Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Friday 31 August 2012

State of the Street - August 2012

Ryan. Drugs. Dull.
Tracy. Revenge. Dull.
Surrogacy. Not as straightforward as you think. Interesting.
Domestic violence. Extremely well crafted, written and acted. Ace!
Karl and Sunita. Happy Families. I don't think so.

This and more on this month's State of the Street.


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Anne Reid On Stage in London

Earlier in the week, we alerted you to the upcoming Ken Barlow, The Musical to be performed in London at the St. James Theatre Studio on November 24. Ken Barlow's first wife, Valerie, will also be appearing in the same venue a week or so earlier. Well, it's Anne Reid, of course, not Val Barlow. She's dead. Fans of Anne Reid can see her on the 17th and 18th of November in "In a New Key". Tickets are available on the theatre's website here but there's no further information yet as to what the show is about.

Thanks to our reader Martin for alerting us!


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Fab Photo Friday - August 31st 2012

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. As it's holiday time, well it is for me, I don't know about anybody else, here are a couple of pictures of the Coronation Street residents enjoying the sun in Majorca.



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Corrie cast to star at Truckfest next weekend

A couple of Coronation Street cast members will be making an appearance at Truckfest next weekend.

Kate Ford, who plays Tracy Barlow, and Chris Fountain, who plays Tommy Duckworth, will be guests at the event at Newark Showground on September 8 and 9.

Kate will be at the show to sign autographs and meet her fans on Saturday 8th September and Chris Fountain will be at the show on Sunday 9th September.

Lisa Kelly, the star of Channel 5's hit series Ice Road Truckers, is also scheduled to appear during the weekend, which is a family event featuring stunts and displays of trucks and motorcycles.

For more information and to book tickets telephone 01775 768661 or go to www.truckfest.co.uk.

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Spot the Corrie prop - August 31st 2012

Congratulations to Shanny who was the first to spot that last week's tulip picture can be found in Maria's flat.

Another fairly straightforward one this week. It's been lurking in the background for quite a while but I've only just got a decent screen capture of it. Whereabouts on Coronation Street would you find this crazy cat?


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Thursday 30 August 2012

Julie Hesmondhalgh on her new theatre role

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, is currently on a break from Corrie to star in a play based on the murder of Sophie Lancaster.

Julie was interviewed on BBC Breakfast today talking about her role in the play called Black Roses.

She says she is very grateful indeed to ITV for allowing her time off to do the play. As for Hayley's absence from Roy's life and the cobbles while Julie is acting on stage, Julie didn't explain what was going to happen and said she didn't know what was on the cards for the Croppers. Let's just hope Hayley's absence doesn't give Mary ideas to set her cap at Roy again. Oi! Mary! No!

She talks about playing Hayley in Corrie for 15 years - although Hayley was originally pencilled in for just a few weeks, says Julie.

You can watch Julie's interview on the BBC website here.

Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster is on at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester from the 19th to 29th September.  Full details are here.

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Steve McDonald gurn of the week - August 30 2012

It's Thursday and that means it's time for the Steve McDonald gurn of the week. Thanks go to our  Coronation Street blogger Tvor for capturing and sending in this week's gurn.

If you've captured a good Corrie Steve gurn and want to share it via the blog, do email it in.

To see more gurnage from Stevie McGurn, have a look here, there's loads. Some good, some bad and some really very funny.

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Coronation Street on new series of Celebrity Juice

Corrie is playing a unique role in new series of Celebrity Juice – with our favourite Street stars taking on Keith Lemon in the show’s weekly challenges!

Samia Ghadie (Maria Connor), Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) and Paula Lane (Kylie Platt) are amongst the Corrie residents taking part in the challenges each week – following in the footsteps of David Hasselhoff, Verne Troyer and Jedward in taking on the unmistakable Mr Lemon.

There’s a behind-the-scenes video over on the official Corrie site, and the new series of Celebrity Juice starts tonight at 10pm on ITV2.

You can also read about my experience on the Corrie Special of Keith Lemon’s other show, Lemonaid, here.


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Sneak preview of tonight's Coronation Street - Thursday 30 August

