Coronation Street actresses together in stage play

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Wendi Peters, who played Cilla Battersby-Brown, along with Vicky Binns, who played Molly Dobbs in Coronation Street, have been cast in a new stage play in London.

The play is called Hatched ‘n’ Dispatched. It is set in 1959 and you are invited to a party. The Needham family have buried Uncle Arthur and christened Baby Clifford in a double booking at the church. As Dorothy-Mavis takes charge of preparations for the after-party, tensions erupt and toxic secrets threaten to destroy her family. But she is not a woman to let family love come between her and social respectability - whatever the cost.

The play opens on September 2nd. If you're in London, this play could just be right up your Street.

Full details here.



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Art appreciation on Coronation Street

(This post was originally posted on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

A guest blog post from Elk in Canada.
Would you like to be a guest blogger? Find out more here.

Has anyone noticed the surge in art appreciation lately on Coronation Street? Not just art appreciation, but actual art-making?

First the mysterious Banksi-like graffiti appeared on Sally's wall. Then we learned that it was part of budding artist Craig's oeuvre, followed by his touching commemoration of the Victoria Court fire victims.

 

Then we saw Cathy and Roy take in an art class at a museum in Manchester, in the course of which both characters made portraits of each other. They went home clutching their respective canvases, holding out the possibility that the products of their DIY fine art exercise might end up at some future date hanging on a wall in Roy's flat.  

Most recently, of course, we saw art and flirtation intertwined, as Craig encouraged Caitlyn to follow her dream of studying art history. She returned the compliment by drawing him in the likeness of Munch's Scream under a campsite shower head. This somewhat awkward and endearing romance  unfolded in the context of Craig's honest admission that he's averse to looking in mirrors or taking selfies. Therefore, trusting Caitlyn enough to reflect him back to himself in the form of a picture was great trust indeed and a sign that he is now strong enough to make himself vulnerable to another person.

Something is clearly happening and, if the trend continues, we should expect a public exhibition of art work by residents, perhaps revealing to us how they see themselves, their neighbours, and the community at large.

I find this development really interesting.  Although this development is not as earth-shaking as a tram crash, it had to be done. Otherwise, the characters risked living in a world too different from ours. At the same time, it's intriguing to ponder why this introduction of mainstream tech to the Street overlaps with a sudden focus on visual art. Well, for one thing, yes, it's an acknowledgement of how visual our culture has become. While the Street has always been plastered over with old posters and torn fliers, as décor they mostly seemed blurry and difficult to make out, a relic of crumbling businesses gone by, such as grunge bars and strip clubs. Now, by contrast, we've got Tracy Barlow standing in front of a glossy poster for the touring production of Wicked.

Another aspect to this is the recognition that visual images have a profound connection to subjectivity, in other words, they can serve as an outward representation of individual points-of-view.
We appreciate when Corrie writers demonstrate their lock on a character's way-of-being through dialogue, in the best instances shedding light on an individual's deep-seated reflexes, their idiosyncratic, even sly, observational powers, as well as sometimes exposing that character's blind spots.

It seems, in this new age of visual saturation, TPTB are exploring how to translate dialogue into pictures – for example, in this most recent storyline, not what Caitlyn would say, but what she would draw. This adds texture to how we learn about a character's inner self, but also what it shows us about how characters are created. To the stable of writers, Corrie has evidently added some visual artists whose responsibility it is to put into pictures how Cathy sees Roy, how Roy sees Cathy, or maybe how they fail to see each other. When the art classes begin at the Community Centre, I suspect we will have predictable outcomes, such as quirky, flamboyant pictures from Mary, art from Sinead in the same genre as her candles and beaded basques. But there might also be some surprises from characters whose inner artist we have not encountered.

As Corrie works to catch up with the influx of technology into everyday life, it would also be timely for the residents' forms of artistic self-expression to expand from drawing, painting, not to mention Deirdre's pottery, to more contemporary forms like video and music production. Amy Barlow, equipped with a digital camera, seems like a natural to shame her family with damning home videos. Faye has a bottled-up inner life that she has shared a bit with Craig, but I would love to see how she might document life on the Street if she acquired a camera from a helpful teacher at school, or, for that matter, what visual prizes Tim could dish up if, in addition to his sharp social literacy, he added a picture-taking hobby.

On the music side, although we have had storylines that included Lloyd dragging friends and family to live music events, as well as Ryan gigging as a DJ, there has been far too little use of musical talent among the cast. When Kim Marsh originally arrived, if I remember correctly, she sang in an audition for Vernon. Why has she not been given a showcase to sing since?  In the early days of the show, the community regularly staged musicals, pantos, talent nights, as well as attending Ena Sharples' singalongs, Rita's sets at the nightclub, and Ernie Bishop's stints as an accompanist. Those scenes allowed the actors to display their considerable musical chops. If TPTB want to hire pop stars to play characters in 2015, why not at least have the characters sing on the show? Craig Charles was quoted in an interview as saying that he was proud to have brought his personal passion for music to the character of Lloyd Mullaney, but shouldn't the skill set of the cast enable much more musical activity in general? Not just the occasional karaoke night in the Rovers? After all, you can find out as much about a character's subjectivity from what they sing as what they say or, indeed, what and how they draw.



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Coronation Street Blog Interview: Shayne Ward

(This post was originally posted by Emma Hynes on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2015.)

