Episode 9968 (1st January 2020)

Plot
On New Year’s Day, Tracy wakes up hungover and next to a smiling Paula in her bed. A sheepish Steve arrives home with flowers, with no one realising that Tracy isn’t in the bedroom as they assume. Amy suggests he lets her sleep off her hangover undisturbed and take her out somewhere nice tonight. Bethany isn’t pleased to see Maria and Gary are loved-up after a night together and think it’s time for her to move out. Tracy is in a panic as she collects her things. She hides as Amy arrives to return some legal files to Paula. Gary demands the three months’ rental in advance for the factory premises as the contract stipulates. Adam advises an angry Nick and Sarah that they have little choice but to comply. Tired of everyone treating them like a pariah, Gary suggests to Maria that she and Liam move into Victoria Court with him. David arrives exhausted from Shona's bedside. Gail gives him a sympathetic shoulder to cry on, but he refuses to let his guard down with her or anyone else. Carrying Paula’s jacket home by mistake, a guilty Tracy manages to sneak into the flat and gives the impression that she’s just got up. Amy sees that the jacket isn’t hers but instead is an expensive designer one. Feeling guilty, Tracy manages to cover her tracks but rings up Paula, asking to meet her in the Rovers in twenty minutes. Gail finds the letter to David summoning him to Josh’s trial and wants to know why he said nothing about it. Abi and Eileen tell Sally what went wrong at the party with Kevin. Tracy swaps jackets with Paula and tells her in an unpleasant manner to be discrete. Swapping gossip in Victoria Street, Maria mentions to Ken and Amy how drunk Tracy and Paula were last night in the Rovers. Sarah is livid to find that Gary has changed the locks on the factory. An embarrassed Abi scarpers when Kevin tries to join her, Eileen and Sally in the Rovers. Paula stalks out of the pub when Tracy says she doesn’t want Amy to be working with her anymore. As they argue in the street, Amy overhears and, recognising the jacket that Paula is wearing, realises they slept together. Returning to the flat, Amy demands she confesses her cheating to Steve. David refuses to listen as Gail tells him he must testify to ensure Josh is convicted. Tracy summons Steve to meet her in the Rovers. Maria isn’t pleased with Gary’s tactics about the factory. Confessing what she’s done, Tracy asks Mary to stall Steve in the Rovers until she texts her while she tries to gain Amy’s silence. Sally informs Kevin about the good things that Abi said about him and that he should try again with her. In the Community Garden, Hope claims that Ruby pushed her off the bench and hurt her arm. Abi arrives dressed to kill in the bistro and snuggles up to Ray. Steve turns up in the Rovers with the present of a kitten for Tracy. Mary desperately tries to keep him on the premises but fails. Steve walks into a row between Tracy and Amy over Paula and demands to know what’s happened. Tracy deflects the conversation while Amy stays silent, but she refuses to listen to her mum’s claims that she will make everything up with Steve. Sarah summons a meeting of the factory shareholders to decide what they want to do. The consensus is to pay Gary the rent. Hope is in a bad mood, claiming no one believes her about her arm. Jade quietly tells her she’s on her side and will take her to the doctor tomorrow. Snuggling up with Ray, Abi is staggered to find out he’s not just the bistro manager as she assumed but the rich owner of several businesses. Gail and Nick worry about the effect of the trial on David. Gail begs Nick to speak to him. Abi comes into No.4, waxing lyrical about Ray. When she spots Kevin in the kitchen, having been invited there by a match-making Sally, she realises she’s messed things up again. Adam asks the Platts to the Rovers, where he presents champagne and goes down on one knee to properly propose with a ring to Sarah. A scowling Gary makes sarcastic comments from the bar. Tracy names the kitten Sylvester. Amy announces she’s moving in with Emma. Steve is staggered but Tracy is afraid to say anything to stop her.

Regular cast

 * Paula Martin - Stirling Gallacher
 * Tracy McDonald - Kate Ford
 * Ken Barlow - William Roache
 * Amy Barlow - Elle Mulvaney
 * Steve McDonald - Simon Gregson
 * Gary Windass - Mikey North
 * Maria Connor - Samia Longchambon
 * Bethany Platt - Lucy Fallon
 * Sarah Platt - Tina O'Brien
 * Adam Barlow - Samuel Robertson
 * Nick Tilsley - Ben Price
 * Gail Rodwell - Helen Worth
 * David Platt - Jack P. Shepherd
 * Sally Metcalfe - Sally Dynevor
 * Abi Franklin - Sally Carman
 * Eileen Grimshaw - Sue Cleaver
 * Emma Brooker - Alexandra Mardell
 * Kevin Webster - Michael Le Vell
 * Hope Stape - Isabella Flanagan
 * Ruby Dobbs - Macy Alabi
 * Fiz Stape - Jennie McAlpine
 * Tyrone Dobbs - Alan Halsall
 * Evelyn Plummer - Maureen Lipman
 * Mary Cole - Patti Clare
 * Faye Windass - Ellie Leach


 * Beth Sutherland - Lisa George
 * Kirk Sutherland - Andrew Whyment

Guest cast

 * Ray Crosby - Mark Frost
 * Jade Rowan - Lottie Henshall

Places

 * Coronation Street
 * Rovers Return Inn - Public
 * 2a Coronation Street - Living room/kitchen
 * 4 Coronation Street - Downstairs rooms
 * 8 Coronation Street - Downstairs rooms
 * 9 Coronation Street - Back room/kitchen and hallway
 * Viaduct Bistro
 * Rosamund Street
 * Victoria Street
 * 15a Victoria Street - Living room/kitchen
 * Community Garden
 * Speed Daal
 * Paula Martin's house - Living room, hallway and bedroom

Notable dialogue
Emma Brooker: "Does Tracy like cats then?" Mary Cole: "Well, she doesn’t like any living creature, to be honest, but she does admire the cat’s aloofness and, er, hostility to other species." Steve McDonald: "Exactly - she’ll love it."