Top 5 Redeemed Characters in Coronation Street

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Guest blog post by Tiffany Bowman who is on Twitter: @TiffanyZBowman

There are always characters we root for despite their despicable acts, and Coronation Street is no different. In light of recent news, it looks like there won’t be a redemption arc for Pat Phelan. 

However, every now and then some characters do address their troubled ways and make it through to the other side. 

Here are my top five redeemed characters:

1. Tracy Barlow
From bumping off her boyfriend to committing arson, Tracy has always been at the forefront of drama. And whilst there’s very little she hasn’t done to upset her neighbours, it’s nice to see the character going in a new direction. Since striking up a friendship with Mary and reuniting with Steve, we’ve seen a different side to Tracy which is refreshing.

2. Daniel Osbourne 
Daniel is another troubled member of the Barlow clan. He tried to kill off Ken when he discovered that he played a part in persuading his girlfriend to terminate their baby. He also terrorised Chesney by threatening to steal his girlfriend. However, Daniel took a huge U-turn when he realised how far he had pushed Chesney, and has since rekindled his relationship with his Dad. 

3. David Platt
Once known as “The Demon Barber of Coronation Street,” David has caused a lot of trouble in the past, particularly to his own family. He sent cards to Gail from her dead husband, he was responsible for his 7-year-old niece ingesting ecstasy tablets, and he even pushed his own Mother down the stairs! But things seem to have settled down since he got with Shona, grew a beard and inherited a dog.  He’s due to be at the heart of a major storyline next month, which will surely see him evolve further. 

4. Gary Windass
Gary’s come a long way since he arrived on the cobbles. From assaults to robbery to infidelity, he often found himself on the wrong side of the law and was no stranger to fights. It was only when he returned from Afghanistan that we began to see a more sensitive side to him. Ironically, he’s supported the Platts on various occasions recently, despite his previous feud with David. He was an ally for Bethany when she was taking diet pills, and he heroically saved Lily from being hit by a car.

5. Gemma Winter
Gemma played a significant part in helping Callum terrorise the Platts when she first appeared on the street. From blackmailing Bethany into providing a false alibi, to helping bundle David into the boot of a car, there wasn’t much Gemma wouldn’t do to help Callum. But since then, she has changed her wicked ways, becoming a regular favourite on the cobbles. She bravely testified against Kylie Platt’s killer and supported Rita through her recent illness. 

Guest blog post by Tiffany Bowman who is on Twitter: @TiffanyZBowman

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

In defence of Cougar Carla's Corrie storyline

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)


Guest blog post from Flo Hough who is on Twitter @FloCorrieFan
Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!  

I think we’ve all read in some form or another about the upcoming story on Corrie about Carla and Daniel.  Details are still sketchy at best, but we do know that Carla does snog Daniel, and it doesn’t sound as though Daniel is going to be saying no to “The Carla Connor”.  

I personally think it’s going to be a fun storyline on the show and I’m anxious to see how it all plays out.  However, I have been very surprised and shocked at some of the comments made in regards to this upcoming romance (if that’s what it’s going to be) and thought it was something that might be interesting to discuss.

According to the wonderful Corriepedia, Carla would have just celebrated her 43rd birthday.  Daniel is 23, also having just celebrated his birthday the day after Carla.  So there’s a 20 year age gap.  Unconventional yes; impossible, no.  I’ve seen people with comments such as “disgusting, wrong, blech”.  Seriously?!  These are two consenting adults.  This isn’t Daniel’s first time around the block with an older woman either, remember his dalliance with the reporter from the Weatherfield Gazette?  And quite honestly, why not?  Just because the woman is older, it suddenly becomes a bit taboo for some reason.   I don’t understand why the double standard.

There have been plenty of couples on the cobbles where there have been significant age differences.  Deidre and Ken (16 years) Mike Baldwin and Susan Barlow (23 years) and Jenny Bradley and Johnny Connor (17 years) are three that popped into my head immediately.  I doubt that anyone thought anything of their age differences or made juvenile comments in regards to such, but suddenly because the roles are flipped and the woman is the older of the two, it’s now just not acceptable.  Talk about ageist.

Another comment I saw was that it was weird because Daniel is the half brother of her ex-husband Peter.  Wait a second…the story where Carla falls in love with her brother-in-law Liam was one of the more popular love stories on Corrie with a huge fan base of “Liarla” fans (I think that’s what it was called) who still, to this day “ship” over their story.  I was one of those fans!  Weatherfield is a small town and without a huge population of available males, it’s going to be inevitable that somewhere along the way, this kind of thing is going to happen.  And why shouldn’t it?  It’s not like its incest or something illegal/immoral.  It also makes me wonder if a Carla/David pairing would have worked as well.

