Seven explosive Coronation Street spoilers as Stephen Reid gets caught up by the truth
STEPHEN Reid is up to no good once again and is slowly becoming increasingly reckless.
There's a chance the failing businessman could make another victim in Coronation Street. Get the lowdown on all the drama.
1. Audrey is spiked
The villainous character played by Canadian actor Todd Boyce stoops to another low this week on ITV.
Once again, his mother Audrey Roberts (portrayed by Sue Nicholls) is his main target as he gets ready to spike her.
His new scheme begins as he receives an email inviting him to an interview for some consultancy work.
He attends his interview with a man named Drake via video call but it doesn't go well.
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This pushes him to reluctantly accept a job as a fast food delivery driver out of desperation.
Drake finds it highly amusing to see Stephen having no choice but to accept such a lowly job when the latter makes his first delivery.
Feeling humiliated, Stephen calls the fast food delivery company and tells them he doesn't want the job anymore.
Instead, Stephen opts to lie and plot behind his family's back again.
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He tells Nick Tilsley that sending Sam on a cruise with Audrey may not be such a good idea as he reckons the hairdresser is back on the booze.
Nick insists the cruise must go ahead, leaving Stephen thwarted.
However, he has another trick up his sleeve and it could put Audrey in severe danger.
He calls in the salon and steals Audrey's antidepressants from her bag, which she was prescribed after a suicide attempt.
Stephen later invites Nick to join him and Audrey in the Rovers to talk about the cruise but he has something else in mind.
Taking out the antidepressants, he crushes them into a thin powder.
When Audrey has her back turned, heading towards the loo, Stephen pulls out the crushed tablets, intent on spiking her drink.
But will he actually go through with it?
2. Stephen has a potential new victim
Todd Boyce has made it clear to fans of the Manchester-based program - Stephen could kill again, months after getting rid of Leo Thompkins in brutal scenes.
This time, his next victim could be someone unexpected.
Stephen soon calls Six Fellas, the fast food delivery company, with his tail between his legs as he begs them to give him his job back.
The boss begrudgingly hires him again but things don't look good for Stephen.
During his shift, Stephen is accosted by a group of teens who steal his delivery box, work phone and demand money.
To make matters worse, Stephen is mortified when he spots Elaine Metcalfe (Paula Wilcox) approaching and he attempts to race away on his moped, determined to keep his financial desperation a secret.
In his haste, Stephen loses control of his vehicle and goes sprawling across the road.
How will Elaine react?
3. Nick steals Sam's inheritance
While murderous Harvey Gaskell remains at the top of his list of worries, Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) is also concerned to leave the Bistro to a new owner
Money is tight for both Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) and Nick which means they could only make Debbie Webster a poxy offer for the restaurant.
This week, Leanne tells Nick it's time to admit to Debbie that they can't afford to buy the restaurant.
However, Debbie (Sue Devaney) later approaches them and tells them she'll accept their offer for the Bistro.
Leanne and Nick celebrate the deal but are interrupted by Lynne's builder.
As viewers may know, Lynne was initially interested in buying the restaurant before pulling out for mysterious reasons.
It turns out that Lynne gave up on the Bistro when she learned the place is riddled with dry rot, meaning Nick and Leanne now have to pay extra to get it all fixed.
Leanne confronts Debbie in the Rovers and makes a lunge for her.
To make matters worse, Ed Bailey quotes £20k to fix the dry rot.
In later scenes, Nick has an idea and tells Leanne they'll need to see if Sam will let them use the money he inherited from his late mother Natasha.
Sam (Jude Riordan) tells his father he'd like to use the money left by her to pay his university fees - but Nick seems to have other ideas.
The restaurateur tells Leanne he spoke to Natasha's sister, Melissa, who was happy to let them use the inheritance money and signed the paperwork necessary for them to have the money in their account within hours.
But is all really as it seems?
Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor) could be more involved in the transaction than expected.
When they accompany Sam to see the criminal and prison, Nick and Leanne stay on their guard.
But Nick is handed a piece of paper by Harvey who tells him he has spare cash for him to spend on the Bistro.
In a later call, Harvey tells Nick their offer still stands.
Will Nick be tempted to make a deal with the devil?
4. Summer suffers a miscarriage
Stephen and Nick haven't been the only residents willing to do anything for some spare cash.
18-year-old Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) shocked viewers when she revealed she was pregnant.
She decided to have an abortion in a heartbeat until Mike and Esther managed to convince her to keep the baby.
