50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days – 1963

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

Day 3 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

In September 1963 scandal hit Coronation Street. The contract of Eileen Mayers, who played dippy Sheila Birtles, was coming to an end and the producers decided to kill her off. Sacked from her job at the raincoat factory and crushed by her rejection by married petty crook Neil Crossley, who had taken her virginity, she found herself pregnant by him and unable to face the shame of having a child out of wedlock, she was set to commit suicide. The intention was for her to take an overdose of sleeping pills and then after vomiting them up, resort to gassing herself.

The story leaked to the press and Granada had to contend not only with shock-horror headlines in the tabloids and calls of protest from the public but the deputy coroner of Manchester objected. ‘A suicide would be a disgraceful thing to show. I fear that the screening of a suicide would remove the stigma from it, which would be very bad’, he is reported to have said. The producer, Margaret Morris, responded that Coronation Street was produced as a true-to-life drama but the ITA and Granada lost their nerve and the offending five minutes was removed from the broadcast.

The story was hastily rewritten to have Dennis Tanner smell the gas and save her life by forcing his way into her room above the corner shop. And instead of a bottleful of sleeping pills, she was seen to take a couple of aspirin and turn the gas on. Mayers herself was very disappointed that having worked herself up to such a harrowing and powerful story, the scene was wasted. She had been hounded at home by the tabloids: ‘The garden was full of press. They shouted through my letterbox, they climbed, they hammered on the windows … my little girl was upstairs crying.’

Dennis Tanner returned to the Street to manage the northern branch of the Lenny Phillips theatrical agency. He discovered window cleaner Walter Potts and launched his pop career as Brett Falcon. Timed to coincide with its release in the real world, his single, ‘Not Too Little, Not Too Much’ was played over the end credits which helped it reach no. 17 in the charts.

Also in 1963: Myra Dickenson marries Jerry Booth; Albert Tatlock is fined £10 after hitting a copper on a darts team outing to New Brighton; Len Fairclough proposes to Elsie Tanner but she says no; Frank Barlow opens DIY shop on Victoria Street.

Sunday Corrie Comments, July 31

I suppose now we're going to be in for months of Molly stropping and glaring and snarling at Kevin every time he glances at the baby. Poor Tyrone! And Poor Tyrone in spades! We're going to lose Jack!!!!! Tyrone is about to lose the only man he regards as a father and the rest of us are going to be in puddles in the corner when it happens. Turns out Jack is behind the anonymous gifts people have been getting and he's betting on the horses and giving Tyrone money for the baby. What else is he going to do with his dosh?

Meanwhile, Molly gets cornered into spending more girl time with Sally, which can't be very comfortable for her but I am enjoying seeing her squirm. Odd, though, she *said* she couldn't leave Jack 5 minutes ago but then it wasn't a problem leaving him to go see the show with Sally. I know it being with Tyrone is a little different but i would think leaving a baby with an experienced mum would have been less nerve wracking than leaving him with a new dad. Except of course it was Sally and Kevin and that's the problem.

Nick has jumped from the factory...to about 30 feet to one side and has decided to open up a bar where Peter and Leanne had failed to. I suppose a lot of the fixtures and fittings are still in there. Shouldn't he have to pay Peter and Leanne for those? He sunk all his money into the factory and he wants it back. Contract or he'll sell it somewhere else. She should take that offer. It would be better for her financially in the long run. Instead, it gives her another reason to get legless so Peter can rescue her. But she's insisting on keeping it secret, even from Leanne. Now you can see where this is going, can't you? Trouble with a capital T.

And more Trouble with a capital T, Nick is pushing Leanne to manage the bar for him. He's such a manipulator isn't he? He uses every bit of emotional blackmail he can dig up to talk her into it, knowing she would do it in a shot if he weren't the owner. But with Peter's approval, she's going to do it, working closely with Nick. How long before he starts niggling at her and telling her Peter doesn't deserve her and doesn't treat her properly? Even Ken is suspicious and I don't blame him. But...i do wonder...The Joinery was nearly ready to open when Peter and Leanne had it, then the factory was in there but how come it now looks like a construction site? I suppose Nick has remodeled the whole thing again.

Anna and Eddie had to face Gary going off to war and find out the same week if they're eligible for adopting. They are. Just an aside, though, how come we haven't seen Eddie trying to stop smoking if Steve and Becky had to? You can tell that even though Eddie doesn't show his feelings, he does have them. Sometimes. But when it comes to the sensitive feelings of the neighbours who didn't get approved for adoption, he's got as much sensitivity as a soap dish.

The factory bees decided they couldnt' go to work because Carla wasn't there and Hayley was off sick. But they still could have got the key from Hayley.

So we've seen the back of Trev. He never did really suit Carla though was good for her in the aftermath of the Tony story when she needed someone safe. It might have worked if she hadn't brought him into the factory. Janice is gutted though, she never did get over that crush. I say she's gutted but we haven't seen her face for ages! Where's Janice? We've also seen the back of Ryan who's going to uni in Glasgow. I won't miss him. He's pretty much always been a spare part. I wonder how he liked the Tardis, though, because he left for Glasgow in the dark and got there safely in record time. It's a 3 or 4 hour train journey, he said he'd be there near midnight. Michelle got a text saying he arrived. Getting in to Glasgow by midnight, and that's going to be in time to get himself a room in the university "halls" aka dorms? Are they a 24/7 administration?

Kirk is getting advice on women from Tyrone to give to Chesney. Then all the other most gormless men on the Street get in on the act. What a laugh but Poor kid! This could be a disaster. don't know why Kirk went through all the bother trying to get condoms. Surely he's bought them for himself many a time from when he was living with Fiz and Julie, what's the big deal going to a pharmacy for Chesney? It's not like Kirk is Chesney's age and innocence. Ah but in the end, though i think it probably only took about 10 minutes total including undressing and dressing again, he just followed his own sense and they are now Love's Young Dream. Until Owen finds out.

50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days - 1962

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

Day 2 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

Until 1962, Minnie Caldwell had lived on Jubilee Terrace with her mother but when she died, Minnie decided to take the tenancy of no. 5 Coronation Street with her cat, Bobby. She always had trouble finding enough money for the rent so she supplemented her pension by taking in lodgers. The first of these was a friend of Dennis Tanner’s, Jed Stone, who she came across sitting on his suitcase in the Street. He’d left his native Liverpool when the police had grown too interested in him and hoped to put his past behind him by moving to Weatherfield.

A wheeler-dealer he was full of get-rich-quick schemes and used Minnie’s front parlour as a warehouse to store the merchandise he acquired, which he would sell on the market. A lovable rogue nicknamed ‘Sunny Jim', he was never without his trademark flat cap, not even in bed. Minnie regarded him as the son she never had and in return he looked out for her and called her ‘Ma’.

