Sunday Comments August 31

Yasmeen certainly took over at the cafe didn't she? Did Roy agree to a children's story time at 5 p.m.? Seems a bit late. Isn't that teatime for children? I suppose it's the only time the cafe isn't busy, nearly closing time. It did make for a bit of chaos with other customers still there. And if she was holding storytime there, why on earth would she foist one of the kids off on Beth? Looks like she didn't get Roy's permission, either. Yasmeen is going to take over the cafe if Roy doesn't put his foot down.

And amid the chaos, Kirk was trying to propose to Beth. It didn't go well. Kirk was coerced into reading a story to the kids and then Beth landed on her backside. Guess the proposal isn't going to happen tonight. And I was right, it's a "diamondette", that big stone but I reckon Beth won't mind. The next effort, Kirk overspiced the paella. Disaster 2 Kirk 0

And because he's been so distracted, Beth thinks he's actually gone off her or doesn't want to go on the holiday. She's determined not to let him go and pulled out all the stops. And wow did she ever clean up nice but that effort went south too because the Bistro was booked. Disaster 3 Kirk 0. Then Kirk has the bright idea to put the ring in the kebab and she threw it out. Disaster 4 Kirk 0. In the end, he knelt in the rubbish and proposed. Awesome! I'm loving a Kirk and Beth storyline, so glad we've seen more of them!

And that board that Gary said was inferior was for a floor? And he didn't raise the alarm? If it was wall board, you might get away with it but not something that's got to bear weight. Even Tony realized it wasn't the right boards but Todd lied to him, too. Oh that board? No it's for a different job, because Tony doesn't know Todd bought cheap and pocketed the difference.

Jim's words must have sunk in to Peter because he put in a plea of not guilty after all, for Simon's sake. Everyone but Rob was happy with that!  There's no patience for Peter, and Jim's advice is falling flat. Jim isn't a fountain of booze, it's not something that's going to be easily available.

Peter's in pretty bad shape, though Jim is enabling him isn't he? But he wants something in return. Jim reckons if he does manage to supply Peter, Peter can return the favour. First. A biscuit and the biscuit comes first but Peter couldn't even get that right. Still. That little bit of booze Jim gave him got him totally paralytic and I thought Peter had more stamina than that. It really must be the strength of moonshine, that stuff. It's also probably why the withdrawal is even worst than usual. Well it didn't last long because he begged more booze off Jim to steady himself to see Simon. Leanne looked pretty suspicious, recognizing signs.

Back at home, poor Deirdre is in a state, worried about Peter. At least Ken is back to do the shopping and help around the house which is something Tracy would skive out over. Tracy and Leanne both think a break is a good idea but really, though Leanne recommended it for Ken, I hardly think the stress has built up so much so quickly that *he* needs one. He's only been back a week and it was clear that at least the last few months of the time away wasn't worry and upset over Adam.

Ken's solution is to take Deirdre on a holiday. She wants the Maldives. He suggests camping. CAMPING? When on earth has Ken Barlow ever been interested in the great outdoors? Deirdre certainly isn't but it's true, she does need a break. Great shot through the back window of the caravan. The open road would have a lot more appeal to Deirdre if it was in Spain or Italy. It only goes to show that Ken never really did have a clue. Tracy urged her mother to go with it so she and Rob have the house to themselves.

The camping trip was really quite funny. Deirdre's camping outfit (red shirt!) was ludicrous and Ken was as pompous and officious as he could possibly be until he made a fool of himself talking Welsh to some  hikers, assuming because they were in Wales they were Welsh. Deirdre pointed out that he, too, was in Wales. Doh.

Does Neil really think that a year away in the Phillipines is enough to lure Andrea back to him? He's getting more and more desperate. Jenna isn't giving in to Andrea at all. The little threesome at the Bistro didn't go over very well and Neil's texts kept interrupting. He paid absolutely no attention to Lloyd insisting Andrea was done with him  and then he's crying on the phone to her.

Jenna is really against Andrea, too. Sophie's advice to live her own life hit home and she actually had a nice conversation with Andrea about Andrea's situation. In the space of a few hours, Jenna decides to move away, found a place to go, quit her job and leave. I wonder if she even told Roy she was going? Poor Lloyd is upset but he's not losing his daughter, after all. I'll miss Jenna. It's too back they never did much with her character.

Nobody actually thought Neil was really going to leave, right? He's determined, oblivious and focussed entirely on winning her back whatever way he can, memories, changing his ways, begging. Nothing she or Lloyd says seems to be making a dent. He's deliberately being obtuse. Ok, he's had a shock and never saw it coming but really, this isn't the way forward.

I totally do not buy that Michelle would offer to help plan Rob and Tracy's wedding. She might be doing it for Rob and to get the event planning business off the ground but she hates Tracy and has more reason than most to want to keep as far away from her as possible. Tracy wasn't very impressed that he gave her the job.  The idea of ordering Michelle around was appealing but payment was not. Rob bit her head off which didn't go unnoticed by Michelle or Carla who can't understand why all this business about Peter is irritating Rob so much.

Gail knew Kylie didn't want Max to have sugar and junk food but she gave him ice cream anyway. It wasn't Michael's fault and in this instance, I'm on Kylie's side. The healthy eating might not cure Max but it can't hurt him either. Kylie took full advantage of Gail offering to help by trying to get her to mind Max another day after the first one. Ah but Gail has plans with Michael which didn't go over well with David and Kylie but the pair of them are so cute together, aren't they? All giggles and simpering and smiles which is nice to see on Gail for a change. 

The date didn't start off very well with Gail ending up on her backside on the cobbles. It didn't look like Michael hit her, more like she tripped on the curb but I could be wrong. Chuckled at them having their picnic in the hospital waiting room. Unfortunately, the long wait times meant Michael missed his curfew. It only gives David more fuel. Ah but Maybe Michael really is the right man. After all, he's not afraid to cry at sad movies! Wasn't that awesome!!

I see Nick's temperment hasn't improved any. How to win friends and influence people. Not. Dev has sympathy but Leanne doesn't. I like that Kal still had the dignity to help Nick with the alarm code and that he knew Leanne's birthday. Nick's bad day got worse and worse. And Nick? Listen to Dev! Boy, I'm glad someone FINALLY told Nick to keep the arguments out of the Bistro and I'm glad Steph told him off, too. I can't imagine why they even have any customers left after the tradition they've built of making it a battle zone.

