Soaps preview: Mon 21 – Fri 25 October

Coronation Street
Earthquakes and mountain ranges are formed when tectonic plates crash together. Well, in soap terms, you better batten down the hatches, stand in a doorway and prepare for the Himalayas to be formed in Weatherfield ‘cause this is huge. It’s an irresistible force meeting an immoveable object - Tracy and Tina are going to war.

It all kicks off when Tina discovers that Dennis has pawned his engagement ring to Barlow’s Buys to pay off his tax bill. She storms round there to get it back and is less than impressed when Tracy insists on making a profit on it. Indeed, Tina ends up spending all her surrogacy money getting it back.

[Corrie character TO BE KILLED OFF in shock whodunnit - Spoiler alert]

Not only that – but Tracy then goes and tells Rita what Dennis did anyway, the spiteful mare.  Tina decides to try and unsettle Tracy and Rob’s romance by leaving some saucy knickers in his car for her to find.

But even if the plan kind of works, and Tracy gets wound up, it’s Tina who cracks after Tommy dumps her for giving David Platt shelter (Really? Really? After all that surrogacy stuff? That’s what the final straw is? Clearly the ‘Corrie’ writers have taken their character development lessons from Alfie Moon).

Stung by being dumped and by Tracy’s constant stirring – Tina ends up chucking a brick through the pawn shop window. But it is all to no avail. Tracy is delighted to have something on her new enemy and  –after first making the damage worse to increase their insurance claim - makes a plan to push her even further. Catfight ahoy!

Also this week: Hayley collapses and is taken to hospital where she makes it up with Roy. This is really a beautifully handled story. Heart-aching stuff.

EastEnders
Exciting times in store - Michael Moon has a plot in mind. And this one is set to be a classic in the mould of his others - getting revenge on his dad through setting up a boxing match for his brother, conning Jean out of her lottery winnings by asking her for the money and spending several weeks planting stolen goods on Derek Branning and calling the police.

Michael is now sure that the only way he’s going to get custody of Scarlett is over Janine’s dead body – so he decides to make sure that he has the body to climb over. So when Alice ingratiates herself back in with Janine, he gets her to sneak him into the house, and using Janine’s credit card orders some pills.

[EastEnder TO RETURN after seven years away]

After snaffling the pills when they arrive by cutting off the courier, Michael is set – but he knows that he can’t just drop them in her wine – that’s not nearly complicated enough. He has to have another part of the plan - he is going to frame Alice. He starts off casting suspicion on her, by telling Kat how obsessed she is with him – and persuades her to book tickets in her name.

He then tells Alice he’s going to drug Janine and take Scarlett. Alice is initially shocked, but Michael soon calms her and, not wanting him to be caught breaking the injunction, Alice insists on drugging Janine. She even comes up with the idea herself.

But when she goes round to put the pills in the wine, she realises that there should be more left than there are – and it finally dawns on her – Michael is using her to kill Janine! How’s she going to react?

Also this week: Carol is amazed when David manipulates Whitney into calling him “part of the family”.

Emmerdale
We can believe Cain would get up to almost anything. Robbery, theft, beating up his family, taking a rocket to space, murder. But settling down? Never. Surely that’s a step too far. Or is it?

He begins the week trying to help Moira who feels she has to sell the farm ‘cause of financial problems. He tries to help her by taking on a dodgy job from a contact called Marcus – it could be “nasty” but there’s serious cash involved.

[Buy CLASSIC SOAP EPISODES on DVD]

Before he goes on the job, he asks Moira to marry him – but she brushes him off, thinking he can’t be serious. It’s a pretty half-hearted proposal in fairness but it still hangs in the air between them.

He heads off to do the job, telling Zak that he has to or she will lose everything. Just as he is about to do the job, however, he answers the phone to Moira, who tells him she is in love with him and doesn’t want him to change.

Moira’s words have an impact and soon Cain tells an unimpressed Marcus he is out - he is leaving but has sorted someone to take his place. Soon Cain is back at home and down on one knee when someone crashes in disturbing the perfect moment…

Also this week: David is at Alicia’s bedside and realises he has to call off his wedding to Priya.