Coronation Street Double Episode Review 29 February 2016

Good to see Audrey and Yasmeen in the gym, and not just lycra -clad 20 somethings. What was hard to grasp was the reason why Yasmeen had decided to set Gail's machine to a higher resistance level. Was it spite, an attempt at humour? Gail seemed genuinely exhausted and even had to stay at home when she had been looking forward to going to Bethany's school's parents' evening. David turns up instead and it is discovered that Bethany has been truanting, claiming that she has been attending bereavement sessions after the death of great grandma Audrey. Audrey is very much alive and by her own admission feeling 20 years younger. Good. We need her around.

So - this Parents' Evening. I've been to more than I care to remember and in all that time I have never seen one so quiet with no other parents milling around and never have I seem a teacher with that much time to give to the concerns of one individual pupil.  .

The Marta story has been a slow burn, but it gathers pace now.  She is staying with Eva and as Leanne says, Eva should leave Marta's care to the professionals. Eva having pulled a sickie, Aidan turns up to see how Eva is, or that is what he claims. Grapes, chocolates and magazines should be enough to bribe her to accompany him to the O'Driscolls on Wednesday night for dinner. The O'Driscolls have just transferred £30 grand to the Underworld account of which which Carla immediately transfers £10k to her own personal account. Johnny asks her about this and Carla has nowhere to go. It is worth noting just how close the two of them have become, but it is hard to remember when the thaw happened. Likewise with Aidan. Sadly, these happenings weaken the suspension of disbelief. An audience needs to understand and have explanations. Otherwise it simply does not convince, therefore does not work. At worst, an audience can feel cheated or taken for fools.

Marta runs off but is caught by Billy as Eva chases her. It eventually come out that the O'Driscolls, the smooth talking, attractive couple have been holding Marta captive, as a slave, and that they have stolen her passport. Wednesday night will give Eva the opportunity to search for the passport, though she may have to come up with a reason as to why she is roaming round the house.

Mary suggests a girls' night out. Despite it being Monday, she persuades Erica and Liz to join in. 'Check your phones. I'll be sending details later.'   The plan is to go into town but the evening ends after a few white Russians have been imbibed. Mary wants another white Russian but this time she demands certain particulars. The white Russian she wants should be male, 6feet 2 inches, with steely blue eyes like Tom Courtenay in Doctor Zhivago. Mary thinks the guy in the burgundy pullover is eying her up but it is Erica who he is interested in. That said, Mary did look nice. Shame Barry White is no longer around to hear his lyrics quoted cobbles style.

Apparently Nick has made his mind up or should that be that Carla has made his mind up for him? Tracy having secured the extra cash she needs to win the Bistro over Leanne, Carla reminds Nick that 'his' decision should be based on pure financial gain, especially as it seems that Nick would like his ex-wife and fellow worker Leanne to have it. Tracy is predictably gloating but the smile is soon wiped off her face when she spots Robert hugging Leanne and telling her that she has a job for as long as she wants one. Full of spite and jealousy, Tracy tells Leanne she should start looking for another job. It's hard not to feel sorry for Leanne having lost the bistro, but things change and as yet no contracts have been signed. Tracy has lied to Robert about where the money came from and has told him it came from some sort of start up loan. Another lie to come out at some point.  Maybe 'Judas' as Tracy refers, to her dad Ken, may have something up his sleeve. after all. We can't have Tracy running the Bistro anymore than we can have her running The Rovers.

Nick openly tells Carla that he'll miss the bistro, but who knows, the sign might not have to be changed after all. A smooth transaction on the cobbles? Seems unlikely.

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Preview of tonight's double Corrie - Monday 29 February

Monday 29th February
CARLA’S CAUGHT IN THE ACT As Nick mulls over Robert’s and Leanne’s offers, he vows to make a decision by the end of the day. Carla’s filled with dread. When Richie calls in the factory and transfers £30k to Underworld’s account as a down payment on his order, Carla’s ears prick up. Having stolen £10k from the factory account, Carla hands Tracy the cash. Tracy reminds her that she now needs to make sure Nick sells the bistro to Robert. But when Johnny confronts Carla about the missing money is the game up?
EVA’S HOUSEGUEST MAKES A RUN FOR IT Eva throws a sickie so that she can spend the day looking after Marta. Marta’s clearly not well but refuses point blank to see a doctor. When Aidan calls, Eva hides Marta while she gets rid of him. But Marta reckons she’s causing too much trouble and before Eva can stop her, she does a runner from the flat.
BETHANY’S A CAUSE FOR CONCERN Bethany fails to show up for the school parents’ evening and Gail and Sarah are shocked to discover Bethany’s been bunking off regularly.
ELSEWHERE Upset to see Izzy in so much pain, Gary promises to phone a mate and try and score some cannabis for her. Mary cajoles Erica and Liz into joining her for a girls’ night out on the town.

Monday 29th February
WILL TRACY’S DREAM COME TRUE Pointing out she’s a director of Underworld, Carla makes out she just borrowed the money. Will Johnny accept this? Meanwhile Tracy shows Robert the £10k, claiming she’s dipped into her flower shop funds. Robert’s thrilled. Tracy tells Nick they’d like to up their offer for the bistro by a further £10k. Nick confides in Carla he’d rather sell to Leanne, but Carla’s adamant he’d be foolish not to take the extra cash. Will Nick accept Carla’s advice and agree to sell the bistro to Robert?
IT’S A GIRL’S NIGHT OUT FOR ERICA Mary hits the cocktails and tries to chat up a guy at the bar. Liz and Erica suggest she reins herself in, but Mary’s on a roll. As Dev and Erica help drunken Mary into No.7, Mary points out it’s obvious they fancy each other. Dev and Erica mask their embarrassment.
SARAH TRIES TO REACH OUT TO BETHANY Bethany’s teacher explains to a shocked Sarah how many times they’ve tried to contact her about Bethany’s lack of attendance. Sarah realises Bethany must have intercepted all the letters and emails. Blaming herself for her lack of parenting skills, Sarah demands to know where Bethany’s been and why she’s been bunking off school.
ELSEWHERE With Billy’s help, Eva catches up with Marta. In the safety of the rectory, Marta explains how the O’Driscolls kept her as a slave and confiscated her passport. Billy and Eva are horrified. Izzy’s grateful when Gary arrives with some cannabis and apologises for forcing him to break the law. Gary heads home, worried about her.

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Endgame at HOME - A Corrie Blogger review

“What the hell was that!?” spluttered a bewildered Corrie fan sitting next to me as Chris Gascoyne and David Neilson took their final applause as Clov and Hamm, alongside co-stars Barbara Rafferty (Nell) and Peter Kelly (Nag). Endgame had just finished and after 90 minutes without a break, we were a bit dazed.

Hamm (Neilson) & Clov (Gascoyne)

The relatively new HOME theatre in Manchester City Centre was packed, and I sat among a mixed group of press, students, bloggers and of course avid Coronation Street viewers, and I was keen to see their reaction not only to Samuel Beckett’s play itself, but also to the performances of Weatherfield favourites Chris and David, who are more familiar to us as boozing womanizer Peter Barlow, and of course entrepreneur and international sex symbol Roy Cropper. The intimate theatre was dominated by a simple but imposing set. One filthy, square room, two dirty windows, two rusty rubbish bins and a white sheet covering something unknown in the middle of the stage.

In shuffles Clov, limping and twitching, exhaustion etched on his battered, scab-ridden face. Immediately we are treated to a brilliant physical performance, not a word has yet been uttered but we are brought in by Gascoyne’s almost comedic entrance, the slapstick style of his movements momentarily taking our minds off the dismal and decaying setting of the near empty room. We are pointed toward the outside world through one of the small windows, then, after the clumsy manoeuvring of a step ladder, again prompting giggles from the audience, the other window. But we never see the outside, we just know it’s there and Clov is aware of it. Before long the dialogue begins and that familiar husky tone to Gascoyne’s voice reminds us Corrie fans who is playing Clov, but you’d be forgiven for forgetting that, with all the dirt and sores disguising his hunched body.

Hamm, Clov’s master, is sitting in a sort of armchair wheelchair throughout. Just like Clov, Hamm is suffering from numerous physical ailments. Clov acts as Hamm’s carer, he’s his eyes and ears, and legs – Hamm can’t stand up, and Clov can’t sit down. But that’s where the harmony ends – Hamm is bossy, impatient, cruel and manipulative at times, but for some reason Clov won’t leave. He takes the grief and puts up with Hamm – but not without a great deal of complaining and resentment toward his master. Gascoyne has choreographed the role wonderfully, every jolt, squirm, trip and sigh timed to perfection.

Aside from the physical dynamics of the play, the dialogue between Clov and Hamm is chaotic, almost exhausting. Gascogyne’s delivery a bit hurried at times but this was a minor negative on what is an impressive performance.

The interaction between Clov and Hamm takes us on a journey, the audience know we are heading to some kind of finality, but we aren’t sure if that’s death, the separation of the two main characters, or something else from the outside. David Nielson’s Hamm, pondering impending doom, is a delight. A deeply unpleasant character, you can tell Beckett wants you to dislike Hamm. And you do, but there’s something endearing about his pitiful neediness and reliance on Clov. As he faces up to the torments of life, the inevitability of death and the inconvenient predicament of being blind and immobile, even though Clov makes his life that little bit less dreadful, Hamm passes much of that torment onto Clov knowing he will get away with it.

You should go to see Endgame to enjoy Neilson’s Hamm if nothing else. Sitting in that wheelchair, centre stage pretty much all the way through the play, it’s as if the former gasman has waited his whole career to let rip and play a part like this. Physically he’s almost unrecognisable, even the voice is different, and Hamm of course couldn’t be further from Roy Cropper. The play came about because of Nielson and Gascoyne’s own love of Beckett’s play and you can tell how much care has gone into putting it together, sticking to Beckett’s strict rules on simple stage directions. Hamm is vile, loud, selfish and cruel – his parents are disposed of in the two rubbish bins to one side of the stage, and they pop out every now and then to reminisce about past holidays, and to beg for sweets – which Hamm promises then refuses to give to them, although they do get to suck on a biscuit. He would out-Scrooge Scrooge and Neilson really captures what Beckett intended when creating the least likeable character you’re ever likely to encounter.

Nell (Barbara Rafferty) & Nagg (Peter Kelly)

My verdict is that this interpretation of Endgame is well worth a visit on its limited run in Manchester following success in Glasgow. Neilson has to get back to the cobbles so you only have until 12th March to see it. It might be the only time you see these two actors together in this setting, although I have a suspicion that with Gascoyne and Nielson’s shared interest in this type of storytelling, they might team up again sometime in the future. And they should.

As far as new theatre goers, and fans of Coronation Street going to see Endgame – absolutely. You might never see anything like this again but it’s 90 minutes that combine comedy, intricate dialogue, clever physical performances and the realisation that you have so many questions when you leave: Why were Nagg and Nell in bins? What’s outside? Why won’t Clov just leave?

You might even reach for Google when you get home, to learn a bit more about what you’ve just watched. I did, and I’m still a bit clueless.

Twitter: @StevieDawson 

***

Chris and David will be taking part in a live Q&A about the play on the 2nd March - you can participate and find out more here.

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Coronation Street actors help create Soap in a Week

Coronation Street’s Connor McIntyre (Pat Phelan) and Tisha Merry (Steph Britton) joined forces with Emmerdale’s Michelle Hardwick and Anthony Quinlan to help create Soap in a Week.

The creative partnership saw famous faces from Coronation Street and Emmerdale share the small screen with students from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

The project saw 50 cast and crew work alongside 90 undergraduates and alumni to write, produce, act and direct a 15 minute drama. The filming took place across the University’s city centre campus, including the new outdoor ‘street’ – a purpose built facility which features external frontage of a pub, a shop and two houses.

Connor, who plays Corrie's Pat Phelan said: “It’s a fantastic initiative and one which I’m delighted to be part of. I have been really impressed with the commitment of the students. They have grasped this unique chance with both hands, they have been very professional in their attitude and they have worked so hard. It’s been a very professional set up and everyone should be proud of the work they’ve done.”

Take a look at some of the photos from Soap in a Week at the Flickr gallery.

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Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 26 February 2016

Friday’s double Corrie didn’t offer much in the way of light relief with tensions in both the Bistro and at Underworld, and a rather unpleasant altercation for Izzy in the latest incarnation of the Dog & Gun, the Blue Ghost.

