Newsflash: Underworld Seige, all blown up

As night falls, the Police are able to speak to Tony Gordon on the Underworld phone.

Roy and Hayley share a moment together safe and sound as reinforcements unload from a Police van.  Carla's boyfriend Trevor arrives on scene to find out what is going on.  More locals fill the street.

Gunshots are fired sending onlookers into a panic.  Trevor breaks free of the bit of police tape encircling the factory and bounds towards it screaming the name of his other half.  At the same time, out of the battered down door, Carla runs like the wind into the arms of her beau.

From my post, outside Gail McIntyre's house (who is currently on trial for murder of her husband), I can see him.  Tony Gordon, escaped convict, murderer.  The madness in his eyes will haunt my dreams for a long time.  His gaze is firmly fixed on his escaped hostage.  His eyes bore down on her for what seems like hours, but really only seconds.  Clutching his left shoulder, due to injury I am guessing, he turns and disappears into the glow of the fire and blanket of smoke.  Just as I am about to try and get to Carla for a statement the factory explodes and we all hit the ground.

Locals are being asked to return to their houses as firefighters arrive to start the clean up.  The fate of Tony Gordon will be announced shortly.....

Upcoming Corrie Spoilers here

Some people love spoilers. I certainly do. I look for things to post here from t'other blog but a lot of them are spoilers, big ones. I do post some things from time to time because they're well written or don't give too much of the plot away but I thought this might be a way of giving the rest of you want you want without spoiling it for those that don't want to know what's going to happen. So...

As this is a relatively spoiler-free Canadian timeline blog, I'll just post the links and who the spoiler is about and you can follow them at your own risk! This time, you may feel free to comment on the spoilers (non-spoiler fans, be warned!)

Audrey Roberts
John Stape
Deirdre Barlow
Roy and Hayley
Leanne Battersby
Natasha Blakeman
General hints for the next few months.

Newsflash: Underworld Seige, a hostage situation

A telephone call late yesterday afternoon to 999 confirmed that Tony Gordon has, as officials expected, returned to Coronation Street to seek revenge.

Maria Connor, former fiance of Tony Gordon and widow of his victim Liam, has confrims his whereabouts.  Mr Gordon has locked himself in the Underworld Factory, where he was once the CEO, and has taken hostages, named Carla Connor and Hayley Cropper.  Maria confirms that Tony has covered the place in petrol and that there is a dead body on the floor, the identity is unknown.

As the news of this event quickly spread thorough the Rovers Return pub from where the call was made, a group of locals headed towards the factory.  At this point in time Roy Cropper, Hayley's husband, was seen shouting through the door to, we assume, Mr Gordon.

As the sirens of the approaching law enforcement were heard, Becky McDonald of the Rovers Return decided to take matters into her own hands and started smashing the glass of the factory door with, we believe, a bit of wood or possibly a pipe.

Police cordoned off the factory and tried to remove onlookers as the doors opened and Hayley was thrust out onto the cobbles.  At this point it is confirmed Tony was armed with a hand gun.

We will have more as the story unfolds.  All media are now being asked to stay back from the premises due to danger and it was suggested we all regroup at the Kabin and stock up on pear drops and mint imperials as we wait for this to play out.

Corrie Seige week, how is it for you?

It's near the end of Coronation Street's Siege Week with an explosive episode tonight - what do you think of it so far? We're really enjoying it in Blog Towers!

I thought I'd tweet my way through tonight's episode: Here's how it went...
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: Good god, Roy never stops getting under Tony's skin!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: Gotta love Becky, she's bashing in the door while all the men just stood around and watched!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: Hayley's free. Now it's one on one.
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: Boy, it got dark awfully fast! It was broad daylight when Hayley got shoved out and after break, darkness
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: The police know about the petrol and Tony's threat to blow up the factory. where's the firetrucks!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige:She's free! They're fighting! Spike him with that heel, Carla!!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: Oh shoot him again! Oops too late
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: In come the armed response team. Out goes Carla! Up goes Tony in smoke and flames!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
Tweeting the Underworld Seige: He's totally insane, isnt' he? Jump Carla!
>>
@BluenoseCorrie
And that's the end of Tony Gordon! Talk about crash and burn!

10 reasons why Gail McIntyre should be jailed

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in June, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Is Gail guilty? Will she go to jail? Would Coronation Street get rid of an actress who's been with them more than 30 years? I mean, you know, was there ever any doubt?

Anyway, here's why she SHOULD be locked up!
1. For crimes against haircuts over the years
2. For being daft enough to marry the wrong man, over and over and over again.
3. For marrying Brian Tilsley – twice
4. For fighting Eileen Grimshaw in the street, in a very bad dressing gown
5. For letting son David Platt push her around - and down the stairs
6. For bringing David Platt into the world
7. For not having the nerve to ever stand up to her evil mum-in-law Ivy Tilsley
8. Because her golden sons, the Plattilsley boys, can never do anything wrong
9. For being totally thick where men are concerned
10. All of the above

And 2 reasons why she has to go free to roam Coronation Street again:

1. She’s innocent
2. She's Gail... and she’s great

Corrie in HD - We can rebuild her!

Along with the two major stories happening on Coronation Street this week, (Gail's trial and the Factory seige), CBC  debuts the new Coronation Street opening titles which were created  by ITV, first airing in the UK last June, to enhance it's broadcast in High Definition. A lot of work had to be done to the set to get it ready so that it would look more realistic. It was more than just a lick of paint as well. Things like changes in actors' makeup, clothing and jewelery had to pass muster. Sometimes jewelery draws the eye to an actress's neckline and subsequently down her cleavage which isn't what they want. (But why dress someone like Liz with plunging necklines in the first place if that's the case?)

