Philip Lowrie joins Corrie fan event TV Utopia 2018

Philip Lowrie, who played Dennis Tanner in Coronation Street, has been announced as a guest speaker at next year's fantastic fan event - TV Utopia 2018.

Philip will join other ex-Corrie cast members Alan Rothwell (David Barlow), Ken Farrington (Billy Walker) and Irene Sutcliffe (Maggie Clegg).

In addition to the ex-Corrie cast members at the event, there will be two special Coronation Street screenings. One is a 1972 promotional film specially written and shot for the USA market and has never been seen before in the UK.

And the other special screening is a 30 minute programme from 1982 when the Queen visited the cobbles.

TV Utopia 2018 runs over a weekend in February 2018 at the Mercure Whately Hall in Banbury. Come and spend time with like-minded fans, for what is set to be an unmissable weekend looking at the best in drama, light entertainment, children's television, science fiction and fantasy!

Over the weekend you will be able to watch interviews, collect autographs, pose for photos and meet some of your television favourites.

Find out all details and book your tickets here.

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Fifty years since Elsie married Steve in Coronation Street

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the first of two Corrie episodes covering the wedding of Elsie Tanner to Sergeant Steve Tanner. Conveniently, no change of surname was required! 

At the time, it was the most talked-about event in the history of Coronation Street. In fact, the episode broadcast on 6 September 1967 was the first in Corrie to show the wedding ceremony itself.

It was such a big event that the nuptials spawned a special ‘Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir’ magazine published by the TV Times on 7 September 1967. This was the first ever Corrie magazine and, apart from some records and jigsaws, one of the first pieces of Coronation Street merchandise.

For one shilling, Corrie fans that had enjoyed the wedding on TV could relive it all with a 32-page souvenir mag packed with photos of the ceremony and reception – a lavish do in Warrington.

I have never seen the Tanner wedding. However, having recently acquired a copy of the TV Times supplement, I feel like I know a lot about the big day! 

It’s a great historical document and one interesting feature is a copy of Dennis Tanner’s speech, which was not heard on screen. It was printed along with his supposed hand-written amendments.

Other highlights include an artist’s impression of the lounge in Elsie and Steve’s new luxury flat in Altrincham. The flat was decked out with wall-to wall carpeting and a craftsman-designed fireplace in natural stone, with a built-in gas fire and a slate hearth. It was a far cry from the sparsely furnished living room of 11 Coronation Street.

Elsie was going up in the world, you see – from the cobbled back streets of Salford to the tree-lined avenues of Manchester’s stockbroker belt. The wife of an American GI, she could kiss goodbye to cooking on a stove in the living room and her tiny scullery with a sink and larder. Now Elsie could enjoy a real kitchen with all mod cons: new cooker with eye-level grill; stainless steel sink unit; plenty of cupboard space; Venetian blinds and a transistorised clock – plus, a refrigerator! 

According to Corriepedia (read more here), the photos in the magazine were not taken on set because recording was too close to the TV Times’ publication date. Instead, the cast assembled at St Margaret’s Church in Whalley Range, which looked like the church designed in the studio. The back cover featured a photo of the Tanners at Manchester Airport, staged as if they were about to board their honeymoon flight to Lisbon.

The Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir magazine was given a second print run and is thought to have sold over one million copies in total. Not surprisingly, the TV Times went on to publish more special Corrie magazines, for example to mark the tenth anniversary in 1970, the wedding of Len and Rita in 1977, and the 2000th episode in 1980.

I came by this wonderful relic thanks to a friend of a friend, Scarlett, who found it when clearing her Aunt’s bungalow after she had passed away at the age of 92. It was sitting inside a folder of Royal souvenirs and cuttings; alongside some old Cadbury Creme Eggs and Woods of Windsor talc sets.

Scarlett’s Auntie Alice was an avid Corrie fan from the very start and actually passed away peacefully as the opening bars of the theme tune could be heard from the residents’ lounge in the care home where she spent her last eighteen months. Alice hated Len Fairclough and Annie Walker and she thought Ken Barlow was a womaniser. She would have liked to have tried Betty’s hotpot. Me too!