With new character Aidan Connor set to arrive on Coronation Street, I caught up with Shayne Ward at ITV in Manchester to hear all about his character, how he feels about joining the street and what we might expect from the arrival of another member of the Connor clan.

Shayne describes the opportunity as a dream come true for him and is particularly happy to be playing the part of a Mancunian-Irish character considering he is one himself. “Aidan was brought up on the same estate as all of the Connors, but myself and my father and that all moved over to Tenerife” he reveals. "Obviously with Carla and everything to do with the factory, she's having a few problems at the minute, so I receive a secret phone call to come back and see what's going on."

Shayne comes across as a genuinely cool customer. Witty, intelligent and passionate, he is clearly excited to be joining Corrie, but at the same time is a man who appears to take everything in his stride, and this combination of traits makes him an endearing person to be in the company of.

It helped that his colleagues on set made him feel relaxed “There was no pressure” he explains, “with the established characters, in my head I'm going, 'Bloody hell, there's Sally, there's Carla, there's Nick', but then they just come and speak to you and everything's really chilled. They say, 'Just take your time, enjoy it'."

Shane revealed that the circulation of his name in the media as a potential new cast member left both himself and his management scratching their heads at the not unwelcome rumour, even thinking there may have been a mix up with Sean Ward who plays Callum. "Then a couple of days later, I received an email saying they wanted to see me for a casting” he explains. “I thought, 'Oh God, okay!' So now they've got Sean Ward and Shayne Ward. It was absolutely crazy how it just came about, but thank God it did."

When asked what type of guy Aidan is, Shayne explains, “I'm a nice guy…he's got charisma, he's got the charm, but at the same time, if you cross a Connor, as a family unit they come together. We can take the mick out of each other and have a go at each other, but don't cross us.”

Shayne already knows Kym Marsh, and, aware of the stereotyping that can occur when a singer makes the transition into the acting world, sees her as an example of a success in this regard. “I know I will be [pigeon holed] as well” he explains, “but you know, I love the challenge and it just shows for Kym what an incredible job she's done to be here for 10 years now. Without a doubt, talent always shines through. She was always destined to be doing this as well, so fair play to her."

Having gone from the X Factor to star in Rock of Ages and War of the Worlds, in his own experience, he uses criticism or any doubts about his ability to his advantage “You're with established actors, but I can deal with it. It's one of those things, I use it as my strength to kind of go, 'Well do you know what, I'll prove you wrong'."

Shayne gave some fascinating insights into his experience of rising to fame from a talent show such as the X Factor, from getting used to someone saying his name who actually didn't know him to being recognised in public. Acknowledging the various effects on himself and his family, he remarks “I always say, complain when they don't come up to you, not when they do', you know? I think it's a blessing” he continues, “it just depends on whether you can deal with it or not. I think you've got to be prepared and I think it's also important to have a strong family or unit behind you of some sort, and honest people because there's too many people feeding an ego and that's what destroys people. They become bitter, they can't handle it, and I don't like to see that. It's a very harsh game and it can be very fickle, but it's how you deal with it, to be honest. But I love what I do and God, I wouldn't change it for the world."

Shayne has no objection to the inevitability that people will be calling him Aidan now. “It's quite funny when you hear certain stories, how people believe certain storylines that go on and sometimes shout abuse at [the actors] or 'How could you do this?!' Bloody hell, I can't wait for that!"

"It's been a while since you've had a Connor boy come in. If you think about it, they had Paul, they had Liam. I think it's about time they had fresh meat.”

And what of a potential love interest? "Probably Rita! I'm going to take her off Norris, because Norris is dying to get in there but he won't admit it! It's doing my head in! I'm like, 'Just say that you love her!'"

Extra brownie points go to Shayne on revealing, "I love Roy. He's just such a great character. I've not said hello to him yet. I reckon Ken and Roy have been two of my favourite characters."

Run-ins with other characters sound like a given, including Carla. I asked Shayne if Alya might be one of them considering her designs on Underworld. "I can't imagine myself falling out with her character, because she's lovely” he tells me.

Shayne shares a dressing room with Colson Smith (Craig) and Andrew Whyment (Kirk), would love to have had a scene with Bet Lynch, and wonders if the leopard print worn on the street to this day is an homage.

He credits his Irish family for bestowing him with his love of both acting and singing and could never say he’d be willing to give up either. Like his character, Shayne is business minded and clever with his money. He manages his own Twitter account, and acknowledges the power of social media to make or break a person.

Shayne sees himself and Corrie as "a match made in heaven. I love the fact that I'm Mancunian in a Mancunian show. It just couldn't be any better."

I can honestly say I would’ve chatted with Shayne for hours. I think he will be a great fit for the Connor family and I very much look forward to seeing him in action when Aidan arrives on our screens on the 21st of August.

By Emma Hynes
http://www.emmahynes.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @ELHynes



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Corrie Canada weekly awards for Aug. 31 - Sept. 4

Truth Hurts award: Tod overheard his mother compare her sons and say that Jason turned out to be the better man and son. It hurt. But I also think Todd knew the truth of it. Consequences and all that. Will this sort him out or will he just use it as yet another excuse against them all?

Knight in Shining Armour: Jason, even if he was struck down in battle.


Mountain Goat award: Sinead only dropped the crutches a couple of days ago and now she's hiking through the forest? Miracle!

Heartbreak award: Erica might be handling the Nick and Carla thing like a trooper, but she's hurting a lot more than she let on to him.

First Love award: Craig and Caitlyn under a tree!!!

Hero Worship award: Max is even dressing like a little thug with hanging down braces (suspenders?) and a baseball cap. But he also gets the Bubble Burst award after seeing what Callum did to Jason. Here's a question, do you think Jason actually saw Callum or was he already down before Callum added his boots to the equation? Then it's Max's word against Callum's again.

Lines of the week:
Carla "Some dreams fly. Some plummet"
Tyrone "We'll be five minutes away from the campsite. What could go wrong?" (what, indeed)
Chesney about Dougie "Either that or he'll turn into John Rambo and kill small boar with his bare hands" Kirk "Do you get wild boar in Wales?" Craig "No, you just get wale bored!" (Nice one!)
Sinead "A trip without snags is like a meal without salt" Starving Tyrone "You didn't even save us so much as a Hula Hoop!"
Craig "I hate my face! I don't look in mirrors. I don't take selfies. I shut my eyes when I go to the barbers." (aww!)
Craig "My mum reckons it's her job to be the Wind Beneath My Wings" Caitlyn "That's dead sweet" Craig "You haven't heard her sing"
Caitlyn about her father "He'll never understand what we have!" (typical teenage proclamation! Aren't Caitlyn and Craig sweet together!)
Alya to Sally "Maturity...that's another word for OLD isn't it?"
Carla to Sally "You're more than capable, you're just not insane enough"



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Sunday Comments September 6

Sarah did the right thing and Gail tells Sean what happened. The gossip will get around the street in no time now. His flat is going to get searched. Do you think Gemma can get there first and clear it out? They have to get all the legal paperwork first. Kylie is scared he can wriggle out of it. It's too good to be true, though. Max insists it was a toy gun but of course he wouldn't know the difference. Callum told him it was so he believes him. Callum got off as a result and Bethany got her crush popped harshly by him so she went to Jason for comfort. Jason would have been her stepdad once upon a time and I think he still feels fatherly towards her.

Callum isn't going to let this slide. Obviously, Gemma and Macca got rid of the gun and put a toy one in it's place. More threats but Jason was in his face. The problem is, Callum just isn't that scary.

Sarah and Bethany have made up, together in their heartbreak and fear over Callum. Of course Callum won't go to the cops with a video of Bethany delivering drugs, then she'd have to say who she was doing it for! And Jason is most definitely in Shining Knight mode. He pulled Callum out of the way and lifted him right off his feet! No wonder Callum got two others to do the dirty work. He wouldn't be able to fight his way out of a paper bag. He only got his kicks in when Jason was already down and Jason never had a chance, getting jumped before he knew what was happening.

Those thugs must have been very good at it, a few punches and a few kicks including a couple from Callum and look at the state of poor Jason!

Kylie and David are adamant. Max goes nowhere with Callum today. That's final. Naturally, Max sees Callum through the window and slips out the door to run after him. And naturally, Max saw the two men working Jason over, in addition to his father adding a few kicks. And the thing is, if Jason lives, it won't matter what Max saw. Jason can testify himself, that is, if he even saw Callum. did he?

Tony got pushed aside by the two thugs and at least he connected it later when he found out about Jason. Sarah found him and raised the alarm and he's off to the hospital. Meanwhile, Max has come home and is very quiet and glum. Sarah, Kylie and David are pretty sure Callum is probably behind the beating and reckon he'd have got someone else to do the dirty work and will come after them next. Callum is setting up an alibi with Gemma and he does seem a bit nervous about covering his tracks.

Max did see something because he binned all his toys, the ones Callum gave him, even his swanky phone. He's not forthcoming at the moment. Callum is still organizing his alibi and hoping to keep the police at bay. He came to see Max but Max was terrified of him. Uh oh. Callum certainly got a shock, didn't he! Max doesn't seem to be able to confide in his parents. Yet. Hearing more news about Jason gave Max the courage to admit he saw his father kicking Jason. Horrifying for a parent to hear that.

Jason was in quite a bad way. He's unconscious and it's unknown whether he'll recover at the moment. I'm glad to see Sean there, he's as much a brother, or more than Todd is but even so, Todd shouldn't have had to hear from the police. Sean was upset and was contemptuous of Todd, as well. Then Todd overheard his mother comparing he and his brother and how Jason turned out to be the better man of the two. She is right as far as recent events stand, but you could tell it hurt Todd. I think he knew the truth of it. I wonder if Todd will use this as yet another excuse to give his family a hard time or if it will make him realize, finally, the consequences of his actions over a petty scar.

Anyway, Jason isn't doing well, as I said, it sounds like he may need further surgery to relieve pressure on his brain after one surgery already for a blood clot. It's very scary and very worrying. At least, in the end, a second operation isn't necessary but he's in a coma and they don't know for how long. They do think he'll be ok but can't really say when. It's a soap, though, these things usually do end up ok. I'm hanging on to that thought. And now that Tony knows that he probably will make a recovery, his anger is starting to simmer up over his worry.

Oh, Billy's just turned up. We haven't seen him for awhile. Lovely little scene between he and Sean. Sean really does love Jason. I also really liked seeing Tony so vulnerable and regretful of leaving Jason when he was a kid, scared he's going to lose his son.

Alya managed to win over Mr. Hanlon in the end and he was even complimentary about her. I guess Alya won't have to get revenge on Carla like she was spouting there a few months ago after the fire. Owning the factory is victory enough.

Alya is excited about owning the factory and is sucking up hard with Granny and Grandad. She obviously didn't leave any voice messages when she was trying to get hold of them the other day because it was a few days later that she brought up the business proposition. I do think Alya's a tad young and inexperienced to run the factory but you never know, she might do ok. Carla promised to look over the proposal and Sally was appalled that Alya would even have the nerve to put in a proposal. Carla seems likely to accept Alya's offer over Sally's.

Erica is noticing that Nick is very warm and fuzzy towards Carla even if he makes out they're just mates. Nick doesn't think Carla should run away. Meanwhile, Erica's cozying up to Carla, the competition as it's becoming more clear. And she has cause to worry. Nick really, really doesn't want Carla to leave and ended up kissing her, (and more!) telling her the main thing wrong with Erica is that she's not Carla. A wonderful night doesn't seem to have put her off leaving, though, much to Nick's disappointment.

That's a new combination, Erica comforting Sarah, but I suppose she's Sarah's brother's girlfriend so it kind of makes a connection. I think Erica might be the one needing comfort soon. She's caught Nick making help calls to Michelle on Carla's behalf and if she's living with him, she knows he didn't come home last night. She can't deny it any longer and was very good about it all, even if she's hurting a lot more than she's letting on.

Anyway, Nick and Michelle's conniving has dragged another Connor relative out of the mist, Aidan and he's someone Carla knows since she grew up knowing the whole family it seems. He and Nick were up front about it at least. He's there to invest as a partner, not as a buyout. She's defensive and resentful. Can they talk her round? She made a beeline for Roy, the voice of reason. Roy can't tell her what to do and she probably knows that running away isn't the answer.

Carla made her decision. She summoned Sally and Alya as the two other interested parties, both of whom met Aidan but didn't know his connection other than an old friend. Aidan was circumspect until Carla arrived. I LOVED Sally and Alya bickering about their offers to buy Carla out, watched with amusement by Nick and Aidan. Carla turned them down, offered Sally her job back and they discovered Aidan's involvement as Carla's partner, an a new boss for them both! Flamming brilliant! Carla's going to move forward and at least talk about Aidan's offer. She's not so sure of her and Nick together. Nick is optimistic but Carla thinks they're probably doomed. Still. It's worth a try, she supposes. And Alya is back to being resentful of Carla. Revenge on, then?

So what do you think about Aidan? The actor is another UK celeb from the talent show X Factor which probably means he can sing. But can he act? He seemed a bit wooden but also, I think, a bit nervous. He didn't overdo it at least.

So we're off to the woods, or at least, a nice campsite in rural Wales. That Dougie does seem a bit over the top, doesn't he? He seems to love the attention and he certainly does seem a dab hand at this camping stuff. I think he's too good to be true. Meanwhile Fiz and Beth are bickering about who gets the first go in the little tent, the Love Tent and everything else with Sinead playing peacemaker. Kirk and Chesney are developing a man crush on Dougie but Tyrone seems to be nursing a bruise to his ego. I think Tyrone's right, he's up himself. Now he's luring them into going on a wilderness adventure.

The campers are not really happy, are they? Kirk messes up in his sleep causing more friction than ever between Fiz and Beth, Tyrone's ego is banging up against the UberCamper that is Dougie, and poor Chesney and Sinead are having to play peacemaker all the time. Craig is the only one having a good time now that there's a girl involved. Craig gets teased for meeting a girl in the woods, a real one not a wood nymph! Turns out she's Dougie's daughter! She didn't look too happy either but that was probably because of Craig. She made up later and they bonded over art. And Dougie is goading them into his adventure day which you knew was going to be a disaster. I wondered if his daughter had more than her fill of it too, she didn't even want to go. But probably, Craig was main part of the attraction of staying.

Kirk's attempts at a romantic walk for two didn't quite end up as he expected with Beth wanting to skinny dip in broad daylight. Only for all Kirk's fears of leeches and other disasters, it was Beth that got bitten on the bum by a wasp. I was sure the leaves Kirk gave her to soothe her would turn out to be poison ivy. Instead, they found a lonely monk-in-training in the woods who had first aid gear and directions out. He seemed to be a bit lonely didn't he? His former association with a gangland shooting kind of freaked them out though and they couldn't get away fast enough after that. It didn't seem like poison ivy but the next morning Beth was covered in hives. It was either the leaves or an allergic reaction to the cream the monk gave her.

Apparently they aren't really in the deep uninhabited wilds, though, they're only a short walk from a village with takeaways and shops. Even Sinead who seemed to be impressed by Dougie got tired of his know it all attitude after awhile, long after he'd really annoyed Tyrone and Chesney and made them feel inadequate. Tyrone found out about Sinead and Chesney's snack and went mad because he's starving. Dougie as a survival expert should have been able to cover the missing food but perhaps he was trying to make a point. He didn't seem too faint from hunger did he?

Back at the campsite, there's more concern by Fiz over Hope not feeling well. Off to the hospital they all went because Beth needed to see to her hives which did just turn out to be an allergy, not poison ivy. A nurse noticed Hope not looking well so she's being looked at also. Initial assessment says anaemia. We'll see.

Craig passed all his exams and he's still gazing at Caitlin from across the campsite with Fiz urging him to take the plunge and go talk to her some more. He did and it went well even if he had to sit for her to sketch his portrait which turned out to be a parody of The Scream (because she'd been teasing him about screaming in the shower earlier!) They had a lovely long talk in the woods, unaware that the rest of the camping group has sloped off to the hospital! These two are so sweet together but their timing couldn't be worse. Finally get up the nerve to kiss and Caitlyn's dad found them! Dougie, mate, your little girl is growing up! He's outnumbered when Craig's family all supported Craig. Dougie was taken down a peg or two and it seems like it will come out ok after all.

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Corrie from my point of view this week

(This post was originally posted on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Overall? Really good stuff on Coronation Street this week, I thought. The drama and violence of Jason's beating was contrasted with the happy campers and the romance was provided by Nick and Carla's burgeoning relationship.

The camping storyline was ok. It was a bit of fun but not a laugh a minute, either. Dougie was a great character, though. I really enjoyed him!! I could tell he was going to be taken down a peg or two by the end and was delighted it was at the hands of his daughter. It was clear she was getting fed up with his overbearing tactics. Fiz and Beth bickering all week did them no favours, I have to say, but Kirk and Beth on their own were great! The randomness of the monk in the woods was surreal but funny. Lastly, Craig and Caitlyn were really sweet. I loved her drawing of Craig as The Scream, complete with shower!

Jason jumped on his horse and rode into battle as the knight in shining armour. I'm sure he still feels rather fatherly towards Bethany and considers Sarah a friend even if their marriage ended in tatters very quickly. Jason wasn't afraid of Callum in the least and he paid dearly for it. The thugs were very, very good. It took a minute or so with a few extra kicks by Callum to render Jason completely unconcious and bleeding on the ground. You'd think it would take a bit longer but what do I know?

Max is the only witness and his reaction was good, too, rejecting his father. Callum was genuinely shocked, wasn't he? He'd spent the rest of the week covering his tracks and setting up alibis with Gemma and the idea that Max has, without any reason he thinks, suddenly rejected him and is scared of him, drew him up short. If, or when he finds out Max saw what happened, he's going to have to do a lot of fancy footwork to finesse this one. It might be easy to convince a kid that the gun was not real (in spite of the fact that Sarah saw him take out the bullets and give them to Gemma, so why did the police believe Max and not her?) but it will be harder to convince Max he didn't see what he saw or explain it away. 

We had one scene with Billy and Sean which was nice. I want more Billy! I really liked how they've shown that Sean is as much a part of the Grimshaw family as Eileen's two sons. I thought the scenes with Todd were bittersweet. Nobody thought to let him know what happened though I did think it was odd he didn't find out earlier. The ambulance was practically right outside the shop in broad daylight. If Todd wasn't working then Tracy would have seen the commotion to tell him. She wouldn't have stayed inside while it was all going on so she would have discovered what happened.

Then Todd overheard his mother comparing him to Jason and coming out the lesser man and brother and it looked like he knew the truth of it. Now, will he use this to pull himself together or will he use it as yet another excuse to hold a grudge against his family? Time will tell but I hope this might be Todd's turning point.

Loved, absolutely LOVED Sally and Alya bickering over the factory this week which ended with Aidan shocking them by telling them he may end up being their boss if he goes into partnership with Carla. I don't think Carla had any intention of selling to Sally only because she doesn't like her and I don't think Alya would have been able to run the factory on her own, either, so it was inevitable that someone else enter the picture. Shane Ward as Aidan was ok, not too wooden, but seemed to be nervous because he rushed his lines a lot. Didn't go over the top though, so that's good. I think he'll settle into the role nicely once he relaxes.

Carla looked for comfort in Nick's arms but doesn't really want to be involved. She figures she's going to ruin things and break his heart eventually. She probably will, too because that's what she does. Nick is willing to take the chance. Erica handled it all quite well. I think she could see it coming. She'd already been spending time with Carla this week, drinking and eating chips and I think she was assessing the competition. After Nick didn't come home and she found him plotting with Michelle by phone to help Carla, she couldn't deny it any longer. She's hurting more than she's letting on to him, though. I liked that she went to Roy as the voice of reason and I liked that Roy gave her a balanced and unbiased view. She knows running away isn't the answer.

I don't know if Nick and Carla have the same kind of chemistry that it takes to go the distance. Carla and Peter had it but then again, they crashed and burned. Maybe Carla needs someone more stable, like Nick. Maybe Nick is getting used to having Peter's castoffs. He certainly seems to be attracted to women with baggage and troubles.

Those are my thoughts on this week's program. Some really good stuff, nice little scenes. I can see the Callum/Platt storyline building more and more and I expect it will be wrapped up in ITV's upcoming  live episode (which we will likely see in Canada in October) one way or another. Now that it's moving along faster, it's a bit easier to watch but I'll be glad when it's over, too. The car crash that is Carla's life is ongoing and I'm starting to want this to find it's turning point. Soon, please. I'm not looking forward to Hope's illness. I think involving children in stories like that is just too heart wrenchingly sad even if, as is usual in soaps, it has a happy ending. I really don't think they'll have Hope die like they did Hayley.




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Conversation Street podcast 163

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

This week on Coronation Street it's Corrie On Camping, adventures in deepest, darkest Wales. Hilarity ensues and Craig finds love! Carla and Nick get close and Nick engineers a plan to keep Carla around. With Roy's voice of reason, it might just work. Callum takes revenge on Jason who is left for dead and it's witnessed by Max who's gone right off his dad now.  Classic character profile is Janice Battersby.




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Corrie set demolition plans submitted to Manchester council

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

The Manchester Evening News reports today that an official application to demolish the old Coronation Street set has been submitted by developers.

Despite the public campaign to save the old set, I think we all knew it was never going to last. When developers, property and money are involved, nothing seems to stand in the way of the bulldozer.

The MEN says that "Allied London - who now own the former Granada Studios site on Quay Street - have applied for council permission to knock down stages and the set itself.

In the formal plans submitted to Manchester council, it asks permission for the ‘demolition of existing buildings and structures including Stage 1, Coronation Street set and Lot, The Stables and Stage 2 Extension’.

The current tour is set to last until the end of the year when it has been agreed ITV will return the site to the developers.

It’s unclear if any of the elements of the set - such as the Rovers Return - will be saved for ‘legacy’ use as part of the planned St John’s development.

A report released earlier this year by the council, suggested some ‘Allied London will consider what if any of the Coronation Street set could be incorporated into the future masterplan within their legal agreement with ITV and the architectural and land use strategy for any new development’.

The developers will then build nine blocks which will be used for shops, offices and apartments."

What concerns me most about the knocking down of the old set, is that nothing has been offered to fans as yet. I know I'd love an original cobble, for instance. I'd especially love Maxine's Bench, but that's another story!

Let's hope the old set won't all end up in a skip and dumped - and that the developers reach out to fans to allow them to take, or buy, a little bit of Corrie history as their own.




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Sally Dynevor reveals her home life secrets

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

The Express today has a lovely little Q&A with Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Webster in Coronation Street. 
  
She reveals some home truths about her real-life, including who her best friend is, her first kiss, what her nickname is, what she likes doing on a Friday night at home, all that kind of thing.

She says the bravest thing she's ever done is to jump out of an aeroplane for charity.

She also says this: "I could pass any law I would...save the Independent Living Fund, which helps disabled people to live on their own. It’s just about to be cut.

"Cherylee Houston who plays Izzy in Coronation Street has been campaigning about it on Twitter." Find out more about that here.

It's a lovely little read and it's here.



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Corrire Canada sneak previews Sept. 7 - 11

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

Aidan starts work in the factory but Carla is still spending time at the casino. Max reports what he saw. Callum blackmails Bethany into changing her story. Hope may have a serious illness. Liz and Lloyd reconnect but Andrea is still in the picture. Cathy gets ready to teach an art lesson.


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



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A quickie with Jonathan Harvey

(This post was originally posted by Little Vienna on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Jonathan Harvey - prolific and terrific!

Us diehard Coronation Street fans know we’re in for a treat when certain names appear at the beginning of an episode. When it says 'Written By' ... Julie Jones, Damon Rochefort or, of course, Jonathan Harvey, you can sit back and relax knowing the next half an hour is going to be an absolute belter!

It was with this weight of expectation that I began reading Jonathan Harvey’s new book, ‘The Secrets We Keep’, and I have to say, it didn’t disappoint. It’s funny and sad with twists and turns that keep you totally engrossed until the very end. It's about how 'doing the right thing' is open to interpretation and how history repeats itself from generation to generation. That's what I think anyway!

I caught up for a quick chat with the award-winning writer and all-round lovely fella to ask a few questions about his new book.

LV: Congratulations on the book.

JH: Thank you very much.

LV: Each chapter is written in one of four distinctive voices; which character did you enjoying writing the most?

JH: I enjoyed writing all of them. As I’d get to the end of one chapter I’d think, oh great, I’ve Cally to get to next, or Owen … kind of like … a multifaceted personality (laughs). Once I got into Danny’s story, the bloke who’s gone missing, I really enjoyed writing that, but, to be honest with you, it was nice to then come back to the other people. It’s just like writing a play I suppose; you’ve got more than one character and you don’t really have a favourite. So no, I enjoyed all of them I suppose.

LV: It’s very dark, Danny’s journey, isn’t it?

JH: It’s very dark, yes.

LV: In the acknowledgements at the beginning of the book you said Kathy Burke was encouraging you to go darker and deeper. Was that in respect to Danny and his story or was it just in general?

JH: Just in general really – she wasn’t guiding me somewhere. I suppose my first novel was more comedic than the rest of them, probably, but it was just about having the confidence to tell a story and not think you’ve got to make jokes all the time – it’s more about that really.

LV: What’s been your proudest achievement as a writer?

JH: I suppose my happiest memory would probably be at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996 when Beautiful Thing was in competition and having a free suit from Paul Smith and walking up the red carpet feeling a bit glamorous. It’s the things like that I remember. It’s more of a joyous thing when you’re with a load of other people.

LV: Beautiful Thing has really endured hasn’t it? Why do you think it still resonates with people so much?

JH: Oh I don’t know. I’m not very good at judging all that. People related to something in it. Even if you’re not gay – it was like, you know, first sharing a bed with someone you fancy and all that so … it’s hard to say. I’m not good at judging my own work so the fact that it still resonates amazes me … So I’m not really the best person to ask!

LV: Have you got another novel in the pipeline yet?