A lot of things on the outdoor set also needed rebuilding. There's an interesting feature in the MEN that describes some of the changes that had to be made. I didn't realize a lot of the brickwork in the chimneys and walls (i.e. in the Ginnel) were plastic bricks and they had to be rebuilt in fibreglass so they wouldn't look fake.

Food in the cafe now has to be real as opposed to plastic until they can find a suitable substitute (assuming that when the actors are seen eating, that's the real thing!) On a related note, apparently Liz's cleavage is being censored, due to the HD technicalities, too. A bit daft, that, and probably nonsense but it's fun anyway.

Court Reporter: Gail's Trial, Day 3

We're reporting to you from the courtroom in Weatherfield where Gail McIntyre is on trial for murdering her husband Joe. Today is the final day of testimony and it's been an interesting one.

Rumours have it that the last minute witness for the Defence has legged it and disappeared and that hasn't gone over well, leaving the accused and her family on tenterhooks. The trial resumed after a break with the next witness to speak was the son of the accused,  Mr. David Platt.

He backed up his mother's story and admitted his part in the cover up later, though his mother had lied to the police and told them she had sent the text and flowers. That gave the prosecution all they needed to jump all over his story and his testimony seems to have gone down in flames.

Closing arguments were pretty clear. The prosecution painted them all as liars with pants aflame and the Defence said Joe's death was a mere accident.  The expert witness said that it was possible the boom of the boat could have knocked Mr. McIntyre into the water, which was the defence's case, and the prosecution witnesses were discredited enough so that there may be reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors but Mr. Platt's testimony could have damaged his mother's case. The family of Mrs. McIntyre were seen to be looking rather grim as the jury went for deliberations and the jury looked rather dubious. I think we could be in for a long wait on the result.

Upcoming new characters (spoilers) on Canadian Corrie

There’s a new bad boy joining Coronation Street.

Former Casualty actor Will Thorp has begun filming his scenes as Chris, the nasty ex of Cheryl the stripper.




It could be a family affair in more ways than one, if I'm reading between the lines correctly. ITV today says that both of William Roache's sons, Linus and James, will be featured in an upcoming storyline on Coronation Street. In a few months, a "dark family secret" will be discovered. A letter is found during some building work and it sends Ken on a quest to find out what it all means. Deirdre and Peter don't want the past dragged out of the loft, naturally. Now, my guess is this...We all know how many women Ken has had in the past. Is this going to be a long lost child plot?  I guess we'll find out!

James Fleet's mum is a Coronation Street fan but he'd got away from watching the soap until recently. In a "short but spectacular" part this week, James plays Tony Gordon's henchman, breaking him out of prison and helping him lay seige to the factory. James is a familiar face to viewers. He's well known for good natured, bumbling type characters such as Hugo on the Vicar of Dibley and Tom in Four Weddings and a Funeral. He does insert a little of that into his Corrie character, Robbie. In an interfiew in the Sunday Mail James says "Criminals are usually a bit socially inadequate, which is why they end up in prison. They are not all glamorous secret agent types. They are more likely to be people who are weak-willed, pushed around and bullied"

He never expected to be hired to play a bad guy and thoroughly enjoyed his part. Add to that all the history of getting to work on a 50 year old soap, Coronation Street. And as for working on a soap, he had no qualms about accepting the job. "It reminds you that people who are sniffy about soaps need to be given a good talking to. The actors here do stuff which a lot of rather snooty actors wouldn't be able to do."

He also has a lot in common with his co-worker, Gray O'Brien. James grew up in Scotland though was born in England to a Scottish mother. He doesn't think he'll appear on another soap. Corrie's the best, why settle for the rest?

Other upcoming new characters include Izzy's sister, Katy. Rula Lenska is coming back as Audrey's friend, Claudia.

Reminder for Halifax Fans: Vicky Binns appearance

Vicky Binns, who plays Molly Dobbs, is coming to Halifax on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at the Halifax Westin Hotel. The Downeast Streeters are hosting the show, the ninth Corrie actor they have presented to local Corrie fans over the years. If you want to stay overnight, the hotel is offering a discounted price of $129 if you mention the event.

There are still tickets available and they cost $27. You can get them at the following  locations:
Celtic Traditions, Spring Garden Place, Halifax, NS
Edgewood Cafe, 250 Baker Drive, Dartmouth, NS (cash only)
Ed's Unique Gifts, 10 Akerly Blvd, Unit 60, Dartmouth NS

Check at the Downeast Streeters for any further information and links to past events. Register there to be on a mailing list so you will get advance notice of events and local pings.

Vicky will fly from Halifax to Toronto and she will be the guest at the annual British Isles Show on the weekend of April 15-17)

I'll be there and I'll most definitely be blogging about it the next day!

Corrie look-a-like: Coronation Street does Mad Men

A Coronation Street look-a-like as done by our wonderful blogger Yoork.

If you like this, have a look at The Sopranos on Coronation Street

Natasha wore this dress on the first day of Gail's trial last week.

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in xxxx, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Corrie weekly awards: March 21 - 25

Take the piss award: Gold Star: Doesn't Steve have fun ragging Lloyd about his crush on Cheryl!

Prize Pillock award: Gold Star: Isn't Nick Tilsley up his own backside?

Stomach turning award: Queasy Star: Every time i see Eddie baking, i want to hurl! I don't care how good the end result is supposed to be!

Tandem award: Mary and Norris necking mints in court!

She lies like a rug award: Gold Star: Tracy Barlow. Who else?

Nosy Parker award: Gold Star: Norris Cole. Supporting Gail, my eye!
 
