Coronation Street spoilers: Ali Neeson takes Maria Connor HOSTAGE

After vowing to get in shape for his job, Craig visits Dr Ali for a wellness check up, but is horrified when Ali collapses during their appointment.

As the paramedics arrive and rush him away in an ambulance, Maria looks on, terrified, and Gary worries this might have been something to do with him.

At the hospital, Toyah and Ryan are watching over an unconscious Ali when Toyah reveals he may have taken an overdose of diazepam.

Ryan is furious when Toyah admits she'd been trying to help him kick the habit and may have jeopardised her job as a result. When Ali wakes up, he's adamant he didn't take any diazepam.

Ali becomes obsessed with proving Gary is behind his 'overdose'. When Maria spots Ali in his car and jumps into the passenger seat to check in on him, Ali locks the doors and speeds off.

Ali eventually calms down and lets Maria out of the car, and she rushes home to Gary to tell him all about her ordeal.

Later on, Gary tracks down Ali and warns him to stay away from Maria. When Ali suggests Gary spiked him, Gary calls him a lunatic.

Worried he's gone too far, Ali makes a brave decision - he's going to leave Weatherfield to get away from Maria and clear his head. Ali says an emotional goodbye to Ryan.

After explaining to Carla and Peter his reasons for leaving, Ali tracks down Maria in the Rover's back yard and tells her he needs to start afresh. Maria wishes him all the best.

Elsewhere, Aggie takes to the stage at the Weatherfield Golden Heart ceremony to accept her award, while her family look on proudly.

Later on James is approached by a journalist who tells him there's a rumour going round on social media that he's gay. A panicked James furiously denies it and storms off.

The next day, James' football club manager calls a meeting with the county press officer and fears the worst, but they promise to support him.

Fearing his career is ruined, James continues to deny the rumours and is told if that's the case he should keep quiet on the matter.

Later on, James learns that Danny has inadvertently spread the rumours. When James confronts Danny he's apologetic, insisting he didn't mean any harm - but James thinks the damage has already been done.

Nina is enjoying being part of Roy's bat watching club, but the other members - Hamish, Farooq and Brian – aren't so sure, making their feelings about her known to Roy.

Unbeknownst to Nina, Roy takes umbrage at their comments about her clothes and steps down. When Nina excitedly mentions their upcoming meeting, Roy lies and says it's been cancelled.

When Nina finds out that Roy has lied to her she worries he's embarrassed of her – but Roy assures her he was only trying to spare her feelings. The two of them head off out to watch the bats alone.

At Speed Dahl, Ayla has been investigating and spots the same spelling mistake in some of the bad reviews as Geoff has including on the new menu.

When Alya confronts Geoff in front of Yasmeen and accuses him of writing the bad reviews, Geoff calls her crazy and to Alya's dismay, Yasmeen sides with him.

Gemma heads off to Story Time at Speed Dahl with the quads but as the leader of the group reads aloud Gemma finds herself nodding off.

When she's gently woken by another mum at the end of the session, Gemma is mortified. She rings her mum with the intention of asking for help but in the end can't admit she's not coping and makes out she was just ringing for a chat.

Meanwhile, Ken has been having reservations about selling No. 1 but soon the deed is done and he and Claudia move into Stillwater retirement home, where they're quickly made to feel welcome by a resident called Charles Lake.