CATCH-UP - Something for the weekend?

Maria Sullivan has an incredible talent as a hairdresser - people leave the salon looking exactly the same as when they went in. She achieves this by standing chatting to them and hovering a comb approximately 3cm from their head. After a while they thank her, pay her, and leave.

Nice work if you can get it, and even nicer when the head you're hovering over is that of Liam Connor. Liam really didn't need a haircut, having just had one last week, but the scriptwriters obviously noticed that two of the most attractive cast members had been single for too long, so Liam took the bold step of deciding to have his beautiful black hair trimmed at t'salon.

Elsewhere, Ashley was worried about Claire again as she went AWOL shortly before Freddie's first birthday party, and forgot to pick Our Joshua up from school. She'd been at the police station finding out if there'd been any progress on the hunt for the evil arsonist/baby snatcher. There hadn't (they should get that Scouse detective back, he was much better).

There's always a spectre at every Corrie feast, and at Freddie's birthday feast the spectre was Casey. She'd come ostensibly to apologise to Claire for the "horrible" things she said to and about her on their previous meeting. She's a cunning one, that Casey, and it wasn't long before she and Claire were curled up on the Peacock sofa having a good old chinny-wag and declaring that they each needed a friend and the friend they needed was each other. Meanwhile the other party guests were all packed into the conservatory, with Ashley ducking out in time to hear Claire giving him a bit of a slagging off to her new best mate.

Vernon spent the night in t'cab office sleeping in that nasty armchair. He's not interested in getting back with Liz, and feels that people don't take him seriously. Violet also accused Liz of not taking Vernon seriously and said she always felt that Liz was stringing Vernon along for want of anything better. Liz was shocked by this, but later had to admit there was a grain of truth to it. Now she has asked Lloyd to offer Vernon a room in his flat, which she (Liz) will pay for secretly.

Janice and Roger went to Leanne's restaurant, and Roger was worried about the profit margins. Cilla came in asking for a job, and Leanne took great pleasure in showing her the door.