Don't Fence Me In award: Carla locking herself and Robbie in the factory trying to keep the bad guys out. Stick em up, girly.

Pink isn't your colour award: Robbie and the knickers.


Lines of the Week:
-Steve about Lloyd and Cheryl "Lloyd wants to be in there. Lloyd isn't in there yet"
-Robbie to Roy: "Those runny scrambled eggs of yours take some beating!" (ooh clever!)
-Trevor "The thing about the wrong end of the stick is that it looks exactly like the right end of the stick
-Audrey: "It's like the front stalls at the guillotine here."
-Claire to Dev "Whatever happens today, it can never be as disastrous as the day we move into Sally and Kevin's" (wanna bet?)
-Tony to Carla: "This might hurt" (...rip...) "That's at least three layers of fake tan!"
-Natasha about David "He perverts the course of justice with such ease!" (That's our David!)
-Sunita about Dev's opinion of Tony: "Everybody's friend in the pub. Control freak behind doors." (got that in one)

Corrie Sunday Comments, March 27

Off we go for another week of Sunday comments. Don't forget to check the Bluenose Corrie Blog tomorrow for Lines of the week and weekly awards!

Oooh and did you notice the new opening credits? They redid them for HD broadcasting. They're a bit jarring at first but they really do grow on you! Lovely!

Tina's a ball of nerves coming up to the trial which is going ahead even with David and Nick's paid witness. I suppose that means she has to testify. Will she? I can't really blame Audrey for not being convinced of David's optimism and she was pretty near the mark accusing David of having something to do with the witness. Gail's a ball of nerves too, as the trial begins. Lucky she's got a good cellmate, a far cry from Deirdre's (Jackie Dobbs) but i think Gail would have been able to stand up to Jackie whereas Deirdre was a scared little bunny.

It always amuses me that the viewers in the gallery, and the accused, always ALWAYS hollers out things and never (or hardly ever) get thrown out. But i do think that Tracy was very much discredited on the stand even though her mother, blinders firmly in place, just thinks she HAS to be telling the truth.


The factory is a-buzz, frantic workers trying to get the order out on time with the buyer looking over their shoulders. Does he not notice all that water pouring from the ceiling? I mean, if they're wearing wellies and the water's filling up buckets, it must be bad. Well, the client, Mr. Rickson, didn't like what he saw of the order and it's all up the spout. or down it. A real washout. Factory gets shut down, conveniently, just in time for Tony's big plan. Why would you keep so much cash in the safe on an ongoing basis anyway? Why not a bank? Nick is getting more and more dislikeable, and now he's ragging on Trev for being a binman. Nowt wrong with being a binman. Nick would be the first one to complain if the rubbish wasn't collected but there's no need to look down his nose at everyone. Maybe he's secretly jealous of Trev who gets to bed the lovely Carla who won't give Nick the time of day and treats him like a naughty schoolboy?

Ah yes, Tony Gordon, receiving a mobile phone sim card with his Holy Host. How did he manage to pay off a priest!? his mate, Robbie, has set up casing Coronation Street, making friends with geeky Roy (talking trains, perfect way to make inroads or... inrails there!) and pretending to be a buyer with Carla who's aching to get rid of the gear they did up for the order that got cancelled.He slipped up, though, mentioning Hayley to Roy who didn't think he'd mentioned his wife. Ooops! Scrambled there!

Tony's plan to escape was to fake a heart attack after starting a (fake) fight and since he's got a history of it, it wasn't questioned. Robbie helped sabotage the van and he helped Tony get away! Uhoh!!! It seemed to hit the news pretty quickly too! Interesting watching the escape contrasted with the opening arguments at the trial. So Tony's on the loose and the police have warned Carla. Meanwhile Tony is in the ginnel and gets some tea and sympathy from Sunita who has no idea who he is.

Wasn't that lucky that he picked the exact right house where someone didn't know him? Though probably, he thought Maria would be there. I really can't understand how Sunita wouldn't know him when his face would have been splashed all over the papers just a few months ago when he confessed to killing Liam, nearly killing Roy and turned himself in. A killer on the street where she used to live? Dev never mentioned it when he came to see the kids? You'd think she'd have taken more notice of it but nooooo she thinks he's a nice man with a problem. And why would Sunita say she didn't really know Maria? Maria's been in the show 10 years and Sunita's only been gone for 5. Well at least there should be fingerprints around to prove it!

And you'd think the police would leave a few constables around to protect both Carla and Roy seeing as they went to all that trouble to make sure they were aware. And you would also think they wouldn't be so careless as to send every last copper off to the airport, leaving the residents unprotected! Well, Robbie did his job, he got in the factory with Carla and she locked them in to keep safe from the bad guy! Ooops! For a mild type guy, he has a very steely side too. After all, he *was* in prison, don't forget that. His mild mannered way was actually pretty scary, a lot more frightening than shouting and hollering. He managed to get Hayley under the factory roof too, by deception. Tony doesn't have a grudge against Hayley, he's got one against Roy and Hayley is the thing that would hurt Roy the most.

Ah yes, back to the trial. Tracy was up first. So much for Gail's warning to stay calm. Tracy lies her face off and Gail is jumping up and down and screaming! Well you do, don't you!? On soaps at least. Tina was up next, making out that Gail was obsessed with Joe and obsessed with having a husband no matter how low he'd sunk with his depression and drug addiction and financial problems. Her hystrionics were a bit over the top, really. The defence did a fair job there too. Norris and Mary are enjoying the view at the trial. I guess they have to have someone nosy there since Blanche isn't around anymore to take up her knitting in the galleries. I still can't understand why Norris would allow Mary to sit with him and share candy when last week he was afraid for her to be in the same shop with him!