I loved Audrey, Nick's gran, bucking him up and supporting him like grans do. At least it looks like Audrey might be the first one to support Michael. But Nick's soothing from his gran didn't go very far. Nick has now descended from being a "Dick" to being an even worse D-word. Did he really have an episode or was he faking it? Yep. Faking it. Odd seeing David the sensible one isn't it? Well to a point. He didn't tell on Nick, did he? Leanne was suspicious, too, with the timing of it all. Doesn't matter that Nick is still playing up, she doesn't buy it.

Carla's buying a new flat. I did wonder about that. I thought she'd sold the old one and was surprised she was still living in Peter's but it sounds like she's making plans. Wonder where? Victoria Court perhaps? Kirk believes unicorns did exist, they just went extinct! Leanne's going to work in the kebab shop because Dev is shorthanded. What happens when Chesney comes back from  holiday?


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Summer to Fall spoilers

As we do every so often, we post a list of links to spoilers over on the Coronation Street Blog. Only the character names or similar descriptions are listed so you don't get the actual spoilers though if you are spoiler-free, don't hover your mouse over the link as you might catch something in the URL.


Stuart Blackburn talks spoilers, Part 1
Stuart Blackburn talks spoilers, Part
Autumn Spoilers
Inside Soap Spoilers
Simon
Steve




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Bonnie Tyler loves a bit of Corrie

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

In an interview this week with rock singer and queen of the power ballad Bonnie Tyler she says she loves Coronation Street. 

Bonnie tells the Irish Independent: "I do love to catch up on Coronation Street. A lot of people do. It's a lifelong thing. I remember the theme music (Bonnie sings "dah, dah, dah-di, dah-di, dah" down the phone) from a very early age. When I am off, I don't tend to go out much, unless it is to eat. I don't go to clubs and bars much anymore. I seem to have spent my life in them."

Ooh, come on Corrie.  Let's have Bonnie on the show as Liz McDonald's Welsh cousin!


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The Men of Weatherfield

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2014, reposted with permission.)

The return of the wonderful Jim McDonald last week has made me ponder the state of Coronation Street's men. We all know that Corrie has always been dominated by the strong female characters but male representation is also very important.

Big Jim is a man's man. He has his demons but all he really wants is the love of a good woman (Elizabeth) and the respect of his sons. Most of the time these days he's some way off achieving these goals but he always gives it a damn good try. And normally clad head to foot in denim.

Jim follows a tradition of Corrie men that was long epitomised by Len Fairclough. Len was a bit rough around the edges, not afraid of a hard drinking session or a good brawl in the street. However he was also a local councillor and respected businessman. People would go to him for help and advice in times of need. And above all else he married the Weatherfield Warbler herself, Rio Rita. However apart from Len and his sidekick Ray Langton, who else was there? Mike Baldwin was too smooth, Ken Barlow wore too many woolly liberal cardigans and Stan Ogden was far too feckless. Perhaps the man's man has always been in short supply in Weatherfield?

Who are the contenders these days amidst Corrie's ever bulging cast?

I remember early on, RIta commented that Owen Armstrong reminded her of Len. I have to say at the time, he did to me too. Now though I'm not so sure. Tony Stewart, currently stepping out with Jim's fair Elizabeth is also a bit rough and ready but he's far too sly and cunning for me. I'd rule Steve and Lloyd out straight away. Lovely as they both undoubtedly are, their girlfriends constantly run rings around them and not often in a good, palatable way.

Nick Tilsley is too camp and petulant, David will always look too young and Dev is just Dev. Rob has been taken down the killer route and lovely Roy is in a category all of his own. Peter Barlow meanwhile has soaked up enough personality flaws for the entire district. Who does that leave us with?

Jason Grimshaw is a true bloke - the character's development and sense of maturity over the years has been impressive. Ryan Thomas has taken Jason a long way since his early appearances. He's the only male presence in the Grimshaw household with a bit of integrity and a backbone at the moment. I just hope he rumbles his unpleasant father and equally toxic brother before they ruin his business.

Perhaps a bit of an odd contender, but there's always our Kirkeh. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer (something I think the writers sometimes take too far) but he'll always stand up for his sister, no matter how deranged she becomes. He's also a steadfast supporter of Beth, Craig and Chesney. 

Finally there's Gary Windass. There's a streak of the bad lad in Gary regardless of where he's at in life. Gary's decision to go to war and the aftermath of his life as a soldier were beautifully written and poignantly, powerfully portrayed. Does his link to the army put him in the Jim McDonald mould? 

Kevin Webster will also be returning to the fold again shortly. Is he the epitome of the Weatherfield bloke? Or is he too fists first, think later? 

So who, for you, is currently the archetypical Coronation Street bloke? Which Corrie men do you think need to "man up" and who would you like to see more of (in a manner of speaking)?

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Conversation Street Podcast 109

Gemma and Michael's podcast for the episodes in Canada that aired up to last night can be heard here.

Gail and Michael are back together and Kirk and Beth are officially engaged after a number of failed attempts. Ken and Deirdre's idea of a holiday is vastly different. Peter is lurching towards rock bottom and Nick has definitely morphed into David, playing dirty tricks and lashing out at everyone. We say goodbye to Jenna with a character profile.




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Fab Photo Stag Night

(This post was originally posted by Sunny Jim on the Coronation Street Blog in May 2014.)

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. As I'm away to Glasgow for a small trip this weekend I thought I'd search around for pictures of some of Coronation Street's Scottish connections and came across this one of Tony Gordon's stag night.

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An interview with Terence Maynard aka Tony Stewart, Jason's dad

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in July 2014.)

On Monday, 14th July, I set off from Sheffield on my way to Media City, a bewilderingly huge, though highly impressive space. I was here to attend a Press Round Table to interview Terence Maynard aka Tony Stewart, Jason’s dad.  

When joining Coronation street, Terence was told that his character should be ‘edgy’ – not gangster, that would be too much. So far, Tony has indeed been ‘edgy’ – he has a great interest in dodgy goods and in making a fast buck through any means he can. As we know, he is very keen on using Barlow’s Buys as an outlet for offloading the goods he seems able to magic out of thin air. 

Terence was very charming indeed at the Press Round Table event and was more than willing to answer our questions.

