Top 3 Best Actors in Coronation Street

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


We've asked before on the Coronation Street Blog for fans to name their favourite characters. But who are your favourite ACTORS? Which of the cast do you think can act their socks off and leave the others standing.

All we want to know is who you would choose, if pressed to name the three actors in the cast who you feel are the best at their game.

For me, it would be the three in the picture above.

Tina O'Brien as Sarah Platt never fails to impress me with her timing and emotion. She's always believable.

David Neilson as Roy Cropper, well, he's just sublime. Always has been, always will be.

And Richard Hawley, as Johnny Connor, is very believable too. With some of the cast you get the feeling that they're acting, they're saying the lines, going through the motions. I never get that from Richard Hawley and fully believe in what he's doing with the character of Johnny.

I have many more favourites, of course, but it's a good exercise to focus the mind and pick your top three.  Who would you choose?

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Coronation Street salaries revealed - who gets paid the most?

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog April 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Tabloid reports this week are saying that salaries of Coronation Street cast members have been revealed. I'm wondering if this is actually true and if it is, how this leak has happened. Is it just me or does anyone else find that a rather more interesting story than who's earning what?


But, if you'd like to know who earns the most wages in Weatherfield, here we go:

The Sun say that William Roache (Ken Barlow), Barbara Knox (Rita Tanner) and Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt) all earn £200,000 a year.

Michael Le Vell (Kev Webster) they say, earns £170,000 with Kym Marsh (Michelle McDonald) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) earning £150,000 a year.

Helen Flanagan (Rosie Webster) is reported to be on £30,000 for her initial three months contract and then this was upped to £120,000 for a year.

And finally, Fat Brenda (Fat Brenda) is paid in a packet of 20 fags a day with a biscuit bonus every fortnight.
 

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Duttine connections on Coronation Street

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

While doing a spot of housekeeping on corrie.net the other day, I noticed a Coronation Street actor who had been in the show in 1977 with the surname of Duttine.  Duttine is also the surname of Joe Duttine, who plays Tim.

Via a tweet to Joe Duttine on twitter, I asked if he was related to John Duttine, the actor from 1977. Joe has replied this morning to say yes, they are related.  John Duttine played the character of Alec Barker,  just for three days in January 1977.  Alec Baker was an Interior Designer employed by Mike Baldwin to convert Sylvia's Separates in The Western Front. He was actually an electrician from Wigan. 

Corrie fan Frans Jansen in Holland kindly sent us a screen-grab of the character from 1977.

I just thought the Duttine link was nice enough to mention on a blog post.

John Duttine became a famous actor and you can check out his IMBD profile here.



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Where have you seen the Corrie clairvoyant before?

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog October 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

If you're wondering where you've seen the Blackpool Corrie clairvoyant who told Hayley's fortune in Coronation Street tonight, then wonder no more.

She was played by actress Alice Barry, well-known for playing Lilian in Shameless.  She's also been in Coronation Street before - in another fortune-telling storyline.  Back in 2002, Alice Barry played a character who had her fortune told by Fiz Brown when she pinched Gypsy Peggy Jones' booth in Blackpool.



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Coronation Street actors who return as different characters

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

No one can yet beat Dave Dutton's claim to Coronation Street fame, as the man who's acted 11 different roles on the cobbles. 

Read all about him here.

But there's a good article on The Radio Times by journalist and Corrie fan David Brown, who writes about Weathefield rovers who return. 

This was no doubt prompted by an article in this week's Sun which used twitter comments saying fans were angry that actor Joe Duttine had returned to Corrie as one character when we'd already seen him play another. Well, if you follow us and read us regularly, you'd have found that out some weeks ago. 

Anyway, back to the Radio Times where they mention some of the actors who have turned up in Corrie more than once in different roles, but none of them beat Dave Dutton!

Have a look at some of the pics here, it's good.



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Can you spot the mystery Corrie actor?

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

Can you spot this Coronation Street actress who first turned up in Corrie as a midwife back in 2006 when Sunita gave birth to twins Asha and Aadi?

