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Saturday 11 March 2017

Derek Giffiths to star in Driving Miss Daisy

Derek Griffiths, who plays Freddie Smith in Coronation Street, is joining the stage version of Driving Miss Daisy.

Derek will be starring in the show when it plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal in October.  He'll be starring alongside Dame Siân Phillips (I, Claudius, Dune, Marlene, Cabaret) in the heart-touching production made famous by the 1989 Academy Award-winning film.

Set in Atlanta, Georgia, the story begins one day in 1948 when a prickly, 72-year-old Jewish widow, Daisy Werthan, crashes her car.  Deemed too old to drive, her son hires her a chauffeur, an African-American named Hoke Colburn. Daisy and Hoke’s relationship gets off to a rocky start, but as times change across the course of a 25 year backdrop of prejudice, inequality and civil unrest, a profound and life-altering friendship blossoms.

Now then, does this mean Derek is leaving the show or simply taking a break, as some of the cast members like to do?  I do hope it's just the latter.

You can buy tickets to see Derek in the play here.




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9 comments:

Newfy Pearl said...

I really like this actor...so good for him. But sad for Corrie if it takes him away from the show. How foolish the writers were not to pursue the relationship with him and Audrey. There was chemistry...and Aud could stand to have a little fun and romance in her life. As Platt matriarch she really needs and deserves it.

abbyk said...

^^^^^ That! ^^^^^^

Humpty Dumpty said...

Agree with above comments. Also, Freddie would have been the ideal caretaker for the community centre. Imagine the long, rambling chats with Tim and Steve.

popcorn said...

Freddie is perfect on the Street - he just needs more to do. I do hope he stays.

Catsmom said...

I agree with the other posters. Freddie is a good character, I hope the actor comes back to Corrie when he's through driving Miss Daisy.

Maricha said...

I hope it will just be a short leave. The show should do more with him.

Derelict Cucumberpatch said...

Let's be honest, we don't really see much of Freddie as it is, so would he really be missed that much if he went off for a longer period? There are so many cast members now - many of whom don't get a storyline - that Freddie really is only a glorified extra anyway.

Maricha said...

We don't see much of him but we should. He's a good actor and worked well with Audrey.
Granted Audrey is established enough that she deserves a storyline even if not in a romance we've seen that Corrie can't be bothered to just involve her in her descendants' lives so, either she's paired with a good actor or we'll see her only once in a blue moon until we don't see her at all.

Zanne Raby said...

Oh I hope he comes back and that the writers portray a growing friendship between Freddy and Audrey - two more mature and stable individuals who can bring wisdom and level headedness to Corrie. I do like Freddy and hope that once the Driving Miss Daisy is over that Derek returns.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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