Incoming Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod is reportedly set to axe younger stars from the soap and focus on the older cast members
The world of soap was rocked by the news that controversial Coronation Street head Kate Oates would be stepping down from her role after two years.
The producer, who has admittedly taken the soap down a darker path, is set to move onto pastures new - albeit staying within ITV - as Emmerdale's lead Iain MacLeod will take over in the summer.
GALLERY: All the Corrie spoilers you need to know for next week...
CLOSER Coronation Street spoilers week 18 - SLIDER with cover pic
Corrie
Audrey convinces Geoff to go on a date with her
Oblivious Audrey invites herself along on a date with Geoff and Yasmeen, who feels so awkward that she leaves abruptly.
She realises her mistake
But as she watches Geoff staring wistfully after Yasmeen, Audrey realises what a plonker she is and encourages him to go after her. Yasmeen is over the moon - but Sally is less than impressed.
Sally tries to break them up
Silly Sally meddles in their blossoming relationship, and attempts to thwart it by inviting them over for dinner. But by the end of the week, Tim is astonished to see Sally shake Yasmeen's hand.
Beth's dodgy dealings actually come good
After Beth overhears Amy charging her grandad Ken £21 a week to walk his dog Eccles, Beth decides to take matters into her own hands.
Beth steals Eccles as part of a plot
Bad Beth steals the dog, ratting on Amy to Ken and saying that Kirk would be a better dog-walker - however, it works even better than they'd hoped, as David employs him to walk his dog too.
Yet another jackpot for the pair
Whilst walking the dogs, Kirk helps a woman who is having trouble controlling her dog. She's so impressed that she hires him as a dog trainer, but Tyrone convinces him to lie to Beth and pretend she's in her sixties. Yeah, because that's going to work out great...
Johnny confides in Aidan
Johnny is baffled when Jenny postpones their leaving party, before confiding in Aidan and then Liz that Jenny has been acting strangely lately. Liz advises him to talk to Jenny.
Jenny reveals her secret tragedy
Johnny implies to Jenny that he's worried she's cheating on him - but Jenny reveals the real reason that she's been distant.
She takes Johnny on a trip down memory lane
Jenny takes Johnny to a children's playground, revealing that her son passed away, it's the anniversary of his death and that she scattered his ashes there. One of the reasons she was keen to leave was to escape all the memories.
Josh can't resist winding David up
Josh is still digging his claws into poor David, who bumps into him with his new girlfriend Emma. What does he say that riles him so much? Elsewhere, Shona confronts David about his new relationship and Emma is shocked when he shouts at his children. Imran also advises David to plead guilty.
Jude gets himself in a tight spot
Jude is terrified when he spots Angie arriving at the Marine Life Centre, and sets off the fire alarm. As everyone is evacuating, he gets rid of his shop uniform and meets Angie, who says she has come to speak to his bullying colleagues. Jude tells her everything is sorted and that they have agreed to come round for dinner. He confides in Mary and she comes up with a solution.
Angie is NOT happy when she discovers Jude's lies
Mary has hired two people to play Seth and Phillipa, but the real pair at that moment are sacking Jude after spotting him set off the alarm on the CCTV. He runs back to the Rovers to abort the plan, but Angie arrives and ushers them all over. Of course, she finds out what has happened and is furious with her husband.
Angie pours her heart out to Adam
In her fury, Angie heads over to the solicitors office and bumps into Adam, who offers her a shoulder to cry on - and a few whiskies...
Rana tries to be honest with Zeedan
After Rana confides in Kate about how Zeedan kissed her, Kate tells her to stop giving him false hope. She tries to tell Zeedan that she doesn't love him, but things don't go to plan.
Simon's sussed it
Simon helps Toyah carry a cot from the car into the pub, and when she leaves the keys in the car, he steals them with Tyler and takes a joyride in the car. When Toyah facetimes Eva, she notices that she doesn't look well and tells her she is coming over. But where are her car keys?
Simon finds out about the cottage
Simon confronts Toyah about the cottage in Lymm, which she lies about and says it was a surprise for Peter.
Eva goes into labour
Poor Eva locks herself in the bathroom without her phone and goes into labour prematurely.
Toyah gets there in the nick of time
Thankfully, Toyah heads over to the cottage and hears Eva's screams coming from the bathroom. She manages to break into the bathroom and call 999.
Toyah helps Eva give birth
Toyah is coached on the phone through the birth and Eva gives birth in the bathroom before baking taken to hospital. Eva remembers that the surrogate is supposedly in Dubai, and that they'll have to come up with another plan.
Eva tries to avoid holding the baby
Eva tries her hardest not to hold the baby, but her midwife gives her no choice.
Eva looks at her baby with love
Eva looks overcome with emotion as she comes face to face with her and Aidan's baby for the first time.
She bonds with her little girl
Simon is jealous of the baby
Eva hides in another room whilst Toyah video chats Peter and shows him their baby. They decide to call her Susie and Peter announces the news to punters in the Rovers. Toyah promises Eva that she will always look after her. But Simon is not happy about his new "sibling."
Peter is overjoyed
Toyah arrives back in Weatherfield with the baby, and Peter is instantly smitten with the little girl. Simon, however, is unimpressed and tells Leanne that he thinks Toyah is having an affair, telling her about the cottage she was renting.
Toyah bumps into Aidan
Toyah's lies catch up with her, and when she bumps into Aidan whilst taking a stroll with Peter, she's visibly shaken.
Aidan notices Toyah's strange behaviour
Toyah's odd reaction to Aidan meeting baby Susie does not go unnoticed by Aidan, who notes Toyah's awkwardness.
But despite the new role only being announced a day ago, Iain already has big plans for a Corrie shake-up - and it won't go down well with the younger viewers.
The former Emmerdale lead is apparently set to AXE younger stars from the soap, with more focus being placed on the older, long-serving cast members.
According to The Sun, MacLeod is preparing to boost the profile of older actors like Bill Roache and Sue Nicholls, who play Ken Barlow and Audrey Roberts.
A source told the publication: "Kate was particularly popular with the younger stars.
"Her departure has left people worried the new producer will want to end the violent stuff and start again. And lots are worried about a cull."
Another said: "Iain intends to bring back a bit of Corrie’s light-hearted past while still delivering big stories.
"There’s been a feeling that some of the younger cast members just sleep-walk through their lines and act on social media that they are huge stars.
"I think they might have a rude awakening in store."
Uh oh...
WATCH: The best Corrie bloopers
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