Coronation Street fan of the week – Gilles in Costa Rica

It's Wednesday and time to meet another Corrie fan of the week.
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Who are you and where are you from?
Hello! My name is Gilles, from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. @yiguirro in the Twitterverse! We are presently enjoying the "best soap in the world" via internet in San Jose, Costa Rica.

How long have you been watching Corrie?
My partner Gary and I have been faithful Corrie fans since 1994! While managing a hotel here, we would often get requests from our Canadian guests from British Columbia to use the phone on Sundays to call home for "Corrie updates". "What is Corrie?", we would ask. Following their detailed description of storylines, we knew that we had to follow this "phenomenon" once we got back to Canada! We got hooked!  Soaps are not a typically male pastime here in North America, but his father relunctantly admits to being a devout fan and calls weekly to get our inside scoops and advance peeks, via our Internet streaming! Fortunately, our CBC is rapidly catching up to current events.

Who are your favourite female and male characters - and the reasons why?
We were "devout" Karen fans till she left. We follow all her work in the new ITV series. She is awesome! Rita will always hold a special place in our hearts as she reminds us of a dearly departed family member. She is kind, understanding and loving! We hope she finds true happiness with Dennis. As for the male characters, they would definitely be: Mike Baldwin, Jack Duckworth and, though unpopular with the masses, Tony Gordon! In spite of his dark side, he added a certain flair to the Street.

What's been some of your favourite Corrie storylines over the years?
As for storylines, anything involving Carla Connor. She is brilliant! Such a wonderful actress. Departures: Alma, Karen, Mike Baldwin, Vera and Jack. They will all be missed and the scriptwriters must be commended for the great work. Big events: Alison's suicide (after death of baby Jake), Alma's death, Todd's coming out, factory fire and, of course, the tram crash. It seemed as if we were witnessing TV history in the making!

And what would your fantasy Corrie storyline be?
Our fantasy storyline would see the return of any of the following characters, albeit in a flashback or dream: Alma, Vera, Janet or Karen. A good mash-up would be a scene with Cilla Battersby and Beth. But the best would be a good drink in the Rovers with Betty pulling pints and Blanche and Norris commenting on the current state of the Street!

Have you any snippets or news about meeting any of the Corrie cast, or trips to the set, etc., that you'd like to share?
We haven't met any of the Corrie characters but would love to make trip to the set. Also, maybe this year, we will get to meet one of the visiting characters at the Royal Agricultural Fair in Toronto. Hopefully Carla will attend this year.

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