Keith Duffy, out but not down

Keith Duffy's stint on Coronation Street may be coming to an end but it might not be the end of Ciaran McCarthy just yet. In the meantime, he's on stage in a production of Big Maggie. From November 11 to 19th he's at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, Ireland and from the 21st to 26th the play is on at The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. There are other dates through December in various other locations around Ireland as well.

There's an interview with Keith here where he talks about his family, Coronation Street and missing his late pal Stephen Gately. He says his upcoming storyline is "dramatic - but not terminal" and says his future at Coronation Street has been left open. I guess we shouldn't count Ciaran out yet!  His teenage son Jordan is currently acting on Hollyoaks so you never know, perhaps a more permanent move to England may be in order? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Tickets to Big Maggie cost various prices depending on the venue. You can see the calendar and buy tickets here. 

Kym Marsh returns to work at Coronation Street

The Sun reports today that Kym Marsh, who plays Michelle Connor, has returned to work on Coronation Street after her maternity leave. 

A Corrie spokesman said: "We're delighted to welcome Kym back."

Kym will appear on screen in November. She is set to be part of the soap wedding of the year, with Michelle due to wed Ciaran McCarthy.  But will they actually tie the knot? 

Keith Duffy's Corrie return is shorter then originally planned.

Keith Duffy, who plays Irish barman Ciaran McCarthy, was on ITV's Lorraine programme yesterday morning. He was primarily there to support his son Jay, who joins rival soap Hollyoaks this week.

However Keith did confirm that he will be reappearing on the cobbles again this autumn, as he starts filming again in September. Kym Marsh, who plays Ciaran's on screen girlfriend Michelle, will start again then too.

Keith also said he won't be on screen for as long as he would like. This is because Jay has a big exam year, and his other child Mia, who has autism, is starting secondary school next year and he needs to be home in Dublin to support her with the transition.

This blogger think it's great Keith puts his family before work. Also, although Ciaran is a likeable character, I've not missed him while he's been off our screens. It'll be interesting to see how Michelle and Ciaran's relationship is looking though!

What does everyone else think of Ciaran and Michelle's upcoming return?

Keith Duffy's son joins Hollyoaks

Keith Duffy's son Jay has landed a guest part on Hollyoaks, it has been confirmed by RTE. The 15-year-old will begin filming in Liverpool later in the month.

Keith, who'll return this year to Coronation Street as Ciaran McCarthy,  made the announcement on 'The Late Late Show', saying: "Nobody knows yet, but Jay has been auditioning in the UK for the past few weeks and he found out yesterday that he's going to be one of the new stars in Hollyoaks!"

He added that Jay secured the role after an acting agent saw him perform in a school production of 'Peter Pan'.

Ciaran's Dodgy 'Dos.

Keith Duffy (Coronation Street's Ciaran Mcarthy) has had some interesting 'dos" in his time. Far right, we've got the "Tom Cruise" (my personal favourite!) - the crew cut, the designer stubble and the shades all complement his dark good looks perfectly. I'm afraid it's downhill from there. Next up, we've got the "Words fail me", but we've all made terrible style errors when we were young, so I'll move swiftly on to number three - the "Viking". Looks like he might have had a bad bleach job in that one, and I'm not even saying anything about the 'tache and stubble. Moving even more swiftly on, here's number four - the "Gigolo" - that gazing into the distance look is great, and the 'do shows off his chiselled chin wonderfully. (I love Ciaran!)

Becky and Ciaran voted Corrie fans' favourites

In the latest poll here on the Coronation Street blog, we asked Corrie fans to vote for their favourite current, Rovers Return barmaid or barman.

Almost 600 fans voted and the results came in as follows with the top two slots a dead heat between Ciaran McCarthy and Becky McDonald!

Ladies' Man Ciaran, 19%
Barmcake Becky, 19%
Hotpot Betty, 16%
Mans' Man Sean, 14%
Gurn-master Steve, 11%
Mouthy Michelle, 10%
Leggy Liz McDonald, 7%

Keith Duffy, sex symbol?

Keith Duffy, who plays Coronation Street's Ciaran McCarthy, has thanked scriptwriters for turning him into a sex sympol.

And he said that he can't wait to move on to his next on-screen conquest.

"I was starting to feel like I was getting too old. But Corrie has turned me into a sex symbol once more. They’ve hinted I may bed Michelle, Liz, Carla and Becky(*) so I can’t wait to find out," he said.

