Where are they now? Corrie Icons of the 90s - Charles Lawson

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


Charles Lawson joined Coronation Street as the head of the McDonald clan with wife Liz and twin sons Steve and Andy.

Charles left Coronation Street after playing Jim for eleven years. However he continued to make irregular appearances in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 to 2008, 2009, 2010 to 2011 and 2014.

Jim was involved in a storyline in 2011 tied to Liz's exit where he was sent to prison for the second time. He reprised the role again three-years later in 2014, as part of a storyline involving Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) wrongfully being imprisoned for murder.

Since leaving Coronation Street, Charlie has gone on to play Bill McQueen in Doctors and has also appeared in Bread, Boon, The Bill, Crown Court, Dalziel and Pascoe, Wilt, In Deep, Casualty, Holby City, and Rosemary & Thyme.  .

He now runs a farm shop.

Visit Charlie Lawson's website here.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Liz McDonald's Achilles Heel

(This post was originally posted by Tvor on the Coronation Street Blog in July 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Cross posted with permission from State of the Street.

We always hear rumours surfacing from time to time suggesting that Charlie Lawson may bring Big Jim McDonald back to Coronation Street. When that happens, there are fans jumping for joy and other fans cringing. I'm one of the former. People accuse the character of Jim as being a "one trick pony", coming in to do the same things over and over. He'll try to get Liz back, she'll be tempted, he'll mess up, argue with Steve, probably do something stupid and leave. Lather, rinse, repeat.

And it often does go down like that, with lots of Jim's sayings to pepper the pot. "The Big House", "So it is", "I'll tell ye this and I'll tell ye no more", "Ach to be sure" and calling Liz "Elizabeth". It ought to be a drinking game! Fans of Jim squeal when one of his familiar sayings slips out. You feel let down if one's missing, in fact.

As far as being a one trick pony, when I look back, there are many, many characters that are just the same. Stan Ogden, anyone? (Drink, cower under Hilda's wrath, cook up schemes, evade work where possible. Repeat. And the same could be said about Jack Duckworth)

But the main reason I would love to see Jim back for a visit is the chemistry that has always been there between Lawson and Bev Callard as Jim and Liz McDonald. It's there with Simon Gregson as his son, as well. They all three just leap off the screen when they're in scenes together. It's not just familiarity that comes with acting together for a long time, either because it was evident even in the early days of the McDonald clan.

Jim and Liz were always a fiery couple. Jim had a quick temper but Liz had a volatile one as well. She was never cowed by him and stood up to him frequently, especially if she was defending one of her lads against their father's rages. It became too much, Liz started to look elsewhere, and they divorced but Jim is the love of Liz's life. He's edgy and a bit dangerous and she likes that in her men. I think that's why she seemed so suited to Tony Stewart. They are exciting and she knows they're probably going to let her down in the long run but she just can't resist.

Jim swept her off her feet as a teenager and they married when she got pregnant. She may have regretted that she was more or less a single parent because of his duties in the army but they had that passion that never really left and that's the passion she remembers when he comes around, even after years away. They fit together like two halves of a pair of scissors. 

Will we see Jim return? There's always a possibility as long as Jim is alive and the producer and writers cook up a story but there are currently no plans to do so.  As much as Steve and Liz keep washing their hands of Jim and his monumental mistakes, Jim is still Steve's dad and Liz will always be in Jim's heart. She'll always be tempted even though she knows he's not good for her. Jim is Amy's granddad and they love each other. I think conversations between Jim and Amy as she is these days would be a joy to behold.

I'm definitely in the Yay camp. I'll tell you this and I'll tell you no more, Bring Back Big Jim!

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Jim McDonald is not returning to Coronation Street

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I was rather hoping that the recent rumours about Jim McDonald returning to Coronation Street would come true.

Alas, it appears they're false.

A Coronation Street spokesperson has been speaking to OK magazine today, after rumours spread on th'interweb that big Jim was coming back, so he was. Well he's not, so he isn't. 

And so Eizabeth remains on her own in the Rovers Return, without a fella to warm her barm cakes.  I think it's high time Liz had a new man.  What do you think?

Anyway, back to Jim. 

The Corrie spokesperson told OK: "He is not returning to the show - he is mentioned in upcoming storylines but does not make an appearance."



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Charlie Lawson in new TV show - he even sings the theme tune

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)



Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald in Coronation Street, will be appearing on Irish TV in a new series called Are We There Yet! Charlie is one of two Irish men who have to get around Ireland on £10, a tank full of fuel, and nothing else but the help of Irish celebrities along the way.

It's a wild and funny programme, Part Top Gear / Part Billy Connolly / Part Interview Program and travel. As with any good telly programme, it has a theme tune, which is now available to download at iTunes.

Charlie sings the song which is called Rare Old Mountain Dew and you can listen to it here.

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Charlie Lawson returns to TV in new BBC drama

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog February 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald in Coronation Street, will be starring in a new BBC drama.

Charlie has returned home to Northern Ireland to film the new BBC One series My Mother And Other Strangers. It's written by Barry Devlin who penned Ballykissangel and Darling Buds Of May.

I's a World War Two drama which follows the fortunes of the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to maintain normal life following the arrival of 4,000 United States Army Air Force (USAAF) servicemen and women in their rural parish in 1943.

Lawson takes on the role of parish GP, Dr Black.




Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.


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The Burton/Taylor Effect

(This post was originally posted by Scott Willison on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2015.)


Richard Burton and Liz Taylor met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962; they were both married to other people.  Soon they were embroiled in a passionate, insane affair that was condemned by the Pope.  They married in 1964 and spent the next nine years screaming at one another, having noisy sex, and lazing around on yachts in glitzy Eurotrash resorts.  She wore turbans and kaftans to cover her decadent curves; he took parts in terrible films so that he could afford to buy her diamonds.  They divorced in 1973, with Burton sending her a truly heartbreaking goodbye.

Sixteen months later they were married again, unable to stay apart; nine months after that they divorced again, unable to stay together.  They were bawling, passionate balls of lust, and even after they separated - even after they married other people, again and again - they always suspected that they'd return to one another.  Burton was rumoured to have written a final letter to Liz before he died; she, in turn, was buried with his letters.

This doesn't seem to have much to do with Coronation Street, I admit - apart from, perhaps, my never-ending quest to see Audrey Roberts in a silk turban.  It's more to do with the power of some relationships that mean the end is never the end.  Characters chop and change their sexual partners with barely a ripple from those around them; it's the way of all soaps.  People are able to swap to a new wife or husband without any effort at all and the Street and its community act as if things have always bee that way.  It's hard, now, to remember that Eva used to go out with Nick, or that Tyrone was engaged to Maria, or that Rita once went to bed with Ken.  It's all stuff that happened in the past.

Sometimes, though, a couple split up and you're just marking time until they get back together.  There's a connection there that means we're eagerly waiting for them to reunite.  The greatest example is, of course, Ken and Deirdre.  After Barlow was evicted from number one for his affair with Wendy Crozier, that should have been it for the couple.  Yet everyone knew, somehow, that Ken and Deirdre belonged together.  Even when she was with Samir, or he was with Denise, we were waiting.  When they were both single at the same time, the audience quietly willed them back together.  When they finally remarried, it completed their characters once again.  Ken and Deirdre.  They came as a pair.

It's not just down to both halves of the couple remaining on the Street.  After Gail and Martin split up, there was never a clamouring for them to reunite; that was it and we all knew it.  It's about a connection.  When Kevin and Sally split up in 1997, again following an affair, there was a feeling of loss and confusion.  From the perspective of 2015, it's odd to think that Kevin was married to someone else before he and Sally reunited in 2002.  They were a couple who seemed to be stuck together.  Even now - and I speak as Tim's number one fan - they seem to have their engines idling, ready to reconnect.  There's chemistry and history and charm there and we're all waiting for them to stop mucking about and marry for a third time.

