A Potted History of Tommy Duckworth

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog March, 2011, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Now that Tommy Duckworth has returned to Coronation Street, let's take a look back at Tommy Duckworth and remind ourselves who he is and where he belongs in the scheme of things on the Street.  With thanks to corrie.net

Tommy Duckworth first appeared: 9 September 1992
Tommy Duckworth was born by caesarean whilst his father Terry was in Strangeways Prison for GBH. After spending a little time in Nº 9, Tommy and his mother Lisa moved back to her parents house in Blackpool. Lisa and Tommy came back to the Street in January 1993 to live with her lover, Des Barnes. Sadly, Lisa was knocked down by a car, and died on 12 February 1993.

Tommy's grandparents - Jack and Vera Duckworth - struggled to look after him. Vera gave up her job, but she looked forward to the end of the year when Terry would be released, and they could all rebuild their lives as one family. Unfortunately, Terry had other ideas, and on Christmas Eve 1993 he returned from the Hortons (Lisa's parents) in Blackpool without Tommy - he had SOLD his son to his in-laws !

Jack and Vera  then saw Tommy regularly - they all went on holiday to a caravan in North Wales in May 1995 - but still missed him desperately. In June 1996, Terry appeared back in the Street with Tommy. The Hortons had failed to pay the £2,000 a year they had agreed to pay Terry for Tommy. Eventually the Hortons got him back by paying £10,000, and getting Terry to sign a document giving them total custody of Tommy until he is 18.

Actor Chris Fountain is the third actor to play Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street.  The other actors have been
Darryl Edwards (9 September 1992 - 1997)  and Joseph Aston (2 July - 30 August 2000).  Interestingly, Joseph Aston is the brother of Sam Aston who currently plays Chesney in Corrie. Their sister Emily has also been on Coronation Street too as Becky Palmer.

Fat Brenda's Cream Horn

What the flamin' hell has got into Rita recently loveys? When she's not shuffling round in her daft hat dishing out words of 'wisdom' to whoever will listen she's crying her eyes out! I bought meself twenty Dunhill Internationals from her in The Kabin and I was five pence short, 'that's alright lovey' she said and I thought no more about it. I found a pound on the floor outside and bought a Bounty and a bag of Monster Munch from Dev's. That was when Rita saw me. 'How could you do this?' she wept, 'You lied to me Brenda. You had that five pence all along and after all I've done for you. I'm just so hurt...' She needs to sort herself out loveys and stop crying and going on with herself, she's getting on me flamin' nerves!


Why did Sally get invited to the wedding and I didn't? I've got a fascinator that I made meself, it's got a load of ciggie dimps attached to wire that bob about when I move me head and I've been dying to use it. But did I get an invite? No I did not. I wouldn't mind but Kylie kipped over at the cab office the night before the wedding and I didn't even get a plate of buffet to say thanks!

Well that Fay(e) is certainly making her presence felt with her light fingered ways. 'We can send her back' said my Eddie in what can only be described as a total change of heart. I'm not convinced it's even my Eddie. I think he's been abducted by aliens and they've exposed him to some weird brain experiments and wiped out his entire memory. It was Eddie who cheated folk out of darts money, stole the cash and carry code from Roy to buy booze and refused to pay Joe McIntyre for a kitchen (it was Anna an' all remember) that started Joe's descent into flamin' poverty and drug addiction! You'd think he'd welcome Fay(e) with open arms as a chip off the old block but as I said, there's summat not right about him at the moment.

If there has been alien abduction going on then I reckon they got their green martian fingers on our Graeme an' all. Didn't he used to be funny? He's not acting himself loveys. Come to think of it neither is Norris, going round threatening folk like a balding Edward Woodward in The Equaliser, and neither is Jim (how about yee) McDonald! What's going on in Weatherfield at the moment?