An open day at the gym provided some welcome respite with Audrey Roberts as the star of the show. Preferring G&T time to M&D time, equating wheatgrass to lawnmower juice and bashfully admitting to signing up for a Twerk Out, she was a joy. Michael proved an amusing sparring partner as she observed that Gary is a gym instructor, not a magician at the news that he’ll get him half way to iron man in six-months, and they continue: 

Michael: You’d be surprised at my levels of endurance

Audrey:  Well, you were married to Gail 

Michael:  Still am

I continue to welcome the return of the Nazirs and I enjoy the fond banter between Yasmeen and Sharif who will only fetch her “energy balls” if she promises not to take any herself.

Over at the Bistro, Nick looks so sad at selling up that it’s a wonder Carla has the heart to go through with the deceit. Even as he says, “I’ve put so much into this place, I’m going to miss it”, she tells him to get the paperwork ready now but put in a clause to say he’ll continue running it until he leaves after the wedding so they can milk it for as much cash as possible. 

The main development is that Leanne makes an offer after confiding in Ken that she feels she could make it more profitable, and would love nothing better than to provide a stable future for Simon, and Ken consents to releasing some of his inheritance. Tracy is naturally disgusted but made her own bed when she made it clear that Amy doesn’t factor in any of her considerations. “Amy has got grandma Deirdre’s inheritance to look forward to” she tells Ken “Now is Tracy time”. These words come back to haunt her when she demands to know why he turned her down but agreed to help Leanne, and Ken replies, “Don’t pretend this is about Amy”. Tracy shows she has no class as she makes reference to Leanne’s prostitution and pound shop hairdo in retaliation.

Despite verbally agreeing to sell to Robert, Nick says he needs time to consider both offers. Robert is convinced he’ll sell to Leanne and blames Tracy for being the way she is with everyone. He needs to look at his own attitude, because the way in which he spoke to Zeedan tonight was a disgrace.

Tracy guarantees Robert they’ll be successful, and marches over to Carla's to demand the shortfall of £10,000 and insist she get creative in convincing Nick to sell to Robert.

This story has had some amount of toing and froing with more cash flying about the place than olives. The most enjoyable part for me as it stands is Tracy not getting things easy, and Ken ensuring quality in any scene he's in.

After she drops Jake off at the gym in his pyjamas before phoning in sick, Gary worries about Izzy. Erica tries to tell him what’s been going on, but he ends up finding out from Izzy herself after he collects her from the Blue Ghost where she tried to take on the dealer who sold her herbs and was roughed up.

He’s disgusted to hear she’s taking drugs while Jake is in bed, but when she tells him the pain she’s going through, and how it makes life easier for her, he sympathises and vows to help.

This is not an easy watch, and it will be interesting to see where the story goes.

I’m growing rather tired of Chesney’s gurns and discomfort with Sinead’s new career. As she heads off to a proper photo shoot, he’s disappointed to hear she’ll be back late after attempting to surprise her with flowers. There’s a cycle here of photo shoot – anger – hugs, and while I like the element of the storyline that sees Sinead blossom, Chesney's reaction is spoiling it. 

Rana has started flat hunting, and learns that she has gotten the job at the medical centre in a bizarre manner in which her phone rang, she put her ear to it, said nothing, and hung up before announcing the good news. She hits the town with Alya and invites Zeedan along, but he’s too busy getting verbally abused at the Bistro to be able to go.

Meanwhile, at Underworld, Carla wants Kate to learn the family business much to Aidan’s annoyance. He wonders of the office, “when did this turn into a family drop-in centre?” a question we've all asked over the last number of months.

As Kate is coached in the ways of “Grafting, blagging and booze” by Carla and Michelle over at the café, Aidan is left alone with pants villain Richie 'he's behind you' O’Driscoll, and agrees to his demands to up the order. He lets another client down as a result, and Johnny’s not happy when he finds out, accusing him of gambling with customer loyalty. However, he admires Aidan’s “nerve” at the same time. 

It’s certainly not Aidan’s night, as Eva turns his offer of a drink down on spotting Marta lurking around the factory in the dark. She brings the mysterious girl back to the flat to stay the night and Leanne is uncharacteristically devoid of questions.

