Spoilers for next week's Coronation Street, Oct 6 - 10

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 6 October to Friday 10 October

Tony and Liz argue about Jim, Gary snogs Alya, Deirdre throws a tantrum with a trifle, Steve wonders if he’s suffering from depression, Callum offers Kyie drugs.
 
The full weekly preview, with loads of pictures is right here on Corrie.net

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Telling it like it is

I think it's a brilliant move to give Steve McDonald a more serious, challenging storyline to play out. Simon Gregson has mainly been playing comedy of late and although he is a gifted comic actor I think tackling the issue of depression will really give him something to get his acting chops around.

Depression is frequently discussed on television these days and quite right too. I know Coronation Street will handle this topic sensitively and much research will be done by all concerned. I also think it's a very good idea to turn the spotlight on depression in men, particularly those of Steve's age. 

On the face of it Steve is very successful and you might wonder why he could ever be depressed. He is in a longterm relationship, has a daughter he loves dearly, friends who care about him and two successful businesses. In many ways, these facts make Steve the ideal candidate for this storyline.

Having read a little about this in the press, it would seem the story will focus on Steve's feelings that he has been a failure, particularly in relation to the Peter Barlow business and the lead up to Tina's death. While it will be interesting to explore this, I hope they will also tackle some issues much closer to home.

I've made it clear in the past that I'm not keen on Michelle. She's unsympathetic and sometimes down right unlikeable. Stuart Blackburn describes Steve and Michelle as a love story but I really don't buy into that idea. While support from Michelle and Liz will ultimately play a big part in helping Steve, I hope this storyline also includes Liz and Michelle taking a good look at the way they treat him. 

I've been very uncomfortable in the past with how Liz and Michelle in particular belittle and undermine Steve. The storyline which saw Steve return to education is the best example of this. Instead of supporting his efforts to return to further education (no mean feat as I know only too well), both partner and mother mocked him and showed little faith that he would go the distance. Sadly this story was really only a plot device to introduce Andrea as I'd really like to have seen more of Steve's journey through education. 

The depression storyline, if tackled appropriately, should affect those close to Steve as well as the man himself. If Michelle and Liz are not made to identify themselves as part of the problem, this Corrie viewer will not be best pleased. I look forward to seeing how this brave new story for Steve plays out over the coming months. 

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The return of the Square Dealers to Coronation Street

I loved hearing last night on Coronation Street the Square Dealers getting a mention.  The Square Dealers, eh? Now, there's a blast from the past. 

Along with a mention of David's epilepsy in the same episode, it was like harking back to long-forgotton scripts. Shame then that Corrie forgot where it was going with Tim's literacy storyline. If Tim can't read, how did he come to get in touch with daughter Faye over the internet? 

Anyway, I digress.  Back to the Square Dealers.

Kal's dad is now a member of the Square Dealers, it appears, and has gone off with them all to a tour of Scottish whisky distilleries.  

The Square Dealers, you might remember (as I don't, not fully) was Weatherfield's equivalent to the Freemasons.  I seem to recall that Fred Elliott was the Grand Master in the Square Dealers, as was Norris and Reg. It was kind of a businessman's club and women, as far as I recall, weren't allowed to join.

With the return of The Square Dealers, I wonder if we'll see WARTS next?


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ITV Job Vacancy: Script Editor at Coronation Street

Script Editor – Coronation Street

An opportunity to be part of the UK's number one soap.

As the success of Coronation Street continues to grow, we are looking for an experienced Script Editor to join our busy hard working team, ensuring that every single one of our episodes are top quality entertainment.

Your role will involve attending and contributing to Coronation Street’s story conferences. In script meetings, you will submit creative and structural editing notes to the Producer(s) advising of major continuity, technical and cast challenges. You will then pass edits notes to the writers in an open and creative manner. You will follow your scripts through all the stages of production from pre-production to editing dealing with various levels of personnel, therefore strong communication skills are a must.

You must demonstrate previous drama script editing experience. You should be focussed, be able to work under pressure and meet the deadlines of a rolling production schedule. You should be conscientious and have a creative but logical mind.

This role may facilitate long and unsocial working hours.

This is an excellent opportunity to prove yourself in the nation’s top soap!

