State of the Street for March

What a state we're in this month! Gail's in jail, David's at odds with Tina and his brother Nick and is Gail's staunchest defender. Steve and Becky lost a baby and Molly found out she's having one, much to Tyrone's delight and Kevin's horror. Carla's taken up with the binman that Janice wants and running NuNick ragged. Peter's got Simon back and hopefully, will have cleaned up his act.

Kelly left the street in a strop and Jesse left with tumbleweeds in his wake. Sunita's back on it with Dev and twin Alahan Juniors in tow. At least there's other kids for them to play with. Read more about the goings on this month here.

Graeme and (?) up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Yes, at long last, Graeme Proctor is going to get a girlfriend though we don't know who the identity of the lady will be. Craig Gazey has admitted this to be true. That article speculates that it could be Rosie or Natasha as they have been the objects of his unrequited crushes but I have a different idea. I'm going out on a limb here and I'm going to predict he falls hard for Tina. We already know he's going to come to her aid when she spirals down into depression. I'm guessing that friendship and support is going to turn into love.

And yes, that will be a further stab into David's heart, David who cannot let go of his feelings for Tina, not completely. As much as David resents Tina for causing his mother to be jailed, Monday night's jealous attack on his brother, Nick, shows that he still has feelings for Tina.

Will Graeme break the loyalty bond between mates and go for Tina or will Rosie finally see that there's more to Graeme than just that odd exterior? That could happen, too, as a replay of the Maxine/Ashley type romance.

What will happen to John Stape?

The Stapester's getting a lot of stick at the moment, but he's one of my favourite Corrie characters so I'm going to leap to his defence. Okay so he's been a bit of a plank at times, not to mention a criminal, but hey, he's done his time and he wants to turn his life around. That's why he went for the job as an adult education teacher. Yes, he lied to the education authorities as well as to himself about the CRB check, but I don't think he's deep down evil (not like sleaze-meister Grandad George - and where's he disappeared to, lately? up to no good in Berkshire, I reckon.). Stape wasn't planning to kidnap any more pupils - he's been and done that, and well and truly learned the error of his ways. But those CRB checks are very unforgiving. He's not going to get back into teaching again, ever - unless gets desperate and steals someone else's identity, School of Rock style - which is a possible upcoming storyline. Personally I really hope he doesn't go down that route and end up inside again.

No, there must be other solutions for John. But what on earth ARE they? Okay, Roy's Rolls isn't a bad job, but the pay must be terrible not to mention the leccy/soap powder bills he must run up, getting the pong of chip fat and bacon and sausage barms out of his clothes. But that's the least of his worries. What about his long term future? Will he turn into a "Ken", pottering away on the Weatherfield Gazette, polishing his leather elbow patches and tinkering with a novel that will never see the light of day? I hope not. I think the Stapester deserves better.

By the way - I notice that there is an author called John Stape, who wrote, among other things, a biography of Joseph Conrad. I wonder if that's where the idea for the character's name came from?

You’re Fired: Mon Mar 29, 2010 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Joe Turner, directed by John Anderson

Jason tries to cheer up Tina, but she’s set on being miserable.  Jason tells his mum that he’s going to surprise Tina with his final divorce papers, so he’s going to propose again over a romantic meal.  At home, Tina’s all dressed up and wanting to know what Jason is up to.  He shows her his divorce decree, and she’s confused as to why they’re celebrating.  He tells her he wants to be married to him as soon as possible – an April wedding.  Tina doesn’t look excited about it.  Tina freaks out on Jason about dropping bombs on her, and says all he wants her to do is completely forget about her dad.  Tina says a wedding right now is the last thing she wants and tells Jason to give her some space and suggests he go stay at his mums for a bit.  Tina says it’s not him, it’s her.  Well, that’s clear.  Jason of course thinks there’s someone else, and Tina says she could have and nearly did causing Jason to blow up.  She tells Jason how she met NuNick in a bar before Christmas.  Tina tells him that he and her are finished – that’s it.  Ouch!

NuNick warns David to stay on his best behaviour and tells him to “grow up.”  NuNick tells Audrey about what David has done regarding the witnesses, and asks if she can have a word with him.  David tells Audrey that no one seems to care about Gail but him.  Audrey suggests he come back to work since she’s so busy lately and David tells her ‘maybe.’ 

Later, Jason finds NuNick and David having a pint in the Rovers and pops him one in the face.  Ciaran has to hold Jason back.  NuNick explains to Jason that nothing really happened, and David thinks Jason should apologize.  Jason accuses both David and NuNick of being sick.  NuNick says he and David are brothers and they stick together – unless he wants to call Todd up for reinforcement.  Ha-ha. 

Jason goes to the flat and tries to get Tina to open, only she’s bolted the door.  He goes over to see his mum and tells her that Tina’s been with another bloke – NuNick.  Another Platt interfering with her son’s lives – just what Eileen wants to hear.  Jason breaks down in tears telling her that Tina’s broke it off with him.  Eileen goes over to Tina’s and raps on the door, but Tina just turns up the TV volume to drown her out. 

