Coronation Street episode review, Wednesday 31 October

Hour-long episode written by Peter Whalley
A moody start to the episode - moody music, a dishevelled David Platt waking up in the Plattmobile, parked under trees on urban waste ground, the terrace rooftops in the background and the moors beyond. The cloudy skies reflect David's mood. He goes to the factory roof, from which vantage point he can see all the comings and goings in Coronation Street. One of the comings is the police - Gail is worried about her son and has reported him missing. But she puts on a brave face for Sarah, not wanting to spoil her day, and everyone leaves for the church. David thinks his family really don't care about him, and as he returns to his car he leaves a message on Gail's answering machine, saying she never wanted him and, "You're finally going to get what you always wanted." Then he revs the engine.

A man walking his dog sees the car plunge into the canal. He has time to register that there's a blue design on the side, and this is enough for the police to conclude it belongs to the boy who was recently reported missing. They go to the church to let his mother know.

At the church, a happy throng of well-wishers is assembled. They include Deirdre, out of the Corrie cupboard but apparently Ken is now back in, as he isn't at the church. Sarah and Jason both look absolutely gorgeous, and totally happy - till the police arrive to rain on their parade. When a distraught Gail tells them that David's car has gone into the canal, Jason wants to halt proceedings till they know he's ok, but Sarah insists that the show must go on. You can see Jason's face turning from complete love of Sarah to disbelief that she could be so selfish, but he carries on, and they are married. Maria can't bear the fact that she knows about the suicide note, and runs out to tell Gail. Jason doesn't look at all happy when Sarah insists that everyone goes to Pasta Best and carries on with the reception as if nothing had happened.

All the while, we've been moving back and forth between the scenes in the church and back at the canal side, where Gail, Bill and Audrey watch at the car is lifted out of the water - empty. Gail is shocked to realise that it's exactly the same spot where Richard Hillman tried to kill her family.

At the reception, Eileen mutters that it's "typical of that family to go and ruin my son's wedding!" Jason is called on to make a speech, and Sarah isn't happy when he says, "There's only one thing that matters now, and that's David." Jason is disgusted with Sarah when he hears from Bill Webster about the suicide note.

Back in Coronation Street, Sarah and Jason arrive back home, looking glum as Doreen and Emily throw confetti over them. Gail also arrives back with her mother, looking like she's aged about 15 years in the last half hour. Blame is all turning on Sarah, who angrily pleads with her family to see that David designed the whole thing to ruin her day. When a trick-or-treater comes to the door, Sarah gives him a good old bashing, thinking it's David. The doorbell rings again, and she storms to the door to bash the next innocent victim - and this time it is David, dripping wet and shivering.

Gail is overjoyed to have him back and immediately starts making a fuss and running him a bath. Sarah and Jason leave for their honeymoon in a tense silence.

And, in other news... Leanne wasn't happy that the wedding reception didn't quite go as planned. Slimy Paul decided what she needed was a kiss from him. Leanne is intrigued. Personally I just felt a bit queasy, but maybe that was all the excitement elsewhere.

What will happen next? Find out in Corrieblog!

Sue H