I'll tell you something. There is nothing finer than rocking up to the ITV Corrie studios, telling security your name, and then they let you in! Yesterday, I visited Coronation Street studios for the fourth time, as part of an exclusive top-secret press day introducing Corrie's new family - the Bailey clan.
Strolling past the Victoria Street set (hey, Weatherfield north tram station!), I waltzed into the media hub to meet the rest of the UK press (a great bunch) and eagerly awaited the Corrie press team and new cast members. Also introducing the cast was new Corrie producer Iain Macleod, so my anticipation as a (self-titled) Corrie connoisseur and all around fanboy, was fever pitch!
Match-fit, I munched on a doughnut, drank my fizzy pop (they treat you well at ITV), and in strolled Corrie's newest cast members!
MEET THE BAILEYS
The Bailey family will walk into Weatherfield this spring, first appearing on our screens from early June as they move into No. 3, having bought the house from Norris.
Introducing the cast, we have actor Trevor Michael Georges (Holby City, Noughts and Crosses) as patriarch Ed (short for Edison) who is a builder, property developer, man about town, loves his wife *spoiler alert* who moves in having bought the builders yard (!) with his son Michael. Ed is going to be a new friend for Ken after the new neighbours rub each other up the wrong way, with their music choices.
The actor playing Michael, Ryan Russell is probably best known (to parents of toddlers, at least) as a 'CBeebies House' BBC kids TV presenter (I had to have a selfie to show my 2 year old daughter). Michael is the eldest son of the family, full of big ideas and get-rich-quick schemes. With cheeky chap charm and endless optimism, he is certain to be a hit with the Weatherfield ladies (I'm thinking Maria, but we will see). Michael is the apple of his Mum's eye (Aggie) and will be good pals with Tim and Steve (as assured by Corrie boss Iain Macleod) having become part owner of the builder's yard, with his Dad, Ed.
The Matriarch of the clan is Aggie. Pharmacy assistant Aggie (I'm thinking a pharmacy at the medical centre? - I should have asked that!), is friendly, fun and outrageous in equal measure. Played by ex 'Doctors' actress Lorna Laidlaw, she will probably be familiar to a lot of soap fans. Lorna did tell us though that Aggie is completely different to 'Mrs Tembe' (whom she played for 8 years) and relishes the thought of joining the iconic cobbles! Aggie is a fiercely protective mum and Corrie producer Iain Macleod promised us that she will be great friends with Liz and Eileen. I look forward to Friday nights in the Rovers (always my fave) with the ladies drinking red wine and putting the world to rights.
Youngest son James (played by soap newcomer and music theatre stalwart, Nathan Graham) is probably the first story arc to this new family. A promising footballer (right winger apparently, but I've no knowledge of 'footy'), James plays for fictional league legends Weatherfield County (the actor is a Man Utd fan), close to his brother, he is more brooding and is harbouring his secret sexuality from the family; he's gay and hasn't yet 'come out'.
Not troubled by his sexuality, James still keeps this card close to his chest, producer Iain MacLeod said 'we want to look at homophobia in sport and in football, also a modern story about a young gay man. It won't be your typical 'coming out' story but the character has a lot of apprehensiveness, not with his family, but 'coming out' to his teammates, and homophobia on the terraces is still rampant'. adding 'he doesn't come out immediately, and we want this to be a modern story'.
From my initial meeting with the cast, I think this will be a strong family unit, possibly something we haven't seen on the street for quite some time; and being ethnic, I think this will open up some fascinatingly modern family stories. The cast really seem to have been picked due to their collective chemistry, and they certainly appear to have bonded already off-screen. Only just getting their scripts this week, the remaining family are yet to film but footballer James has already filmed scenes and will be the first character we meet on the cobbles.
Viewers are also promised a house party for the new Coronation Street family which should integrate them nicely with the rest of the cast. I'm hoping Moira turns up with a big bottle of red!
Also worth noting is that the Corrie producer told us that Norris is staying in the show, and Eileen Derbyshire aka Emily Bishop is still in contact with the Corrie team.
A daughter for the Bailey family is also written (she's called Diana) but hasn't been cast as of yet.
The new family were pitched by a Coronation Street writer back in August 2018, imagine that!. A guy can only dream but I'd love to pitch a new family idea to the Corrie producers. What would your ideas be for a new Weatherfield family? Let us know in the comments...
You can follow me @rybazoxo over on Twitter, your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.
TA-RA!
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