It’s amazing to think that someone I never met spent many happy hours watching Coronation Street, just as I, and many other millions of people have, all of us formulating opinions about the same set of characters. It made me think of the wonderful ‘Coronation Street: Then, Now & Forever’ promo produced by ITV to celebrate 57 years of our favourite continuing drama. For us Corrie fans, we’ll always have iconic scenes and storylines by which to remember major milestones in our own lives.

My first child is due soon and I look forward to sharing many Corrie moments with her. I’m sure she will grow up to love Coronation Street, just as her Daddy always has – Then, Now & Forever!

By Martin Leay, on Twitter @mpleay

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Philip Lowrie joins The Hound of the Baskervilles

Philip Lowrie, who played Elsie Tanner's son - and Rita's husband - Dennis Tanner in Coronation Street can be seen on stage this spring.

Philip is joining the cast of The Hound of the Baskervilles at the Theatre Royal Windsor from April.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest stories of the twentieth century and its macabre appeal has made it the most popular of the Sherlock Holmes adventures.

Let the trusty companion Dr Watson (played by Philip Lowrie) take you on a trip from 221B Baker Street to eerie Baskerville Hall, in this cleverly innovative, witty and nail biting production about literature’s most brilliant detective.

More details and ticket bookings here.

The show also tours to Chesterfield in March, details here.

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Pics: Corrie's golden couple open Dutch supermarket, 1967

One of the very many joys of writing the Coronation Street Blog is when you receive an email from someone you've never met before and he sends you some wonderful Corrie pics that he's found.

Coronation Street fan Paul van der Hart in the Netherlands emailed this week to say that he found these old photographs of Elsie and Dennis Tanner (Pat Phoenix and Philip Lowrie) on a visit to the Netherlands in 1967.

They were there for the opening of a new De Gruyter supermarket, an event that was kicked off by ringing a bell in a British themed pub in Amsterdam. The hatted gent in the photographs is the supermarket's owner, Mr Piet de Gruyter.

Paul tells us that Corrie was broadcast in the Netherlands between 1967 and 1975 with 428 episodes broadcast. Interestingly in 1981 a Dutch actor played a character in Corrie: Lex van Delden played Dirk van der Stek (who dated Deirdre Barlow). 

All I can say to Paul for sending us these pics is Met vriendelijke groet (Kind regards!) 

Corrie connections to Holland continued when Ray Langton naffed off to work there, leaving Deirdre as a single mum to Tracy.  And of course, Roy and Hayley's Amsterdam trip goes down in Corrie legend too.

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Mothers on the cobbles - Elsie Tanner

Jenny’s kidnapping of Jack and the revelation that she had a son, Tom, aged 4, who drowned, put me in mind of how other mothers on the cobbles cope with motherhood.

Firstly, the peerless Elsie Tanner, nee Grimshaw and her ongoing rows with her son Dennis over his joblessness and his fecklessness. So convincing they were as mother and son that Elsie (Pat Phoenix) used to receive many letters of advice about problems with almost grown up children. One of the arguments between mother and son involved Elsie’s suspicion that Dennis had taken two shillings (10 pence) from her handbag.

Elsie begins-:

‘Now look, let’s get this straight. Not an hour ago you asked me for 2 bob for cigarettes.’

‘And you wouldn’t give it to me - we know.’

‘So you stoop to going in a lady’s handbag!’

‘Just listen - a lady is that what you crack on you are these days.’

“Fine son, a fine son you are. That tongue of yours will get you hung one day.’

‘Look, you’ve lost 2 bob, what am I supposed to do about it?’

Get work, get work, that’s what you’re supposed to do about it.’

‘Change the record, will you?’

Although Pat Phoenix never had her own children she was a good enough mother to Dennis and her daughter Linda. Linda was already married when Coronation Street began and later had a little boy called Paul, born in 1961. She married a Polish man, Ivan when Political Correctness was not the order of the day. Ena Sharples took it upon herself to ask who ‘that gypsy looking feller’ is. When we first meet Linda she is separated from Ivan, because he would not allow her to work. Linda finally left him and in 1966 Linda returned to Weatherfield, after having had an affair.

Elsie swore, she smoked, she drank, she cried, she argued and men were drawn to her like magnets. She loved her children and they loved her. Elsie was a single parent before that term was ever coined. She was divorced and in the early 1960s there was a strong stigma about divorced women. They were regarded with suspicion and considered to be husband snatchers.

