Foliage: Thu Dec 17, 2009 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Mark Burt, directed by Stuart Davids

Kevin's feeling guilt now that it's Tyrone's birthday, especially when Molly tells Tyrone she has to work in the evening and can't celebrate with him. Kevin figures a store-bought card and a bottle of pricey booze should make up for it. Kevin has more troubles as Sally announces to him that they're going to Paris for the weekend. She figures they deserve to live their lives and spend their money on holidays but Kevin disagrees. He tells Sally to forget about it - end of. Poor Sally.

Michelle's got new information on the Carla-Jimmy-Tony-Liam-Scandal front when she runs into Kev, and upon hearing the name Jimmy Dockerson, Kevin says he knows him and that she should talk to Carla about Jimmy. Michelle quickly puts two and two together (no, not those two), and storms into the factory to confront Carla. After a nasty fight and show-down in the street, Carla admits to Michelle (and all and sundry) how she knew that Tony killed Liam but skidded off to Los Angeles. No one is standing by Carla's side as she sobs on the cobbles, especially Hayley as she delivers cutting words after Carla begs for her friendship: "In that case, go visit your husband." Ouch!!! I did kinda feel sorry for Cruella in this instance, even if she was in the wrong.

Norris and Audrey are getting excited about the Weatherfield Council Christmas Party, and Audrey is excited about a new male prospect. Oh, can't wait for this storyline. Audrey deserves a little action!

Sunita reminds Dev how disgusting he had acted on the previous evening, and that she's giving him one last chance to be a father to his children. Dev acknowledges this fact and is on his best behaviour, for now at least. Oh, what is the Devster going to do now?

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Tyrone being candid about not liking the birthday gift Molly gave him - Jim-Jams - since he doesn't even wear them. *shudder*

- Carla and Michelle's cat fight. Gotta love a good hair pulling. But seriously, how mature is Michelle? That was a rhetorical question.

- Hayley for standing her ground and telling Carla where to go (to jail, to visit her husband).

- Sean figuring that something is very wrong, and very exciting about the whole Carla situation. He couldn't be more right.

- Graeme giving Norris lessons on how to climb a ladder and trying to get him to wear a ball cap while he does it. Hilarity ensues.

LOWLIGHTS:

- Kevin being an arsehole to Sally! And now, feeling guilty about what he's done to his mate, Tyrone. Honestly, I can't handle much more of this Molvin storyline. I'm going to start omitting it from my reviews at some point.

- Dev getting yet another chance from Sunita. He totally doesn't deserve it. He's so sleazy.

For those who enjoy the more scenic route, check out the full review scene-by-scene here.

Rosie Webster, oh, please make it stop

What more can you say?

If your stomach's strong enough, then the big pictures are here on Digital Spy.

Am I being an old fuddy-duddy or are other Corrie fans getting fed up of Rosie's T&A too?

If, however, gratuitous shots of Helen Flanagan in her bra and pants are your cup of tea, there's more exclusive pictures on the official Corrie site.

Fab Photo Friday - December 18 2009

Hunk of the week, or not? Here's Johnny Briggs, who played Coronation Street's Mike Baldwin, looking a little different to how you might remember him from his time on the Street. Have a look at more fab photos from the archive here.

Video: Helen Flanagan learns to roller-skate as Rosie

There's a nice little video at the official Corrie site of Helen Flanagan talking about her character Rosie Webster's new job as a roller-skating promo girl. For those overseas who can't see the video, here's what she said, in a nut-shell - the promo work leads to her becoming a glamour model - as we've already been teased with by the tabloids.

Helen's pictured here at the Bolton Artistic Roller Skating Club. It was one of their instructors who taught Helen how to roller skate as Rosie.

Coronation Street faves on final Paul O'Grady show

William Roache (Ken Barlow) and Bev Callard (Liz McDonald) will be putting in an appearance on the final Paul O'Grady show on Friday December 18th. Paul's final show will be shown at 5pm on Channel 4. He'll be much missed.

Paul's pictured here with Sir Ian McKellen, who played Coronation Street con-man Mel Hutchwright.

Betty Driver on Corrie's first panto for 34 years

Without a Christmas party at Underworld this year, the laughs are sure to come from the Corrie Chrimbo panto. Oh yes they are, etc. And the person I'm looking forward to seeing most in the show is Betty as the Fairy Godmother.

