Video: Cat joins cast on Coronation Street

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Came across this wonderful little bit of Corrie history on YouTube showing cat auditions on Coronation Street. Odd, short and worth a look.




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Corrie fans vote for Karen McDonald return

(This post was originally posted on the Coronation Street Blog August 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

A fortnight ago, There was a poll on the Coronation Street Blog about who'd folk would like to return to the cobbles.

550 Corrie fans voted and an astounding 173 voted for Karen McDonald (last seen in 2004) to make a comeback. No doubt with ex Steve and rival Tracy still there it would make interesting viewing!

In second place was Curly Watts (last seen in 2003)  with 97 votes.

Hilda Ogden (last seen in 1987) came third with 59 votes.

Tied in fourth place were Bet Lynch (last seen in 2003) and Mavis Wilton (last seen in 1997) with 47 votes.

And finishing the top five off was Becky McDonald (despite only leaving early this year!) with 26 votes. Becky was voted for under the 'other' option in the poll.

Other characters you wished to return were Linda Cheveski, Sian Powers, Billy Walker, Danny Baldwin, Sarah Platt, Toyah Battersby, Cilla Battersby-Brown, Rosie Webster, Spider Nugent, Graeme Proctor, Eddie Windass, Liz McDonald, Raquel Watts, Les Battersby-Brown, Candice Stowe, Maya Sharma, Dawn Prescott, Debbie Webster, Natasha Blakeman, Suzie Birchall, Jamie Baldwin, Frankie Baldwin, Shelley Unwin and Craig Harris.

Two people wished for Bill Ward to make a return as Charlie Stubbs' twin brother while others wished Richard Hillman, Elsie Tanner, Mike Baldwin and Derek Wilton would make a return from the dead.

Happy with the results? Or shocked? 

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Sneak Preview for next week's Canadian Corrie, Oct 1 - 5

Without further ado, here's a brief run down of next week's Coronation Street on Canadian Screens:

Mandy has kept a secret from Lloyd for 28 years. Three guesses and the first two don't count.  Her name is Jenna and she's not happy about it but Lloyd doesn't want to take No for an answer. 

Tommy still isn't comfortable with the surrogacy. Tina gets an installment from Owen and a new place to live. Kirsty gets a monetary surprise from T&T. Tina starts the surrogacy process.

Kirsty has trouble coping with a crying baby. Tyrone freaks out at her reaction and leans on Fiz. Beth and Kirk find each other. Gloria enters a pub of the year competition but can't resist giving herself a boost in rank and her plans cause more chaos.

Brian puts Ken's name forward to replace a school governor but Ken is shocked to see a familiar old face. Michelle tries to find a way to put Ryan off Tracy


For more detail and photos, see the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net

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Fab Photo - Blackpool Holidays

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. Here are some of the Coronation Street residents enjoying the delights of their favourite holiday destination.

An extra Brownie point goes to anyone who knows who's in the Tunnel of Love with Vera - and why.

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Corrie Originals - Lynne Carol as Martha Longhurst

(This post was originally posted on the Coronation Street Blog July 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

First appeared: 14th December 1960

Last appeared: 13th May 1964

Lynne Carol played the role of busybody cleaner Martha Longhurst between 1960 and 1964.

Born in Usk in Monmouthshire, South Wales in 1914, Carol was born into a theatrical family and debuted on stage at the age of three and for the next forty years her career was based in the provincial theatre.

In 1960 she was cast in the role of 61 year old nosy pensioner Martha Longhurst in new drama serial Coronation Street. Carol had to play a character who was 15 years her senior and did a convincing portrayal. Debuting in the second episode, Martha was part of the famous Rovers snug trio that consisted of her, Ena Sharples and Minnie Caldwell. Their friendship dated back to their teenage years and they grew closer as they all became widowed. Known for her beret, Martha was hired as a cleaner at the Rovers in 1963, a job that allowed her to hear the gossip first hand. During her tenure, Martha’s storylines included clashing with Ena on numerous occasions and rekindling with old flame Ted Ashley – she followed him to London thinking he’d propose, but she had mixed signals.