She now plays a character who is in complete contrast to a caring, professional midwife! 

You can watch her in action on YouTube here.


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Charlie Condou concussed after on-screen Corrie fight

Tensions rise between Jason and Marcus next week after Maria breaks up with Jason and he discovers the reason he's been dumped is because Maria's got feelings for Marcus.

And in typical Jason style, he deals with the situation in the only way he knows how. He sits down with Marcus, opens up to him about his feelings and has a man-to-man heart-to-heart. Or he belts ten bells out of him, yes, that's it. Sorry, I got confused there.

Over at Digital Spy, they report a story from this week's TV Times saying Jason has a huge fight with Marcus.  So big in fact, that actor Charlie Condou, who plays Marcus, was left a bit battered and bruised.

Ryan Thomas, who plays Jason, told TV Times about Jason's fight with Marcus: "He does more than punch, he goes a bit wild! It's funny because in the script it was just supposed to be a punch across the table, but then a fight co-ordinator came over and said, 'I want you to punch him across the table, drag him against the bar, slam him into the bar, he then drops to the floor, then you kick him, pick him up and smash his head on the bar'. So it was a big fight!

"I actually kicked Charlie in the head - I didn't mean to, I love him very much, but in the moment it was just one of those things that happened."

And Charlie added: "I was slightly concussed! I had to go off set for 20 minutes. Ryan was mortified - he kept phoning me the next day to check I was alright.  It's always difficult when you do those things but because Ryan and I are close friends, it makes it even harder. Although I think maybe he enjoyed it!"

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Street Stars in our Eyes

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2012.)

Admittedly, I do not live a celebrity lifestyle. Not for me a designer mansion in Cheshire and a gallon of Premier Cru Bordeaux. However, another area of my life has brought me into contact with some of the great and not so great stars of TV. Oh yes - I've shared a cuppa and a chat with the likes of Noel Edmonds, Gloria Hunniford and Matthew Kelly. Names that will nothing to those of you peering at this page from Canadian shores. However, despite my love for Corrie and the irreverent ramblings I contribute here, I have never met anyone from the Street.

There. I've said it. My sadness is shared with the world. Many years ago Simon Gregson waved to me. I once shared a departure lounge area at Manchester Airport with Sean Wilson (Martin Platt). Kym Marsh glared at me in London. That is as close as I've ever come to even whispering to a Corrie star.

Yet those around me seem to be bursting at the seams with Corrie-related experiences. A friend once served a cast member in an . . . "adult" shop in London, desperately trying not to exclaim "Oh! It's you!" Another mate, sharing an all-male household, was staggered to bump into a cast member emerging from the bathroom one morning. My younger sister once strolled up to an ice cream van on an housing estate only to discover that Pat Phoenix was dishing up the 99s! Most galling of all though was the admission of a friend, someone I'd known for over a decade, that he was related to one member of the cast but that the family had nothing to do with her because they all thought she was 'stuck up'.

Another good friend met Sue Nicholls on a train, had a lovely time chatting with her and then regaled me with the tale at some length.

In all honesty though, I've never actually gone looking for the great and good of Weatherfield so I'm hardly likely to bump into one of them in Waitrose. What about you? Have you rubbed shoulders with Rita or Bet? Did you once have a coffee with Curly? Were you bowled over by a chance encounter with Gina Seddon or Harry Flagg?

Whoever you met - I'm envious!

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Pics: Corrie cast have wheely good fun

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog September 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)
Paparazzi pictures appeared this week of some members of the Coronation Street cast having a wheely good time in between takes jusst off the Corrie set.

Below are - left to right - Alan Hasall (Tyrone Dobbs), Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), Chris Fountain (Tommy Duckworth), Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and Charlie Condou (Marcus Dent) all having a go on the new toy. It looks like a skateboard with oversized wheels. Does anyone know what it actually is?

And then it was the turn of Sally Dynevor (Sally Webster) to take to the wheels, and as you can see she needed a bit of help from her Corrie co-stars.

