Southport, the place to spot the Corrie actors

The Southport Visiter, a newspaper website with local news out of the Southport area, might not seem to be a hotbed of Coronation Street news on first glance. But you might be surprised! I followed a news link there this morning and after doing a search, found all kinds of references to Corrie.

There are some well known actors from that area. You may know that Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden) has lived in Southport, and Steven Arnold (Ashley Peacock) is from nearby Warrington but did you also know Kenneth Cope (Jed Stone) is a native? There's an interview with him online, one with Jean Alexander and there's also a piece on Steven Arnold (mainly gleaned from the ITV farewell video he did), all posted within the last week.

There's also an interview with an actor named Jack Diamond. Who? you may ask...Well, Jack Diamond was in one of the very first Coronation Street episodes, singing the Welsh national anthem in the Rovers. It was his first acting job and it led to a successful career on television and stage. He recalls when his parents owned a pub next to Granada Studios back in the 1960s and many cast members came in for a drink after work. (It was the Ox Noble, now called the Ox and I've been there!) He was also engaged to Julie Goodyear for a short time in the 1970s and he and the woman he married are good friends with both Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey. It makes for an interesting read.

Also on the Southport Visiter is an article about various Corrie actors that have lived there or visited in conjunction with performances in local theatre or who have opened the Southport Flower Show. Southport seems to be a good place to go for Corrie-spotting! Who knew?