5 things I love about Coronation Street right now

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


As the year heads to a close, I'm feeling a bit confused about Coronation Street. I've written a little something to that effect here.

But it's too easy to sit here being a keyboard warrior writing all the things that I think is wrong with the show. All the things that I think are wrong with it are things you might think are right. And if we swapped lists, there'd be things on your list that I couldn't agree with, I'm sure.

What's important is that Corrie still ignites the passion within us fans. We care - a lot - when it's not going well and love it even more when it is.

Trying to brighten my day then before the year ends, here are the five things that I'm loving about Corrie right now.

1. Jenny flaming Bradley

Yes, I know she's Jenny Connor but she'll always be Jenny Bradley to me. Always fun to watch. Bring on the fireworks between her and Carla, please.

2. Gemma Winter

Gemma is a gem. She deserves to be behind the bar at the Rovers instead of drippy Toyah(*) and changed-personality Peter. (*I love Toyah, but she doesn't work with Peter and neither of them deserve to be at the Rovers).

3. Tracy and Steve

I am loving Tracy and Steve back together. It might not last, and it shouldn't, of course. Steve should be with Leanne. But until that happens (if it does), then I'm enjoying every second of these two pretending to play happy families. Tracy's behaviour now reminds me of Deirdre, who's still much missed of course.

4. Michelle Connor

Given the right storyline, Kym Marsh acts everyone else off the screen. The late miscarriage storyline this year had me in pieces and Kym's powerful performance was incredible.  But then.. what? They stuck her with Robo-Robert. Get rid of him, Corrie and give the Bistro to Michelle to run in competition with Liz back at the Rovers. Now that's a fight I'd like to see. And Liz to win, of course.

5. Liz, Sally, Rita, Gail, Audrey

Okay, I know that's five women but please Corrie, let's see more of them. Stop the focus, just briefly on Kate and Rana. Just because there's a noise on Twitter about them, doesn't mean every single one of your viewers is a #Kana fan. It also doesn't mean that every single one of your viewers is on Twitter. Please remember this and don't lose sight of what you are - a television programme - not a social media fad.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Queen of the Street and Future Heiresses

Rita Sullivan is clearly the undisputed queen of the street currently, and has been, in my view, for many years. Even if she forgets her own name, Rita is one of the best women to have landed in Weatherfield and fits closely the type of strong woman who Tony Warren had in mind. But, if she does depart to the cobbles in the sky, who, of the remaining women, has the characteristics and capability to occupy the vacant throne?

Now, much as I like Audrey and Emily – (will she ever return?) I feel that the crown must be passed down to the next generation.

So what characteristics do we need? We need someone who is well-liked and respected. Someone strong and forthright too, who will fight her own and other people’s battles, with passion and fury. She should be someone who hasn’t had an easy life, but has come through, scarred, but wise. And underneath the tough exterior, not a perfect person, but someone with a flawed character and with a good heart, who genuinely loves her friends. A sense of humour wouldn’t go amiss either and we need longevity, too.

So let’s see who we’ve got. Now we know she’s returning, first for consideration has to be, none other than...

1      Carla Connor – A strong candidate for the crown. Independent, takes no prisoners, strong, kind when it really matters (Roy and Hayley). What lets her down is that though she is admired and factory boss, I don’t feel she is very well liked and doesn’t have many friends.

  Liz McDonald – another strong candidate. Since leaving The Rovers, Liz seems to be at a  loose end. After years of fulfilling her role as landlady, she has shown herself to be popular, kind and probably in the know of many people’s business, either from their intentional sharing of their private lives or because of having overheard confidences. She is emotionally intelligent and though I am sure she would appreciate a man in her life, she is not willing to have one at any price – remember the public humiliation of Tony Stewart? And yes, she is tough. She also has a sense of humour.

3      Sally Metcalfe – Although her character is an appealing one in a soap, I doubt that Sally would fulfil the stringent criteria laid down for Queen of the Cobbles. Sally is ambitious, often amusing, though not always deliberately so. She is a social climber, an egomaniac and a snob. She tells people she eats kale and quinoa, but then lets herself down by asserting that a Vienneta is a suitably bourgeois dessert. She reacts to people, according to their station, the posher, the better, and is very swift to judge. Sorry Sally, the crown cannot be yours.