The couple's plan is simple enough - Summer has to keep the baby and act as a surrogate in exchange for money.
Summer even managed to get her boyfriend Aaron Sandford (played by James Craven) on board who was desperate for money as he was eager for his alcoholic father Eric to get help.
Their plan was set into motion - but things will be going horribly wrong.
Coming up, Summer calls at the flat on her lunch break to find Aaron there with his father.
Eric admits he's an alcoholic but remains determined to give up booze.
When he questions where Summer and Aaron got the money to pay for his rehab from, the couple make out they borrowed it from Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank).
Afraid she may be caught out, as her guardian has no idea she is still pregnant, Summer tells Aaron that Billy mustn't find out about the baby.
She suggests their only solution is to move away until after she's given birth.
In later scenes, Summer tells Aaron she has an appointment with the midwife later that day, leaving him to break the news to Mike and Esther that they're planning to move away from the cobbles.
Esther has an idea and tells Summer she should move in with them and the teen mother agrees.
But when Aaron confronts his father Eric later on, Summer is clearly in pain and reveals that she's bleeding.
She's then devastated to discover that she's suffered a miscarriage.
Summer and Aaron return home, shell-shocked, to a drunken Eric with blood trickling down his face.
The latter, who's known to be a violent drunk, becomes aggressive and yells at his son.
Aaron forces his father into a taxi and asks the driver to take them to A&E.
Summer is uneasy when she receives a text from Esther telling her how much they're looking forward to her moving in.
Will Summer tell them the truth?
5. Maria is in danger
Griff Reynolds (Game of Thrones star Michael Condron) vows to thwart all of Maria Connor's efforts to turn Weatherfield into an inclusive town.
Maria (portrayed by Samia Longchambon) has recently stood by the idea of welcoming refugees in a brand new local centre, which is a disgrace to a racist Griff and his group.
Coming up, Max Turner (Paddy Bever) catches Maria tearing down Griff's flyers and warns her that he won't be very happy to hear she's restricting his right to free speech.
Griff retaliates in no time and, while in his flat with Max, asks the lad to set up an online petition to put a stop to the refugee centre.
In later scenes, Maria meets up with Minur and Daryan, who was recently brutally attacked by Griff's gang.
The trio discuss the refugee centre but they're horrified when Griff and his entourage approach.
Maria is met with a confrontational Griff who shows her the online petition Max has set up... and she's shocked to see many residents have already signed the document.
What will she do?
Does Griff have more in store for her?
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6. Sarah and Michael get close
Elsewhere in the cobbles, Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) is eager to take a step forward in her career at the Underworld factory.
This week, she finds the support she needs but it won't be coming from her murderous uncle Stephen.
Instead, the Underworld PA will have a surprising ally in the form of Michael Bailey (Ryan Russell).
The hunk sets about creating another invention and decides to combine it with his role as a sales manager at Underworld.
Michael feels inspired and shows off a loungewear range - and his bos Sarah is very impressed.
With his potential coming to light, Sarah makes the suggestion that they should team up and go into business together to bring the loungewear to life.
There's no room for mistakes in Sarah's eyes as Michael's impeccable designs would be a perfect match for her marketing knowledge.
After getting the ball rolling, Sarah has some exciting news to share in later scenes of the soap.
She reveals that she has managed to secure a meeting with a graphic designer to look at their work and create them an identity they will be able to show to future investors.
Michael is awash with excitement and the pair spend an increasing amount of time together.
Could a married Sarah let this budding friendship evolve into something more?
7. Todd is caught with Sean's ex
Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) is usually unlucky in love but things could take a turn when he suspects his friend Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) betrayed him by sneaking off with his ex Laurence.
The drama picks up a pace when Sean's son Dylan tells the undertaker that since his father's break up with Laurence, he hasn't left him alone.
The lad is growing frustrated with his father's behaviour.
Todd hears Dylan's exasperation and decides to take action by bringing Sean and Laurence back togther.
However, this leads to a massive misunderstanding when Laurence shows up drunk at the Rovers and informs Todd about a loving message Sean has left for him.
Laurence then confides in Todd that he wants to work things out with Sean after the latter's trust issues got in the way of their happiness.
In his drunken state, Todd recommends that he goes home and he helps put Laurence into the back of a taxi - as his mother Eileen (Sue Cleaver) watches them from afar.
Later on, Todd is forced to prove his innocence, affirming to Sean that nothing is going on between him and Laurence.
But the barman remains disbelieving.
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Can he ever work things out with Laurence?
Coronation Street airs on ITV.