David wants to know why NuNick didn’t tell him about Tina, but he says ‘why would I?’  David knows that it was only a kiss between them since if it was more than that he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to rub his nose in it, and Tina’s got better taste.  NuNick can’t help but poke and David and vice versa.  These two are like fire and ice.  NuNick wonders if David blames Tina for putting his mum in prison.  David’s had enough of NuNick’s taunting and wallops him on the side of the face.  At least NuNick’s bruises are even now. 

John is going over “The Talented Mr. Ripley” to teach to his adult class.  Fiz says she’s seen the film, but can’t remember who stars in it, and John tells her.  He  invites her out to the pub with the other teachers after class, but Fiz doesn’t want to sit around discussing leather elbow patches and chalk brands.  Once again, I have no idea what these two have in common. 

Trouble in paradise, as John’s superiors at his teaching job find out about his criminal record and he gets the sack.  John tells his superior that he thought he’d be fine since he works with adults.  The supervisor is livid and says he’ll never work in the teaching profession again.  You have to expect some repercussions in your life when you kidnap a teenage girl, no matter how rotten she was.  John comes up and tells Fiz how he got sacked and humiliated because they found out.  John says he will never teach again.  The tiniest violin in the world…

Eileen’s still upset over her breakup fiasco, but Claire tries to stay positive telling her she’s never sure what’s around the corner.  Hopefully it’s more than a tumbleweed.  Becky tells Claire and Eileen how things have been slow in the “bedroom department” with her and Steve lately.  She feels Steve has lost some passion, and has gone off her.  As soon as Becky’s gone, Steve arrives and Claire and Eileen tell him about how Becky complains he’s lost his passion.  Well, that’s really why Becky told them to begin with, isn’t it?   

Steve gets mad at Becky later for telling Eileen and Claire about his mojo, and he says it’s not true.  He says his mojo’s in  full swing and he’ll prove it – after he’s done with the bottles.  They try to get away from work, but can’t manage.  They get upstairs, only Liz has sent Ciaran up to see what Steve’s done with the rota and get caught, as Blanche would say, “inflagranti” playing a game of chef and French maid.  Later downstairs, it’s clear that Ciaran told Liz about what he’d seen as she giggles about it.  Becky comes down and gets mad at Ciaran for interrupting because Steve’s lost his mojo and anything will put him off.  Becky lists off the places they’ve “done it” around the property and Liz doesn’t want to hear anymore! 

Sian is taking Sophie out for a surprise.  Tell me they’re not real, but it looks as though Sophie and Sian have gotten matching tattoos!  Oh, thank goodness they wash off after a couple of weeks.  “Lee” the guy that tried to kiss Sophie last week has texted her that he’s sorry and he feels real bad.  She thinks maybe she overreacted and she should text him back.  Sian thinks he’s a loser and she shouldn’t.  After hours of pondering, it’s clear that Ryan wants rid of Sophie so he and Sian can have some time together.  Ryan tells Sian that other girls are interested, if she’s not.  Sian’s heard enough and her and Sophie leave.  Sian tells Sophie she’ll never talk to Ryan again.  They complain about why boys are so stupid and they agree to go off men.   

Dev’s not used to children invading his “adult” flat.  First it’s his dimmer switch, now he’s got no cold ice.  Is he sure he wants his family back?  After a rambunctious trip from the zoo and Dev is clearly exhausted.  Aadi’s supposed to be taking his bath and as Dev is readying a hot chocolate for him they find that he’s locked himself out on the balcony in his pyjamas.  Dev accidentally rips off the handle which makes Aadi trapped on the balcony.  Luckily Graeme rides by in his rickshaw with ladder and rescues Aadi off the balcony.  Dev rewards Graeme with some Brandy and organic potato chips.  Graeme questions why Aadi was in trouble, and Dev figures it’s because his flat is too dangerous and not suitable for small children.  I wonder if Brandy is “expanding Graeme’s horizons” like the cheeky red wine he had on Friday did. 

Later, Dev tells Sunita they should get a new house – a new start for the four of them. She accepts this and wants to start looking. 

 

HIGHLIGHTS

- Fiz likening John as “Stephen Fry’s attractive younger brother.”  Ha-ha. 

- Eileen cradling a skull (her pewter paperweight?) like Hamlet did when he himself talked about his closeness to death.  Eileen mentioned she might get hit by a bus next and is overly pessimistic.  Nice classic touch, unless I’m reading too far into it.

- When Becky talks about her and Steve’s lacking love life, Claire going on about how passionate Ashley is - “what can I say…he’s an animal.”  Ha-ha.

- Asha and Aadi in their animal facepaint from the zoo!  I love Corrie kids, they always light up the screen.

- Dev catering to Graeme with premium crisps and glasses of Brandy

- Steve and Becky’s romping outifts!

- NuNick getting two bashings in one night!