Betty Driver, who plays barmaid Betty, told The Mirror she was excited about being involved in Corrie's first panto for 34 years. The last Corrie pantomine was Cinderella back in 1975.

She said: "Mind you, I think my dress was a lot nicer this time around. It was fabulous with a gold bodice, a tiara and a magic wand. Last time I looked a swine. The dress was all white and very virginal. This time I got a throne to sit on too and they threw sparkle all over me – I was finding it in all sorts of peculiar places afterwards. We did it in the Rovers, so it was quite a tight squeeze. But the young ones in the show are such a great bunch and we all have such a good time. We gel as a group and they treat me just like I am their age, which I love.”

And it's great to read that Betty is determined this Christmas won’t be her last on the Street. She says: “I’ll definitely be here next Christmas. They will have to shoot me to get me out of here.”

Steve McDonald gurn of the week, December 17 2009

It's Thursday and that means only one thing... time for the Steve McDonald gurn of the week. Thanks go to Coronation Street fan Martin for sending in these fab Stevie McGurns.If you've captured a good Corrie Steve gurn and want to share it via the blog, do email it in.

To see more gurnage from Stevie McGurn, have a look here, there's loads. Some good, some bad and some really very funny.

Sneak preview of Christmas week on Corrie

Without any piffle, here's the storyline for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less.

Week of Monday 21 to Friday 25 December

Tina gets Nick, Sophie gets baptised, Steve gets broody, Gail gets her other son back, the Rovers panto takes place and Kevin and Molly almost go public until Sally reveals that she has breast cancer.

The full weekly preview, with pictures, is right here on Corrie.net

Missed last week's Corrie?
Catch up with the Coronation Street weekly updates.

Blog Exclusive! Interview with Corrie's tart with a heart

Now then, here's another Blog Exclusive for you!

Jayne Tunnicliffe, who played Coronation Street's tart with a heart Yana Lumb, has given the blog an exclusive interview. How great is that? Very! Anyway, Jayne reveals what it was like working on the cobbles, what George Michael said to her on the Corrie set and where Yana's terrible taste in clothes came from.

This and much more you can read right here.

Very many thanks go to Jayne for this.

Once you've read Jayne's interview, why not have a look at these other fab and exclusive interviews we've had on the blog too:

Steven Murphy - editor of Inside Soap reveals his Corrie secrets here.
Grace Dent of the Guardian's World of Lather reveals hers here.
And there's even more gossip from Ian Wylie, top telly bloke here.

Coronation Street Weekly Update, December 14 2009

I’ve wrapped, packed and warmed up me liberty bodice before heading up north this weekend for Christmas. While I’m away the lovely Karen Jankel will be writing the weekly updates for the next two weeks so spare a thought for Karen, locked here in the weekly update office as you’re all tucking into your turkey and sprouts. And so, without any further ado, here we go with this week’s Coronation Street update.

Deirdre doesn’t know which way to turn when she’s caught in the battle of the Barlows as Ken goes head to head with Peter over him opening the bar. Ken meets with a hack from the Gazette who splashes Bar Wars all over the front page, dragging in the Barlow top 10 misdemeanours for good measure too. Adultery, jail, murder and John Lindsay - the Barlow history’s laid bare all over tomorrow’s hamster cage lining. Ken even calls a public meeting in the Rovers to garner support against Peter’s new bar but he shoots himself in the foot when Peter turns up and finds out what’s going on and then refuses to let Ken see little Simon over Christmas. It serves Ken right, if you ask me.

Deranged Dev goes into manic overdrive when he finds out that Matt from the golf course is engaged to Sunita. Not only that, they’re planning to wed. Dev couldn’t care less about the twins or his ex-wife but just because he doesn’t want anything to do with them doesn’t mean he’s going to let Matt take over his wife and kids without a fight. When his plan to turn on the smarm backfires with Sunita (is it just me or does she look like she’s got fatter lips than she had last time around?) he drowns his sorrows in the Rovers but the only one feeling sorry for him is himself.

Over at Underworld, the world-famous Christmas party is a no-go this year. Carla tells her stitchers there’s a credit crunch on and they need to tighten their belts. Well, well, how the mighty have fallen. If you cast your mind back to the very first time we ever saw Carla, she roared into the Underworld Christmas party with a bottle of champagne in each hand and another crate load in the back of her flash sports car. This festive season she’s taken to being questioned at the police station about Jimmy Dockerson, Tony and Liam. So busy has she been on police business this yule that she’s forgotton to have her roots touched up.

At the Websters’, Rosie takes her cleavage for an outing to the Rovers to wobble in front of Peter Barlow in the hope that he’ll give her a job in the bar. He tells her he’ll consider her assets. Sophie’s planning her full-body baptism while Kevin continues his creepy Molly lust.

In the Rovers, the panto auditions are in full swing and after a bit of drama, the cast is, er, cast. Graeme is Buttons, the ugly sisters are Sean and Jesse, Becky’s Dandini and Betty’s the fairy godmother. She would have scowled if she hadn’t been. I can’t wait to see this, it’s going to be great.

Norris and Freda celebrate after winning £1,000 in a competition. Unfortunately for Graeme, as Norris found out this piece of good news, he was holding a ladder on top of which was Graeme, cleaning windows. The ladder slips from Norris’ grasp, Graeme falls and does himself a mischief and Norris has to take on Graeme’s window-cleaning round. He’s only doing it so he can peer into people’s bedroom windows, which sounds like the only reason I’d ever do that job too. Bu then I’m really nosy, me.

And finally, this week was the last time we’ll ever see Blanche Hunt on screen. It was poignant, but fitting, that her last word was: “Hallelujah!” and her absence has been explained with a trip to Portugal with her mate May Pen from the one o’clock club. You know May, she’s the one with the gay son who won best of show in Crufts.

And that’s just about that for this week. I’ll be back in the New Year and it’s over to Karen Jankel’s weekly update for the next two weeks. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Coronation Street writers this week were Peter Whalley, Martin Allen, Jayne Hollinson and Damon Rochefort. Find out more about the Coronation Street writing team.

Find out more about the Coronation Street Weekly Updates

Glenda Young
--
Blogging away merrily at http://flamingnora.blogspot.com/

Code of Silence: Mon Dec 14, 2009 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Damon Rochefort and directed by Stuart Davids.

Blanche is off on holiday to Portugal over the summer with someone from the 1 o'clock club, and Deirdre's already feeling lonely. Deirdre has bigger fish to fry when Norris shows her the Gazette article that Ken had written: Bar Wars! Needless to say, she's not happy about it, and clearly neither is Peter although the article puts him in a good light, ironically. With some quick trickery by Eileen, Ken and Deirdre are mended, but unfortunately Peter isn't so forgiving. Deirdre tells Ken to try harder to repair the damage done to their family so they may have a Christmas after all. What do you think? Will there be a Barlow Christmas this year?

Graeme's back on the street in a wrap, a cast and in crutches. He gets angry at Norris for putting him out of his gainful employment over the holidays. Norris finally mans-up and tells Graeme that he'll do his window cleaning round for him as reparation. Graeme accepts, then tells Norris he must obey the 'code of silence.' That being: anything you see in folks' bedroom windows, you keep mum about. Well, that's the whole reason Norris agreed to do this round! Norris has issues keeping mum, on issues.

Carla is stressed out at work, and the police detective arriving to take her in for more questioning doesn't help. At the station, Carla cracks under the pressure, since they brought Jimmy in that morning. Carla tells all to the detective (well, except for the part about Jimmy attacking her, and her bludgeoning him), and is let go. Michelle is starting to get suspicious about exactly what Carla knew about Liam's death to begin with. What would it help her to find out anyhow?

Dev is in the dumps over his altercation with Sunita and Matt. He tells Steve he wants to get custody of his children, but Steve reminds him that he's not even in a stable relationship. This prompts Dev to ask Bernie to move in with him in a strategic attempt to get custody of his children. Bernie sees right through this and tells him it's the most weird and self-serving proposition she's ever gotten, and he needs professional help. She's entirely correct! The nerve of that sleazy jerk.

Also, Kev gives Tyrone a hint about some perfume that Molly might like for Christmas, and Sally gets nostalgic about old Christmas gifts that her and Kev had gotten for each other over the years. Oh, that's Sally getting nostalgic again. Could this be foreshadowing something?

HIGHLIGHTS:
- That outdated picture of Peter in the Gazette article! And what was that shirt? Was that GEICO caveman?
- Norris explaining to Deirdre that the article went for the dysfunctional family angle, so they're not short on material. Haha! Almost missed that one!
- Eileen and her acting chops over at the Barlows! That Eileen really is a saint. (...a boyfriend that dresses as a cowboy...)