4      Eileen Phelan – Witty, kind, especially to Summer, very generous in allowing people to stay in her house, but she can be cold and unpleasant. Her feud with Gail is ridiculous and both women should end it now. A good friend, but lacks interest in goings-on outside her small domestic sphere to have any chance of wearing the crown.

Michelle Connor – she has suffered recently, but falls into men’s arms too easily and indiscriminately.  She shows little ambition, for her own sake, only insofar as it involves a man. A little naïve but she was an excellent friend to Carla, though I understand that that friendship will struggle to survive on Carla’s return. But, she has forgotten that she has a son called Ryan! Sorry Michelle.

Other possibilities include, Gail and Yasmeen, but I’ve ruled them out. Gail doesn’t have the gravitas and Yasmeen has not been around long enough. If she sticks around, she will be considered.

Of the younger ones, we have Jenny, Eva, Maria, Fiz, Toyah, Leanne, Sally, Mary, Sarah, Eva, Izzy, Alya, Rana, Kate, Shona and even Gemma (!) who, under the influence of the current queen could make the grade given time. Gemma has shown herself to be devoted to Rita and is a loyal friend to Chesney, and of course, we should never say never. In some cases access to the throne will take time - a heck of a lot of time.

By Ruth Owen.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

5 Corrie couples who are great together

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

Yesterday I wrote a blog post about 5 Corrie couples who shouldn't be together. You can read it here.

Today, on a brighter note, it's the turn of those Coronation Street couples that are great together.

Sally and Tim. My favourite couple at the moment. Comedy, class warfare, clean windows and snobbery - what's not to like? Tim is the perfect down-to-earth foil for Sally and her high and mighty dreams. A perfect Corrie couple.

I love, love, love Sarah Platt and Gary Windass together. Mind you, I'd still much prefer Gary and Izzy to get back together but as that doesn't appear to be on the cards any time soon, not with Nicola's baby on the way, then it's going to be interesting to see how Sarah and Gary play out. Will she dump him when she finds out about Nicola? And she will find out, won't she? This is soap after all.

Steve and Leanne. The Corrie couple who never were together, not really, but they proved in that short period of time that they could be awesome as a two-some. Come on, Corrie, put these two together and get them running the Rovers with Liz behind the bar.
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Beth and Kirk. Warm, funny, common as muck and they love each other so much as well as their family and friends. Always a delight.

Billy and Todd. Yesterday I included Billy and Todd in my list of 5 Corrie couples who shouldn't be together because I truly believe Todd has the capability to really hurt Billy and break his little heart.  But until (or if) that happens, they really are a joy to watch, especially with the addition of Summer.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know your views.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Sally Dynevor on Corrie's Sally: "I’m getting so like her, it’s awful"

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


Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe in Coronation Street, has been telling Radio Times why she wouldn't vote for Corrie's Sally when she runs for Mayor of Weatherfield.

Yes, you read that right! Sally is going to make a bid to become Mayor of Weatherfield - you can read more on that here. 

Asked by RadioTimes.com whether she herself would vote for her on-screen character, Sally Dynevor said: “No, she’s too Margaret Thatcher. I’d have to decline.” And a bit Theresa May too? “Yes. And that’s another reason why I wouldn’t vote for her!”

Speaking about whether she becomes more like Sally the longer she plays her, Sally Dynevor said: “I’m getting so like her, it’s awful. I’m morphing into her. I even have a husband called Tim [Emmerdale scriptwriter Tim Dynevor].

“I can be making a phone call to, say, a decorator and I’ll say, ‘I won’t be there but Tim will be’ and I’ll hear a little snigger on the other end of the line. I wouldn’t wear her clothes though – if I go to a photoshoot and there’s anything resembling Sally, I want to cry.”

She goes on to say: “I feel that Coronation Street is the only programme on TV that is so women-focused. The men are useless – just look at Tim. You couldn’t ask him for help with anything! And having a woman producer is good in that you do get much stronger female characters coming through. For me, I’ve been able to portray Sally in a more three-dimensional way and show her vulnerability.”

Read the full interview here.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

All you need to know about Sally's sister, Gina Seddon

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

News reaches us today that Sally Metcalfe's sister Gina Seddon is returning to Coronation Street.  Time then, to have a recap on who Gina Seddon is.

Gina is Sally Webster's younger 'wild-child' sister. She appeared in Corrie in 1988-89 when she moved into No. 13 with Kevin and Sally.

She was originally played by actor Julie Foy.

Neither Sally nor Kevin were happy to see Gina - she was the proverbial bad penny and they were worried that she'd never leave - but they felt trapped into letting her stay as the alternative would be her going off with her boyfriend Billy Wyatt...

... but then she was caught in bed with Martin Platt!

Later, she returned to the Websters' asking to stay as Billy Wyatt was in prison; he'd been charged with stealing a car and Gina was charged as an accessory. Gina was fined and put on probation. 

Kevin and Sally agreed to let her stay at No.13 if she got a job. She applied for a job at Jim's Cafe, helping out Gail Tilsley do a sandwich round.

The perennially work-shy Gina's determination and attitude to the job changed when she realised she could use the round to meet boys.

Following the death of her and Sally's dad in January 1989 Gina received £1,000 insurance payout and left without saying goodbye to Kevin and Sally.

She later married a long-distance lorry driver, Colin, and they moved to Newcastle.

Gina and Colin had two children born in 1996 and 1998. It seems as if one of these children will be coming to Coronation Street with Gina.

In 2001 Sally went to look after Gina's two children after Gina was hospitalised with appendicitis.

And in 2010 Sally went to stay with Gina in order to convalesce after receiving treatment for breast cancer.

With thanks to Corriepedia and Corrie.net for the information to write this blog post.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Will Sally get her mojo back?

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


I'm worried about Sally and I would like to bet that many viewers are too. My particular concern is whether she will be able to regain her confidence, her zest for life, her belief in that as a councillor in Weatherfield she is doing some good, making a difference and fighting the thoughtless sexists - in short, will she be able to retrieve her mojo?

I do hope so. Perhaps Sally is the only character who does such a great job of retaining her likeability while displaying shocking hubris, self-importance and a gentle holier than thou attitude. Maybe Brian is a contender, but he doesn't have the longevity of Sally, therefore Sally wins.

Sally, along with her husband Tim, are a great source of Corrie comedy but what has been notable in recent weeks is the ability of Sally Dynevor and Tim Duttine, to play serious, gut-wrenching scenes. In the factory, all alone, informed that she was being watched, saw Sally broken and terrified. What a convincing pieced of acting that was. In addition, on receiving a 'cancer diagnosis' by phone, being informed that a mistake had been made and that in fact she was not clear of cancer, once again brought Sally's acting talent, in a serious role, to our attention.

And so it was with Tim. Joe Duttine's anguish at the 'diagnosis' and his fury at the social media trolls bringing pain to his screen wife, was as believable and compelling a scene as any of late. His protectiveness of her, his belief that leaving the council is the only option and his attempts to get her out to face people, were all excellent. We saw her typing a letter of resignation from the council but don't know if she posted it.

Rosie and Sophie were no less supportive than Tim, though in a different way. Rosie, especially, does not believe that it is in her mother's best interests to resign from the council. Rosie is confident that she is right, in that she believes her mother is a fighter, not someone who gives up when the going gets tough. In the future, if Sally does resign, won't she regret it? Will she not feel a sense of failure and also an anger at herself for having given up because of some spiteful, worthless keyboard warrior? Rosie's view is a convincing one.

It seems that we will get to the bottom of who this troll is. Various spoilers have suggested that it might be Sally's sister who is the source of all this upset. Well, as the old adage goes, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family.

Ruth Owen, twitter: @Ruth1722

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter