Anne Kirkbride's memorial - the view from a Corrie fan

Paul Lanagan is a Coronation Street fan and a very talented artist.

You can follow him on twitter @corrieart and he's also on facebook

Paul attended Anne Kirkbride's memorial service held on Saturday May 30 in Manchester Cathedral. He has very generously offered to write up a blog post for us to share here on the Coronation Street Blog.  

And so, it's over to Paul.  All photographs and images on this blog post are those created by or photos taken by Paul.

Anne Kirkbride, known to millions of TV viewers as Deirdre Barlow, passed away on January 19th 2015. The sad news was broadcast after that evening's gripping Coronation Street episode which had featured a dramatic minibus crash.

As an artist whose work is based on the programme and shared via Twitter, I was in the middle of a witty drawing showing Jurassic Park's T-Rex pushing the minibus over - but the news of Anne's death shocked and upset me so I started a new drawing which featured Deirdre's iconic specs shedding a tear onto the Coronation Street sign.  The image went viral and was shared by shocked fans far and wide.

Anne Kirkbride's funeral was a private affair however a public memorial was later announced to be taking place at Manchester Cathedral to give Anne's colleagues, friends, family and fans the opportunity to come together and acknowledge Anne's contribution to TV drama. 

Owing to space restrictions in the cathedral, only a limited number of fans were allowed access, prompting some to queue outside from dawn. I headed to the cathedral bright and early and saw that Corrie fans Brian Altman, Pamela Pinder and Elaine Davies were first in the queue for the memorial service.

Elaine, from nearby Prestwich, said, "I have appeared in Corrie as I sing in the choir and they've filmed scenes in my church, St Mary the Virgin. It was Peter and Leanne Barlow's blessing and I met Anne Kirkbride. She was lovely, very friendly."

Pamela, of Stockport, said, "I am here today as I just want to pay my respects to Anne Kirkbride."

Corrie fans Paul Lanagan (left) and Brian Altman (right)

Brian, 53, who had travelled all the way from Glasgow to attend the memorial, said, "I have been queuing since six o'clock this morning. I was devastated and never expected it. It was such a shock. Anne will be missed on screen by us all."

With many hours to wait on the cold north side of the church, fans passed the time by talking about their favourite Deirdre Barlow moments and the line: "Jelly shouldn't run, it should wobble!" was often heard, along with mentions of the famous Barlow AA meeting scene and of course Deirdre's affair with Mike Baldwin.

Brian, a self-confessed Corrie super fan, regaled the crowd with stories and anecdotes about the show. He said, "I have visited the Street's external set many times on the old Granada Studios Tour and I have all the merchandise - Tony Warren would be proud of me! If I ever win the lottery I'd like to have the cheque presented to me on the new Coronation Street set and I'd give a thousand pounds to each of the Corrie actors' chosen charities!"

While we all waited, I noticed that a pigeon was clucking about at the top of the steps next to the cathedral's door. Pigeons are of course Corrie icons and it made me smile as I waited, wondering what to expect once inside.

There was a very positive vibe amongst the crowd and the hours soon passed as journalists came and went. Fans were then led into the cathedral and took seats in the north aisle while Anne's friends and colleagues were sat in the centre. The church soon filled with the most famous faces from British television including, as expected, a whole host of Coronation Street actors, writers and production team, plus many other TV stars.

At times it felt intrusive to be there; most, if not all of those who knew Anne personally (especially husband David Beckett) were still visibly upset at their loss. Sat in front of me were three elderly ladies who were taken aback each time they saw a recognisable character such as Ken Barlow, Liz McDonald, Audrey Roberts and many others. The ladies were very much like Ena, Minnie and Martha - and as they sat there rolling off names of Corrie characters it reminded me that Anne Kirkbride, through her acting, had touched the lives of millions of people and it was only right that those should be allowed to remember and pay thanks to Anne for that.

The cathedral was full to capacity and clips of noteworthy Deirdre Barlow scenes were played on screens before the service started at half past eleven. The service was conducted by the cathedral's Sub Dean, Philip Barratt, and hymns were performed by Manchester Cathedral choir.

Actor William Roache MBE read a touching poem called "She is Gone" while actresses Beverley Callard and Elle Mulvaney gave moving tributes full of warm memories.