His dodgy dealings finally caught up with him in 1966 when he was sentenced to nine months in prison for handling stolen blankets. When he was released he vowed to go straight and opened a double glazing business, moving in to a house on Nightingale Terrace. He kept in touch with Minnie and would send telegrams to the weddings of his friends on the Street but he wasn’t seen again until 2008.

Tony Gordon was planning a multi-million pound development and the only fly in the ointment was an old man and a cat who refused to move out of their house. He may have grown old and be less healthy than he was but Jed Stone wasn’t the sort of man to be bullied by anyone. Tony tried menaces and money but Sunny Jim wasn’t about to budge. Unfortunately he suffered a heart attack during a visit from Tony and while he was in hospital his belongings and cat were thrown out onto the street.

Emily Bishop recognised him in Weatherfield General and when he was discharged she offered him a place to stay. He visited Tony in the factory to demand money for the loss of his home and accused him of the murder of Liam Connor. Tony strangled him with a negligee he had bought for his wife and dumped his limp lifeless body in a clothes hamper. When he returned the following day to dispose of the body Tony found that Jed was still alive but rather than finishing off the job he packed him off to a flat in Wigan and gave him £3000 to keep quiet.

August 4th 1962 saw the first wedding for Ken Barlow. His bride was Valerie Tatlock, niece of his next door neighbour Albert who would Ken would refer to forever more as Uncle Albert. They moved into no. 9 which Ken had bought for £550 and installed the first inside toilet on Coronation Street. Valerie closed her hairdressing salon on Rosamund Street and transferred the business to the front parlour and the cobbles were dug up to install the first telephone on the Street. Ken considered giving up teaching to become a full time writer but when his novel was rejected by a publisher he decided to keep his writing as a hobby.

Also in 1962: Christopher Hewitt is born; Christine Hardman marries Colin Appleby; Colin Appleby dies; Baby Christopher Hewitt kidnapped; Jerry Booth makes his first appearance; Len Fairclough is sacked for carrying on with Elsie Tanner so he sets up his own building business on Victoria Street.

Did Jack Duckworth's news have you in tears, too?

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

How many of us went "I'm not crying, right? I've just got something in me eye" tonight when Jack revealed his sad news on Coronation Street?

Saying goodbye to Jack Duckworth is going to be harder than I thought.  I was choked.  Well done to Bill Tarmey, who plays Jack, for such a moving performance.

The next few weeks is going to be a tough slog for those of us who have grown up with Jack Duckworth's presence on the telly, always there, always Jack, always down the pub supping or looking after his pigeons.

He's one of a dying breed of Corrie stalwarts.  Earlier this year we lost Blanche Hunt when actress Maggie Jones passed away. Now we're losing Jack Duckworth and we can only wish Bill Tarmey the very best of everything for his well deserved retirement. 

See alos: Bill Tarmey releases his autobiography.

He is Ken Barlow

This is a poster sized print of a charcoal portrait of William Roache aka Ken Barlow. The original print is one of a series that were done by Corrie actor Steve Huison who plays Eddie Windass on our screens here in Canada. Steve is a very talented artist and he put on a show with the portraits and is now auctioning limited edition prints on eBay to raise money for his favourite charity, the Shoestring Theatre project in aid of mental health.

A few weeks ago he had some on eBay and I bid on several but the first two I tried for, I didn't get (Sue Nicholls/Audrey and Katy Cavanagh/Julie). This one was still ongoing so I put in a bid. I was outbid but only by a little and I was now determined to have it. Uhoh, I hear you say! Never fear, I sat and waited and watched and nobody else bid so with 20 seconds left on the clock, I entered my winning bid, just a little over the one that was the top bid and held my breath. The thing is, you don't know if the other bidder had put in a higher "max" bid that would automatically outbid your higher bid.

But it seems they didn't do that, and I won the auction and the print. I received it about 2 weeks later which wasn't bad for Canada Post and Steve also included one of his cast cards with a note on the back assuring me the money would go to the charity and thanking me. Result!

He doesn't have anything on the auctions at the moment, but hopefully, this link to his items will work for when he does. You can also buy his portraits from this site. They go for about £50 there. I paid less via eBay but your mileage may vary. Some of them on eBay were going for a lot more.

Here's a link to another blog post showing Steve holding this portrait!

50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days - 1961

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

Day 1 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

Elsie Tanner was probably the most gossiped about woman on Coronation Street. 1961 saw her first screen kiss, in a telephone box with Bill Gregory who was to whisk her away from the cobbles to Portugal 23 years later. In between she attracted the attention of an endless supply of men and fell in love and had her heart broken countless times. She married 2 of these, Steve Tanner and Alan Howard, and was proposed to many times by Len Fairclough, who she regarded more as a best friend than a lover and refused to marry him for fear of losing his friendship. But he was always there to pick up the pieces after another disastrous affair.

Having been through the mill herself Elsie was more than happy to keep a motherly eye on young women passing through Weatherfield and give them the benefit of her years of experience. They never listened of course but she’d be there to provide tea and sympathy and a shoulder to cry on when the inevitable happened.

Behind the scenes, 1961 saw a crisis that nearly saw the end of the Street before it really got started. A strike was called by the actors’ union, Equity, for a new pay deal to reflect the success of commercial television. Fortunately 14 of the 25 cast members had signed contracts before the strike started and so the programme continued to run twice a week throughout the strike. However Granada were unable to employ anybody new or any extras so places like the Rovers suddenly seemed deserted.

As the strike continued into 1962, contracts that had expired couldn’t be renewed and at one point it got to the stage where there was nobody to serve behind the bar at the Rovers and a props man had to slide a pint into view. By the time the strike ended after nearly 5 months, the writers were having a hard time trying to find stories for the remaining 6 or 7 cast members. Bizarre stories were dreamt up that included the appearance of a chimpanzee and some performing sealions as they didn’t need Equity cards.

Also in 1961: Paul Cheveski is born; The Cheveski’s emigrate to Canada; Ida Barlow is run over by a bus; Joan Walker marries Gordon Davies; Concepta Riley marries Harry Hewitt; Violet Carson switches on Blackpool Illuminations with a Corrie theme; and Coronation Street is fully networked.

Sneak Preview of next week's Canadian Corrie, August 1 - 5

In brief, here's what's coming up on Canadian screens next week in Coronation Street:

Molly and Tyrone deal with Jack's news. Chesney deals with Owen. The identity thief is discovered, will Norris apologize? John's double life gets even more complicated and involves Julie. Claire is desperate and Ashley digs in. Graeme and David clash violently with near-tragic results. Rosie gives "smoking hot" a whole new meaning.