Coronation Street, Thursday 30th August 2012 at 8.30pm

TYRONE AND TOMMY REACH A POINT OF NO RETURN. Tommy turns up at the garage to find that Tyrone’s sticking to his guns. He’s still sacked. Tina’s outraged at how determined Tyrone is to push them away. There must be something they can do to sort it? Tommy tries to get Kevin to reinstate him, but he won’t over rule Tyrone. Later, Kevin pushes Tyrone to tell him what’s happened and realises Tyrone’s determined not to budge on his decision. Later at the pub as people coo over Kirsty and her bump, a frustrated Tommy lets rip, announcing how she’s been treating Tyrone. Kirsty flees as Tyrone bites back revealing that Tommy was using the garage from a drug scam. Kevin turns to Tommy demanding answers. Later as Tyrone comforts Kirsty, Tina and Tommy are left feeling like the Street’s pariahs.
MICHELLE REALISES THE GRIP OF RYAN’S HABIT. Michelle’s turns to Steve for comfort when she clocks that Ryan’s bed hasn’t been slept in. She’s not sure how much more she can take from him. Ryan’s looking rough on the switch when Michelle and Steve arrive. He’s telling them how great the gig was as Sophie rocks up thanking him again for selling her his tickets. Michelle’s livid and Steve tries to mediate as she flies off the handle and Ryan flees. When Michelle finds her son at the flat later she finds him in a state that compounds her heartache.
ROB ENJOYS THE TWO WOMEN IN HIS LIFE.  Rob expresses regret to Eva about splitting up and she pounces on the chance to ask him for lunch. Under Stella’s steely gaze Rob agrees. Then extends the offer to Stella too. Eva thinks that’s sweet. Stella’s trapped. During the lunch Rob tells Eva they should give it another go.  Stella can’t believe his gall.
Elsewhere Sunita is relieved when Karl flogs all the smoke alarms.

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BB Bet Blog: Days 15 & 16

Julie Goodyear has escaped eviction from the Big Brother house again last night, as Page 3 model Rhian became the third evictee of this year’s CBB.

Over the past couple of days for this week’s shopping task, we saw the house transformed into Mount Olympus, as the housemates took part in ‘Gods and Mortals’. Julie was chosen by Big Brother as Aphrodite, the God of Love, and alongside Martin Kemp became the first two house gods, ruling over the rest of the housemates (aka the mere mortals).

In perhaps one of the most amusingly grotesque scenes of CBB to date, we saw Julie being provocatively fed a banana by a male model servant. I’ll say no more, but suffice to say I’ll never quite look at Bet Lynch in the same way again...!

Julie and Coleen’s newfound liking for one another didn’t last long, as Julie was able to secretly watch house action in the God’s quarters of the house – and didn’t like what she saw of Coleen’s stirring ways. She was quick to point out to Julian after the task was over to watch out for Coleen and she was not to be trusted. Meow!

There’s more tonight, 10pm, Channel 5. Previously: Day 14.


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Sophie Webster in car crash, "may never walk again"

There's a Coronation Street spoiler in today's Star that says Sophie Webster will be involved in a car crash and then told she may never walk again.

The spoiler says that Sophie is a passenger in a car when Ryan's driving under the unfluence of cocaine, loses control of the car and crashes it.   Ryan does a runner, leaving Sophie at the scene.

It's Ken who breaks the news to everyone about the crash.  He says: “I bumped into Sally on the way back from the hospital. Sophie’s had an operation on her back. She’s awake but there’s a chance she’ll never walk again.”

Hmm... as we all know, in soap parlance "may never walk again" means she will be up on her feet after three episodes.

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Wednesday 29 August 2012

Meet Catherine Tyldesley on Saturday in Grimsby

OPEN DAY:  Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley is  heading to Grimsby to open a  new Poundland store.Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Coronation Street's Eva Price, will be in Grimsby on Saturday 1st September to open a new Poundland store.

Catherine will be making a personal appearance at a family fun day to be held on Saturday to celebrate the store's grand opening.

From 11am on Saturday, Catherine will be signing autographs, posing for pictures and handing out £1 vouchers to spend in store.

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Coronation Street fan of the week - Julia in Canada

It's Wednesday and time to meet another Corrie fan of the week.
Would you like to be our Corrie fan of the week?
Click here to find out more
.

Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Julia Wood-Emery and I was born in Raleigh, Essex, UK.

How long have you been watching Corrie?
My parents didn't have much money, so I started watching Corrie in my Mums womb at the neighbours house! I was born in September 1962. We immigrated to Canada in 1968 and continued our little bit of the UK by watching Corrie. Coming into my own as an adult, I would visit England yearly, unfortunately by then, Granada Studios had closed the tours. This year was a tour, all-inclusive to visit before the Studios moved away from one of the best characters...the cobbled street. Never to be walked on as a fan. I couldn't afford this once in a lifetime opportunity!

I attend the yearly British show in Toronto, Canada where there are usually two cast members. Last year Fiz and John Stape were there, but Ken Barlow was my first intro to the cast and I haven't met a cast member that doesn't take the time to graciously shake our hands, have their photos taken or give us an autograph! They are so wonderful, come in all shapes & sizes and are so relateable...nothing like the blond, botoxed, bimbos from Hollywood! So refreshing &likable, yet excellent actors/actresses!

Who are your favourite female and male characters - and the reasons why? 
It's hard to pick fave characters as it changes with each story line! Bet Lynch, Katherine Kelly's "Becky" with Hayley and Roy who loved her when no one else did! Mike Baldwin, Ken Barlow because of the excellent acting, you can love them then hate them! Audrey and her daughter Gail drive me nuts but that's again the excellent acting!