LOWLIGHTS:
- No Blanche for Christmas, or even again really. I'm still sad, sorry.
- Norris being so callous for blaming Graeme to the bitter end. But, he does apologise afterwords and atone for his mistake. I'm putting him in lowlights, because I just don't like him.
- Norris only interested in Graeme's window cleaning route for perchance peeking into folks' bedroom windows. What a voyeur!
- The factory client hitting on Carla. Barf. For someone so "fabulous" she really has a crap life.
- Dev actually trying to use Bernie to get his kids back! He's such a sleazy snake!

For those who enjoy the scenic route, check out the full review here scene-by-scene.

Coronation Street Fan of the Week - Dec 16, 2009

It's time to meet another Coronation Street fan of the week!

Who are you and where are you from?
My Name is Stephanie Holowka. I work as a radiographer in Toronto, Canada.

How long have you been watching Corrie?
I have been watching Coronation street since 1991. I got hooked on the show when I visited my relatives in Lancashire. Ever since then, I have been following Coronation street faithfully...typically videotaping it from week to week.

Your favourite female and male characters - and the reasons why?
Ken Barlow is a favourite character. He seems to be a voice of calm and reason in a household that has suffered no shortage of strife. Ken does not lose control of his temper often, but when that does happen, it is with very good reason. Ken's character shows many dimensions, but it is his intelligence and compassion that are seen often. For a favourite female character: I like Fiz. Her character has grown a lot over the years on the show. She demonstrates very well that a person can be a totally different person from their parentage.....she is so many things better than her mother.

And what would your fantasy Corrie storyline be?
Oh, I am not as clever as some of the writers, but I will give it a thought: Leanne advising Rosie into the World's Oldest profession might not be such a far off thing. It would definitely give Sally a chance to be humiliated again. Another good storyline, would be Fiz finding a real decent bloke for a change.

Would you like to be a Coronation Street fan of the week? Click here to find out more.

Funeral held for Maggie Jones

A "beautiful and dignified" funeral service has been held for Maggie Jones, who died earlier this month. The BBC reports that it was a private service in Clerkenwell, London, attended by family, close friends and members of the cast. A minute's silence was observed on the Coronation Street set in Manchester.

A spokeswoman for Corrie said: "It was a beautiful and dignified service." She added that the actress's life will be celebrated with a memorial service in Manchester, planned to take place in February next year.

Corrie girls go burlesque

Kym Marsh and Helen Flanagan, who play Coronation Street's Michelle Connor and Rosie Webster, are all dolled up here.

It's for a soap stars gone burlesque photoshoot for Look magazine.

While these photos are fab, I'd love to see some of the, er, more mature ladies get the make-over treatment, wouldn't you? Let's here it for more Deirdre and Teresa!

Sue Nicholls joins charity Christmas carol service

Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street, will be singing along at the 12th annual Carols By Candlelight service at Manchester Cathedral. The carol service raises funds for Henshaws Society for Blind People and Sue said that the service "starts off that lovely Christmas is coming feeling."

For tickets to the carol service, which will be held on Thursday December 17, please contact James Lester on 0161 872 1234 or email appeals@henshaws.org.uk. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children and concessions. Mince pies and refreshments will be available on the night. The service will start at 7.30pm.

For more information, visit http://www.henshaws.org.uk/

Coronation Street's pantomimes from the past

There's some wonderful old pictures of Coronation Street pantomines from the past. Have a look at the gallery on the official Corrie site.

Looking for your favourite Corrie actor in panto this Christmas? They're all here, oh yes they are.

Interview with the new Nick Tilsley

The official Corrie site at ITV have a video interview with Ben Price, the new Nick Tilsley. Is it just me or will he always be Nicky not Nick? Anyway, Ben reveals how Nick gets together with Tina this Christmas and makes David jealous, of course. He says Nick's a bit more savvy this time around, he's older (natch!) and with some cash in his pocket.

You can watch the new Nick Tilsley in action here. Ooh, go on, and just because it's nearly Christmas, have a wiggle at the old one here.

New book: Corrie's soap years in numbers

Now then, this interesting and unique picture comes from a brand new book, simply called Numbers. Click on the picture above to see it in all of its glory. It's by Brighton-based artist Peter James Field and you can find out the link between these Coronation Street characters and the numbers assigned to them, right here.

She's Behind You! (on a chair)

The Christmas panto preparations have certainly taken my mind off the horrendous sight of Dev and Steve in diamond-print jumpers. Just when I was beginning to wonder whether their golfing attire were gifts bequeathed in Mike Baldwin’s will, along come Becky and Claire with their seasonal extravaganza.

Now we have the prospect of Betty rising (or should that be sitting down?) to the occasion as fairy godmother. These days, Betty spends all her days impersonating Chad, peeping over the bar of the Rovers from a stool that’s two foot shorter than whoever she’s talking to. How she’ll be manoeuvred into action on the night of the performance should be worth tuning in for.

Although it has to be said that a golden opportunity was missed in not casting Carla and Michelle as the Ugly Sisters. Last Friday, the pair met in the Street to see who was kitted out in the most black. Raven hair: check. Black winter coat: check. Black handbag: check. Identically sculptured eyebrows: again, check. We’re obviously bubbling up to something with these two, hopefully a finely crafted slanging match.

Which is the exact opposite of what we’re getting with Dev at the moment. Sunita seems to have been brought back in to just shout a lot while wearing a sleeveless poncho. So far, aside from Dev’s goggly-eyed glasses and accusations of paedophilia, it’s all been a bit lacklustre. Hopefully Matt and Dev will soon come to blows and start hitting each other with copies of The Gruffalo and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.

Hallelujah: Fri Dec 11, 2009 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Martin Allen (7:30), and Jayne Hollinson (8:30), directed by Pip Short.

Ken promises Deirdre that he won't write an article for the Gazette about Peter's bar. So instead, he goes behind everyone's backs to a reporter from the Gazette to get HIM to write the article instead, drudging up Peter's alcoholic past. Needless to say, this doesn't go over well, even after Blanche's attempts at diplomacy. Peter declares all out war on Ken now. Who will win this war?

Graeme continues to be the bee in Norris' bonnet by implying he stole his ladder from Weatherfield Council. Norris gets the police involved and Graeme ends up submitting a genuine receipt for the ladder bought from Weatherfield Council. Norris really has it in for Graeme and later checks the windows and raps too hard on the one upstairs causing it to break. Norris figures it's because Graeme put a crack in it. Later, Graeme boards up the window as a favour to Emily, with Norris holding the ladder steady. Norris gets distracted by Freda tell him they've won one thousand pounds and starts jumping for joy, not holding the ladder, as Grame falls face-first on the cobbles. Ouch!

Carla visits Tony in jail, where he tells her that she never really killed Jimmy - he's alive. She basically tells him he'll burn in hell. Oh, and Tony looked really good in that baby blue sweater.

It's audition time and the results are in. Playing the part of Cinderella- Claire Peacock, Prince's Servant - Becky MacDonald, Buttons - Graeme Proctor, Sean Tully and Jesse Chadwick - Ugly Stepsisters, and Betty - our Fairy Godmother.

Dev does it again. He royally cheeses off Sunita and Matthew. And even Bernie, so some extent with his rage over Sunita's engagement. He even go over there under the ruse of an apology only to tear into Matthew and essentially call him a kiddy fiddler. Sunita kicks him out on his bum and threatens for him never to return or she'll file for full custody. Oh, Dev!

HIGHLIGHTS
- Graeme falling flat on his face on the cobbles from the ladder! I know this was bad and dangerous but I couldn't help laughing! *oowww*
- Becky's scary version of Cinderella and the looks on the faces of Betty and John when she did it! Haha.
- Liz reckoning she'd be great as a Fairy Godmother since she could jazz the role up with some fishnets and a sparkly little skirt, then Sean telling her it's "Cinderella", not "Puss n' Boots." Bahaha, I can't believe Ms. Hollinson went there!

LOWLIGHTS
- Oh Ken! Way to ruin Christmas and your family! That man is so hard-headed.
- Leanne saying that Blanche won't stop at Round 1. I almost teared up, because she will, since this was her last episode. :(
- Rosie coming into the bar in the most low-cut shirt I've ever seen (even on her) in the day time. It was so low-cut it looked almost as though the cleavage itself was the enclosure! Then her fawning over Peter for a job at his upscale bar and turning her nose down at working at the Rovers! That little twat!
- Dev blowing Sunita's engagement well out of proportion! He's insane! Also, him telling Matt that he doesn't want his kids growing up reasonable, but with fire in their bellies and angry. I can see why he doesn't have custody of any kids.