For more detail and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury on Corrie.net.

Where's Amber?

(This post was originally posted by Sunny Jim on the Coronation Street Blog September, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

It must be nearly a year since Amber went off to university in that London. When the character was axed we were told that she'd be back occasionally but never mind the Christmas and Easter breaks, we've had nearly the whole of the summer without her returning to Coronation Street to see her dad. I suppose she must have spent it all in Scandanavia with her mam or back in that London, though with Sunita & Dev back together you'd have thought she'd pop back if only to see her step sister and brother and touch her father up for some cash.

With Ryan Connor about to make a similar departure, can we conclude that the same fate awaits? At least with him out of the way the problem with the embarrassing fake Ryan storyline is more likley to fade from the collective memory.

Links to Corrie interviews

Here's a list of links all together to exclusive interviews that were posted on The Coronation Street Blog between 2009 and 2011 with various actors and media people. They're all quite interesting reading for a Sunday afternoon. As they all older than our current storylines there are no spoilers.

• Corrie writer Jonathan Harvey about his Corrie play
• Behind the scenes with Mark Llewellin
• Q&A with Craig Gazey (Graeme Proctor)
• Rupert Hill aka Jamie Baldwin
• Corrie secrets from Digital Spy
• Jayne Tunnicliffe aka Corrie's Yana
• Q&A with Kate Anthony (Aunty Pam)
• Corrie secrets from Inside Soap magazine
• Grace Dent's soap secrets
• Ian Wylie's Corrie gossip

Kirk Sutherland at X Factor audition

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

Coronation Street character Kirk Sutherland is pictured in today's Sun as one of the hopefuls at the last night of the X Factor auditions. (similar to the  Canadian Idol type of show)

The paper says that actor Andy Whyment was in character as Kirk at the Manchester auditions, but Corrie bosses remained tight-lipped about his appearance - insisting it was for a stunt and NOT for a storyline.

However, over at rival tabloid the Mirror, they said that Kirk turned up for the audition as part of Corrie's 50th anniversary celebrations. It was, but it wasn't part of the storyline , more part of the publicity.

Two Corrie women in trouble

This week in Coronation Street, we've seen Carla's drink problem become much worse than a few too many glasses of wine after a hard day. She keeps a bottle in her desk and got drunk, then planned to drive to the bank for a meeting. Bad move. Peter managed to stop her and get her home. He then spent the night keeping watch over her when she called him up, even further legless. The problem is, she has made him promise to keep all of this from Leanne. As we know, secrets on soaps have a way of coming out of the closet at the worst possible moment to cause the most destruction.

Still, Carla doesn't really think she has a booze problem. She just thinks she has had too much pressure at work lately. Now she's lost Trevor and she's got to buy out Nick from the factory and her finances aren't going to take that one lying down. More and more booze aren't going to help and neither is leaning on Peter if she doesn't accept that she has a problem. Peter's a nice guy and willing to help, knowing what it's like battling booze. He has already seen how it can so easily ruin your life. But supporting someone so closely could create a dependency. Psychiatrists call it "transferrence" when a patient develops emotional feelings for the doctor. Could Carla be in danger of falling for Peter in her hour of need? It's a soap, what do you think?

Leanne has had a love/hate relationship with Nick for a long time. He hurt her badly when they were married so long ago and some of that still hurts. Every now and then, he seems to be able to push that pain button and it all comes flooding back. The problem is, so does the feelings of attraction she used to have. I don't for a minute think she still harbours any real feelings for Nick and I believe she truly does love Peter, no matter how much Nick tries to make her believe that Peter is dragging her down, treating her badly, using her and he, Nick, is her knight in shining armour. That armour might be shiny but he's a Black Knight, not a saviour. Leanne is the one that he let get away in his foolish youth and his arrogance can't stand that.

He thinks he still loves her, but I don't believe that either. It's old, unresolved stuff with a dose of guilt over how he treated her thrown in the mix with an even bigger dose of lust and envy over the happy family Leanne and Peter have with Simon. Now he's managed to get Leanne to manage the bar he's going to open. That's the same bar she and Peter wanted to run and it was her dream. Nick wants to make her dream come true. Powerful stuff. Leanne's looking at a wedding and a committment and she's never been very good at that in the past. Add to that mix, the man whom she used to love and who is making her dream come true and an inbred genetic tendency to stuff things up just when it's going well.

Is she about to get in over her head down that road to temptation? Is she going to risk everything she has ever wanted over a case of cold feet? It's a soap, what do you think?

50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days

We at Bluenose Corrie Blogger are bringing you a very special series of posts in the run up to the 50th Anniversary of Coronation Street which actually happened on December 9, 2010 but which is only just reaching our screens in Canada mid September. Starting today and running daily until the anniversary episode hits our screens (September 16/19), we are featuring a brilliant run down of each year in the history of the Street, first published on Coronation Street Blog last year and written by Sunny Jim, reposted to this blog with permission. 

We start with Sunny Jim's introduction: 

When Coronation Street was first broadcast on December 9th 1960 not even its creator Tony Warren could have dreamed that the programme would still be entertaining viewers 50 years later. To celebrate this momentous milestone, over the next 50 days we will be counting down to the 50th anniversary by looking at some of the events, characters and places featured in the show over the years and looking behind the scenes at how they came about.

A lot has happened over the years and so we can’t promise to feature all your favourite moments or characters so feel free to chip in with your own memories of the show through the years.

To get you in the mood, why not have a look at that very first episode here, here and here. Also, there’s a summary of the episode here  by our very own Tvor (ed. that's me!).

With many thanks to Daran Little and Sean Egan whose books have been invaluable in compiling this countdown.

Fat Brenda's Cream horn (July 27)

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

Hello loves, it's Brenda time.


I'm writing this on the newly repaired laptop from the Kabin, obviously Norris doesn't know. Rita took pity on me prodding away at me orange apple hi-phone and suggested I borrow it.

Imagine me surprise when I went to the doctor's for a repeat prescription of me Regulan IBS medicine and Deirdre flamin' Barlow was behind the desk! I could have hugged her, I was sick of Gail looking down her nose at me and if there's one thing you could never accuse Deirdre of, it's being snooty. We popped out for a ciggie on her break and all she could talk about was Doctor Matt Carter, she thinks all she has to do is ply him with out of date Gipsy Creams from Dev's and she'll be in! She still thinks its the eighties, bless her, when she could lure successful men with a swish of her hair and a glint from her glasses.

But, as Doctor Matt arrives Trevor leaves, it's like life innit; one in, one out. I'll miss Trev and his 'empty yer bin' eyes and I can only hope Ciaran doesn't leave too or there will be a serious shortage of decent trousers in the street.