Apply now! Closing date: Thursday 9th October. Full details at itvjobs.com
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Coronation Street Double Episode Review 29 September 2014

Having thought long and hard about the credibility of the 'Kylie takes Max's pills' story, I find it impossible to be convinced by it. Also,  David's reaction is odd. He virtually treats Kylie like a murdering criminal, rather than an over-stressed mother who feels that Max's behaviour is her and Max's dad's fault and needs something go calm her down. 'I feel I've got to protect him against his own mum.' Designed to cut deeply...

Kylie is in a dreadful mood, lashing out at all those who dare speak to her, especially Maria. Maybe Kylie is a little jealous of Maria, as Liam seems to be a well-balanced child. Maybe a scotch egg is the answer. It would help Dev's ordering excesses anyway. Kylie has a few drinks, even tells Eva to go away, though she apologises later. Poor Mary is very much the target of Kylie's tension. Mary is proud of her hair, refers to it a s'luxuriant' and notes that she has a duty to keep it looking its best. Kylie is downright cruel. She tells Mary that she is more Kim Jong Un than Kim Kardashian. That said, does anyone really want to resemble either of those individuals? Norris comes to Mary's defence, when Kylie starts to insult him. Norris hits where it hurts and comments on her as a mother - being unfit for the role and there's no wonder Max misbehaves. 'The truth hurts,' he yells after her.

No one has had a cold/tonsilitis of the severity of Sally's. Proper poorly she is. Tim though has more serious problems. A cold clears up but poor literacy needs attention as it can hold people back. (That is why Further Education Colleges are so important!) Maddie spots his difficulty and hands it to him straight. He denies it  but well, it's clearly true.

As Andrea says, we can't swim with dolphins everyday, but now Neil is leaving the country, at least she and  Lloyd will be free of him.

Yasmeen is a very forceful woman and almost bullying towards Roy in her demands to use the cafe as a library and literacy drop in. Roy gives her short shrift. 'I have neither the time nor the space to accommodate some sort of  low rate literacy salon.' At least Alya is around to distract her grandmother and curb her excesses, at least a little. Her plan is a new community centre. Might work - and anything that brings people together has to be good.

Julie tries to persuade Sean to join the gym and is evangelical about it. Sean's not keen though. He prefers nightclubs where he can engage in drinkersize, dancersize  and flirtersize.

Mary is not letting go of Dev without a fight. She is, she tells Julie, Dev's go to person, his emotional bouncer, his guardian angel. Dev praises the Taj Mahal, and the love from which it was built. Julie responds by claiming she is a spiritual person but Mary is having none of this. 'I'm a very spiritual person too,' chimes in Mary, 'but I tend to keep quiet about it' she says, clearly not noticing the irony. She says its the same with her charity work. Feeling that it's time to wrap the evening up, she chivvies Dev out of the pub and home. Dev comments that the eveing was good and that Julie is a nice girl. Mary tells him that Julie is hardly a girl, forty at least. The question is, will either Julie or Mary have a lifetime's access to scotch eggs?


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Coronation Street puts call out for more disabled actors

Coronation Street is leading the way across the diversity agenda, and continuing to show its commitment to developing diverse talent both on and off screen.

Last week ITV launched the Original Voices initiative in partnership with Creative Skillset, enabling us to connect with local BAME – Black, Asian or other Minority Ethnic writing talent in the North West.

They are now continuing the investment and partnership with Creative Skillset, to attract and develop diverse talent by launching our onscreen disability initiative, Breaking Through Talent. The initiative is a one-day intensive casting workshop for actors with a disability.

The workshop will take place in MediaCity, Salford on Wednesday 19th November, the successful candidates will have the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge to help support their career, be given a live audition and receive constructive feedback from the team.

Actress Cherylee Houston and Casting Directors at Coronation Street will be delivering the workshop.


Full details here.

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Character counts

The other day I tried to take up the challenge posed by this great blog and it proved something of a struggle! At first I thought it would be relatively easy to come up with a list of sixteen Coronation Street characters I couldn't do without. I only made it to fourteen, shock horror!

