Roy Cropper (David Neilson) gets more than he bargained for when he pops in to Dev (Jimmi Harkishin)’s shop in Coronation Street to get some sweets.
He’s shocked to find Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby), who’s been left in charge of the shop, in a drunken state of near-collapse behind the counter.
Summer is, of course, going through a very hard time as she tries to come to terms with the sudden and shocking death of her dad, Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank).
Billy was driving the minibus that was caught up in the horrific collision in the landmark Corriedale episode. As the bus’s passengers all escaped, Billy was left trapped inside as the vehicle caught fire. Theo Silverton (James Cartwright) ran back inside, but instead of helping Billy he fastened his seatbelt back on, ensuring Billy couldn’t get out. Moments after Theo left him, the minibus exploded and Billy was killed.
While nobody knows Theo’s deliberate part in the vicar’s death, people are mourning Billy’s loss – none more so than Summer. Coming so soon after the death of Billy’s husband Paul (Peter Ash), losing Billy is absolutely overwhelming for her.
With little regard for the fact that she’s diabetic and getting drunk is a seriously bad idea, she’s desperate for something to help ease her pain. Being alone in a shop full of alcohol, she instinctively reaches for a bottle.
When Roy finds her she’s in a bad way, but according to Harriet Bibby, Roy is exactly the right person at the right time.
‘He sees a hurt person in need and does what he feels is right in the moment to just get her to speak and calm her down,’ she told us.
‘Her whole world has just been flipped on its head, so she’s acting quite impulsively, and Roy does his best to try and put her feet back on the ground and comfort her.’
Roy’s kind act means he risks being late for his first date with Alice, the mother of one of the prisoners that Roy has been writing to.
He started corresponding with prisoners as a way to help people. Having been to prison himself when he was wrongly accused of killing Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton), he felt he was in a good position to empathise with what people in jail were going through.
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Before long, he started to get letters from Alice, who thanked him for writing to her son. They continued to correspond and soon the tone of Alice’s letters started to hint at romance.
Nobody deserves happiness more than Roy, so the fact that he was setting off on a date to meet Alice could be the start of a new chapter for him.
But his decision to get some sweets to take with him leads him to finding Summer, and he refuses to leave her side until he knows she’s going to be all right.
Will he still make it to his date?
