Who works where in Coronation Street (1/2)

(This post was originally posted by Jordan Lloyd Beck on the Coronation Street Blog in June 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


So previously in my blogging life I covered the residences of Weatherfield and who lives where, you can find them in two handy posts here and here. Anyway, I've decided to cover businesses now, since a lot of new employees have appeared in the last few months.

Rovers Return Inn
The ownership of the Rovers is currently up in arms! Liz and Steve McDonald are landlord and landlady, though Steve's wife Michelle wants Steve to sell the pub in the divorce settlement. Sean Tully and Eva Price work shifts here behind the bar when they're not sewing knickers at Underworld, and Sean doubles up as pub chef, serving up Betty's hotpot. Sarah-Louise Platt and Toyah Battersby also pull pints at the Rovers, but who will be the new name above the door this summer? Kate Oates has teased new owners at the pub. It's also worth mentioning that Anna Windass is following in Hilda Ogden's footsteps as cleaner.

D&S Alahan's
At the other side of the street is just one small part of Dev Alahan's empire of corner shops. Does Dev still own all of those other shops like he used to? Anyway, D&S Alahan's is probably his favourite as he lives just four doors away. The current shop assistants are Dev's girlfriend Erica Holroyd (though probably not for much longer) and Cathy Matthews.

Nick's Bistro
Robert Preston and Nick Tilsley were at the helm of this fancy restaurant on Viaduct Street, though Nick's selling his half now that he's ran off and left Robert in the lurch. Rivals Leanne Battersby and Michelle Connor are the manageresses and Zeedan Nazir is sous chef. Kate Connor and Daniel Osbourne are waiters at the bistro, and Gail Rodwell cleans here.

Webster's Autocentre
If I were Tyrone Dobbs I'd be a bit miffed at the fact that only Kevin Webster's name is above the shutters at the garage. They each own 50%, and have recently extended premises through the back into an archway on Viaduct Street (although it was gutted by a fire soon after). Luke Britton is a mechanic here, and Sophie Webster works in the office.

The Kabin
Rita Tanner's pride and joy since 1973, she's still very much in charge at the newsagents since she signed it over to her shop assistant Norris Cole in 2009. Mary Taylor and Jenny Bradley have covered shifts in the shop in recent years.

Underworld
The Connor's have ruled the roost in the knicker factory for many years, and it is currently owned by Carla Connor (60%) and her father Johnny Connor (40%) though Johnny is much more in charge now that Carla has moved to Cornwall. His son Aidan is factory manager, and is training Alya Nazir to be his assisting manageress now that she's a partner in the vintage range of underwear, much to the annoyance of Sally Metcalfe who is just a supervisor after many years of work in the factory. Sean Tully, Beth Sutherland, Fiz Stape, Eva Price, Izzy Armstrong, Sinead Tinker, Gina Seddon and Jenny Bradley are all machinists, with Jenny managing the new mastectomy bra range. Kirk Sutherland works in the packaging department.

Audrey's Salon
Audrey Roberts has had her hair salon opposite the Rovers since 1998, buying it from Fiona Middleton. Audrey had previously operated a salon in the front room of No. 11 Coronation Street when she lived there. She employs grandson David Platt and friend Maria Connor as stylists. Granddaughter-in-law Kylie Platt was the salon's first nail technician prior to her death last year.

Preston's Petals
When Barlow's Bookies closed it seemed like this shop really lost it's purpose. The pawn shop that replaced it, Barlow's Buys, was such an obscure choice of business and it never really found its feet. Tracey Barlow has revamped the shop and it's now called Preston's Petals, supplying Interflora bouquets and arrangements to the people of Weatherfield with help from Mary Taylor.

Rosamund St. Medical Centre
The medical centre on Rosamund Street replaced the derelict Graffiti Club back in 2000 and is now the go to place for non-emergencies. The medical professionals that work there are nurse Rana Nazir and Dr. Gaddas.

For Your Fries Only
Nobody currently works here, though it was once the workplace of Cilla Battersby-Brown and her friend Yana Lumb.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this and now have a better clue as to who works where! I'll cover the rest in the second post coming later in the week.

You can find me on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Situation Vacant

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


Many characters in Coronation Street are instantly recognisable because of the jobs they do. Rita for instance is and forever will be linked to that Kabin counter and the endless proffering of aniseed balls and pineapple cubes to the toothless residents of Weatherfield. Audrey has, since the days she gave Hilda Ogden a dodgy rinse in Alf's front parlour, been synonymous with standing behind various be-wigged characters, somehow miraculously cutting their barnets with scissors about a mile away from their heads. And Roy's Rolls wouldn't be Roy's Rolls without...Roy! 

The issue of employment pops up frequently in Corrie. Not in the same major plot device way it was used back in the 1970s. In those days an entire week of episodes could be given over to Betty walking out of the Rovers after Annie Walker accused her of nicking Newton and Ridley pint pots (Oh no, hang on, that was only in the imagination of Phil Collinson). Recently, we've seen several characters have their jobs thrust into storylines, with varying degrees of success. First up is the super new Special, Craig Tinker. Craig is shaping up to be the best thing to happen to TV police dramas since Cagney found Lacey. I have loved his involvement in the Bethany story and it has been great to see one of the Street's youth forge ahead with bettering themselves with a noticeable effect.