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Michelle Collins takes Corrie advice from her psychic

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

Michelle Collins, who plays Coronation Street's Stella Price, says that it was down to her psychic and her spiritual life coach who gave her the strength to carrry on in Corrie.  

Yes that's right, she's got a psychic called Cara and a spiritual life coach called Simon.

According to the Mirror, Michelle she told Spirit & Destiny magazine in an interview: 'I was nervous to be joining Corrie, but consulted a dialect coach to get the accent right. So when I was slated, I seriously considered walking away. But Cara and Simon gave me the confidence to stay, to defy my critics and prove myself.'

Explaining her aura is 'shiny and bright', Michelle says in the interview that she has regressed to her former life as a young girl living in Victorian London on two occasions.

Also this week it was reported that Michelle was involved in a serious car crash after she crashed into a parked car at the end of a long journey last week. Michelle’s convertible was seriously damaged in the smash, although luckily she escaped unharmed.

Anyway, this Corrie fan still hasn't warmed to St Ella of the Back Room, for  it is she who has ruined my viewing enjoyment. My opinion is that St Ella still doesn't fit, she grates and her accent, whatever ITV might say about it - is and always has been rubbish.

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Starting to love Kirsty and Natalie Gumede

Is Kristy a classic Corrie nutcase? Is she misunderstood?  Kirsty is now being portrayed as a controlling possessive woman who uses her power as a police officer to create havoc for Tina and she's isolating Tyrone from his mates. Not a good sign. But the more I watch, the more I enjoy watching Natalie Gumede playing Kirsty.

She's perfected the dagger shooting glares, the smug satisfaction of getting one over one others, but she also manages a little vulnerability once in awhile. I hope they don't make Kirsty into another of the classic nutters. I hope they build a few more layers into her character. Maybe I hope for too much in these days of sensationalism, but you never know. If the Powers that Be realize the fans like Natalie enough, they'll find a way to keep her.

Read more about my thoughts on Kirsty and Natalie here!




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No Corrie star in Halifax via the Downeast Streeters

Most years over the past decade, the Downeast Streeters, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have presented "An Evening With" featuring a Coronation Street actor. They partner with a promoter in Toronto who has invited the star to a British Isles exhibition. The following is a release from the Downeast Streeters regarding this year's show:

The DownEast Streeters regret to advise that we will not be hosting
"An Evening with ..." guest star event this year as our partner in
Toronto is not hosting his usual show. We are already looking into
long term plans to determine how we can continue with these guest
visits and are hopeful that we will be able to offer a show in 2013.
We appreciate your continued support and will keep you updated as soon
as we have any information.

That's too bad but we all hope that the show will come back to Halifax next year.

You can read about past events here. The next Corrie ping hosted by the Downeast Streeters is April 22. Please check the website for registration details.

Corrie Originals

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2011.)


I was looking up the character name of the recurring character of the detective who's been on Corrie recently in conjunction with the Stapewich mess that Fiz is in.  That's D.C. Redfern, if you're interested. Anyway, I was scrolling down the cast list on Imdb.com and the name of Dennis Tanner slid past my view. Tonight's Canadian episode sees the return of Dennis Tanner to Coronation Street.

Philip Lowrie plays Dennis and he is also the same actor that played Dennis when Corrie first started in 1960. In fact, he was in the very first episode along with current long standing record-breaking William Roache. Now, I know Mr. Lowrie isn't going to break any records as far as that goes, (Edited, actually he is now in the Guinness Book for longest gap between appearances as the same character, 43 years.) but isn't it cool that there are now two actors who originated their roles over 50 years ago on the very first episode who are on the current cast list playing the same characters?

There's a third actor, Eileen Derbyshire who has been playing her role for over 50 years as well. She first appeared as Miss Nugent on our screens in January, 1961. That's quite an achievement! In fact, if you watch episode 4 of Coronation Street, you will also spot a woman with Leonard Swindley (see photo right) and he distinctly refers to her as Miss Nugent though it's not the same actor, just a non-speaking extra. So you could argue the case of Miss Nugent being a character in the show even before Eileen Derbyshire played her as a speaking part.

