Star of Christmas

As with every Christmas in Soapland, the day never runs smoothly. A betrayal here, a mysterious accident there, means that there isn’t much festive cheer about, but a small ray of it this year came from Ken Barlow.

I know, I’m surprised too.

Arriving with his suitcase in tow, the Barlow’s grimaced as Ken pulled out his Christmas bells. Albeit more dictator than director, jingling Ken’s bells is a very serious business.

He gave the very important role of triangle to Sinead, causing some disarray. Kirk then became largely unsettled as the ‘F’ bell proved to be too stressful, but matriarch Ken saved the day and soon a painful delightful rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’ was ringing.

Light-hearted humour is critical when you’ve got Jenny running people over and Tim flipping tables, especially at Christmas.

To top it off, Ken told a story about Uncle Albert, a fitting blast to the past.

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!  
 

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook

---

---

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Stars of the Week

Merry Chrimbo, you lovely lot! As it’s Christmas, I’m a tad behind schedule but it’s tiring work eating turkey and drinking my body weight in wine.

I’ve chosen a couple of characters which have tickled my funny bone in the last week; Evelyn and Roy. Need I say more?

First of all, they got done for dogging. Dogging. Never in my life did I think I’d write that. “He’s only ‘ere because I needed his Woody”. That’s the hardest I’ve laughed at Corrie in a while and that’s only the beginning.

The rest of Monday’s episode carried on with the two of them keeping it secret from Tyrone, and I can only imagine what he was thinking of, although I’m sure he’d never thought of them breaking the sex offences law.

After their scrape with the law, the trio then went to track down Cerberus and found themselves peeking over some guy’s fence.

Luckily, PC Tinker was on hand to get them out of their sticky situation. Unluckily, he’d been filled in about the steamed up Woody.

At this point, I was absolutely creasing, classic Corrie stuff and I am living for it.

I will subsequently continue my pledge of allegiance to Evelyn as she is bloody fantastic.

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

---

---

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street Star(s) of the Week

It’s back! I know you’ve all been wide awake at night wondering what on Earth has happened to Star of the Week... well fret no more!

I wish I had an exciting reason for my absence but sadly it was just due to a mountain of Uni work and a million other things going on.

I’ve also decided to carry this on during a week where I actually can’t choose just one character who has caught my attention, so you lucky things can have several; call it my Christmas present to the Corrie community.

Let’s start with Imran. I’ve got a lot of love for this character and like a moth to a Battersby shaped flame, he has reunited with Toyah.

Surprisingly, I quite like this pairing. It’s unusual, but it works. I’m far more on board with these two shacking up than Toyah and Peter.

This week, Imran has had some sort of epiphany and has supposedly learnt the error of his ways which has received a big thumbs up from Toyah.

Also if nothing else, Imran is fiercely loyal to his sister. He’s always stuck up for Rana during the problems with their parents, and now he’s on the warpath again after finding out about Kate’s rather idiotic plan, and quite rightly.

He gave Kate the ultimatum that if she doesn’t tell Rana soon, he will... we love a supportive sibling! (Though he should probably tell Rana ASAP).

Moving swiftly on... Eileen, Liz, and Sean gave me a right giggle. These three planning a holiday in the pub after several bottles of wine is honestly such a mood, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen them all together properly.

After finding a wadge of cash taped to her pipes, Eileen eventually decided her and her pals were off on holiday for Christmas. A drunken Christmas holiday with this bunch sounds like a gas, I’ll be waiting for my invite in the post.

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

See also: Christmas gifts for Coronation Street fans

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook

---

---

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Star of the Week: Tracy Barlow

This post is a little later than usual as I’ve had to go up to Manchester; keep your eye out for exciting stuff!

I’m not going to lie to you, I flippin’ love Tracy Barlow. A truly iconic character, Tracy has had her fair share of ups and downs (I use those words loosely).

Everyone knows Tracy as Queen Bitch of Coronation Street, letting nothing and no one stand in the way of what she wants. However much she has mellowed over the past couple of years, this week in particular we’ve been constantly reminded of just how far Tracy can turn.

It’s a bit odd watching Tracy being sweet and loving towards Steve, a bit like a lion shacking up with a gazelle. Steve’s been playing a very dangerous game of late, and he should be fully aware of the consequences.

Back to Tracy, I was cracking up at the start of the week as she got embroiled in a war of heated words with Leanne about little Oliver wearing the “McDonald tartan” to the wedding, a topic that Tracy refused to let go of throughout the week.

While she’s planning the supposed wedding of her dreams, the poor love has Steve fooling around with Leanne... again. Quite ironically, Steve was reminded of Charlie, who “had his head caved in with a nik nak”. I think Tracy’s days of battering her boyfriends with statues are over, but if Steve really believes that he can get away with cheating on Tracy, he deserves every bit of her wrath.

Finally, if the way Tracy reacted to Peter not coming to the wedding didn’t set off alarm bells with Steve then God help him.

Who’s your Star of the Week this week?

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

---

---

All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Stars of the Week: Leanne & Toyah Battersby

You may have noticed in the title that we’re turning things up a notch this week; I’ve got not just one, but two stars of the week. I bet you’re all as excited as Imran was at the prospect of dating the Battersby sisters at the same time.

On a serious note, I’ve really enjoyed this week’s episodes. Yet again, Corrie have mastered the perfect mix of light hearted comedy and heart breaking scenes. While Sally had me on the verge of tears when she got sent to prison, it was Leanne and Toyah that stole the week for me.

To be fair to Imran, he hasn’t been around long so he doesn’t know one of the main, golden rules of Coronation Street. Don’t mess with a Battersby. Mess with two Battersbys and, well, no one can help you.

As soon as Toyah and Leanne found out they’d been diddling the same man (again), they began exacting their revenge. They somehow convinced Imran that they should make their individual lunchtime meetings more of a group activity. I mean, come on Imran. You’re an intelligent man but other things seem to have clouded your judgement. Hmm.

Leanne and Toyah’s revenge was everything love-rat Imran deserved. They left him a hefty bill at the Bistro before giving him a taste of his own medicine. Kudos to whichever member of the Coronation Street team wrote those lists, they had me creasing. Imran then sacked Leanne (not cool), but Adam managed to get her back, at the cost of Solicitor Habeeb getting on his knees in the cafe and giving a surprisingly thorough apology.

As mentioned before, Imran has now learnt a key rule. Don’t mess with a Battersby.

Who’s your Star of the Week this week?

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Star of the Week: Evelyn Plummer

This character has only been on our screens since Wednesday but isn’t she amazing? Evelyn embodies every little bit of the strong battle-axe character type of which Coronation Street was created. Who else gets strong Ena Sharples vibes?

I just cannot express how much I’m loving Evelyn already. The street has had a gap for this sort of character for some time now and Tyrone’s Nan has filled it with ease. She even has Cerberus, the adorable greyhound which follows her everywhere.

After suffering from an angina after battling with Dev in the shop, you’d expect her to go to hospital, yeah? Nah, Evelyn gets Dev to pour her a strong drink and then remains cool when Dev discovers half his shop’s contents in her handbag. Not condoning shoplifting at all (don’t come after me) but I love this woman.

Before I go, I need to talk about how incredible Maureen Lipman is. I honestly could not think of anyone better to play Evelyn and I can’t wait to delve deeper into this character.

Who’s your star of the week this week?

Sophie Williams

Read some more of my general natterings on Twitter @sophie_jw26

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License