Hayley Tamaddon rocks as Roxie in Chicago The Musical

 

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

I'm a firm believer in not knowing what our favourite Corrie stars are truly capable of until - and unless - we see them outside of Coronation Street.  

Within Coronation Street, actors are constrained by their soap characters, destined to sit in the Rovers and frown. I's all about how they're written and how they're meant to be within the confines of a back-street up north.  For many actors this works to their advantage while others struggle to fit. Hayley Tamaddon's character of Andrea was one of those I struggled to like in Corrie. Mind you, anyone who was brought in to cause friction in the budding bromance between Lloyd and Steve was never going to be popular in our house.

But Andrea had something about her, a cheeky sense of humour, that could have been exploited more. Remember when she got drunk and sang Tainted Love?  If only we'd seen that side of Andrea more, who knows what might have happened.  As it was, she left Corrie with Lloyd in the live episode to mark ITV's 60th birthday in September last year.

And what of Hayley Tamaddon since then? 

Well, she's currently starring in the touring production of Chicago the Musical and I went to the show at the Sunderland Empire last night.  Hayley plays the starring role of Roxie Hart and she sings and dances her way through the show in fantastic style.

Despite my seat being up at the back of the dress circle while watching Chicago, Hayley projected such emotion, sexiness, acting ability and chemistry all the way up to my row - and beyond.  She really was amazing to watch. Her singing voice is fantastic, comic timing is perfection and I can't rave on enough about how flamin' great she was. 

I've seen Chicago live on stage before, in that London many years ago. Admittedly, I only went to see it back then because Alison Moyet (of whom I'm a BIG fan) was playing the role of Mama Morton. This time around that role goes to Mica Paris who is well worth seeing too.

If you are in the UK in the near future and get a chance to see Chicago the Musical at a theatre, do go. The UK touring schedule is here and if you're in the north-east, it's running at Sunderland for the rest of this week.




Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Goodbye Andrea Beckett - for now

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2015, reposted with permission.)

In October 2013, I interviewed Hayley Tamaddon, who playsAndrea Beckett. Now, just a month shy of a 2 year stint, she will leave, newly pregnant, with Lloyd, in the live episode, to be broadcast on Wednesday 23 September.

I had such high hopes for the character Andrea Beckett, especially because the initial storyline entailed Andrea going all out to claim Steve MacDonald. You’ll remember that Amy was involved in a history project at school and her father couldn’t properly answer her questions. It was this inability to help, which steered Steve towards college and taking a course in history. In his class was Andrea and the initial storyline was that Andrea would become totally infatuated with Steve and would stop at nothing to claim him. Not Michelle, not Liz and not his mates would dampen her ardour. Sadly and most disappointingly, that storyline disappeared. After a bit of laughter and banter, accompanied by Michelle’s questioning as to who exactly Andrea was, and whether or not she was attractive, that plot was clearly sidelined.

Instead, what did happen, and this was quite unpalatable at the time, was that Michelle, with sidekick Liz, mocked Steve for trying to better himself. Michelle, in particular, treated him as an exasperating child, rather than the man who was her life partner. Maybe it was jealousy on Michelle’s part and maybe Liz sided with Michelle as she was hoping that Steve and Michelle would stick together. Michelle was particularly put out when she learnt that the green blouse Steve had bought her was purchased on a shopping trip with Andrea. Whatever the reason though, Michelle and Liz did themselves no favours at that time and they lost a few fans through their ignorance and ridiculing of Steve.

Had that original storyline gone ahead it would have caused some real upset and some terrific drama. If drama is conflict, as the great dramatists claim, then there would have been enough for all. Originally, Andrea was to dress like a femme fatale and to make it crystal clear to Steve that she wanted him. She was to flaunt herself in The Rovers and have an - ‘All’s fair in Love and War,’ attitude towards her attempt to ensnare Steve.

It’s such a shame that it did not materialize and instead we were granted dreary, confused, Neil and a steady (ish) relationship with lovely Lloyd; at least until she stole Lloyd’s prize record to flog, to help out the mysterious, never seen, Jess.  It is worth noting that Steve appeared to be a little bit jealous of Lloyd when he started going out with Andrea.

Just a quick note here too about Todd - I interviewed BrunoLangley who plays Todd, the same day as Hayley Tamaddon. Bruno stated that viewers would find out what had turned Todd bad; it was to something in ‘that London’ that had traumatised him, explaining why he had undergone a metamorphosis.

As far as I know, we’re still waiting…

Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Andrea and Lloyd - Yay or Nay?

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

Storylines and characters come and go on Coronation Street. I like some of them, I dislike some of them. I probably like stories and characters that you don't like, yes you, reading this. And some of your favourites will be on my dislike list. 

Some storylines are dull and easily ignored and I thought Andrea and Lloyd might be one of them. But this romance fails on all fronts, for this Corrie fan, and it's bugged me into blogging.

There is zero chemistry between Andrea and Lloyd. They are not believable as a couple. Andrea's husband Neil is clearly mentally ill and going through some sort of breakdown over losing Andrea. It should not be funny, but it is, because anything that anyone does to split up Andrea and Lloyd and show them for the farce that they are, can only be applauded.

Now then, I love Lloyd, always have and always will.  Andrea seems okay but the two of them together just Does Not Work. And while I'm having a moan about Andrea, where's this mysterious child called Jess she keeps mentioning?

Come on, Corrie. Split these two up, Put Lloyd and Eileen together one drunken night in the Streetcars office where they have a heart-to-heart over Fat Brenda's gypsy creams and let Andrea go back to Neil. Please. 