Terence was born in Liverpool and was brought up in Nantwich, Cheshire. He is an only child and has been living in London for the past twenty years.  He was just beginning to think that he would like to see more of his parents, still in Cheshire, who were not getting any younger. Then the call came from Coronation Street for him to have an audition as Tony, Jason’s father. Serendipity was clearly at work. He got the part and was in The Rovers filming, a mere two weeks later and is now living nearer to his parents.

Coronation Street is Terence’s parents’ favourite show, so they were thrilled that he had a part in a soap, which Terence says is in the family DNA.  Terence has a son aged eight, who compliments his dad’s performances and a daughter who is cooler in her praise but whose friends love the programme and his performances.

Despite Tony being  a man with an eye for the main chance , he is not a villain, more a lovable rogue,  but the truth is that Tony is one hundred percent

genuine in his bid to be a good father to Jason and to try to compensate for his absence over many years. So, all doubt is now removed. Tony is utterly determined to do whatever he can to give Jason a good life.

Interestingly, Todd is keen to impress Tony, part of the reason being that Todd has never had a dad.  An interesting dynamic develops between the three of them and we will see Todd join Jason and Tony in building a loft conversion for Tyrone, which ends in trouble for Tyrone.

Tony’s relationship with Liz is pretty solid, Terence says, so the fairytale advert in which Liz’s reflection changes to Tracy’s is not an indication of a new love affair, but a hint that Tony and Tracy may be doing ‘business’ together.

As most people know, Jim Macdonald will be making a return to the cobbles. Jim is in the Big House at the moment, and most generously, Tony suggests that Steve should go and visit his father, though Steve and Liz have doubts about the wisdom of such a visit. Tony is standing by his idea of commitment to family.

Viewers may remember the scene in the back room at The Rovers where Tony came across as very intimidating towards Steve, after Steve had been trying to warn Tony off Liz, Steve’s mother. Tony felt that Steve had overstepped the mark by interfering in his relationship and he confronted Steve telling him to keep out. Steve is quite a mild mannered person, but his father Jim is not. Interesting and no doubt fiery times ahead…

It may interest people to know that Terence is a trained dancer – jazz, tap, ballet – he can do them all. Sadly he may not have an opportunity to dance on The Street, but never say never.

Tony’s storyline is hotting up in coming weeks. Real drama and some troubled times will greet us in the forthcoming weeks and months. Oh yes!

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Corrie Canada sneak previews Sept. 1 - 5

Without further ado here is a brief sneak preview of what you'll see on  next week's Corrie in Canada.

Ken and Deirdre's camping trip is somewhat rocky. Neil just won't go away so Steve and Lloyd get devious. Leanne gets a new job and goes off on one, insisting Nick tell the truth. Peter's in rough shape and begs Jim for booze. Jim wants something in exchange. Steve gets a request and isn't very happy about it. Amy's actions cause Eccles harm. Maddie gets on Carla's bad side. Max disrupts Lily's birthday party. Todd's scheming ends up causing Tyrone harm.



For more details and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net



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Why I'm sorry to see Corrie's Jenna go

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in May 2014.)

Yesterday (back in May) it was announced that actress Krissi Bohn would be leaving her role as Corrie's Jenna Kamara this summer. As we've not really seen that much of Jenna I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, however I found myself getting very vexed over this latest exit.


First and foremost I feel sorry for the actor. Krissi Bohn has done her best in the role of Jenna and she's always impressed me even though she's been given very little to do. The character had great promise at first I thought, however she was underused and saddled with the really poor Sophie Webster plot and that didn't help. There were no attempts to revive Jenna's fortunes on the back of this and I struggle to believe the Corrie writing team couldn't come up with something interesting for this promising character to do.


I also thought Jenna had great chemistry with Lloyd, played so brilliantly by Craig Charles. They were very believable as father and daughter, yet again, sadly the actors were never given much of a chance onscreen to show this. Craig Charles was interviewed when it was announced he would be getting a Corrie family and you could tell he was thrilled to have a family and that it would also be Corrie's first proper black family too. Two years down the line and the writing is on the wall again. Mandy and Jenna were a definite improvement on the last characters Lloyd was involved with - Cheryl and her son Russ - remember them?


It just felt that the actors were employed without the powers that be having a clear idea of what to do with them. When Jenna told her mother she was gay and entering a relationship with Sophie, there were initially very powerful scenes between mother and daughter. I can't remember now what they were up against, however this storyline seemed to be rather quickly brushed under the rug for the sake of something else. The fact I can't remember what that something else was speaks volumes.


The Corrie cast is far too big. There is no chance, even at five episodes a week, that every actor will get their chance to dominate in a high profile storyline. Despite this, the cast just seems to get bigger, even with characters leaving fairly regularly. There is about to be another deluge, with Kal's family arriving left, right and centre. I wonder how long they will last?

Even worse, the cast continues to be huge while it seems a smaller and smaller number of characters seem to dominate endlessly. As much as I like Chris Gascoyne, Alison King and Michelle Keegan, they do seem to feature really heavily.


While it is reasonable that more senior members of the cast do not want to appear so regularly anymore, there are still plenty of other characters that are more than capable of carrying bigger storylines. As well as Lloyd and Jenna, there are super characters like Beth and Kirk, Deirdre, Jason and Eva and Sally and Tim. We see them in the background or in storylines that never seem to lead anywhere but I think there should be room made for them to tackle more challenging stuff. Even much respected cast members like Sue Nicholls, Philip Lowrie and Barbara Knox are only used these days as foils to younger characters like Tina and Maria. 

Anyway, back to my original point. I always think it's a rather lame excuse when statements are released saying that a certain character has been taken as far as they can when really, they haven't actually gone anywhere at all.

I do think Corrie needs to look at its casting decisions and its cast in general otherwise things will never improve.


I hope Craig Charles stays in Corrie despite the ever fluctuating characters around him. He's an asset I wish Krissi Bohn well with whatever she does next. She is a good actress and deserves something that shows off how talented she is.

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Blog interview with Corrie's Jenna, actress Krissi Bohn

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Krissi Bohn, who has played Jenna Kamara on Coronation Street for almost two years, has now left Corrie.  Jenna left the Street tonight in her final scenes, and with a huge amount of thanks, we have an exclusive interview with actress Krissi Bohn talking about her time on Coronation Street.

