Episode 5288 (19th June 2002)

Plot
Aidan asks Sarah to bunk off school with him. She's about to say yes when Gail walks in. She has no option but to go to school. Geena is livid with the way Mike has treated Joe. Karen is delighted that Joe's gone and enjoys rubbing Geena's nose in it. Archie flatters Audrey about her hairdressing skills and she caves in and agrees to see to Archie's clients' hair - the corpses. Hayley tells Mike just how hard Joe worked to try and get the order out. Mike decides he's been a bit hasty and offers Joe his job back. Joe accepts on condition he can fire Karen. Curly throws a mother and baby party. Maxine attends and puts her foot in it by assuming that everyone is part of a couple. Bet sits in Audrey's front garden wearing her pyjamas smoking a cigarette. Audrey is so embarrassed that she tells Bet it's okay to smoke in the house again. Fred asks Bet if she'd like to come back as Manager of the Rovers and run the pub for him, but she declines. The factory girls are amazed when Mike arrives with Joe who is obviously back working for Underworld. Karen is furious and especially when Joe sacks her. She leaves the factory in tears.

Regular cast

 * Gail Platt - Helen Worth
 * Audrey Roberts - Sue Nicholls
 * Sarah Platt - Tina O’Brien
 * Roy Cropper - David Neilson
 * Geena Gregory - Jennifer James
 * Joe Carter - Jonathan Wrather
 * Janice Battersby - Vicky Entwistle
 * Karen McDonald - Suranne Jones
 * Fiz Brown - Jennie McAlpine
 * Hayley Cropper - Julie Hesmondhalgh
 * Maxine Peacock - Tracy Shaw
 * Curly Watts - Kevin Kennedy
 * Archie Shuttleworth - Roy Hudd
 * Mike Baldwin - Johnny Briggs
 * Bet Lynch - Julie Goodyear
 * Emma Watts - Angela Lonsdale
 * Fred Elliott - John Savident
 * Dev Alahan - Jimmi Harkishin
 * Shelley Unwin - Sally Lindsay

Guest cast

 * Aidan Critchley - Dean Ashton
 * Julie Howard - Orla Cottingham