I think that it's wonderful that the original actors have been available to revive old characters such as Dennis Tanner and, a year or so ago, Jed Stone. There aren't too many of them left alive from those early years or who are able to revive the part.

Jane Danson's Not "Mrs. Squarepants"

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

There's a nice interview with Jane Danson in the Mirror today. There's also a few photos of her modeling some fun outfits, too!

In the interview, she talks about having her husband stay home with the babies. It's part and parcel of them both being actors, really. She's the one who has the full time work at the moment so he's happy to stay home and raise the children. And being involved in a major storyline about infidelity has made her see that there are other sides to the situation. She never thought she'd forgive such a transgression but seeing Leanne fight to stay with Peter, having a child involved, makes her realize that there are sometimes circumstances where you would try to work things out.

She doesn't think Peter and Leanne will have a smooth road through marraige (what soap union ever does?)  but reckons now the former wild-child Leanne has finally grown up and settled down. She's been accused of being a "goody goody" herself by former co-star Vicky Entwhistle (Janice Battersby) but insists she's no "Mrs. Square Pants". She points out that she's got the responsibility of a family while Vicky still loves to party, something Jane doesn't get a lot of time to do these days, juggling work and home.

I've always liked Leanne and I hope she's going to stick around! Whatever happens between her and Peter, I hope she stays away from Nasty Nick!

Jennie McAlpine on being on-screen mum to baby Hope

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2011, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There's a wonderful interview with Jennie McAlpine, who plays Coronation Street's Fiz Stape, in the Daily Record today. Jennie talks about playing an on-screen mum to baby Hope in Corrie and reveals that John's going to confess all and have a breakdown. ( He didn't confess, but he did have the breakdown)

The paper calls John Stape, The Mr Bean of serial killers, which made me chuckle, as did this quote by Jennie about working with a baby on set. She says: "We are getting a real baby and I'm looking forward to it. People have told me not to work with a baby but I've worked with a massive dog for years and the baby will be nothing compared to that. Not that the dog's any trouble but trying to manoeuvre a six-foot-long, 17-stone Great Dane to do anything other than what it wants to do is quite difficult. So a baby will be easy-peasy."

Mikey North on Gary Windass' storyline (minor spoiler)

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in January 2011.)

You might not think that watching Gary cower and sweat in a panic while experiencing post traumatic stress is something that would inspire someone would you? But it has. Mikey North speaks to the Daily Record and says that he's had a man come up to him in the street and praise his storyline saying it inspired him to do something more with his life.

Mikey has done his research well, speaking to soldiers that have been through things like Gary has. He's been told that the flashbacks can occur any time and over a long period of time and are usually triggered by something. In Gary's case, it was the tram crash and carnage initially and, more recently, the idea of being confined in small spaces.

There's also a few spoilers about the upcoming spinoff on ITV2 on Monday night at 10:00 pm. The ITV.com short pieces about Gary's experiences in Afghanistan have proved so popular that they've filmed a 30 minute special called Gary's Army Diaries. We see Gary and Izzy moving in together and watching some of the video footage Gary shot while on duty with his best mate Quinny.

There's another interview with Mikey on the same subject through a link here. It should be very good and I, for one, will be watching it.

In Praise of Alan Halsall

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

One constant in the ever-changing world of Weatherfield at the moment, has been Alan Halsall's fab acting skills as Tyrone Dobbs.  Before the tram crash, before Molly ripped his heart out and told him she was leaving, before planting one on best mate Kevin and knocking him into Molly's grave, Tyrone had me in tears over the death of Jack Duckworth. 