JH: I’ve got about two thirds of the way through my next one, yes.

LV: Oh my god! You’re quite prolific really aren’t you?

JH: …Yes! (Laughs)

LV: Are you always going to be doing Corrie or is writing novels something you want to do full-time?

JH: My ideal world would be just writing my novels and writing Coronation Street – they’re my two favourites.

LV: And are you doing something with Tracy Ullman?

JH: Yes. I’m doing the new Tracy Ullman show.

LV: Excellent! I saw Kathy Burke tweeting about it – she let the cat of the bag but I didn’t know if it was general knowledge yet.

JH: I can’t say what I’m actually doing but yes, I’ll be writing a few characters for her.

LV: That’ll be something to look forward to. So what advice have you got for aspiring writers?

JH: Write! That’s the only advice you can give. If you want to write, find the time. Look at Sue Townsend, who wrote Adrian Mole when she had a million kids and a full time job. She stayed up till three in the morning every night writing Adrian Mole. If you want to write, just put the hours in and write - that would be my advice.

LV: My last question is, will we ever see Fat Brenda or do you want her to remain an enigma?

JH: (Laughs) I don’t think we’re allowed to say she’s fat any more.

LV: I noticed that actually, the last reference to her was just Brenda!

JH: Even though I created her I’m not allowed to mention her. (Laughs)

And with that, Mr Harvey was away to write six novels, two award-winning plays, two episodes of Coronation Street and a comedy… all before lunchtime! It makes you sick really doesn’t it - he'd be easier to dislike if he wasn't so damn nice.

‘The Secrets We Keep’ is out now on PanMacmillan. You can even meet him in person when he does a book signing and Q&A session at Waterstones in Liverpool on the 27th August. Details here

Follow me on Twitter here @LittleVienna 

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Corrie features in ITV's 60th anniversary programmes

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

As part of ITV's 60th anniversary programmes during September, there'll be a Coronation Street live episode. This will be followed by Coronation Street Live: Uncovered on ITV2.

Two more Corrie connections will be explored in the anniversary programmes.

You Saw Them Here First will air on Wednesday 2 September at 8pm on ITV.  It's a trip down memory lane where telly legends get to watch old clips of themselves on TV.  Corrie's Rita and Mavis (Barbara Knox and Thelma Barlow) are shown watching their first Coronation Street scene together in The Kabin.

ITV Changed My Life will air on Tuesday 9th September.  It will feature people whose lives have been changed by ITV's programmes. The programme will include two Coronation Street extras who are married. These are Maureen and Joel Seaberg. Find out more about them here in their interview with Christine Warren's Canadian Corrie fun page.

Should be interesting to watch!




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Why Callum Logan is Corrie comedy gold

Why Callum Logan is Corrie comedy gold Despite him putting the boot into beating up Jason last night, I'm still loving every minute of Sean Ward on screen as Callum Logan. He's so bad he's brilliant. 

Callum is fey, a bit camp, well over the top and I love watching him on screen. I knew Jason was in for a rouging-up last night after Callum pointed his finger of doom at the lad. Poor Jason didn't stand a chance once that finger had been exposed.

Of course, it's just a matter of time before Callum gets what's coming to him. Will that be enough to scare Callum away from the Street? I hope not... not just yet.

I'd love to see Callum being taken down by someone less manly than, say, Tony. There's got to be a fitting end to the campness of Callum and being beaten up by bad-man Tony isn't it.

In an interview with TV Times magazine some weeks ago, actor Sean Ward confessed he can't drive. He said that all the scenes of Callum pulling onto the Street in his car have to be edited well. Someone else drives the car in and out of shot, and Callum just 'appears as if by magic' getting into or out of the basking white shark on wheels.  I don't know why it should, but this endears me to Callum even more, it adds to his utter pointlessness.

Callum's a joke. One that's been well played, it has to be said. But one that needs to move on and be done with.

See also: Is Corrie's Callum the campest villain that the show has ever had?



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Coronation Street scenes recreated in Lego

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

If you haven't yet seen the work of Jack Lewin on twitter and Youtube, it's worth having a look.  Jack recreates current and classic Coronation Street scenes in Lego. (may occasionally have spoilers for Canadian viewers)

Follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/yeh_its_jack and his YouTube channel is here.

This is Andrea and Lloyd in the Streetcars office.

And here's the amazing Fat Brenda with her scooter and packet of Dunhills!

Recreation of the lorry crash into the Rovers Return from 1979 with Deirdre shouting over and over "Tracy! Tracy!"

Here's Sally and Kevin getting ready for their recent snog-fest.

And here's the stairwell at Victoria Court.

Jack recently was invited into ITV Corrie and met some of the cast. Here he is with Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow.

Jack was interviewed by our friends at the Coronation Street podcast - Conversation Street.  You can hear all about his visit to the Corrie set and why he loves doing his Lego Corrie scenes here. Jack's part in the podcast begins at 54 minutes in.



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Fan review: Manchester Pride Transcript event

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)


Guest blog post from Tommy Cowell.  
Follow him on twitter and have a look at his website.


Tommy Cowell attended the Manchester Pride Transcript event on Tuesday 25 August in Manchester.  Here, he gives us his report from the evening along with his own pictures too. Tommy, we salute you!