Day 2 was the defence's turn. If that was all the prosecution had, it wasn't much. Even the "expert" said it was possible it was an accident. First defence witness was Gail. The usual indignant posturing, sobbing and chin wobbling while Mary blithely shares sweets with Norris. She doesn't really take anything seriously aside from her own obsession, does she? Yet he's still sat there beside her. *shrug* *Deirdre mode on* I Didn't Do It!!!! *Deirdre mode off* It almost looks like Tina might be softening nad starting to believe Gail until she admitted she did scratch and injure Joe a little. Hmmm... And David was the one that scared Anke off, he should have kept his mouth shut and kept his distance instead of phoning her and cornering her in the corridor!

And you can view the comments from your friendly neighbourhood Court reporter, Day 1 at the trial and day 2.


Lloyd's really got it bad when he's worried Cheryl won't like his shirt and runs home to change! He's making a bit of a prat of himself with her and she's backing off. But he won't let her and keeps coming round for rejection after rejection. She's a mom, too and has a husband, at least in name only, so that puts him in his place.


We find out that Izzy has a smart mouth but is a nice person underneath it. She has a degenerative disease, Just like the actor that plays her. Dev and Sunita have moved into Maria's house. I still don't see the logic. Trevor really is gorgeous, isn't he? Aww Roy bought the red dress back for Hayley and they've made up! You knew they wouldn't stay apart for good! Did Eddie get his hair cut up a bit shorter?


Deirdre's going to work in the bookies. Wouldn't that face put you off your stride? So Deirdre is in the shop on her very first day and Peter and Leanne leave her alone there and go to the pub for lunch. She could hardly know enough to hold down the fort yet! And it seems that Deirdre and Audrey are still at odds over Tracy and it's not really Ken and Deirdre's fault though they are trying to defend her. With the past she's got, you'd think they'd know better by now.

Newsflash: Gordon still at large

An anonymous telephone call to the Police gave information of Tony Gordon, currently on the loose following his escape from prison, being seen at Manchester Airport.  The caller was unsure of the terminal which meant a number of officers were dispatched to search all three.

This information should have been relayed to our readers earlier however our writer was involved in a vehicle collision while leaving Coronation Street yesterday.  There were no injuries and very little damage.  Local builder Bill Webster admits fault as he backed his truck into her Rover Metro.

Webster was quoted to say "Oh I am sorry luv I just didn't see ya.  Nowt but a prang, I'll get my son to have a look, he works over there at the garage.  I'm fuming I am that Carla Connor just laid us off and was very rude about it.  She's gonna be sorry when we get the next rain fall.  That roof's in a right state.  Mind you she must have been doing something important in that factory.  Didn't want to speak to me and then locked the door.  There's nowt as queer as folk".

Tony Gordon is described as 5ft 9, medium build, brown hair, well groomed with heavy Scottish accent.  The Police are urging anyone who may see or come into contact with the prisoner to call the authorities immediately as Mr Gordon is considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Newsflash: Sighting at Number 7

Police were called to Coronation Street following a reported sighting of convicted murderer Tony Gordon.  It was reported at Mr Gordan, 39 of Weatherfield, escaped from prison whilst on route to hospital in an ambulance yesterday.

New tenants of number 7 have reported a man fitting Tony's description hanging around the back alley and when approached claimed to have been mugged and required assistance. Sunita Alahan allowed the man into her home.  Dev Alahan, owner of the corner shop, explained to the Police that the couple had been divorced for the last 5 years and his wife had never met Mr Gordon.  She was aware of what had happened to the owner of the property but did not expect in a million years to find Tony next to her dustbin.  Devinder was on the stag do for Tony Gordon the night Liam Connor was run down.

The Police are planning to stay in the Coronation Street area and inform members of the community who may be on a revenge list namely:
His wife Carla Connor Gordon, who was having an affair with the late Liam
Roy and Hayley Cropper who own Roys Rolls.  Mr Cropper saved Tony's life when he had a real heart attach and on what he thought was his death bed confessed to murder.  Hayley works at Underworld and has done for a number of years.

Police are desperately trying to contact Maria Connor, widow of Liam and former fiance of the convicted felon but there has been no answer on any of her contact numbers in Ireland where she is currently residing.

Court Reporter: Gail's Trial, Day 2

Today is the second day of the murder trial of Gail McIntyre. We've jumped straight into the case for the Defence. It seemed awfully quick, you'd think the prosecution would try a little harder to convince the jury of Mrs. McIntyre's guilt, wouldn't you? One witness who claims a confession who also seems to have a hidden agenda and one witness, the daughter of the deceased who really didn't actually witness anything other than receiving a text and some flowers.

The first witness is the accused herself. That's also odd, too. Don't they usually leave the accused's testimony for last? Well, we've got her anyway. She seemed pretty clear about what was what. She insists he planned to fake his own death and she she says they had an argument and physical fight on the dock and she couldn't stop him sailing away. She also poked a lot of holes in the testimony of Ms. Barlow but it's all hearsay, really, and the prosecution tore Gail apart over the cover-up. All she says is that she didn't want Joe to get into trouble for this daft plan so she and her son lied and pretended but she didn't kill her husband.

Do we believe her story? This court reporter doesn't know the accused well enough to know whether she has an aggressive side to her, wether she could manipulate and lie that easily. She doesn't look like she could, mind you, she looks like she could just be stubborn and single minded and a bit stupid when it comes to men whereas that Barlow woman does seem to have a smug air about her. Let's hope tomorrow's testimony will shed a bit more light.

Next Week in Canada (March 28 - April 1)

Tony Gordon wreaks havoc, Maria returns, Underworld goes up in flames and two people die – but who?, Gail’s trial continues, with testimony from David and Tracy. Will Gail be convincted or will she go free? And what will the ramifications be?

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

State of the Street - May 2010

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted with permission.)

 I may have been off on my holidays to the UK and elsewhere for a few weeks in May but i was still able to catch up with Corrie thanks to the UK weekend omnibusses. They show it on Saturday and Sunday both! Mind you, May's State of the Street is a bit less detailed than usual, touching on the main storylines about Gail's trials and tribulations including scheming Tracy Barlow, whose antics also touched Steve and Becky. Underworld is having problems and John Stape has gone missing. Not that that's a major problem, but the storyline seems to have disappeared along with him. Anyway, you can read more about it on t'other blog.

Court Reporter: Gail's Trial, day 1

We're in the courtroom today where Gail Potter Tilsley Tilsley Platt Hillman McIntyre is on trial for murdering her most recent husband, Joseph. Up in the viewing gallery, Gail's supporters are biting their nails. The macabre nosy neighbours are biting their lemon sherbets. This reporter has made notes during the testimony and will report on them for you forthwith.

The prosecution had opened with a very damning statement, painting Mrs. McIntyre in a very black light. She's such a tiny thing, though, do they really expect folk to believe she could clobber someone bigger than her? I suppose stranger things have happened.

The first witness, a Ms. Tracy Barlow, apparently has shared a cell with the accused and testifies that the accused confessed to her the whole sorry tale. There was an odd bit of rumbling in the skies over the courthouse and the lights flickered a bit. Several of us thought there would be a real lightening storm there for a few minutes but it must have passed on. The Defence has made this witness look dodgey, however. Well, after all, she *is* in prison for murder herself and her own defence wasn't believed. The Defence also seemed to have touched a sore spot when he implied that Ms. Barlow might be doing this for her own gain. Ah ha! My instincts are saying they're right. The mother of this witness looks as if she's not so sure her own daughter is telling the truth, either.

There's one of them "expert" witnesses that tells the court that it's possible that the deceased could have been knocked overboard which is apparently the whole case that the defence is proposing.

The last witness for tonight is the daughter of the deceased, one Tina McIntyre who spews hateful things about her former step-mother. She thinks Mrs. McIntyre was obsessed with her husband, who was desperate to hang on to a man who brought her nothing but shame and heartache with his drug addiction, his depression and his financial debt. She accuses Gail of covering up Joe's death by sending his daughter text messages and flowers after his death so nobody would realize he was missing. That doesn't sound too good, does it? The cross examination tries to make Ms. McIntyre look as if she's totally unrealistic about her father's life and death, that she is blaming Gail because she can't blame her father. I don't know. It doesn't really wash with me, but this Joe does sound like quite a loser just the same.

We'll have more from the courtroom tomorrow!

Newsflash: Have you seen this Man?

A man currently in prison for murder has escaped today.  What was thought to be a medical emergency is now appearing to have been a planned break out by former Underworld CEO Anthony "Tony"  Gordon.  39 year old Gordon, of Weatherfield, has been serving time for the the murder of 34 year old Liam Connor.

Eye witness reports say that the the ambulance carrying Gordon to Weatherfield General was run off the road by an unmarked van and a masked man was seen with a gun.  Both men were then seen making their escape in this van.  Highfield Prison has confirmed that Tony Gordon was being transported to Weatherfield General following a possible heart attack.

Tony Gordon is described as 5ft 9, medium build, brown hair, well groomed with heavy Scottish accent.  The Police are urging anyone who may see or come into contact with the prisoner to call the authorities immediately as Mr Gordon is considered armed and extremely dangerous.  It is vital that anyone living in the Coronation Street area of the city be very cautious as there is high concern that Tony is acting out of revenge.

Corrie Ciaran's dodgey hairdos

(This post was originally posted by Seapenguin on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Keith Duffy (Coronation Street's Ciaran Mcarthy) has had some interesting 'dos" in his time. Far right, we've got the "Tom Cruise" (my personal favourite!) - the crew cut, the designer stubble and the shades all complement his dark good looks perfectly. I'm afraid it's downhill from there. Next up, we've got the "Words fail me", but we've all made terrible style errors when we were young, so I'll move swiftly on to number three - the "Viking". Looks like he might have had a bad bleach job in that one, and I'm not even saying anything about the 'tache and stubble. Moving even more swiftly on, here's number four - the "Gigolo" - that gazing into the distance look is great, and the 'do shows off his chiselled chin wonderfully. (I love Ciaran!)

Brian Tilsley says No Jail for Gail

The wonderful Inside Soap magazine have launched a No Jail for Gail campaign. Not only is there a t-shirt, but they've taken the campaign to Downing Street.

You can join in the fun on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nojailforgail where there's pictures of celebrities joining in the fun and wearing the t-shirt. Here's Paul O'Grady, a huge Coronation Street fan. But the picture I would have loved to have shown you on the blog doesn't seem to be on the website although it is in this week's magazine. It's Brian Tilsley, aka actor Chris Quentin, wearing the No Jail for Gail t-shirt! Now, that's class.

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Corrie's hotting up (spoilers)

(This post was originally posted by Seapenguin on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I don't know if anyone else feels the same, but after the highs of the Norris/Mary storyline I've not found Corrie very inspiring lately. I was saddened by the ruining of John Stape in the utterly implausible Fishwick fiasco a few weeks back, with plot-holes you could drive a tank through, and my ears are still hurting from straining to hear Gail in the "Joe's a Good Man" carry-on. The addition of Tracy Barlow as Gail's nemesis, divulging that the rolling pin was the supposed "murder weapon" (and yes, I do realise that Gail didn't do it!) was dire. (The two coppers are good, mind!) Tina McIntyre is driving me up the wall - yes, I know she's just lost her dad, but her face would curdle milk just now. I'm not liking her embryonic relationship with Graeme, either, much. The adoption storylines - well, they seem to be on the back-burner just now and thank goodness for small mercies.