Craig Tinker they are not!

Less positive is Brian Packham (or BPack as he is apparently known to raven-haired kebab scraper Cathy "Catherine Wheel" Matthews). Personally I preferred "Cathy Come Home" although maybe "Cathy Go Home" would be even better. Brian is very much the 21st Century attempt at a Derek Wilton and while he's not as weak and feeble as Gail's most recent husband (Gail got over that bereavement pretty swiftly), Brian is a bit wet to say the least. I nearly went for mo*st but that takes the blog in a whole different direction. 

BPack's over-bearing, interfering, pedantic council work is supposed to be light relief in amongst the more serious fare Corrie have been feeding us of late. I'm all for a bit of light and shade but I draw the line at BPack brandishing his little litter pincher across Roy's counter display of cream horns and fancies. Hygiene completely out the window and running down the road faster than Phelan's new daughter.

Catherine Wheel

Liz has also had a change of job recently, being dragged out from behind the Rovers bar by her jaggedy necklace. I can't quite come to terms with the idea of no more Landlady Liz. Liz McDonald was a natural fit for the Rovers, standing proudly behind her gleaming pumps...Anyway Elizabeth is now standing slightly less proudly behind the reception of the rarely seen Rosamund Street Medical Centre. She has a rather officious and spiky new boss in Moira (where has she been hiding?). Moira has already had to kick Liz into touch for breaching patient confidentiality for referring to 85 year old Rita's feet giving her bother. I think Moira needs to get a grip, or maybe she hasn't heard of Gail McIntyre who during her time in that role witnessed her deranged husband break in with a sledgehammer to steal drugs before Gail herself was sacked for revealing private medical details of a patient to her son. After all that lot, Rita's corns are a drop in the Zambezi (Club, not River).

It strikes me that there are certain rules that always seem to apply to Coronation Street characters where the world of work is concerned. And here they are:

1. Everyone must work within at least spitting distance of their own front door. Nobody waits on at Delphine's or The Clock anymore. Jobs only ever materialise at the Bistro. Nobody ever ventures to the Trafford Centre for a job, they just add themselves to the payroll in the Underworld Packing Department. 

Liz hopes Moira will like her new look

2. Characters without a fixed role in life never seem to last long in Weatherfield. Everybody needs a purpose and a place to be and be seen. Without that you're pretty much toast. That's probably why Sean Tully has wangled himself seventy-two jobs and yet still no major storylines to speak of. So be careful out there Yasmeen Nazir and your random Community Centre leaflet brandisher/ Roy's Rolls filler in whenever David Neilson has a day off! Seriously though, Yasmeen is an intelligent, thoughtful, eloquent lady - give her something interesting to do which exploits those attributes. And that's not tonging eclairs into a box for Fiz and the faktry girls.

3. Characters move between jobs and take on new jobs with alarming speed. Last Wednesday Liz was all moist-eyed in the back room, bemoaning the end of her days in the hot pot kingdom and then with the briefest flourish of a pair of specs she was off to the Medical Centre to grapple with the appointments system. Gina Seddon got a job in packing with Kirk while the ink was still drying on the script which saw Sally find that heart in a box. And Queen of the Job Swaps is Michelle, although to be fair, she did sleep her way to the top of Victoria Court first. 

Michelle settles in behind the Bistro bar

4. People will strangely come into large sums of previously unheard of cash just as an exciting new business opportunity to invest in the Rovers/Bistro/Faktry/Cab Office comes along. Someone we've never seen before will drop dead and leave a major character a pile of notes. Either that or a timely divorce settlement will come through or if you are of the Barlow persuasion, you'll blackmail or wheedle it out of some poor, unsuspecting simpleton.

5. Characters will always make bizarre, not even in the world of soap is this acceptable, career choices. Look at Toyah Battersby, the beiged-down version. I get that she loves Peter Barlow, well I don't get it but I can see she's smitten. Despite this, she had a successful career as a therapist in Liverpool although once making the move back to Weatherfield, does she pick this up again, no she settles for the odd shift slopping out half pints to Norris in the Rovers. Back to Michelle again. Why does she persist in taking on customer-facing roles when she has the people skills of Rosa Klebb (she of the knife/shoe combo in James Bond) and the temperament of Mrs Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie. And as for Dev, would you ever set foot in that Corner Shop knowing he'd be lurking behind the product placement cash machine and before you can reach for the gin? Maggie Clegg he is not! 

 

Dev's Service at its finest

Weatherfield is obviously in its own little micro-economy. Kevin Webster's garage is about to go under one minute and after a bit of a cash injection from David/Anna, all is forgotten. He must make a mint from that poor sucker whose Fiat Punto has been up on the ramp since Mike Baldwin owned the joint. 

I will finish with some of the Corrie employment pairings which have really made my heart sing. I still pine for the days when Gail and Alma worked together behind the counter of the dirty old caff. I still long for the delicious foursome of Annie, Fred, Bet and Betty at the Rovers, with Hilda popping up in her tabard when you least expected it. Mike Baldwin will always be King of the Faktry, Alf Roberts' spirit is always in that grocer's white coat at the Corner Shop and Rita and Mavis were the Kabin Queens. I still take pleasure in seeing Norris mither away over his liquorice torpedoes; from seeing Gemma in her Eurovision-esque Kebab shop outfit and of course from seeing Roy dither gently in his cardigan as he feeds the faces of folk.

No caption required...

By Graeme Naylor

Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82 if you fancy or maybe even Instagram if that's your bag

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Where would you like to work on Coronation Street?

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

By 'eck Mavis, that new girl's taking her time putting the kettle on

If you could choose where you'd like to work on Coronation Street, where would it be?  It could be anywhere on the Street, past or present.

I would go back in time and prop the counter up with Rita and Mavis in the Kabin.  I'd be the one who sorted the papers, ordered greetings cards and stationery from the wholesaler. I'd put the kettle on and keep them both happy. I'd also, of course, listen in on all the gossip.

Where would you like to work? And in what role?



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The Weatherfield Good Food Guide

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

We all know where to go for a good booze up in Weatherfield - The Rovers Return of course. However where would you go for a decent feed? I set to wondering what culinary options are available to the residents of our favourite cobbled street. Let's take a look at the evidence:

We may as well start off with the world renowned Rovers Return. The Rovers has been famous for one dish, and one dish only, for as long as we can all remember. The wonderful Lancashire hotpot. The merest whiff of hotpot gets us all misty eyed as we think back to the days when wonderful Betty Turpin graced the Rovers bar with her magnificent presence. I wonder if you are with me when I say I think the Rovers has never been quite the same since Betty departed? And neither, of course, is her famous hotpot. 

Why oh why was the closely guarded recipe gifted to Sean Tully?! They weren't particularly close and I can easily provide a roll call of Street residents who would be better trusted with this little slice of Corrie heritage. Sadly this has put me off ever dining at the Rovers. Apart from hotpot what else does the Rovers actually serve? I remember Annie Walker bravely diversifying into soup until Eddie Yeats found the industrial tins in her backyard. I'm surprised she ever lived down the shame.

Let's move on to the Rovers' main rival - Nick's Bistro. Nick's is famous for two things. Being demolished by an errant tram, and bringing the stuffed olive to Gail's dining room table. Personally I wouldn't trust the food served at the Bistro. Since it opened the staff have included Leanne, Mary, Kylie, Lewis, Ciaran and of course Gail. Remember when she left a fingernail in a food critic's dinner? I'd take a star away for that, if they had any to begin with. 

Although the Bistro offers a classier environment for our favourite Corrie characters to brawl, bitch and get trollied, The Bistro does seem to be where everyone goes these days. Before that it was Vallandros (until Leanne burnt it down - if I was Nick I'd be keeping her away from the creme brûlée torch). And going back even further there was Delphines, a favourite of Mike and Alma Baldwin, and The Clock. I wonder what has happened to these places now everyone dines within 50 yards of their front doors?

Victoria Street provides two more earthy eateries. The first of which is the delightfully named Prima Doner. Currently owned by Dev (enough to put even Becky McDonald off after a night on the cider), it employs beige Ryan and pointless Katy. The kebab shop is often neglected, originally belonging to Sinbad from Brookside. Ryan obviously finds the scent of kebab grease deeply alluring as it seems to be where he does all his courting - remember that is where he first hooked up with Tracy-luv Barlow. Now be honest, even if you were desperate for a kebab, would you purchase one from any of the above suspects? I think not.

A far better bet in my mind is Roy's Rolls. Originally Dawson's, then Jim's Cafe, Roy's has long been as reliable as Fiz Stape's stupidity, Deirdre's fag breaks and Tina's strange golden hue. It may not be fancy, but I'm sure a visit to Roy's is always a comforting experience. Unless of course Owen the Ogre is menacingly standing by the counter plotting with Anna Windass. Thankfully the craze for Mary's theme nights has now passed and Roy is safely back at the helm. Anyway, I'm sure Roy can knock up a mean steak pudding. And where else would the faktry girls go on their never ending cake runs?

There is one place we sadly never see anymore - Wong's Chippy. I loved it when the truly hideous Cilla and Yana worked in the chippy dishing out limp saveloys to Les Batterby and various other assorted unsavoury specimens! Which reminds me, whatever happened to Jackson's Chippy? Maybe we should campaign for its return!

So where would you choose to dine if you happened to find yourself down Coronation Street? And do you think Corrie makes enough of Lancashire's glorious culinary history? Deirdre's stuffed marrow does not count!




And you can invite me out to Roy's for a frothy coffee and an eccles cake via Twitter @Edgeof31


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