6 Coronation Street Spoilers for Next Week – 23rd to 27th February

Next week on Coronation Street, Bernie is arrested after Mal is attacked, Steve receives news about Jim, and a face from Jodie’s past emerges.

1) Mal shows his true colours

Mal’s (Tim Treloar) presence reaches new sinister heights next week, as he turns on Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove).

Mal has already engineered an extension to his stay in Weatherfield by inventing electrical jobs for himself at Roy’s flat, keen to win over Bernie after spending a night drinking with her in the hotel—where they shared the briefest of kisses before Bernie turned him down.

Bernie has already begun to notice a distinct shift in Mal’s behaviour, as he tried to convince her to come upstairs and spend some alone time with him in Roy’s flat whilst she closed up the café. Mal was about to bolt the café door, locking them both in, when he was interrupted by the arrival of Brian (Peter Gunn).

Next week, with Dev (Jimmi Harkishin) and Asha (Tanisha Gorey) set to head away for a few days, Bernie finds herself alone at the café when Roy pops out to the bank. Mal wastes no time in seizing the opportunity, locking the door and laying his feelings on the line.

Bernie firmly rejects him, before Mal’s demeanour abruptly shifts—his tone darkens and things turn sinister, leaving Bernie shaken by the sudden change. 

“She’s really quite frightened, and she’s been on the end of an aggressive, violent man a lot,” Jane Hazlegrove tells us. “So this is absolutely terrifying, she’s in deep now. It is really dangerous.”

“She’s made herself vulnerable—somehow she thinks she can kind of pull down her armour. That’s her superpower, the way she has this hard shell that keeps her safe. But this is really bad. He’s unhinged.”

Returning home to an empty No.7, Bernie’s spooked when she realises that someone has cut her head out of her wedding photo. Convinced Mal is responsible, Bernie flees her home in fear.

“I mean, this is stalker territory, he’s been in the house!” Jane tells us. “She thinks at that point, ‘The only way for me to get away from this is to finally come clean to Dev about the kiss.’”

Trying to regain control, Bernie confronts Mal the following day about the photo and accuses him of breaking in. He denies any involvement, but she makes it clear she wants him gone, ordering him back to Inverness and warning she’ll call the police if he doesn’t comply.

When Roy later praises Mal’s work and recommends him to Tracy (Kate Ford), Bernie can barely contain her alarm and warns her to steer clear, leaving Roy struggling to understand her reaction.

The next day, already on edge, Bernie hears someone at the door. Fearing it’s Mal, she grabs a golf club for protection, only to feel a wave of relief when she opens the door to find son Kit (Jacob Roberts) instead.

It’s then that she finally confides in him, admitting she spent a night with Mal in the hotel and explaining how his behaviour has escalated ever since.

Things take a further turn when Mal storms into the café and publicly rails at her, forcing Roy to step in and throw him out.

Confronted by Mal again as she arrives home, Bernie loses her cool, warning Mal that if he doesn’t stay away she’ll kill him.

Bernie fails to notice a passer-by within earshot—someone who has just heard her threat—whilst Mal simply laughs it off and tells Bernie he’s not going anywhere.

2) Bernie is arrested!

The following day, events take a dramatic turn. At the station, Lisa (Vicky Myers) informs Kit that a man has been found lying in the street with a head injury.

As Kit looks through the file, he’s stunned to recognise the name—Mal Roper. With Mal rushed to hospital and said to be in a critical condition, Kit heads to find out more, where a doctor confirms the seriousness of his injuries.

By this point, Dev has returned and Bernie has finally come clean about what went down in the hotel.

That evening, the pair are in the cafe when DC Browning (Joe Hughes) arrives, informing Bernie that she’s being arrested on suspicion of assault!

Soon Bernie finds herself in a police cell, insisting she’s done nothing wrong.

“It’s not a good look because she’s been heard threatening him,” Jane tells us. “She is definitely going to be under suspicion so in the end telling Dev has not made it go away. If anything, things have got worse.”

Under interview, she admits she spent a night with Mal, but maintains it was purely as friends and that since then he’s been stalking and harassing her. But with a witness to her threat and Mal fighting for his life, will Bernie be able to prove her innocence?

3) Steve receives shock news about dad Jim

Elsewhere on the street, whilst Steve (Simon Gregson) is enjoying his new bromance with Ben (Aaron McCusker), he’s thrown when he receives a random phone call from his dad Jim’s (Charlie Lawson) landlord. It transpires that Jim owes £1800 in unpaid rent, and Steve has been put down as a guarantor. 

Irritated at being dragged into his father’s mess yet again, Steve then learns from one of Jim’s old army mates that his dad is in hospital.

Cassie (Claire Sweeney) urges Steve to visit, arguing that he may not get another chance. Tracy, however, is quick to remind him of the years of grief Jim caused, questioning whether he really owes him anything at all.