These aren't the full Burton/Taylor, though.  These are couples who belong together like matching sling backs.  To be a real Liz and Dick there has to be an animalistic, uncurbed passion underneath.  Peter and Carla had this relentless, unable to part lust, coupled with self-destructive instincts that hurt the both of them.  We all know that if Peter had hung around a couple more months, he and Carla would have had a sloppy reunion, probably immediately followed by a noisy separation.  That was just the way they worked.

Similarly, if Karen or Becky returned to the Street, there would be a Steve-shaped hole in the side of the Rovers as he rushed to their side.  What he has with Michelle can't compete.

The real Burton and Taylor of Weatherfield, though, are his mum and dad, Liz and Jim.  For twenty odd years they've crashed into one another all over the cobbles, screaming, violent, lusty.  She left Jim to run a pub; they reunited.  He beat seven bells out of her; they separated.  They grew closer, then divorced, then remarried while he was in prison.  That's a level of insane commitment.  They divorced again, but always, always, we knew that Jim was her true love, even as Liz married Vernon.  He robbed a building society for her, for heaven's sake.

Even when Jim returned a few months ago, and Liz spat disgusted words at him across a formica table, we didn't really believe it.  They're a pair of screaming cats who finish fighting and immediately start doing something else that begins with "f".  Everyone knew it - even Liz's current boyfriend, Tony, viewed her prison visits as tantamount to foreplay.  We're all just waiting for Big Jim to turn up at the Rovers and for the cycle to start all over again.  Liz and Jim, Liz and Dick - never ending passions.



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What Makes a Man?

(This post was originally posted by Stevie Dawson on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2014.)

Coronation Street’s PR team have been making a big deal of Corrie’s men in recent weeks, particularly some of the new arrivals. You may have seen this Rat Pack style photo shoot which helped viewers get to know some of the easier-on-the-eye male cast members a little better (including two upcoming new members). 

It reminded me of a tweet posted by Charlie Lawson not long ago about filming his final scenes as Jim McDonald (again) with Chris Gascoyne who plays troubled Peter Barlow. Here’s the tweet:

On reading the tweet you might think some of Charlie’s Corrie colleagues would take offence to this slightly bitchy remark. But he does have a point. It’s certainly not a bad thing to see young, hot, virile hunks wandering across the cobbles, but in a place like Coronation Street you’d expect there to be a few more rough and ready blokes than there currently are.

Peter Barlow certainly fits the bill. As does Liz’s new squeeze and Eileen's ex Tony, who you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley. Or perhaps you would. And then there are a plethora of baby faces making up the rest of the male cast – Todd, Luke, Tyrone, Jason and David etc, not forgetting others like Norris and Ken, who can hardly be described as ‘blokes’. Corrie is famous for its strong, dominant women, and back in the day despite being severely henpecked there would be strong, troubled husbands and boyfriends opposite them; Alan Bradley, Des Barnes, Kevin Webster, good old Mike Baldwin and Jack Duckworth, more recently Charlie Stubbs and of course violent ex-soldier Jim. The Corrie ‘bloke’ existed in its best form before the days of the metrosexual.

In any case the men in Coronation Street will always play second fiddle to its women, that’s the way it has always been and that is what Corrie is all about. However don’t Corrie’s women prove what stuff they are made of when tested by the opposite sex? Rather than the clean shaven, preened hunks we see so many of today, perhaps they’d be better served by manning up a bit and forgetting the idea of style over substance…

In terms of Charlie’s tweet, love him as we do, get over yourself mate. You play Jim McDonald not James Bond.

Twitter: @steviedawson 



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Should this rover return for good?

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

I don't know about you but I'm really enjoying seeing Charles Lawson back on screen as Jim McDonald. I've always loved Jim and his relationships with Liz and Steve. Charlie Lawson always steps up to the mark.

Jim is a proper bloke in the style of Len Fairclough, flawed and less than perfect but very watchable. He also has a great screen presence and wonderful chemistry with both Beverley Callard and Simon Gregson. We know that Jim's return is only temporary but he will thankfully share scenes with Liz and Steve before his latest stint ends.

