Second take on the Corrie murder reveal

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in March 2012.)

Yes, it's another blog post about the murder of Frank Foster and outcome, a mother so distraught, anguished and angry that she lashed out and ended up killing her own child. Will Anne go to jail or to a psychiatric facility because she's very close to the edge.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole Frank Foster storyline from the beginnings when he was overly aggressive with Maria, to his take-control wooing of Carla who loved another but couldn't have him so took what was on offer, to the rape and trial and the aftermath, conniving to cheat Carla out of the factory.

I think the casting of Andrew Lancel was great and adding Gwen Taylor in the mix to play his mother was inspired. I think they even looked like mother and son. When the climax of a story leaves me a bit breathless, like it did tonight, I know the Powers That Be have done their job.

As usual, I've had a longer look at it over here.


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Gwen Taylor relieved to be outed as Frank Foster killer

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog March 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

If you missed Coronation Street last night, the big news is that Anne Foster was revealed as the Frank Foster killer. Corrie's all about strong women and feckless men, and they took this one step further with a mother killing her own son.  I was actually very surprised indeed with the outcome of the story and was really happy that Corrie had kept this particular fan on the edge of her sofa seat until the final reveal.

Actress Gwen Taylor, who played Anne, gives an interview at the official Coronation Street website at itv.com where she admits she's relieved the murder secret is now out in the public domain.

She says: "It has been wonderful to be part of such a fantastic storyline but so difficult trying to keep the secret for so long. It is weeks since we filmed the scenes where Anne confessed to Sally and I haven’t told a soul.

"The morning after Frank was murdered I arrived back at the airport from a trip to Ireland and suddenly everyone was asking me who killed him. It is such a relief that it is all finally out in the open now and I am not worried that I will give the game away. It will be interesting to see how people will react now they know it was me!"

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Anne Foster - bizarrely brilliant?

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in March 2012.)
While I haven’t been enjoying the murder of Frank Foster storyline as much as I’d hoped, I have been enjoying the extra screen time that has been given to his poor mother, Anne Foster.

While I often get the impression that as a character she has only been introduced to facilitate the current storyline (in the same way that poor Amber was used and discarded now Sian has left) I can’t help but enjoy watching her.

She’s very over the top dramatically and I think she’s one step away from going completely bonkers over Frank's death but after seeing her interact more with characters such as Norris, Mary and Stella I think she’d work really well as a long-term character.

In fact I’d love to see her taking over Underworld and turning the place into an almost military style operation or becoming arch nemesis with Norris and/or Sylvia over a tiny misunderstanding that ends up getting blown way out of proportion!


So whether or not the current whodunnit will see the end of Anne or not, I for one have enjoyed her time on Coronation Street and hope that some of you have embraced her as well.

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Corrie’s Usual Suspects in the Frame for Frank’s murder

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

This line-up is the first image of the UNUsual Suspects who find themselves under suspicion for the murder of Corrie factory boss Frank Foster. When the body of evil rapist Frank is found in a pool of blood on the factory floor the finger of suspicion immediately points to the people who most want him dead. And in the coming weeks these five people are the ones that the police and residents of

Coronation Street

start to suspect could have bludgeoned him to death.

Frank’s lifeless body will be found in the factory on Monday March 5th – after days of arguments and confrontations with associates, lovers and enemies alike – leaving police and viewers baffled as to the identity of the murderer. And Corrie fans will be on the edge of their seats as the mystery unravels and the killer is finally unmasked in true soap style.

It’s Sally Webster who’s found with blood on her hands as she kneels over ex-lover Frank’s lifeless body.  Knicker stitchers Sean Tully and Julie Carp look on in horror as they arrive at the factory to confront Frank over his plans for the business, after he conned partner Carla Connor out of her share.

Not satisfied with getting off with the rape of Carla, Frank had set out to destroy her by ruining her relationship with lover Peter Barlow and getting her to sign over the factory for a rock bottom price. It puts Carla firmly in the frame, along with partner Peter, colleague Michelle and Sally’s ex-husband Kevin.

As the police start digging an arrest is finally made – but have they got the right person or has the real killer got away with murder?

Here the actors who play the five suspects talk about their characters’ motives and whether they could be capable of murder:

Sally Dynevor on Sally Webster: “Sally’s got lots of reasons to want to do something very bad to Frank, as have all the factory staff as he was plotting for them all to lose their jobs. But there’s a particular motive for Sally because of the way he betrayed her on a personal level and the way she was prepared to betray her friends for him.”

Chris Gascoyne on Peter Barlow:  “On a scale of 1 to 10 Peter hates Frank 11, for what he’s done to Carla and the fact that he’s still trying to ruin both their lives. When he double crosses Carla at the factory that’s just another reason for Peter to really hate him. He wants him dead.”

Michael Le Vell on Kevin Webster: “He claims not to have gone anywhere near Frank before he was killed but there’s a twist which makes him a suspect. It throws Kevin Webster right in the frame and the police come calling. It leaves even Sally wondering if Kevin was Frank’s killer.”

Alison King on Carla Connor:  “Carla hates Frank with all of her being, she can’t stand being in the same room as him, he makes her feel sick. He’s winding her up as well, talking about giving her a lift home and pointing out that he’s not got any bail restrictions anymore. She just wants him out of her life, she can’t stand him and she’d do whatever it takes to get rid of him.”

Kym Marsh on Michelle Connor: “Michelle’s always been a very moral person. Having said that her big thing is family and she’s very protective of the Connor clan, Frank destroyed Carla so maybe Michelle decided to dish out some justice of her own. Michelle’s definitely involved in the mix somewhere but whether she’s capable of killing Frank you’ll have to wait and see, I think she could be!”

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The ghost of Anne Foster

Hmm. We just met Frank Foster's mother on Corrie this week in Canada. If you will think back to the night Frank made a play for Maria on the day she started work at the factory, he told her, while they are making dinner in his kitchen, that his mother never approved of anything he ever did but is dead now. He didn't seem to be lying, no shifty looks. I wonder if Anne Foster is a rewrite of history, yet again?

I wouldn't put it past them. The powers that be have previous.