The return of Weatherfield County FC

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

Was I the only Coronation Street fan cheering on Friday night when the Weatherfield County football top made its re-appearance?  We haven't seen one for years! 

Tim wore his Weatherfield County footy top to Hayley's funeral as his "splash of colour".  Or was it Kev's shirt he found in the back of Sally's wardrobe?

Weatherfield County FC is Weatherfield's principal football team, referred to as playing in the Nationwide Conference in the English non-league. The team has appeared in Coronation Street scripts since 1961 when David Barlow was a player.

Cockney bookie and Weatherfield bad lad Dave Smith owned the football club in the 70s and he also had a bit of a thing for Blanche Hunt.  Ken Barlow's brother David used to play for the team in the 60s until he was injured and couldn't play any more.

Warren Baldwin was signed for the team in 2004. The picture above shows Sarah-Lou and Candice heading off to watch Warren play a match. Sarah-Lou is sporting the green and white Weatherfield County football hat. Warren's girlfriend Candice Stowe becoming the Street's first WAG before she swapped WAGs for wigs and went off on tour as a hairdresser to Status Quo.

Here's Warren with the Baldwin clan looking on at a Weatherfield County match in Corrie.

 And Warren's dad Danny sporting his Weatherfield County scarf.

In the 90s, Racquel Wolstenhulme went out with Weatherfield County press secretary Gordon Blinkhorn and then through him she met and started dating striker Wayne Farrell.

And in 2005 Martin Platt became the football club mascot, dressing up as a rooster. He got himself into a race against a rival team's mascot, dressed as a fox and they raced against each other. The fox pulled Martin’s tail feathers and he stumbled and fell, leaving the cheating fox to win the race.  However, once Martin found out who was in the fox fancy dress, a woman called Robyn, romance blossomed and he ran off to Liverpool to live with her.

See also: Here's Stan and Hilda Ogden ready for action in a football game against the Flying Horse. 
See also: Carlos Tevez learns English watching Coronation Street




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Would you shop in Weatherfield?

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog November 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

On the now fabled Coronation Street Blog Towers day trip to the land of the cobbles a few weeks ago, I pondered in front of the vacant shop that was once Elliot's butcher's emporium. Notice the word vacant. Aside from Kirk-eh and his turk-eh, the premises have remained unused and unloved since Ashley departed. Presumably, master criminal Clare is still the legal, in an illegal way, owner. Maybe that's why the shop has never re-opened.

It got me thinking though, as the snow swirled around. Here in the UK there has been a big push to rejuvenate the nation's high streets and get small shops back up and running again. It seems unlikely that Mary Portas is going to lend a hand, so I had a wander around my locality and offer the following ideas to Weatherfield Council.

Shoe repairs - horribly old-fashioned but important in cash-strapped Britain. Maybe Jason could retrain as a cobbler.

Chinese herbalist - this would probably mean bringing Graham Proctor's wife back. Yes, I've forgotten her name too . . . Or Becky. She was good with 'herbs'.

A computer software shop - OK, I don't predict many show-stopping storylines here. "There's worry for Audrey this week when her ink cartridge runs out".

Stationery printing - now this could be good! Nice, cottage-industry stuff, employing a few locals - maybe Gail as a manager, Chesney operating the equipment, Mary on sales . . . It might work.

An opticians - limited storylines again unless everyone suddenly developed serious eye strain on a weekly basis. Front of house would, of course, be Deirdre modelling the latest style every day.

A funeral director - well, Archie might be a bit old for this game now but maybe Tommy Duckworth could be trained up. He usually looks glum anyway and would be a dab hand fixing a dodgy hearse. Dealing with the business end of things, Tracy of course. She's good with flowers and knows a thing or two about death.

Maybe a 'no' though to charity shops - remember Emily ran one years ago with a frightening old biddy called Ruby? Hardware stockists are probably a bad idea too. Sally Webster, three watering cans and a wheelbarrow does not a business make.

What should occupy the Elliot shop then? Is there a glaring omission in Corrie's mercantile world? What shopping experience do the good folk of Weatherfield need?



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The Real Weatherfield

(This post was originally posted by Rebecca on the Coronation Street Blog in January 2013.)

As you'll have seen from other posts - Behind the scenes at Coronation Street, It was a cold, chilly day in Weatherfield and Coronation Street Blog staff outing, we had a staff outing to Coronation Street on Friday and I for one had an excellent day. I have been before, aged about nine, when they ran the Granada studio tours. In fact if I can find the photos of me standing in the Rovers I'll share it.

I wanted to share some photos of our vist last week, this one in particular:

I looked and looked, but I couldn't see Fat Brenda. Maybe she only works the night shifts?