As we all know, Dennis returned recently and married Rita, had his head turned by Gloria and tried to come back to Rita. Rita’s rejection of him, gave Dennis no choice but to leave. So it seems that that’s it for any further Tanner links

Pat Phoenix was for a short time, mother in law to future Prime Minister, Tony Blair after having married Tony Booth, Cherie’s father in the last few days of her life, before her 60 a day habit killed her at the age of 62.

After having had children and those children having grown and gone, many women wonder what their purpose is, now fulltime motherhood is over. In a scene with Mike Baldwin and Elsie, Elsie bemoans her situation. She refers to herself as a ‘clapped out tart.’

Not you Elsie, never you. 

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Is Coronation Street in the doldrums?

It's a question us fans are often asking. There's a strange divergence of opinion at the moment, splitting Corrie viewers. While some people think Coronation Street still has more highs than lows, others are seriously concerned that the Street is in trouble.

My views are well known on the whole. I think Corrie is still the best continuing drama on British television featuring some bona fide telly legends, some great acting and some funny, poignant writing. However I also think it is shown too often each week which cannot help but harm the quality of Corrie's overall output. I also think the cast is far too large and while some characters dominate for months on end others barely get a look in.

I think some storylines go on far too long while others disappear without trace far too soon. Some of the writing is brilliant yet some in uneven and I question some situations and the actions of certain characters. I worry that the competition for ratings is pushing our favourite programme into areas of desperation previously unheard of - everything is dramatic and explosive when simple human dramas used to suffice.

Each new Corrie producer has their own favourite actors and that can be both good and bad for the show. The past year of Corrie output makes it abundantly clear to me who those are. I know Corrie has done well at awards ceremonies but when you look at the outcomes most of the prizes have gone to Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson. Richly deserved, but take them out of the equation and what does that leave us with?

The introduction of new characters to a long running, ongoing drama can be tricky. Introduce too many at once and viewers feel all at sea and can't take to them. Bring them in too slowly and people get bored very quickly. The past year has seen the introduction of several new characters and on the whole I'm struggling to take to many of them. I know I must give these things time but many of them just don't feel like Corrie to me. Too many characters these days are too easily interchangeable with other programmes in the genre. Corrie used to lead the way with character development and character driven drama but now I fear this has been lost.

While many new characters have been added to an already bulging cast, too many others have been lost and in some cases it's just been such a puzzling waste. Charlie Condou decided to leave his role as Marcus Dent. Fair enough, however Marcus has been woefully underused in recent times. A normal, down to earth intelligent guy was suddenly cheating on his partner with someone he would previously have crossed the street to avoid. Not good enough. 

Dennis Tanner, one of Corrie's originals from 1960 was brought back, married off and given nothing to do. A criminal waste of Philip Lowrie's wonderful acting talents and a vital, tangible link to Corrie's golden age gone, just like that. Not good enough. Lloyd's daughter Jenna, brought in to give Craig Charles' brilliant character some family and some depth. Mismatched with Sophie Webster and there was no going back. Surely the writers could think up something else for Krissi Bohn to do apart from dish up beans in the background of other people's scenes? Whole stories of father and daughter connecting were left untouched by the writers. She'll be gone soon too. Not good enough. 

While there doesn't appear to be time to do these characters or actors justice, other stories drag on forever. Nick has become the new Demon David. Childish pranks and general unpleasantness instead of covering the serious topic of his rehabilitation. Tina's demise took month after month to reach a climax and the aftermath will be with us until Christmas. The Windass dramas show no sign of letting up despite being centre stage since the turn of the year. And Tracy keeps on being Tracy without any significant comeuppance. 

I know times change, viewers want different things and television companies face new pressures and an ever-changing climate but certain aspects of Corrie must remain the same for it to be Corrie.  

If I want depressing murder and mayhem, I'll watch EastEnders. If I want teenage screechy angst and pantomime performances, I'll watch Hollyoaks. I don't want these dubious qualities creeping into my Corrie. I want comedy. I want pathos. I want real, believable drama. I want characters I can root for and get behind, not characters that irritate and have me reaching for the remote control or my DVD boxed sets. I want the modern day equivalent of Hilda quietly grieving for Stan. I want the modern day equivalent of Bet painting on her barmaid's smile to mask her pain. 