I noticed that Peter ordered a taxi to Carla's last night but didn't order one to take him home, now I'm not one to gossip but the only thing those two have got in common is booze. Carla's been walking round like the living dead for the past few weeks and after I saw her leaving Dev's with a plastic bag full of bottles I wouldn't be surprised if she's been having liquid lunches, if you know what I mean.

Finally, special mention has to go to our own Gary Windass, he has matured into a very capable young man. I never thought I'd see the day when Eddie produced something decent that isn't mixed in a bowl and baked in an oven, it's no wonder he's proud... but that boil red turtle-neck has got to go!

I'm off now loveys, I've got Kirk coming round for a chat about 'women's trouble' and as you all know, there's nobody had more trouble than me in that department! If you want tweeter me on the into-net web then feel free.

Ooh, I just clicked a button and all Norris and Rita's banking details have flashed up on the screen, now where's me pen, I'm going into-net shopping!

What does Fat Brenda look like?

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

Has anyone else ever wondered what on earth Fat Brenda looks like? Even better - has anyone ever actually seen her hanging around Streetcars of an evening, giving Eileen "evils" while she grinds out a fag butt with her grubby white stiletto (only guessing)?

Well, now we have one person's "vision" - here's an exclusive painting of Fat Brenda enjoying a fag, by artist "Tony" - or "Toneh" as he likes it to be pronounced (Carla fan).

Actually his name's not Toneh, it's Barry Nicol.

How brilliant is Mikey North on Corrie?

(This post was originally posted by Seapenguin on the Coronation Street Blog in October, 2010.)

As I'm old enough to be Mikey North's nan (depressing), I'm not going to be gross and pass comment on his "manly appeal" - although I'm quite sure he has it in bucket-loads for the younger viewer.

No. It's his acting ability I'm talking about. I'm sure many people like myself who have family in the Forces will have been very moved by last night's episodes of Coronation Street, in which Gary Windass left for Afghanistan. Personally I find it heart-breaking to see young people, who possibly see no other future for themselves in terms of work and opportunity, heading off to fight with that "I'm doing the right thing" look in their eyes. Mikey has the steely-eyed gaze and the set of the jaw down to perfection, and honestly the whole thing was so poignant I had to reach for the hankies when he left. Goodness knows how this story will end - hopefully, hopefully not with Mikey being blown to bits by a roadside bomb. It was awful to see Anna watching the torment of 24 hour news.

I suppose I've got to mention Eddie Windass looking "very David Niven" sporting a snazzy red turtle neck and what looked like Easi-care drip dry black crimplene trousers - lovely! don't stand near any naked flames, Eddie, else you'll go up like a Roman candle. And speaking of "naked" - I'm still not sure if I was hallucinating, or did I really hear him using the words "naked" and "Black Forest Gateau" in the same sentence? I can't think about that any more else I'll have to re-calibrate my medication (again).

Great stuff all round, anyway.

Canadian Corrie spoilers through the links

Most of the time, we try to keep spoilers at a minimum here on the Bluenose Corrie blog. Some people love them, though, so occaisionally, I'll post links to spoiler articles with just the name of the person that they involve.

David Platt
Carla Connor
Charlotte Hoyle
Tina McIntyre
Jim McDonald

Corrie Canada weekly awards: July 18 - 22

VERY Wrong end of the stick award: Gold Star: David got very aggressive with Tina! Eek! Luckily he really doesn't have sexual assault in him, whatever else he is.

She shoots, she scores award: Gold Star: Natasha went out with a very loud bang!

Selfish award: Gold Star: Sian's parents were busier bickering with each other and being totally unconcerned with Sian aside from trying to lay blame.

Neanderthal award: Knuckle dragging star: Nick. He's horrible to Trevor totally without cause.

Crystal Clear award: Boozy Star: As if we couldn't already predict a drink problem for Carla, they have her taking headache pills with vodka. You couldn't be more obvious.

Wardrobe malfunction award: Natasha has been wearing that same dress since she took the overdose. Surely Nick, in his guilt or Audrey could have brought her something else to wear?

Top moment of the week: Eddie digging out a St. Christopher's medal to give to Gary to keep him safe.

Lines of the Week:
Nick "I won't abandon her in her hour of need" (And your hour of guilt)
Natasha to Gail "Back of the net!!!!"
Julie "It's short for 'Jujuniska twinkle toes'. It's a gay thing" Sean "No it's not"
Tyrone to Jack about Sophie "She's Lebanese"
Gail to Nick about Natasha "You've had a lucky escape" (I rather think it's the other way around)
Nick to Carla "we're supposed to be equal partners and you treat me like dirt!" (because you act like a caveman)
Trevor to Carla "I would rather be shifting rubbish than be treated like it!"
Sally to Kevin holding the baby "Aw, you're a natural!" ('Liar'... i think she meant to add)
Natasha to David about Nick "He's got something you'll never have. A Heart" (really? Where?)
Sally "There's never been a law about lesbians. I Googled it" (*snork* I *heart* Sally!)
Rita "If Graeme had another brain cell it would be lonely"
Graeme "I'm a convicted arsonists. I've got to have a housewarming!'

Sunday Corrie Comments, July 24

Rita's always been such a good friend to Sally. Loved the scenes with them in the cafe while Sally was struggling with Sophie's sexuality. They have support groups for family, someone should suggest that for she and Kevin. I think the writers fell down on this a bit, though, I think they should have had Sean offer his support to the teens. He thought he might, but he didn't in the end. It would have been a nice little scene, as well. Sally was so real though, I bet she's like a lot of parents who have just found out. Sian's parents are back again and this time her mother as well as ignoramus daddy. Even her mother didn't seem to want anything to do with her, wanting her bedroom to store stuff in, selfish cow.

Sally is a real trooper though, she'll defend her chick and pretend to be all PC even if she doesn't feel it yet. She will though. She'll get her head around it and be the most sanctimonious liberal minded mother of all lesbians ever! (You know what Sally's like!) She certainly went to bat for Sophie and Sian when it looked like the headmaster was going to kick them out of school for missing so much time.

Audrey, soft old Audrey, took Natasha in and then Nick couldn't help but sniff around Natasha. Why on earth would Nick think it was Natasha ringing his doorbell after she was released from hospital. She nearly went back to him, nearly. He only wanted her back out of guilt, something very clear to Audrey. A dozen pink roses is a lot of guilt! and finally, Natasha realized it too, and gathered her pride, stood tall, and lashed out at all of them except Audrey. Wow! I think i heard every Corrie fan in Canada stand up and cheer when she busted Gail! The factory bees didn't deserve Natasha unleashing Nick's snotty comments on them. And so that's the last we will see of bubble headed Natasha who was sadly underused until this last leaving storyline. Shame that it took that for us to really see Rachel Levasovic shine.

Gail got sacked and rightly so. But it didn't take Deirdre long to swoop in and take her job! LOL at the look on Gail's face!

Nick, in the meantime, is just vile to everyone as usual including Trevor. Personally, I think Nick had that punch coming. So he's left the factory. What about his investment? I see he wasted no time at all pawing at Leanne's skirts while Peter was at an AA meeting. Nick didn't bother apologizing to the staff for the names Natasha said he'd called them, blaming her for making it all up. Carla points out, she's not smart enough to make it all up on her own and those names sound exactly like stuff Nick would say.


Poor Trevor can't even answer the phone in the office now without cutting off someone. I think that's a bit of a push really but it's meant to get on Carla's nerves and that it did. There are most definitely cracks in that relationship. Notice a few remarks from him lately about her drinking? Notice her nearly taking headache pills with vodka? Watch this space. Meanwhile Trev has had enough of ill treatment by her and Nick and it's over. He quits, both of them. He reckons she still has a think for a dead man, Liam. I reckon so, too. She even had him shave his beard and he does look a bit like Liam now, doesn't he?

Sure enough, though, after Trev left, Carla started drinking and ended up almost going to the AA meeting that Peter was attending so now he realizes she's got a problem. He'll probably Good Samaritan her into a tizzy now.


Tina and Graeme moving into Dev's flat, and the way Norris looks at it, they're running away from the scene of the crime. Rita and Norris have both had their credit card details stolen conveniently after Norris had the computer fixed. Not at a qualified shop but someone that put a card up in their window. Norris thinks their details were stolen at the times that Graeme and Tina both came to stay but they've been there weeks before all this happened.

Jack has come back to Coronation Street, purportedly a row with Connie? I have a bad feeling about this. Why did Sally and Kevin babysit when Jack has moved back home? Yeah, ok, Jack probably isn't much good with a nappie. And of course Molly freaked out knowing Kevin was with the baby so that didn't last too long.

Claire's mother has a new fella. All of a sudden, not only does Claire want to move away from Weatherfield, she wants to move to France with her mother and new beau! Ashley isn't going to handle that well. He can barely speak understandable English, can you imagine what he'd do with French?

Tina and Gail meet at Joe's grave. It must be his birthday as it isn't the anniversary of his death or wedding. Anyway, what did you think of David nearly raping Tina? Do you think she gave him mixed signals like he thought? I don't. She was a little drunk and she was being friendly but in his tiny obsessed mind, he thought she was coming on to him. When this story leaked last year of course the sensationalism of David raping Tina was all over the media but I never thought David would have it in him, and of course, he didn't. The main reason is because it would be the end of the character. There would be no coming back from that. now Tina has a secret to keep from Graeme who would beat the living tar out of David if he knew.

Here's a bit more about general impressions i had from that particular show including a chuckle at Gail.

Gary's heading off to war and it's killing Anna. Seems it's unsettled Eddie too though he wouldn't like to show his real emotions. Aw and it looks like he's spending his last night wiht Izzy. I do like them as a couple! Ciaran may be leaving for Glasgow and he's encouraging Ryan to push out on his own too, instead of staying at home to keep his mum company. Seems Ryan was offered a place at uni in Glasgow but he didn't tell Michelle.

Impressions from this week's Corrie in Canada

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in October, 2010.)

I just had to add a few notes to my usual weekly sum up of the show because one segment this week particularly had me reacting on a number of scenes:

Deirdre to the Doctor "Would you like a cup of tea and a couple of gypsy creams?" "Thanks, Deirdre, you are a treasure." *smugness* After the way Gail treated Deirdre after the trial, I should imagine Deirdre really enjoyed payback! Gail moaning that nobody is on her side and they're all judging her. Pot or Kettle, this week, Gail?

Nick SO had that thumping coming from Trev. He's been vile to him for weeks! That's the second black eye he's had in less than a year. He might want to rethink that personality.

GO Sally! Boy, did she ever give the Head Teacher what for!

Norris is going to have to eat a very large helping of crow with feathers on very soon once he finds out Graeme and Tina didn't steal his and Rita's credit card details. Can you say "back street computer fixer upper"? 

And Boy, did David ever get the wrong end of the stick! Instead of making peace and being friends, which was where Tina thought they were. Even though all the media was screaming that David was going to rape Tina, I never thought The Powers That Be would go that far with him. He would be unredeemable and would have to go. He's far too popular a character for that. There was a time when I thought he might have had enough anger in him to do something like that, because, in his mind, he would be showing her he loved her (obviously, of course, that's not love) but he's been showing a lot of signs of maturity lately and a lot less resentment and I don't think he would have it in him these days.

Funny and dark storylines both, brilliant stuff!

You are the Corrie Producer: Who would you kill off?

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

Well, well, well, there's going to be a cull and carnage on the cobbles for Coronation Street's 50th anniversary when a train crashes onto the Street.

If you were the Corrie producer, who woud YOU kill off if you could? (And please don't say if you already know!)

Here's my top three for the firing line: Tracy Barlow, Molly Dobbs, John Stape. And here's my three that I would hate to see go: Rita, Deirdre, Gail. And my three to return who would bring tea and sympathy back to the Street: Spider Nugent, Mavis Riley, Curly Watts. What about yours?

Sneak Preview of next week's Canadian Corrie, July 25 - 29

In brief, here's what's coming up on Canadian screens next week in Coronation Street:

Nick has a new project and extricates himself from the factory. Who is he going to appeal to to join him? Gary heads to a war zone, leaving Eddie and Anna in fear. Sally tries to  bond with Molly and baby Jack. How do Molly and  Kevin feel about that? Ryan contemplates giving up a great opportunity. Chesney and Katy attempt to make their own opportunity.  Carla reacts badly to Trev's departure. Who does she call on to get her out of a jam? People are receiving anonymous gifts. Tyrone gets devastating news.

For more detail and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury on Corrie.net.

State of the Street - Sept. 2010 for Canadian Corrie July 2011

Yes it's the end of another month on Coronation Street in the UK timeline where we've reached up to the end of September 2010. 

September was definitely the Month of Natasha as the major storyline but it wasn't the only thing going on. Sophie and Sian ran off, leaving Sally to tear her hair out with worry. They're back but now Sally's hair is coming out in chunks while she tries to get her head around having a gay daughter. She will, don't worry. Ken's got a new son and grandson and Becky's got a new sister and nephew. Molly and Tyrone have a new baby and Fiz is pregnant with the spawn of Prisoner 666. More about the State of the Street here.

Is Corrie's Nick to blame for Natasha's downfall?

We've seen Natasha stride off the cobbles in a traditional black cab. Nick watched her go but didn't try to stop her. I felt a bit sorry for her and cheered when she confronted Gail but earlier in the show, I did a double take. She laid into Leanne and accused her of being a cow to her for the past few months and I thought "Excuse me???" Wasn't it Natasha that threw Leanne's prostitute past back in her face so that Nick would find out? She did it out of pure jealousy because she found out Nick and Leanne had been married in the past and looked quite friendly now.

Something that Nick had never bothered to tell her. Nick had also been leading on Natasha, in my opinion. He tried to lure Leanne away from Peter and she wasn't having it or him so he made do with Natasha. She probably knew it down deep but was over awed with his attention and fell madly in love. I don't really see how it could have been true love since he never really did anything to encourage it unless sex were involved (posh hotel nights, that sort of thing) and he resisted all of her attempts at committment for months, only moving in with her once he thought there was a baby on the way.

In fact, he even broke off with her when she tried to force the issue about moving in and only came running back when he had a chance to think about the baby which he initially rejected harshly.

But you know, if Natasha hadn't been so infatuated so as to ignore all the blatantly obvious signs that he just wasn't that into her, she might not have got pregnant, suffered rejection, had the termination and then lied about the baby leading to her discovery and suicide attempt. I'm not saying Nick shouldn't take on some of the blame but it's only a small part of it. Every chance he got he still went running back to Leanne and that had to hurt Natasha but it should also have told her how he really felt. Again, down deep I think she knew. I do believe that there are old hurts and unfinished business between Nick and Leanne but I also think she really does love Peter no matter that she may have looked at Nick on occasion with a bit of longing.

Natasha really did bring on most of her bad luck herself, out of desperation to be with Nick who was only excited about the baby, maybe more to make up for insisting Leanne have an abortion all those years ago. My conclusion? Natasha is her own worst enemy and should shoulder most of the blame this time around. And it pains me to say that because I really dislike Nick!

Fat Brenda's Cream Horn (July 20)

(This post was originally posted by Fat Brenda on the Coronation Street Blog September, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I'm writing this in Weatherfield library, I had to sneak in though because I've been banned from entering the building after I was caught defacing their Jeffrey Archer novels so I'll have to get on with it.

I've been waiting a long time for Gail to get her comeuppance and it finally happened, my ciggies tasted all the sweeter last night when Eddie told me she'd been sacked. She's nowt but a walking scowl with hairspray that one, strutting round like butter wouldn't melt; delving into that poor lasses medical records like that, it's a disgrace! If you accessed Gail's records it would say, 'meddles in everybody else's love life but ignores the flamin' obvious when it comes to her own. Constantly chooses unstable boyfriends over her family - prescribed: a slap!'

Still, at least young Nicky has got that lovely Leanne Battersby to look after him in his hour of need. As ex drug-addicted, sex-working, lottery-scamming, insurance-swindling people go, she's great! Poor Peter, he'll be reaching for that bottle in the next couple of weeks, you mark my words.

And finally, what about Natasha! Can you believe it? Can you actually BELIEVE what she did?! She got in a flamin' black-cab instead of the Streetcars taxi she ordered! What's the point of having Weatherfield's premier taxi firm on your doorstep if you're not going to use it. I've complained to Weatherfield council about that driver hanging around The Rovers trying to pick up our customers but would they listen? No they flamin' wouldn't!

Right, I'm going... I think one of the librarians has seen me... if you want to keep up with life in the cab office then click here. She's coming over I'm going to have to g...

Coronation Sheep

This wonderful Bet Lynch Coronation Street sheep has been created for the Flock to Skipton public art festival starting in August this year. And guess which talented, artistic ex-Corrie actress has made it? It’s Jayne Tunnicliffe, who played Yana Lumb. Jayne’s used old Corrie scripts to make the papier mache beehive!

Jayne’s sheep will form part of the Flock to Skipton festival from August 14 – November 14 – you can find out more about it online here.

Also, why not visit Jayne’s creative, artistic website Voodooville where there’s loads of Corrie-related items for sale. And there's a bit more about her involvement in this exhibition with another photo of a few more sheep here.

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

Corrie Canada weekly awards: July 11 - 15

Reality Bites award: Gold star: It all came down around Natasha's head. The week started with an engagement ring and ended in an ambulance.


Nasty soup for breakfast: Gold Star: Is Owen showing his true colours? He certainly had nasty soup for breakfast this week.
Silver star: Nick isn't far behind. He has been horrid to and about Trev all week! Then he's took the chance to be nasty to Natasha, admitedly with a bit more provocation.

The Grass isn't Greener on the other side of the fence award: Sophie and Sian thought being on their own would solve their problems. Guess not.

Fear the temper of the red head award: Flamin' star: Rita isn't happy when she's flooded out!

The Reincarnation award: Gold Star: Gail has finally completely become Ivy Tilsley.

Do I see sparks award: Lusty star: Rosie called Jason thick but there was a big "but" in her eyes.

Lines of the Week:Rita: "Don't you go all Biblical on me, Norris, Go! Yer flamin' drama queen!"
Tina "How bad is it?" Rita "Like the Red Sea. Without the parting" (What was that you said about biblical?)
Kylie about Becky: "She'll soon get sick of me. People always do." (And why would that be?)
Audrey to Gail: "I think the word you were struggling for is 'Congratulations'"
David about Natasha: "When it comes to having it upstairs, she's practically a bungalow!"
Natasha: "You probably think I have no self respect" (yep) and "Deep down you're delighted. Now go jump for joy." (She's right.)
Nick: "We all sacked her. And one of us enjoyed it."
Gail: "What if she dies?" David: "Let's jump off that bridge when we get to it."
Jason "That's the last afternoon I want to spend with your sister!" (can we all say Phrase of Doom anyone?)
Nick to Leanne "The family i never knew i wanted" (and still don't, he's just got caught up in it all)
David to Gail "If Nick had a right to know there wasn't a baby, don't you think I had a right to know there was?"

Sunday Corrie Comments, July 17

Natasha's lies finally blew sky high, with a nudge from Gail who really did cross the line no matter how much she disapproved or was suspicious. It was none of her business and a huge breech of the trust of the position working in the clinic to snoop in Natasha's records. All because she wanted to prevent a wedding that Nick must have thought was the next step. Every time Natasha works on telling him, he comes up with another trump card. Down on one knee to propose in the factory? It must have been a long jump down off that high horse. Did you see Natasha's face? It wasn't even excited when he proposed, it was almost hungry, eager, obsessed. (Have i said lately how much i really really dislike Nick? Part of me feels he deserved everything he got with a huge dose of guilt with a cherry on top. That's not fair to Natasha who was pushed to a desperate act but she was also the authoress of her own downfall as well.)