For those who enjoy the scenic route, check out the full review scene-by-scene here.

Ken vs Peter: Whose side are you on?

It's the battle of the Barlows, but whose side are you on? Should Peter and Leanne be allowed to open a bar despite being theirs being an alcoholic-prossie partnership and should Ken keep his nose out?

Or are you on Ken's side? Does he only have his son's best interests at heart or is he just a self-righteous old duffer? Whose side are you on? I think I'm agreeing with Deirdre, whatever she decides is ok by me!

Gray O'Brien gets his kit off

What's a villain to do when he's left the cobbles before he goes into panto? Gray O'Brien who plays Coronation Street's Tony Gordon, headed off to Mexico for some sun, sea and supersize shorts. You can read all about Gray's Mexico trip at the Daily Mail online. Gray stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel on the Paseo de la Reforma.

White Lion pub location for Corrie scenes

When Ken was chatting to the Weatherfield Gazette hack t'other night on Corrie, the pub they met in wasn't the usual Rovers Return or even the Flying Horse. It was the White Lion and it's a proper pub in Castlefield, Manchester. You can find out the location here.

Have a look here for more Coronation Street filming locations used in and around Manchester.

Ryan Thomas denies assaulting Tina O'Brien

Ryan Thomas, who plays Corrie's Jason Grimshaw, issued a statement saying he has not assaulted Tina O'Brien after he was arested and spent a night in the police cells. According to The Sunday Mirror, Ryan and Tina had an almighty argument, the cops were called and Ryan was carted off the to cells for an overnight stay. The couple split up last month.

In a statement yesterday Ryan said: “I have not assaulted and would never ­assault Tina. The police were satisfied this was the case and I was released without any action being taken.”
Greater Manchester Police said: “Our inquiries are on-going.”

This week's Corrie Awards, Dec. 7 - 11

Famous last words award: "Hallelujah!" Blanche goes out on a high note. (sniff)

Could you wind me up any further? award: Gold Star: Peter and Ken. One's as bad as the other. But I think Ken edges out Peter for prat of the year.
Silver Star: Graeme and Norris. I adore it when Graeme gets Norris all in a tizzy. Current score, Graeme 1, Norris 0.
Prison ain't no party award: Tony looks terrible! Guilt keeping you awake, is it? This was the best scene of the week, bar none!
How not to avoid any arguments award: Ken Barlow, plastering the neighbourhood with posters for a meeting of like minds in the rival bar and he thinks Peter might not find out? Peter would have been better off telling his side of the argument rather than insulting Ken and pulling out of the Christmas arrangements in front of everyone.

Good to see you again award: Welcome back, Sunita! I've missed you!

Lines of the week:
Carla to Tony on hearing she didn't kill Jimmy: "So you'll go to hell alone, then."

(I can't help it. There aren't many Blancheisms left!)
Blanche: "He got a degree 50 years ago and sits around sucking his pen while he half-does the Guardian crossword. Nowt clever about that!"

Blanche: "I'll give 'em Ho Ho Ho!" about Ken: "Who needs a turkey when we've got you?"

Graeme to Gary: "Unarmed combat and withering put-downs. I shall return to work a wounded man!"

Graeme: "I've a vision of someone stepping into a minefield with clown shoes on!"

Sean to Liz's idea that she could be Fairy Godmother: "It's Cinderella. Not Puss in Boots" (HA!)

Rosie: "Somewhere where my assets will be appreciated" (and her belly button too, judging from how low her neckline was)

Best scenes of the week (Dec 11)

Forget the panto auditions. Never mind all the palaver between Ken and Peter. In my books, the two scenes that had me glued to the screen this week were those between Carla and a very tired looking Tony in the prison visiting room. He looked awful. Guilt keeping him awake, no doubt. He had one more thing to atone for. He wanted to see Carla to tell her that she didn't, in fact, kill Jimmy, the man he'd sent to off her when she returned.

You see, she was determined he was not going to be with Maria and he had to stop her before she let the cat out of the bag. Even there, across the table from her, while she was shaking and angry and scared all at once, all he wanted to know was if she thought Maria would ever forgive him. All Carla could think of was that with Jimmy free, she would be forever looking over her shoulder, afraid he would return to finish the job. I don't think he would, even if he had nothing to lose. He didn't want to do it in the first place and he wasn't feeling too steady after killing Liam either. Not as easy as he thought it would be.

Tony and Carla stared at each other across the table. He had no malice in his eyes, just faint hope that now he'd unburdened himself. Carla was a tangle of emotions. Relief, anger, hatred, fear. Her line "So you'll go to hell alone" sent shivers down my spine. It conveyed the hell Carla's been living in and the hell she thought she'd have to live with the rest of her life.

Powerhouse scenes by Gray O'Brien and Alison King! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Julie Hesmondhalgh in knitted toy shocker

If you're looking for a really good present for a Corrie fan this Christmas you could do worse than buy Harry Hill's TV Burp book. Why? Because there's a wonderful four-page spread - a world exclusive no less - of Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper) 'at home' with Harry Hill's knitted toy. It's all there - the secrets, the shocks, the tears and the love.

The book also includes a Coronation Street photo-story of Ken’s Violent Rampage! Well, it all made me laugh out loud in the middle of Waterstones today.

In pictures: Corrie cast at staff Christmas party

What an absolutely fantastic picture this is of Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and Craig Charles (Lloyd Mullaney) arriving for the Coronation Street cast Christmas party.

There's more pictures on the Daily Mail website, courtesy of MatrixPhotos.com

Save Our Local: Thu Dec 10, 2009 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Peter Whalley, and directed by Pip Short.

Ken is a man with a mission: to stop Peter and Leanne's bar from coming to fruition. He talks with Liz and decides to have a "Save Our Local" meeting at the Rovers. His stance is that the bar will create unwanted traffic in the community and put the Rovers out of business. The general community are actually quite divided on the issue. Ken manages to get Liz and Steve on his side, since they own the local, and Claire and Norris, since they're adverse to any kind of change whatsoever. It's not looking good for him. Janice figures she'll go where the prices are low. Once Peter finds out about the meeting, it's no more happy families Christmas for Ken. Ouch!

The factory girls want to know what's going on for their Christmas-do. Carla informs them that the business is suffering, and they have to work their noses to the grind just to keep their jobs. Looks like no Christmas-do this year after all, tradition or not. Carla checks her mail at home later, to find a letter from prison. She throws it out, but then after a couple of religious swigs of Merlot, she decides to open it and read.

Dev takes Bernie to work, and notices that her client, and his friend, Matthew has Dev's kids in the back seat of his car. Turns out that Matthew's new fiance is indeed our Sunita. So nice to see her again on screen when Dev goes to hers to basically complain about the fact that she never mentioned anything. He says he's happy for her, but he's clearly not okay with this news.

In smaller news, Norris complains about Graeme's handywork again with the windows, Claire and Becky are prepping for their pantomime.

HIGHLIGHTS
- Simon explaining tactfully the situation that occurred with his granddad's rowing in a department store. Leanne tries to tell him they were probably joking, but our Simon knows better.
- Graeme asking Norris if he wants him to wash his eyeglasses before he looks at the window job. Haha.
- Kelly saying she hopes that the new bar brings in fit men, since she's been in that area for years and hasn't found any. She really has been at it for quite some time, maybe she should consider relocating.

LOWLIGHTS
- Ken screwing up his chances at having his family at Christmas by publicly shaming Peter's project. He's going about it all wrong, as Deirdre would say. It's a hot mess now.
- Rotten Kevin telling Sally to "pick one" wedding anniversary. Just take your wife out to dinner you adulterous tight-wad!
- Rosie tired of being shouted at all the time. Well, I'm tired of listening to Rosie witter on all the time, but you don't see me getting short with people.

For those who enjoy the scenic route, check out the full review scene-by-scene here.

Coronation Street panto costumes revealed

When the Coronation Street panto takes place in the Rovers Return, Hayley Cropper gets the credit for running up the costumes on a spare machine at Underworld. In reality, a hire shop in Barnoldswick has provided the costumes for the Christmas Eve episode of Corrie.

It says here that Northern Costume Hire was approached by Coronation Street to produce the pantomime costumes, having already been involved with ITV in the past. Owner Margaret Greenwood said: "We were asked to make the costumes for the Christmas Eve episode of the programme, when the pantomime Cinderella will be performed in the Rovers Return." Northern Costume Hire have been busy preparing the costumes for the past few weeks but have had to keep the details of their work secret. "We can't say exactly what the costumes will be like, but it was announced in Monday night's episode the pantomime would be Cinderella so there will be a fairy godmother and the usual characters," said Margaret.

