or away while she speaks. I was so confused myself, I could see why Luke would get mixed up.

I didn't see it that way. He made the effort to talk to Caz and to apologise and he mentioned her sending flowers before he knew she was skint.
I think the smile as he was leaving the florists was just him feeling good for helping her out. And he did pay an extra fiver, would he do that if he was planning on it all going pear shaped?

Hello!! She was. Remember Chicken Shack (or something or other)

He'd heard the conversation about Kate's mother not liking carnations, so it was clear he did it deliberately. And he would pay an extra fiver to make sure it works.

Not working means she is at Maria's longer though. I think he was just half listening and remembered pink and carnations and went with it thinking Kate would be touched

Luke definitely didn't do it wrong on purpose, he was just being a typical Corrie man and messed up.

Maybe I just saw it differently then. To me it looked clear he was doing it on purpose.

You could tell by the reaction on his face when Kate started having a go at Caz and then Maria started on him that it was a genuine mistake, otherwise we would have seen a satisfied smirk on his face in a job well done kind of way

I agree; it was clear to me that he was stirring, and waited for the reaction ("haha, this'll be fun) after he'd given the order

AKA In a Pat Phelan kind of way!

Yes, Pat and Tracey are the Corrie villains not Luke. If Luke had done it on purpose it would've been signposted a mile off.

I thought it was deliberate too. A feeble and contrived attempt to drive a deeper wedge between Maria/Caz/Kate. Another lobotomy where bland nice guy turns into rogue sh*te stirrer and of course a plot device to introduce yet another quickie between 2 characters who have barely shared a scene before.

Seems we're divided. I thought it was genuine mistake as well. He was so wound up that Maria was letting Caz interfere with their life together and although he heard what was said about pink carnations disliked, roses liked he did what I do sometimes - let it pass through without actually registering in his brain because he was only paying lip service by doing her a favour ordering and paying for the flowers even though he didn't really want to.

Why all the gushing about Leanne bring such a good asset to the bistro, and constant scenes showing the apparent laugh a minute good time Robert has in her presence, prompting nick to feel jealous that he's been rejected by the wonderful, life of the party lass that is leanne. She always seems to come across as bossy and sour faced to me. Are we really supposed to believe this big battle over her affections.

Could the writers not have had a better build up to the Maria and Aiden moment? The wrong flowers plot device was so very poor. And why would Maria get quite so annoyed with Luke about a mix up with flowers. Bellowing "NO, IT'LL BE LUKE, HE'S SO USELESS SOMETIMES" in an angry demeaning way in front of everyone.