Sarah’s torn! Sally’s strain
She protects killer Gary – but where does that leave her and Adam? Her relationship with Tim hits crisis point over Geoff’s abuse
After 12 months of ducking and diving, it looks like the chickens are coming home to roost for Gary Windass, who murdered loan shark Rick Neelan and buried his body in the woods.
Last week, the Columbo of the cobbles, Adam Barlow, correctly surmised that the furniture seller had put Rick into an early grave – and this week, Sarah reaches the same shock conclusion.
But don’t expect Gary to check into HMP Weatherfield any time soon, because he has as much dirt on Sarah as she has on him. When the pair were together, she confided in him about what really happened to Callum Logan – her drug-dealing ex-boyfriend who was bumped off by Kylie Platt, but whose death she, Kylie and David pinned on the late Tony Stewart.
‘Will Gary use Callum’s death against Sarah?’ muses Corrie boss Iain Macleod. ‘Yes, in a way! That’s certainly part of the scripts. Gary isn’t the only one to have disposed of a body…’
Knowing that exposing Gary could lead to her own downfall, Sarah is keen to let sleeping dogs lie. But it doesn’t take hubby Adam long to realise that his wife is protecting Gary’s back.
He wants his nemesis to pay for his crimes – not least for the sake of friend and colleague Imran, who lost sister Rana thanks to Gary’s actions. That his wife seems to be on Team Windass rather than Team Barlow leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.
Could their marriage hit the rocks? And if so, will Gary – who has never stopped loving Sarah, and who ultimately killed Rick to protect her – make his move?
Emotions are certainly running high as he prepares for his wedding to Maria next month.
‘To what extent are things ever really over when you have loved someone that much?’ adds Iain.
‘Sarah and Gary’s complicated feelings will cause them headaches and leave them with some big decisions to make…’
As we head further into summer, Sally and Tim’s damaged relationship shows no signs of healing. No.4 remains a place of deep division, with Sally convinced that her father-in-law Geoff abused Yasmeen, and Tim refusing to believe that the caring parent who gave him piggybacks on the beach is capable of such heinous behaviour.
Elaine’s arrival is a catalyst for Sally to make another attempt to open up Tim’s eyes, as she begs him to consider that his father isn’t the man he thinks he is. But it’s too much for Tim to take.
The pair’s problems go from bad to worse when Sally decides to use the money Geoff gifted her and Tim for their wedding to help Alya out of a tight spot. The decision is a no-brainer for Sal, who knows that the cash was Yasmeen’s in the first place, and therefore never Geoff’s to give. But for Tim, it feels like a betrayal – she’s putting the family who are ‘demonising’ his dad before their special day.
Something has to give. This is a conflict without compromise, and there’s only so long the couple can carry on being on different sides of the fence.
‘I don’t think Sally would respect Tim if he didn’t come round to accepting what happened,’ Sally Dynevor, who plays her, tells us. ‘She wouldn’t be able to look at him in the same way again.’
Are the popular pair destined to go their separate ways?