To begin with, the names came quite easily. Audrey Roberts, always my favourite even though she's woefully underused these days. Ken and Deirdre Barlow - Corrie legends and a terrific partnership spanning decades. Emily Bishop, although rarely seen these days, is still beautifully portrayed by Eileen Derbyshire after more than fifty years. Sally and Tim are a great new partnership and I hope they stay together for the duration, or as long as actor Joe Duttine wants to stay. Steve McDonald is already a Corrie legend to me, mainly down to Simon Gregson's wonderful performances. He's come such a long way over the past 25 years. I couldn't imagine Corrie without our Roy either, David Neilson often rises head and shoulders above both the material he is given and what is going on around him.

Then it got a little bit more difficult to come up with names. Carla Connor was there for certain. The modern day Elsie Tanner? I wouldn't dare suggest such a thing, but a great character in her own right who is yet to run out of steam despite being front and centre for years. Another couple I'm very fond of are Eva and Jason. Eva Price was the best thing by far to come out of that family and I'm glad she's stuck around. Her partnership with Jason has  a lot of promise too. As I've said before, Ryan Thomas has come on leaps and bounds over the last decade and is now a real asset. 

I've always been a fan of Mikey North as Gary Windass so out of that family he's the only one I'd keep. Another character I've warmed to is Julie Carp. Mainly playing for laughs, she doesn't get much of a look in as we've endlessly focussed on Tina/Peter/Carla/Rob/Michelle and that delightful merry-go-round of misery. 

Out of the more recent deluge of characters I could only really add in Steph. I think she lights up the screen every time she appears but I wish the powers that be would give her a proper storyline! She's crying out for one.

So that was my fourteen. And it involved quite a bit of head scratching let me tell you. What does that say about the rest of the cast? I dunno. Corrie must currently boast a cast of over sixty regular characters but I can't help feeling many of them are instantly forgettable, under-used, interchangeable with other programmes or have simply run out of steam.

Why did I not include characters like Rita, Gail, Liz, Norris or Leanne? Quite simply I don't think recent times have treated any of these characters particularly well. They are either stuck in a rut or have come off badly through association with daft plot lines, relationships with other characters or mind boggling character transformations. I do like Lloyd although for some reason the writers can never find a decent female character for him to play off. Tyrone and Fizz I really wanted to be together, but now they are it's all a bit bland and beige. The same goes for the majority of the Windass and Nazir clans. 

I keep coming back to the same point. Too many of the characters featured in the Corrie of 2014 just don't feel Corrie enough, if that makes sense. They could easily be in Emmerdale or EastEnders or Holby City. Coronation Street broke new ground in 1960, presenting a compact range of characters everyone knew but had never seen represented on television before. In an age when everything has seemingly been done before on the telly it feels like the powers that be are becoming even more desperate to push boundaries and find new angles. And at the same time, it often feels like we've seen all these new angles before. 

As a challenge to those at the top, how about producing several episodes that only feature a core cast of characters? I'm not saying they need to be two handers, but just less than normal. Simple, well written, character driven episodes without massive revelations, punch ups, police officers, explosions or weird sexy dance murderer scenes. How about half an hour of the likes of Audrey, Emily, Rita and Deirdre chewing the fat, reminiscing and talking about things that matter to women of their generations? Is that too much to ask?




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How should Deirdre be written out?

This morning we blogged that Anne Kirkbride, who plays Deirdre Barlow, is taking a three-month sabbatical from Coronation Street.

For me, this is sad, as we've only welcomed back Ken and now we'll be saying goodbye to Deirdre for a while and once again things at No. 1 were back to normal - well, as normal as we can get on the street!

It's fair to say we've seen a lot more of Deirdre this past year than we've had in a long time. Well in more scenes per episode anyway! She has had to carry the moral support role that Ken always held and over the past year we've seen a return to the classic Deirdre we knew back in the 1980s and early 1990s - strong, independent and determined. Let's hope we don't see her return to the wimpering character we've known in the past few years. 

When the announcement was made of her temporary departure, many commented that it wouldn't make much of a difference as she doesn't hold such a key role as she did. That's a fair argument, but then again Deirdre is synonymous with Corrie and without a doubt we would feel her loss. As the Barlows are still so central to the programme, losing Deirdre to the dynamic of the family would be noticeable. She has taken over the role of Blanche naturally as it's known that daughters do eventually morph into their mothers! 

As long as there are characters linked to the character who has left or died, that character will be missed. There is still a gap at the Barlows without Blanche and the Rovers doesn't feel the same without Betty, even though she only appeared fleetingly. I missed Ken when he was away and it's nearly two months now since we last saw Rita, Norris and Emily and I want to see them again in episodes.

