8 Coronation Street Spoilers for Next Week – 30th September to 4th October

Next week on Coronation Street, the day of Paul’s funeral arrives, Lisa believes Joel has ended it all, the Platts try to raise the funds to bring Bethany home, and something’s wrong with Fiz…

1) The street says goodbye to Paul

Despite their best efforts to find some mutual ground in their differing outlooks, Billy (Daniel Brocklebank) and Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove) remain at loggerheads as the day of Paul’s (Peter Ash) funeral finally comes around.

In an effort to extend an olive branch, Billy approaches Bernie to suggest they choose the flowers together, but even that ends in another blazing row.

As Bernie laments to Dev (Jimmi Harkishin) about not being able to give Paul the funeral she would like—adamant that Billy’s planned religious ceremony isn’t what Paul would truly want—she is determined that Paul’s ashes will be given a more fitting send-off.

As the day of the funeral dawns, on what would have been Billy and Paul’s first wedding anniversary, Billy is preparing himself in the church when he finds someone skulking in the shadows. He’s horrified to realise that it’s Denny (Danny Cunningham), Paul and Gemma’s father, and he’s clearly drunk.

Denny was last seen back in May, and whilst Paul was willing to give his father one more chance after years of estrangement, it soon became apparent that he hadn’t changed his ways.

After a drinking session with an irresponsible Denny landed Paul in hospital, Denny had attempted to sell his son’s valuable wheelchair whilst he was out of the way, only to be caught in the act by Bernie.

With only minutes before the service starts, Billy reluctantly lets Denny stay, ordering him to behave himself and stay out of sight of the family.

Paul’s coffin is brought to the church in style, with Todd (Gareth Pierce), Summer (Harriet Bibby), David (Jack P Shepherd), Chesney (Sam Aston), Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown) and Kit (Jacob Roberts) acting as pallbearers.

An emotional Bernie and Gemma follow the coffin down the aisle and take their seats as Billy prepares to conduct the most difficult service of his life.

Will they manage to get through the service without a hitch?

2) Bernie holds a rave

The following day, the final preparations are made for Bernie’s own send-off for Paul—a retro rave in the street, complete with shellsuits, whistles and glowsticks!

Determined that her son is going to attend the party of the year, Bernie requests Todd bring Paul’s ashes along so that he can get prime position on the dance floor.

Meanwhile, after a traumatic day, Billy is feeling worse for wear. Gingerly heading to the undertakers to collect Paul’s ashes, he’s put out to discover that Bernie already has them in her possession. Will this cause yet another issue for the pair?

Later that evening, Bernie thanks everyone for turning up to give Paul a day to remember, as she announces her grand plan to have Paul’s ashes sent into space!

3) Has Joel ended it all?

Elsewhere, the case against Joel (Calum Lill) takes a dramatic turn when the police come to the conclusion that the abusive solicitor has ended his own life!

Joel was last seen in Friday’s episode seemingly on the brink of breakdown, as he stumbled into Roy’s (David Neilson) cafe holding a bottle of whisky when he should have been appearing in court. Roy was concerned for his welfare as Joel rambled and angrily ripped the payphone off the wall.

“My guilt has taken over me,” he told Roy. “I feel like I’m suffocating.”

Joel made a hasty exit when the pair were interrupted by Carla’s (Alison King) arrival, but it was soon revealed that all was not as it seemed. As Joel ducked out of sight into the ginnel, he suddenly regained his composure and poured the bottle down the drain. The whole thing had been an act, apparently to bring his mental state into question.

Joel later left an emotional voicemail for Dee-Dee whilst sitting in his car.

“I know there’s no way back after… after everything, but maybe there’s something I can still do to make you, and everyone else, happy,” he told her. “I’m so sorry… bye.”

As Joel hung up he again was able to quickly compose himself, as it was revealed he had a large cut on his cheek, leaving viewers to wonder what he was up to…

Next week, after Dee-Dee plays the voicemail to Lisa (Vicky Myers), the DS swiftly deduces that it sounds like a final goodbye Joel would give if he was about to take his own life.

Kit triangulates the last known location of Joel’s phone, and he and Lisa later find Joel’s car abandoned under a large viaduct.

With a note left folded on the dashboard, Lisa has no doubts that Joel is now dead, and the police begin a search for his body. But are they simply seeing what Joel wanted them to see?

Dee-Dee certainly thinks so, particularly after phoning around all the companies involved in their wedding and learning that Joel has already recouped all the deposits… what good is that sort of money when you’re dead?

Later in the week, Dee-Dee sees Joel’s dad Gus (Chris Garner) at the police station, and suggests that rather than taking his own life, Joel may have actually gone on the run. This causes an argument between the pair which Lisa is forced to break up, as she tells Dee-Dee to accept Joel is dead.

Will Dee-Dee be proved correct? Is Joel playing them all?

4) The Platts resort to drastic measures

Over in Turkey, Sarah (Tina O’Brien) is desperately trying to find a way to raise the funds needed for daughter Bethany’s (Lucy Fallon) medical bills, as she remains in hospital following a botched liposuction procedure.

