We’re used to being baffled by misplaced apostrophes in the wider world by now, but when they crop up in soap operas too it creates a whole new level of intrigue.

In a recent episode of seminal prime-time UK television soap Coronation Street, long standing character (won’t somebody offer the poor woman a seat?) Sally Webster gave the following birthday card to her husband Kevin. It was shown on screen for just a couple of seconds.

When somebody employs an unnecessary apostrophe in real, actual life it’s usually safe to assume they’re a real, actual cretin. But in this case the idiocy is fictional - or is it? That’s the question we’re asking today on Grammarblog, so join us after the (paragraph) break.

Welcome back. I can’t decide whether this misplaced apostrophe is merely a genuine error by a member of Corrie’s production team or in fact a highly intricate dramatic device employed by the programme’s writers to aid character development. For those who don’t watch the programme and thus don’t know (I mean, like, hello??? Get a life!!!11) , Sally Webster is a character often portrayed as quite stupid. She is driven by misplaced ambition and appears to struggle with a constant dissatisfaction with her lot in life, despite her marvellous hunk of a greasemonkey husband, Kevin (a.k.a actor Michael Le Vell, 44).

Sally is always looking to better herself, even though she’s actually really stupid. This has made for some good Corrie comedy over the years.  She’s so stupid that when she decided to study for an A-Level in English in 2007 she developed a hideous crush on her teacher, John Stape, who ended up imprisoning Sally’s teenage daughter, Rosie, in a remote country house for around five weeks following a sordid classroom affair. This is a valuable lesson for anyone thinking of trying to better themselves.

What I’m trying to say is… I think it’s highly possible this misplaced apostrophe was written into the plot as a subtle means of reinforcing Sally’s stupidity through an evidently poor grasp of punctuation. I salute you, Coronation Street; truly a GrammarFriend of Grammarblog.