Anyway, I've rambled! My original reason for doing this blog post was to ask how would you like Deirdre to be written out?

With such a large cast, maybe the producers won't bother with an exit storyline. As has been said, we've not seen Rita or Emily for two months and they've not had an exit. Maybe Anne Kirkbride will film a selection of scenes that will be played out during her absence, if that is possible of course. It has been said that she's leaving in November, which means Deirdre will be dishing out stuffed marrow over Christmas so her absence won't be seen until the new year. Whereas the producers struggled with a plausible reason for Ken to leave the street as he doesn't have any sick relatives to nurse, we have the perfect reason for Deirdre - her Auntie Beryl! Beryl is of course Blanche's sister and although not seen, she has been mentioned. Deirdre could nurse Auntie Beryl for a few months while Ken could always go and visit. And wouldn't it be great if Auntie Beryl couldn't cope alone and would have to move in with the Barlows? That would be classic Corrie! And would make sense as well!

Or have you got any other ideas?

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Interview with Coronation Street casting

Coronation Street fan Christine Warren in Canada runs the Coronation Street Fun Pages website.  Christine has interviewed the non-speaking extras on Corrie and you can find the interviews at her website

Christine has now interviewed Corrie's Joanne Moss, who works in the Casting Department.

You can read the interview at the Coronation Street Fun Pages website.  The link to the interview is at the top of the page by clicking either of the two paper boys.  And if you scroll down to the bottom of the interview page, you will see lots of pictures taken on the new set.

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Anne Kirkbride to take break from Coronation Street

Anne Kirkbride will be taking a short break from Coronation Street.

A Coronation Street spokeswoman has confirmed to the Daily Star that Anne Kirkbride wil be taking a break of three months from the show.

The statement from ITV is that: "Anne Kirkbride requested a slightly extended period of leave from the show, a request the company was happy to grant."

The Daily Star reports that Anne is taking a sabbatical from her role as Deirdre Barlow in the show to deal with personal affairs.

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Preview of tonight's double Corrie - Monday 29 Sep

Monday 29th September
KYLIE’S COMPELLED TO COMMIT A TERRIBLE ACT. Stressed Kylie’s tempted to take more of Max’s pills but is stopped when David disturbs her. But as the day goes on she crosses the line once more and takes the final few of Max’s pills believing David is picking up a new prescription. But with David delayed and unable to go to the chemist is Kylie about to be found out?
SICK SALLY DRIVES TIM UP THE WALL. Looking after poorly Sally is testing Tim’s patience to the limit. But his behaviour raises some concerns when he discards an application form for a new job.
NEIL MAKES ONE LAST APPEARANCE. Neil calls in to see Andrea and Lloyd - he tells them he has been cautioned by the police and is leaving the country for good. Is their nightmare finally over?
ELSEWHERE When Julie casually arranges to see Dev at the gym, Mary promptly invites herself along.

Monday 29th September
KYLIE TWISTS IN THE WIND AS DAVID CATCHES HER OUT. David is furious that he has caught Kylie taking Max’s last pills and storms out to get the prescription taking the kids with him as he doesn’t want to leave them with Kylie. She breaks down and pours her heart out to Eva. David returns and locks the new pills away from Kylie.
MADDIE SPELLS OUT HER CONCERNS. Maddie is suspicious when Tim ducks out of playing scrabble with the family and heads off to the pub with Kevin. She tackles him with her suspicions - will he come clean?
IS THE NIGHTMARE FINALLY OVER FOR LLOYD AND ANDREA? Neil reveals he has managed to get his old job back oversees so Lloyd offers to drive him to the airport. Is this the end?
ELSEWHERE Mary and Julie continue to battle it out for Dev’s attention.

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Corrie weekly awards for Sept. 22 - 26

Blind Man's Bluff award: Todd warned Eileen she'd regret it if he left. She says "Try me" and really, I'm surprised she hasn't made him go already.

Brave little soldier award: Peter went off to face his medicine (beating) like a man.

Hands off the Records award: Sharing is one thing but lay off the vinyl!

Interference Award: Liz no sooner insisted she wanted nothing to do with Jim than Ken decided Deirdre had to persuade her to talk to Jim to lay off Peter.

