Coronation Street's Michelle wouldn't wait to take revenge on love rat Robert - it's completely out of character
Just get on with it and send him packing, says Johnathon Hughes
Coronation Street fans waited months for Kym Marsh's character Michelle Connor to discover the double life of fiancee Robert Preston (Tristan Gemmill), and now that she knows everything she's finally set to take revenge on the cheating chef for getting Vicky Jefferies (Kerri Quinn) pregnant and being secretly engaged to both women – just not quite yet...
Hopes for an explosive showdown between 'Chelle and her cheating fella fell flat as she appeared to forgive him for the fling and imminent love child. Then it was confirmed via a hushed conversation with cousin Carla Connor (Alison King) that Michelle had decided to take a different, much less satisfactory, and frankly out of character path to payback – the long game.
Despite being caught by Ms Connor, spineless Robert has audaciously added new layers to his lies, insisting baby mama Vicky is a deluded bunny boiler he's tried to shake off, when in actual fact he's strung her along and promised to marry her so they can raise their child together.
Michelle knows the truth, having confronted Vicky herself behind Robert's back, but for some reason has opted to keep schtum and stay with him – for an unspecified amount of time, but we're guessing Christmas – and play dumb with the grand plan of financially fleecing him and eventually seizing control of the bistro. Yes, that'll really show him…
Biding your time and taking a slow-burn approach to vengeance for maximum impact is a tried and tested device for wronged soap women, recently employed by EastEnders' Mel Owen (RIP) against Ray Kelly. But it runs the risk of being unnecessarily protracted and leaving viewers feeling impatient. In this case, it also feels highly unlikely...
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Are we really meant to believe no-nosense 'Chelle would waste time like this? This is the woman who smacked Leanne Battersby in the face the minute she found about ex-husband Steve McDonald was the father of her baby; who didn't flinch to take on terrifying gangster Ronan Truman when he threatened her sons; and who stood up to serial killer Pat Phelan even after he shot her on her wedding day.
We love Michelle because she's bolshy, ballsy and gets things done. Having her plot in this uncharacteristically calculated way as opposed to flying into immediate action almost robs her of those qualities, and lets Robert off the hook for longer.
The entire storyline has already run the risk of making Michelle look too gullible (how many times has she swallowed Robert's lame "Sorry I won't be home tonight, I'm helping some young offenders in Oldham" line?), and we're still keeping fingers crossed that her and Vicky will properly form an alliance, taking inspiration from Peter Barlow's memorable two-wives-takedown from 2003.
This development also makes money a primary motive, but what does it really matter if Robert owns the bistro or not? How does that make up for the emotional pain he's inflicted? Using the financial status of a local business as a plot driver arguably made it hard for audiences to fully invest in storylines such as the Platts' family fraud plot and Gary Windass's reign of terror.
Michelle just needs to get on with it and send Robert packing – he doesn't deserve her, and she doesn't deserve to be made to wait for revenge…
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