It's nice to see Gail hasn't changed a bit though... she's still the same interfering old witch! It's so reassuring that in an uncertain world, Gail is the only constant! She makes Ivy Brennan seem like a hands off mother she's that overbearing. Folk say David has a screw loose but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, loveys, and in this case the tree is a fifty odd year old divorcee and triple widow with an addiction to whispering and blinking! What bugs me is that the woman who has the worst taste in men in the whole world thinks she can dish out advice to whoever is unfortunate enough to be sharing genes with her! Fancy giving Kylie £1000 to leave Weatherfield... judging by the amount Kylie charged for Max I don't reckon a grand was anywhere near enough!

What confused me is how Kylie managed to get her outfit from Transylvania in the late nineteenth century and still get back in time for the wedding! Must be them aliens again.

Anyhow, I'm going now, I'm in the middle of a game of Scrabble on the into-net with Ken Barlow! Six times I've beaten him but he doesn't know who it is loveys, it'd destroy him if he thought he'd lost to me, you know what he's like! He is proper rubbish at it considering he's supposed to be all brainy, I mean, he'd never heard of the word Bella! He kept calling it a proper noun or summat. I don't know much about proper nouns loveys but I do know Bella is a proper good read!

So goodbye loveys and remember, if you see Rita drawing near... RUN, she'll not catch you and you might avoid dying of flamin' boredom after one of her sermons!

Laters loveys and tweeter me here if you fancy.

When you call your ex cell mate, it won't end well.

 I read my friend's blog back in April and I have been waiting patiently ever since. I really thought this  summed it all up and I hope you agree.  Please read Matthew Rudd's Blog (posted with his permission of course). (spoiler through that link)

Thoughts on Corrie's double wedding

I really did enjoy the wedding episodes this week! The hen night was a chuckle with the added conflict of Gail paying Kylie £1000 to take a hike. Kylie looked like she was considering it for a minute or maybe she was just a bit shocked that Gail would stoop so low! There was some amusing stuff at the stag do as well, particularly Kirk playing 'Toxic' on the jukebox! *snort*

Norris finding out for sure that Graeme and Xin's wedding was inevitable though Tina following him to the venue was a bit naff. She had to convince him not to say anything but it would look odd that she was there. Still, you've got to have that conflict so you need that to happen. 

Just the look on Gail's face when Kylie showed up, late, at the registry office was worth the whole thing! I am surprised, though, that Xin didn't wear red. The Chinese believe that red is lucky for weddings and white is worn for mourning. Ok, maybe she did wear the proper colour after all. I've never seen a grimmer looking "Happy Couple"! I thought Graeme might back out at the last minute but seeing as he went through it, I'm now betting that he will actually fall for Xin and they'll go off together, maybe with Xin being offered a job somewhere else.

At the reception, you just knew Graeme's touching speech was really made to Tina who was standing beside Xin (and who'd caught the bridal bouquet!) but naturally, Norris couldn't keep a secret in and Rita really gave Tina and Graeme what for. Isn't Tina still lodging with Rita? I imagine there was no girly giggling over the cocoa that night! It'll be a bowl of Frosty Frosted Flakes!

David and Kylie are joined in unholy matrimony. Toxic probably is a pretty good assessment of both David and Kylie. Will they be happily ever after? Not likely. Nobody on soaps usually are. It should be entertaining, at least but I reckon David is going to get his heart broken and then he'll go off the rails again.

The confrontation between Gail and Kylie at the reception was good, too. Now Kylie has something to hold over Gail and she knows it. The nerve of Ms. Hypocrite Gail calling Kylie a nasty piece of work! Blackmail is blackmail and it only made matters worse. Even Nick went along with the money scheme, giving Gail the cash for it. It must be awful if even Nick disapproves!

I am surprised Gail didn't decamp to Audrey's for the night. It doesn't really make sense she'd stick around for the wedding night. I guess the Teneriffe flight Kylie bought with her money doesn't leave until the next day.

I loved listening to Norris grumble and snipe at the back of the wedding audience. I loved Gail's sour face, especially when Kylie announced she wanted to call her Mum, complete with Becky's rolling eyes over in the corner, too! I absolutely adored Kirk getting drunk and maudlin and thinking Audrey was coming on to him because she bought him a drink. Andy Whyment was an absolute star in these episodes and I'm not the only one that thought so!

Now. You may wonder about the venue used for the wedding. They used a building called Ryecroft Hall which is in Audenshaw, near Manchester. It's a listed building and is licensed for weddings for real. I've been there and I've posted some photos comparing them to screen shots from the wedding episodes over here. I've also posted a series of photos from the wedding over here.

Sneak Preview of next week's Canadian Corrie, Nov. 21 - 25

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

Jim's bank robbery plans go pear shaped. He lands back in jail and Liz is devastated. She promises to wait for him but she's lying. Liz makes a life changing decision. How is this going to affect Steve and Becky's plans? What will happen when Tracy finds out Steve was going to take Amy away?

David and Kylie might be married, but Gail decides to tells a big secret. Maria cracks under pressure and Carla sides with Frank who buys into Underworld. Maria takes it badly and considers going to the police over what Frank did.

Anna and Eddie continue to have problems adjusting as does Faye. Eddie has a question for Anna and he gets a new job offer but it means moving away. What's her answer, is Anna prepared to go with him? Katy has news for Chesney. Tommy moves in with Tyrone. Sylvia moves in with Roy and Hayley.

Kevin tries to delay the hearing about the money. Sally is shocked at the judge's decision. What's Kevin's next move to try to win her back? John decides to stop his medication against advice but when the police come calling, he breaks and flees.

Sean heads to London to visit Dylan and runs into an old flame. Meanwhile, Todd visits Weatherfield with a new flame and it doesn't go as expected.


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

Paula Lane's not a bad girl

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

There's a lovely interview with Paula Lane in the Daily Star today. She talks about her character on Corrie, Kylie and says how much fun Kylie is to play. In reality, she declares she's much more emotional and sensitive than hard-as-rocks Kylie but reckons Kylie is like she is due to her rough upbringing. She's all about money-grubbing because she didn't have any growing up.

Paula tells us that Kylie and David are in lust rather than love and the idea of the salon is part of the attraction for Kylie. She talks about tonight's wedding, including the red basque she wears as something that was bought to wind up the mother of the groom. She doesn't say whether she thinks Kylie and David will go the distance but she herself has been happy with her long term boyfriend, someone she's been with since her teens (she's now 25).

I, for one, am happy to see Paula Lane stick around for awhile, and shall enjoy tonight's wedding and all future Kylie antics. I think Paula Lane is wonderful!

Fat Brenda's Cream Horn

One question: What the flamin' hell did Janice slip into Trev's drink? I've seen some strange things in me time but Trev and Janice? Beauty and the flamin' Beast more like! I'm a bit annoyed at Janice actually loveys cos she told me if she ever left Weatherfield she 'd give me her fleece with the horses on! It's proper classy is that!

Jim (how about yee) McDonald has returned to the cobbles with his lovely mop of grey hair to try and find a resolution between Steve, Becky and Liz like an Irish Kofi Annan. I'll be honest loveys, I don't think anybody could resolve that situation so they couldn't!

Cheryl's been lording it up over everyone again. This time it's cos her Russ is supposed to be some sort of genius who needs extra lessons to unlock his potential! When I was at school I was always described as 'special' and had to have extra lessons with all the other 'special children'. I didn't tell Cheryl that though, she'd have only been jealous! I remember the teacher saying, 'Brenda, yer a bit special you are. Why don't you spend this lesson sat on yer own in the corridor colouring in a picture of a Roman.' Happiest days of yer life apparently loveys!

Kevin has become suddenly more attractive since winning two hundred grand! Me friend Bernice was right over there telling him she needed a servicing, he didn't take the bait loveys, he just got his log-book out and told her he didn't need to look under the bonnet to see she was a write off! Poor Bernice! I tried to entice him meself by sexily smoking a Dunhill outside his garage but he moved me along muttering summat about health and safety!

Lock up yer daughters (or he will), hide yer hammers and hold onto yer angina spray cos John's back on the cobbles!! Let's hope the first thing he does is stop Fiz speaking in that funny voice she's had since Hope was born. She's starting to remind me of Gail with her fella denial and whispering!