What's been some of your favourite Corrie storylines over the years? 
Its the same with storylines, most recently Eileen's part in the "care-giving" role of Leslie's Alzheimer's. It especially hit home as it very accurately brought to light an "invisible" disease. I'm a nurse and specialised in gerontology and the writers "hit it out of the park". It was written and so well acted that it deserves an award for bringing awareness and even conversation to this debilitating disease that affects the family and the one suffering so very much!

Thanking you in advance for letting me express my gratitude to the hard-working crew and actors to the BEST show in the UK and "across the "pond"!

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Interview with Sue Johnston as Gloria Price


These are the first shots of Sue Johnston’s arrival in Coronation Street as meddling Gloria Price.

Gloria arrives out of the blue from her home in Spain to surprise daughter Stella (Michelle Collins) and granddaughter Eva (Catherine Tyldesley). But it is Gloria who gets the surprise when she discovers that Stella’s fella Karl has been playing away with Sunita Alahan. And she is finally re-acquainted with her long lost granddaughter Leanne (Jane Danson).

As these pictures show Gloria wastes no time in confronting Karl (John Michie) about his affair and letting him know exactly how she feels. Larger than life, ballsy and outspoken Gloria will be in the great tradition of strong Weatherfield women who don’t take no for an answer and live life to the full. It soon becomes clear that Gloria has been economical with the truth about her reasons for leaving Spain and the sparks fly between her and her daughter as she tries to stamp her mark on the Rovers.

And the ladies of Weatherfield quickly discover that they will have to keep an eye on their men as she sets her sights on both Dennis and Lewis.

Corrie producer Phil Collinson said: “I'm delighted to welcome Sue Johnston to the cast of Coronation Street.  She is a national treasure and a stunning actress.  She has been at the heart of the very best comedy and drama the UK has produced over last 30 years and will step into the heart of Coronation Street as her character, Gloria, takes up running The Rovers with daughter Stella.”

Sue will make her Corrie debut as Gloria on Wednesday September 5th.

Interview with Sue
Thirty years ago a role in “Coronation Street” was SUE JOHNSTON’S first job in television. Now after a hugely successful career that’s seen her star in major television dramas, soap and sitcom, as well as creating at least two characters that became household names with Sheila Grant and Barbara Royale, Sue returns to the cobbles as Stella’s straight talking mother Gloria Price.

TELL US ABOUT GLORIA PRICE
I think people will be in for a surprise as she’s not the sort of character I’m usually associated with. She’s certainly not got the warmth or maternal instincts of Barbara or Sheila, in fact she’s a terrible mother.  I’ve still got so much to learn about her past with Stella but it’s fair to say she hasn’t always been there for her daughter and she gave her a bit of a rough ride when she was growing up. She’s very straight talking and just doesn’t care what she says and to whom she says it. She’s the sort of person who takes pride in shooting from the hip. It never wins her any friends but she’s clearly not bothered about that.  She wastes no time in ruffling feathers when she arrives in Weatherfield, which she thinks is a dump. As well as being blunt to the point of rudeness, she’s also a terrible flirt which is terrific fun and a great combination to play.

HOW DOES GLORIA LOOK?
Her appearance is also very different to many of the parts I’ve played in the past. I decided I didn’t want to go down the path of showing my cleavage and wearing animal prints.  Gloria’s a bit of an old hippy and I wanted her dress sense to reflect this. I went out shopping with the wardrobe department and we’ve chosen long skirts and flowing tops with lots of colours and lots of layers. Her look is very distinctive.

HOW DOES GLORIA ARRIVE IN WEATHERFIELD?
She comes from Spain where she’s been running a bar.  Her reasons for leaving are murky to say the least. Aside from the fact that they involve a man called Cliff and something a bit dodgy to do with his business, it’s clear she’s playing her cards very close to her chest when Stella quizzes her about her sudden appearance. Although she’s thrilled to see Stella and Eva and to meet Leanne, it’s not long before she’s showing her true colours. Stella never does anything right as far as Gloria is concerned, and she thinks running a grimy pub in a Manchester suburb represents her hitting rock bottom. She thinks the Rover’s is beneath her, and therefore so is anyone who drinks there. That doesn’t mean when she’s given the chance to rule the roost she doesn’t lap it up of course. When Stella goes away she leaves Gloria in charge and she decides she’s going to save the Rovers by putting it on the map at any cost.

HOW DOES SHE REACT TO THE NEWS THAT STELLA HAS THROWN KARL OUT?
She’s devastated. She thinks the world of Karl. She doesn’t care about his money problems and his womanising or that he’s had an affair with another woman. She thinks you have to pay a price to end up with someone as good as Karl and makes no bones about telling Stella she’s made another huge mistake by getting rid of him. One of the first things she does when she arrives is try to engineer a reunion. She knows perfectly well how much Karl has hurt Stella but that doesn’t matter. She won’t listen to anything anyone says. She’s always in the right and she’ll stop at nothing to get her own way.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE THE FIRST TIME YOU WALKED DOWN CORONATION STREET?

I played Mrs Chadwick the bookies wife and it was my big break. It was whilst I was playing the part that I was seen for this new soap that everyone was talking about called “Brookside”, and I got offered Sheila Grant. I’ll never know if Mrs Chadwick might have become a regular character because I only did a few episodes. But I remember it so clearly because I was terrified.

At this time the characters were truly legendary and some of the actors were very intimidating.  It really was true that if you sat in somebody else’s seat in the green room, you’d get in trouble. Thankfully Liz Dawn took me under her wing and we’ve been very close friends ever since. She was one of the first people I called when I knew I was going into the show and she was delighted.

One of my strongest memories from thirty years ago was being in the ladies loos when Doris Speed entered. I froze. This was Doris Speed! I stood in awe as she chatted away to me ten to the dozen. She then brought her Annie Walker wig out of her bag still talking away. She popped it on, snapped into role, left the toilets and walked straight into the Rovers. I thought about that on the first day that I walked onto the Rovers set and had a chuckle to myself.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE COMING BACK?
Not at all like the old days. I was still incredibly nervous because obviously I’m working with all these terrific actors who’ve created iconic characters but everyone has been welcoming and very kind. I’ve just filmed some scenes with Barbara Knox, because Rita is one of the first people Gloria goes into combat with, and she was wonderful. Because the characters are so familiar and I’ve always watched the show as a fan, I have to make sure I call people by their real names. So far my only mistake has been calling Craig Charles Lloyd and he laughed when I apologised.

DID YOU EVER EXPECT THAT YOUR CAREER WOULD BRING YOU BACK TO THE STREET?
I never really thought about it. I’ve never really planned my career, I’ve just sort of rolled along and thankfully I’ve been incredibly lucky. When Phil Collinson called my agent however to say they were interested it did feel like fate and it’s happened at an ideal time. My son Joel lives in Manchester and he and his wife Zoe have just had Rory my first grandchild. So my house in Muswell Hill, where I’ve lived for eighteen years, is on the market and I’ve decided to move near Manchester to be close to them.  It’s a time of big change but it feels right. I’m entering a new stage in my career and my life

WHO DO YOU MOST GET RECOGNISED AS, BY FANS?
I’ve been very lucky to have played parts that have become so familiar.  Most recently people shout out Barbara, and I like that. I love working on “The Royle Family” and I’m pleased that my contract on “Coronation Street” allows me time off to film the Christmas Special that is definitely happening this year.  I also still get Sheila and it’s usually at a Liverpool match or by younger people who I always think couldn’t possibly remember “Brookside.” I hope one day people might shout out “Gloria”, but of course I really like people calling me Sue best of all.

Two new families to join Coronation Street, says The Sun

There's a little story in today's Sun that says two new families will be joining Coronation Street.

The Sun says that cast members have been told the new families will live in two nearby streets which will be created when the Coronation Street set moves to its new base.

Our old friend, a Corrie source revealed to The Sun: “The producers plan to bring Rosamund Street and Viaduct Street into things a bit more. Those streets have always been on the outskirts – people are referred to as coming from there but you never see much of them. Now they are going to become home for a lot of new faces who will hopefully be just as popular with viewers as the rest of the cast. The feeling is that we need fresh characters to spin the action about.”


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Tuesday 28 August 2012

Coronation Street Weekly Update, August 27 2012

GOT KINDLE? GET CORRIE!
Corrie weekly updates from 1995 - 17 years in 17 e-books
All the wit and warmth of Weatherfield, none of the waffle

Available from
amazon.co.uk and amazon.com

Greetings and welcome to the Coronation Street Weekly Update.

Find out more about the Coronation Street Weekly Updates and why they've been written for th'internet since 1995 at http://www.corrieweeklyupdates.btinternet.co.uk 

Kirsty’s back this week after Tommy tracks her down and begs her to come home.  He thinks he’s doing his mate Tyrone a favour and so when Kirsty does return, it’s up to Tina to tell him the truth about the beating beast of Weatherfield. Tyrone slams Tommy and Tina, tells Kirsty he’s cut them both out of his life and wants nowt more to do with them.


Unable to get any decent sleep at Eileen’s while Kev does his drilling and DIY-ing next door, Gail flutters her eyelashes at Eileen’s fella and tells him he can kip on her sofa. Eileen’s not best pleased when she finds out, especially as Gail’s milking it for all it’s worth, inviting Paul to stay for dinner and making him her special pie. There was a great scene when David strolled into the house and spotted Paul asleep on the sofa. It wasn’t very fair, but it was very funny, when he yelled “FIRE!” right into Paul’s ear.  “Your mum is one in a million!” Paul tells David to which he replied: “Yeah, but not in a good way.”

I’m loving Karl and Sunita together, it’s just so wrong but it’s very funny indeed. Karl’s firmly in the feckless fella category although Sunita can’t see it yet and I doubt she ever will. He’s lazy, a sponger, and Sunita blindly hands over £500 so Karl can buy 250 Chinese fire alarms off his mate, Tez.   

And finally this week, Steve ups the ante when he thinks Michelle and Rob are getting too close. Rob swans around the street in his bespoke £350 suit which is ruined by a 90p cup of coffee when Ryan bumps into him in Roy’s caff.  But Steve notices the suit, notices Rob and Michelle getting on well and decides to do summat about it. He dolls up in his best suit, from wedding number four, and seduces Michelle on the sofa. What more could a girl want?

And that’s just about that for this week.  

This week's writers were Chris Fewtrell, Carmel Morgan, David Lane and Jonathan Harvey.  Find out more about the Coronation Street writing team at:
http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.com/2008/11/exclusive-all-current-corrie-writers.html

Glenda Young
--
Blogging away merrily at
http://flamingnora.blogspot.com

BB Bet Blog: Day 14

What have we learned about Julie Goodyear from last night’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother? Well for one, she does enjoy contemplating her nomination choices whilst relieving herself on the toilet!

Julie said the nomination process was the one thing she disliked about being in Big Brother. She made it her mission to find out if some of the male housemates felt they were being misled by Danica and Rhian, the house glamour models. This did appear to influence her nomination choices, as she nominated both girls for creating unnecessary tensions in the house with their flirtatious ways. Julie herself managed to avoid receiving any nominations – one of only two housemates to do so – and will not be facing eviction tomorrow night.

Elsewhere, Julie and Julian discussed missing the home comforts of a Sunday Roast – carrot and swede mash, Yorkshire puddings, a nice leg of lamb or beef: Julie mulled over her favourite trimmings. Julie revealed she isn’t a fan of gin and tonic, despite it being Bet’s drink of choice.

10pm, Channel 5, tonight for your next fix. Previously: Day 13.

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Award-winning composer creates Ken Barlow oratorio

Award-winning composer and singer-songwriter Matthew Strachan is to perform an evening of his songs, including numbers written in Nashville and from his stage musicals, at the St James Theatre Studio, London on Saturday 24 November. 

Why are we blogging this?  

Well, Matthew will also be debuting selections from a new oratorio based on the life of Coronation Street’s Ken Barlow.  An oratorio is a large-scale musical composition on a sacred or semisacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra.  If anyone goes to hear this and would like to blog a review afterwards for us, do please let me know.

Strachan has composed music for film and TV, written songs for Nashville and for musical theatre. His best known music is the soundtrack to the international hit TV show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for which he is being inducted into the ASCAP Hall of Fame this year. His third musical, About Bill, premiered in London in 2011 and he is currently working on music and lyrics for a further stage show. His latest album, 25 Year Songbook, was released in 2012 by Nono Records.

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Spoilers for next week's Coronation Street, Sep 2 - 5


Without any piffle, here's the storyline for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less.

Week of Sunday 2 Sep to Wednesday 5 Sep 2012

NOTE SCHEDULE CHANGE - Sunday 2 September hour-long episode, Monday 3 September two episodes  as usual and an episode on Weds 5 September.

Gloria Price arrives, Tracy and Ryan flirt, Steve moves in with Michelle, Eileen and Paul decorate No 11, Tommy has a car crash.

The full weekly preview, with loads of pictures is right here on Corrie.net

Missed last week's Corrie?
Catch up with the Coronation Street weekly updates

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Gloria Price to be a classic Corrie matriarch

Sue Johnston: Coronation Street's Gloria Price is "a horror"

There's an excellent interview in The Radio Times with Sue Johnston, who appears on Coronation Street next Wednesday as Gloria Price.


“One of my strongest memories from 30 years ago was being in the ladies loos when Doris Speed [Annie Walker] entered. I froze. This was Doris Speed! I stood in awe as she chatted away to me ten to the dozen. She then brought her Annie Walker wig out of her bag still talking away. She popped it on, snapped into role, left the toilets and walked straight into the Rovers. I thought about that on the first day that I walked onto the Rovers set and had a chuckle to myself.”

Read the full interview here.

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Monday 27 August 2012

Coronation Street double episode review, Mon 27 Aug

Tina and Tommy are doing their best to protect their friend Tyrone. With Kirsty back on the scene they are right to be anxious because as Tina points out, Kirsty 'is not just two butties short of a picnic, she's a whole flippin' hamper' which is an interesting analogy for Kirsty's violent outbursts. Tina makes the point that if Tyrone hits her back he's an animal. And so to the perfectly innocent, though obviously painful, scalding - an accident but soon to be misconstrued.

Things aren't going too well for Sunita and Karl. First of all we are given a sighting of Karl's underpants, which, reasonably enough, Sunita would be happier to see placed in the laundry basket. It's just that when a woman starts to moan about her lover's underpants, you tend to suspect that the passion is starting to wane. She asks him about his plans and he tells her that he likes things to unfold rather than have plans, because he thinks it's more exciting that way.She asks if he's going to do nothing because after all he deserves a rest'. Huge dose of sarcasm here and Karl suspects he hears a note of sarcasm. To carry on the musical analogy Sunita tells him it's more like a symphony than a note. Luckily though, along comes Karl's mate, Tez.and his Chinese smoke alarms. If he thinks he's going to make a killing at car boot sales, he clearly hasn't been to many; people haggle for items to be knocked down from ten pence to five pence, so a fiver for a smoke alarm? No chance Karl.

Natalie Gumede is a terrific actress, showing just the right amount of vulnerability blended in with her maniacal jealousy. Just when we start to lose all sympathy with her, even in her heavily pregnant state, she shows just a glimmer of softness. That said, was anyone else a little nervous as Kirsty was ironing?
So,according to Lloyd, Michelle is Manchester United or City, and Steve is Tranmere Rovers, but she loves him anyway and so he can loosen his waistband. It's a good job Michelle has Steve to hand as she is going to need someone. That son of hers was shockingly rude to Roy tonight but Roy pointed out that 'a proper coffee machine' such as Ryan requested would be appropriate if there was a piazza or a duomo outside.    

And finally a word on Jason. A good line for him tonight that Mama Mia on a loop was worse than water boarding. Then Marcus chips in by telling Maria that Aiden thinks Rambo is art-house cinema. Good to see The Street breaking through the stereotypes.  Jason and Maria? Just not convinced...       

Vintage radio interview with Corrie's Elsie Tanner

There's an old radio interview with Pat Phoenix, who played Coronation Street's Elsie Tanner, which was re-broadcast today on the Ed Doolan show on Radio BBCWM. 

You can listen to it here on the iPlayer for the next 7 days.

Pat's interview comes on just after 1 hour and 2 minutes, after the Coronation Street theme tune plays. It's wonderful, listen to it now.

She talks about her reasons for leaving Corrie as Eilsie and slams her Corrie co-stars of the time who rubbished colleagues in the papers.

With thanks to @PeterMediaPR ‏for alerting me to the interview.

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Sue Hanson will be in Corrie for four episodes only

Sue Hanson, who played Miss Diane in Crossroads, is joining Coronation Street, as we've already blogged. Actress Sue has been interviewed on the Ed Doolan radio show on BBCWM.

Listen to it here on iPlayer for the next 6 days.

Sue says she's over the moon about joining Corrie. Her agent rang her offering her the role and she says: "Of course I said yes, I'm thrilled to bits!" She's doing four episodes but can't tell anything about the storyline. She says: "It was a fabulous experience, everyone was so sweet and lovely, really smashing, very welcoming and I had a really lovely time."


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BB Bet Blog: Day 13

Julie Goodyear can’t live without a bit of camp she says, so being in the Celebrity Big Brother house alongside new bezzie pal Julian Clary is probably her idea of heaven!

Julie and Coleen’s relationship seems to have reached a new high, and the pair have been conversing in the garden. Coleen even took a trip to the Diary Room and declared a newfound respect for our former Rovers landlady.

Julie and Danica had a frank discussion about fanmail – and it was certainly an enlightening experience to hear about the gifts Julie has been sent over the years (everything from jewellery to toilet seats, and more besides!). Mail addressed to ‘Bet Lynch, England’ has even reached our Jules before!

Later in the evening, Julie took a trip to the Diary Room to express her discomfort ahead of the impending nomination process. Bet Lynch’s advice to Julie? “Get on with it, cock!”

The latest house action on this Bank Holiday Monday can be seen at 9pm on Channel 5. Previously: Day 12.



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SurrogaTina

I had a draft post saved a few days ago with a prediction that Tina was going to end up the surrogate for Izzy and Gary since she and Tommy owe Tyrone so much money. Lo and behold, today's headlines have proven me right! I've decided that this storyline should not end happily and here's why.


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Ebay Gum! Coronation Street cast cast-offs for sale

There's a few Coronation Street cast cast-offs for sale on eBay that have caught my eye and are worth blogging about.

The first is this wonderful pendant as worn by Jenni McAlpine's Fiz Brown. The blurb says she wore it when she was bridesmaid at Steve and Karen's wedding in 2004. Have a look at it here.

Natalie Gumede's Kirsty Soames' trousers are up for sale here.

Jack P Shepherd's David Platt's trousers are here.

If none of those tickles your fancy, there's always Chesney's shirt or Percy Sugden's shirt for sale!

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Coronation Street surrogancy storyline set to get sillier

There's a Coronation Street spoiler in today's Star that says the surrogacy storyline will take a turn for the worse (in my opinion) when Tina, yes, Tina, steps in and agrees to become the surrogate mum to Izzy's baby.

The Star says that Owen puts his foot down and stops the plan for Katy to be Izzy's baby's surrogate mum.  Owen then offers Tina a stash of cash to carry the baby instead. And as Tina and Tommy are in so much debt, she agrees to do it for the money.  The spoiler goes on to say that Tommy isn't best pleased and tries to talk Izzy out of it.

Am I the only fan not enjoying this storyline one little bit? I just can't understand how any of them could afford the seven thousand pounds that they've already been told the procedure will cost.

It'd be a bit more interesting, I think, if Anna stepped in and offered to have the baby.

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Sneak preview of tonight's double Corrie - Monday 27 August

Coronation Street, Monday 27th August 2012 at 7.30pm

TYRONE SCALDS HIMSELF AND ALARM BELLS RING FOR TOMMY. Tommy realises saying anything to Tyrone regarding what Tina’s told him about Kirsty would seem like an act of betrayal. He agrees to keep schtum. Over lunch whilst bantering with Kirsty over baby names Tyrone accidentally scalds his hand with a boiling kettle. When he arrives back at the garage, his hand now lovingly bandaged by Kirsty, Tommy clocks this and panics. Tyrone, thrown by Tommy’s concern, explains how it happened but Tommy clearly doesn’t believe him.  Later when she sees Tyrone together with Tommy and Tina Kirsty has a go at them all. She’s sick to the back teeth of their secret trysts. Tommy’s heard enough and he gives Kirsty a piece of his mind that leaves her mortified.
STEVE IS WARY OF ROB. Michelle’s concerned as Ryan struggles in secret trying to suppress the urge for his next fix. Steve offers to take Ryan to a gig later. This is the last thing he needs. Later, however, when Steve hears that Rob is taking Michelle out for dinner he feels threatened, so decides to gatecrash their meal and tells Ryan he’ll have to go to the gig on his tod. Ryan quickly realises he can turn the situation to has advantage.
SUNITA’S UNDERWEHLMED BY KARL’S GET RICH QUICK IDEA. Sunita puts pressure on Karl to find a job as they can’t keep living off Dev. Later Karl’s excited when he reveals a mate has offered him a job lot of smoke detectors for a grand. Will he be disappointed when Sunita doesn’t jump for joy?
Elsewhere Jason’s not impressed when Maria arranges a bank holiday DVD night with Marcus and Aiden

Coronation Street, Monday 27th August 2012 at 8.30pm
TYRONE PAYS THE PRICE FOR PERSUADING KIRSTY NOT TO LEAVE AGAIN. Tommy dares Kirsty to deny she’s been violent to Tyrone. Kirsty reckons she doesn’t have to explain herself to anyone as Tyrone steps in claiming there’s been a misunderstanding. It’s too late however. The damage has been done. Tyrone’s reeling at Tina’s betrayal. He steams off as she curses the can of worms Tommy’s opened. Later Kirsty demands to know who else Tyrone has told and what’s really going on between him and Tina. He tells her he had to share his problem with someone because fearing the person he loves the most in the world is eating him up. Kirsty wonders if it was a good idea to come back after all. When Tyrone promises he’ll make sure no body else will find out about their situation Kirsty gives him an ultimatum. But as he heads off to find Tommy and Tina, will he be able to carry out her wishes…?
RYAN EXPLOITS STEVE’S GENEROSITY.  After dinner Steve confesses he’s jealous of Rob but Michelle assures him it’s him she loves. Suddenly concerned about Ryan Steve assures he he’s fine. He was happy to go to the gig alone.  Ryan meanwhile, still desperately in need of a fix, flogs the tickets Steve bought for him to Sophie and heads off purposefully into the night.
SUNITA DECIDES TO FUND KARL’S SCHEME. Sunita is riled when Dev spoils the twins rotten. She has a go at him about it and he tells her its his money, he’ll do what he wants with it. Sunita goes home and tells Karl she’ll pay for his smoke detectors by taking the money from the joint bank account she shares with Dev.
Elsewhere Maria only starts enjoying her DVD night when Jason and Aiden fall fast asleep and she’s alone with Marcus.

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Sunday 26 August 2012

BB Bet Blog: Day 12

Apologies for the lack of BB Bet Blog over the weekend – my laptop wouldn’t connect to the internet! All is fixed now, and here’s a roundup of what’s being going on with Julie Goodyear in the Celebrity Big Brother over the past couple of days:

Julie found herself in the middle of a dispute of words with Jasmine and Rhian, both laying claim to having Julie ‘on their side’. But our Jules was merely acting as confidante for the younger housemates, and this soon dawned on the ditzy models and they were quick to retreat their assumptions.

In the second round of nominations, Julie nominated Prince Lorenzo for not fitting into the group well, and Coleen for making a rude comment about her desire to throw a pie in Bet Lynch’s face (if you please!). Julie herself was nominated by Coleen, suggesting again there is an uneasy tension between the pair. This was the only nomination Julie received however, and so she avoided facing the public vote. Eviction #2 saw former Eastender Cheryl Fergison be shown the door – another triumph of Corrie over Eastenders!

