Unofficial Coronation Street 50th book - a fan's review

We've already mentioned, a couple of times, one of the books coming out for Coronation Street's 50th anniversary. It's 50 Years of Coronation Street: The (very) unofficial story and now that I've read a preview copy of it, it's definitely worth another mention.  

Quite simply, I was hooked from Page 1 and I couldn't put it down. Author Sean Egan has written 14 other books including many biographies, and in a way this book felt like it was the biography of the Street itself. It's very easy to read, with facts, figures and fun stuff to read in chronological order. It's not as salacious as its title may suggest, there's no real secrets given away but you do learn a heck of a lot about the history of the Street, how it's produced, written and directed,  how actors are hired and why some of them are fired!  There's interviews with ex-Corrie writers, producers, Daran Little and William Roache who plays Ken Barlow, plus many more. I enjoyed it a great deal and can highly recommend it. What sets this one apart from the official books which will be coming out soon is that it scratches the surface just a little deeper - giving fans a view of what really goes on in creating and maintaining our favourite soap on TV.

We'll have a very special competition on the blog on Saturday this weekend to win a copy of the book, so stay tuned!

To order the book for just £11*, including p & p, call 01903 282503 and quote offer JR023 and book ISBN 978 1 90677 9801. (*UK only, please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas).'

There's also a poll being done to promote the book at  www.tickbox.net. You will need to sign up, but it's free, and completing the poll will enter you into a prize draw to win £250 worth of books. There are lots of other fun polls with prizes to try on the site too.