In 1964, Tim Aspinall (1935-2000) was appointed as the new producer of Coronation Street and proved controversial when he decided to axe five members of the original cast - Lynne Carol being one of them. Aspinall wanted to revamp the show and get rid of some deadwood. He felt that Carol would be able to find other acting roles. Carol received the news in the papers and was devastated and many of her co-stars, including Violet Carson (Ena Sharples), called for her reinstatement. But to no avail. Martha was killed off that year and died of a heart in the snug, unnoticed by everyone. When they recorded the death scene, Peter Adamson (Len Fairclough) paused for a while before announcing her death, hoping that the producers would change their mind but they didn’t. Viewers sent thousands of letters complaining about the decision to kill off Martha – the only character out of those axed to do so. Carol became bitter as she felt it was a mistake as her character was so popular and, with Violet Carson and Margot Bryant, provided the rich moments of the programme. After Martha’s death, writers acknowledged that maybe it would’ve been better to have her leave the street rather than killing her off. It has been said since then that killing Martha off has been the show’s biggest mistake. Martha’s spirit (pardon the pun) has lived on in the show. Betty Turpin thought she saw Martha’s ghost in the snug in 1975; and in 2011 Dennis Tanner joked that the mysterious voice Roy Cropper could hear was Martha’s ghost!

Between 1960 and 1964, Lynne Carol appeared in a total of 298 episodes of Coronation Street. For the rest of her career, she struggled to find work and suffered from being typecast. She secured a role in new BBC soap opera The Newcomers in 1965 but it wasn’t permanent. She had roles in other TV programmes like Albert! (1969-1972), Z Cars (1972-1973) and Crown Court (1975), but they weren’t top of the bill roles. Martha Longhurst’s shadow hung over her. Her last TV role was in BBC2 Playhouse in 1980 before retiring from acting. She made her last TV appearance in 1988 in a tribute programme to Margot Bryant where she spoke from her home in Blackpool. She died two years later aged 75.

Lynne married Bert Palmer (who also appeared in Corrie in 1965 as Mr Hartley; and in 1973 as Walter Biddulph, who sold his newsagents ‘Biddulphs’ to Len Fairclough who renamed it ‘The Kabin’) in 1934 and she was widowed in 1980. They had two children: a son and a daughter.

Did you ever see or meet Lynne Carol? Were you outraged when she was sacked? Do you have any trivia about her?

Research from Wikipedia, Corriepedia and IMDB.

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Further Predictions about the Corrie surrogacy storyline

There have been a lot of negative comments about the surrogacy storyline. People already think it's gone on too long and are getting frustrated with it. Not me.

I am enjoying it and enjoying thinking about what's going to happen. I didn't think Katy would be the surrogate because of the finances. But then Owen got involved and Katy got uninvolved and now Tina has decided to do it for the money to bail out Tommy's debts.

On the surface, it seems like the perfect fit, even if it's not strictly legal to be paying money for it but that never stopped Owen before.  It seems to be the kiss of death for Tina and Tommy's relationship and Gary has latched on to the new plan with his usual single-mindedness. He's determined to persuade anyone and everyone that needs it in order to become a dad.

But I don't think it's going to succeed. And this time maybe it will definitely come down to the cash. Rita has offered her Favourite money in the past and it may be Tina's turn this time. It would get Tyrone and Kirsty off their backs and it would pay off Tommy's debts. They'd still owe money but at least Rita wouldn't be rubbing their noses in it at every turn. Owen's not made of money and I don't think he'd end up being able to afford the 15K plus 7K every time they have to do the treatment because it doesn't work first time out.

In the end, debts will be paid and there will be no baby. Gary gets to love Izzy and they'll probably get a puppy that will be forgotten and will disappear in about 8 months. 

Like it or not, where do you think this is going? Will there be a baby at the end of it?


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Conversation Street podcast catch up

Gemma and Michael bring you a new Corrie podcast, Conversation Street,  coming to you out of the UK every weekend. I've been listening to it on the weekends since I keep up to date with the UK goings-on and it's very entertaining. They are a spoiler-free zone as far as what's coming up in the UK storylines.

For Canadians, since we are a couple of weeks behind, you can still listen to the podcast and if you don't want spoilers, just check out the dates on each episode. Their podcast, number 5, that covers the week ending in the UK on  Friday, September 14 covers Canadian episodes that aired from Sept. 19 to Sept. 26 (last night). Therefore, today, if you listen to this podcast, you'll hear their discussion of the episodes we've just seen. You can also subscribe to them on iTunes, Like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter (@conversationstr).

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Soap fans vote Coronation Street most realistic

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog June 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

It's Inside Soap magazine's 20th birthday this week and they recently commissioned a survey asking soap fans what they think of their favourite shows.

The results came in as follows, with most soap fans saying they want to see more humour, rather than grim storylines, in their favourite shows. Can't argue with that!

