George Michael on Coronation Street

George Michael - God rest his soul - lived a colourful life. Apparently though, he was never happier than when drinking tea and watching Corrie in his PJs. A man after my own heart!

I remember reading this interview with him in the Guardian when he said that his guiltiest pleasure was Sunday morning when he saved up “loads of episodes of Corrie to watch”. I was already a fan but he went up further in my estimation when I discovered he was into Coronation Street.

George was renowned for his sense of humour and he loved Corrie because it was “a laugh”. He once said that “even when life is tragic on Coronation Street, it's still funny”. 

I wonder if George ever knew that his face was plastered across the wall of the factory in the late 1980s. I bet he would have got a real kick out of it if he did.

"Well I guess it would be nice... if I could touch your body"

One of my favourite pastimes when watching Classic Corrie on ITV3 is following the winds of change in popular culture in 1980s Weatherfield. Well, that and keeping track of Sally's changing hairstyles.

Although I was disappointed to learn last week that sometime around November/December 1988, the Smiths poster (see previous blog) had been removed, I was cheered by the fact it had been replaced by an image of George Michael from the famous ‘Faith’ video released a year previously. I bet Morrissey was livid!

George Michael was such a big Corrie fan that he once went on a private tour of the set and enjoyed meeting the actors and crew as much as - or possibly more than - they enjoyed meeting him. There are some wonderful accounts of this online and apparently he was there on the day Kate Ford was rehearsing the scene in which Tracy murdered Charlie Stubbs. See this article in the Manchester Evening News.

I guess that means George visited the set in late 2006 or early 2007. Sally Dynevor shared this brilliant photo on Twitter soon after his tragic death. Obviously, I'm dating the set visit from my encyclopedic knowledge of Sally Webster's hairstyles! 

I’m not sure if George would still regard Corrie to be a laugh or if, like the rest of us, he might be questioning whether his beloved soap had featured a bit too much of the tragedy recently at the expense of the comedy.

Still, I'm pretty sure he’d have had faith, faith, faith - and that’s exactly what we've all gotta have. 

By Martin Leay, on Twitter @mpleay

---

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

Review: Corrie's Charlie Stubbs in pantomime - Oh yes he is!

I love pantomime, I really do and I attend one every Christmas.  And when the panto at my local theatre includes an ex-Coronation Street actor, I love it even more.

Last night I set off to the Sunderland Empire to see Bill Ward, better known to us Corrie fans as Charlie Stubbs, in Jack and the Beanstalk. You must remember Charlie Stubbs? He was the one that Tracy Barlow batted to death with an ornament. 

Bill is pictured at the top of this blog post in character as Fleshcreep, the baddie. But he played a baddie with a difference, with a bit more style and finesse than the usual pantomime baddie has, and he played it for all he was worth. He was sharp and very funny and really rocked the green velvet suit, I have to say! Although the audience started booing Fleshcreep when he came on stage at first, we warmed to him by the end and every time he came on stage it was a delight to see him again. You can't say that about too many baddies in panto. 

In true panto style, Fleeshcreep made reference to all things Weatherfield with a mention of hotpot, Tracy Barlow, Janice Battersby and Bill Ward's own role in this year's Inside Soap Awards when Emmerdale won Best Show-stopper for the motorway crash and James Barton's death. James Barton was the role that Bill Ward played in Emmerdale, the soap he moved onto when he left Corrie.  Oh, and did you know he was a professional landscape photographer? You can find out more on that here.

Bill was in Emmerdale for three years and over 300 episodes, before his character met a rather gruesome death at the hands of emotionally volatile partner, Emma. And as we know, in Coronation Street, Bill played builder Charlie Stubbs, who, er, met a gruesome death at the hands of his emotionally volatile partner, Tracy Barlow.  He says he's a bit worried about doing any more of these kinds of jobs ...

But anyway, back to the panto.

Starring alongside Bill Ward are Janine Duvitski as the Fairy. You'll know Janine from Benidorm where she plays swinger Jacqueline.

Princess Jill was played by Jade Natalie who sang her heart and soul out all the way to the back row of the dress circle and beyond. Along with David Barrett as Jack, the pair of them were a worthy pantomime romantic couple.  Graham Martin played the King with aplomb.