As far as I am concerned there is never going to be any other man for Liz. Despite all they've done to one another over the years, the bond is still there. So the question I'm asking is, would you like to see Jim McDonald return to Corrie on a more permanent basis? 

I'd love to see him get out of jail (it was easy for Tracy, so why not for Jim?) and turf Tony out of Liz's back parlour. Jim is a Corrie legend, going back to one of the programme's real golden eras.


So what do you think? Will Liz and Tony go the distance or would you love to see Jim back for good? Catch yourself on Elizabeth! 


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The Men of Weatherfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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He's back, so he is

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Fab Photo - Jim McDonald

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

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

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Pics: Jim McDonald's Coronation Street return

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


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

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

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



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Video: Should Corrie have more scenes like this?

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

Although I'd seen this scene in the full episode on YouTube a few weeks ago, it was only recently that I found out that someone had taken the scene out and produced it as its own clip, which great.

The episode was originally broadcast on the 3rd of January 1999. The residents are all taking the news that former shopkeeper, former mayor and pillar of the community Alf Roberts has died.

Here we have Jim McDonald, Jack and Vera Duckworth, Fred Elliott, Ken Barlow and Betty Williams discussing Alf's life and their opinion of him, in a scene, which in my opinion, what makes Corrie shine!

As I watch it, I ask myself: when did I see that happening in Corrie recently? Okay, maybe you get the rarity of seeing it in the cab office or the Kabin, but I'd like to see it more often. Wouldn't you?

Betty Driver often said that with the increasing speed of the show, with more scenes per episode, you lost those great moments of folk talking about nowt! Even though the clip above is only under two minutes, it's still great!

So please Corrie writers and producers, can we have more of those classic Corrie scenes!

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Charles Lawson talks Corrie

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

In an entertaining Sun article today, Charles Lawson has been quoted as saying acting is not as much fun as it used to be. He reckons the "bosses" treat actors like kids and this seems to refer to soap bosses but that could very well be taken out of context.

The interview is quite good, with Charlie's view on his years on Coronation Street, mostly being great. He says that Simon Gregson puts in a gruelling schedule and he thinks everyone does a bang up job on Corrie but reckons acting as a business is getting a bit too serious for him. He spends a lot of his time with his wife on their farm in Cheshire where he describes life as having a lot less bull**** (I guess he doesn't raise cattle, then!)

He is amused at the Facebook campaign to free Jim McDonald but doesn't think the producers really take that sort of thing seriously.

Will he return as Big Jim someday? Well he quips "Let's not forget we are in Never Never Land and Tracy Barlow suddenly appeared after being found guilty of murder. Bobby Ewing could leap out of that shower, you never know." Will Liz return? He and I have the same opinion on that, I wish Beverley very well. But she's a bit of a homing pigeon so I wouldn't write her off.

Free Jim McDonald - The Singalong

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

Corrigan Brothers- new release “Free Jim McDonald” Listen while wearing your Free Jim McDonald t-shirt.

Corrigan Brothers the Irish Band who had the international hit “There’s no one as Irish as Barack Obama” amassing over seven million you tube hits are back with “Free Jim McDonald” an appeal to have the Coronation Street legend and bumbling building society robber freed. With the music of Free Nelson Mandela the Irish brothers are claiming that Jim’s crime was a crime of passion. Lead singer Ger Corrigan said “we don’t condone robbery but Jim’s crime was purely for the LOVE of Elizabeth, so it was”- he had no intention of hurting anyone. In fact a fairer punishment would be five years with Elizabeth, so it would”.

I'll miss Big Jim, so I will

There's been so much negative reaction to last night's bank robbery, the last hurrah of Jim McDonald, now on his way back to the Big Hoose. It's not the ending I would have hoped for, because most everyone agrees they wanted Jim and Liz to be happy ever after. I suppose that was just never fated to happen and we only got our hopes up.

Having said that, I really don't think that the bank robbery was all that awful. Of course it was ill thought out but Jim has never been one to think things through first. His main impulse has been the "scream and leap" method and he's not really learned anything from all the times that he has crashed and burned. Thus, he didn't wear a mask and would have been identified even if he had got out of the bank without being stopped.

Some people have wondered how he knew Liz would have been watching on the CCTV. Why wouldn't he think that? He had her on the phone and she did say she was there. You might assume she would be with the police watching on the screens. It was odd, though, because it looked like they could all hear him as if they were watching a regular television when it was only that we could hear what he was saying over the phone that synced with him on the screens.

There was never any chance that he would hurt the hostages. We even saw him wait for a mother and baby to go in and emerge from the bank before he went in himself. Yes, there was a chance he'd have turned the gun on himself and I'm glad he didn't. I felt Liz's heart break along with his and when he finally came out, I wished they had let the two of them be together for a minute but that wasn't in the cards either.

They've had a stormy relationship over the years but no matter what happened, they seemed to be each other's soul mate even if they couldn't always live together. They might have got together, but they might not have lasted, either. Tempers and jealousies would probably always do them in.

Maybe it's just better this way, but we'll never know.

When you call your ex cell mate, it won't end well.

 I read my friend's blog back in April and I have been waiting patiently ever since. I really thought this  summed it all up and I hope you agree.  Please read Matthew Rudd's Blog (posted with his permission of course). (spoiler through that link)

The Return of Jim McDonald

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



Yay! Big Jim McDonald is back, so he is! I'm always glad to see this character return even if it's only for short visits. I know that Liz and Jim have had a lot of ups and downs and are probably better off apart, but I still see the chemistry there and I'm pretty sure Liz does too. I think it's more than just old feelings. I think she still loves Jim and always will, no matter who else she is with. Now that he's back again, for a bit at least, I'm sure there will be lots of longing gazes across the bar though they haven't clapped eyes on each other yet. There's also sure to be conflict between Jim and Liz's newest squeeze, builder Owen. This time, though, I think Jim might have met his match.

Owen reminds me a lot of Jim. He's feisty, tempermental and has a nasty left hook. If there was a fair fight between them, I'm not sure who would come out the winner. Spoilers say that Owen will have the upper hand and beat up Jim or maybe have someone else do it and if so, it's either going to be unfair odds or they'll have taken him by surprise. If Liz finds out Owen is behind the beating, that will probably be him shown the door in a New York Minute. She knows what Jim's temper is like but does she realize that Owen's is just as bad and probably a bit worse? I do think Liz senses the dangerous side of Owen and that's the big attraction. She always preferred men with an edge which is why Vernon didn't last too long. Too safe.

So Jim is back, and he gets to connect with his son Steve and granddaughter Amy. Wasn't he great with wee "Maxie"? 

McDonald Family goes to Blackpool circa 2003

I thought you might enjoy this photo from the Wayback machine. It's November 2003. Steve and Karen have just got divorced and re-engaged because she wants to remarry in a big splashy ceremony (be careful what you wish for!) Tracy Barlow is pregnant but nobody yet knows that Steve is the father and has married Roy so that he has legal claim on the baby he thinks is his.

Meanwhile, Jim McDonald is still in prison for the manslaughter charge stemming from when he confessed to beating Jez Quigley who later died from his inuries. Liz had remarried Jim in prison and she's now working in a pub in Blackpool. Jim suspects that she's seeing another man and sends Steve up there to check on her. Karen goes along for the ride, anticipating having a bit of a lark on the promenade. Alas, Jim is impatient and breaks out of prison and most of the McDonalds are reunited.

You can read more about the Blackpool Shenanigans, which also include a return by Bet Lynch and a sub plot with Ashley and then-nanny Claire on holiday, and falling in love over here on Corrie.net (starting at November 17)


Photo: Mark Campbell/Rex Features

Catch yourselves on!

Have I mentioned how much i'm enjoying the return of Jim "Big Mac" McDonald? I always thought the chemistry between Jim and Liz was electric, largely in part to the actors who really did work well together. Even when the characters were apart, when they were fighting, when they were with other people, all one of them had to do was look at the other and you could see all that history between them laid out...the good times and the bad. The love and the regret and you always knew there would always be something there between them even if you also knew they weren't good for each other in reality.

