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Sunday, 14 October 2012

Is new Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn set to sack Corrie cast?

There's a non-story in today's Daily Star that quotes "a cast member" and "a Corrie source" saying that cast are fearing new producer Stuart Blackburn coming in next year in case he wants to sack a load of them. 

I hope he does.

The Star quotes one cast member saying:  “There’s three groups of stars on Corrie – the untouchables like Barbara Knox, Bill Roache and Eileen Derbyshire, the long-term contractors and sexy ones like Kym Marsh  and Michelle Keegan. And then there’s the rest of us. Most people are either on six-month contracts or one-year contracts, so we all know any of us could be on our way out the door within weeks of him arriving. Whenever a new producer starts you get called into their office to meet them and discuss your ­character – if you get called in for a second time it’s not good news!”

The source added: “There’s a lot of worried people here and agents are all trying to get their stars longer contracts before he starts."

I suspect this story is a load of piffle to be honest but let's go with its theme. If you were Stuart Blackburn, coming in as new producer to Coronation Street and wanting to make a mark on the show - who would you sack?  Top of my hit list would be St Ella.

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28 comments:

Frosty the Snowman said...

There is always worry about a new broom and indeed Corrie seems to be very cluttered with characters lately.

Frosty's hit list would be:

The Alahan family, Div, Sunitart and kids - well well past their sell by.

Tracy Barlow - no reasons need to be given, I dont know one person that would disagree.

St Ella and Gloria Bore. Keeping Eva.

Lewis Archer - another pointless character that should have remained in that one off storyline.

Paul the Fireman and perhaps sourpuss Eileen who has run out of steam as a character.

Jason - where does he go apart from lurching from one relationship to another

Kevin and Sophie Webster - keeping Sally.

Chesney and Katie - two young bores, she is a weak actor.

Sean - far too OTT and hammy and has well had his time in Corrie.

Maria - another one who has had her time and is a weak actor.

Rob - Carla's brother - instantly forgettable.



Anonymous said...

Definitely the Alahans. Maria - boring, wooden. Sean - too camp for realism. Stella....just not fitting in. Fiz, Chesney, and his orange girlfriend, whose name I can't even remember. And, dare I say it, Kevin Webster...just way past sell-by...

Anonymous said...

Sunita and Karl

Nick and Leanne - but keep Simon and give him back to his dad!

Dev, Kevin, Tracy, Maria and Paul.

thedeegee said...

The entire Windass clan along with Chesney and Katie and Stella with her annoying mother..

Anonymous said...

The Alahans, toxic Tracey( please, please, please), Ryan (boring & weird that he looks the same age as his Mum). Fireman Sam, Toxic Tracey, oh and did I mention Toxic Tracey!

matto79 said...

Tracy, Chesney, Katy, Katy's furrowed brow, Sunita, Stella, Gloria, Sean, Mary, Karl. And maybe consider replacing them with non-stereotypical soapie character molds - original characters that have been eased into the show like Marcus are working much better than much trumpeted and fairly annoying ones like Gloria.

Chewy said...

The Alahans really need to go, both a house and the corner shop are wasted on them, and they're tired characters.

I also hope Rob gets the axe, I had high hopes for him, but he's just another Luke Strong.

Stella doesnt need to go, but maybe she can be moved from the Rovers to somewhere else.

Chewy said...

Oh and Sean, its time he went since there is nowhere for his character to go.

Anonymous said...

Tracy

If she goes ... Ryan can go too.

Beige Stella and pushy Gloria

The Alahans

Karl - no reason for him to stay if Stella & Sunita go. I used to like him when he first arrived.

Mary - she's just not funny anymore

Sean - unless they really tone down his drama queen persona. He used to be funny wayyyyy back when.

Paul - too wishy-washy for a fireman!

Kirsty - she's despicable!

~JB in Canada

Tvor said...

A variation of this is in the newspapers every time there's a new producer. They dust it off and bring it out again! :)

But I'd like to see the back of: Stella, Alahans, Karl, Kevin, Ryan, Michelle, Tracy, Aiden though I suspect he'll be out soon anyway.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Tracy (should never have been brought back)
Alahans (only been kept on for diversity purposes)
Stella, Karl, Gloria
Sean (cute when he was younger but hasn't grown (up) as a character)
Sophie, Ryan, Rob, Kevin
Aiden
Paul definitely and I wouldn't really miss Eileen
that's enough to be getting on with!

Llifon said...

Stella, Gloria, Tracy, Izzy, Katy, Sunita + kids (tbh I like Dev), Paul, Jason, Sean, Kevin, Tommy, Mary, Rob, Maria, Michelle, Ryan.

I think the rest I can bear with but give more stories to Dennis! More scenes even apart from in the Kabin or Rovers! Have him interact with other characters apart from Rita and Norris. Have scenes with him with Gail, Emily, Ken and Deirdre discussing the past and Elsie and Mrs Walker and Ena Sharples and stuff. I beg you Mr Blackburn, do summat!

sf67 said...

Aside of the obvious that have been mentioned, I'm probably going against the grain but I'd love to see the back of Norris and Mary... every time this pair is on the screen I want to throw my rubber brick at the telly.

But for the record, I could do without Stella, Gloria (couldn't stand her the moment she first appeared), Sunita/Karl, Paul, Kevin (each time he appears he is always yelling), Rob, Tommy, Ryan, Aiden, Sophie and finally Sean.

Please bring in some class and characters with depth, complexity and HUMOUR!

Beth said...

Tracy, Tracy, Tracy!
Paul the Fireman, Sophie, Stella, The Alahan's, Ryan, Michelle, Katie.

Anybody new, make sure they can act!

Janice said...

Diedre has been boring for decades. Let her smoke somewhere else. I like Julie Carp but Brian is a drip, let him go. Tracy has been mentioned by all others but it needs to be said again again, she is a one-trick pony and is overdue for the knacker's yard.

BarrieT said...

Tracy (can't act), Stella (miscast), Sean (can't act), Fish Face (Aiden), Paul the Fireman (no chemistry between him & Eileen), Brian (Julie is funnier without him) Rob (miscast), Dennis (whats the point),

abbyk said...

Tracy: Unbelievable character played by an unconvincing actor. Should never have been let out.
Ryan: pointless then, pointless now
Stella & Gloria: Lloyd should buy out debt-ridden Stella & become landlord of the Rovers, he'd be fantastic.
Mary: a ridiculous cartoon
Karl & The Alahans: pointless except for the kids as friends for Simon

While we're at it,
Keep the friends: Fiz, Maria, Kevin, Ches, Kirk, Beth. Even without stories of their own, they round out main characters

Plug the holes: David deals with an epilepsy crisis, Sophie goes back to school (or something) before it's too late, Gail finally finds a reasonable job

Anonymous said...

You need diversity on the show, Dev and Sunita can stay but give them better roles. Rob, Carla's brother should have a more intelligent and better role, Stella's mother axe her, never should have been on there. Nick, one ugly duckling that has never played a part except to stand around. Tracey, needs a better role than playing Steeve.., tiring, she's smart and deserves better and putting her with Ryan is a waste of writers talents.Deidre mentioned her boy toy, Samir. When they did that story it had a begining, middle and ending and was a love story. Would like to see Ken gone he's past his prime and Deidre get another Samir. As far as Paul goes, chuck him if they can't develop his story line. Bring back the Batterbies, some excitement on the street and get Steve in the gym.He's boring and serves no purpose.

Anonymous said...

Sure, have some diversity. Get rid of the Alahans and bring in someone new. I agree with Frosty's original list but add Tommy. I'd like to say add Kirsty but she is a necessary evil in her storyline. I LOVE the idea of Lloyd buying Stella out and running the pub, employing Mandy in the process.

Anonymous said...

If only...I can't see it though. It's early days. There are always rumours like this when there's a new bum in the head chair.
I do hope he does something with that Tracy though..she has to pay for her crime..killing Charlie.

ChisGwen said...

Top of my list is the strange Aiden, then - totally annoying drama Queen Sean, marble-mouth Dad and daughter team Kevin and Sophie, Paul the wet- lipped fireman, Mandy and whatever she ties around her head, Michelle and her too shiney hair, Rob and his whole wardrobe that looks as if he stays late and makes his own clothes, and Dreary who should leave Ken so he can have a few good years left without all the constant verbal bullying.

njblas said...

Please, please axe Rob Donovan. His haircut and elbow patches are doing my head in:)

Anonymous said...

Mary

7twonder2011 said...

PLEASE get rid of all the Alahans, Dev has to be THE worst actor on telly, Tracy as number 2, again awful actress and a totally unbelievable character , Dreary for standing by Tracy all these years (unbelievable). Paul, but keep Eileen. the Websters, but bring back Rosie, Izzy and her Dad, David and Kylie, both very annoying,Gail the chinless wonder, Stella, very wooden, Gloria, such a great actress, such a silly role,Karl pointless character, Sean, lost all his charm, keep Marcus, much more believable, and whilst we are at it.......THE SCRIPT WRITERS! Corrie was always known for strong story lines, believable characters, and most of all HUMOUR, it has lost most of those things.....please bring in people who love Corrie and know the characters, do we have to put up with ONLY arguing and screaming, can we have story lines where people are actually nice to one another, where they have a laugh and a giggle, and give US a laugh and a giggle PLEASE!

Humpty Dumpty said...

I'd already given my list but I agree with 7twonder2011 about the scriptwriters. Some actors are weak, but even the best can only do so much with rubbish storylines and dialogue eg Sue Johnston. We need a range of writers who can give very different points of view. A previous blog talked about Gail needing a friend, and I commented there that maybe the writers don't know how women talk to each other. Not the banter of the factory girls, but deep discussions about love and aspirations. At the moment, the females are operating like the males, just chatting in The Rovers. Women have heart-to-hearts and it would be nice to see these happens between friends of the same age, and not only 'mother/daughter' ones.

Kiwifruit & Cheese said...

Good points Humpty.

Martin S said...

Chewy said...

The Alahans really need to go, both a house and the corner shop are wasted on them, and they're tired characters.


I agree. We need a breath of fresh air in the corner shop. And what about the kebab shop?

I also hope Rob gets the axe, I had high hopes for him, but he's just another Luke Strong.

And just as forgettable. Who was Luke Strong, again?

Stella doesnt need to go, but maybe she can be moved from the Rovers to somewhere else.

How about the Shetlands, or the Scilly Isles?


7twonder2011 said...

THE SCRIPT WRITERS!


There are several veteran scriptwriters who can still write a good episode, for example Simon Crowther, Chris Fewtrell, Johnathan Harvey and David Lane.

Maybe we should blame the storyliners, who sit in committee and decide the direction of the plots, under the overall supervision of the producer.

Anonymous said...

Aiden first, because he's so hard on the eyes. Nick for the same reason.

Lloyd and everyone involved in his current storyline, which is moving along like a ludicrous freight train.

Tracey because she had been done to death.

Dev for being the most annoying character on television, plus Sunita, their bratty children and his caricature aunties.

Leanne because she's written so irrationally it's impossible to have any sympathy for her.

Lewis, Dennis, Brian and Paul for being dull.

Emily--am I allowed to say that?

Probably Michelle too, plus Carla's brother and may as well throw in Chesney's wife while we're at it.

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