(*) Let's hope, not all at the same time.

Who would you like Ciaran to cop off with?

So, Ciaran McCarthy, smarmster of the parish, is staying on Coronation Street after all. He's swarthy and handsome, pulls a mean pint. And although we have yet to see him ironing sans-shirt, it can only be a matter of time.

So, now that the Irish charmer is staying on the cobbles, who should Corrie team him up with in the romantic stakes? Not Sunita again, that'd be too obvious, or Michelle, or Leanne. This fan would like him to bring a bit of blarney to Mrs Barlow and let him have a fling with Deirdre. Oh go on, Corrie, please.

Keith Duffy quits Corrie

Keith Duffy, who plays Ciaran McCarthy, is to quit Coronation Street for the second time to concentrate on his band, Boyzone.

The Sunday People reports that Keith snubbed producers' pleas for him to sign a new deal into next year.

Keith said: "I need to concentrate on being with the boys. We've got a lot coming up so I've decided they'll take priority. I love the show so it's been a hard decision. But I know it's right."

Liz and Ciaran - Corrie's new couple?

Next week on Coronation Street, Irish charmer Ciaran McArthy butters up yet another woman - and this time, it's Liz McDonald. He starts chatting Liz up in a bid to get a job at the Rovers Return and she eventually gives in and offers him a job behind the bar.

Not only that, but by the end of next week, she's even suggesting they have their very own lock-in at the end of the shift. Oo-er.

Mike returns? That would be silly

But in Keith Duffy's fantasy world, according to his interview with Digital Spy, he'd love to see the old duffer return. He always got on with Johnny Briggs and muses that it would be great to work with him again some day. There's a longer interview on DS as well with Keith where he chats about how he was asked to come back to Coronation Street and the women his alter ego, Ciaran, is going to be entertaining, or attempting to anyway! I'm glad to see him back, me!

Keith Duffy looking forward to Ciaran's return

Ciaran McCarthy is coming back to the cobbles next week and his portrayer, Keith Duffy, is looking forward to it. The basic story has Peter and Leanne bumping into Ciaran as he quits his job at a restaurant where they were dining. Peter offers Ciaran a job cooking in his and Leanne's new bar and Ciaran decides he'll take that offer. There's plenty for Ciaran to look forward to, including Michelle, a hot barmaid in the Rovers and he wastes no time piling on the Irish charm because, you know, Michelle hasn't had a boyfriend in almost a month.

There's a long interview in the Mirror with Keith, too, where he talks a lot about losing his long time friend and Boyzone band member, Stephen Gately. Stephen's sudden death from a heart attack last fall really hit Keith and the other band members hard. Keith had know his friend since they were 17 and is still shocked and grieving. He does find that the return to Corrie is helping because he is busy in the days and at nights, he's learning his lines and it all keeps his mind occupied most of the time. His wife and kids are still in Dublin. The other subject he talks about is his campaigns to raise money for autistic children after finding out his younger child, daughter Maia has autism. It was difficult for Keith and his wife, Lisa, at first but they have found a way through their own problems and Keith's campaigns have raised quite a lot of money and awareness and helped to open a dozen or more specialized schools to help kids with autism develop.

I'm looking foward to Ciaran's return. He had lovely tattoos ;))) And in spite of having Michelle in his romantic sights, let's not forget his ex-love Sunita is back in the picture and there will soon be another of his exes skulking around, Tracy Barlow!

First pic of Keith Duffy back on Corrie set

We'll see Boyzone singer Keith Duffy's return to Coronation Street as Ciaran McCarthy on screen in February. But the official Corrie site has this great pic and some news online now.

Apparantly, Leanne and Peter take on Ciaran as the chef in their new bijou bistro. Ah, but will it cope with competition from Betty's hotpot?

Keith Duffy confirms Corrie return

Boyzone singer Keith Duffy confirms he's returning to Coronation Street, says Digital Spy. Keith will reprise is role as Ciaran McCarthy after leaving the show in 2005 and we'll see him on screen in February next year.

A Coronation Street spokesperson told DS: "We're looking forward to having Keith back in the show. Ciaran has got history on the Street and quickly falls back into his friendship with Peter Barlow. But where Peter's changed, Ciaran hasn't and he's soon up to his old womanising ways."