Then there are those who say “she would never be interested in someone like Daniel.”  Says who?  Daniel is well educated, intelligent and while he can be annoying at times, he is well spoken.  He’s not too hard on the eyes either, so I can totally see Carla being interested in him, even if it’s only going to be for a short period of time.  They are two complex characters who both seem to fall deeply in love when they do, and I think it will make for a very interesting dynamic.  As for the age difference, don’t forget that Daniel basically raised himself after his mother abandoned him, so he’s probably far more mature than the average 23 year old.  Sure, he has his faults, but at least he isn’t turning to a bottle of vodka for courage every time something goes wrong.  (Sorry Peter)  Just stay away from the stairs Carla if you make him mad.  

I personally look forward to seeing the direction the writers go with this story, it could be a lot of fun.  I’m all for fun.  As for the age difference, age is only a number.  The added bonus is if it gets Daniel away from Sinead, all the better.  I’m just glad it’s not Chesney that Carla is kissing, she’s far too much fun for that.  

By Flo Hough who is on Twitter @FloCorrieFan

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Alison King interview on Carla kissing Daniel

Alison King has revealed that Carla Connor acts “like a cat with a mouse” as she makes a surprise move on Daniel Osbourne in Coronation Street.

In an interview with What's on TV, Alison King says that bookish Daniel isn’t the kind of fella you’d usually imagine Carla getting her claws into.

But he’s handsome, virile and up for some fun, and it seems those are the basic requirements for the former factory boss, who’s in need of a distraction next week in Corrie when she gets bad news about her health after she collapses to the cobbles.

Carla invites herself back to Daniel's flat next week and Alison King says: “Carla isn’t looking for love and she is truly happy on her own, but when she gets bored, she quite likes to do things to take her mind off stuff. She is a bit like a cat with a mouse, playing with Daniel. It is something to do. It isn’t a big romance in her eyes.”

Thoughts of sappy Sinead go straight out of the window for Daniel, and that’s a crying shame for the blonde, who heads to his flat to tell him she wants to try again – only to see him snogging Carla on the doorstep.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Coronation Street Blog Interview with Rob Mallard who plays Daniel Osbourne

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

In early November I was invited to Media City to interview Rob Mallard, who plays Daniel Osbourne in Coronation Street. Rob Mallard is an impressive young man: highly articulate, thoughtful, witty and charming.

Is Daniel still in love with Sinead?

Yes, he is, though he finds it difficult to admit it to himself. Actually, it feels as if he is obsessed with Sinead as well as being love with her. It’s possible if they continue to renew my contract, that Daniel and Sinead could be the new and enduring Ken and Deirdre. Daniel is more highbrow than Sinead, just as was the case with Ken and Deirdre, but they stayed together even though there were a few hiccups along the way…

 Will Sinead leave Chesney eventually, even though she is about to marry him?

Daniel believes that he and Sinead will be together at some point, unless someone else intgervenes, and Sinead has just to realise this. Daniel is her destiny not Chesney. The rivalry between Chesney and Daniel never really went away but soon we will see that it starts to hot up and Daniel tells Chesney that he doesn’t deserve Sinead and that if Sinead really was happy with Chesney, then she wouldn’t have strayed in the first place. Daniel feels aggrieved too, because when Daniel saved Chesney’s life in the bistro, incredibly, Chesney did not offer him one word of thanks, which, no matter what had happened before between them, was the least he should have done. In comparison, in most of his dealings with Chesney, Daniel has been quite magnanimous, even bringing little Joseph round to speak to him in Portuguese.

Will Daniel and Chesney ever be civil towards each other?

Things go from bad to worse with Chesney and Daniel. There’s a scene where Chesney hits himself as hard as he can with a brick. a Daniel tells people that he didn’t hurt Chesney but that Chesney hurt himself to get Daniel into hot water and to gain sympathy from Sinead. Naturally Sinead is outraged by what Daniel, she believes, has done to her fiancé. You’ll have to see how Daniel manages to get the truth out there. Could be something to do with his having filmed Chesney creating his own injuries with a brick…

Will Daniel’s mother appear on our screens again? And will viewers learn what happened between them?

There’s good news for fans of Denise Osborne – perhaps.  It seems that Daniel’s mum will return, but no one is sure when. There does seem to be a real appetite to see how this relationship works. Daniel’s anger concerning his mother isn’t so much to do with the fact that she left him when he was 15, but more because of the lifestyle they led when she was there with him. I’m confident that the back story will come through, and there are even hints that his mum might have brought unsuitable men into their lives, and that she was more concerned about keeping the men, rather than being a proper mother to Daniel. Instead of supporting Daniel in his endeavours, Daniel had to take charge of his life aged 15, including his Oxford application.