Phrase of Doom award to Lloyd thinking Neil has probably given up. Why do these people never listen to me!?

To Little Too Late award: Todd apologized after Eileen told him to leave. Didn't work.

Lame Duck award: Neil's protesting on the roof and stranding Tim on his. The only thing it it accomplished was nearly getting Andrea killed.

What century are you in award: Dev actually sells unsliced bread? I don't believe it.

Lines of the week:
sean to Todd "The words 'reap' and 'sow' come to mind"
Roy "I was born the week Lord of the Flies was published" (a memorable occasion, of course! )
Todd to Kal "Is there any jobs going at the gym?" Kal "I run a very successful business. Why would I employ you?" (OW!)
Sean "Luckily, Todd, I have a very high tolerance level for idiots"
Liz to Tracy "I am so pleased I am not your mother"
Maddie, catching Kevin up "I stole a car and we kidnapped a dog" (you think she's kidding!)
Jim "If the only way I can get a visitor by blackmail, so be it"
Tim about Neil "He won't talk. I've called his mother all sorts!"
Lloyd "You just need to hang on" Andrea "REALLY? REALLY??!!"
Sean about Beth's foam pillow "That's like handing a skydiver a knotted hankie"




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Our final visit to the old Coronation Street set

Yesterday, blogger Sunny Jim (my husband) and I set the alarm clock for 5am (yes! 5 flaming ay-em!) for a very special day out. We were going on our final visit to the old Coronation Street set.  Now then, we live in the north-east, on the other side of the Pennines and what feels like a million miles away from Manchester, hence the early start. Armed with butties, off we set on the charra with a coach load of other early risers, all Coronation Street fans. And here we are, on the coach, on our way to Weatherfield via Manchester on the M62...

Now then. This is where I lay my cards on the table. Sunny Jim and I have been to the old Coronation Street set a few times before. We've been six times before, and two of those times we were very lucky indeed to have been on VIP guided tours while the set was closed to the public. I have also worked in the Granada TV building when I was invited into the Corrie press office to work on a book when I was a mature student in journalism.  But even though I knew that Granada TV no longer filmed there, or used the office block next to the old studio set, it still came as something of a sad shock to the system to find the Granada TV building unused and unloved.

Granada TV building as it is now (left) and as it once was (right).

However, even more of a surprise was finding the blue plaques dedicated to Coronation Street actors from the past still attached to the walls of the old Granada TV building entrance.

Our tickets to the Coronation Street tour were for the 11.50am tour.  We had approx. 20 minutes to wait so we wandered around the old site until our tour time was called. The workplace for Coronation Street cast and crew for decades is now a tourist attraction. And one we were happy to pay for and to experience as true, full-on Coronation Street fans. One of the many joys of the day was that we were with hundreds of other fans on that day, with each tour group accommodating what appeared to be around 20 people at a time.  Our tour guide was called Andrew, a really nice guy who kept us all entertained.

Photographs aren't allow inside what was Studio 1, so I have none of those to share here on the Coronation Street Blog. If you go on the Coronation Street tour (and I do hope you do...) you will see some of the old sets used for filming, some costumes, have a tour of where wardrobe was, where the green room was, and you're shown a film of highlights from over 50 years of Coronation Street.  It's all good stuff. We even got to see the inside of Martha Frasier's barge, a set I'd never seen before on Coronation Street, as well as Rita's latest wedding dress and Hayley's coffin.

If you want to, you can have your photograph taken behind the bar of the Rovers Return.  Then, with a flourish and the Corrie theme playing, we were ushered out onto the cobbles where you're free to walk around and take as many photos as you like. 

There's a cafe and a shop where you can buy Corrie merchandise and I even spotted posters advertising my book A Perfect Duet, the story of Roy and Hayley Cropper.

It was great, it really was and I recommend the Coronation Street Tour to every Corrie fan. I wanted to see it one last time before it gets demolished, as it surely will.  It might not be this month or this year but it will go, some time, and I wanted to see it before it went.

