The Beatles on The Street – Streetlemania!

Did anyone see ‘The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One’ the other week? If not, then I would highly recommend streaming it from the newly renamed ITV Hub, where it will remain for another 6 days (link here).

I watched it on the train to Manchester for the Coronation Street Blog Christmas Do. It’s a cracking rock doc and I was particularly pleased to discover that when The Beatles weren’t busy shaking the world, the Fab Four liked nothing more than to watch a bit of telly and, according to former Granada Producer Johnny Hamp, Coronation Street was one of their favourite programmes.

Hamp produced the TV special ‘The Music of Lennon and McCartney’, which was filmed at the former Granada Studios on Quay Street, a site that we bloggers visited earlier this week for the very last time.

The Beatles show went out in December 1965 - when Corrie was just five years old. A lot of it can be seen on YouTube and it really is fascinating footage. During the performance, John Lennon played the harmonium on ‘We Can Work It Out’ (which came in at number 17 in the ITV poll).

But it wasn’t just any harmonium that Lennon used that day at Granada. Oh no - it was the very same instrument that Ena Sharples played in Coronation Street! Have a look at this:

Apparently, when the Granada special was being recorded, the Corrie cast kept on sticking their heads around the door to catch a glimpse of The Beatles. The cast could have got a lot closer to the band, though, according to a wonderful article I stumbled across on a Beatles fansite (available here).

The story goes that there was a proposed plot which would have seen The Beatles’ tour bus break down in Weatherfield while the band were on their way to a gig in Manchester.

Naturally, Beatlemania would soon take over and with the police unable to control the crowds, the band would knock on Ena's door in search of sanctuary (and possibly a harmonium?!!). Ena would take them in and the Fab Four would file in past her, bringing the episode to a close.

In the next episode, Ena would persuade The Beatles to perform at the Over-Sixties club. The gig would be gate-crashed by a load of teenagers and two generations would come together for an amazing concert, after which The Beatles would rush off to their other show in Manchester!

The Beatles were apparently very keen to do it but weren’t able to fit the rehearsal dates into their schedule and so the plans were scrapped. What a shame!

I like to think, though, that in the parallel universe of Coronation Street, The Beatles did in fact play Weatherfield in the 60s. Perhaps that would explain the signed Beatles programme that the Peacocks found in the attic of Number 13 a few years ago!

When I arrived at Manchester Piccadilly to catch my 7am train back to London, everything came full circle when I saw an advert for a new collection of The Beatles’ chart-topping hits.

It made me think about the vital contribution that Coronation Street and The Beatles – two great institutions that emerged from 1960s Northern England – have made to the UK’s cultural history.

And then I thought about the original Cavern Club in Liverpool, which was knocked down. It was a decision that city leaders would soon regret and the Cavern was later rebuilt using many of the original bricks.

I don’t want Manchester to make the same mistake by demolishing the old Corrie set. Wouldn’t it be great if the developers decided to keep at least some of the magic alive? 

Coronation Street is in our ears and in our eyes. It is also in our hearts. There is so much history in those cobbles and it would be a tragedy for it all to be bulldozed for flats and shops.

By Martin Leay

You can follow Martin on Twitter @mpleay

You can listen to Martin on the Happy Sundays show on Croydon Radio

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

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The faces of Corrie in 2006

If you remember, last year I had a series of posts looking at the top 12 faces of each Corrie decade - the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. For the next few weeks or so, I’ll be looking at the top 12 faces of each year between 1960 and 2013.

With thanks to Corriepedia for the information.

In 2006, 258 episodes were broadcast.

1. Sean Tully (165 episodes)

2. Danny Baldwin (157 episodes)

3. Audrey Roberts (145 episodes)

4. Gail Platt (143 episodes)

5. Eileen Grimshaw (140 episodes)

6. Frankie Baldwin (139 episodes)

7. Jamie Baldwin (134 episodes)

8. Charlie Stubbs (127 episodes)

9. Violet Wilson (126 episodes)

10. Claire Peacock (124 episodes)

11. Sally Webster (124 episodes)

12. Tracy Barlow (120 episodes)

Average age: 38

Note: To date, this is the last time Danny, Frankie, Jamie and Claire appear in the top 12 and the last time Charlie appears in the top 12. This is the third time that a Rovers licensee doesn’t appear in the top 12

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Top 50 Corrie Couples - No. 10

10. Ashley Peacock and Claire Casey/Peacock 2003-2010 (137 votes)

After first wife Maxine was murdered by Richard Hillman in January 2003, Ashley struggled to raise her son Joshua and so hired a nanny called Claire Casey. They fell in love and they married on Christmas Day 2004. On their first anniversary, Claire told Ashley that she was pregnant and Thomas was born in July 2006. When Ashley’s dad Fred Elliott died in October 2006, Claire wished to change his name to Freddie in honour of his granddad.

