There were shocking, brutal scenes as Stephen attempted to escape justice for a series of grisly murders \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t all doom and gloom. <\/span><\/p>\n For while the ITV soap<\/a> certainly delivered on drama, its trademark comedy roots were present throughout.<\/span><\/p>\n Injecting some humour into a week which saw Stephen strangle and suffocate loveable cabbie Tim, while the body of another victim was recovered from the canal, might have seemed like a tall order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But not for Corrie \u2013 the show that dared to play Tim\u2019s The Birdie Song ringtone seconds after presenting us with his lifeless body<\/a>. (<\/span>Although it turns out he wasn\u2019t quite so lifeless, after all.)<\/span><\/p>\n What could have been an overly harrowing week was lightened by brief, welcome moments of fun. <\/span><\/p>\n First, Ken Barlow (William Roache) struggled to hide his confusion over his birthday gifts \u2013 model trains that turned out to be down to a wrongly delivered hobby magazine.<\/span><\/p>\n Much to Ken\u2019s despair, Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor) joined the celebrations and promptly drank all the wine as she seethed over Tim\u2019s apparent abandonment of her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Stephen\u2019s partner Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) realised he was a wrong\u2019un, and reacted by telling a well-meaning, quiche-carrying Roy Cropper (David Neilson) that all men should come with a QR code to avoid this kind of pitfall.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Gail (Helen Worth) referenced Jenny\u2019s extensive back catalogue in romance. \u201cYou\u2019ve got room to talk!\u201d replied daughter Sarah (Tina O\u2019Brien) to serial bride Gail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As the hunt for Stephen truly began<\/a>, his ties to the Platts continued to serve the show beautifully. A series of blunt one-liners from David (Jack P Shepherd) and Shona (Julia Goulding) were particular highlights.<\/span><\/p>\n From Shona\u2019s \u201cDid you cosh him?\u201d to the experienced David\u2019s assertion that surely \u201ca bit of old carpet\u2019ll do\u201d when discussing Stephen\u2019s use of a car roof box to dispose of Teddy\u2019s (Grant Burgin) body, laughs came in quick succession. <\/span><\/p>\n On the news that Stephen had been dosing Carla Barlow (Alison King) with LSD, Shona\u2019s reaction was a classic: \u201cWhat, for free?!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With a thieving Stephen on the loose, Gail offered up her phone so son Nick (Ben Price) could check her online account. <\/span><\/p>\n Pulling a hilarious face, the ever-relatable Gail lamented that stress affected her compatibility with facial recognition, and cautioned that the family had better not end up \u201ctwo sheets to the wind\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n When Audrey remarked that Stephen was hardly Jack the Ripper, Nick swiftly replied that people probably said the same about Gail\u2019s murderous late husband<\/a>\u00a0Richard Hillman (Brian Capron). <\/span><\/p>\n David soon became fixated on a bathroom rota, even quizzing Sarah about her bladder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rather than taking up residence in the loo, Sarah went missing, only to be attacked by Uncle Stephen. <\/span><\/p>\n Was it predictable when, after striking Stephen down amid his monstrous speech that no one could stop him, Sarah quipped: \u201cYou wanna bet?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Absolutely, but it was still TV gold. In fact, for a storyline that has, at times, ventured into pantomime villain territory (and perhaps this was the intention), moments like this marked the perfect accompaniment to Stephen\u2019s exit.<\/span><\/p>\n David maintained his usual demeanour during even the most heightened moments. As Stephen aimed a broken bottle at a terrified Jenny and demanded that David provide him with a car, David complained, asking why it had to be <\/span>his<\/span><\/i> and not Nick\u2019s!\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\n Stephen\u2019s rage and his family\u2019s disbelief convinced David to comply \u2013 with a sulky strop that wouldn\u2019t have been out of place had he simply been asked to make them all a cup of tea!<\/span><\/p>\n But this was so typically David, and as tense as Stephen\u2019s final stand was, such on-brand behaviour from his nephew offered much-needed respite from what would otherwise have been an incredibly heavy episode.<\/span><\/p>\n The humour never overshadowed the action, but had it not been there, Coronation Street\u2019s \u2018Super Soap Week\u2019<\/a> would have been a pure misery-fest this year. <\/span><\/p>\n It may be part of soap\u2019s fabric to deliver pain, suffering, death and destruction \u2013 but really, there\u2019s only so much of that we can take.<\/span><\/p>\n When a serial drama takes a single-strand approach with its darker plots, there\u2019s always a danger that we\u2019ll be drained by all the chaos. Thanks to this particular soap making use of one of its biggest strengths, though, this didn\u2019t happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Platts provide a huge amount of comedy all year round. When Stephen\u2019s evil side was first explored, it was easy to assume that this would move his family away from their usual light-hearted antics. <\/span><\/p>\n Yet, happily, we\u2019ve been able to have the best of both worlds.<\/span><\/p>\n Coronation Street\u2019s winning formula gave us an expert blend of both drama and comedy. There\u2019s simply no other soap that can pull off the grimmest of plots while simultaneously upping its game in entertainment value, and Stephen\u2019s exit week confirmed it.<\/span><\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/coronation-street-stephen-jenny-12950a1-e1697116130569.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"coronation")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Gail](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/corrie-gail-7058322.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Gail")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/coronation-street-david-platt-jack-p-shepherd-e319867.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Jack")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Coronation](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/10\/coronation-street-stephen-hits-sarah-8a51ba7-e1697116436233.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"Coronation")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>\n