Tommy with Daniel Brocklebank (Billy the vicar) and Bruno Langley (Todd Grimshaw)

“I came into contact with a lot of gay vicars,” said actor Daniel Brocklebank, when talking about researching real life gay vicars for the role of Billy in Corrie.

“We’ve heard,” chipped in Damon Rochefort, scriptwriter and host of the Manchester Pride TRANScript event. The room erupts with laughter. 

Dan: “No, no… we met up for tea and Scones. And lots of sex.”

It’s Tuesday 25th August, and we’re at Manchester’s Black Dog Ballroom for a very special evening. The cast and crew of Coronation Street have teamed up with the stars of Cucumber to discuss LGBT characters in both shows. It was sort of like a Northern Drama version of Comic Con. The night was full of hilarious banter between the cast members and the writers, and it was a joy to behold.

“When I came out, my Mum said ‘you’re not gay, you’re just showing off!’” Damon recalls. With moments like this to draw inspiration from, you can see why he writes some of the funniest Corrie episodes. Almost everybody on the panel covered the L, B, G and T aspect of society.  

Also present was Annie Wallace, who came onto the show as a researcher in 1998, working at Granada as somebody who could provide the writers with an insight into what life as a Transsexual was like. She recorded her thoughts onto a cassette tape, which was then used as a ‘bible’ for the writers to refer to. “1997 was a different time, politically,” says Julie Hesmondhalgh, who acts as the bridge between Corrie and Cucumber, starring in both as Hayley Cropper and Cleo respectively. “Hayley was introduced as a bit of a joke. Roy had been on a series of bad dates, and then he was to meet up with Hayley and hit it off with her, only to find out she used to be a man.” However, when the audience took Hayley to their hearts, the production team quickly rewrote scripts that were in development, reintroducing Hayley as a permanent cast member. The rest, as they say, was history.

“You know things are changing, that views are changing, when old women in Accrington Asda come up to you and ask when Roy is going to marry Hayley,” commented Hesmondhalgh.

Dan Brocklebank was the resident gay. Damon, on the other hand, says of his sexuality: “I’m bisexual. If I can’t get it, I buy it.”

Ben Tagoe (scriptwriter) and Bruno Langley (Todd Grimshaw) were also present, to provide the straight perspective.

Annie, who was a researcher on the show, took part in guiding the production team with such stories as Roy and Hayley’s first wedding. “Me and Jules could have clashed,” said Annie. “But we’re best friends.” Despite her role, which was to bring “authenticity” to the Hayley storyline, she did this all anonymously, because as Annie admitted, she wasn’t out at the time. She obviously told Julie, who was extremely supportive, but it wasn’t until her 50th Birthday that Annie told all her friends at a meal. To this news, they reacted “fabulously”. Annie’s story was genuinely touching, and you could see that a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She appeared in the soap as a supporting artist, but it was only recently - in 2015 – when she got her first lead role in a BBC sitcom pilot. She hinted towards something very exciting being announced later this year, to which Damon asked, “Are you Darth Vader in the new Star Wars film?” Annie, doing her best Darth impression, then said, “Luke, I am your mother”. The room cheered.

Bethany said she remembers Annie’s letter to the Radio Times, in 1997 about Hayley’s introduction, which got her the research role at Corrie. It’s fascinating that one member on the panel inspired and encouraged another to embrace who they were. “Visibility is key,” Black noted at the panel.

After five years, Hayley and Roy became “quite a conservative couple” in some ways, and they were as important to Corrie as the cobbles. However, the gays were “still waiting” for their representation on the soap.

Enter Bruno Langley. “I’d just finished High School. I remember on the last day, I took off my uniform, and was so happy. I hated it. Shortly after, I started at Corrie, and the first costume they put me in was a school uniform.” Todd wasn’t originally intended to be gay, but he was taken aside by the producer, who told him their plans. “They took one look at me, and said, ‘yep, he’s gay’”, joked Langley. “It was daunting, but then I just knew I had to do my job as an actor to do this storyline justice.” On the subject of writing for gay characters, Ben Tagoe said, “I never think I’m writing a gay character, just a character. It’s all about emotions, empathy.” It was also hinted that a new Lesbian character was to be introduced onto the show.

Before Dan was in Corrie, he was also in Emmerdale as Ivan. He shared a kiss with Paul Flynn ten years ago, which “received more complaints than the kiss he shared with Sean – as a vicar – in 2015,” showing how much things have changed for the better in such a short amount of time.

As a wannabe Corrie writer, I was very keen to hear what Damon and Ben had to say. Their opinion that a coming out story just isn’t interesting unless there’s a story involved was a good point, but they also recognised that coming out stories are still important for viewers at home, who may still be in the closet themselves. When discussing the character of Todd, who was the first gay character in Corrie, they said, “nobody sees him as a gay character, they just think he’s a bastard.” This, I think it’s fair to say, is a testament to the Corrie writing team.

Overall, it was a beautiful night. Uplifting, hilarious, and full of gossip. After last year’s successful pride event, it was great to see Corrie team up with Cucumber for a similar panel. “Corrie is the campest show on telly,” said Damon. “It came from gay man’s heart and brain and creativity: Tony Warren.”

It may have taken almost forty-five years for our favourite soap to introduce a gay character, but in spirit, Coronation Street has always – and will always be – the gayest show on television. In every sense of the word.

All the best,
Tommy
Follow him on twitter and have a look at his website.



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