Coronation Street Blog: The other David Platt

After a tough few days on the cobbles, we get a rest tonight because of the football: England’s first Euro 2020 qualifier at home to the Czech Republic.

With next year's European Championship coming 30 years after the 1990 World Cup (the first major tournament I can remember), I’ve been getting nostalgic about football recently. It’s been a welcome distraction from the British political system collapsing in on itself like the roof of a Weatherfield knicker factory.

My reminiscing has also been driven by this week’s brilliant ITV two-parter, ‘Harry's Heroes: The Full English’ which featured some absolute football legends from the ’90s, but unfortunately no David Platt (62 caps, 1989–1996).

Nevertheless, I have often wondered if Weatherfield’s hipster hairdresser and/or England’s magic midfielder have ever stopped to think about ‘the other David Platt’.

Here are both David Platts in their England kits, back in the day:

Corrie’s David was born in December 1990, a few months after England’s heroic performance in Italia ’90. David was initially registered a Tilsley (I still don’t get that) but Martin Platt may have been playing the long game. In hospital, Martin joked to Gail that they should call him Gazza, so football was clearly on his mind.

Anyway, I enjoyed this scene on ITV3 the other week. It was originally broadcast on 1 November 1991, when Nicky was mad on football and Martin had arranged a trial with Ferndale Street under-11s. There is a nice David Platt reference:

Nicky was right – it wasn’t a header that the other David Platt scored in extra time against Belgium to clinch England’s place in the quarter-finals. It was a volley and what a fantastic goal it was:

David Platt (the footballer) was as clinical in front of goal as David Platt (the stylist) is with a pair of scissors. Happy memories and all thanks to Classic Coronation Street!

We don’t get many real life footy references in Corrie these days but it is nice to see some Weatherfield County supporters on the street and Kirk as the club mascot, Buzzer the Bee.

And perhaps it was Nick’s playing career at Ferndale Street that secured Tommy Orpington's attendance at the ‘Trim Up North’ launch earlier this month.

The launch went OK in the end. But now that the roof has caved in, I can’t see Tommy O agreeing to be Brand Ambassador for that new range of Underworld pants. I reckon it’ll be a ‘Tommy NO!’ for Nick.

I hope England are better on the pitch tonight than Nick Tilsley is at table football. When will Tommy Orpington be called up to the squad? All together now... “He's fast! He's mean! He likes a fruit machine! He's Tommy O! He's Tommy O!”

By Martin Leay

Twitter @mpleay

Corrie Blogs @ bit.ly/corriemartin