    
LOWLIGHTS

- Claire and Eileen turning around and telling Steve about what Becky told them in confidence about her and Steve’s sex life.  It’s ratty, but funny. 

- Tina treating Jason like utter crap for “dropping bombshells on her” – when he suggested an April wedding and of course for dumping him.  She’s such a little so-and-so. 

- NuNick trying to be the stick in David’s wheels, as well as Jason’s for that matter. 

- John getting fired from his job – how did he think they wouldn’t find out? I hope they change his character’s direction considerably, because right now he’s a stick in the mud for me.

Overall Episode Rating: 7.5/10

Drama: 7/10, Humour: 8/10, Classic Corrie: 5/10, Wow Factor: 10/10

Corrie's magazine advert for Lewis the escort

The Lady magazine is not a magazine we take here at Blog Towers. You know, it's rather posh. Well, posh it may be but it's heartening to hear it's got a sense of humour. The magazine features in this Thursday's episode of Corrie, says Digital Spy, when Rita spots an advert for Lewis the escort.

And real-life readers of The Lady can see Lewis's advert for themselves in this week's edition of the publication. The notice promotes a "discreet male escort" with "years of experience" and features a picture of Lewis alongside two fictional phone numbers.

A Coronation Street spokesperson said: "The Lady heard the magazine was going to feature in an episode, and they approached us with the idea of using the advert in the actual magazine."

Eagle-eyed Corrie fans will have spotted that the latest edition of The Lady pictured above has another Corrie connection. Joanna Lumley's the cover girl and of course, she played Ken Barlow's girlfriend Elaine Perkins in Corrie back in 1973.

Coronation Street Weekly Update, March 29 2010

A million thanks go to the lovely Barry Smith for looking after the weekly updates so nicely for the last two weeks while I was immersed in official Corrie business. But now, that’s all done and I’m back at the helm. I have to say, that Barry one has left the weekly update office ship-shape although he appears to have left his slippers under the desk. Anyway, without any further ado, here we go with this week’s Coronation Street update.

Gail’s in jail in bad pyjamas but her spirits are high as she thinks she’s getting out. But when her solicitor comes with bad news that she’s been refused bail, she slinks back to her cell, banged up with a Jackie Dobbs-lite. While Gail’s in jail, the Plattilsley boys battle it out on the Street with one of the more convincing punch-ups the Street’s had in a while. It flew from David’s fist to Nick’s nasty sneering face as big brother taunted little ‘un about Tina. She dumped Jason after he proposed when his divorce came through from Sarah, her what’s in Milan. Well, from Milan to miladdo as Jason waved his decree absolute in Tina’s face as foreplay and got it wrong again. Jason was wearing that aftershave again, his Eau D’esperation which he’d liberally splashed all over. So anyway, in order to get rid of Jason, Tina told him she’d kissed Nick so Jason knocked out Nick then Nick taunted David at home and wham, Nick got it in the face really hard and really good. I liked that punch a lot.

Over in the salon, Lewis calls in to see Audrey for a short back and sides and a chit-chat. She confides to him about Gail and the boys and she’s really fallen for Lewis, you can tell and even though he tells her his meter’s not running, you know it really is, somewhere down the line. Rita wants to know who Audrey’s mystery man is, especially when Norris takes it on himself to photograph Audrey being kissed by Lewis under the awning and Audrey tells Rita the truth. She tells her that Lewis is an escort, and yes, she pays him for his time, and no, she’s not falling for him. Oh Audrey, you big fibber, you.

Eileen finally threw Jesse out this week after he tried to wheedle his way back into her heart and her bed. But first, he sought an opening in Julie’s gullibility and fortunately, she saw right through him straight away. So when Eileen told Julie she was thinking of giving Jesse another chance, Julie had to set her sister straight. And so the sisters started beating Jesse up with an assortment of blown-up toys before the cowboy strolled out of town, defeated by a plastic cactus. There was a wonderful touch as Jesse turned the corner to walk away from the Street and a comedy tumbleweed blew down the cobbles.

Over at the Websters’, Kev’s looking after the girls as Sally’s gone to stay with Aunty Phyllis. So Neanderthal man tries to look after two teenage girls and fails miserably. He foregoes a promised shopping trip with Sophie for a pint with Tyrone and forgets to tell Rosie to cover up her cleavage as it wobbled out of the door 10 minutes before Rosie did. She’s got a new boyfriend, some footballer called Kyle who plays for Weatherfield County. Not that Kevin cares, his mind’s all over the place now that Molly’s back with Tyrone and up the duff with a Webster baby, maybe.

Sophie and Sian grew closer this week as the teenage friends denounced men (aka dozy Ryan and a layabout called Lee) and they got matching henna tattoos.

Meanwhile, up in the flat in the sky at Victoria Court, Dev’s having trouble controlling his kids in his bachelor pad. Little Aadi gets stuck outside on the balcony and locked out until Graeme the window cleaner comes to his rescue. Dev rewards Graeme with brandy, Sunita with a hug and it’s hard to know which one Graeme enjoyed most. The episode makes Dev realise the flat’s no place to bring up kids, they need a big house with a garden for the kids to run around. Why then do they end up looking at Maria’s place on the Street (no space and no garden) next week?

And finally this week, John Stape’s rumbled and sacked after lying to the college that he didn’t have a criminal record, and he has. I can’t muster up any sympathy for the Stapester, he knew what he was doing was wrong. And what’s so bad about working at Roy’s Rolls anyway? If it’s good enough for Roy and Hayley, it should be more than good enough for the waste of space that is Stape.

Coronation Street writers this week were Martin Allen, Mark Burt, Chris Fewtrell and Joe Turner. Find out more about the Coronation Street writing team.

Find out more about these Coronation Street Weekly Updates

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

Video: Graeme Hawley on This Morning

Graeme Hawley, who plays Coronation Street's John Stape, was interviewed on This Morning today. Viewers in the UK can watch the video here and for those who can't see it, here's a synopsis of what the Stapester said...

Graeme reckons Corrie fans are behind John Stape, that they like him and support him, that they have sympathy for him because he messes up. He admits that John's made mistakes but that he has only good intentions at heart. He also reminds us of John's time in prison for kidnapping Rosie Webster and says that John's made bad decisions often in the past.

In real life, Graeme talks about his new baby, little Audrey who he swears isn't named after Audrey Roberts! She's nine months old now and says he'd love to get a picture of baby Audrey with Sue Nicholls dressed as Audrey Roberts outside of Audrey's salon on the Street.

He's also starring in a soon to be released new film set in Blackburn called Steps to Tread.

Coronation Street supporting four charities

Coronation Street as a whole will officially be supporting four charities this year in honour of the 50th anniversary. They polled the actors with a ballot and the results have been announced by ITV today. The charities are: NSPCC which is invoved with child help lines and child abuse, Cancer Research UK which is self explanatory, Moodswings, a mental health charity that Jennie McAlpine is involved with in conunction with her dad, and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust which is also a cancer centre. You will remember the silver "flying ducks" brooch that the Duchess of Cornwall wore on her visit to the set. The auction for this will be one of the first events that will benefit these charities. It's always nice to see good charities benefit from lots of publicity like this!

Leanne Battersby's old mate arrives on Street

Leanne Battersby's days as an escort girl are ones she'd probably rather forget. But Inside Soap magazine reveal that an old mate from Leanne's past turns up on the Street next week. Anyway, it says here that Leanne's mate Cheryl is 'gorgeous' and there's one fella in particular who gets smitten good and proper - Lloyd Mullaney!

You can read more on this and why falling in love with a stripper will not be good news for Lloyd, right here.

Cheryl will be played by actress Holly Quin-Ankrah.

Rosie Webster's new mystery man

Rosie Webster's new footballer boyfriend joins Coronation Street next week, and according to Inside Soap magazine, there's an air of mystery about the man.

His name is Kyle and he's a footy player for Weatherfield County. And when Rosie takes him home to meet the folks, Kevin recognises him from his visits to the team's grounds - but it soon becomes clear that Kevin realises there's something not quite right about Kyle's claim to fame. What will it be - and will he tell Rosie?

Trevor beds Carla - and breaks Janice's heart

The fab and groovy Inside Soap magazine reveal this week that Trevor beds Carla - and breaks Janice's heart. Janice has got her sights set on a romantic night in with Trevor and a plate of fish and chips. But as she's sitting waiting for Trevor to turn up, he rolls into bed with Carla instead. Or as Inside Soap puts it: Carla pulls Trevor into a sizzling embrace. When Janice finds out where Trevor spent the night, will she pull out all the stops (brush her hair, have a wash) to win Trevor from her boss or will she pull a mighty strop?

See also: Corrie fans vote for Trevor to date Janice

Filming Blanche's funeral upsets Corrie cast

William Roache, who plays Coronation Street's Ken Barlow, has revealed how difficult he found it to film the funeral of his on-screen mother-in-law Blanche Hunt. He tells the Manchester Evening News that filming the funeral at a similar time to attending the memorial service for the actress Maggie Jones was 'really upsetting'.

He said: “What was quite bizarre was that on-screen we were doing the death of Blanche and then we had to break off and do the memorial service for Maggie. It really got very complex. I have never had a confusion of reality and non-reality before and it was really upsetting for a lot of us. You didn’t know what you were upset about either, you were losing the actor, a friend, a colleague and the character.”

Blanche's funeral will be screened in May.

Sue Cleaver on drink driving charge

The Mirror today reports that Sue Cleaver who plays Coronation Street's Eileen Grimshaw has been charged with drink driving.

Street bosses yesterday confirmed she had been charged with driving over the limit but refused to give details. A spokesman said only: "This is private and a police matter."

Coronation Street Blog nominated for Award

If you enjoy the Coronation Street Blog, please vote for us as we've been nominated in the Author Blog Awards!