In the afternoon we went on a locations tour and it was excellent. Mark Llewellin's commentary was great, funny and insightful. We went into Salford and saw terraces very much like Coronation Street. I snapped some photos.

Photos taken out of a bus window!

I don't know if they have rows of terraces like this elsewhere in the country, but you see them in Northern cities. Where I work in Leeds, it is full of them. They're fascinating because they're all different - each terrace and each individual house. Can't you just imagine Jack and Vera's yellow and blue cladding sitting halfway down one of these streets? 

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It's a small, small (Weatherfield) world

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

As a stalwart fan of everything Corrie, I can roll with some of the punches dealt out by the soap. I have a coping mechanism which allows me to deal with dull characters, unconvincing accents and tedious plot devices. But enough of Tracy Barlow. However, what really has me lobbing my hot pot against the cludgy wall is the physical space on't Street. Or lack thereof.

I have a fear that I may have already droned on and on (and on) about Peter Barlow's flat. A more nastier living space you could not imagine. Most visitors seem to edge through the door sideways before having to come to terms with that grotty little dining table. I say 'table' when what I actually mean is 'dinner plate on sticks'. The 'kitchenette for one' is also pretty rank but, I suppose, large enough to accomodate a rack of red wine and a goldfish bowl sized glass.

The Alahan's home is also a shocker. It's almost as though Dev & Sunita went mad in Harveys and decided to cram as much dowdy furniture into as small a space as possible. What with Sunita's baps and Dev's growing girth, it can only be a matter of time before one of the twins is found crushed.

The Rovers, as we all know, existed in some kind of architectual parallel universe for several decades. Annie Walker lorded it over two bars, a function room, a splendid ballroom, a small ampitheatre and a circus big top. Meanwhile customers were expected to crash through a solid brick wall and urinate in Albert Tatlock's kitchen. No wonder he looked so grumpy.

Last week we were party to several scenes involving Sally and the pram. She wheeled the devil's spawn (sorry but that child looks menacing) into the Kabin and managed to fill the entire shop. For a few minutes the place was half Rita-half pram. This though was not enough for the child-loathing Mrs Webster. She crashed over the cobbles in search of somewhere even smaller. Sally battered her way into Roy's Rolls with the offending buggy and jammed herself into a corner with mother of the year Fiz. There was no sign of Sylvia and I can only imagine that the old dear was pinned up against a table somehwere or was splattered under the wheels of Sally's Mothercare/Sherman tank hybrid.

It's all a bit mad. What with all of this plus the ever-expanding upstairs at the Rovers together with the world's smallest bistro (watch with glee as Wooden Spoon in a Wig Eva stumbles into tables with a plate of liver-au-poivre), I'm starting to realise that Weatherfield is unlikely to ever feature on "Location Location".


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Why Weatherfield is its own town

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

Following on from Scott's blog post earlier on about Salford being mentioned in the show. The writer of last night's Corrie, Jonathan Harvey, commented on the claims, he stated that Weatherfield was a district of Salford.


Being a Corrie obsessive I couldn't help but be slightly puzzled by this, since Weatherfield seems a fully independent town in itself. Over on my Weatherfield Recorder blog I put up several examples of this. Though I do think Jonathan knows his Corrie stuff, and I think we've probably got the wrong end of the stick. I have read that certain towns, such as Swinton are part of Salford and Greater Manchester, this is most likely where all the confusion is coming from, Salford itself is a city next to Manchester.

Photo of "Weatherfield's crown court"

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The S-Word

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


Something weird happened in last night's Corrie.  They mentioned Salford.  Twice.


First Roy said his cafe was on an "ordinary Salford backstreet".  Then Jason said he was just "a Salford boy".



The odd part of all this is that Weatherfield has always presumed to be Salford; in the fictional world of Coronation Street, the city across the Irwell doesn't exist.  Tony Warren based Weatherfield on Salford in the first place so we've always worked on the assumption that it's not there in Corrie world, in the same way that Metropolis or Gotham City are basically New York.  Weatherfield = Salford.



Roy and Jason's statements throw up a load of questions.  Does this mean Weatherfield is just part of Salford?  Has it always been this way?  What about Weatherfield's mayor, Alf Roberts, or Councillor Dierdre Barlow?  Who did they represent?  Does this mean that the Lowry is now under Weatherfield's jurisdiction, so Audrey can nip to the ballet when she gets a spare minute?  Does this mean that Greater Manchester is even bigger than we previously thought, because Salford and Weatherfield are both in there somewhere?  Is there some kind of demilitarized zone, like the one between the two Koreas, where neither side has responsibility?



I think we should be told.

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Has Weatherfield changed much since the tram crash?

It was one of the doom-laden phrases being flung around this time last year. After the tram crash had brought carnage to the cobbles, life would never be the same again. With this is mind, we all sat glued to the trauma of Tram Week and the aftermath. What has been the lasting impact though, if any?