But it was Charlie Guest as Simple Simon along with Philip Meeks as Dame Nellie Trott who were my stars of the show. These two are everything that a good panto should be - silly, a bit (but not too much) rude and lots of good fun.

The panto was magic, just brilliant. With stunning costumes and sets, hilarious song and dance routines, plus more jokes than a bag full of magic beans.  The second half had me in tears of laughter and the bit when you get to put your 3D glasses on ... well, I won't spoil it for anyone going to the theatre but there was an awful lot of screaming going on in the theatre last night, and most of it came from me!

And on a more personal note, the panto turned out to be very special to me because it was the first time since I was seven years old that I've heard this song sung...
 "Why does the brown cow give white milk when she only eats green grass..." 
I was transported back to the early 1970s in a heartbeat - and enjoyed every single second too.

Jack and the Beanstalk is on at Sunderland Empire until January 7 2018.  Don't miss it.   Buy your tickets here.

• Check out our list of all the ex-Corrie actors in panto this year.

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook                                

We're a finalist!

Please vote for the Coronation Street Blog
in the UK Blog Awards 2018

---

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

Spend the night with Corrie's Charlie Stubbs

Bill Ward, who played Coronation Street's Charlie Stubbs, went on to play James Barton in Emmerdale.  And he's doing "An evening with..." event at the Emmerdale Experience.

Guests will have the chance of a full Emmerdale tour, a meet and greet with Bill, and a pint/glass of wine in the replica Woolpack set.  Also included is a frree souvenir photo with Bill Ward (and signing opportunity) and a Q&A session with Bill in the Woolpack.

It takes place on Friday 7 July at 6.30pm

All for £55 per head. Tickets are limited so book online now to avoid disappointment.

All details here.

Read more Corrie news, interviews and spoilers 

---

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

Two Corrie Bad Lads are Not Dead Enough

Two ex-Coronation Street actors are starring in a stage play of Peter James' Not Dead Enough.

Bill Ward, who played Charlie Stubbs in Corrie is sharing the stage with Stephen Billington, who played Corrie's Greg Kelly aka Les Battersby's son.

Bill Ward plays the role of DS Roy Grace in the "chilling stage play" and here's the science bit:

"On the night Brian Bishop murdered his wife, he was sixty miles away, asleep in bed. At least that’s what he claims. But as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace continues to deal with the mysterious disappearance of his own wife, he starts to dig a little deeper into the chilling murder case and it soon becomes clear that love can be a dangerous thing... Not Dead Enough, will have you on the edge of your seat and guessing right to the end

If you'd like to know more you can see more deatils and book tickets here:

• Mon 22 - Sat 27 May at the Opera House, Manchester - buy tickets here.
  
• Tue 30 May - Sat 03 June at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley - buy tickets here

 Read more Corrie news and spoilers

---

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

Tired of toxic Tracy

 

I'm afraid I am back on my soap box again today. Following yesterday's blog where I got a lot off my chest about the current state of Corrie I can't help but do a follow up and this time I'm singling out Tracy Barlow. I really cannot stand this character and I think it is time she departed. I don't really care how, I just want her gone.

The loyal Corrie viewer has had to suffer Tracy on and off for years now and the situation is becoming increasingly desperate. I see the character as someone the storyliners can turn to when they need a cheap ratings boost or someone to create some ridiculous dramatic tension in the break between double episodes on a Monday or a Friday. Tracy is reliably unpleasant, vicious and nasty. Most soap operas need a smattering of characters like this but more often than not they are short lived.

However Tracy Barlow has never really had her comeuppance. Forgiveness is something she receives far too easily from those around her, no matter how vindictive or heinous her crimes. It just doesn't ring true and it's certainly not what Coronation Street used to be all about. She's turned into a low grade pantomime villain only sadly she doesn't even throw sweets to the audience. Tracy is just out and out vile. Other characters in Corrie have their moments - Leanne has been an arsonist, a prostitute, a drug addict and a gobby little mare, but the skill in the characterisation is that she survives because she can and has changed. It actually enriches the character. Sally too can be downright rude, spiteful and unpleasant yet we all sided with her when Kevin did the dirty and we longed for Tim to turn up and marry the woman.

With Tracy however there is no light and shade. There is no real humour, no humanity and any vulnerability is short lived or nondescript. Because Tracy is always so rude, so abrasive and so on the attack, it is virtually impossible for the viewers to understand her, like her or feel for her. It's as simple as that. 

Ken, who was always less sympathetic towards Tracy that Deirdre, still forgives her every indiscretion and allows her, when she is nearly forty, to continue to clog up his house with all her endless dramas. After Deirdre's death, Tracy promised to change and to honour her mother's memory. What was the point of that exactly as less than a year later it's like that little story arc didn't happen. We are expected to believe that Tracy is a decent mother, yet would she do all she has done if that were the case? The only saving grace chez Barlow at the moment is Amy's transformation into a mini Blanche. She is fantastic. 

As I wrote yesterday, the Tracy and Carla feud has been boiling away like a pan of overcooked sprouts for far too long. All taste and colour has gone and we're now left with a ludicious merry-go-round of rubbish. What it really needs is for Karen McDonald to suddenly launch herself at both pathetic women with the heel-end of her red stiletto. That would liven things up and show them how it should be done. There's just no spirit in these scenes anymore because anyone in their right mind would have brought this simmering hatred to a head long ago and moved on.

 

I'm afraid I blame whoever took the decision to release Tracy from prison back in 2010 on a technicality designed to boost ratings. Nevermind doing the time for bumping off the gorgeous but menacing Charlie Stubbs, Tracy should have been left to rot for all eternity for performing that rancid dance in the lead up to whacking him one. My retinas are still in recovery.

I honestly don't know what you'd do to salvage a character like Tracy now. Too much water has gone under the bridge. My only suggestion is that we revert to what happened periodically in the 1980s and send her upstairs to listen to her tapes. Either that or...

 You can follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82


Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog

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

The curse of 6 Coronation Street

So the Nazir family are rather inexplicably moving into number 6 Coronation Street. I still do not understand the reason behind this impulse purchase, other than a crazy notion these days that every character connected with the programme must live on the street itself. Gone are the days of seeing the wider Weatherfield world it seems. 

I'm trying very hard to like the Nazir family. Alya is the brightest hope for a long term character I can take to. I can't even find the words to describe how boring I find Kal, Zeedan and Sharif. I feel sorry for Jane Danson as the trend for her character being placed with unpopular new arrivals continues. Yasmeen has promise but she can sometimes be just too full on for me. Putting her in charge of the new community centre has been a good move but the current Alya/Gary storyline isn't impressing me all that much.

Anyway, they've moved into number 6 which hopefully means that horrid living room wallpaper will soon disappear. Every cloud. 6 Coronation Street is something of a doom-laden property so that doesn't exactly augur well for its latest inhabitants. Shall we take a look at the evidence as we go through the keyhole? Ahem.

For the first eight years of its life, the house was owned by bookmaker Des Barnes. The fondest memory I have of this time is the lovely Phyllis Pearce acting as his cleaner. Sadly all was not well chez Barnes and before too long Steph had run off with someone else. More misery ensued as Des mucked poor Raquel about for years. And of course Des met his maker in the house thanks to a run in with a coffee table and some dodgy drug dealers. 

Ever since then, the house has changed hands on a rather alarming number of occasions. It has become a temporary residence for a constant stream of ill-advised casting decisions. Debs Brownlow and Matt and Charlie Ramsden spring uneasily to mind. 

Then came the Harris family, never a happy, bubbly brood. They ruined the character of Martin Platt, daughter Katy killed her father and then herself and mother Angela went to prison. 

Then came Charlie Stubbs, who also breathed his last under that roof thanks to a combination of Tracy's woeful sexy dance and her nack with heavy, ugly ornaments. After a quick bottoming through, in come 23 members of the Morton family, although the only one I can remember is Sinbad from Brookside. Most recently we've had to witness the extended misery of the extended Armstrong-Windass clan, now forever banished to the gloomy flat above Tracy's emporium of knock off. Not exactly a glittering track record is it? 

So I wonder what lies in store for the Nazirs? Will it be more murder, mayhem and misery or will they lead a more charmed existence, sandwiched between Sally and Gail? I'd say it will be interesting finding out, but I'm yet to be convinced. 


Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82

Download our App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook



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