Corrie Producer Stuart Blackburn arriving at the cathedral

Corrie Executive Producer Kieran Roberts arriving at the cathedral

Corrie's Executive Producer, Kieran Roberts, and production crew members Paul Sparrow, Ciaron Hatzar and Stephen Polack also paid tribute to Anne. Kieran, echoed the same sentiments of all those who spoke about Anne, saying she was "a warm, talented and fun-loving lady" and "she was genuinely one of the most decent and honourable people you could ever wish to meet."

You can read more about the service and the readings here.

Musical contributions came from a recording of Il Dolce Suono performed by Maria Callas, a live performance of Caruso by tenor Tom Spence, and a beautiful performance of Mozart's Sonata in G by Roman Lytwynlw and James Ellis of Chetham's School of Music.

A powerful and personal tribute from Anne's brother John Kirkbride was read out by close family friend Philip Hampson. But the most poignant and emotional parts of the service came from Anne Kirkbride herself when personal video clips of the actress were shown on screen. One, which showed Anne playing "Oh Susanna" on the harmonica and scaring her cat, had everybody laughing out loud!

At the end of the hour long service we were told that some music had been chosen to make us smile just as Anne would have wanted. The famous EastEnders duff, duff, duffs echoed out across the cathedral but were soon drowned out by laughter as everyone rose to leave.

Having toasted Anne's memory with a glass of the aptly named "Annie's Fizz" in Jenny McAlpine's restaurant Annie's, I then spent the evening visiting the old Coronation Street set at the former Granada Studios site.

The place was deserted save for a few pipistrelle bats which swooped from the eaves of the Rovers Return.

As I sat on the cobbles on the darkened street reflecting on the day's poignant events, the voice of Deirdre Barlow echoed out from the speakers in the backyards of the Street: "Salford girl, marries a wrong un, then finds love in later life when a dashin' white sergeant sweeps her off her feet...love on the cobbles."

Anne Kirkbride is gone, but she will never be forgotten.

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Corrie weekly awards for May 25 - 29

Out of Control award: The tram crash had nothing on the havoc Tracy Barlow is wreaking on the Street this week! Jenny has lost her reason, too!

All grown up award: Zeedan finally gives his father his blessing to ask Leanne to marry him.

All Saints award: Sinead gave Steve hearty congratulations and started off a group chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". No grudges there, obviously.

Tradition award: This is the third wedding that sparked Sally and Tim's passion. I think that counts as the beginnings of a tradition!

A Party's a Party: Who needs the bridal couple when there's a buffet and a bar anyway?

Fashion shout outs: I actually liked Liz's fascinator. Michelle's dress was lovely and I liked Carla's dress, too.

Backfire award: Tracy left a candle burning and it's what caused the fire. She probably thought the fire wasn't such a bad thing but she had no idea Amy was in the flat.

Hell's not quite frozen over: Tracy went to express condolences and thanks to Leanne and even sounded sincere, but she had an ulterior motive, of course.

Bravery award: Amy was smart, scared as she was, she blocked the smoke at the door and stayed low!

Superman award: That big chain on the builder's fence didn't hold Tim back for long!

And a special award this week for the effects and stunt team behind the scenes!

Lines of the Week
Kal "This is turning out to be the most disastrous proposal ever!" (worse than you know, mate!)
Liz "What's life without risk?" (you're about to find out)
Sean to Steve "Will you be sucking on a Fisherman's Friend in Lloyd's honour?"
Tracy "Cheers! Calm before the storm, eh?" (Oh I have a very bad feeling!)
Maddie "Weddings are funny things" Norris "They certainly are round here!" (that's the truth!)
Barry Connor "How can I sound positive about marriage when I'm being heckled by me own wife!"
Tracy "There's no point in lighting a fuse if you're not going to stick around and watch the fireworks"
Tracy "That's the problem with me, I'm too nice for my own good"
Liz "I don't want a brandy. I want to break things."
Ken "For goodness sake, Tracy, when are you going to stop wrecking people's lives! And just when I thought you'd turned a corner" (Naivite, thy name is Ken Barlow)


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Anne Kirkbride memorial - readings from Manchester cathedral

 

The Manchester Evening News have been running a live blog from Anne Kirkbride's memorial service today. Read it all here with some wonderful pictures too.