Almost twelve months on and the most palpable sign that all is not right comes in the form of the simmering tension between Kevin and Tyrone. The latter has passed through a range of emotions in the past year - shock, hurt, anger and maybe even a little guilt. What we have been left with though is, arguably, a much improved Tyrone. He's free of a mundane marriage and a feckless wife. There's an element of fun in his life thanks to a sassy new girlfriend and the inanity of housemate Tommy Duckworth.

 Sally Webster gained some sympathy in the immediate aftershock of last December's revelations. As usual though, she lumbers from one disaster to another whether it be hooking up with a boyfriend who looks like a Punch & Judy puppet or deciding that working with a rapist is a positive career move. Thankfully though, the storyliners seem to have resisted the obvious path of teaming her up with dreary old Kev again.

Personally, I don't think the characters who left are particularly missed. Charlotte Hoyle was only ever a demented pantomime character and so, no love lost there. Poor old Molly's character had been ripped apart by less than believable (or sympathetic) storylines so her story was over anyway. This is probably true of Ashley Peacock but more so of the dreadful Claire, another who suffered at the hands of bizarre plot twists. Even her exit was based on some ridiculous criminal act. Off to France she went, a fugitive, yet still managed to sell her house to Lloyd. Someone should tell Interpol.

We were promised new characters and in fine soap style, some have worked (Brian Packham, Kirsty Policewoman), some are so-so (Stella Cindy from EastEnders, Tommy Duckworth) and some who really don't seem to have gelled at all (the robotic doctor, anyone with the surname Gray). Is Weatherfield a much-changed place since this time in 2010?

Desperate Housewives - Weatherfield Style

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


Earlier this year, it was announced one of my favourite shows – Desperate Housewives – is coming to an end after eight brilliant years. With it coming back to UK screens for the final season in the near future, I thought I’d take a look at some of the similarities I’ve noticed between Wisteria Lane and our very own Coronation Street.


Gabrielle Solis and Tina McIntyre. Fun loving, loud and independent ladies, but with their fair share of daddy dramas.


Carlos Solis and Peter Barlow. Family men prone to flying off the handle, and a weakness when it comes to alcohol.


Karen McCluskey and Blanche Hunt. Always ready with a cutting comment to put down any of their neighbours who are foolish enough to cross them.


John Rowland and Jason Grimshaw. Topless at any opportunity, and keeping female eyes fixed firmly on the screen!


Bob & Lee and Sean & Marcus. The gay couples next door, both have had their share of baby blues.


Porter & Preston Scavo and Steve & Andy McDonald. Two sets of tearaway twins, doing their best to drive their mothers up the wall!

Take a look at the rest of our Weatherfield Style series:
Downton Abbey
The Sopranos
Mad Men
The Flintstones
Tales of the City

Did the tram crash change Corrie forever?

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog in November 2011.)

It was one of the doom-laden phrases being flung around this time last year. After the tram crash had brought carnage to the cobbles, life would never be the same again. With this is mind, we all sat glued to the trauma of Tram Week and the aftermath. What has been the lasting impact though, if any?

Almost twelve months on and the most palpable sign that all is not right comes in the form of the simmering tension between Kevin and Tyrone. The latter has passed through a range of emotions in the past year - shock, hurt, anger and maybe even a little guilt. What we have been left with though is, arguably, a much improved Tyrone. He's free of a mundane marriage and a feckless wife. There's an element of fun in his life thanks to a sassy new girlfriend and the inanity of housemate Tommy Duckworth.

Sally Webster gained some sympathy in the immediate aftershock of last December's revelations. As usual though, she lumbers from one disaster to another whether it be hooking up with a boyfriend who looks like a Punch & Judy puppet or deciding that working with a rapist is a positive career move. Thankfully though, the storyliners seem to have resisted the obvious path of teaming her up with dreary old Kev again.

Personally, I don't think the characters who left are particularly missed. Charlotte Hoyle was only ever a demented pantomime character and so, no love lost there. Poor old Molly's character had been ripped apart by less than believable (or sympathetic) storylines so her story was over anyway. This is probably true of Ashley Peacock but more so of the dreadful Claire, another who suffered at the hands of bizarre plot twists. Even her exit was based on some ridiculous criminal act. Off to France she went, a fugitive, yet still managed to sell her house to Lloyd. Someone should tell Interpol.

We were promised new characters and in fine soap style, some have worked (Brian Packham, Kirsty Policewoman), some are so-so (Stella Cindy from EastEnders, Tommy Duckworth) and some who really don't seem to have gelled at all (the robotic doctor, anyone with the surname Gray).

Is Weatherfield a much-changed place since this time in 2010?

We Love Weatherfield

Just because it's Friday and we love Coronation Street.