As a Coronation Street fan, the set has special memories for me. It has special memories for all Corrie fans and I urge you to visit, to see it one last time, before it goes.  Taking in those memories again brought a mixture of feelings - both happy and sad, to be honest. I felt the weight of history and the culture of Corrie when walking down the corridor that had the stars' dressing rooms on it, but clearly we weren't meant to linger there. I wanted to soak the history in, to breathe in that history and I did get goosebumps at that moment. But it was over too soon, we were ushered into what had been the wardrobe room.  The tour is great - and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

The set that once was a working home of the best television programme in the world is now a tourist attraction. That's good of course, but the magic has gone, for this fan. The magic now is now being made over at Media City. And that's as it should be.

Yesterday was a farewell to an old friend - and one that changed my life.  As we walked out of the tour the friendly tour guides gave us a cheery goodbye and thanked us for coming. I smiled and nodded but I couldn't say thank you back to them. I couldn't speak at all for fear or breaking into tears. 

Sunny Jim and I walked in silence from the old set to the canals in Castlefield, where Corrie has filmed some of its scenes in the past. We walked..  and then we talked and then we went and had lunch and raised a glass to Corrie's glorious past - and to its future.

See also:
Our blogger Ruth visits the old Coronation Street set
Our blogger Emma visits the old Coronation Street set
Our blogger Tvor visits the old Coronation Street set
Our blogger Llifon visits the old Coronation Street set

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Winner announced in our Coronation Street tour competition

Congratulations go to Coronation Street Blog reader Peter Lloyd who has been drawn at random from all correct entries received, to win two tickets to the Coronation Street tour on Thursday this week.

Peter will also get to meet actress Sherrie Hewson, who played Maureen on Corrie.

Thankyou to everyone who entered.

A limited number of tickets are available at the usual price and can be booked now at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/coronationstreet.  We understand the tour is currently open until October 31st and that date could be extended too.

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Carry on Corrie

Earlier this week, our Graham posted a heartfelt blog about the malaise that seems to have befallen not only him but a few of us here at Blog Towers. It can happen when there is nothing startlingly noteworthy to comment on. Something needed to happen to shake the communal apathy. Maybe last night it did.

To be fair, I've only watched the first of the Friday night episodes. One was enough. By eight p.m. I had no idea if I had been watching a drama or a comedy. For me, the whole twenty-odd minutes were a bit of a mess.

The dominant storyline was the plodding, never-ending tale of Andrea and her men. Now, I know it's become fashionable to shriek with derision every time the poor woman enters stage left but for some reason I like her. Beneath that gurning exterior lies a decent Corrie character waiting to emerge. it's taking some time though. You get the impression that whatever the plot, the poor actress is implored to smile like Doris Day throughout. Picture the scene as Andrea is told that her entire family has been run over by a plot device but the producer urges her to turn that frown upside down "because it's how Andrea would cope with it . . . we'd decided". Give it a few weeks and they will have her dressed in a clown's outfit guffawing at funerals.

Back to last night's 'drama' though. The scene was set. Gurning Andrea, the dreadfully dull husband, permanently crisis-stricken Lloyd. There they were, cavorting around on the cobbles, up and down ladders and stranded on roof tops. Somehow the whole thing felt horribly laboured and like an outtake from an unloved Carry On film.

Meanwhile on another rooftop we had Tim and once again, Joe Duttine managing to outshine everyone else involved with just a few scenes. No finger pointing and definitely no names mentioned but there was a fairly ropey piece of acting from one Street resident. I thought it was just me but the entire household groaned at the same time. By the time last night's shenanigans were over, it felt as though I had emerged from one of the poorest episodes for some time.

Was it all bad? Certainly not. Kevin seems to have returned in a much mellower mood which has to be good news. Maddie featured too and again, I admit to liking her. She is probably the character that Becky MacDonald should have been. No rollercoaster mood swings and ridiculous behaviour, just a young woman who had a bad start and is now growing up. Plus we have Steve and his depression. The seeds for this are being sown and it's a storyline that will require sensitive handling. It will make for difficult viewing but you know that in the hands of Simon Gregson, the tale will be told well.

Maybe it was just me having a grotty half hour but the feeling that the episode was sub-standard persists. Episode two is waiting for me on the Sky box so later I will tune in to see if Andrea crashes to Mother Earth. With a grin.


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Is size everything on the Street?

