Coronation Street revisited John Stape’s reign of terror in tonight’s episode following Summer Spellman’s release. Summer was locked up and awaiting trial for Theo Silverton’s murder, a crime she didn’t commit.
Tyrone Dobbs was able to secure her release when he finally told police that he had seen both her and Theo on the night of his death, proving that she could not have killed him.
Summer is still furious, however, given the traumatic nature of her time in prison and the fact that she was hospitalised when she deliberately turned off her insulin pump.
Tonight’s episode saw Summer find an unlikely confidant in Fiz Dobbs, who recalled the time she was falsely imprisoned for a series of murders committed by her husband at the time, John.
The episode began with Summer confronting Tyrone at the garage, saying she went through hell when he could have cleared her name sooner.
He apologised, but Summer became increasingly irate before Kevin Webster intervened, saying her outburst would not change anything.
She told Tyrone to stay away from her before storming off, later having a heart-to-heart with Fiz about their respective ordeals in prison.
Fiz visited the shop where Summer was working, and there was immediate tension, but Fiz broke the ice by offering support.
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to talk to, I just wondered how you’re keeping?” she asked Summer, who said she would be a lot better if Tyrone had told the truth sooner.
Fiz empathised with her, assuring Summer that it “gets easier” despite going to prison, “messing with your head.”
“All you want to do when you’re out is get back home and get back to normal, trouble is you don’t know what normal is,” she continued.
Summer asked when Fiz went to prison, to which she said it was a long story and that she was there for her if she ever wanted to talk to her.
John’s crimes took place in 2011, when he killed his ex-colleague Colin Fishwick and assumed his identity, hiding his body under the Underworld factory.
He then killed Charlotte Hoyle when she found out about his identity theft, and murdered Colin’s mother, Joy Fishwick, when she discovered the truth about what happened to her son.
John also kidnapped Rosie Webster following his affair with her, as well as Chesney Brown and Charlotte’s parents, to prevent the truth of his crimes from coming out.
When trying to flee the cobbles, he crashed his car into a lorry, dying in the hospital from his injuries shortly after clearing Fiz’s name.