The MEN have reproduced the readings from the service too. You can read them all here.  Here, below, is the reading by Kieran Roberts, executive producer of Coronation Street

 

"When I was asked to represent the cast, writers and crew of Coronation Street and pay tribute to the unforgettable Anne Kirkbride, my first thought was……How do I begin to do justice to such an extraordinary person?

So, I turned to my colleagues for help and asked if I could share their favourite memories of Anne. In response I received this picture.

This was taken when Anne asked camera assistant Neil Jones to stand – or rather kneel – in for Eccles during a rehearsal. The point is, I can’t think of anyone else who would have asked one of our crew to do this. More importantly, I can’t begin to think of anyone else who could have made it happen.

Before sharing this picture today I asked Neil for his permission to use it and he replied,

“It would be an honour to be included in the memorial to the fantastic Annie Kirkbride.”

I’d like to thank Neil for letting me share this picture and for a response that speaks volumes about the love and respect we all had for Anne. Like Neil I am honoured to be here today, paying tribute to Anne… though I am daunted by the challenge of capturing such a warm, kind-hearted, generous, spirited, talented and fun-loving lady in just a few minutes.

Anne was a very private person so not much was ever written about her in the newspapers and she shunned the bright lights, award ceremonies and glittering premieres. In fact we once asked her if she’d like to attend a prestigious BAFTA ceremony at the lavish Grosvenor House Hotel, and without hesitation she replied “I’d rather stick pins in my eyeballs.” This was a typical riposte, which made us love her all the more, because the Annie we all knew never lost touch with her Oldham roots and remained down to earth with no airs and graces throughout her life.

Born to parents Enid and Jack Kirkbride, a cartoonist for the Oldham Evening Chronicle, Anne was inherently artistic and talented, something which is perfectly demonstrated by her artwork and photography on display in the Cathedral today.

From an early age she also showed a desire to perform. She joined the Saddleworth Junior Players then Oldham Rep Juniors and after leaving Count Hill Grammar School she joined Oldham Rep as an assistant stage manager. Acting roles followed and although Anne was at first reluctant to pursue a career in front of the camera she impressed producers at Granada Television who cast her, aged 18, as Deirdre Hunt. Her first appearance in 1972 was just three lines of dialogue but Anne made it count.

Anne went on to grace our screens for over 42 years and brought so much joy to millions of people with her brilliant, truthful portrayal of Deirdre Hunt – Langton – Rachid - Barlow. Anne was an amazingly gifted and dedicated actor who forged countless brilliant screen partnerships, including with many of the actors here today.

With long-term colleague and friend Bill Roache she created a truly iconic Corrie couple. The ups and downs of Ken and Deirdre’s relationship kept the nation gripped for decades. And in Deirdre Anne created one of the truly great characters not just in the history of Coronation Street but in the history of British television.

Although we were work colleagues, and rarely saw Anne away from the office, we were devoted to her and she to us. She was genuinely one of the most decent and honourable people you could ever wish to meet and she always had time to chat in the corridor or more importantly give you one of her legendary hugs.

I vividly recall one of the last meetings I had with Anne.

I’m supposed to stay professionally detached in meetings with cast but with Anne it was impossible. A discussion of contracts and the like quickly gave way to half an hour chatting about Spain, the conversation punctuated, of course, by those legendary hugs.

Annie had the gift of making everyone feel special around her but in reality she was the special person. She’d walk into a room or onto the Barlow’s living room set with such presence and warmth and left us with so many lovely memories of working with her and being in her company.

She was a consummate professional, always on time, lines learned and asking all the right questions of the directors, producers and ADs. It’s testament to her professionalism as well as her personality that so many of her former colleagues are here today to pay their respects alongside those who worked with her more recently.

Anne was a brilliant dramatic actor and it was no accident that she was at the heart of many of Coronation Street’s biggest and most iconic storylines – even provoking questions in parliament when the Weatherfield One was wrongly imprisoned in 1998. She was an equally gifted comic actor - her dry wit, quirky sense of humour and impeccable timing meant she was a joy to write for and made for the most wonderful delivery of lines such as “I don’t take sides – just think of me as Switzerland in glasses” or, in a row with Tracy, “that kidney’s wasted on you” or “Ken, you are the only person I know who irons a crease in his pullovers! You are not a creature of impulse.”