Torn between family loyalty and resentment, Steve agrees to go—but fate throws up another obstacle when he discovers his car battery is flat.

Ben offers to drive him instead, but on their arrival at the hospital car park, Steve finds himself unable to get out of the car. He admits that while he knows this could be his last opportunity to see his dad, part of him fears reopening old wounds. Will he go through with it?

Steve later joins Ben and Tim (Joe Duttine) at a Weathy County event, and the three return to the Rovers in good spirits. But as the evening wears on and Steve heads off to play darts, he leaves his phone on the bar—unaware that Jim is trying to call him.

After a skinful, Steve wakes the next morning on the sofa in the pub’s back room, none the wiser about the missed call.

By the end of the week, Steve tells Cassie he’s made up his mind—he’s going to forget about his dad and focus on the family he has, trying to draw a line under it.

Meanwhile, in the cab office, Mary (Patti Clare) excitedly tells Tim that Cassie is planning a big surprise for Steve the next day…

4) Carl continues to take advantage

When Ronnie (Vinta Morgan) visits Debbie (Sue Devaney) in prison, he’s dismayed to see that her loyalty to Carl (Jonathan Howard) remains unwavering—fully aware that Carl is exploiting her guilt over the years she kept their mother-and-son relationship a secret.

Ignoring Ronnie’s warnings, Debbie insists that he transfer £2000 to Carl from her account. Left furious by her decision, Ronnie confides in Ed (Trevor Michael Georges) that Carl is bleeding her dry.

5) Jodie’s past resurfaces

Meanwhile, the mystery around Jodie (Olivia Fraser Brown) deepens, as someone from her past emerges.

From a distance, someone is seen watching Jodie, clutching a locket identical to the one we’ve seen in her possession. The locket contained photos of two children that clearly meant something to her, but when asked by Shona (Julia Goulding), Jodie claimed that she’d picked it up at the charity shop.

After Toyah (Georgia Taylor) berates her for failing to clear up David the Dog’s poo at the precinct, Jodie shoots her a dark look. Moments afterwards, she hears someone calling her name.

Jodie’s surprised to come face-to-face with Olivia (Lucy Dulson), a teenage girl that it transpires Jodie used to look after. Masking her unease, Jodie listens as Olivia questions why she left, and reminds her that she used to say how much she enjoyed looking after her and her brother. How will Jodie be able to respond?

Back at No.8, ensuring she’s alone, Jodie retrieves a box from the cupboard and removes something from it, revealing another secret that she’s been keeping…

Shona continues to place her trust in Jodie, even treating her to a pamper day in thanks for everything she’s done.

As Shona raises a toast in the salon, Maria (Samia Longchambon) and Bethany (Lucy Fallon) heap praise on her marriage to David, describing them as the perfect couple—a sentiment that visibly unsettles Jodie. Before long, Shona’s upset to realise that her wedding ring has disappeared.

When David is summoned home the next day, he finds Jodie reaching down the back of the armchair. 

She claims she can feel the ring but can’t quite reach it alone, drawing David into close proximity as he tries to help.

Determined to cause further disruption to her sister’s marriage, Jodie makes it looks as though David hasn’t done the chores, leaving an exhausted Shona frustrated when she returns from an overnight stay at the hospital watching over baby Harper.

Later, in the café, Shona admits to Bethany that she and David hardly see each other at the moment, the strain in their relationship becoming increasingly apparent. It’s something that suits Jodie just fine, but Bethany has an idea…

6) Trouble deepens for Shuttleworth’s

Over at the undertakers, George (Tony Maudsley) comes under further scrutiny when an ill-timed quip from Christina (Amy Robbins) backfires massively.

George was recently stunned to learn that he had been named as a beneficiary in a client’s will, which only became apparent with the client’s daughter, Annie (Marie Critchley), confronted him at the undertakers and accused him of coercing her mother.

Next week, Christina makes a joke about George inveigling his way into clients’ wills—only to realise too late that Mrs Ripley (Eileen O’Brien), a potential customer, has overheard. Will she be able to put things right?

Meanwhile, after George seeks advice, Adam (Sam Robertson) reveals that he has already been hired by Annie to contest her mother’s will, and that George will need to find his own solicitor as soon as possible.

When George considers turning down the £10,000 left to him in the will to avoid further trouble, Christina argues that doing so would look like an admission of guilt. Persuaded, George decides to stand his ground—just as Adam warns that Annie now believes Christina was in on it too, and intends to sue them both.

On Friday, attention turns back to the now-late Mrs Ripley, when her son Damien (Matthew Flynn) arrives and thanks George for agreeing to oversee his mum’s funeral. However, once they step outside, Annie quickly approaches and intervenes, insisting that Shuttleworth’s cannot be trusted.

Taking her warning on board, Damien vows to take his business elsewhere—leaving George fearing the damage to his reputation may already be done.