Julie is forming a strong friendship with Julian Clary, and the duo have been seen to be sharing many a chat and a laugh. She’s also establishing herself as a mother figure in the house; dishing out sound advice to the younger housemates.

Keep up-to-date with the latest goings-on in the house every evening on Channel 5. Previously: Day 9.


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Coronation Street: Is Eva Price the new Raquel Watts?

Anyone else spotted the similarities between Eva Price and Raquel Watts?  Both are ditzy blondes, using their assets to snare men who they think are suitable for them, when we all know they're not.  And in both Raquel and Eva, there's a lot more to each of them than the hair and the boobs and the fluffy exterior.

For those not old enough to remember Raquel Watts, have a look here, and watch her in action on YouTube against the evil cow Tanya Pooley.

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Video: Watch Coronation Street lads bamboozled by magic

Some of the Coronation Street cast members took part in an episode of Cross Magic's road trip. The clip below shows some of the Corrie cast and those from TV show Doctors too. Cross Magic features Close Up Magician Cross, who travels around the UK amazing members of the public, and some of the most high profiled celebrities.

Those from Coronation Street taking part include Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs), Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt). The Corrie lads first appear on the YouTube clip at 1 min and 39 seconds.



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Corrie weekly awards: August 20 - 24


Cheeky bugger award: Loved David hollering Paul awake!

Master Manipulator award: Owen is pouring poison in Chesney's ears so that Ches will push harder against the surrocacy thing. It nearly lost him both daughters and a girlfriend.

Making excuses award: Kevin's doing the DIY work while the childminder has Jack. Doesn't the childminder have him when Kevin's working at the garage anyway?

Pots and Kettles award: Tracy accusing Michelle of having a druggie son. Tracy who only has one kidney because of her own drug use.

How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways: Ryan. Nuff said.

Big Jessie award: Paul won't put a plug in his ears.
Inconsiderate award: Kevin always was a rude oik. He'd sure be hollering if the shoe was on the other foot.

Fashion Fun: Eileen's new look!

Adds to the attraction award: Gail knew Eileen would be narked if Paul spent afternoons sleeping at hers and didn't she enjoy winding Eileen up! Oh I did enjoy those scenes.

Musical ambience: Under Pressure playing in the garage and later "Everybody Hurts". Poor Ty is feeling it.

Rubbing her nose in it award: Sunita only suggested drinking in the Rovers to get a dig in at Stella.

Timing sucks award: Naturally the first minute you're close to another woman, your ex comes in the room.

Is that supposed to be a fashionable look because it looks awful on Eva! The flouncy curly look she had later in the pub was much nicer, if a bit over the top.

Lines of the week:
Anna to Owen "Shouting and Bawling is not going to get you anywhere" (but he never learns)
Beth "A big dollop? That's no way to talk about Brian!"
Owen "You're not talking loud enough, Chesney"
Michelle "Tracy's the flaming recipe. Recipe for disaster"
Tommy to Kirsty "So you're a bossy cow. There are worse things you could be" (there are worse things she IS)
Eileen about Gail "The world's smuggest woman just got smugger"
Tina "I live with someone who uses the bathroom floor as a wardrobe"

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Saturday 25 August 2012

Video and Pics: Coronation Street at Manchester Pride 2012

Coronation Street was out in full force for the parade at Manchester Pride 2012 on Saturday August 25th.

Here's Gorgeous Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Eva Price, looking ship-shape. There's more pictures of Catherine in the Daily Mail online, where they seem to be obssessed with her. Every time she gets a new frock, they do a double page spread. It's rather bizarre.


Here's the Coronation Street float with this year's theme of Queered Science, paying tribute to the father of computer science, Alan Turing.

Photo credit:
There's a video of Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) at Manchester Pride, on the ITV news website, which is worth a little look. And an absolutely gorgeous picture of Catherine and Antony together.

Here's a YouTube of the float going by - it's only 35 seconds long so well worth a look.




Here's Cherylee Houston (Izzy Armstrong) looking lovely..


...as is Debbie Rush (Anna Windass).  The man behind Debbie is Coronation Street writer Damon Rochefort.


And here's Catherine again on the float with an image of iconic Corrie lady Ena Sharples.


Here's Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) with Catherine on the Corrie float.


Here's Debbie Rush (Anna Windass) with Toby Sawyer (Marcus' boyfriend Aiden) and Jenni McAlpine (Fiz)


And on the decks is DJ Craig Charles (Lloyd Mullaney)


And here's Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) with Debbie Rush (Anna Windass) and Toby Sawyer (Marcus' boyfriend Aiden).


And here's Paula Lane (Kylie Platt) on the float too.


See our blog posts about Coronation Street at Manchester Pride from 2010 and 2011

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GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!