No better script could have been written for Annie than when in 1990 she met her husband and best friend David Beckett who joined Coronation Street to play Deirdre’s handyman boyfriend, Dave Barton.

We’ve worked closely with Dave, Anne’s brother John, sister-in-law Jacqui and nephews Samedi and Alphin in arranging her Memorial Service today. Although they were her real family on which she doted, Anne will forever be part of Coronation Street’s family.

When David collected Anne’s Outstanding Achievement Award at the recent British Soap Awards, he perfectly captured our thoughts and feelings about Anne. We were the lucky ones because she’d been in our lives.

On behalf of everyone who works at Coronation Street, everyone who worked with Anne during her amazing 42 years with us. And on behalf of the many millions of viewers across the UK and around the world who have followed the programme – and Deirdre - throughout those years….

Annie, we thank you for bringing so much light, laughter and love into all our lives for all those years."

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Claire King to be permanent cast member, says The Sun

The Sun reports, with nothing more than words from "a Corrie source" that Claire King has been signed up as a permanent character on Coronation Street.

Despite the lack of any official announcement, I do hope the story is true.

I like Erica Holroyd. There, I've said it.  And Corrie needs more middle-aged women, once the bedrock of the show, now in short supply.  We've got Liz, Eileen, Gail, Sally and Yasmeen and that's about it. Mary is mad, so doesn't really count, Julie is leaving, so Erica staying on in the show is great news to my ears.

If you would like to know what happens to Erica's baby storyline, there's a spoiler in the last paragraph of this blog post.


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Live Blog from Anne Kirkbride's memorial service

The Manchester Evening News will be running a live blog from today's memorial service for Anne Kirkbride at Manchester Cathedral.

Also, you may wish to follow @CorrieArt on twitter. They are attending the memorial service today and will be posting photographs, where allowable.

They are also going to be reporting exclusively for us here at the Coronation Street Blog after the service ends.  We will run their blog post as soon as we receive it this afternoon.

Find out more about the memorial service today. It is open to to the public to attend.

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Coronation Street weekly update - Fire and a smashed-up Liz

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This was another of Corrie’s BIG weeks with an episode every night at the later time of 9pm. Not because the action was post-watershed, but to fit around Britain’s Got Talent . Not a programme I’m a fan of and I hate it when our Corrie gets moved around the schedules like this, so I wasn’t in a good frame of mind as the episodes opened on Monday this week.  However, the action has been good, the acting incredible and the drama top class.   I’m getting all my gripes out in this first paragraph, so I’ll go on to say I’m no fan of explosions, fires, crashes, deaths and murder whodunnits, not in Coronation Street.  Give me an arched eyebrow, a crossed pair of arms and a slice of sarcasm any day over that.  In big explosive weeks, as this week has been, details are lost and gaping holes in the action are exposed.  You’ll have spotted those too, and so I won’t dwell.  You’re probably wondering what on earth it was that I DID like this week? Me too. So let’s go - and without any further ado, here we go with this week’s Coronation Street update.

It’s the day of Steve and Michelle’s wedding and Tracy chooses the date to tell Liz that she’s already said “I Do” to Tony, many times in the back room of Barlow’s Buys. Liz is distraught but keeps her face on and struggles through her son’s wedding ceremony.  Tony disappears, he’s nowhere to be seen and Liz gives him a mouthful via phone before collapsing in tears and then throwing stuff in the back room of the pub. When Sean comes in to find out what all the noise is about, he asks Liz if she wants a brandy. “I don’t want a brandy!” she yells at Sean. “I want to smash things!” And smash things she does. Bev Callard, as Liz, has been amazing this week. Forget the fire, the explosion, the deaths, it’s Liz who has provided the drama this week. Carla steps in and buys the other half of the Rovers, thwarting Tracy’s plans for world domination from behind the bar of a backstreet pub. Eric and Eileen come round to console as Liz asks Carla to let little Amy stay over at her flat.

Carla takes Amy up to her flat, she gives Amy her bed and Carla takes the sofa.  Tracy breaks into Carla’s flat with Michelle’s keys she’s nicked from her handbag, intent on killing Carla. She lifts a heavy ornament over her head as Carla snores on the sofa but decides not to kill her that way. Has she had a change of heart? She then, strangely, lights a candle and finds a picture of her long lost love Rob.  Unaware that Amy is also in the flat, Tracy’s startled when she heard the toilet flush, and she ran out of the flat, leaving the candle burning and burning and burning… and the next thing we know, Victoria Court goes up in flames.

As the fire rages in Carla’s flat, Leanne sees flames from outside and tries to break into Carla’s flat using a fire extinguisher to bash open the door.  Overcome by smoke, Carla gets freed but she’s unable to speak to let everyone know that Amy’s inside.  Roy uses his first aid skills to help Carla until the ambulance arrives, but oh no! they’re stuck on the ring road. Finally, Carla can breathe enough to whisper one word – Amy! Kal and Leanne rush back into the flat to save Amy’s life – which they do. But by now the whole of Victoria Court is up in flames, with a gas canister on a balcony about to blow too. 

Amy, Kal and Leanne can’t get out of the flat as burning bits of Victoria Court fall on their heads and block their exit. Off they head to the flat balcony where the residents of the Street get a ladder from the builders yard. With some coaxing from grandma Liz, Amy finally gets the courage to make her escape. As does Leanne.  Kal however, is burned to a crisp and Zeedan has hate blazing in his eyes and blames Leanne squarely for his dad’s death.   We’ve known for a long time that the actor who played Kal was leaving the show. I also feel that the character never worked so it’s going to be a rather dull few weeks of funeral and grieving for a character that I’ve never cared about, or for.

Speaking of which, Maddie gets caught up in the blast as the fire takes hold of the builders’ yard.  She’s in hospital now, in a bad way. Again, we know the actress is leaving, so things don’t look too good for Maddie.  Cue weeks of weeping Webster and sobbing Sophie.  I think we can all look forward to that.

Before Maddie was caught up in the blast she’d walked in on Jenny who was planning to do a runner with little Jack. Jenny was disguised in a black wig, calling herself Melanie and calling little Jack by the name of Tom.  Maddie realised Jenny wasn’t quite the full shilling and knew what she was up to, she called Sophie on her phone to warn her about Jenny but then she got blasted in the blast.  No-one’s the wiser about Jenny, for now.

And finally this week, Kylie returned. She’s been loitering around the corners of Coronation Street. Bethany spots her and tells David. It’ll all kick off next week.

And that was just about that for this week.

This week's writers were Julie Jones (Monday); Chris Fewtrell (Tuesday); Joe Turner (Wednesday); Ellen Taylor (Thursday); Susan Oudot (Friday).  Find out more about the Coronation Street writing team at http://coronationstreetupdates.blogspot.com/2008/11/exclusive-all-current-corrie-writers.html

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

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Anne Kirkbride Memorial Service today

A public Memorial Service for Anne Kirkbride will take place at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 30 May 2015. Members of the public are invited to attend the service and join with Anne’s family and the Coronation Street cast and crew in the celebration of Anne’s life.

Respected and much loved by all who came into contact with her, Anne played Coronation Street’s Deirdre Barlow over a 40-year period, and passed away in January this year. Anne’s character first appeared on our TV screens in November 1972 and entertained us each week appearing in over 3,300 episodes. Anne’s final appearance on the programme was in October 2014.

The Cathedral’s Sub Dean, Philip Barratt, will conduct the public service with hymns performed by Manchester Cathedral choir. There will also be readings and tributes by members of the cast including William Roache MBE, Beverley Callard and Elle Mulvaney and Executive Producer, Kieran Roberts together with members of the Coronation Street Production Team.

Anne’s husband Dave Beckett has helped the Coronation Street production team produce the service and has been involved in every aspect of the celebration including the choice of music and readings. The service will be a celebration of Anne’s private and public life with colleagues and members of the public paying their respects. Anne’s passion and verve for life will be present throughout the service.

Photographic images of the actress in her role as Deirdre and photographs taken with her real life family will be on display. An exhibition of artwork which Anne photographed and painted throughout her life will also be on view.

The Manchester Cathedral choir, singing The Lord’s My Shepherd, Hills of the North Rejoice and How Lovely are thy Dwellings, will be conducted by Christopher Stokes, Organist and Master of the Choristers, at Manchester Cathedral.