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

There's something about Neil

I know fans out there are finding the triangle between Lloyd, Andrea and Neil to be tedious. Andrea has lost her freshness, her spark and we all think Lloyd deserves better and can see more heartbreak coming a mile away.

Neil is seen to be just as Andrea thinks of him, boring and dull but he's also just had his whole world blown apart by something he never saw coming. He sees himself as a dependable bloke, a good provider and a good husband and father. He's probably all of those things but because he's spent most of his life working out of the country and Andrea felt like she married too young, it was never bound to work. He just doesn't accept it.

Neil is starting to creep me out with his single minded obsession to getting Andrea back. Where do I see this going? How much does he remind me of another former Corrie character? Read about it here on State of the Street.



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Is Andrea the one for Corrie's Lloyd?

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

I don't know what it is, but the whole Lloyd, Andrea, Neil storyline just isn't working for me. I hate to admit it, but I did begin to fast forward through all their scenes last night.

I've always loved Lloyd. Craig Charles is brilliant in Corrie. His double act with Simon Gregson is a joy. It's a shame they didn't spend more time developing the Lloyd and Jenna relationship onscreen, instead preferring to focus on Lloyd and Andrea. 

The whole story is just a big snooze to me and it's such a pity. Lloyd is crying out for a decent story to get his teeth into and I'm afraid this really isn't it. The actor playing Neil is great although I'm really not sure what this character's game is! I'm sure all will become clear in time, hopefully fairly soon though as it feels like this is being drawn out.


I do have a bit of a problem with the way both Lloyd and Andrea have dealt with Neil. Yes he is being painted as a big wet blanket who won't take the hint, but they are treating him cruelly at times. Given that Andrea in particular has cheated on Neil and broken up their marriage I feel like she should have a bit more respect for her husband. 

Lloyd too has been rather harsh and less than understanding. As he acknowledged briefly last night, he knows what it is like to be messed about and dumped by a partner, so even though he was an unwitting accomplice in this mess, he should really be more sympathetic towards Neil. 

I'm not sure what I make of Andrea. At first she was a breath of fresh air, mainly because she highlighted how atrociously Michelle treats Steve. Then things got complicated and her motives became unclear. I don't think she's a baddie in the traditional sense, she's flawed and human like the rest of us. At the end of the day though she basically just irritates me and I can't seem to get past that. 

So what do we all make of this storyline? Are you enjoying it or do you wish we could move on to something new? Do you think Andrea is the one for Lloyd? 



Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Just what is Andrea hiding?

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

Last night we saw Corrie focus more on Lloyd, Andrea and Jenna - and about time too. I love Craig Charles and Lloyd is a great character. I also think we need to see more of Lloyd and Jenna's relationship on-screen. Where does Andrea fit in though?


We don't know very much about her, although she obviously has some sort of secret. When Andrea first arrived she seemed to have the hots for Steve and Michelle took against her straight away. Initially I thought she was a breath of fresh air and warmed to her. However, now I'm not so sure. 


At the moment Lloyd is oblivious to anything untoward going on behind the scenes. However last night, both Jenna and Eileen were deeply suspicious as Andrea's absence from the fun run was explained through what appeared to me to be a cobbled together tissue of lies. It's always the women who smell a rat!


It's nice to see Jenna being supportive and standing up for her dad - more of this please! We don't see enough of them on screen and this is a shame as I think Craig Charles and Krissi Bohn work well together and are very believable.


So what about Andrea then? What is she hiding? I did wonder if she had a child and didn't want Lloyd to know. However given Jenna's appearance in Lloyd's life, it's quite obvious he wouldn't react badly to this. So what then? Another bloke? Is she after Jenna? I don't know - what do you think, and how would you like to see this storyline progress?


Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82



Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Andrea wants Steve

What's On TV has a few quotes from Hayley Tamaddon on her character, Andrea's hopes and desires. She thinks Andrea does fancy Steve even though she's currently dating Lloyd, surmising that perhaps she's only doing that to make Steve jealous.

There have been little looks, nothing really obvious but I've caught one or two wistful glances in Steve's direction and I've had the feeling that Steve is who she would prefer. Hayley says Andrea is "out to bag her Mr. Right".

There's definitely a connection between she and Steve and quite a lot of our blog readers have felt that Michelle has been treating Steve badly and seems to be dragging Steve down. She's also been openly hostile to Andrea but Hayley says “I think Andrea will be able to hold her own and personally I'm hoping for some real stand-offs between Andrea and Michelle." Me, too!

I'm one of those that thinks Steve and Michelle are horribly unsuited. The last time they broke up, Steve found Becky a lot more fun (and hard work in the end). I think Steve will find Andrea a lot more fun, too and Michelle might want to watch her Ps and Qs this time around.

Things are going to heat up when Lloyd and Andrea start dating and Steve finds he's jealous. It looks as if Andrea is playing it smart, keeping Steve at the friendship arms' length, not being too clingy or stalkery so far. I would rather her not get like that, in fact, and rather than do her best to break up Steve and Michelle, just wait for Steve to come to it himself, realizing that Michelle isn't The One but Andrea just might be. That's how I'd like to see it play out if indeed, that's where it's going. How about you?





Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook

Hayley Tamaddon gets six months Corrie contract

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

Hayley Tamaddon, who plays Coronation Street newcomer Andrea, has been given a six month contract to stay on the show, reports The Sun (via Digital Spy).

Hayley's character has also been given a surname, always a good sign that a character's going to stay.  She's Andrea Beckett.

Any thoughts on Andrea so far, Corrie fans? 

I've found myself shouting at her, going "it's none of your business!" when she's been caught in between Steve and Michelle's bedroom shenanigans.  I do hope she gets together with Lloyd though, not Steve.

Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook