Coronation Street Idris Faces Losing Leanne as Secret Plot Backfires
Idris is left fighting to save his relationship with Leanne after his secret Speed Daal poker scheme is exposed and she orders him to stay away.
Idris Sharma could be facing a much bigger loss than money in Coronation Street when his secret poker scheme is exposed and Leanne Battersby turns on him. What began as an attempt to secure his future at Speed Daal instead threatens to damage the relationship he has been building with Leanne.
Idris has been determined to raise the money needed to buy Alya Nazir’s share of the restaurant after learning she wants £50,000. With Idris still £15,000 short, he comes up with a risky solution involving Ollie and a private poker game at Speed Daal.
His plan is designed to put Ollie in a strong position to win, with Idris supplying the money and Ollie keeping a share of anything he makes. Idris also uses £5,000 he borrowed from Leanne, but crucially she has no idea that her money is being used as part of the scheme.
The poker game initially appears to deliver exactly what Idris wanted when Ollie eventually beats Fiona Middleton. Idris may believe the biggest risk has passed, but events elsewhere inside Speed Daal are already creating a problem he cannot control.
Brody Michaelis has been secretly drinking during the night and Idris later confronts him about his behaviour. Brody retaliates by telling Leanne what Idris has been doing, leaving her to discover from somebody else that her money was used to fund the poker plot.
Leanne’s reaction makes clear that the issue is not simply whether Idris won or lost. She trusted him with £5,000, only to discover that he made a major decision involving her money without discussing it with her first.
When Leanne later sees Idris outside Speed Daal, she is furious and tells him that he is no longer welcome in the restaurant. Idris refuses to simply walk away and follows her, desperately attempting to explain why he did what he did.
His defence is that Leanne’s money was never truly in danger because the poker game had been arranged in Ollie’s favour. From Idris’ perspective, he believed he had found a way to raise the cash without genuinely gambling away the money she had lent him, but that explanation does not erase the secrecy surrounding his actions.
For Leanne, the bigger problem could be the trust that has been lost in the process. Idris was so focused on securing Speed Daal that he made the decision first and left Leanne to discover the truth afterwards, potentially leaving her questioning what else he might be prepared to keep from her when he is under pressure.
The fallout also arrives at the worst possible moment for Idris because Speed Daal was supposed to represent an important new opportunity. Instead, his determination to secure his place in the business may now have jeopardised his relationship with the woman who helped him financially in the first place.
Whether Leanne can forgive him remains to be seen, but Idris clearly has some explaining to do. His poker gamble may have produced the result he wanted at the table, yet the price of winning could ultimately be his relationship with Leanne.
Coronation Street airs on ITV and is available to stream on ITVX. For more Weatherfield news, previews and theories, visit the Coronation Street Hub on SoapLandTV. Images: ITV