I reckon Alan Halsall has long been under-rated an actor, almost as much as Tyrone has been overlooked as a character. Let's face it, Tyrone's not got the looks or the brains to be up there nominated for any Sexiest Motor Mechanic in a Soap awards, but by 'eck Alan Halsall does certainly deserve more recognition for the emotion, the heart, he puts into Tyrone Dobbs. Coping with having Jackie Dobbs as a mother, Jack Duckworth as a surrogate father, and now this baby business and falling out with his best mate Kev.

Tyrone's future on the Street is going to be one to watch. Will he cope without Molly? Will he take back baby Jack from Kevin? Will his mother come back?  And, well,  I don't know about you, but I couldn't be more excited about Tyrone and Sally getting together. (albeit mainly in Kevin's mind)

See also:
Is Tyrone the new Jack Duckworth?
Can I please adopt Tyrone Dobbs?
Tyrone Dobbs - from boy to man

Queens of Corrie at Buckingham Palace

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

Barbara Knox (Rita), Eileen Derbyshire (Emily) and Anne Reid (Valerie Barlow) were at Buckingham Palace last November being awarded their MBEs for services to drama.  Watch them on the MEN video.

Speaking after the Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, Barbara said: "It's very overwhelming quite honestly because it's something I've done all my life and loved and suddenly I've got an honour. I suppose we do give a service, so many millions love the programme, so there you are - it's still very surprising."

Asked whether the Queen is a fan of the soap, Barbara replied: "I'm rather led to believe she does watch when she has time and she has visited the Street so she does know about it."

Both actresses praised fellow cast members and the work of those behind the scenes from the director and writers to make-up artists for making the long-running series a success.

Barbara said: "They are a great team of actors and they are portraying marvellous people with great humour. We have marvellous storylines, very strong ones, and we have hit a nerve with the nation for almost 50 years and that's pretty special for a programme to do that. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, all these places adore the Street so we must be doing something right."

Find out more about the MBE awards to the Coronation Street actresses, here.

Fiz and John do Calgary

There's an interview with Jennie McAlpine and Graeme Hawley in the Canadian Calgary Herald today. Jennie and Graeme where there a couple of months ago for the Banff World Media Festival. Corrie was up for an award for a Best Soap Opera but lost to a Spanish soap. They were interviewed for  the newspaper.

For Canadian Fans, we are currently 10 months behind the UK shows, there is a minor spoiler about Stape's future but nothing really is given away. Graeme talks about John Stape and describes him as a good man, really. He describes John as mulit-faceted and "he was the bad guy but he kind of wasn't the bad guy,". He also says that in spite of the sensational storylines that are not going away, Corrie still manages to "maintain what is essentially the (core) of the show: this slice of kitchen-sink life."

Don't forget, Canadian Fans, CBC is going to start showing 1 hour of Corrie every week night starting Monday, September 5 and airing a Sunday repeat from 7:30 a.m. onward. It's a lot to keep up on but these first two weeks of September lead up to the Tram Crash on September 15.

Norris Cole, Hearthrob?

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

There's an interview in the Mirror today with Malcom Hebden who plays Norris Cole. You wouldn't think he would cause too many hearts to flutter but apparently he received a letter once from a man requesting a topless photo of him! Malcom also says that for some reason, children seem to be quite fond of Norris. That's a bit baffling since Norris is usually vile to children in the Kabin and has very little time for them.

Malcom came to acting a bit later in life but has directed a lot of theatre as well. He appeared on Coronation Street in the 1980s as a Spaniard who lusted after Mavis Riley and Norris Cole, the character, was created as a pal for Derek Wilton in the 1990s. When Derek died in 1997, Norris left the Street but was brought back in 1999. He's been part of the fixtures and fittings in the Kabin ever since. Now that the Kabin is about to be wrecked under the tram, Malcom does not know whether Norris survives or not and he's not too keen to find out. Apparently, you can go ask the producer who will tell you but he hasn't done that. Time will tell whether Norris emerges from the wreckage but if the crash happens at night, which I suspect since they are doing much of the filming at night, then chances are good that Norris won't be on the property since he lives at Number 3. Who else is going is still up for speculation.