Coronation Street Blog: Coronation Street Awards 2021

Once again, I am presenting the Corrie Awards for 2021* - part Inside Soap Awards, part Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, and part stuff I've just made up.

*Views are all my own and do not represent the opinions of Coronation Street Blog TM

Best Actress: Sally Carman (Abi Franklin). Abi been through a heck of a lot this year, from seeing off Ray to her feud with Debbie to mini-feud with Tyrone to marriage to Kev to her son dying to bringing down Corey to almost becoming a murderer to sleeping with Imran (quite the upgrade). She was already my heroine (no pun intended) with her unromantic notions of weddings, relaxed attitude to grooming and general badassery, Sally C really upped her game this year - her performance after the death of Seb was heartbreaking. Donny girls forever!

Runner up: Mollie Gallagher (Nina Lucas).

Best Actor: David Nielson (Roy Cropper). Roy is now the defacto patriarch of the street and David N's acting is always stellar, particularly in the aftermath of the Nina and Seb attack. He is on a little break isn’t he? Bit of sun in Torremolinos? I refuse to believe that he’s not coming back.

Runner up: Gareth Pierce (Todd Grimshaw).

Best Exit: Alina Pop(!). I expect a mini-Ty to appear on t'cobbles in 2039.

Runner up: Johnny Connor.

Best Villain: Corey (Max Evans). With all the random gangsters pitching up (Gay Mick! Jambo a.k.a. Harvey! The return of gangsta Gazza from gaol! Hashim the money launderer!), it was good to have a villain you could really, really despise.

Best Villainess: Sharon Gaskell (Tracie Bennett). With her black clothes and white hair, Shazza resembled another filmic lady villain, one not too keen on puppies. It's a good job most Corrie residents are so wrapped up in their own affairs that they don't notice her snooping around. Anything that happened she was like: "So where's Leanne at nowadays?" Seb gets killed: "Has anyone told Leanne?" Brian runs out of penny chews at the Kabin. "Oh, they're Leanne's favourite, we should let her know! Anyone got her phone number?"

Best Young Actor: Corrie has gone a bit Hollyoaks this year with its focus on its younger cast, but all of them are technically adults despite playing 16 year olds, and we haven't actually seen much of Joseph, Jake, Bertie, Ruby, Harry, or, the three quads who aren't Aled (for 10 points, name them all), so who knows what they're up to? Liam, Lily and Jack all got a small storyline apiece before being put back in the props cupboard, but Dylan seems to have been forgotten forever (hopefully). So the award is going to have to go to Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan), with his weird syntax and space obsession and ability to get kidnapped every other episode.

Runner up: Hope, the devil child.

Best Battleaxe: Mimi may have come onto the cobbles in a late attempt to steal her crown, but it's only ever going to be Evelyn Plummer (Dame Maureen of Lipman) who's going to win this’un.

Best New Head: Max Turner (Paddy Bever). I'm loving the new, evil, chip-off-David's-block Mad Max. He, Aadi and Summer have all proved that re-casting can create new storylines and breathe life into moribund characters. Now what about looking at Jack Webster's contract?

Minx Of The Year: Daisy Midgely (Charlotte Jordan). I would very much like Rosie and, to a lesser extent, Sophie, to return. Until then, Daisy is out-minxing everyone, trying to get off with David, getting Ryan drunk to take advantage of him, trying to split up Jenny and Johnny, trying to get to the top of the pyramid scheme by selling make-up to homeless people and getting a loan under false pretences. I like her pouty princessy ways and I also like her on/off/on/off relationship with Daniel, which has softened her a bit.

Runner up: Laura Neelan (Kel Allen). Don't let a child neglect arrest stop you from selling your story to News Of The Weatherfield (Gazette)!

Most Miserable: Leanne (Jane Danson). Dead child! Depression! Splitting up with Nick! Drug dealing son! Drug dealing herself! Gangster moving into Victoria Court! In hiding from drug dealer! Being almost murdered by drug dealer! Jan Danson can cry on demand but you don't need to use it in ever episode, writers!

Most Missed: Moira Pollock (Louiza Patikas). Liz's exit was casually treated but Moira didn't even get a reason for her disappearance! I miss the Titian tattler.

Gone But Not Forgotten: Rick Neelan (Greg Wood). Will Gary's misdeeds ever come to light? Or has he been punished karmically by doing a stretch inside for something he didn't do?

Runner up: Fay(e) Windaass (Ellie Leach), only remembered in November.

Best couple: Imran and Toyah.

Runner up: Nina and Asha.

Best dressed: Sarah Platt. Tina O'Brien is almost 40, but she looks about 24 and always suits whatever the wardrobe department put her in (apart from that misjudged salmon power suit).

Best haircut: Imran's post lockdown crop.

Worst haircut: Zeedan's 10^th century monk look.

Worst dressed: Steve McDonald. Just because you're middle aged, Steve, it doesn't mean that your wardrobe needs to be exclusively baggy jeans and polo shirts.

Runner up: Toyah is an attractive millennial woman with a presumably healthy romantic life. Why then do the wardrobe people insist on dressing her like an Edwardian spinster aunt with a tragic backstory?

Best Kiss: Danny and James. It was lovely that first non-distanced kiss was by a (pretty hot) same sex couple, in LGBTQ month too.

Worst kiss: Phi(l)l and Fiz. A bit of foot mingling, a bit of murmuring. Nah.

Runner up: Tyrone and Alina, who looked nothing like Tyrone and Alina.

Most Googled: What exactly is a heat pump? And why did the diocese allow Billy to turn the arch deacon's house into a half way house? What happens when he resigns/retires/is sacked? Does the next arch deacon have to rent the cab office flat too?

Most Ongoing Storyline: Peter's liver. I felt like posting a bit of mine off to him just to end the storyline.

Blabbermouth Award: Adam telling all and sundry about Peter's DNR.

Needs Its Own Dressing Room: Peter's blanket.

Who I Would Have Had In That Calendar: