Ken Barlow (William Roache) has reached breaking point with son Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) in Coronation Street.
Earlier this week, Daniel broke down at work when Lily Platt (Grace Ashcroft-Gardner) and Jake Windass (Bobby Bradshaw) asked intense questions about his former relationship with paedophile Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon).
Hope Dobbs (Isabella Flanagan) came to his rescue, and it became clear that he was in no state to return to Weatherfield High.
The abuse from his pupils was just the tip of the iceberg. Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances Brown) had been writing vile messages about him online under the pseudonym Truthteller, in the hope he would continue to see her as a pillar of support and allow her to stay at his flat long-term.
She felt guilt-ridden, and although she stopped, an imitation account – Truthteller2 – was launched. Daniel was even ambushed in the street by a group of teenagers, who were armed with ketchup bottles.
When he discovered that Jodie orchestrated the initial hatred, Daniel hit the bottle and Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) refused service in the pub on Adam Barlow’s (Sam Robertson) advice. He returned home and passed out on the sofa, unaware that son Bertie (Henry Duggan) was desperate for food.
The youngster put some food covered in tinfoil in the microwave, unaware of the dangers. When it began to spark, he rushed out of the flat and left Daniel sleeping.
Adam and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) were shocked when Bertie turned up on No 1’s doorstep, and decided to teach Daniel a lesson. After turning off the fire alarm, Adam left Daniel alone.
He woke up in a state of panic in today’s episode, having received a call from Bessie Street Primary School asking about Bertie’s whereabouts. He rushed around the flat to find him, and then noticed the front door was wide open.
Darting out into the street, Daniel urged Ken to help him on the search. He then headed to the precinct and bumped into Tracy, who alluded to the fact that she knew exactly where Bertie was.
A major argument broke out at the Barlow residence, with Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) ushering Bertie out of the room. Tracy compared Daniel’s actions to their older brother Peter (Chris Gascoyne), who left his son Simon (Alex Bain) in a similar predicament 17 years ago.
Adam then suggested that his nephew had failed to follow late wife Sinead’s (Katie McGlynn) wishes, and that had the microwave exploded, Bertie could’ve been an orphan.
Furious that Sinead’s memory was being used as leverage within the escalation, Daniel went to throw a punch – but accidentally elbowed Ken in the face instead. The pensioner collapsed onto the sofa, clutching his nose.
Although he was fine, he ordered Daniel to leave the house, saying that Bertie would only be returned when he was able to take responsibility for his actions.
Will Daniel be able to get back onto the right path?
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Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 or can be streamed from 7am on ITVX.
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