I had great hopes for Aidan when he joined Corrie. He had many traits of the arrogant, self-assured, wheeler-dealer that has frequented the factory in many guises before him. But, being undermined and in the shadow of Carla and Johnny, sees him cut an anxious dash and make questionable decisions which doesn't tally with the man we first met. My wish for Aidan is that he find his feet and prove to all that he can be trusted to manage Underworld, even if he has a bit of learning to do first.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

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Top 5 drugs storylines on Coronation Street

With poor Izzy gettng ripped off and roughed up at the Blue Ghost in her search for drugs, let's have a look at my personal favourite top five Coronation Street's other storylines involving drugs.

1. Izzy and the cannabis

An interesting storyline showing cannabis being used for pain relief as opposed to..

2. Getting high in Roy's Rolls

Back in 2003 Vera cooked some cakes with cannabis after she was given some 'special herbs' by Maz at the allotment.  She unwittingly served up hash cakes in Roy's Rolls and this ended up being quite a merry scene with Rita, Roy, Norris and Emily high on space cakes.  Sadly, this scene has been removed from YouTube.

And of course, Emily is no stranger to cannabis either, allowing her nephew Spider to smoke his 'special cigarettes' in her house.

And Rita found Dennis high a kite in The Kabin after eating "special brownies".




3. David and the ecstasy tablets

David hid a stash of ecstasy tablets inside the head of one of Bethany's dolls. She finds the doll, eats a tablet and ends up in hospital. And speaking of ecstasy...

4. Tracy and the ecstasy

I couldn't find a picture of Tracy Barlow in 1995 in her hospital bed (played then by Dawn Acton), so here's the next best thing.  Samir donated his kidney to save Tracy's life, but ended up being killed after an attack by the canal.

5. Leanne becomes Jez Quigley's bitch

Jez started to sell cocaine from the Rovers Return and roped in Leanne too.

Any more major drugs storylines you've enjoyed over the years watching Corrie?

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Sally Dynevor on Corrie role: "There's no better job"

There's a long interview with Coronation Street actor Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe in today's Sunday People.

Sally says that after  30 years at Coronation Street she goes itchy feet to try something away from the cobbles. But she says: "... who knows what would happen if I left?

"I don’t want to risk leaving ­something that I’m enjoying. I went to see Julie Hesmondhalgh in a new play ­recently. It was ­absolutely brilliant and it did make me think, ‘Oh, should I do this? Should I leave?’ But then another part of me thought, ‘What if I left and it didn’t work out?’

"And I love it here. At the moment I think I’m enjoying it more than I’ve ever. There’s no better job, really.
 
There's a lot more to the interview and you can read it here.   

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Corrie Weekly Awards, February 22 - 26

Sleeping with the enemy award: Tim and Norris!

Back of the Net award: Andy really had Steph believing he was a rubbish boyfriend but he pulled off a lovely surprise with Nick's help.

Boy Scout award: "Be Prepared", right? Do all dealers have handy pre-wrapped oregano in their pockets just in case they encounter a niaive newbie? Seemed odd to me.

Eggs in One Basket award: Aidan might end up with just the one client if he keeps alienating the long time clients to pander to O'Driscolls. Not always a good idea to bet it all on one horse.

Witchy Woman award: Tracy. At least she is self-aware!

Lines of the week:
Nick "Nothing's going to happen straightaway" (with the speed of real estate deals in Weatherfield, you couldn't guarantee that one)
Rana "I'm a nurse, not a maid" (well, nurses do a lot of chores besides nurse patients, right?)
Rita to Norris "Only you could take the fun out of a biscuit"
Anna to Kevin "What more do you want" (the truth. please. Before i stick a fork in my eye)
Gail about the Connors "It's that family. it's one crisis after another" Nick "whereas we, we live in Sunshine Valley, happy faces all day long!"
Sally "Are you trying to wind me up?" Norris "You don't need much help with that, do you?" (But he's such an insinuating little troll, is Norris)
Anna about Shirley McLain "She's someone's sister. Someone famous" (Warren Beatty)
Tracy to Carla "You've become my bitch, Babe. Always knew you had it in you" (and Carla actually let her walk away! Please let this be a wakeup for Carla!)
Carla "We are relying entirely on grafting" Michelle "And blagging" Carla "and booze. You know, Kate, you really need to fake it to feel it."
Yasmin "If I'd known people would pay to get shouted at, I'd have charged my family all these years"

By Tvor

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First-look pics: Derek Griffiths on Coronation Street

Here are some preview pictures from the episode of Coronation Street to be shown on Friday 11 March 2016.

When Kylie arrives at client Sadie’s house for a nail appointment, she’s shown in by husband Freddie who explains that Sadie’s died and he’d like her to do Sadie’s nails for her funeral.

Putting thoughts of Callum’s body aside, Kylie sets to and Freddy’s grateful.

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Corrie weekly update - twerking out with a pound shop hairdo

Corrie weekly updates from 1995
All the wit and warmth of Weatherfield, none of the waffle
Available from amazon.co.uk or amazon.com

Tracy’s blackmailing Carla and she tells her she has to put pressure on Nick to sell the Bistro and move away. Carla kow-tows to Tracy and it’s all “Yes, Tracy. No, Tracy. If Nick doesn’t receive a higher offer than Robert’s then it’s yours, Tracy.”  But Nick does receive another offer and it comes from Leanne. Ken offers to give Leanne the money to buy into the Bistro, using Simon’s inheritance from Deirdre.  When Tracy finds out that Ken’s willing to back Leanne after he refused to do the same for her and Robert, she’s not best pleased. 

There was a great scene between Carla and Tracy this week when Carla tells Tracy she’s doing her a favour by forcing her out of the Street. “This is exactly the kick up the tush that I needed to get out of this place,” Carla says. "Oh! So that's what's happened is it? I've done you a favour?" smirks Tracy before going in for the kill. "No. I'll tell you what's happened, shall I? You've become my bitch, babe. Always knew you had it in you".  And another lovely line when Tracy finds out that Leanne wants to buy into the Bistro. She tells her there’s no way she can afford it. “You even get yer hair done in a pound shop!”

Over at the Bistro it’s Steph’s 21st birthday. She celebrates in style on a night out with Andy before having to go to court go give evidence at Jamie’s trial. The scumbag is given a three year stretch for his revenge porn nastiness.

At Streetcars in his new job, Tim gets his feet under the table and his hands in the biscuit tin. He calls a staff meeting with Eileen and Michael. Item number one on the agenda is biscuits. “What’s item number two?” Eileen asks. “Nothing. There isn’t one,” he replies.  With Eileen out of the cab office, Tim and Michael play on the switch. “Come in Houston! Come in Houston!”

Meanwhile, Phelan shows his true colours when he throttles Anna up against the wall inside Roy’s Rolls. Kev walks in just as it’s happening and demands to know what’s going on. He knows now that Phelan’s not all he seems and tries to warn Eileen off him but she’s deaf to his words and has her eye on Pat Phelan, you can tell.  Mind you, Kevin still doesn’t know what happened between Pat and Anna, not yet anyway.

 

Poor Izzy’s in a state this week. She’s in so much pain that she goes to buy more dope from a dodgy bloke in a dodgy pub called The Blue Ghost.  The dealer sells her a bag of herbs, not the cannabis she was after, and when she goes back to complain she gets a bit roughed up.  You’re not in Frescho any more, Izzy. I don’t think The Blue Ghost has a returns policy. She calls Gary who goes to collect her and she’s in bits. Gary gets her to open up about how much pain she’s in and how she can’t go back to the doc as the tablets he gives her makes her hallucinate and she can’t look after little Jake. Gary determines to help her the best way he can. Oh, he’s lovely is Gary.

Sally continues with her campaign to become Weatherfield councillor, as does Norris this week.  When Frescho announce they’ve been given the go-ahead to build a new superstore, the locals want to know if Sally’s for or against. Sally hasn’t a clue if she’s in camp No Frescho or Pro Frescho. 

Alya’s new mate Rana who turned up last week is still a mash-up of hair and white noise. What we do know about her is that she’s a nurse and throws a sickie to have lunch in the Bistro with Zeedan. For that (throwing a sickie while working for the NHS) I dislike her already. She gets a job in the medical centre and looks for a new place to live.

