Hope Stape from Coronation Street is upset with Eliza Woodrow over their new friendship.

Future scenes in Coronation Street could feature Hope Stape going back to being naughty as Eliza Woodrow and Sam Blakeman get closer.
Fans of Coronation Street last week witnessed Eliza Woodrow (played by Savannah Kunyo) admit to grandad Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) that she is being bullied at school as a result of her mother’s incarceration.

When a meeting with her school didn’t go as planned after they suggested his granddaughter might be better off elsewhere, Stu was later left inconsolable.

Eliza decided she wanted to attend Weatherfield High, not the private school Stu had in mind, after developing a friendship with Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan).

It appears, though, that Eliza’s new relationship with Sam might cause her more trouble than she anticipated in scenes that will air next week.

Eliza and Stu run into Sam and Hope Stape (Isabella Flanagan) while returning from their meeting at Weatherfield High in a scene that will air next week.

Sam approaches his new acquaintance and invites her to join them at No. 9 for tea.

Despite the fact that Hope shoots Eliza daggers out of jealousy, it is obvious that she is not pleased with his suggestion.

Later, as Fiz (Jennie McAlpine), Tyrone (Alan Halsall), Sam, and Eliza are forced to obediently applaud, Hope decides to sing karaoke for them.

Hope is, however, instantly enraged when Sam offers to teach Eliza how to play chess, which causes her mood to quickly change.

Stu later receives an email confirming his granddaughter can start at Weatherfield High after half-term, so it appears the group will be spending more time together.

Eliza is thrilled when Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) suggests they plan a birthday party for her, and Stu sees it as a chance for her to meet some new people.

Tyrone asks Hope if she can come up with a list of people at Weatherfield High to invite when he tells him about the party plans because Eliza hasn’t met anyone else yet.

Could Hope see this as an opportunity to try and isolate Eliza from everyone before she even starts school, given that she is unimpressed with her new closeness to Sam?

Hope could inform Stu that she has invited every student in the class who is eager to meet Eliza out of spite. Eliza is devastated when only Hope and Sam show up to her party despite her decision to not send out any invitations.

Iain MacLeod, the executive producer, hinted that viewers of Coronation Street would see a different side of Hope this year.

He said: “We thought: ‘Actually, we’ve done some very dark and twisted things with that character, and okay that’ll still be part of her, but for the next 12 months we’re going to do normal pre-teen stuff’.”