The Author Blog Awards aim to honour the best blogs by both published and unpublished writers. They will recognise the writers who use their blogs to connect with readers in the most imaginative, engaging and inspiring ways. At the same time we hope to attract new audiences to these blogs and help readers find out more about the authors they love, and new authors too.

Please vote for our blog.

Corrie's legal eagle quizzed on Gail - jail or bail?

If you've ever wondered how Coronation Street gets its storylines to adhere to the law, wonder no more. Barrister Paul Dockery of Manchester's 18 St John Street Chambers is the adviser to Coronation Street’s script writers on the legal aspects of the show.

Paul said: “It all started about six years ago when I was chatting to my friend [Coronation Street archivist] Helen Nugent,” he relates. “It was the day after Les Battersby was in court and I was passing comment on some factual inaccuracies and she said they’d call me in for the next large legal story.”

Since then he's has been called upon to advise on some of Corrie's biggest storylines involving a string of murderers, ­kidnap and several assaults. Most recently he's helped scriptwriters on the saga facing Gail, who is facing trial for the murder of her husband Joe. “Everybody wants to know whether Gail gets convicted,” says Dockery. “Even judges in the ­magistrates’ court have asked me that question, but I can’t say.”

A perk of being the show’s legal adviser is that Dockery gets to appear as an extra. The first time he appeared on the soap he sat between characters Cilla Battersby and Norris Cole in the court gallery; in a later appearance he told Gail that her son must face trial for pushing her down the stairs. His first speaking part came when Corrie bad girl Tracy ­Barlow was sentenced to life for the ­murder of her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs. Tracy will reappear in the show in May as Gail’s cellmate.

“That would never happen in real life,” Paul says. “Gail’s on remand and Tracy has a life sentence, so they wouldn’t end up sharing a cell.”

Video: Audrey slaps Rita

Sue Nicholls, who plays Coronation Street's Audrey Roberts, talks to the official Corrie ste at ITV about Audrey's fight with Rita over Lewis.

You can watch Sue's video here.

Sisterhood: Fri Mar 26, 2010 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Mark Burt (7:30), and Chris Fewtrell (8:30), directed by Tessa Hoffe

NuNick’s gotten Gail a new lawyer, but David’s got other plans up his sleeve to get her out. David spits at Tina again in the street, and she has to be rescued by NuNick. NuNick tells David he’s only interested in fighting battles he can win – yeah, for himself. David and Graeme take off on their investigation to the Lake District in NuNick’s BMW. When Graeme says something is a “bad idea” it’s probably best to listen. Meanwhile, NuNick is planning on going to a meeting with Carla in that very car as it drives away from the street. NuNick once again looks the fool in front of Carla.

David and Graeme have arrived and get some information from the landlady at the local. There is a Polish girl named Anka who cleans all the cottages in the area. She also tells them that the folk they’re looking for (that couple) are the Kenworthy’s. Graeme makes up some story about them buying the Kenworthy’s boat for some millionaire Russian client of theirs. Graeme and David wait for the Kenworthy’s to show up at the pub, and they finally do. David confesses to them that their there about his mum – Gail McIntyre. He asks what they told the police, but the Kenworthy’s say it’s between him and the police. Trouble as the Kenworthy’s decide to call the police. Graeme gets David the hell out of there before the police show up.

David and Graeme return and David gets a strangling from his big brother for taking the car. David tells NuNick about their little journey to the Lake District to track down witnesses. NuNick points out how this will look to the police – whom are currently knocking on David’s door. It’s our favourite detectives, impressed that David managed to track down the Kenworthy’s. NuNick says it was his idea, and they needed to know what the Kenworthy’s saw – for their mum’s sake. The detectives are going to question everyone at the pub and if they have perverted the witnesses, they could go to jail as well. After they leave NuNick freaks out on David for getting in worse than they were before. NuNick threatens that they next time David plays vigilante he’ll take him to the station himself.

Eileen tells Julie that she’s got her thinking that Jesse and her were special after all. Eileen meets with Jesse at lunch and Jesse wins her over even after the whole holiday business. Julie and Sean are overlooking Jesse and Eileen’s encounter when Julie tells Sean what happened between her and Jesse the other day. Jesse tells Eileen that he loves her, and begs her back. Eileen allows Jesse to take her out again. Julie hears Jesse utter those very same words to Eileen that he did to her and wants to go over there, but Sean holds her back.

Julie visits Eileen in the cab office with a cream cake and tells her that Jesse confessed his love to her, not Eileen. Eileen looks bushwhacked at the news. Eileen is rightfully pissed. Eileen smashes the cream cake with her fist as though it was Jesse’s head.

Later, Jesse shows up in the Rovers with the obligatory chocolates and flowers for Eileen in preparation for their date. He’s also dressed in his boot-hill best. Jesse literally pushes Julie out of the way so he and Eileen can have the space to themselves at the bar. Eileen tells Jesse that Julie’s going nowhere. Eileen tells Jesse that blood is thicker than water, but not as thick as he! Julie hands him his box of western crap and she and Eileen start beating him with his props, how fitting. Away Jesse runs into the street with his tumbleweed in hand. Julie and Eileen high five in the the street to “good riddance to bad rubbish.” Later, Eileen tells Julie she doesn’t even know what she saw in Jesse. Julie promises Eileen that she’ll never let another man or anyone come between them.