So, what does Corrie have going for it at the moment? The upcoming hostage and fire storylines sound highly entertaining. Okay, they're sensationalist and very OTT by Corrie standards, but the excellent actors involved will make it worth watching as far as I'm concerned. Gray O'Brien has always been a class act on Corrie. As a bog standard Corrie fan with no insider knowledge, I don't know who's for the chop this week, but I for one would be very sorry to see him go. Alison King has also been terrific, and I don't want to lose her either (I want to see if her voice can get any more nasal! and what was she like, tottering across the cobbles on those heels?!). And on the humour/day to day life level which Corrie does so well, the Windasses are terrific, so here's hoping they've got their asbestos suits handy.


On a controversial note, I'd be happy to see Hayley go. I'm finding her annoying these days. But, that seems unlikely given the rumours earlier this year of a big Roy/Hayley wedding. I'd also happily wave goodbye to Becky Macdonald, but that ain't gonna happen either.

Whatever, it'll keep you glued to CBC at 7:30 pm every night!

Corrie Weekly Awards for March 14 - 18

Fashion stars: Carla's lovely red coat and Julie's flowered wellies. Lloyd's shirt was a bit of a joke.

Rain on my parade award: Salsa Star: Roy really is a wet weekend isn't he? leading to...

Heartbreaking breakup of the week: Gold star: Noooo Roy and Hayley can't separate!!!

This can't end well award: Gold Star: Paying a witness (with money stolen from your workplace) to lie in court? The witness doesn't seem hard enough to lie well.

Dab hand in the kitchen: Gold Star: Would you have thought Graeme would be handy with a wisk?

Gormless award: Gold Star: Kirk. But that's why we love him.

Gross me out award: Eddie eating a massive amount of food right from the frying pan and wearing his vest and y-fronts ... You got to hand it to the actor though. He has more (Y) front than Blackpool!

Wet Wet Wet award: How can it be leaking more and more when it's not raining? Shouldn't someone be calling Health and Safety instead of complaining?

Lines of the Week:
Gail "Admit it Tracy, You're a really nice person!" (um...)
Gail "I could kill her" (not what you want to let the police hear right about now)
Carla about Nick "If he doesn't get back here sharpish he'll be wearing his bits as a bobble hat"
Trevor "Thing with wrong end of the stick is it looks exactly like the right end of the stick"
Julie "It's not a good look, wellies and pedal pushers! I hope i've not lost the respect of the bus driver."
Carla to Nick "Do you even care about keeping this place afloat? Pun definitely not intended"
Deirdre "Tracy couldn't be thinking of getting anything out of this could she?" "Tracy wouldn't stitch Gail up would she?" (ya think?)
Sophie about Graeme "Rosie, the pathetic, cringing, sniveling worm is here"

Corrie Sunday Comments, March 20

Off we go for another week of Sunday comments. Don't forget to check the Bluenose Corrie Blog tomorrow for Lines of the week and weekly awards!

David is going to pay a witness to say she saw something she didn't see. She didn't actually see anything so it's not really changing her story i suppose but she's probably in the country on a work visa and will she want to put that in jeopardy? But oh Nick! Stealing from the factory! If Carla treats you like something she stepped in now, what's she going to do when she finds out? She can't fire him, he's part owner but she treats him like he's hired help. And it's a good thing she can't fire him when he ran out on his contact!

By the way, for all the buckets and leaks and water in the factory, how come that client didn't get a wet head? I know Hayley hid the buckets but the roof was still leaking, wouldn't he have noticed at some point? and if there's enough water on the roof to fiz out the power, Health and Safety really ought to be informed! AND although there's water pouring into the factory, AND no power, there's not a spot of rain outside!

Tracy does have the upper hand with Steve and Becky but Steve wiped the smile off her face pretty quick. Did you see her face fall when he told her that he loves Becky and she's earned the right to be a mother in her own right?

Meanwhile Tracy managed to get out of the cell before Gail came back, loaded for bear, having found out that Tracy lied and stitched her up. I still don't know how Gail found the time to make biscuits and hide the rolling pin but never mind that. Forensically it's going to be clean as a whistle. David launched himself at Deirdre and Ken but they really aren't the ones that are at fault. Closest thing at hand, I guess, but that's David, isn't it? But attacking Ken in the pub is one thing. Confrontations with Peter are quite another and Peter could wipe the cobbles with weedy little David so it's lucky he didn't go through with bricking the window, isn't it? And little Amy heard the whole thing in the pub so there's damage control there too. As much as Gail said she really could kill Tracy, she sure backed down when her new/old roomie offered to set up Tracy with someone to rough her up.

Next, Ken and Deirdre go to see Tracy. Deirdre wonders what they do if Tracy's lying. I don't know why she's asking. She'll never be able to tell. Tracy can pull the wool over her mother's eyes with one hand tied behind her back. Deirdre's scared that Tracy will be branded a grass, an informer. She knows how dangerous... yes she does. She was in prison herself. For 2 weeks. All of which she spent huddled in her cell wibbling.

Rosie could do worse than going out with Graeme but really, he's not that good a match for her. Sadly, Tina is getting a bit dependent on Graeme and his missed his one chance of a date with Rosie! Laughed at Dev advising Graeme that sometimes you have to shock the women into submission, romantically. And how had that worked for you, Dev? Kirk managed to find not only a home for Ozzy but one for himself too, with Ashley and Claire. I can't see that lasting too long!