Musical accompaniment will be provided by Roman Lytwynlw on the violin and James Ellis on the piano. Both are members of the Chetham’s School of Music.

Classical Tenor, Tom Spence, will perform Lucio Dalla’s Caruso during the service. Merseyside based Tom has supported Russell Watson on tour and will be performing at the 2015 International Mersey River Festival in June.

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Coronation Street episode review, Friday 29 May 2015

As the blazing inferno that was Corrie’s fire week is reduced to glowing embers, all that's left is for us to pick through its charred remains, like those of Carla’s never used balcony. It certainly brought in the much sought after ratings and had everyone talking, but ‘explosive’, widely advertised event television, done well, tends to do that. It’s no coincidence that the last time Corrie viewing figures came this close was during the brilliant Who Killed Tina week last year.

I could do a perplexed post mortem on the parts of it where we were to permit presumption to fill in certain gaps for us, but I am instead going to celebrate the best of the week as well as reviewing tonight's episode. I won’t, for example, ask where on earth Tony was, why Amy went to Carla when Ken was available, how Kevin can be selectively oblivious to Jenny’s clearly unhinged behaviour and how nobody made a single solitary mention of Tina McIntyre who was pushed to her death in this self same week last year. I also sadly have to admit that Steve and Michelle’s wedding didn’t really do it for me, and the fact that they weren’t even at their own reception unfortunately made me even less enthused.

However, what this plot device and the absence of Tony did allow for was Liz McDonald taking centre stage, and she was magnificent. Wounded, strong, feisty, vulnerable, determined and fabulous, her flame rivalled that which coursed through Victoria Court, and it was glorious even though she suffered.

While Beverley Callard stood out, she wasn’t alone in putting in a tremendous performance. Sally Ann Matthews, Brooke Vincent, Amy Kelly, Jane Danson, Alison King, David Neilson and Jimi Mistry were all outstanding for me. 

A very special mention goes to the Nazir family in the form of Shelley King, Qasim Akhtar, Marc Anwar and Sair Khan, all of whom I thought excelled. Their strong, understated and powerful portrayals of grief, particularly tonight, showed precisely what they can bring to the street with the right script, and as long as we see performances of this calibre coming from their direction, long may they remain. 

My only fear is the possibility that Zeedan will have a vendetta against Leanne and seek revenge for his father’s death. I’d much rather the experience softened him and enabled him to reach out to others. One of his last scenes with his father, in which he gave him his blessing to propose to Leanne, showed the wealth of potential in his character. His friendship with Simon is also a lovely addition and its strength was evidenced tonight when he learned of Kal’s death from Yasmeen, and threw himself into Zeedan’s arms.

While the fire itself was brilliantly done, if the drama was a tad drawn out, it’s always the performances which excite me and, as above, the quality of these were what made the week a success as far as I was concerned. This is probably why tonight's episode, written by Susan Oudot, was my favourite of the five as, while the fire facilitated it, it was heavy on dialogue and character interaction.

Ken putting on his suit to visit the Nazirs and give his condolences was humble and dignified, and the rawness of their grief was palpable and moving, as was the scene in which Leanne broke down in Nick’s arms. Other great scenes tonight came courtesy of Liz being counselled by Eileen and Erica, and Nick offering support to Carla.

Considering what she has done, Tracy seems to care little despite several empty apologies to various injured parties, and she appears set on ensuring everyone lays the blame at Carla’s door. She becomes incensed when Carla asks Amy if she can remember what happened, and conveniently accuses her of trying to pin the blame on an eleven year old. I don’t know why I’m disappointed not to see an inkling of remorse in Tracy. What can we expect at this point from a character who seems to be void of all human emotion? And yet for some inexplicable reason I continue to hope.

Unlike Tracy, Carla is tortured by what has happened. Even though she recalls blowing out the candle, news that this probably caused the fire has her doubting herself and provides Tracy with sufficient ammunition to heap the blame on her. Attacked in person by Leanne, Tracy and the lovely Norris, Roy is her only friend and is extremely attentive as he takes care of her and offers her a place to stay.

Maddie clings to life in hospital, even showing signs of movement, much to Sophie's joy and the wonderfully terrifying Jenny’s frustration, but they cannot operate and so must wait in hope for an improvement. If there’s one positive from this storyline, aside from great interaction between Maddie and Jenny, it’s that Brooke Vincent has gotten the opportunity to show her full potential.