How are relationships lately in the Barlow household?

 Peter is the one to whom Daniel is the closest. For Daniel, Peter has been a father, uncle, brother and friend. Though they are very different types, there is a strong affection between the two. Perhaps surprisingly, Adam and Daniel decide to bury their animosity and rub along together in both their best interests. Besides, it’s hard work keeping up an enmity and easier to just rub along. Of his father, Ken, Daniel perceives him as pious and distant and only really interested in the kudos of a son of his getting into Oxford. There is also the issue of Daniel having pushed his father downstairs – a culmination perhaps of the way in which Ken had barely any input into Daniel’s upbringing. That said, Daniel does feel guilty about what he did and is conciliatory in his attitude towards his dad. As for Tracy, I don’t think it makes sense to hold out any hope of a good relationship for those two, but, this is soap and there may be a turn of events where Daniel and Tracy are thrown together - you never know…

Will Daniel continue to pursue his career in journalism or will he stay in the bistro?

As to his career, Daniel thoroughly enjoys journalism and it is an effective way of him interacting with people. I understand that speculation is rife as to whether Daniel will have anything to do with Phelan’s downfall, but on that topic, I cannot say anything. Daniel might discover something which is connected to Andy.  I don’t know whether Daniel will push further with his career as a journalist.

How do the public react to you?

They tell me that I don’t seem as weird in real life as I do on the cobbles!

What do you, Rob, want for Christmas?

A hoover and a dressing gown, actually. My best present ever though was a keyboard when I was 13.

By Ruth Owen, Twitter @ruth1722

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Sinead - the square in Corrie's love triangle

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


Guest blog post from Stephen Leach who is on Twitter: @sirterenceboot
Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!  

I must say I’m thoroughly unconvinced by the recent tug-of-war between Daniel and Chesney. Not because I can’t take either of them seriously as hard lads – on the contrary, they’ve both got a certain thuggish air about them – but mainly because I find it hard to believe anyone could get that worked up over Sinead.

What exactly has happened to Sinead? When she first arrived on the Street she was a breath of fresh air: quirky, endearing, a bit of a hippy. The sort of person who’d spend her spare time protesting the tampon tax and attending vegan food festivals. Now she’s just a drudge. All the positive energy seems to have been sucked right out of her and replaced with hot air and tedium. Is it a consequence of spending too much time with Chesney? Possibly, although it’s equally likely that the writers just can’t be bothered to think of anything more interesting to do with a young woman than get her up the duff.

I’m enjoying seeing Daniel start to become slightly unhinged again. Remember back when he was throttling Chesney and shoving Ken down the stairs? It’s as if everyone just quietly agreed to forget that any of it happened. Let’s hope that over Christmas he finally snaps and starts offing anyone who annoys him. Or possibly he’ll just stage a robbery at the Bistro. It’d be the first time anyone’s done that in about three weeks.

One good thing that’s come out of this storyline is Chesney’s odd friendship with Tracy. Though is friendship really the right word? To me it seems a bit more like the White Witch luring Edmund to her sleigh to feed him poisoned sweets. Chesney’s been nice-but-dim for too long, so god only knows he’d benefit from some tutoring in the dark arts. And it wouldn’t be the first time Tracy’s enjoyed some attention from a younger bloke – remember that weird liaison she had with David Platt? 

Personally, I’m hoping Chesney’s devious streak continues, though one would hope his plans stretch to something a bit more cunning than smashing himself in the face with a brick. 

Only time will tell.

While I’m on the subject, am I the only one who was hoping Fiz might have been correct in her assessment of Ruby as a devil child in the making? There’s a vacancy in Weatherfield right now for a wicked child: we’ve hardly seen Amy in months, and Simon’s violent tendencies seem to have fizzled out. Children on Corrie do often seem to take after their parents, and if we never see Natalie Gumede make a return to the street it’d be good to have Ruby take up her mantle as the resident psycho. I think it’d be interesting to see.

 And what better time to kick the story off, now that Fiz is departing for the bright lights of Wolverhampton. Or was it Australia? I’m always confusing the two. “I’ll be away for a few weeks, kids. Unless I get booted out in the first round.” 

No, I didn’t understand what she meant either.

Guest blog post from Stephen Leach who is on Twitter: @sirterenceboot

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Coronation Street - 5 New Year Resolutions it should keep

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Resolution 1

Carla and Roy are the best thing about Corrie right now. It is beautiful to see two people who are not related and not lovers, yet have enormous love and respect for each other. Don’t make the relationship smooth running, let’s have plenty of conflict (in fairness, Carla’s return has started well) and writers, please accentuate how both need each other and let us witness true altruism at work.

Resolution 2

Wrap up quickly the Chesney, Daniel, Sinead love triangle. There is hope this may happen as it is rumoured that Carla and Daniel (!) will have a passionate love affair, though make it brief please as long term it doesn’t bode well. Peter, Daniel, maybe Adam too? That is surely enough Barlow for any woman. Ken next? Sorry, sorry, shouldn’t even have mentioned it…

Resolution 3

And so to Fiz – Jennie McAlpine is a great actor but she is being desperately under-used. Also, her current life has no joy in it. Give the woman a break. If she’s not berating Tyrone for overspending or staying longer than his allotted half hour in The Rovers, she’s comforting her brother, Chesney. She should lighten up and act her age. How can she be so ground down? She appears to live the life of a middle aged person in the 1950s rather than someone 2017  in her thirties. Yes, she has responsibilities but that doesn’t mean that you should give up and become a shrew.

Resolution 4 (is a spoiler so it's been removed)

Resolution 5

And now for a general plea in the new year. Please resolve to have more conversations, perhaps between people you wouldn’t ordinarily put together. Let’s have more humour, more misunderstandings, more gossip. Please resolve to have fewer really dramatic moments. No more falling off cliffs, no more murders, no more crazy coincidences when discoveries that someone else contributed to a death over a decade ago and by utter and complete chance landed in Weatherfield, a small town by anyone’s measure, which just happens to be where the relatives of the dead person abide.

                  A heartfelt thank you!

Happy 2018 to all wonderful Coronation Street Blog readers and to all amazing bloggers.

I hope it’s the best one yet for all of you!

By Ruth Owen, Twitter @ruth1722

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Rob Mallard signs to Corrie for another year

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


Good news for fans of Rob Mallard, who plays Coronation Street's Daniel Osbourne.  Rob has signed up to Coronation Street for another year.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Rob said: "Well I've just signed my second year so as far as it comes for the next year or so I think I'm quite safe for now but who knows at the end of that?"

And he also said that his character Daniel might get back together with Sinead, even though she's now engaged to Chesney.

He said: "Yeah - absolutely there's a way back because the only reason she isn't still with Daniel is because when they first got together the drama erupted with the Barlows that she obviously got pulled into. Aside from that they had everything going for them. They were both a little bit left of centre, not really part of any crowd - they didn't have an in-group, they found an in-group with each other, and I think they will always have that."

I'm really pleased Rob is staying on the Street. Daniel is a complex, troubled young man, proving that he's more, much more, than his dad Ken's mini-me.  And I really would like to see his mum Denise Osbourne return too.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Corrie Speculation

It's speculation time again, guys and gals. Watching Corrie this week had me turning my mind to a couple of plot points upon which I have had an educated guess about where they're going.

First, it seems very clear Pat Phelan is going to put someone else in the cellar and let Andy go free to be their minder. Forget for a minute how he's going to be able to explain Andy's sudden reappearance because Andy won't likely stay away from the street. The big question is who will it be if he manages to pull it off?

All week, Phelan has been getting more and more worked up over Daniel's investigation and interference into his business and I bet most of you figured Daniel is going to be the next hostage. I don't think so for two reasons. One is that Daniel is known to be investigating Pat and if he goes missing, there will be questions. Daniel also has lots of family that will be asking even more questions to find him. The second reason is that I doubt very much Phelan would need a gun to keep Daniel under control to get him into the basement.

But Vinny/Harvey is another matter. That gun is for him, I feel sure. He's a much more dangerous person than Daniel and if he's going to be taking down someone like that, it makes sense that he'd get something to back him up.

The other storyline that piqued my interest was Nicola's visit to her mother's old friend and neighbour who went whiter than a white thing when she saw the photo of Pat Phelan and heard that he was Nicola's father. She didn't think her friend would  have had an affair. Maybe she didn't. We've only got Phelan's word for it. Was he in love with her? Yes, I think so, but she rejected him in the end for her family, telling Phelan she was pregnant with her husband's child.Nine months after she broke up with Phelan, Nicola was born.

Lydia would have known Phelan since she was close to Nicola's parents and he'd have known her. I wonder if they had a one night stand either before or after Phelan lost the love of his life and that's where Nicola came from. Maybe she's Lydia's daughter, given to her friends to raise. I realize I'm reaching a bit here but why would Lydia look so shocked to see Pat's photo and be so sure her friend wouldn't have cheated on her husband? Because she was the one cheating on her husband with Phelan. Her friends might have covered for her and it's possible that they didn't know who the father really was.

Ok, maybe that theory is stretched a bit thin the more I think about it. What else could that be? Thoughts? Theories? Go for it.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter