Next week on Coronation Street – Michael makes a devastating accusation

Next week on Coronation Street, Michael makes a devastating accusation, as Tracey launches into an affair with Steve’s footballing hero.

Steve (Simon Gregson) was flabbergasted this week when he returned home to find his hero Tommy Orpington (Matt Milburn) in the living room of No.1.

After Steve’s spectacular failure at finding an appropriate present for wife Tracy’s (Kate Ford) birthday—turns out a cherry stone pillow doesn’t cut it—Tracy demanded that they get their bedroom redecorated instead.

Realising that Steve would likely never get around to it though, Tracy heeded Mary’s (Patti Clare) advice and decided to hire a professional. And it just so happened that she had the business card of the person with a strangely familiar name, who came into the shop on Christmas Day looking for a last-minute gift.

Tommy is of course the former Weatherfield County footballer who Steve and Tim (Joe Duttine) have fawned over during a handful of past appearances on the show, but the star player has now hung up his boots and gone back to his former trade.

“Since leaving football, he’s made some bad business investments,” show producer Iain MacLeod told EverySoap last year. “Not the least of which was opening a Tommy Orpington themed gourmet burger restaurant, which has been established on screen.

“Anyway, they’ve all gone belly up, his wife has left him and he’s now had to return to the trade he had when he was a non-league footballer, which is painter and decorator.”

“You’d think, given all that, that he’d be quite miserable,” Iain added. “But he’s not at all, he’s very accepting of his lot, and actually finds the act of painting and decorating quite zen because no one’s telling him what to do.

“He hasn’t got the gaffer screaming at him to do shuttle runs. He can just whip out his paint kettle and his roller, and stick his earbuds in, and he finds it quite meditative.”

But it seemed in a cruel twist of fate that Steve wouldn’t be around to hang out with Tommy O anyway, having been invited by daughter Emma to spend the week with her in France.

Tracy urged Steve to go, knowing that he’d only distract Tommy and therefore increase the labour costs, and Steve reluctantly agreed.

As Steve heads outside for his taxi to the airport next week, he can’t help feel a pang of jealously as Tommy pulls up in his van.

Tommy’s quickly approached by Tim, Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and Kirk (Andy Whyment) who attempt to drag him off to the Rovers, but Tracy soon puts a stop to that.

As Steve skulks away knowing that his mates will inevitably get to hang out with Tommy at some point over the coming days, little does he realise that he should be shifting his concerns even closer to home…

It’s clear there’s something of a spark between Tracy and Tommy, and when she’s forced to tick him off over his timekeeping, a quick compliment about her dress is all it takes for a secretly flattered Tracy to forgive him.

“It definitely catches him off guard,” Matt Milburn reveals as he talks about Tommy’s instant attraction to Tracy. “I think he feels a little bit scorned by relationships generally. He’s not got any ill feelings towards his ex-wife but I think his feelings towards long term relationships as a whole is something he’s not convinced by.

“He had no desire to meet someone and I’m not really sure if he’s ready for dating, so meeting someone like Tracy who is married for a start, is not an ideal scenario.“

Tracy isn’t the only one to be feeling flustered in Tommy’s presence though, as over in the flower shop, Toyah (Georgia Taylor) enthuses about how sexy Tommy looks in his overalls. Mary has an idea and suggests to Tracy that she could act as a matchmaker between the pair. However Tracy instead decides to warn Toyah off Tommy, stating that he’s not to be trusted as a serial womaniser.

Whilst on a break in the kitchen, Tommy tells Tracy that he fancies her, and before they know it, the two are sharing a kiss!

“I think he likes her sparky nature, her quick retorts and her banter is very sharp,” Matt continues. “He likes being kept on his toes. She’s not an easy target in ways.

“I just think that they seem to have this chemistry between them that none of them see coming. Maybe because she’s off the menu, that unconsciously attracts him more.”

But as the two embark on a full-blown affair, could Tommy be looking for something that married Tracy can’t give?

“100% it’s no strings fun,” Matt admits. “That is his only outlook on women at the minute. I think his view on relationships is probably anti long-term relationships and he believes monogamy isn’t the way forward.

“He does feel guilty because he likes Steve and he’s definitely not out to hurt anyone but at the same time, the guilt isn’t driving him under the ground either. He’s not the one that’s married so I suppose he doesn’t carry the majority of the guilt.”

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Elsewhere on the cobbles, questions remain over the fire at the builder’s yard, which leads to Michael (Ryan Russell) making a devastating accusation.

Ed had been staying with daughter Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown), following the reveal that his gambling had mounted up debts that were now putting the family home at No.3 at risk.

But when a plan to stay with friend Marcus went awry, Ed didn’t tell his family and went to stay in the builder’s yard.

When the builder’s yard later caught fire, Michael rushed in believing Ed was in there, and ended up getting trapped himself.

Next week, Craig (Colson Smith) takes Ed in for questioning over the cause of the fire. Ed’s debts are well known, and the fact that Gary (Mikey North) had pulled out of potentially buying the builder’s yard that very day has brought Ed under suspicion.

Michael asks Ed straight out if he started the fire, and whilst Ed earnestly denies doing so, Michael doesn’t seem convinced by his answer.

Ed admits to DS Swain that he may have knocked over some white spirit whilst there, but again denies starting the blaze.

When Ed returns home with Dee-Dee, a fuming Michael pulls no punches as he accuses Ed of burning down the builder’s yard so he could claim the insurance money, inadvertently putting his own life on the line in the process.

All Ed can do is deny it, heartbroken at the hatred coming from his son.

Later in the week, Michael is stunned when Craig informs him that the fire was in fact caused by an electric heater, and therefore wasn’t deliberate. Michael instantly feels guilty, but relieved that Ed wasn’t responsible.

But will Michael be able to move forward with Ed, who is without his business as well as being homeless, or have those bridges been burned beyond repair?