BIGOTRY AT THE BISTRO
TEMPERS FLARE AS DON’S RACIST COMMENTS SPARK ANGER FROM THE BAILEY FAMILY
BRACE yourself for some shocking scenes as Coronation Street tackles “everyday racism” in a hard-hitting storyline devised with the help of Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
In an episode aired next week, the Bailey family are called “monkeys”.
Bistro boss Don
(Philip Broadbent) is checking work that Ed Bailey (Trevor Michael Georges) and son Michael (Ryan Russell) are doing on his restaurant.
Don isn’t happy and mutters: “You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.” Ed shrugs it off but Michael and his brother James (Nathan Graham) are stunned.
Later, Don makes similar comments, and Ed finally snaps.
Baroness Lawrence – whose son, Stephen, 18, was killed in a racist attack in 1993 – acted as a script advisor and was on set for the filming.
Corrie boss Iain MacLeod said he wanted to examine the generational difference in dealing with covert racism. He said: “The younger contingent think you should deal with it head on, whereas Ed and Aggie [his wife, played by Lorna Laidlaw] are slightly more ‘ignore it because you’ll never change these idiots’ minds’ kind of view.” Elsewhere, Oliver is still lying in a hospital bed, heavily sedated and awaiting the tests that will determine exactly what is wrong with him.
Steve and Leanne are shocked when the initial diagnosis of epilepsy turns out to be wrong – their little boy has a condition that is potentially far more serious, leaving them beside themselves with worry. As the parents wait for further news, they find comfort in remembering humorous moments from Oliver’s life, but when Nick suggests they should take things more seriously, Leanne lashes out.
Also, Gemma feels she’s turned a corner thanks to her post-natal depression group, and agrees to Sean’s suggestion of recording a vlog about her experiences.