Meanwhile Nick and David are shocked to hear that Bethany, who is as affected by the fire as The Kabin’s plastic paperboy, has spotted Kylie who spends the episode lurking around corners and crouching down on buses. Amidst the carnage and grief, life must go on on the cobbles as it does in reality I suppose.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

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The aftermath of Corrie's latest tragedy

(Reposted from State of the Street, with permission)

Friday's episode on Corrie was there to wrap up the week's stories.

The Nazirs and Leanne are in shock. (Why are they all wearing white except Alya? Surely she would as well or is it only for Muslim men? Yasmeen was in an off white/beige so perhaps it's something only the men wear. Anyone, please and thank you?)

Sophie is holding vigil by Maddie's side while we wait to see if she'll survive, hoping against hope. Jenny is heaving a sigh of relief and gathering her scattered wits and shattered nerves while the family is there to support Sophie. It's a nice touch, having Norris in a state over worry for Maddie, harking back to them finding a new understanding a few months ago.

I was surprised at Maddie's injury. I know the actor is leaving the show and I thought perhaps Jenny would be directly responsible or that Maddie and Sophie would break up due to Jenny's interference and Maddie would leave. Getting in the line of a secondary explosion in front of the builder's yard was a surprise. The vigil in the hospital was fraught with gut wrenching emotion and as of this writing, we don't know if Maddie will survive the head injury but it's a pretty good bet that she won't. Maddie hit the cobbles in nearly the same spot Tina did when she fell off the balcony almost the same time last year but then Tina didn't hit her head when she landed. Rob did that for her with a lead pipe.

Blame. Everyone's blaming someone. There's really only one person that should wear this and it's Tracy Barlow. She didn't start the fire on purpose but she did sneak into Carla's flat, up to no good and she left the candle burning and well she knows it so she did everything she could to push the suspicions onto her arch rival, Carla, aided by the fire report which is going to show a candle started the fire.

Carla believes she accidentlly started the fire and she's going to turn into the next enemy of the state as far as her neighbours go. They're never short on turning against someone like a pack of rabid dogs, this time, led by Leanne's rage and grief and Norris' nasty accusations and Tracy is most certainly not going to let her forget it, either. She probably thinks all her birthdays have come at once. Even if it was true, it was an accident. Carla would never forgive herself but Tracy can gloss over it in her own mind. She's very good at convincing herself that her problems are caused by everyone else. Tracy wouldn't have been in Carla's flat if Carla hadn't been her enemy so she'll convince herself of Carla's blame rather than her own. Except probably those long nights when she can't sleep.

 

As always there were cast members missing, inexplicably. Where were Anna and Faye? They live a few yards from Victoria Court, surely they would have heard the ruckus. What about Steph? Her flat is right over or next to the builder's yard which had an explosion. Maria is within sight of Victoria Court as well. Eileen was at the wedding and reception but then disappeared when Liz needed her mate the most and Erica managed to get across the city in the space of 20 minutes, a near impossibility in Greater Manchester. I know, I know. They usually don't have the whole cast on hand for these things. Move along.

Nick's probably going to have to live back with mummy again unless he bunks with Leanne to support her and Simon and Carla will be bunking in with Roy. Conveniently, Nick was out of town and Sarah and Beth were at Audrey's when all hell broke loose. Think of it. Sarah and Beth left Italy with very little other than the clothes on their back and  a small bag. No mention if Uncle Stephen sent on their things but presumably, he did. Now everything they owned except the clothes on their back is ashes and what didn't burn won't be salvagable. They did have a throwaway line from Nick that Bethany could borrow some of Kylie's clothes though David didn't like that at all.

And best of all, Kylie's back!!! Bethany was absolutely sure, and she said she knew what Kylie looked like except when she went across the road to confront her for watching them, she didn't seem to know who it was. Ok, Kylie was standing back in the shadows.  It can only be from photos around the house, though. They've never met though possibly have talked on Skype I guess.

All in all, a good week. I might bitch and nit pick but really, I loved this week of Corrie! Next week we will likely find out Maddie's fate and the crusade to crucify Carla Connor will probably begin.


Also, see Monday to Thursday's recap with photos here and a summary of all related blog posts here. 



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