You get a lot more for your money down Weatherfield way these days. It's reassuring to know that we could navigate a couple of cruise ships down the centre of the Street and that the Rovers accommodation potential exceeds that of the Shard. A bigger space therefore demands to be filled and to that end, we seem to have cast members squeezing out from between the cobbles at an alarming rate.

How would Corrie fare though if the cast suddenly had to be reduced to 1960s levels? Which of the characters would you deem 'essential' and which would you relegate to a 'supporting' status? It's a difficult concept given that you have to have the right kind of mix for the programme to work. Think of it as being a soap opera version of Fantasy Football!

Any reduced Corrie cast would have to feature Ken and Deirdre. Ken for historical reasons and Deirdre for hysterical ones. She is priceless and as the years go by, Deirdre is morphing into something quite wonderful.

The Rovers is the cornerstone of the Street and probably wouldn't be much cop without Liz and Steve at the helm. Would we miss Michelle? Possibly not. She's never really been popular and it's probably too late to start softening her character now. Ditto Tracy luv.

There traditionally has to be an Alpha male or even Alpha female in residence and therefore Carla would escape any cast cull. Alison King is always a joy to watch and the multi-layered Carla would be too good to lose.

Couples have always been a feature of life on't Street so it would be 'yes' to Sally and Tim. Joe Duttine continues to shine as hapless but not hopeless Tim and is the perfect foil for Sally and her Mrs Bucket moments. We would also keep Jason and Eva. Again, this feels like a very 'right' pairing. Jason has matured nicely and Eva's dippy but not in a 'Raquel' way.

Kirk and Beth are Corrie gold too. Kirky is dependable and Beth's scattergun approach to life is refreshing at times. She's the new Millennium Vera Duckworth.

Although they are not a couple, Luke and Steph Britton have settled into Street life nicely. Steph, although prominent, hasn't been foisted on viewers in the alarming way that Michelle, Becky and later Tina were. Luke seems like a decent bloke and at the moment there are no signs that he is going to start bashing people around the head with a spanner.

One of the best characters in the show of late is Julie Carp. As I may have droned on before, Julie ought to be front and centre in the Corner Shop. Her personality is ideal for that arena and she would probably suit a designer tabard.

That's a total of fourteen cast places filled. To round it up to sixteen, let's add Roy and Tyrone. Of these two, Tyrone has gone off the boil recently with some odd bordering on bad judgement calls in his battle with Jason. As for Roy, well he always makes for interesting if not always comfortable viewing but we love him to bits - so he stays.

Who gets left out? The list is long and worrying. I've not included any of the Tilsley/Platts. Todd and Eileen, Dev, Mary, Rita, Norris, Emily, Sean, the whole Nazir clan, assorted Windasses, half the inhabitants of number five, Fiz, Leanne. Madness! Would it be even feasible to reduce these characters to 'supporting' status or even have a version of the Street that focuses on a core cast of sixteen characters?

There's your task. If you were asked to trim the cast list, who would stay and who would be ordering a taxi from Street Cars?




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Video: Coronation Street October trailer

Coming up this month on Coronation Street....

Will Peter go down for a crime he didn't commit?

Will Rob &Tracy get their happily ever after? Or will the truth come to light?

Whatever happens things will never be the same again for Carla, Peter, Tracy and Rob.

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Coronation Street shortlisted in RTS North West Awards 2014

The shortlist for the Royal Television Society Awards 2014 was released last night.

Coronation Street has been nominated in the following categories:

Award for Innovation in Multi-Platform (for Tina's murder)

Best Script Writer - Coronation Street's Jan McVerry

Best Performance in a Continuing Drama - Alison King (Carla Connor) and David Neilson (Roy Cropper)

Best Continuing Drama Storyline - Hayley's Cancer; Anna's ultimate sacrifice; Tina's murder

The awards ceremony takes place on Sunday 15 November at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester.

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Fab Photo Friday - September 26th 2014

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. I came across this picture of some filming taking place of Elsie and Hilda. It's outside the Rovers but what on earth are all the plants about? And is that a canopy above the door?

 

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Spot the Corrie prop - September 26th 2014

A couple of people thought, quite reasonably, that last week's pink picture is in Leanne & Eva's flat but congratulations go to AmandaB who correctly spotted that it hangs in the back room of the Rovers.

For this week's prop puzzle all you have to do is tell us whereabouts on Coronation Street you would find this sewing basket.

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