Who will you miss most at Coronation Street, who were your best friends there?
It's funny, it's not actually specific people I will miss (I can always see them outside of work) but it's actually the place. I'll miss walking onto the Street or into the Rovers to film a scene. I'll miss having lunch and a natter in the canteen, I'll miss walking over the bridge and seeing that huge Coronation Street sign and knowing I'm a part of that!  That being said I am probably closest with Cherylee (Izzy Armstrong) and Hayley (Andrea) out of the cast and then there is Laura McAteer who is now a 3rd Assistant Director. When I started she was a green room runner so its been great watching her progress through her career as well! 

Have you taken any souvenirs with you from the set?
Although I haven't taken anything from the set, I was able to choose any items of Jenna's that I wanted to keep. I've have the tops she wore in her first and last episode and of course I HAD to take my red apron!
 
What was it like to walk into the green room for the first time and meet the legends of Coronation Street?
I'd only ever done a couple of very short scenes in an episode of Law and Order UK before so I was more terrified about filming the scenes than I was seeing all these Corrie stars. I have to admit (don't shoot me) - I didn't actually watch Coronation Street properly before I got this role so I was still trying to figure out who people were! Of course I recognised Annie Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow), Malcolm Hebden (Norris Cole), Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and the older faces but I struggled with the newer people. 

Everyone was very, very friendly though and introduced themselves to me and made sure I was okay. I even got a hug off a lovely lady who said she was nervous too as she was quite new. It was only after she walked off and someone said: "Oh, you've met Sue then," that I realised it was the legend that is Sue Johnston! I was so nervous I hadn't even recognised her!
 

What's next for Krissi Bohn after Corrie?
I get asked that quite a lot and the honest answer is - I have no idea! My agent is busy putting me up for all sorts of roles in both TV and theatre. After that it is just a question of waiting to see if a casting director wants to see me and then if I good enough and of course if am right for the part. Coronation Street is an amazing platform for me as an actor, especially as I hadn't done much telly before but I still have to audition for roles like anyone else. I would love to get back on stage and do a nice piece of theatre but I would also love to do more telly. A nice gritty 3 part drama would be lovely! I am open to anything though. (if you are reading this casting directors get in touch!)
 
What would be your dream acting role either on stage or on screen?
It is not a particular character or anything but I would LOVE to be the lead in a crime drama or something like that. I love to be busy and that was one thing I missed in my time at Corrie. So the thought of being at the forefront of a drama with hundreds of lines to learn and lots of action would be amazing!

Jenna has not been killed off, would you like to see her return to the Street one day?
I'd love for her to return one day but I would want to make sure she doesn't just fade into the background! I think it would be lovely for her to come back with a partner (poor Jenna never got a look at anyone after Sophie!) and a couple of kids so that Lloyd could have some grandchildren!
 
Did you ever meet Fat Brenda in the green room?
I thought you might ask about her. I never me Bren face to face. It was wierd - she was always in at different times to me. There are always a couple of people you rarely see though!! I've heard she's lovely as long as you stay on her good side... We tweet each other every now and then though. I'll miss her now I've left.
 

What have been your highlights and most memorable moments from your time on Coronation Street?
19th September 2012 - The day my first episode was aired. I watched it with Pamela Nomvete (who played Mandy my mum) and I just spent the who half an hour screaming!
Filming whilst I was in plaster and on crutches. I spent the whole time kneeling on a stool so I looked like I was standing!
Meeting Christopher Dean and finding out he was as excited about meeting me as I was him as he's a massive fan of Corrie!
Walking down the cobbles for the first time.
Meeting fans outside the gate. It just amazes me how crazy people are about the show! (Special shout out to Meg & Em the lovely ladies who made @lovekrissib on twitter and put me together an AMAZING leaving book!)
Getting to know how a show like Corrie works. There are so many people involved behind the scenes that so such a good job and work so hard - I really had no idea!
Learning how to do my makeup! I was completely clueless about stuff like that before I start but now I can make myself look like a proper girl! I also now own a hairdryer - although I barely ever use it but still!
Making my husband (a huge red dwarf fan) massively happy and introducing him to Craig Charles!
I could go on forever....

You've joined the Corrie Tri Team, can you tell us about that and what they do?
Its my last Corrie related thing I'll be doing. There are around 40 crazy people taking part in the Salford Trialthalon on Sunday. They are from all areas of Coronation Street production. I am part of the actors realay team. I will be doing 750m openwater swimming, Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw) will do the 20K bike and Ian Puleston Davis (Owen Armstrong) will be doing the 5K. We are all raising money collectively for St Mary's hospital intensive care unit who provide amazing care for premeture and very ill babies.  Follow them on twitter @corrietriteam

You ran the London Marathon last year for your charity - Children with Aids. On a scale of 1-10, how much did your feet hurt the next day?
Feet - 6. Knees - 1000000. I have never been in so much pain in my life. My whole body aches and I think I was filming the next day. It was hard trying to convince myself that "Jenna" hadnt run the marathon so I needed to look normal! Sadly the charity I was a patron of and did the run for has had to close its doors. They did such amazing work and I am so proud that the money we raised went towards the final grants given to families in need. The marathon was the hardest thing ever and I wouldnt recommend it to anyone. Yes the atmosphere was amazing but I reckon cheering people on is much more fun that doing it!! 

What's your favourite seat on the bus?
Used to be up top at the front. Now downstairs on the right hand side... And just incase anyone is wondering - Yep! I still get the bus! 

Will you continue to watch Coronation Street now you're no longer in it and can you enjoy it as a fan now you know what goes on and how it's made and all the behind-the-scenes technical stuff that goes into making it?
I think I will carry on watching it as now I know people involved both infront and behind the camera I will want to see what is going on!  It is very hard to watch it now knowing all the stuff happening behind the scenes - I'm always looking for mistakes!! 

When you read your script that said Jenna would be a lesbian and you'd end up kissing Brooke Vincent, what went through your mind?
"Does she have soft lips?" and "Oh ,she is rather young!" It was all very exciting but I had hoped that they would explore the Jenna / Sophie relationship more. Once they put us together it didn't go anywhere. I think the writers were right to split us up but I do wish Jenna had found someone else to have a flirt with! I only got to have one kiss!

Did you like doing scenes in Roy's Rolls? Is the food real?
I really enjoyed filming in Roys Rolls although trying to say my lines whilst making a bacon sandwhich at the same time is harder than it looks. Its bizarre because in real life you just do it but suddenly when you are being filmed you hands dont seem to work and you seem to be banging everything about!!
The food is real but depending on what time of day it is it could have been there for a while. The hot breakfasts are cooked by the amazing props team and are GORGEOUS when they come out fresh
It is difficult to resist if you are spending a whole day surrounded by chips and sausages and cakes... but I soon learnt that if you start you cant stop so better not eat any of it!! 

