Top 10 WTF Coronation Street Moments

Back in the early ‘90s, the rather eccentric Reg Holdsworth showed us all why water beds really should bea thing of the past. In a fumbling attempt to woo Maureen, as part of a long-running love story, he and she ended up on top of his wobbly mattress together – so, what could possibly go wrong? It turns out everything, as the bed inevitably burst after a spot of DIY in the floor below leads to a drill going straight through it. What follows is a lengthy series of embarrassments, as a nearly-naked Reg splashes around in a towel, and Maureen tries desperately to find something to wear!

A character who’s quite often at the centre of the drama, long-term Weatherfield resident, Gail, found herself in a full-on (though pretty funny-to-watch) brawl in the middle of the street, in 2004. Her rival? The lady who lived at house 11 – Eileen Grimshaw. It all came about after Eileen’s son, Todd, who was dating Gail’s daughter, Sarah, came out as gay. In totally irrational, and somewhat embarrassing scenes, Gail tears into Eileen about her son. And, in full view of the street, the fight quickly gets physical. Naturally, the pair were at it again in 2015.

It wouldn’t be a British soap without a weeks-long whodunit to keep audiences in suspense, would it? And who better to be at the centre of it than the pulls-no-punches, notoriously unpopular with almost all of her neighbours, Miss McIntyre! After much Cluedo-likespeculation, it eventually turned out that it was Rob Donovan who killed Tina, whose method was to throw her off a balcony. Ultimately, the final scenes were pretty difficult to watch, made even more brutal by the metal pipe to finish the job. But, the storyline is best remembered for its long series of twists, turns and seemingly impossible revelations. Oh, and then there were Tina’s final words. Classic.

This one was all kinds of WTF, so much so that even the Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair, got involved with the infamous “Free the Weatherfield One”campaign. In one of British TV’s biggest miscarriages of justice, the lady who wore probably British TV’s biggest pair of glasses was wrongfully convicted of fraud. Fans will remember, of course, that Deirdre had found herself in hot water after falling for a conman who used her account for his own dodgy finances. And so, the national outrage threatened to get out of hand when she was finally sentenced. But, there were sweet celebrations when she was eventually released!

To undeniably one of Corrie’s, maybe British tele in general’s, most famous killers. Brian Capron, the actor who played Richard Hillman, reckons he’s still greeted with actual anger whenever he meets fans, so strong was the character’s impact. The writers truly went to town in giving him some horrific acts, which saw him murder people with a shovel and a crowbar, as well as gaslighting an elderly lady, setting a house on fire, and most memorably, driving the Platt family into a canal with “You and Me Song” by The Wannadies playing on the car stereo. Luckily, they all survived except for dastardly Dick.

Back to more trifling matters… We’ve all thrown a wobbly before, but not all of us have thrown a wobbly dessert! During a particularly tense family meal at a time when Peter Barlow was awaiting trial for the aforementioned murder of Tina, it all became a bit too much for the lady in lenses. After discovering her pudding hadn’t set, she launched it straight at the wall, before delivering this iconic and true line. A scene that was definitely unexpected, it stood out for its weirdness especially considering that it was part of a more serious storyline.

Like most soaps, Corrie has had its fair share of love rats, Charlie Stubbs being no exception. However, in Tracy McDonald, he clearly picked the wrong person to mess around with. After cheating him out of money for a fake abortion, she struck him a fatal blow to the noggin using a brass ornament, all whilst giving him a lap dance to the song “Whatever” by Oasis. It all unfolds as any classic Corrie caper should. But, the real shock came when she hit him the second time – and all the while when there were kids in the room next door!

It shouldn’t take the intervention of a Great Dane and a soggy pizza to tell you that a jacuzzi in a modest terrace isn’t always the best idea, but that’s how it went here. Les and Cilla’s romantic bath was going well until the legendary Schmeichel, the dog and not the Danish goalkeeper, dunked himself in with them after sniffing out their takeaway. The result, as you can imagine, was utter carnage – until the couple and the dog were sent crashing into the lounge below. Hands up if you saw this coming? Nope, us neither.

Kirk Sutherland has carved quite a reputation as the source of Corrie comic relief over the years, but has he ever been involved in a storyline quite as bizarre as this one? The unexpected action took place on New Year’s Eve 2018, as Kirk and Dev found themselves blindsided by what felt to them like a very real (and pretty terrifying) ghost. It turned out to be a prank, but for a few short minutes audiences were made to feel like they were watching a leftfield, low-budget, 1980s horror flick – and quite frankly, it was brilliant.

For those of you who ever wondered what the mysterious bridge over the cobbles was for, then this sort of answers that question. In what looks more like a scene straight out of a disaster movie, an explosion at The Joinery led to an unfortunate opening in the bridge. Obviously, the communication lines must’ve been down, as not too long afterwards, a tram comes flying off the tracks and into The Kabin and Corner Shop below. It’s all just so sudden… and so incredibly OTT. But, what’s even more shocking is that the quickly quite hellish situation kills off Molly and Street stalwart Ashley Peacock! A sad day for soap fans.