Jason is still trying to sell the flat. It's tough times, economically but if i were Jason, I'd get a new estate agent at least. And Tina was highly impressed that Graeme stayed with her when he could have had a date with Rosie. He's loyal if nothing else.

Sometimes, Roy, brutal honesty just isn't called for. It must be torture sometimes, to live with someone who has no clues in spite of being such a nice person. Imagine telling Hayley he sees her as a woman, just look at her birth certificate, after all! We know Hayley knows he means well but he just doesn't have a romantic bone in his body and that just rubs her the wrong way sometimes. I breaks my heart to see them separated though. Still, i'm sure they'll work things out. They're Roy and Hayley! They've got the only solid marraige in the street!

So far, this Lloyd-crush on Cheryl is wasting my time. and Natasha batting her eyelashes at Nick is tiresome too. I guess anger is giving Tina the energy to get her act back together. She's cleaning, she's speaking to Jason again. Do you think Graeme, having been shunned by Rosie, might actually be realizing his mate Tina just might be more than that in his heart?

I think Carla gave Kirk a job out of guilt! The poor guy had a terrible interview but it was all her fault, being late, being interrupted constantly. well Kirk wasn't really suited anyway, not as a stitcher anyway. I laughed at him hugging Carla!

Next Week in Canada (March 21 - 25)

Next week on Canadian Corrie screens we'll see the return of Tony Gordon! Yes! He engineers a plan and it means a lot of trouble. Meanwhile, Underworld is in trouble (more than it realizes) and later, Carla and Hayley run afoul of a criminal. Gail's trial starts and Tina testifies first.

For photos and more details, see the Moosejaw Mercury on Corrie.net.

Life is looking up for Bev Callard

Bev Callard has had a very rough year. But things are looking up. She's released a best selling autobiography (The bookstore in the UK where I bought it last year had autographed copies so I bought myself one!) and now she's gushing with excitement. She's going to marry the man that has been a rock of support to her, Jon McEwan, her boyfriend of 7 years (and she's got one diamond in her engagement ring for every year!). He proposed on the beach in Spain and she's been giddy ever since.

Aw, isn't it nice to see her so happy after the nightmare she managed to get through? This will be her fourth marraige and she's determined to have a blow out big party this time around, including 18 bridesmaids, so she says. Maybe she's exaggerating a bit, but she sure sounds happy and we wish her all the best! Check out the interview in the Mirror, there's lots of background on Bev and on her thoughts about Liz McDonald, her character on Coronation Street.

And in related news...

 The Mirror serialized Beverley Callard's autobiography and in one edition, Bev spills the beans on her work colleagues at Coronation Street. The whole article's worth a read as she comments on many more not listed below.

BEV ON ANNE KIRKBRIDE
She's gorgeous! We're in so many scenes together. The sets are so small and so we often have to get quite close to each other. We joke: "Here's Liz and Deirdre's lesbian moment!"

BEV ON JULIE GOODYEAR
My mentor and idol. She taught me so much. Her one-liners in the script were fantastic - and Julie's own were even funnier. She often had me crying with laughter.

BEV ON SIMON GREGSON AND NICK COCHRANE
They are my boys! They have a special place in my heart. I'd love them and Jim to come back to the Corrie fold so we can all be a proper family again.

BEV ON BETTY DRIVER
The woman is an absolute phenomenon. She is 90 years old and still has fabulous skin and is word-perfect as Betty Turpin. She is the real queen of the Street.

MY FAVOURITE OUTFIT
My favourite is also Liz's worst. It's the skin-tight red top with holes cut out of the shoulder. Harry Hill loves it. Although Liz has a belter of an outfit coming up for Audrey's birthday party...

And of course there's Liz's beloved zigzag necklace which she has had from the very early days. It's been repaired three times and the wardrobe department get letters each week asking where we got it. A viewer even sent me some earrings to match.

MY FAVOURITE STREET SCENES
When Jim beat up Liz. I knew those scenes would have a huge impact. There were protests outside the studios and I had sacks of letters from battered wives. The scenes were so well written that one week viewers would have sympathy for Liz, the next Jim, then Liz. Opening those scripts gave me a buzz. And the viewing figures, 24 million, were massive.

CAST MEMBER I SECRETLY FANCY....
Keith Duffy. He is gorgeous! You wouldn't be normal if you didn't fancy him. He's a lovely bloke and is always in a good mood. Ciaran and Liz quite fancy each other, and that might go on for some time...

Sally Whittaker's real-life fight with breast cancer

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Sally Whittaker, who plays Sally Webster on Coronation Street, has spoken about her real-life battle with breast cancer.

Sally reveals that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time as her on-screen Corrie character was diagnosed in the storyline. It's heartbreaking stuff and Sally Whittaker is applauded for her bravery and honesty in speaking out about this as it will surely help other women deal with the disease too.

Sally said: “If I had not been researching this storyline I may not have discovered the lump in my breast and had it looked at so quickly. As a result of the early diagnosis my treatment has been successful and I am able to return to work next month. This storyline could very well have saved my life."

Sally says she is now looking forward to returning to work on Corrie and she will be supporting breast cancer charity The Genesis Campaign and The Christie Hospital in Manchester.

Here at the Coronation Street blog, we all send Sally Whittaker our very best wishes.

Sally Whittaker decided to start using her married name, Dynevor and we'll be using that from now on.

Izzy's Disability

(This post was originally posted by Rebecca on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I meant to write this post last week, but forgot, and have just been reminded now, after Izzy told Kirk about her disability (after inadvertently putting her foot in it by saying she was disabled in a hit and run, just like Lee-um). The lovely Bendy Girl, who writes a blog about having Hypermobility type Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, wrote last week about how Izzy's character is supposed to reflect what the actress - Cherylee Houston - has, and that is Hypermobility syndrome too! She's just told Kirk that she has a 'degenerative disease' so I don't know if they'll go into it further, but I for one am so pleased that she's on the Street!

You can read Bendy Girl's excellent post here.

Corrie Fab Photo Deirdre

In honour of the dearly departed Blanche Hunt, I give you this photo of mother and daughter. They do say daughters end up turning into their mothers and, at least in looks, that seems to be true!

Tv's worst couple: Corrie's "Molvin"

(This post was originally posted by blogger Rebecca on the Coronation Street Blog in xxxx, 2010, reposted with permission.)

I signed into my Hotmail account today and came across a story called "TV's Gruesome Twosomes". The top couple is our very own Kevin & Molly.

An excerpt:

When Coronation Street's Kevin Webster and Molly Dobbs embarked on a torrid affair, few could believe their eyes; many more covered them instead [...] Quite simply, Kevin and Molly's affair has backfired spectacularly. Fans hate it, critics think it's ridiculous and actors Michael Le Vell (Kevin) and Vicky Binns (Molly) have had to, in effect, defend the storyline.

Corrie Weekly Awards: for March 8 - 11

Last Laugh award: Gold Star: Blanche got a dig in at Ken in her will and a great shot at nosy Norris!!

Thank Heavens She's Gone award: Relieved Star: Lloyd wasn't too upset Teresa left.

Baby Steps award: Gold Star: Tina finally went out of the house.

Lines of the week

Norris about Blanche "Her heart was not the jagged lump of granite you might think" and Mary "Her heart was not the box of shattered glass you might think"
Gail "I didn't kill my husband, Tracy, the recession did"
Gail "We used to call it "our lake" (they only went there once, on honeymoon and the second time was when he died. Hardly 'our lake')
Ken "Even in death she mocks me!"
Hayley "This feels less like a marraige and more like a business merger"
Liz to Lloyd "Once i've changed the sheets, i don't go putting the old ones back on"

Corrie Sunday Comments, March 13

Off we go for another week of Sunday comments. Don't forget to check the Bluenose Corrie Blog tomorrow for Lines of the week and weekly awards!

The mayor's in hospital! Angina... But on to the show...

Blanche's will was read and Norris had to be there so she could rub his nose in it not so she could actually leave him anything. Graeme is doing a lot for Tina but he's still lusting after Rosie. In the meantime, Jason can't get in to the flat to try to show it to buyers. Hayley's having fun with her salsa dancing. And it looks like she's got an admirer once he sussed she wasn't a lesbian. I have to say, though, not sure about that red dress though the colour does look fab on her!

So, Tracy gets out of the cell to play table tennis and Gail isn't allowed? I seriously doubt Gail would pour her heart out to the likes of Tracy Barlow no matter how lonely she is in jail. And splain something to me. Joe and Gail were only at the cottage about an hour when he told her his plan. When did he have time to make biscuits and her hide the rolling pin? Well, if i were Gail, i'd run a mile at Tracy's offer to help her through it. But nooooo Gail is probably the most naive person on the planet. Ok, she's tied with Deirdre. They both think they've got Tracy wrong!

And if Tracy is stupid enough to think she can get a deal and get out of jail just because she stitches up Gail, she's not as smart as she likes to think.Did you see her face when Gail was crying and Tracy knew she wasn't going to get any sort of confession out of her? You could see her thinking "Great, now what?"

But Gail didn't confess because there was nothing to confess so she made something up! Even so, the cops were pretty low key about going along with her deal. And you know, even if they did find a rolling pin, and Gail had cleaned it, you know forensic evidence could probably still find stuff. Gail is very short, would she have been able to wallop him on the head at the angle that he got hit? But these things never happen on soaps. There are plot holes big enough that the Queen Mary II could sail through.

Then she set her sights on Becky who was pretty restrained for most of the time until Tracy taunted her about infertility. At least Gail managed to give Tracy some genuine ammunition (unfortunately). Becky does what Becky always does and yes, she shouldn't have given in but what did they expect? No matter what deal they make with Tracy you could never trust she'd honour her side of a bargain. And why does Tracy care so much about Amy all of a sudden? Or is it just because Steve has Becky and they're a proper little family and she wants to mess it up. I don't know where Steve gets the energy to deal with Becky all the time, i really don't.

Hayley might think Roy just can't publically show his feelings for her but he managed to get through the first wedding ok. Can't he just suck it up and let Hayley have a nice romantic wedding even if all he wants is a legal cover-your-ass contract? it felt a bit like Hayley over reacted just the same but i suppose if you live with Roy for that long, sometimes the way he is can really hit you the wrong way. He let her down again promising a nice dinner but had no intentions of going along with the wedding.

Janice has sussed out Trev's World Cup plans! (and we get another look at the kittens!!) Anna managed to unstick Roy's back but it did look odd the way she did it, especially from Hayley's point of view. Nick doesn't seem to be having much luck at the factory and there's a leak in the ceiling. That can't be safe dripping over machinery.

Lloyd is still hovering around trying to get a bit of attention off Cheryl and Teresa isn't liking it one little bit. And Lloyd is already telling Cheryl his relationship is all but over. I always believed that Teresa was just a convenience for Lloyd because Liz dumped him and now Liz is putting the boots in and pointing it all out for Teresa so she did the right thing. Lloyd wasn't too bothered, really. Cheryl's boss seems a nasty piece of work.