And finally this week there’s an open day at the Victoria Court gym. Audrey signs up for a Twerk Out while Gail wants a M&D day. “Mother and Daughter day, M&D” she tells Audrey who replies, “M&D? I’d rather have a G&T!”

And that’s just about that for this week.

Remember, you can sign up to get these Corrie weekly updates by email at http://www.corrie.net/updates/weekly/subscribe.htm

This week’s writers were Martin Allen and Jayne Hollinson (Monday double); Jonathan Harvey (Wednesday); Debbie Oates and Perrie Balthazar (Friday double).  Find out all 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
Website: glendayoungbooks.co

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Top 5 marriage proposals by Coronation Street women

As it's a leap year this year and we've got an extra day on Monday February 29th, what better way to honour the tradition and have a look at some Corrie proposals that women made to their men.

These are my favourite top 5 proposals of marriage from Corrie women to their fellas.  Did I miss out your favourite? Leave a comment below!

In no particular order...

1. Fiz asks John Stape

What could be more romantic than scrawling 'marry me' onto a stained bed sheet and shouting it at your fella in prison as he's banged up for being a serial killer?

2. Michelle Connor asks Steve McDonald

Karaoke night in the Rovers Return, Michelle gets down on bended knee.

3. Phyllis Pearce asks Percy Sugden 

Despite the many attractions of Phyllis Pearce, Percy would never give her the answer she longed for when she asked him to marry her.

4. Carla Connor asks Nick Tilsley



5. Deirdre Barlow asks Samir Rachid

It wasn't the the most romantic proposal. Deirdre offered to marry Samir while he was doing the washing up, wearing rubber gloves.

6. Sally asks Tim  

Yes I know this is number 6 of a top 5. Whoops. But it had to go in, right?

Can you think of any more female proposals on Coronation Street?

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Coronation Street fans to see live proposal on TV

This year is a leap year, which means that we have an extra day this year on Monday 29 February.  As is traditional on a leap year day, women can take the lead and propose to their fellas. If they want to, of course.

The Burton Mail reports that First Choice travel is bringing a live leap year proposal to TV viewers.

One woman will be proposing to her partner, live, on Monday night in the ad break of the second episode of Coronation Street. Good luck with that one, chuck!

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Coronation Street - the women who got away

Our poll for you to vote for your favourite all-time Corrie females is still open and you can vote here.

The poll closes on 29th February and the countdown begins the following week.

But who were the women who didn't make it into the top 25, as voted for by you?  Here are the ones who didn't make the cut along with the number of votes they received.

124 votes

Eileen Grimshaw

112 votes

Julie Carp

110 votes

Gail Rodwell

100 votes

Tracy Barlow; Beth Sutherland

93 votes

Tina McIntyre

89 votes

Anna Windass

87 votes

Fiz Stape

83 votes

Phyllis Pearce; Sophie Webster

81 votes

Janice Battersby

59 votes

Minnie Caldwell

44 votes

Cilla Battersby-Brown; Ivy Brennan

40 votes

Rosie Webster

21 votes

Michelle Connor

5 votes

Shelley Unwin

4 votes

Erica Holroyd; Steph Britton; Maria Connor

3 votes

Jenny Bradley; Martha Longhurst; Sarah Platt

2 votes

Lucille Hewitt; Toyah Battersby; Renee Roberts; Ida Barlow; Violet Wilson; Frankie Baldwin; Sian Powers; Amy Barlow; Sinead Tinker; Maxine Peacock

1 vote

Stella Price; Kate Connor; Angie Freeman; Maureen Holdsworth; Bev Unwin; Sylvia Goodwin; Judy Mallett; Maddie Heath; Bethany Platt; Sharon Gaskell; Suzie Birchall; Linda Cheveski

by Llifon

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Simon Gregson returns to work at Coronation Street next week

Simon Gregson has been away on extended leave from Coronation Street for personal reasons.  However, the good news is that he'll be returning to work next week.


Simon revealed the news in an interview with Manchester's Key 103 breakfast show today.

In Corrie, Steve McDonald is supposed to be away in Spain with his twin brother Andy McDonald.  I can't wait to have Steve back at Corrie. I wonder what he'll say about working with Tim at the Streetcars office?

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