So there she was, with Gail banging on at her in one ear and Fiz in the other and every time she tries to tell Nick, he proposes or does something else sweet. Finally, Gail furiously told Nick and exposed Natasha for a liar. If she'd found out any other way, i would probably be on her side. I'm not on Natasha's side either but as i said, Gail had no right. The transformation to Ivy Tilsley is complete. Ooh and when she told Audrey, David and Maria, didn't David come back great, he knows that Gail loved being the one to tell Nick and he was right to throw it in her face that she kept from him the news that Tina was pregnant at all. She's probably won't lose Nick but it would serve her right if he never spoke to her again.

Nick doesn't go to his mother for sympathy. Would you? Nope, thought not. Where does he go? He makes a bee-line straight for Leanne (and Peter). Natasha was right about his wanting Leanne and Peter, being a naive sucker, even pushes Leanne at him for support in this time of need. *gag*

Leanne seemed a bit taken aback at the wedding announcement, didn't she? And she was right in there like a dirty shirt willing and able to support Nick in the hospital. Is she getting cold feet for her own wedding? Natasha didn't like her getting all friendly with Nick and that was part of it all. For all that Natasha was so obsessed with getting her claws into Nick, you'd think she'd have put both their names on the door buzzer, not just hers.

Eek! Flood in the Kabin! Now I got thinking about that. Years ago Derek drilled through the store room in the Kabin, that's that little back office area, and it went through the ceiling through the floor and into Reg Holdsworth's waterbed. That is the other flat, the one Tina and Jason own. Not the one Rita lives in. Yet when Tina and Graeme let Rita's bath overflow, the water came down all over the Kabin. Tina's been locked out of her and Jason's flat so it couldn't have been that one.

So, Rita has had her credit card details stolen. Right after Norris had the computer from the Kabin fixed by a fly by night. But he accuses Graeme and Tina? Let's think about this logically shall we?

Oh so Sophie and Sian are bunking down in a squat. ewwww...The accomodations suck, the job sucks, it's just not working out is it? Sian is more afraid of her father's reaction than being on her own but Sophie does have a supportive family. Most definitely a supportive sister that's for sure. Sophie called home and Rosie wasted no time making Jason drive her to find the girls. I'm surprised, given what Rosie was barely wearing, that Jason could even keep his eyes on the road! (Really, though, all she had to do was do up a few more buttons and it would have been relatively decent) Well they're back and Sally is gutted that Sophie thought she'd be that disapproving. Really, Sally is just trying to get over the shock and surprised of it all and in fact defended the girls to Sian's ignorant bully of a father admirably.


So it's not ok for Gail to be horrible to Natasha but Nick can treat Trevor as vile as he wants to? Not in my books he can't. Norris got burned cheese on toast in the cafe. Surely Roy isn't allowing Kylie to do any cooking? Kirk got off that assault charge. No evidence. Wonder why they didn't go back after Gary? Seems Gary isn't having any more of what Kylie is offering. Smart boy, stick with Izzy, mate, she's a little belter.

Seems to have taken the thought of Ciaran moving to Glasgow to make Michelle realize what she wants, him! Eileen is taking her revenge out on Owen and his bank accounts, getting back on him for treating Jason badly and for leading her on while hopping in the sack with Liz. This could be bad. Kylie is continuing to wrap both Steve and Becky around her little finger. She knows darn well that Becky wants Max and is quite willing to let her have him but it'll be on her terms and the hoops she's got them jumping through are massive.

Sneak Preview of next week's Canadian Corrie, July 18 - 22

In brief, here's what's coming up on Canadian screens next week in Coronation Street:

Kevin's left holding the baby. Sally struggles with acceptance while Sophie and Sian settle in. Natasha makes a decision and has a few things to say about it and Nick wastes no time moving on. Identity fraud leads to accusations. Trev and Carla are coming unglued and Carla may turn to someone else for help. Jack comes home to roost. Is there more behind his return than he's letting on? David nearly crosses a line. Gary gets ready to face war.

For more detail and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury on Corrie.net.

Corrie's new direction

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

Change, some would argue, is what Corrie doesn't need, in many respects this is perfectly true, but in other ways it has needed to change for a long time, and it finally has. It's a very subtle change, but it is perhaps the most important aspect of the show: Direction - Both behind the camera, and in respects to where the show is heading.

Over this past week, Corrie has been directed by Dr. Who director, Graeme Harper. He's no stranger to the show as he directed episodes in 2005 too. A director is the creative powerhouse who decides what scenes should look like and where characters should be stood and how characters react. All these things are pretty important to how the drama and tension can unfold.

Over the past few years, the show has tended to play it safe on set in respects to how scenes should look; the camera was always in the same position, showing only small sections of the set, it was like looking through a small window into Weatherfield. Now, in 2010, we are being given a bigger window into Weatherfield, we can see more of that little world. For me this is a great thing as I have always wanted to see more and more of the show.

Though here is the thing I really like - Longer scenes. In the past, scenes tended to end as soon as two characters stopped talking. Now, for example - as soon as we see two characters finishing off their conversation, the attention focuses on two more characters in the same location.

It might be just me, but I really appreciate things like this, it makes the show feel more alive, this new outlook of Corrie makes me realise just what Phil Collinson was attempting to show with the new titles. I hope to see more of the same in the years to come!

Do the right thing Natasha!

I am watching Monday's episode of Corrie now.  I think the reason I have been happy to let my episodes accrue on the PVR is because Natasha's phantom pregnancy is driving me crazy!! Its really been going on far too long now.  All she had to do was fake a miscarriage about a week after they got back together, that's what I would have done.  I say that's what I would have done I really don't believe I would have gotten myself into a situation like that.  I suppose loneliness can drive you to anything.

I must say I am excited to find out the reaction of Nick when he finds out.  I wonder if she is just going to tell him or if maybe Gail sneaks a peek at her medical records.  Dr Matt will not take too kindly to that I'm sure.

Our Nick really does want to be a daddy.  Maybe he shouldn't have forced Leanne into having their baby aborted and announcing to the Street it was a miscarriage (1998ish).  Whats goes around comes around Nicky boy.

A blast from Coronation Street's past

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

Coronation Street has so many memorable storylines. I'm not likely to forget the current one with John Stape, and I think the forthcoming one involving the Windass's soldiering son Gary, played by the excellent Mikey North, is going to be really good. Anyone else have a favourite, or memorable for whatever reason, storyline?

Sometimes it isn't the really big ones that stick in your mind. I'm probably not going to remember the Underworld fire (though it was good!) but I will remember Stape standing next to that concreted-over sump hole. (By the way, what IS a sump hole?) And I'll always remember Eddie Windass in his dressing gown, recycling his rubbish (sigh!).