What's your favourite dessert?
I'd rather have cheese and biscuits but if I had to have one I'd like treacle sponge pudding with custard or my aunty's apple crumble with cream!

And finally...
I just want to say a final thankyou to all the people who have liked, disliked or been indifferent to Jenna over the last two years. People watching are what makes the show and your opinions do make a difference.

Of course there are some things I wish I could change about the way Jenna's time on the street went but ultimately I am just so proud and happy to be able to say I was part of history. There are so many people who will never get the chance to appear on this show and I was there for two whole years! Considering I only thought it would be 6 months I am a very lucky girl.

Thank you to the Coronation Street Blog for this interview. Since day one I have thought this was an amazing site and a great resource for Corrie fans - I hope you all realise how lucky you are having such an amazing site at your fingertips! Hats off to Glenda and the team for the time and dedication they put into this site!

Thank you everyone for reading,
That's me over and out.
Krissi Bohn
X

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Coronation Street cast and crew in Manchester Pride video

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

The Coronation Street cast and crew have made this wonderful little video dancing along to "I'm Alive".

The video has been put together to support Manchester Pride - you can see the Corrie pictures here.

From @CorriePride2014 on twitter: "Our cast and crew support Manchester Pride every year and this year we're feeling the love so we made a little film about it. Enjoy and please share so we can spread the smiles".




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Which Corrie baddie should return to Coronation Street?

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I haven't watched EastEnders in years, but news this week that Nick Cotton is returning to the show (even though he's dead) made me smile.  I remember him being a thoroughly nasty piece of work - and great fun to watch.

It got me thinking about the Corrie bad lads and villains, murderers and scum bags that have walked the cobbles over the years.

Which one, if you had to choose just one, would you like to return (even from the dead)?

My vote would go to the wonderful Jez Quigley. "Steve McDonald... come on down!"



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Corrie Celebrates Manchester Pride

This past weekend was Pride weekend in Manchester and as usual, Coronation Street had a large float in the parade Saturday, crowded with lots of our favourite actors.  The Manchester Evening News has a great gallery of photos and a couple of video clips featuring people like Brooke Vincent, Hayley Tamaddon, Katie McGynn (who looks really awesome! As opposite to Sinead as it's possible to look), Antony Cotton, Debbie Rush, Krissi Bohn, Mikey North and many more. Even Les Dennis joined the fun and dressed up like his old persona, Mavis Wilton.

The float was done up in a wedding theme with a long bridal veil trailing along behind. It's always one of the most popular floats of the parade and the cast and crew aboard the float look to be having a blast!

Have a look here



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Corrie Canada weekly awards Aug. 18 - 22

Deer Caught in the Headlights Award: Ken, finding out about Peter, the affair and the arrest. And well he might look that way. It's got to flabber his ghast just a little.

The worm has turned award: Deirdre really told Ken where to go.

Criminal award: Todd is now trying to scam people into thinking they need new roofs. Even if it is Norris, it is still not on.

Crusade award: There's nothing Ken likes more than a challenge. He won't stop until he gets Peter out of jail.

Insensitive Award: Tracy. Pick a date before Peter's trial so he couldn't go even if he was found not guilty!

Cheaters Never Prosper award: Todd. He might have kept the difference of the cheap materials for himself, but it'll come back to bite him.

Return of the Native award: Oh it's so good to see Jim Mack!

Cliche award: Jim McDonald. He even got "The Big Hoose" in with all his other catch phrases! Wonderful!

Stalker award: Neil.

Hopeless Romantic award: Kirk!

Practical Joke award: I detest Todd but even I laughed at him sending Gary off to whisper at a client!

Thicky Bricky award: Gary has misgivings about the materials and lets Todd threaten his job. Todd's not the boss of him whatever Todd might think.

Lines of the Week:
Ken to Rob "You've inveigled your way into my house" Tracey "I don't even know what that means but I don't like the sound of it"
Todd "I'm not all empty good looks and effortless charm" (Your not that at all, mate)
Deirdre to Ken "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" (Wow, she never would have said that in the old days!)
Audrey to Gail "There's civil and then there's simpering" (yes you were)
Audrey about Max "It's just a fancy word for naughty"
Norris "New roof, my Aunt Fanny" and "I might be drawing a pension but I'm not Ga Ga yet"
Sinead "I test it by testing the acidity in the water not by chucking a puppy in the bath"
Peter "I didn't murder Tina. But that don't make me necessarily innocent"
Kirk "MY GIRLFRIEND'S A HYPOCONDRIAC! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"
Doctor "The rash should disappear in a few hours. The hypocondria might be harder to shift"
Jim "Some of my best friends are murderers so they are."
Tracy "Do we have to be miserable every moment of every day? Yep. I guess we do"
Jim "You want your wee Simon to grow up and think his daddy is a murderer, is that the crack?" (Ah yes, another Jim cliche!!)


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Corrie Stars step up to the Ice Bucket Challenge

If you've been around the internet over the past couple of days, you can't have missed the Ice Bucket Challenge, raising money for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gherig's Disease). You get a bucket of ice water poured over you for a donation and you challenge others to do the same.

Stars of Coronation Street got wet for this good cause and posted their challenges on YouTube. Simon Gregson and Kym Marsh switched it up a bit and went dressed as each other! There's a list of Twitter feeds on the ITV site with links there to the various YouTube and Instagram videos. Actors that have taken part to date are Simon Gregson, Antony Cotton, Kym Marsh, Sam Aston, Andy Whyment, Alan Halsall, Brooke Vincent and Jack P. Shephard. Others have been challenged, so the list on that page may grow.

Check it out.



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Sunday Comments August 24

I'm glad we actually saw Carla tell Ken the news about Peter. So often these days we only see the aftermath, not the initial reaction which, in Ken's case, was his typical Deer Caught In the Headlights reaction. And then when he confronted Deirdre and lost his temper, well... you can't blame him for losing his temper. It didn't help that Deirdre defended Rob for offering an opinion.  And wait, did Ken ever get the house back after signing it over to Deirdre after the divorce all those  years ago? If not, he can't really call it his house. They probably did sort that out when they got remarried, I suppose.

Anyway, as usual, Ken did try to put words in Deirdre's mouth and she wasn't trying to turn it around and blame him, she just wanted him to know how *she* felt. And  yes, the longer it went on and she didn't tell him things, the harder it was to do it. But wow, she as much as told him to F-off and would have if it hadn't been a family show. Telling him to shut up? She never would have done that in the old days. It seems to have pulled him up short but he didn't apologize, did he? Just changed the subject. To Peter. She he gets to shout at her for having doubts about Peter's innocence. She's right. He wasn't there. And I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed away longer than he needed to even with Adam being ill. He did recover, after all and Ken has been spending time going to weddings and things (a family wedding. who's family?)

He didn't have problems getting through to Peter on the phone, though, and he got a visiting order pretty quickly. I think Simon is old enough to handle seeing his father in prison. Meanwhile, Peter's starting to crawl the walls, the withdrawal is getting to him and he's worried about seeing Ken. Aw it made my heart swell seeing Peter and Ken together and how Peter seemed hopeful once he knew his father believed him.


Simon decided to go see his dad but Rob isn't happy about it. He can't take the chance that Peter will put up a fight. Simon was really nervous about going to see his dad in prison and Leanne isn't sure she should let him go. Rob decided to undermine it by offering to take the kids to the zoo and Simon snapped that up. Laughed at Amy. "I don't like animals" she really is becoming her mother's daughter. Leanne shouldn't have given in. It was important for Simon to see Peter and it wouldn't have been as bad as he thought. Peter didn't take it well, as you would expect and it shot him down again.


Ken called him on feeling sorry for himself. And Ken is determined to prove Peter's innocence. Too bad Peter doesn't want anything to do with pleading guilty.

The upshot of it was Peter was fidgiting for a drink and was sent to The Landlord. He's Baaaack! The prison booze supplier is none other than Jim McDonald! What about ye!? I'm trying to figure out why Jim and Peter don't really know each other. I know Jim had been away most of the time Peter's been on the show but I thought they might have crossed paths now and then. Apparently not, though. Anyway, Peter gets a bit of booze and reels around drunk. He comes back begging for more on the day of his plea hearing but Jim won't give it to him. He's horrified that Peter isn't going to put up a fight if he's innocent as he says. He rightly points out what it's like to have your kids give up on you and it gives Peter something to think about. Ken is upset that Peter seems to be giving up but will he? 

It seems like Rob has actually come to like Deirdre but he looked a bit horrified when he realized that Ken will be backing Peter with a top solicitor. It's actually quite odd seeing Tracy be so kind to her mother in her hour of need. But never fear, she's not really changed. Now she wants to plan her wedding even though Peter's future is uncertain. She's picking a date before Peter's trial. That's going to help his morale, I don't think. She should choose a date after. At least he'll be able to go if he's free, but that's our Tracy. Insensitive to the end. 

Kylie is convinced Max's diagnosis is her fault. If it is environmentally caused, she might be right. She doesn't feed him properly and he certainly has experienced a lot of stress over his short life, much of which stems from her. But in addition, his father could have had it. She's decided a healthy diet will cure him. It can't hurt but it's difficult when Gail is undermining her feeding the child ice cream.


Tyrone and Fiz think they should convert the loft to another bedroom and Jason's going to do the work. Todd's flyers are drumming up a bit of business so that idea worked out. Tony didn't like the idea that Jason would do Ty's work for mate's rates. Tony realized Jason was digging his heels in and put Todd off.


I suppose there are other ways to make a profit. Todd decides one way is to scam Norris into thinking he needs a new roof but Norris doesn't buy it, pun intended. Norris went straight to Jason and threatened to go to trading standards and well he might even though Jason didn't have a clue what Todd was doing. His name's on the sign, though, and he'd be responsible ultimately. No more scamming the customers.

There are other ways. Tony's remark about using materials bought from a cheaper place hits home with Todd and he ended up getting cheaper quality as well as cheaper price. And pocketed the difference. He managed to divert Jason from checking the order but that didn't make much sense. He'd see the different materials when he went to do the actual job anyway. Even though Gary has noticed some of the materials aren't up to standard, Todd threatens his job if he says anything and the thicky bricky backs down which i really have a problem with. He is scared Todd will make sure he's fired when he knows damn well he's using inferior materials? I think this is going to come back to bite him.

Gail made me laugh, simpering with Michael and even if she doesn't think she was, the look on Audrey's face certainly contradicted that. Norris is still fussing over Rita, it sounds like. Laughed at Kirk, though, in a full on panic at the thought she was a hypocondriac because he didn't know what it was.


Oh look, the little band of merry men and women from Number 5. we haven't seen them for awhile. I thought Sinead was selling on the market? I guess not. But Chesney has connections, why can't she get a stall? Now she's going to try making bath bombs but Beth wasn't willing to wait for Sinead to test them properly and came out in a rash. If she's in the medical centre banging on about it being an emergency, why didn't she just go to the emergency department at the hospital? And where was Deirdre? I thought she worked at the medical centre?  I hope Chesney didn't leave the shop closed all this time. I think it is more likely Beth is allergic to one of the fruit extracts in the bomb rather than the thing itself. It really scared Kirk, though. Now he wants to ask her to marry her!




He's such a romantic! He is persuaded to propose in a low key way after all the other proposals she's had in her life. Fair enough, but he wants the ring to be "high" key and comes back with a rock the size of the Hope Diamond so you know it can't be a real diamond. But awww bless him, he even asked if it was ok with Craig!

Lloyd is a real miseryguts these days. He seems like he wants to talk to Andrea and might even be upset she's not tried to contact him but he did insist it was over. Steve is trying everything to get Lloyd cheered up. I think he should just let him be. You don't get over heartbreak that quickly. Andrea's disappeared. So? Guaranteed to make Lloyd worried in spite of himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just a ploy by Neil. It wasn't.

But one message from Lloyd and Andrea comes running, hopeful he might forgive her. That was all she needed, that first step and she's all over Lloyd again like a rash. And that's all they needed, much to Jenna's fury and nobody else is going to be happy they're back together either. Especially Neil who's apparently been stalking her, staking out Lloyd's flat. I had a feeling he came to Lloyd on purpose to see if this would happen. In any case, Andrea's moving in, Jenna's not happy about it and Neil gets more and more pathetic each day.



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Lost on Coronation Street

Coronation Street fans Beth and Paul in Canada are also known as Mr and Mrs Hypnotist.  They live in Toronto, but tell me that they are “Lost On Coronation Street”.

Lost On Coronation Street offers a quirky two minute blast of Corrie love each week. 

You can watch one of their videos here:

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Conversation Street podcast 108

Gemma and Michael's podcast for the episodes in Canada that aired up to last night can be heard here.

This week brings the long awaited return of a classic character. Yep, Jim McDonald is back, so he is. Oh, and Ken finally returned from Canada to find out everything Deirdre has been keeping from him. He's determined to prove Peter innocent, much to Rob's chagrin. Lloyd and Andrea got back together and Sinead's new venture caused Beth no end of problems.





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He's back, so he is

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in July 2014, reposted with permission.)

What a joy to interview Charlie Lawson and how fantastic that he will soon be back on our screens, albeit in jail.  His first appearance is scheduled for August 8th.

I met with ‘Jim’ so I did, at a press event earlier this month at Media City in Salford.  My impression of actor Charlie Lawson was of an easy-going man, who didn’t allow the vagaries of life to trouble him too much and who was very much enjoying himself. He also looked remarkably well and a good bit younger than his 54 years.  As he spoke, I caught myself wondering whether there was a more easily identifiable accent in the whole of UK soap opera than the Northern Irish of Jim. I would welcome your thoughts.  There was no doubt that Charlie was very willing to talk about his return to our favourite soap and was delighted to be doing so.

He did express a little nostalgia for times gone by – Jim joined in 1989 - when there were only 2 episodes a week  -on a Monday and a Friday. (How did we bear it?)   Back then, Charlie told us, there was time to socialise, because the pace of filming was much slower. There was even a Coronation Street cricket team. As with life, so with soaps – the pace has increased dramatically and now that there are five episodes a week, with some of the cast filming as many as 16 scenes a week, the social side of Coronation Street has dwindled as the episode production has increased involving intensive work, so that people now do their work, then go home. Nothing stays the same. Charlie referred to himself as ‘an old dinosaur’ as he much enjoyed what once was.

Charlie has close friends on the cast, past and present. He mentioned the extremely talented Sarah Lancashire, who once played Raquel and Simon Gregson, Steve, to whom he is very close.

Since leaving Coronation Street Charlie has been involved in theatre. One part he particularly enjoyed was the part of Frank, the university lecturer, which was played by Michael Caine in the film of Educating Rita. He was also in a run of Rain Man with Neil Morrissey, probably best known for Men Behaving Badly.  He’s also been to Canada, filming a BBC documentary about The Titanic.  

Charlie also runs a farm shop in Prestbury, Cheshire, with his wife, Debbie, but doesn’t serve customers as he cannot work the till, he volunteered to tell us. He does engage with customers though, doing front of house and talking about his produce. Asked if he feels tempted to give up acting and just work in the shop, he simply replied, ‘Once an actor, always an actor.’ Good news for us then. Jim will be on screen until September and will play about thirty episodes.

Charlie very much enjoys playing the role of Jim. Initially the writers had no idea exactly who they were writing for, so when Jim got the part he added in his Northern Irish dialect, at times telling the writers that Jim wouldn’t say various Mancunian phrases. Charlie told the writers what he would say hence the phrases we know so well from Jim’s repertoire, including ‘Catch yourself on, so you are, so it is, and what about you.’

As we all know, Jim is in prison for his attempt to rob a bank. He is though making the best of his time there and is known as The Landlord - the Mr. Big of the prison. From Jim, prisoners can get virtually anything as no one seems incorruptible. He is well-respected by both prisoners and prison officers, as an ex-soldier.  Peter of course is in prison and is seeking alcohol. Inevitably Peter meets Jim. These two characters have never previously done a scene together.  

It is a mutually beneficial encounter, as through Peter, Jim can have Peter ask Deirdre to ask Liz to visit him. In return Peter can have whatever he wants. Jim is feeling very cut off from his family. Liz promised him she would wait for him, but that promise seems as if it was more for appeasement purposes than anything else.

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Fab Photo - Jim McDonald

(This post was originally posted by Sunny Jim on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2014.)

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. With the news this week that the big fella is showing up on our screens again, this week's Fab Photo Friday slot is dedicated to Jim McDonald.

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Pics: Jim McDonald's Coronation Street return

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)


The tabloids today reveal details and picturse of Jim McDonald's return to Coronation Street.  With Peter in prison, he goes in search of some booze in the big house - and it turns out Jim McDonald is the one who supplies it.

The Mirror says that Peter doesn't have to look far, as his cellmate tells him about a inmate known as the Landlord who illegally sells alcohol to the prisoners.

Peter decides to pay him a visit, but imagine his surprise when the bloke he is looking for turns out to be none other than Jim McDonald, aka the estranged husband of Liz McDonald.



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Corrie Canada sneak preview for Aug. 25 - 29

Without further ado here is a brief sneak preview of what you'll see on  next week's Corrie in Canada.

Kirk tries and tries again to propose to Beth but it ends up being rubbish. Literally. Jim supplied booze to Peter for a price. Michelle has a job as a wedding planner. Michael and Gail's "date" doesn't go very well but they patch things up in the end. Jenna decides to move on. Nick sinks to new lows when taking out his anger on Leanne. Deirdre and Ken carry on camping. Neil sticks around. Leanne takes Simon to see Peter

For more details and photos, visit the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net



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The Kids Aren't All Right

(This post was originally posted by Scott Willison on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2014.)

Here's a fact for you: there are thousands of children being brought up in Greater Manchester today.  They're playing, learning, having fun, eating dinner.  Almost all of these children are perfectly normal and very few of them are evil personified.

This may surprise you, because you're a Coronation Street viewer, and so you might be used to children from that area being the spawn of Satan.  Just in the last few episodes, we've learnt that Amy is a lying manipulative witch and Max is an ADHD-riddled tornado of devastation.  Any child who is on the Street beyond their toddling years will almost inevitably turn out to be marked with the sign of the devil and you'd be better off retreating before they eat your face.

It used to be so much simpler.  Children in Corrie were spoken of, but rarely seen.  The first baby born in the street was Paul Cheveski, son of Linda and Ivan and grandson of Elsie Tanner.  The pregnancy was considered so unimportant that she gave birth offscreen and just turned up with a baby a few episodes later.  The birth of Peter and Susan Barlow was a bit more important, with Valerie actually going into labour pains on television, but once they were brought into the world they were occasionally mentioned in passing and that was it.  When Val died and Ken sent them off up to Scotland (ready to come back after twenty years without so much as a Scottish accent) they weren't missed.

The next baby born was Tracy Lynette Langton, and here we have both the first important Street baby and the first unalloyed child of darkness.  It was that long since anyone had got pregnant in Weatherfield, the birth of Tracy was treated as a festive event, and Deirdre was permanently surrounded by a cluster of well-wishing old biddies.  You'd think this would create a loving atmosphere for the young infant, but it actually worked more like the witch's coven in Rosemary's Baby, and before you knew it Tracy was getting hopped up on ecstasy and stealing kidneys off innocent Moroccan waiters.  It was the start of a life of unbridled evil, which culminated in her trying to sell her baby, murdering Charlie, and worst of all, putting up that awful swirly wallpaper in the living room of number six which is still there, dammit.  (I mean COME ON OWEN; you've got nothing else to do now - even slapping a coat of magnolia over the top would be a relief.)

Anyway.  Relatively speaking, Tracy was a late starter in the testicle-shrinkingly horrible stakes, waiting until she was a teenager (and on her third head) before really turning pestilent.  The other children took up her gauntlet gladly.  First the McDonald twins interpreted "youthful high jinks" as "robbing plant machinery and ramming it into Alf Roberts' shop", then Steve became a smack dealer and a jailbird.  It's hard to remember, looking at the roly-poly ball of blancmange who stands behind the bar picking fluff out his belly button, but Steve was once a dangerous rebel who caused untold agony for his parents.

Across the road, Sarah-Louise Platt was barely in a training bra before she was knocked up.  This was a new variant on the "causing agony for the grown ups" scale, but unlike Steve's forays into criminality which were momentary headaches for Liz and Jim, having a baby meant at least eighteen years of pain for Sarah-Lou and Gail.  It just got worse as Bethany grew up, and she revealed herself to be really annoying.  Meanwhile, Sarah-Louise parlayed her eternal victimhood into repeatedly getting kidnapped, trapped in car crashes and generally finding an excuse to squeal and cry whenever possible.  Her stepfather turned out to be a serial killer, but in a baffling misjudgement, he tried to kill Gail's mother instead of her daughter; that would have got him just a slap on the wrist and possibly a fruit basket as thanks.

You'd think that uber-Mummy Sally Webster would bring up a couple of perfect children, but once Rosie and Sophie got past their fish finger guzzling childhood days, they both found their own unique ways to give their parents nightmares.  Rosie rebelled against her sanctimummy by becoming a Goth; spending her days meditating on the agony of human existence and nodding along to Fields of the Nephilim was guaranteed to irritate Sally Webster, who had her heart set on bringing up a tiny Bonnie Langford.  Later, Rosie left school and took a major career change by becoming a slut - sorry, I mean, "a model".  She carried on applying eighteen tonnes of make up, only instead of it being whiteface and black lipstick, now it was Kim Kardashian Radiation Burn Effect Bronzer (Industrial Strength) and false fingernails that made her look like a Primark Freddie Krueger.  Meanwhile, Sophie also rebelled by first becoming a Christian, then a lesbian; her three girlfriends have all been deeply unsuitable for one reason or another (too young; too old; too annoying) and her religious beliefs have lead to levels of sanctimonious preaching even Emily Bishop thinks are excessive.

Sometimes a change of scene activates a Street child's hidden levels of horror; Tracy, Amber and Todd were a bit annoying before they left, but they returned from That London as tools of Beelzebub.  Meanwhile, Nicky Tilsley was a sweet, ineffectual little boy until he went to Canada; he returned a steroid-fuelled sex maniac, before transmogrifying into his latest incarnation, a bitter uncharismatic man who somehow also looks older than his grandmother.

Mention of Nicky, of course, leads us to that ne plus ultra of Weatherfield's worst children, David "Damien" Platt.  Looking back over his CV it's easy to wonder where it all went wrong; personally I blame the death of Barney the Rabbit, which sent David into a spiral of cruelty, violence, a spell in Borstal and marriage to a pole dancer.  He's thrown his mum down stairs, tried to kill his brother in a car crash, and fed drugs to his niece; he hijacked his sister's wedding day by attempting suicide and gave his nan a heart attack.  Gail's thrown him out more times than a loaf of mouldy bread.  He's calmed down a little in recent years, perhaps a result of becoming step-father to Max.  None the less, I can't be the only one who uttered a prayer for salvation when Kylie announced she was pregnant.  There was no need for them to have a DNA test to find out who Lily's father was - the wolves baying at the moon as she was born should have been a clear indication that this was the spawn of David.  His insistence on her being Christened seemed to be a deliberate taunt to God; I was surprised the church didn't burn down when they tried to take Lily over the threshold.  I note that confirmed child of Christ Sophie Webster hasn't volunteered to babysit her, probably because she's afraid she'll end up skewered by a lightning rod like Patrick Troughton in The Omen II.

Lily is one of four infants on the Street right now, along with Jake Windass, Ruby Dobbs and Hope Stape.  Of the four of them, Lily's parents are ASBO magnets, Ruby's mother is a convicted psychopath, Hope's father is a dead serial killer and Jake's birth mother got clobbered to death a hundred yards from his cot; basically, what I'm saying is that the signs are not good for them growing up to be productive members of society.

Meanwhile, just above them at school, Max is demolishing most of the set as he tries to vent his badly acted hyperactivity.  Asha and Aadi haven't yet revealed their twisted dark halves, but as they're twins, it's a given that they possess evil psychic powers; it can't be long before they're stood holding hands at the end of the Street asking little Liam Connor to play with them "forever and ever and ever".  There might still be hope for Amy; her interest in Albert Tatlock's war past certainly bodes well, as does her love of Eccles, and she is cousin to Simon Barlow, a.k.a the most adorable child ever to walk the cobbles and the exception that proves the rule.  Simon is sweetly cheeky, appallingly cute, and prone to filling his eyes with big tears of sorrow that manage to pierce the heart of even the most cynical viewer.  I suppose we should enjoy it while it lasts; give it a couple of years and he'll be joy-riding Carla's BMW into Maxine's bench and snorting cocaine off a prostitute's breasts before school.  The alternative is that he's just a normal little boy, and that sort of behaviour gets you beaten up at Weatherfield High.

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