Sunita’s taking over Dev’s corner shop, one jar of expensive world-saving coffee at a time. Sunita figures since she is now working at Dev’s, her and the kids should move into his flat tomorrow. She thinks Bramwell (?) isn’t for her – her friends are here. Dev thinks the kids need a proper home and tells her they can’t move in. Oh yeah, because what he says has any weight. Dev, like a lot of us, can’t figure why Sunita would want to leave a three bedroom house with a garden for a flat. Sunita argues that her old place holds nothing by bad memories, and his flat is a clean slate. Sunita has the kids at Dev’s screaming their heads off. Oh, I’d not be happy to be his next-door neighbour right now. Aadi and Asha have broken Dev’s dimmer switch.

Norris shares his photo find of Audrey and Lewis to Rita and Mary. He gossips how the man (Lewis) was the man of another woman. Audrey comes in and Rita tells her about Norris’ theory over her having an affair. Rita wants to know more about this man. Norris thinks that Rita is trying to protect Audrey. Later, Audrey tells Rita at the salon that Lewis is her gigolo, sorry, “escort.” Rita reminds her that this isn’t real and she doesn’t have to stoop to this sort of thing. She warns Audrey about falling for Lewis.

Rita sees Audrey later and tells her that the more she thinks about Audrey and Lewis the more she admires her – since she’s got nothing at home herself. Norris is disappointed to find from Rita that Lewis isn’t married and that Claudia was only a business acquaintance. She tells Norris he couldn’t be more wrong.

Sian’s arrived for her visit and Sophie’s delighted! Sophie’s “setup” date has arrived with Ryan and he looks more Rosie’s type than hers, IMHO. A bit to “Ronaldo” looking. The foursome decides to go to Ryan’s to watch a movie, since his mum’s never home and all. The teens are into the movie – Sophie feeling awkward with her “date” especially when Sian and Ryan start kissing then leave for the other room. Sophie is alone with “Ronaldo” and she’s not amused by his Star Wars humour, even though he’s trying to lighten the mood. Sophie accuses her date of drooling over her and talking too much, so he tries to kiss her and she pushes him away. Her date says he thought that’s why he was here, and Sophie goes after Ryan for it. Sian leaves after Sophie and Ryan sarcastically thanks his mate. Sophie thinks she might be better off without blokes altogether.

HIGHLIGHTS

- Audrey calling Norris a little weasel for taking her candid photo! Quite fitting.
- David and Graeme jamming out to tunes and drinking coffee on their “road trip” in NuNick’s car.
- In the Lake District pub, Graeme ordering a glass of the landlady’s “cheekiest red wine” trying to expand his horizons. Oh, that one killed me.
- Audrey comparing paying Lewis to Rita renting a film for the night. So, Lewis is less “gigolo” more “home entertainment?”
- Eileen telling Jesse that blood is thicker than water, but not as thick as he! Ha-ha. And then, Julie and Eileen beating Jesse with his props.
- Sophie saying that with Ryan’s hair, he looks like Darth Vader! Ha-ha, he does have helmet hair.
- Julie and Eileen’s fresh start to sisterhood.

LOWLIGHTS

- That gross mopey low ponytail that Tina has been sporting for the last week. I know she’s “let herself go” since she’s bereaved, but it just irks me!
- Mary telling Norris about another “romantic” escapade of her past. Barf.
- Tina’s rude little ‘tude towards Jason, who doesn’t deserve it.
- Nasty little Jesse trying to weasel his way into Eileen’s life after professing his love to her sister. I never liked him.

Overall Episode Rating: 7/10
Drama: 6/10, Humour: 10/10, Classic Corrie: 6/10, Wow Factor: 5/10

Keith Duffy, sex symbol?

Keith Duffy, who plays Coronation Street's Ciaran McCarthy, has thanked scriptwriters for turning him into a sex sympol.

And he said that he can't wait to move on to his next on-screen conquest.

"I was starting to feel like I was getting too old. But Corrie has turned me into a sex symbol once more. They’ve hinted I may bed Michelle, Liz, Carla and Becky(*) so I can’t wait to find out," he said.

(*) Let's hope, not all at the same time.

Who's the daddy? Corrie fans vote for Tyrone

In our latest poll here on the Coronation Street blog we asked fans who they thought was the daddy to Molly's baby.

289 votes were cast and the results are in as follows:

Tyrone - 47%
Kevin - 39%
Norris (Norris?) - 14%

Corrie weekly awards, March 22 - 26

You had that coming award: Gold Star: Molly, not Pam. Pam told her the truth, all of it and Molly couldn't take it so she smacked Pam.

