Of all the people in Coronation Street, scheming soap bitch Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) is possibly the least likely to keep a secret – especially if exposing that secret has dire consequences for her enemy, Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney).
Cassie and Tracy don’t get on, and that’s putting it mildly. These two warring women have been locked in a tense and bitter feud for so long, it’s a wonder one of them hasn’t ended up dead in the Rovers face down in their G&T.
Understandably, Tracy took a dislike to Cassie as soon as she exposed her for drugging her dad Ken Barlow (William Roache) to make him dependant on her while acting as his unofficial carer. Cassie didn’t make things any easier for herself by hooking up with Tracy’s ex-husband Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). Although in fairness, Steve did only sleep with Cassie because Tracy had done the dirty on him with a footballer. But, hey. All’s fair in love and Corrie!
Ever since Cassie became official with Steve, her permanent presence in the Barlow family only intensified her heated rivalry with Tracy, who is fiercely protective of her father and family. Their vendetta has delighted fans with some truly brilliant lines, as the pair use their respective dark pasts against each other.
My personal favourite was when Tracy tore Cassie to shreds for her weak attempts to make up for her many past mistakes, only for Cassie to fire back by reminding her old enemy of the fire she set by mistake that killed Kal Nazi (Jim Mistri), quipping ‘I don’t suppose a box of wine for his mother would cut it”. Seriously, these two serve up some of the best verbal sparring on the Cobbles. Blanche Hunt would be proud.
Things between the two foes kicked off again last December, when Tracy was incensed to hear Cassie slagging her off over the cab radio. She took revenge by attempting to sabotage her work at Street Cars.
Imagine Tracy’s delight when some juicy tea about the woman she hates the most falls right into her lap.
Recently, Tracy and Cassie have been at loggerheads over Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), Steve’s estranged father. When Steve found out that Jim was dying, he was devastated and conflicted over whether to make amends before it’s too late.
While Cassie encourages her man to bury the hatchet with Old McDonald, Tracy is quick to disagree, pointing out all the countless times Jim let his son down – most notably, convincing Steve’s mum Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) that his latest girlfriend was actually his daughter Katie who died in childbirth, in a shameless cash-grab con.
Ultimately, Steve listened to Tracy and decided not to reconnect with Jim, opting instead to spend some quality time having a lads’ day with best mates Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker).
Upcoming episodes will see Cassie take Ste’s decision to move on with his life as the perfect time to pop the question… with disastrous consequences when Steve gets some tragic news.
Cassie’s positively giddy as she conspires with Tim to lead Steve to Victoria Gardens for a romantic proposal. Unfortunately, just as an unsuspecting Steve arrives to see an excited Cassie, his phone rings. It’s the hospital. Jim is dead. Steve is distraught.
Struck by the creeping realisation that proposing to your boyfriend when his dad’s just died probably won’t result in an ‘I Do’, Cassie decides to keep quiet and comforts her fella instead.
But later, while everyone toasts Jim’s memory in the Rovers, Tracy is suspicious to see that Cassie’s all dressed up. When she clocks her slipping something into Mary Taylor’s (Patti Clare) pocket, those suspicions are positively raging…
As Steve and Cassie chat to Ben about Jim’s funeral arrangements, Tracy realises that Steve is still blissfully unaware that Cassie intended to make an honest man out of him.