As well as being left with sepsis, Bethany will now have a stoma bag for life, and as she hadn’t declared her intention to have the procedure before she travelled, the insurance will not pay up.

Bethany will not be allowed to leave the country until all the costs are paid off, which are currently increasing by £2000 a day. Next week, Sarah is in the process of trying to arrange a loan, but is having trouble accessing her voicemail from aboard.

She phones Adam (Sam Robertson) and asks him to check on her behalf in case there is a message from the loan company. But as he listens, Adam is stunned to find a message from Sarah’s ex-boyfriend Damon (Ciaran Griffiths), who is currently languishing in prison. What does he want?

In the hospital, Sarah is surprised when she’s approached by Amelia (Nalân Burgess) the CEO of the cosmetic clinic responsible for Bethany’s procedure. Amelia explains to Sarah that they are willing to cover the costs of her accommodation whilst she is in Turkey, but Sarah angrily points out that it’s a mere drop in the ocean compared to their other costs.

As Sarah demands that they take care of the medical expenses, Amelia pulls out the consent form that Bethany signed, seemingly leaving the Platts without a leg to stand on.

“I think she’s first like ‘what the hell are we going to do?'” Tina O’Brien explains. “She thinks they are going to get arrested and never leave the country. It’s just awful for the whole family and feels like she’s in a nightmare.”

“Everyday she’s seeing the money going up and up in the hospital by thousands of pounds. Sarah knows that it’s difficult to even ask people for money because there’s a cost of living crisis. She’s also aware of the judgement that will come with this, because people will see it as Bethany bringing this on herself.”

Audrey (Sue Nicholls) is fuming when she hears that the clinic are refusing to take responsibility and pay the medical bills, and resolves that they should take to social media to tell everyone exactly how the company operates. But will the plan backfire?

Meanwhile, Gail (Helen Worth) feels that their only real option is to put the house up for sale. David is horrified by the idea, pointing out that they will all be homeless, but no-one is able to come up with any alternatives that would raise the amount of cash needed.

“Sarah feels a lot of emotions,” Tina tells us when asked how Sarah reacts to learning of Gail’s plan. “She’s also carrying that burden for Bethany, because she knows how devastated she will feel when she finds out what people have been trying to do to look after her. Sarah’s gutted and guilty that it’s come to this, but she also feels really relieved and understood from her family, especially Gail.”

When Daniel (Rob Mallard) considers dipping into Bertie’s trust fund to help his girlfriend, Ken (William Roache) urges him to reconsider.

As the Platts’ costs increase by the day, will they ever be able to get Bethany home?

5) What’s wrong with Fiz?

Over at No.9, Tyrone (Alan Halsall) is hoping to make up for Fiz’s (Jennie McAlpine) 40th birthday downer. The pair had been out for a romantic meal at the bistro when they received a message from the school, explaining that daughter Hope (Isabella Flanagan) had been caught vaping.

As Ty plans a second meal next week, Fiz suffers from a dizzy spell whilst at work. Concerned, she makes an appointment with Dr Gaddas (Christine Mackie)—will she be able to get to the bottom of it?

Later in the week, Ty tells Hope and Ruby (Billie Naylor) that Fiz is feeling out of sorts and that she needs to rest, but those concerns are soon put aside when Ty discovers another vape hidden in Hope’s pencil case.

Ty and Fiz are incredulous as Hope audaciously tells them that she stole it from Dev’s shop!

With her existing punishment seemingly not having much effect, how will Fiz and Ty cope with Hope, as well as Fiz’s own situation?

6) Mason admits the truth to Stu

Over on Victoria Street, Stu (Bill Fellows) is taken aback to find that Mason (Luca Toolan) has spent the night in the restaurant. The previous day had seen Mason showing up with a black eye, but denied he was having any issues at home.

As the week came to a close, Mason snuck back into the restaurant after hours and unrolled his sleeping bag.

Mason admits to Stu that he had been forced to stay there in order to avoid another beating from his violent older brothers.

With Stu having already done all he can to assist Mason following his release from the youth offenders institute, will he be able to help him further?

7) Lisa is concerned for Carla

Also next week, Carla is thrown when Ryan (Ryan Prescott) bring an official looking letter to her at the factory. Carla is currently facing charges over knocking one of the youths who abused Roy off his bike with her car, but her reaction when she reads the letter implies something else is going down.

When Ryan tells Lisa that Carla is struggling with her upcoming plea hearing, Lisa feels there is more going on.

What news has Carla received to make her react in such a way?

8) Kirk rallies together the singletons

Finally, still nursing a broken heart over Beth’s (Lisa George) sudden departure, Kirk (Andy Whyment) decides to try and pull himself out of his funk and form a club bringing together all the single people on the street.

As the inaugural Singles Club meeting is held at the Rovers, Kirk discusses movies with Izzy (Cherylee Houston). Could this be the street’s new social highlight?