I know this will be controversial for some but I write this because I love my Corrie and I want it to be the best it can be. 

There's still enough about Coronation Street to keep me watching. I think. 


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My disappointment in Dennis

Well, Dennis Tanner has gone! Will he be back? Who knows?

I have to say that since Dennis was re-introduced into Corrie over three years ago, I have been very disappointed at the way his character has been dealt with. And this is no fault of Philip Lowrie. It's in the hands of the powers that be. Here are some of my thoughts on the weaknesses of the charatcer.

His re-introduction

When I heard the news that Dennis Tanner was being re-introduced, I was a little apprehensive. Yes, I was thrilled they were thinking of bringing him back, but yet I questioned why? There were plenty of other characters to re-introduce, why Dennis Tanner? He hadn't appeared since 1968 and only two characters, three at a push would remember him.

Then we got more info on his comeback. He would return as a tramp which was an interesting angle. You would expect that maybe Emily would find him prowling around the charity shop. But oh no, it was Rita who found him while volunteering in a homeless shelter. The producers made a mountain out of a molehill, quite frankly, of their friendship. Yes, Rita was introduced as Dennis' friend in 1964, but that was about it. For me, it would have been better for Emily or Ken to come across him and then bring him home and for Rita to recognise him. What was also weird was that Dennis didn't comment on how the street had changed since he left. He didn't comment how the Rovers had changed - how the snug or select wasn't there any more.

Lack of historical references

As I said, I was apprehensive about his return. But what I was looking forward to were references to the past. Dennis was another link to the Corrie of the 1960s along with Ken and Emily. While we got told about Elsie's fate and a reference to Martha Longhurst, I have no recollection of Dennis making any references to past characters. He could've talked about Jack and Annie Walker, the snug trio, Albert Tatlock or Lucille Hewitt. Considering his links with Gamma Garments, he never talked about Swindley with Emily. He never discussed Emily having finally got married after years of being a spinster. 

His lack of scenes with Ken were a disappointment as well. Considering he was due to ruffle Ken's feathers, no such scenes were shown. There were two years before Ken left for Canada, so there were enough opportunities. Where were the scenes where Dennis and Ken reminisced about the past and about Elsie, Frank and Ida, David and Valerie? We never saw Dennis talk to Peter about his mum. A missed opportunity.

Why didn't Linda Cheveski re-appear? Or what about a reference to Dennis' first wife Jenny?

Confinement to Rita

This was the biggest mistake they did. Since 2011, his scenes have mainly been with Rita. But I don't know why the producers chose to confine him to just Rita. They could have always maintained Rita and Dennis' friendship, like her friendship with Alf, while Dennis could communicate with other characters. I was pleased when the producers recognised the ironic link that Eileen lived at Elsie's house and that Elsie's maiden name was also Grimshaw. And it was nice how Julie took Dennis in recently. 

I was also unhappy that they married Dennis and Rita. Rita mentioned time and again that she had always wanted to be Mrs Tanner. No reference was made before and it was odd considering Rita always said that her true love was Len. For years, she refused to remarry because she still loved Len. 

There was a lot of potential for Dennis to be linked with other characters. Yes he had a friendship with Sylvia and he ran off with Gloria, but what about Audrey? They could've talked about hairdressing - Dennis was interested at one time! And  despite Gail being Elsie's lodger, no scenes were done between the characters. He became a lollipop man which gave him a story with Steve, but all was forgotten.

While Rita had always had a fun-loving and humorous nature, her marriage to Dennis made her a miserable and boring shrew. When married to Len she could be a nag which was justified, but it was a change of personality for her to be so horrible to Dennis. It was no surprise that they finally separated but it was a shame that no effort was made to portray an old aged married couple. Not many have been portrayed in soaps so it would've been a change but alas the producers didn't have time. 

Ruination of a classic Corrie character

Maybe it was a mistake bringing him back. Too much time had passed. Although when they re-introduced Jed Stone, they didn't make a mess of things but he wasn't there long! Dennis could've brought some humour back to the OAP section of the show after the deaths of Blanche and Betty and would've been a brilliant double act with Sylvia. 

They made him totally dependant on Rita which was an error as he was a pensioner so received a pension. When he courted Rita, she was sweet but when they married, she turned into a harridan. He became henpecked like Jack Duckworth and Stan Ogden.

If not making him henpecked was enough, they made him an adulterer as well - running off with Gloria. He returned a desperate man but by the end he even retorted to even stealing money from The Kabin. 

It was a shame that he was axed - a real shame. What will Rita do now? Get a divorce and revert back to Sullivan? Who knows? Rita's not having the best luck with her old friends is she? She's fallen out with Bet Lynch, Alec Gilroy and Sharon Gaskell and now Dennis! Thank goodness she's still got Mavis!

You rarely disappoint me Corrie, but this time you have.

What about you? Were you disappointed with how Dennis was dealt with? Did you have hopes for him? Leave your comments!

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Monday musings

I've just spent two and a half hours catching up with all the Corrie I've missed while I've been away. I don't often watch big blocks of it in one go and I must admit my eyes were going together by the end. Anyway, here are my musings on what I saw:

More Emily! I loved seeing more of Emily Bishop. Eileen Derbyshire is shamefully underused and as we saw last week, she is still more than capable of putting in terrific performances. It was a great reminder that there is a lot more to the character than meets the eye. One of the longest-serving and most loyal Corrie actors deserves many more moments like these.

Less Nick! As much as I admire Corrie for tackling the brain injury issue, I do think we've reached that point where things need to move on. "Angry Nick" isn't working for me, it's more than a little irritating and it became tired months ago. Nick seems to be fulfilling the nasty stunt quota previously carried by his brother David. Let's move on shall we?

A more spirited Gail. Although I'm yet to decide what I make of Michael, it has been refreshing to see Gail in a more positive storyline with an influence away from her family. I have enjoyed the scenes that show Gail realising there is a life away from meddling in the lives of her sons. I'd like to see this develop further - David and Nick really do need to bog off and let her live her life.

Annoying Andrea. I just can't take to this character. I feel so sorry for Lloyd, he has even less luck with the ladies than Steve. Andrea just hasn't gelled for me. Too much time is being spent on her when I would prefer to see Lloyd develop a relationship with his daughter Jenna (although the clock is now ticking on this one, sadly). Anyway, I'd ditch Andrea as soon as possible, she's trouble.

There's something about Mary. I like the calmer, less crazy Mary. She can be a very sweet, intuitive, sympathetic character when she wants to be. She just needs more of a grounding in Weatherfield. She still floats about, presumably living in that massive motorhome with no fixed employment. The writers need to invest in the character and create more interesting material for her.

Tracy Luv. How many times will Tracy sink lower than a really low thing and get away with it? Selling Uncle Albert's war medal was unforgivable. I know Deirdre let her have it, but as usual they will be empty promises. For a very moral programme like Corrie surely Tracy has had all her chances by now? She is morally bankrupt with no redeemable qualities and needs to get what's coming to her...and then leave.

And talking of bankruptcy...the Windass dramas continue. I think it is admirable for Corrie to take this storyline in this direction. It is about time food banks got a mention and Debbie Rush is wonderful whatever the script writers throw at her. I just feel enough is enough. The Windass family have dominated our screens all year now and we're nearly in August. I know there is a Faye storyline on the way now too so obviously there is not going to be any let up. Time to give someone else a chance?

What would Elsie say? Philip Lowrie leaving Corrie is just dreadful. A lovely link to the past and one of Corrie's most iconic characters, Elsie, very rarely even gets a mention. I still cannot fathom why you would go to the trouble to bring back a character like Dennis without a concrete plan of what to do with him. Marrying him off to Rita did neither characters any favours. I struggle to believe that the Corrie writing team couldn't come up with some interesting stories for a mature married couple finding love later in life. Such a waste. 

Ending on a positive note, I still love Kal's mum Yasmeen. She is spirited and tough and speaks her mind. Hopefully plenty to come from her. I also love Eva behind the Rovers bar. A very good character who could potentially be brilliant given the right material. I know this might be controversial, but I'm also really looking forward to seeing Jim McDonald back on our screens. I love this character so hopefully he'll be around for a good long time. 

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