Location - Coronation Street Studios, ITV, Salford Quays.
So here I am then. Trundling along Salford Quays and heading towards ITV Coronation Street studios, it hasn't quite sunk in. I'm here on behalf of the Coronation Street blog to attend the PRESS DAY 'round table' event.
Walking up to reception, I tell them my name and where I'm from, and they let me in. Yes me!. The first thing I notice is the new 'Victoria Street' Set. It's immediately on your right as you walk in, I take a cheeky look and see 'Tattoo'll do nicely', the 'Co-Op' and Weatherfield North tram stop!!. It looks smaller than on screen but it's an impressive addition.
Heading towards reception area, its a busy bustling day on set. Hardly surprising then that various cast members are going to and from 'work', my eyes must have been on stalks!. I see Simon Gregson chatting to Richard Hawley (Steve McDonald and Johnny Connor) and then (as I'm signed in on reception desk) Sue Nicholls (AKA Audrey Roberts) cheerily strolls into the building. AUDREY ROBERTS!. Whilst sat in the waiting area, various crew members breeze in and out. Is that a writer? producer? set-builder?. I've never been on a film set but why would I need to. This is THE set of Coronation Street. I look round in absolute awe and genuine wonder. A true corrie nerd 'cobbles connoisseur' and a budding 'corrieologist', for me, this is the pinnacle of fandom.
Escorted to the 'hub', the journos and me are treated to a gorgeous delicatessen style light lunch (cheers ITV), copious amounts of coffee and water (trendy branded ITV mugs of course) and it's down to business to 'interview' the cast.
First up, is Sair Khan (AKA Alya Nazir).
Slightly blinded by her obvious beauty, I click 'record' on my mobile phone, (Fleet Street all have dictaphones resting on a table in front of Sair) and we're ready to discuss Alya taking over the helm (or hem) at Underworld.
'This is 4 years in the making' beams the charming Sair 'but her drive and ambition, that's always been there, has been dampened by all the deaths. But now she's been given this opportunity'.
Can Alya really run the factory?
'Yes she's intelligent, although she has made a few mistakes, she was running the business with Aidan before Carla came back on the scene'
Do you enjoy the recent argument scenes with Ali King (AKA Carla Connor)?.
'Any scene with Ali King is a pleasure' she continues ' shes's so brilliant, they were scary, I'm not going to lie' she laughs ' my adrenaline was on an all-time high, I was shaking after those scenes and it took me a while to calm down after it'
Has Alya been affected by Aidan's death?
'I think Aidan's death was a turning point for her. When her Dad died and Luke died, it really put her on a downward spiral' she continues 'she got so lost and so dark and didn't know how to come out of it. Yet with Aidan, she realised she needs to come out of that and move forward. The contents of Aidan's Will, will help her do that'.
'Aidan and Alya had a shared vision for Underworld, she would like to continue that legacy'
Carla has the weight of the Connors behind her, does Alya have allies in this factory battle e.g Imran, Yasmeen, etc?
'Yes, she does have the support of everyone else. When she sees the will she doesn't know what to do. Imran is the driving force behind her really taking ownership of it but the factory staff are less supportive to start with, she certainly cracks the whip'
This is the first article in a short series of Corrie Press Day blog posts. I was in the presence of several cast members discussing the summer schedule of storylines and have plenty of exciting interviews to publish!!
Keep your eyes peeled on the @CoroStreetBlog for more of the same.
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