Shameful award: Gold star: Jesse. But we always knew he had an eye for Julie. (She might have given him mixed signals but he was only hours away from wanting Eileen back.)
Silver star: Nick wussing out on visiting his mother.
Bronze star: Kevin handing over Sophie 50 quid because it's easier than saying 2 sentences of apology over again.

Rosie Webster Media award: Gold Star: Norris learned how to use that fancy new camera pretty quickly. Is it going to get him in trouble? (and quite a zoom on that baby too!)

We're not really related award: Gold Star: Nick and David: "Half brothers."

Best image award: The tumbleweed rolling back along Victoria Street after Jesse was run out of town.

Lines of the Week:
Tyrone: "We could change the name of the garage... 'Webster, Dobbs and son'" (and it's appropriately ambiguous too!)

Molly to Kevin: "I'm staying round here to make a go of it with my family like you are trying to make a go of it with yours!" (Much as I hate to say it, she's got a good point.)

Norris about the reunited couple: "It's like marital hokey cokey" (Isn't that the one where you put ... well and then you shake it all about, so to speak?)

Janice about Nick: "If he were a stick of rock he'd have pillock written right through it" (Word!)

Kevin to Sophie: "You're mum's at your Auntie Phyllis's and I've got to cook tea." (1. Two teenage daughters can cook, can't they? 2. Who's Auntie Phyllis? Sally's sister is Gina and Kevin's is Debbie. Unless it's Sally's Auntie Phyllis maybe?)

Graeme: "These hands are deadly weapons. They should be kept in mittens by rights."

Eileen: "Always the statue, never the pigeon, me." Julie: "To sisterhood." (and not before time!)

Gail McIntyre's silver coat for sale on eBay

A few weeks ago we received so many queries asking where Coronation Street fans could buy the metallic parka that Gail wore on Corrie, so we blogged about it here.

Now, the original coat as worn by Helen Worth as Gail is up for sale on eBay. It comes with an ITV certificate of authenticity. Place your bids now.

Campaign launched to Keep Gail in Jail

First we had the Free Gail from Jail t-shirts, then the Bring Back Hanging campaign. And now there's a website where they're campaigning to Keep Gail in Jail.

Have a look at it here, it's fun.

Street Style: Claire and Ashley Peacock's wallpaper

We've had a lot of requests for this one and can finally answer the question: "Where can I buy the watering can wallpaper like Claire and Ashley Peacock's on Coronation Street?"

The wallpaper comes from Galerie Kitchen Concepts at £25.99 for a 10m roll.

You can buy it online here.

Corrie win three gongs in All About Soap Bubble Awards 2010

Coronation Street has won three awards in the All About Soap Bubble Awards.

Gray O'Brien picked up the Smooth Criminal award for evil Tony Gordon.

Simon Gregson and Katherine Kelly won the Bride and Doom award for Steve and Becky McDonald's second wedding.

And Michelle Keegan, who plays Tina McIntyre, won the Celeb Style award. Michelle said: “I’m really chuffed to have won. It especially means a lot because the award is voted for by the readers. I’m amazed I beat Katherine Kelly – she always looks amazing, so that’s a real achievement.”

All About Soap Editor Jonathan Hughes said: “The Bubbles always give a good indication of what’s going to happen at the British Soap Awards. And this year is no different.”

Speaking of which, have YOU voted yet?

Alison King in Reveal magazine

Anyone else read the interview with Alison King in this week's Reveal magazine (dated 27th March)?

Our Carla "reveals" that she has such hairy toes, she now has to have them waxed. Apparently, she shaved them (her toes) as a teenager and the hair grew back "coarser and stronger". I thought that the shaving encouraging hair growth thing, was an urban myth. Can any reader enlighten me? On second thoughts, don't bother.

Alison catches Coroantion Street when she can, but doesn't like watching herself, and says her sexiest leading man was Rob James-Collier. She also tells us that - wait for it - she has a "fat a*se". Yeah, right.

Gail McIntyre t-shirts - free her or fry her?

Some people want Coronation Street's Gail out of Jail, while others want her banged up for life with a cell mate called Big Norma.

Decide which camp you're in and buy the "hang her" t-shirt here or the "help her" t-shirt here.

Tony Gordon's back on the Street

As one Coronation Street resident weeps in her jail cell, another one escapes and returns to the cobbles. Yes, Tony Gordon and his dodgy eye are back on the Street soon and he'll be seeking revenge on Carla Connor.

The Sun reckons that Tony (Gray O'Brien) feigns a heart attack in a staged fight in the big house and as he's being taken to t'hospital, his new hit man threatens the guards at gunpoint before securing Tony's escape.

Beverley Callard's autobiography released next month

Beverley Callard, who plays Coronation Street's Liz McDonald, has her autobiography coming out next month.

The book will be called Unbroken - My Story of Survival, and will include details of Beverley's battle against a breakdown and depression.

Watch this space for details of how you can win a copy of the book in a special competition we'll soon have on the blog!

Friday competition - spot the Corrie prop, March 26

Congratulations to everyone who guessed that last week's prop came from the upstairs flat in the Rovers Return.