Liz married Jim as a teenager, pregnant with twins and had to take on most of the responsibility of raising them while Jim was in the army, often away. She would have had to live away from her home and friends with each different posting he would have had. She would have been young and lonely, she'd have had to contend with his drinking and his hot Irish temper. And his jealousy. Jim's jealousy would always come between them and cause trouble. He was married to a gorgeous woman and he knew it.

When the lads got older and didn't need their mother as much, Liz starting wanting things for herself. Jim got scared, feeling she'd realize she no longer needed him either and things got worse. In trying to hold on so tight to her, she slipped through his fingers. Add guilt and regret onto his jealousy and you had a recipe for rage and disaster. They tried to run The Queen's, a Newton and Ridley pub but the brewery rep had his eye on Liz and even though Liz had no intention of taking him up on the offer that was clearly there, Jim's temper went into overdrive and his actions and reactions ended the marraige, albeit temporarily.

It ended in divorce eventually when she admitted she'd had a long ago fling with his best mate in the army. He hit her and threw her out of the car and left her on a dark road. Let it be said, Liz had a pretty hot temper at times, too. In her rage and anger, she doctored up the bruises to look even worse than they were!

Like two "star crossed" lovers, though, over the years they were back together or nearly so several times. It really was clear to me that although they loved each other, they were bad for each other as well. Liz had established her own independence but Jim never really got control of his jealousy and anger issues, and his temper and parental protective instinct led him to beat the tar out of Jez Quigley who had beaten Steve very badly. Understandable reaction in one way but taking the law into hiw own hands in a fit of red rage landed Jim in jail for 8 years because Jez died of his injuries. Jim at least did the right thing and confessed and would allow no defence of his actions. Liz returned for the trial and in a surprise move, married him before he was sent down.

While he was in jail, however, his temper ended up extending his sentence and his jealousy led him to escape. He heard Liz was canoodling with the landlord of a bar she was working in, up in Blackpool (she was, as it happened, but she wasn't in love with him.) They nearly managed to escape together to Northern Ireland but saved Ashley and Clare, stranded in a boat, instead and recaptured, Jim was back in the nick. His temper led to an arguement and fight inside and Liz finally had enough and divorced him.

Now she's involved with mild mannered Vernon, a musician who's a bit of a slacker but he genuinely loves Liz and he treats her with respect and he treats her like a queen. He's everything Jim is not and he's definitely not got the exciting edge, either. Liz always seems to thrive on that edge and it's clear to all of us that Vernon isn't really her soul mate. It's too bad that she hasn't really learned that she can be happy with him. I think she does love him in a way but it's not with a passion, certainly not with the passion Vernon feels for her.

Jim has finally been released and in spite of promising to stay away, he just can't do it. Coronation Street was a large part of his life and Liz an even larger part. He still loves her. You can tell. That look is still in his eyes. The history and the love, the regret. He ambled back on screen and it's felt like he's never been away, aside from the fact that he's been keeping his temper in check, trying to prove he's changed. Has he? He says he wishes Liz well. He probably does but would prefer it if he could get her back. He's not consciously trying to stop the wedding but he's consciously trying to show himself in a good light, reminding Liz of the good times and how it could be between them. "This is what you're missing". Except it's bound to blow sooner or later.

And already you can see Liz starting to doubt her decision to marry Vernon. She's having chats with Deirdre, talking about her fantasy man who resembles Jim not just a little. She's starting to have second thoughts. Maybe not that she'll go back to Jim, but that she might be making a mistake marrying Vernon.

Unfortunately, Charles Lawson is only back for a short time so we know Jim and Liz aren't going to get back together. The big question is, will the wedding go off as planned or will Liz do the right thing and dump Vernon? By next week, we'll have the answers.

Either way, it was great to have a little bit of Jim for awhile, so it was. From the first "What about yer, Steven" to his connecting with his wee granddaughter Amy, to the father-son relationship that puts poor Steve in the middle. Seeing him with Liz again, feeling that crackle of chemistry. It was short, but it was worth it.