One cracker I'd clean forgotten about was mentioned in a comment recently. It involved the late lamented Fred Elliott, and fake Thai bride "Orchid"/Stacey Hilton, played by Casey Lee Jolleys. It wasn't that long ago, either - 2004 and 2006, and Casey Lee won a Heritage Award for best comedy performance in a soap opera. As far as I can gather, Casey Lee is now running a dance academy in Bolton.

What's the most iconic Corrie prop?

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

I was glad that most people voted for Coronation Street's Ken and Deirdre Barlow to stick it out. No marriage is a bed of roses all the time, and we all need to sit round the table and have a full and frank discussion now and again. Don't we, Ken and Deirdre?

And my goodness - their dining table has heard more than a few tales of woe. I must say that some of my favourite Corrie scenes have taken place around that table. Especially those with Peter, Simon and the sorely missed Blanche. I love that they still have photos of uncle Albert and Blanche nearby - and on a recent episode there was one of Adam. Does anyone happen to know if it is the original table, or recent? And does anyone else have a particular Corrie prop they'd hate to see disappear? Feel free to tell me I need to get a life!

Edited to add: Yes, the dining room set is the one bit of furniture/props that has been there since the beginning. It was Uncle Albert's originally. 

Corrie Canada weekly awards: July 4 - 8

I think he's finally grown up! Mushy star: Steve! Awww he's realizing how lucky he really was with his family, rocky road though it were at times.

That's the way to impress the Social: Gold Star: Kylie getting drunk, staying out all night, showing up to the hearing drunk. Stealing from the Rovers' till and Becky's wallet and coming on to Steve when he caught her red handed.

Wearing Blinders award: Gold Star: Becky just isn't willing to accept that Kylie really isn't what she thinks and Kylie is very good at pulling the wool over her eyes. She won't even believe the worst of Kylie no matter who tells her about it.
Silver Star: Though he did ask her out once, Owen doesn't fancy Eileen and she doesn't see that he fancies her friend.


How can I miss you when you won't go away award: Gold Star: Gary wasn't too impressed with Kylie in the cold light of day.
Silver Star: Claire. Just leave already! You're on my last nerve, woman!

You never change award: Gold Star: Liz just can't resist a rough and tumble fella.

Vile award: Gold Star: Kylie coming on to Steve! Don't touch her with a bargepole, mate! You don't know where she's been (but we do)
Silver Star: Why is Nick so awful to Trev in the office?

Down in Flames award: Gold Star: Natasha's lies are getting more and more out of control. Time is running out.

Lines of the Week:
Pam to Molly "You're messin' with people's hearts and hearts is fragile things"
Ashley "You just click your fingers and I'm just meant to jump?" Claire "You do normally"
Sunita to Claire "I hate seeing you like this" Claire "No, you hate feeling guilty. Deal with it!"
Rosie about models "we're not all thickos you know"
Kylie "I'm sick of being treated like muck" (stop acting like it, then) and about Becky "Did she have my top on???"
Steve to Kylie "Pull the other one" Kylie "Well i did offer!"
Kevin "visiting a mate and a colleague" Pam "Double the disloyalty, then!"
Steve "Rock. Hard place. Steve"
Quinny to Carla "I am a whiz at nighttime maneuvers" Carla "Well you're missing the target now" (shot down in flames!)
Kirk "Too much of a rebel, me. That's always been my problem" (Aww bless 'im!)

Betty "I'd storm out if I had the energy!"

Sunday Corrie Comments, July 10

Cold light of Day and Gary has most definitely realized what he lost vs what he got. Major regrets about Kylie, methinks. Then he couldn't get rid of her because she wanted to avoid the court case. Now, was she just scared or does she even want Max? She says yes/no/yes.... Becky really seems to have taken little Max to fill that hole in her heart that the rejected adoption and lost babies opened up. Becky figured she could pretend to be Kylie in court. But wouldn't there be people from Social Services there, people that know Kylie? Well she didn't have to in the end but I doubt it would have worked.

So Kylie got Max back because she's nominally got a job and has a home. How much you want to bet she'll be perfectly content to let Becky do all the work? Steve's got her number and he didn't even need any prodding. Becky sure doesn't have Kylie's number, even after some initial suspicions when she went missing before the court case. Kylie continues to wrap Becky around her little finger but she can't wrap Steve around it. He knew darn well she stole from the till so to get around it, she figured she could seduce him. Eeeeek!


Mary didn't have any trouble attempting to make inroads into Norris' bed, taking full advantage though she got the motorhome back. Knowing someone else used it won her another night under Norris' roof. I know know, though, if i thought Mary was aiming for me, i'd be scared lol

Auntie Pam has her knickers in a knot over the baby and Kevin. What happens now the baby is actually here? Gary kicked off again, getting all protective over Izzy and then got into a fight with the lads outside. Odd that Kirk took the blame, though, there doesn't seem to be any earthly reason why he would do that, nice guy or not. I think Trevor is beginning to see that taking that job with Carla really was a bad idea and Nick's bullying is the least of it. I don't think he likes being Carla's pet.


Claire is bound and determined to move away. This time it was Claire who couldn't be gracious in the wake of Sunita's apology. I can understand her point of view but I also think she's a bit over sensitive as well. Oh way to go CBC, you cut Claire off right in the middle of a sentence.. "Anyway...." chop! and she quit her job, which they cut as well, on the weeknight eps. Thing is, Ashley doesn't want to move. But if they just move to another area, he could still just commute to the shop.


Serving the public is most definitely not the job for Kylie. Come to think of it, probably no job is! Definitely sparks between Gary and Izzy. Poor Kirkeh knows it too.

Peter talking about how quickly a bar could start up again in the old Joinery and how much Leanne would love to run one has most definitely put the spark of an idea in Nick's head. Watch this space.


Nick is more and more excited about the baby and wants to be all domestic. But really, it's not Natasha, it's the wee sprog. And the weight of all that stress and pressure is weighing her down. Reluctance to talk about the pregnancy is highly suspicious too. Nick puts it down to his mother giving her a grilling but most newly pregnant women love to talk about every ache, pain and symptom. She nearly told him, sat there in tears but thick Nick thinks she's upset because Gail doesn't approve.

Poor Eileen, crushing on Owen and he's hopping in the sack with Liz, her bezzie mate. It's a good thing young Katy is such a good liar herself, she knew her father lied to Eileen and kept a straight face and backed him up. Sean spilled the beans, and rightly so. She wasn't happy but at least she broke from tradition and didn't toss the drink in Liz's face. For a price, and seeing Chesney was the payoff. Laughed at Ciaran instructing Sean on the ways of women i.e. never come between a woman and two blokes or a bloke and two women. IT's true, too.