the finances, annoying Fiona. This gets worse when Vicky and Steve go to Dublin for a 'business' weekend. Fiona dumps him, leaving the way clear for Vicky. She seduces him easily and they announce their engagement at Steve's 21st birthday party in 1995, shocking everybody and incensing Bet. Alec returns for a brief period, to convince Vicky to end the relationship, to no avail; he even offers Steve £5,000 not to marry Vicky. Eventually, the pair marry in St. Lucia, and Bet gives her blessing, as she knows that Vicky is happy. After their marriage, Vicky and Steve have a long honeymoon in the Caribbean and America. When they return, they turn their attention to the business, which needs another injection of capital, again provided by Vicky. Their relationship struggles, thanks to Steve spending Vicky's money, and the final straw comes when he is arrested on Christmas Day 1995 for buying stolen whisky. He is guilty, but persuades Vicky to bribe Malcolm Fox to say that Steve did not know that the whisky was stolen. Steve is freed, and they assume that they are safe. However, the police discover the bribery when Malcolm's wife confesses. Vicky and Steve are arrested and they stand trial, blaming each other, and both are found guilty. Steve is sentenced to two years in prison, and Vicky is given a one-year suspended sentence. She decides to get on with her life without Steve, and enrols in a hotel management course at an exclusive college in Switzerland. She leaves in June 1996, and divorces Steve whilst he is in prison. Vicky returns to the Street with a bang at Christmas 1998. She accidentally hits Steve's car as she parks her car outside the Rovers while visiting Alec. Vicky has blossomed into a mature young woman, a far cry from the spoilt, impressionable teen that came to the Rovers many years before. She has just bought a wine bar in Brighton, and wants advice from her grandfather. Alec is having problems with the Duckworths, who are now licensees at the pub, and is getting very despondent, so Vicky persuades him to go into partnership with her, and Alec sells the Rovers to the recently widowed Natalie Barnes (Denise Welch). They leave Coronation Street together with hopes of a great future. In November 1999, Steve and his friend, Vikram Desai (Chris Bisson), are heading to Calais to buy