I saw Chesney stealing some furniture out of a skip for his and Katie's flat bless him. If I owned a dog like Schmeichel I wouldn't bother with furniture I'd just sit on him, sleep on him and eat off him! He's flamin' big enough! He's a furry walking multi-purpose transforming furniture wonder! The only thing I wouldn't use him for is a shower loveys... that would be wrong...

Have you ever wondered what a walking orange looks like loveys? I have and I have to say I didn't expect it to be Tommy Duckworth! He's back and he's wearing more fake tan than Tina, David and Katie Price put together. Just seeing him for one minute damaged me retinas and rendered me blind! Tyrone only asked him to stay so he could cut down on the electricity bill by basking in the eerie glow of Tommy's Fake Bake Beyond Bronze Self Tan Spray (£20.42 at Superdrug loveys - it's like liquid Wotsits!)

Tommy has only been here a day and he's upset Kevin and been accused of homophobia by Sophie! She's homophobia mad that one! She accused me once just cos I'd drawn a fake moustache on a picture of Sandi Toksvig in one of me magazines! Touchy or what?!

See you later loveys!


Tweeter me if you want!

Death by their own hand

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

This isn't a spoiler but there were rumours of a possible suicide of John Stape, I wondered if there have actually been any successful suicides on Coronation Street? There are a handful that I can remember but they are few and far between. Soaps tend not to feature successful suicides so as not to be blamed for a fan doing the same. Thus, most people on soaps, Corrie included, who attempt to take their own lives are usually either saved at the last minute or are unsuccessful and are revived with medical attention.

The first Corrie character to die at his own hand was Joe Donelli. He killed Steve Tanner, a murder that Len Fairclough was suspected of committing. Joe had run off but returned a year or so later and held Minnie Caldwell hostage. Stan changed places with him but couldn't prevent him from turning the gun on himself. We only heard the shot from the outside of the house.

Janet Barlow was Ken Barlow's second wife. They had a stormy marraige and separated in 1976. In early 1977, she returned and wanted a reconciliation but Ken rejected her. He found her in the morning, dead, having taken sleeping pills. 

Don Brennan, who had terminal cancer, tried to get revenge on Mike Baldwin but in the end, drove Alma's little red sports car into the viaduct at the end of the street back in 1997. He died in the resulting fireball. The scorch marks were on those bricks for years until the Joinery was built last year and then all the bricks came down with the tram crash.

Katy Harris killed her father in a fit of rage. Her mother took the blame for it and Katy, a diabetic, overdosed herself on sugar, the guilt she felt having been too much for her.

Tony Gordon allowed himself to be consumed by the fire in the factory rather than be taken by the police.

And lastly, Natasha and Roy Cropper both took a handful of pills while in despair. Natasha was broken hearted by Nick's discovery about her abortion and subsequent lie that she was still pregnant and Roy was facing ruin with Tracy's lies about being pregnant by him and Hayley's apparent defection. Both were rescued in time.

Those are the only ones I can remember but maybe you can think of anyone else? Some characters, such as Sheila Birtles, Ken Barlow, Les Battersby and Bet Lynch have thought about it but were saved by a friendly face and encouraging word. David Platt drove his car into the canal but was only trying to ruin Sarah's wedding.

Thanks to Corrie.net who list over 120 characters (minor and major) and 2 animals that have died since the start of the Street.

Here's what's wrong with Graeme and Xin

(This post was originally posted by me The State of the Street

Monday night's episodes showcased more cringingly awkward scenes with Graeme and Xin trying to get their stories straight under the sharp and calculating glare of Inspector Norris Clouseau. Again, I shuddered watching the actors lurch through the scenes and I wondered if they're supposed to be playing it so badly or if the actors just can't deal with the awfulness of the plot? Here's what I think. What's your opinion, dear readers?

Gratuitous nudity on Corrie preferred?

(This post was originally posted by Scott Wilson on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

In these days of female equality, Corrie's quite rightly refused to allow its female stars to be sexually exploited.  Sacha Parkinson and Brooke Vincent might pose in bunny girl outfits for magazines, but onscreen, they're buttoned up and well dressed.  Even Rosie Webster - who'd drop her skirt the second you waved an Instamatic in her direction - restricts her underwear shots to appearances in her modelling sessions.  When she comes down for breakfast in the morning she's wearing nightdresses and gowns.

No such rules exist for the male cast members, however, as we found out last night.  In only his fourth episode on the Street, Tommy Duckworth was forced to wander around in his boxer shorts and nothing else.  In the process he revealed (a) his rather disappointingly shaved torso (b) his tan line only extended as far as his neck and (c) young male stars exist to be ogled, and the sooner they get their shirts off, the better.

It's actually a long tradition on Corrie.  The most usual excuse is "waiting for a shirt to be ironed".  For some reason, Gary Windass and David Platt are physically incapable of ironing themselves, and so have to wander round shirtless while they wait for their mums to do it for them.  Meanwhile, Nick Tilsley v.2 existed solely to remove his clothes, as demonstrated in the memorable "storyline" where Adam Rickett posed for an art teacher.  (Rickett later took this to its logical conclusion by appearing completely naked in the video for his "song", Breathe Again).

The undisputed kings of random shirtlessness, however, were Todd and Jason Grimshaw, who it seemed couldn't wander round the house without stripping to the waist.  No wonder Eileen always looked so harassed; she spent most of her days washing their "favourite shirts" so they had something to wear.  Even now Todd's left, Jason's continued to pop his top off at the slightest provocation: in fact I'm finding it increasingly difficult to recognise him with his clothes on.

This is all very good, exploiting the men's bodies instead of the women's, but I can't help wondering if it's progress.  Surely it would be better if everyone kept their shirts on?  Not least because Chesney is now of age, and I have this terrifying thought that we may soon be exposed to his pasty pectorals.  Much as I love a bit of male nudity, that would be going too far.

Praising Paula Lane

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

While watching Kylie's antics last week, and then seeing her show a vulnerability that we don't see from her too often. She broke down when telling Gail about her childhood and then asked Becky to come to the wedding. When she was rejected, you could see the wall go back up firmly. More and more I am loving to hate Kylie and that's down to Paula Lane's amazing performance. Read more about it over here. I'm really looking forward to this week's episodes in the run up to the wedding on Friday, too!

Rovers Rivals

(This post was originally posted by David on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2011.)

Last week, to no fanfare whatsoever, the doors of Nick Tilsley's bistro, handily named The Bistro, finally opened. Maybe this time, a licensed eaterie will finally give the Rovers a bit of competition. Down the years, viewers have become familiar with various hostelries. Now and then we get to glimpse the inside of the wonderfully downbeat and tatty Weatherfield Arms. When you see the decor you can understand why they took Cilla Battersby-Brown on as a barmaid!

Back in the day, viewers were also familiar with the Flying Horse on Jubilee Terrace. A couple of Rovers regulars even found themselves working there, namely the lovely Betty in 1970 and an angry Bet in 1989. A row with Alec forced her into the bosom of the rival pub!

The New Old Inn appeared in several 1975 episodes following the fire at the factory. Regulars got acquainted with landlady Ginny Spencer and her daughters but Annie Walker ensured that normal service was soon resumed at the Rovers.

Everyone's favourite shrieking Harvester barmaid, Liz McDonald, had a stint at Newton & Ridley's flagship pub The Queens back in the early 1990s. She also enjoyed a spot of slap and tickle with Des Barnes' barman brother but, as usual, everything went haywire when Jim and his fists made an appearance.

Foodwise and with the exception of Roy's Rolls and Jackson's chippy, the only other local eaterie of note (and sorry but a kebab shop doesn't count) was the tatty trattoria presided over by Leanne Battersby during her 'nasty Leanne' phase. Insipid pizza anyone?

So let's raise a glass to Nick, his lived-in face and his new venture. Any ideas what his signature dish might be? Gail's Ghoulash? David's Devilled Kidneys? Audrey Tart? Or maybe a Tram Crash Trifle . . .

Video Games in Corrie

(This post was originally posted by Chewy on the Coronation Street Blog in March, 2011.)

Finally! They stopped recycling the Space Invaders sound effects at Corrie Towers and started using actual games. In tonight's Corrie, Becky was seen playing Uncharted 2 for the PS3.

It might sound daft, but as a gamer, it's good to see that video games have stopped being seen as arcade games, especially in soaps, and that they've stopped using phrases like "Kill them!", which I don't think anyone actually says when playing games. A few weeks back, I noticed David playing a game, but couldn't quite work out what it was, take a peek and see if you can name it.

Corrie's Parent wars

(This post was originally posted by Llewella on the Coronation Street Blog in March, 2011.)

Let the competitive mothering commence! This week’s episodes saw the opening salvos in what could turn out to be quite the feud between sometime mates Leanne and Cheryl over the fates and fortunes of their respective offspring. The new ‘super-head’ at Bessie Street reckons Simon is a disruptive influence in class, whereas Russ has been labelled gifted and is set to receive special coaching. Whatever the rights or wrongs of those assessments, for now at least, Cheryl is cock-a-hoop, Leanne’s nose is well and truly out of joint, and their friendship has taken on a frosty feel. So will this escalate into all-out war, or simply fizzle out like a damp squib? I daresay we’ll find out soon enough.

This is the kind of low-key, background storyline where everyone’s mileage is going to vary. Some viewers will love it. Others will hate it. More still will be completely indifferent. Me, I reckon there’s a fair amount of potential in the concept, although it’s very early days yet to see where the show intends to take it and a lot will depend on the tone and execution. It is, at the very least, the kind of mundane, everyday storyline that should always outnumber the high-octane dramas soaps are so fond of. After all, trams don’t derail every day, but parents bickering over the exploits of their little darlings? That’s something most folk can relate to, and it’s not as if Cheryl and Leanne don’t have form in this area – they’ve fallen out over the boys before, and there has always been a slight edge to their friendship, so this latest development is definitely in character for them both.

We don’t really know Cheryl that well yet, even after almost a year on the show, so maybe this will be our chance to get to know her a bit better, since it looks as if she is going to be sticking around as a regular character. We have already seen hints that she has more than a touch of the Sally Webster about her: a woman with ambitions and aspirations she has rarely had the opportunity to indulge. This storyline definitely looks set to tap into that aspect of her personality, her desire to better herself, as well as her fierce devotion to her son. Depending on how things go, it might also cast some light on her fairly whirlwind relationship with Lloyd, which seems to have developed mostly in the background of other peoples’ stories. After all, they are looking to buy a house together, which is a pretty huge commitment to be rushing into, yet I can’t see Cheryl allowing Lloyd to interfere too much where Russ is concerned, so watching them negotiate those boundaries should, in theory, be interesting…especially if Chris starts sticking his oar in as well.

As for the Junior Barlows, a low-key storyline like this is definitely what the doctor ordered after all their recent dramas. For Leanne, as a stepmother whose place in Simon’s life has so recently been threatened, it makes sense that she would overcompensate for her insecurities by throwing her full weight behind him in this way. Plus, since Peter is usually the volatile one with Leanne having to rein him in, it is good to have a bit of role reversal now and then to remind us that Leanne can fly off the handle, too, at times, and that Peter is also capable of being the voice of reason.

If nothing else, I am looking forward to the inevitable scenes of Peter and Lloyd rolling their eyes at one another in resigned exasperation while Leanne and Cheryl argue the toss!

State of the Street: March 2011

It's a new month's worth of Corrie and we're due a look back at the storylines that dominated March 2011, which we've seen over the past two weeks on Canadian screens. There's been good and there's been dead boring, as there often is.  Liz returned and so did Jim and I still can't understand why Liz knew absolutely nothing about all the catastrophic events in Weatherfield. The War of the Websters continues, the pre-wedding un-bliss does too, more's the pity.

You can read about it on the State of the Street blog here.