Four-fifths of viewers believe there should be more funny moments in the plots of the series, according to the poll.

More than a third - 36% - said they wanted to see fewer stories about affairs in TV soaps, and 30% said they would prefer to see less emphasis on "murder and mayhem" in the shows - although a quarter said they actually wanted to see more.

Just over two-fifths (42%) said the shows rarely or never reflected their own lives, and just 18% said a portrayal of a real-life issue in a soap had actually helped them.

Soap fans said Coronation Street was the soap which most accurately reflected reality, chosen by 40% of the sample of 1,000 people. EastEnders was second, chosen by 30%, while Emmerdale came third on 19%.
Emmerdale was chosen as the fictional location where viewers would most like to live, with Walford's Albert Square runner-up.

Inside Soap magazine editor Steven Murphy said: "It's interesting to see how Britons continue to love soaps and their family values, as well as the escapism it provides them with."

Read our exclusive interview with Inside Soap editor Steven Murphy.


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SurrogaTina

I had a draft post saved a few days ago with a prediction that Tina was going to end up the surrogate for Izzy and Gary since she and Tommy owe Tyrone so much money. Lo and behold, last night's show has proven me right! I've decided that this storyline should not end happily and here's why.


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Pic: Catherine Tyldesley in bed with Corrie co-stars

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog September 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Picture copyright Catherine Tyldesley on twitter

 Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Coronation Street's Eva Price, has just put this brilliant picture on twitter.

Why is she in bed with Corrie cast members Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald), Marc Baylis (Rob Donovan) and Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor)? It doesn't matter, it's such a great pic and was definitely worth posting here on the Coronation Street Blog. 

Follow Catherine on twitter @Cath_Tyldesley

Did you know that Catherine is also starring in another television programme at the same time that she's on screen in Corrie?  Find out more here.

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Inside Soap Awards for Corrie

This year's Inside Soap Awards were given out in London last night. While Coronation Street and most of the other nominees from the soap didn't win awards, there were three statues given out to show favourites.

Alex Bain (Simon Barlow) wins Best Younger Actor
Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) wins Sexiest Female and Best Dressed Soap Actor.

The full list of winners is here.

Inside Soap is a very popular soap magazine in Britian and you can get it in some Canadian newstands here. The issues will usually be about a month old but the magazine is very good though it will often have upcoming spoilers for Canadian viewers.

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Review: Bev Callard in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog September 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

(While this blog post concerns a stage production in the U.K., There are often many of our Canadian readers that go on vacation across the pond. I certainly do! I'm posting this in case any of you are in the U.K. over the next few months and get the chance to see this. I'm going to the U.K. in November but unfortunately, I'll be leaving on the night it opens in Blackpool which would be the closest location to where I will be staying!)

The last time we saw Bev Callard on Coronation Street as Liz McDonald she was leaving to go to Spain to help son Andy with his bar.  In real life, Bev's finally back on the stage, currently acting in a touring version of Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

We caught up with the show this weekend in Scarborough and I can't recommend it highly enough.  Bev Callard plays the role of Little Voice's mother, Mari Hoff.  And while the clothes Mari wears on stage are the short-short skirts and tight-tight tops in the style of Liz McDonald, this is a different character altogether to the one we've seen Bev play in Corrie.

Bev's character Mari Hoff carries the show from start to end.  She's on stage more than any other character and her role is one that gets the audience on her side straight away. She plays a comedy blinder with her on-stage friend Sadie - and in one moment that had tears of laughter rolling down my face, Bev does a hand stand while Sadie (played by Sally Plumb) opens and closes Bev's legs while they're both dancing to a Jacksons' hit.  Wonderful stuff.

As well as the comedy, Bev played the role with emotion and pathos, it really was fantastic.  The rest of the cast are pretty darn good too, not least Jess Robinson who plays and sings her way through the show as Little Voice.  It's a wonderful play, I highly recommend it and it more than deserved its standing ovation.

Find out more about Little Voice the tour and book tickets online at http://littlevoicetour.com/



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Over the top Corrie character introductions

In a comment posted on Coronation Street Blog, regular blog reader Humpty Dumpty mentioned that she hoped Gloria wouldn't become a pantomime character and pointed out the softer side to other characters such as Blanche. Other commenters have taken against Gloria who seems to be very "full on" so far. She does seem to be excessively full of sarcastic/funny/rude one-liners and she's only been on our screens for a week. There are hopes that she'll soften over time, reveal more vulnerable aspects and turn into a more rounded character.

That's probably exactly what will happen. This has often been the case in the past. A new character is introduced and seems very over the top and in your face, no matter what type, or stereotype they're meant to convey. Eventually, as the actor gets used to the character and adds their own spin on him or her and the writers see how they do it, the dialogue gets more depth and the character becomes more complex. If a character really catches the audience's imagination, then the producer will allow and develop more background which all adds to the mix.

Who knew when feckless Eddie Windass first appeared on our screens that he would be a creative and talented baker? Volatile Becky Granger was also fiercely loyal to those she loved and ached to be a mum. Owen, at first, was an out and out nasty piece of work. He's still a bit of a bully but we can also see a more tender and understanding side. Well. Sometimes.

A few characters over the years never strayed very far from their initial personality. Les and Cilla both really remained cartoonish but on rare occasions could show a bit of depth. Bubble headed Candice and Celeb-wannabe Rosie never really got much deeper than a sheet of paper but they both developed into great comic characters. Current character Eva seems to be following in their stillettos.

Audrey Roberts was most definitely a flighty, selfish woman but over time has grown into a very layered character. Most famously, Roy Cropper first appeared as a bit of a creepy stalker. You would never guess that now.

So, those of you that are finding Gloria to be a bit one dimensional at the moment, may we suggest giving the writers and the actor time to find her feet and her direction? I think Sue Johnston will do mighty things with the character and the writers will rise to the challenge. First impressions, as a general rule of thumb, tend to mellow, on Corrie.

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Interviews with the Coronation Street extras - Christine Quigley

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be an extra on Coronation Street, then wonder no more.

Canadian Coronation Street fan Christine Warren who runs the Coronation Street Fun Pages, has secured interviews with some of the extras on Corrie and has kindly given us permission here on the Coronation Street Blog to feature and link to each one when they are uploaded to her site.

This week it's Underworld factory extra Christine Quigley who has worked as a Corrie extra for 10 years.

Check out the interview here.

See also: Interview with Corrie extra Darran Burr


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Corrie Canada Weekly Awards Sept. 17 - 21

Provoking award: Kirsty can't leave it alone and always manages to wind up Tina, on purpose. Why was anyone surprised that Tina came after her in the pub? It was still out of order, though.  

Billing and cooing award: Oh ick. Tracy feeding Ryan to wind up Michelle. Steve and Michelle snogging to wind up Ryan. (They were trying to watch Ferris Beuller later on)

 Miracles happen award: - The brewery does deliveries on Sundays? - Cilla has a rich bloke and has invited her son for a visit. (Not her daughter, Fiz, I see?)  

Instant baby: Waters broke and the contractions started instantly without anything happening up to then. Is that possible? I suppose so.

 Pariah award: Everyone's against Tina. Even Tommy seems to be pretty critical of her. He's right. She IS obsessed and she can't let things lie so digs herself in deeper with every step. Kirsty antagonizing her makes her just as bad, though.  

Hurricane award Gloria blew into town like a storm of fresh air!  

Wearing Blinders award: Is it me or is Gary obsessed about being a father to the expense of everything else?

 Holding Court award: Gloria took over the pub, let everyone else do the work, getting rid of hotpot, getting Karl back behind the bar, but she pushed a bit too far and got chucked out.  
Musical ambience. Stella and Gloria fighting to "Waterloo".

 Lines of the Week: Gloria to Sunita "So it's you that's made my little girl cry. Hardly worth the hanky!"
Gloria to Stella "A relationship isn't just hard work, it's hard work and graft, especially for a woman of your age and bust size"
 Kevin to Tyrone "If me and you can make up after everything that's happened, I'm sure you and Tommy can" (not if Kirsty's in the driver's seat)
Marcus "I'm a midwife" Gloria "I'm a mother!"
Tracy "Only bad people hoover on a Sunday night"
Tyrone to the baby "You've mended everything" (Babies don't make very good bandaids)
Gloria "Nobody eats hotpot these days" Rita "I do" Gloria "Well you know what they say...you are what you eat!"
Deirdre to Ryan "I think you're all right. You've got lovely manners and great taste!" (well anyone that loves the marrow must be ok, right?)
Tina "You're beginning to sound like a couple of kids" (Listen to yourself lately?)
Sean to Gloria "By God, Betty knew how to hold a grudge!"
Gloria "It's Norris doing a butch voice"
Sean "I have never EVER had a hissy fit in my life" (No?)
Gary "This isn't just about you" (no, but it's not all about you either)

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