Can't wait to see who the Ugly Sisters will be!

Coronation Street hunks gallery online

Over at the official Coronation Street website there's a new gallery of Corrie hunks.

Well, they say it's all hunks but there's no Spider Nugent (sniff) so I'm putting my own picture of him on the blog right here in protest. Yes, I know this makes me odd.

Coronation Street Blog celebrates 2nd birthday

It was December 11, 2007 when the Coronation Street blog first got up and running, which means that today it celebrates two years online.

THANK YOU to everyone who reads the blog, leaves comments, sends in suggestions, links to it from their own sites and sends emails in. THANK YOU, every single reader and fan of this blog. THANK YOU to everyone on our great blogging team too.

The Coronation Street blog is proud to support Leukaemia Research.

Corrie's Chesney and Sophie meet the real Santa Claus

Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) and Sam Aston (Chesney Battersby-Brown) got to meet the real Father Christmas during a visit to Lapland. The Coronation Stret actors were visiting Lapland with the children's charity When You Wish Upon A Star. I think if Santa's checked his list, these two would definitely be on the nice, not the naughty side.

Graeme Hawley in Coventry public reading

Graeme Hawley, who plays John Stape in Coronation Street, is in Coventry today to launch the UK’s first professional shop front theatre. Graeme is appearing in award-winning city drama Car at the former chip shop at 38 City Arcade.

Julia Negus, of Theatre Absolute, said: “We are delighted that Graeme is able to join us for the launch of the shop front theatre and he has always been very supportive. He will be taking part in a rehearsed reading of Car.”

The one-off public reading starts at 3pm TODAY!

Corrie actors almost gunned down by cops

Craig Charles, who plays Corrie cabbie Lloyd Mullaney, was almost shot by police while filming, it says here.

Craig stars in the new crime film The Dealer and while filming, armed police trained their weapons on the cast because they mistook the action for a real-life gangland murder - only stopping when they recognised one of the ‘killers’ was Coronation Street actor Craig Charles.

Horrified onlookers strolling along a riverbank raised the alarm after seeing several ‘victims’ getting their throats slit before being dumped over the side of a boat, in what they thought were a series of brutal daylight killings.

Officers realised their mistake after noticing one of the killers with an infra red dot on his chest was Corrie actor Charles, while another team storming the nearby boatyard stumbled across another Corrie actor, John Thomson who plays Jesse Chadwick, learning his lines.

Steve McDonald gurn of the week, December 10 2009

It's Thursday and that means only one thing... time for the Steve McDonald gurn of the week. Thanks go to Coronation Street fan Martin for sending in these fab Stevie McGurns.If you've captured a good Corrie Steve gurn and want to share it via the blog, do email it in.

To see more gurnage from Stevie McGurn, have a look here, there's loads. Some good, some bad and some really very funny.

Sneak preview of next week's Corrie, December 14 - 18

Without any piffle, here's the storyline for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less.

Week of Monday 14 to Friday 18 December

Deirdre tells Ken to shove the Weatherfield Gazette where the sun don’t shine, Graeme gets plastered, Dev woos Sunita, Norris starts window cleaning, Michelle and Carla catfight, the Websters go to Paris, Ben kisses Michelle, Rosie goes into promotions and Audrey meets a new fella and rings up Nick.

The full weekly preview, with pictures, is right here on Corrie.net

Missed last week's Corrie?
Catch up with the Coronation Street weekly updates.

An American Soap bites the dust. Why is this significant for Corrie?

American daytime soap, As The World Turns (ATWT) has been on the air since 1956, four and a half years longer than Coronation Street has. While it's always been said that our William Roache has set the record for the longest continuous portrayal of a character, this is, in fact, wrong. The man in this picture that is not Bill Roache is Don Hastings. He has been portraying Dr. Bob Hughes on ATWT for a mere two months longer than Bill Roache has been playing Ken Barlow.

The two men have apparently spoken once, with Mr. Roache jokingly suggesting that Mr. Hastings retire. Well, that's going to happen. Yesterday, CBS announced that it was canceling As the World Turns. The last episode will air in September 2010. That means that by the time Coronation Street airs on it's 50th anniversary, December 9, 2010, (a little over two months later) William Roache will be entitled to the crown. He will have played Ken Barlow longer than anyone else has played a single character. Congratulations!