It's an easier one this week, I think. Have a look at this week's prop and see if you can guess where on Coronation Street this picture is based.

Don't ring in, it's just for fun.

Nothing to Worry About: Thu Mar 25, 2010 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Martin Allen, directed by Tessa Hoffe

Gail’s cellmate is trying to play jokes on her again. Doesn’t she know that Gail has no sense of humour? Gail brushes off this woman since she thinks that because her bail appeal is today that she’s got nothing to worry about. Gail’s pacing is throwing off her cellmate’s solitaire game. Gail is happy to see her solicitor but her smile quickly turns to frown when she’s told that her appeal’s been turned down. She’ll have to wait for her trial in four months and until then she’ll be in her “hell hole.”

Back home, NuNick’s still too busy for his mum and David’s angry that he’s not caring. Gail rings and David hears her news – she’s stuck in prison until the trial. David tells his mum to try and stay strong. NuNick confesses to David that he was scared he couldn’t be strong for his mum which is why he hadn’t gone and seen her. They decide they need to figure out a way to help her.

Gail is soothing her sorrows with self-pity when her cell-mate reminds her that life goes on, even in prison.

Graeme sees Rosie leaving her house all gussied up for a date with a footballer and suggests she date him instead since he doesn’t mind her bad breath. She was chewing some gum. Graeme can’t understand where he’s going wrong! Graeme meets up with David later and hears about his mum. Graeme wonders if David can’t find any evidence or anything to help her. David remembers the witness couple and wonders if he can’t track them down. Graeme warns him about interfering with witnesses. David wants to go tomorrow and Graeme to come with him, but Graeme doesn’t think it’s a good idea.

Natasha tries her best to cheer Audrey up at work, but it’s Lewis that does the trick. He surprises her by asking for a trim, saying he hasn’t seen her around lately. He even manages to charm Natasha, not that that’s difficult. Audrey tells Lewis all about Gail’s saga over a cuppa, and of course, he empathizes. Is there anything he can’t do?

Tina’s happy that she’s got her space back since they’ve moved into the flat. She’s not happy when she thinks about how Gail might be out on bail and could be at her doorstep. Jason tries to make things positive by telling her that the second they sell the flat they’ll be out.

Things have gone a full 180 for Molly and Tyrone as Molly can’t wait to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. Talk about making your bed and laying in it. Tyrone is drowning Kev in baby banter again. He’s stressed out and Sophie coming and reaming him out after ditching her the other night when she wanted to go to the Trafford Centre doesn’t make it better.

Kev comes around and makes a stink by blaming Molly for being the reason that Sophie’s mad at him – since he was thinking of her and her baby. Molly reminds him that she’s stuck around to make a go of it with her family, just as he’s done with his. Kev makes it up to Sophie by giving her fifty quid, since “it’s easier.”

Julie has a word with Eileen about Jesse, as he requested. Eileen figures out that Jesse’s asked Julie to talk to her and isn’t amused. Eileen tells Julie to tell Jessie that her backyard still looks like “Boot Hill” and if he doesn’t come and pick it up, she’s bbq’ing the lot! Julie breaks the news to Jesse later at the Rovers and tells him that he’ll find someone else. Julie offers to meet up with him after work so she can cheer him up, to which he of course obliges. He’s got ulterior motives methinks.

Julie meets Jessie in his truck in a back alley – to avoid prying eyes. They talk about how they had a great time performing together then Jesse blurts out that it makes him wonder if he’d met her first instead of Eileen. Jesse admits that he had a crush on Julie and thought about her the entire time he was with Eileen. Guess Eileen was right! Jesse grabs Julie in a kiss and says he should have done it months ago. Julie gets freaked out and has to hit him with a rubber chicken and gets out of the van. Refused!

Norris gets a new phone and isn’t impressed by all the bells and whistles. All he wants is a phone that works. He complains that his old phone was clear as a bell. Then why did he get a new phone? He doesn’t know what he needs a camera on a phone for. Well, until that is he starts taking sleuth photos of Coronation Street residents. The perfect tool for voyeur.

HIGHLIGHTS
- The romantic inside-repertoire going back and forth between Audrey and Lewis in the salon regarding why he hadn’t heard from her in so long.
- Norris complaining about the high-tech-ness of his new phone. He’s such an old curmudgeon.
- Norris taking paparazzi photos of the Street’s residents! Fantastic. Next he’ll have a video camera.

LOWLIGHTS
- Watching Gail get excited about her bail appeal only to see her upset again upon hearing that it’s been turned down.
- Julie telling Jesse he’s a wonderful man and loads of women will jump at him. I would hardly say LOADS. Mummy’s boy!
- Jesse telling Julie that he’d been thinking of her the entire time he was with Eileen! Ouch
- Kev keeping his miserable reign of terror up.

Overall Episode Review: 7/10
Drama: 7/10, Humour: 7/10, Classic Corrie: 5/10, Wow Factor: 8/10