During their six year marriage, the Peacocks have had their fair share of drama, from Claire’s post natal depression, Freddie being kidnapped by disturbed Casey Carswell who also tried to kill Claire and manipulate Ashley by having an affair with him. While Ashley has continued his father’s empire at the butchers shop, Claire has had various jobs, ranging from a bus driver, a helpline worker and currently works on the switch at Street Cars. As well as dramas, Ashley and Claire have starred in comic storylines that include a house swap with the Websters in 2008 and Claire forcing Ashley to have a vasectomy in 2009. In 2010, they planned to move to France but tragedy struck when Ashley was trapped in the bistro when the tram crashed into the street. The building collapsed and Ashley died. Claire and the children then left for France after Claire anonymously attacked Tracy Barlow in revenge of her abusing Ashley’s good name.

Were you fans of Ashley and Claire? Should they be in the top 10? 

Check out who was at 11.

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Favourite Corrie couples countdown - fourth poll

 

Hello all! Now, I hope you've voted in the second poll of ten because that is now officially closed. But you have until midnight next Monday to vote for two of your favourite couples in the third poll.

So, who's in our fourth poll?

 

Ernest Bishop and Emily Nugent/Bishop (1969-1978) – After spending the 1960s finding a man, Miss Nugent met photographer Ernest in 1969 and found they shared the same interests – religion, community involvement, music and literature. They married in 1972 and settled at 3 Coronation Street. Middle-aged, they’d missed the chance of parenthood but had the opportunity of fostering in 1974. Ernie’s financial woes in 1976 strained the marriage somewhat as he accepted to accompany strippers on the piano at the local nightclub, much to Emily’s annoyance. He did find employment at the factory as a wages clerk but was gunned down in a robbery in 1978. Emily was heartbroken.

 

Dev Alahan and Sunita Pareck/Alahan (2004-2006, 2010-2013) – Sunita was Dev’s assistant at the Corner Shop and she was smitten with him. But it wasn’t until she had a brain tumour that Dev realised he loved her. Dev dumped his girlfriend Maya for Sunita who didn’t take it too well. She framed Sunita for bigamy and blew all of Dev’s shop up and tried to kill the Alahans by gassing them but they escaped. The Alahans then settled into married life and twins Aadi and Asha were born in 2006. But the marriage collapsed when Sunita found out about that Dev had fathered many children with his shop assistants! In 2009, Sunita re-entered Dev’s life and they decided to give it another go. But, in 2012, a bored Sunita had an affair with Karl Munro and Dev moved out. But after a few months, Sunita realised that she’d made a mistake and she reunited with Dev. But the reunion didn’t last long as Sunita caught Karl starting a fire in the Rovers and he pushed her down the cellar steps into the flames. Although she’d survived the fire, Karl finished her off in the hospital by dislodging her life support tube.

Ashley and Claire Casey/Peacock (2003-2010) – Ashley and Claire met when she became a nanny for his son Joshua. They married in 2004 and in 2006 their son Thomas, who was re-named Freddie after Ashley’s dad Fred died later that year. During their six year marriage, the Peacocks had their fair share of drama, from Claire’s post natal depression to Freddie being kidnapped by disturbed Casey Carswell who also tried to kill Claire and manipulate Ashley by having an affair with him. As well as dramas, Ashley and Claire starred in comic storylines that include a house swap with the Websters in 2008 and Claire forcing Ashley to have a vasectomy in 2009. The marriage came to a tragic end when Ashley was crushed by a beam in the aftermath of the tram crash in 2010.

 

Alf Roberts and Renee Bradshaw/Roberts (1977-1980) – After chasing Maggie Clegg in the early 70s, it was no surprise when Alf started courting shopkeeper Renee and many accused him of being interested in her because of the shop. After two proposals, they married in 1978. When Alf announced his retirement from the GPO, Renee was worried as she didn’t want Alf with her day and night. She felt awful when he was injured in the Rovers lorry crash in 1979 and was happy for him to be with her behind the counter. In 1980, they decided to sell up and move to Grange-over-Sands to run a sub-post office there. But while on the way home from a visit, learner driver Renee stalled the car and a lorry crashed into them. Renee died and Alf decided to stay on at the corner shop.

 

Don Brennan and Ivy Tilsley/Brennan (1987-1994) – Ivy met cabby Don in 1987 when he drove her home. Don was a widower, and he and Ivy married in 1988. But when her son Brian was stabbed to death in 1989, Ivy turned more to religion than to Don and the couple grew apart. Don soon found out that he’d made a mistake in marrying Ivy as she became obsessed with Brian’s widow Gail’s relationship with Martin Platt and the effect it had on the children. Don had an affair with Julie Dewhurst in 1992 and when she dumped him, he attempted suicide but it only resulted in him having his leg amputated. Ivy, devastated, turned to drink as she and Don slept separately. Ivy later left the street for a convent, where she died of a stroke in 1995.

 

Have you got favourites in this five? Well vote for two of them and we'll see where they'll be in the countdown! Voting closes at midnight on Monday, 2nd December.
 

 

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Pregnant Pause

Actors are - and this may come as a shock to you - human beings.  They breathe, eat, defecate.  Obviously they do all this in a much classier, more inspiring way than you or I, but they're still people after all.  Some of these people (experts call them "women") even get pregnant.  This can cause a few problems.

In regular jobs, if a woman gets pregnant, it's quite simple.  She gets bought a load of chocolate, people pass round a card, then everyone complains that she isn't pulling her weight round the office just because she's up the duff.  "She says that the baby's pressing on her bladder and that's why she has to go to the toilet six times a day, but I saw her take an OK! magazine in there, so I think she should be penalised for taking unauthorised breaks".  Then the woman goes on maternity leave and everyone steals the office supplies from her drawer and she comes back after six months to find she now has the desk in the corner beneath the rattling air conditioner that probably has Legionnaire's Disease festering inside.

On a soap opera, things are different.  The old way to deal with an actress getting pregnant was to make her character pregnant as well; after all, it would save the make up department money on prosthetic tummies.  This method went out of favour after Jill Chance on Crossroads was pregnant for over a year (the actress lost her first baby, but then became pregnant again shortly after - the writers just extended the character's gestation accordingly).  The other inconvenience is that the actress tends to want to give birth to her own child just as the character is due, which means her availability for huffing and puffing in Weatherfield General may be limited.  Natalie Barnes was pregnant in real-life and on the show, but she disappeared to the Cotswolds when it was actually time to force it out.

You also have the problem we currently have in Corrie: a character who definitely, absolutely can't have a baby is suddenly six months gone.  Poor Julie went through the trauma of having her reproductive organs removed last year.  I bet the writers wish they hadn't bothered now Katy Cavanagh is asking for maternity leave.  We've yet to discover how they're going to write her out, but let's hope it's as imaginative as the fate that befell poor Hayley.  For obvious reasons, Mrs Cropper could never have a child, so the character was sent to prison while Julie Hesmondhalgh dropped her sprog.

The current default is simply to disguise the baby bump.  The trend was started by Michelle Collins over on EastEnders: the Cindy Beale Memorial Handbag has rightly passed into legend.  No matter what she was doing - arranging for the murder of her husband, having illicit sex, abducting her children - Cindy's four-foot wide handbag remained close by her side.  The handbag has since been passed around, with Carla Connor being a particularly keen user.

Costuming has a part to play in all this.  We're used to Julie having eccentric taste in clothes, so her sudden fondness for a cape doesn't seem out of character, and those puffball skirts can hide a multitude of sins.  Similarly, Carla married Tony Gordon in an Empire line wedding dress - handy for concealing a tummy, not so good at hiding enormous pregnancy breasts.

If all else fails, just give the character a job that requires her to stand behind a lot of things.  Leanne Battersby was working in Underworld the first time Jane Danson fell pregnant; cue her wandering around amidst shoulder high racks of knickers and deploying careful use of a clipboard.  For her second pregnancy, Jane was put behind that high counter in the bookies, leading us to conclude that if she decides to have a third baby Leanne will take up a job inspecting sewers and will spend three months with just her head poking out a manhole.

Eventually, the actress will have to leave to actually have the thing.  If it were up to the producers they would work until the mucus plug fell out, but those lawmakers at Westminster have gone and intervened and demand a proper period of rest.  A sick relative is always a good option to get rid of a character; Sally Webster disappeared for months to look after her mum, despite previously showing absolutely no inclination to even phone her on Mother's Day.  The payback for this uncharacteristic bout of generosity was Kevin ravaging Natalie Horrocks in the inspection pit, so she never did that again.

A good trauma can drive a character off somewhere, no matter how unlikely it sounds.  Maria finally managed to assemble four brain cells in a line and deduce that Tony Gordon was a wrong 'un, sending her scuttling off to Ireland long enough for Samia Ghadie to have her baby.  A similar revelatory moment drove Carla to sun herself by the pool in Los Angeles; I can't help thinking Maria must have been a bit annoyed by this. 

You have to remember that a pregnant actress is a fragile thing, too; you have to give her some interesting storylines, but you can't chuck her character under a tram or in a burning bus shelter.  Over stress her and you end up with the disaster when Kym Marsh Ryder Marsh Lomas had to be written out sooner than expected due to her delicate health.  Her storyline had to be rewritten with Maria, presenting us with a world in which Maria - a woman who has to be repeatedly told that curling tongs get hot - became a high powered business woman.  Admittedly, this is only slightly less believable than a universe in which Michelle Connor is the new Hilary Devey.

Above all, she has to be written out in a way which means she can come back as if nothing happened.  Maria returned from six months in Ireland and went straight back to the flat above the hairdresser's; Carla returned to be amazing in very high heels all over again; Hayley went back to wearing that duffle coat.  Their time away was discussed but it was made clear that no matter how wonderful that sunshine and swimming pool was, it couldn't compare with a tatty back street sweatshop.  What you really don't want to be is Claire Peacock.  Julia Haworth must have realised that her character was doomed when she was told how she would be written out during her pregnancy.  "We're just not going to mention it.  You'll just disappear for six months and then afterwards we'll just have you say you'd been working nights in the cab office all that time.  Fair enough?"  I bet she was straight onto her agent to update her showreel after that...

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Coronation Street Blog Advent Calendar - December 12th 2011

Welcome to the 12th day for our Coronation Street Blog advent calendar. What’s behind today’s door?

If there’s not a birth at Christmas then there’s surely going to be a wedding. (click on the picture for a larger version)

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What next for No. 13?

It's been well over two months since No.13 Coronation Street was last lived in, before a fire tore through the home. Still, now the house is in the same exact state it was back then, boarded up and burnt out. I can't help but wonder how long it will remain like this? With the sole owner of the house now on the run in France, how will anyone be able to buy it, and on that note, the butchers too?

I have wondered if Claire will somehow legally hand it over to Becky and Steve from abroad (if the spoilers are true about them selling the Rovers). Or will the house and butcher shop be destined to stay empty for the foreseeable?

Is this Tracy Barlow's attacker?

In response to our poll of who you think Tracy Barlow's attacker is, there were some very interesting comments left on the Coronation Street blog.

Lots of you think that Claire Peacock did it - and the more I think about it, the more I'm hoping that she did.


After all, Claire was a friend to Tracy in the Charlie Stubbs' days, and Tracy took her for a fool, saying that she had 'the personality of a frying pan'.

I'm just hoping that if it was Claire who attacked Tracy, that she gave her a wallop around the head with that frying pan too.

Cue Cluedo: "It was Mrs Peacock, in the Barlow's back yard, with the frying pan, your honour!"

Anyone else in floods of tears?

We're just a few minutes in to the LIVE! episode and I'm in floods of tears already! I loved Claire's reaction then to hearing of Ashley's death, I thought it was soooo good!

And I loved Becky's very real reaction to Kylie. She stammered a few times, which I hope was real because it's live, it really added to it!

I thought I'd put a picture of Claire and Ashley in happier times. They did love each other, bless 'em.

Coronation Street - how well does it handle mental health storylines?

I've blogged about this before as it's a bugbear of mine. I'm up on me soapbox and blogging about it again today as this happens to be World Mental Health Day so it's as good a time as any.

One in four of us (the usually quoted statistic) will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. All of us will know someone who's been affected. It's part and parcel of every day living, and that is why it pops up in Corrie storylines. We all know that Corrie is not real. It's soapland. We can't expect an in-depth analysis of 21st century attitudes towards mental illness. But I'd just like them to do a bit better. The storylines are just a bit too rushed, for my liking.

Two examples. The Natasha Blakeman storyline ( and like most of you I thought Rachel Leskovac was superb by the way) in which Natasha takes an overdose. How many of us know someone who's done the same? I know I do. One minute she's semi-comatose, the next she's kicking back-sides down Coronation Street saying "Back of the net." Doesn't happen like that. Too rushed.

My other bugbear is the Claire Peacock post-natal depression storyline, which I've written about before. We all know how ignorant people can be, calling others "nutters" and so forth. We've all heard it. It's unacceptable. And that's why I WISH the Corrie writers had given the latter end of this storyline a little bit more time, and provided some consequences for those such as Sally Webster (and I do like Sally as a rule!) whose verbal abuse of Claire was shocking. Okay - in "real life" perhaps there are no consequences for those who say such things. But they can have a terrible effect on those on the receiving end - and I'd like to have seen a bit more acknowledgement of that, in the script. There was some, I'll give them that - but it wasn't sharp enough. It's obviously not Corrie's job to tackle stigma, but if they're going to have these types of storylines, then I think they should make sure they're doing them justice.

Claire Peacock - an under-rated character?

I'm curious as to how the current storyline about Coronation Street's Claire Peacock (played by Julia Haworth) is going to develop.

They've brought out some pretty powerful stuff with this one, not least regarding distasteful attitudes towards mental health. Claire's been suspected of harming a child - Dev and Sunita's son Aadi - and because of her history of mental health problems many people are more than willing to jump to the wrong conclusion. I think this is really interesting and I hope that the writers find a way to play this out to a satisfactory conclusion, without allowing the Sophie/Sian storyline to swamp it.

I'll be very sorry to see the Peacocks leave (that's if they DO leave!) Ashley has been really enjoyable to watch, and I think Claire has been under-rated. I've always admired the way she's handled some really heavy-duty storylines. More info. about actress Julia Haworth here. Apparently she is a keen writer and has recently made a short film. Info. about post natal depression and other mental health issues here.

Peacocks survive Corrie tram crash

The Sunday People says today that Claire and Ashley Peacock will survive the Christmas tram crash and that they'll leave to move to France. I'm glad they're not being killed off. So much for Phil Collinson wanting to put a stop to spoiler leaks in the run up to Corrie's 50th, eh? Seems they're still hitting the papers.

Wonder who'll run the butchers, though?

Peacocks in child abuse storyline

The Sun has a Coronation Street spoiler in it today that says Claire and Ashley Peacock will leave the Street after they're accused of child abuse. Claire will be arrested when she babysits for Dev and Sunita and they accuse her of physically abusing their son Aadi.

Claire flees Weatherfield, but returns to clear her name - and it emerges that little Aadi got the injuries in a fight with Simon Barlow. However she tells Ashley that they must leave for good.

Peacocks are leaving Corrie

Bad news I'm afraid for fans of Claire and Ashley Peacock - they're leaving Coronation Street.

New Producer Phil Collinson has reached a decision with actors Steven Arnold and Julia Haworth that the family had come to a crossroads, and would be best to move on from Weatherfield. They'll be around until at least the end of the year, with an exit possibly tying into the 50th anniversary celebrations.

What do you think of the move to axe Ashley, Claire, Josh and Freddie? I, for one, am gutted! I love the Peacock family, and they're one of the few remaining family units on the Street. They've not been given much to do since Julia Haworth went on maternity leave back in 2008, and I'm not too surprised with the news. I suspect with the new Producer coming on board we may see a few more characters moving on from the Street in the coming months!

Weighing in on Friday's double episode

Just a few thoughts on Friday's double episode while we wait for Yoork's update. I didn't catch the writer credits at the start but as I watched it, I had my ideas who wrote it. I went back and looked and sure enough, Daran Little was behind the pen! A nod to history, (Gail and Audrey), gossip in the salon with wonderful stuff from Betty (Daran always writes great Betty scenes!) and bittersweet scenes with Liz and Lloyd. You really feel like they should be together.

Veteran writer Peter Whalley wrote the second episode and it was as good as the first. More Lloyd and Liz longing looks, and the unlikely spawning of a connection between Claire and Becky. They don't seem to have anything in common but maybe there's more there beneath the surface than we think. The more I think about it, the more I think maybe it could work though it would be a long and bumpy row to hoe before they become best friends. The back and forth between Teresa and Liz was wonderful stuff. I agree with Flaming Nora, Teresa is thoroughly enjoyable these days! And finally, some lovely scenes with Roy and Hayley. Roy really has been thrown by all this Tony Gordon stuff and has really been having a hard time dealing with it. Maybe now that the cell door has slammed on Tony, he can find a way to put it behind them.

There were little touches, like Janice exchanging a word with a builder, Tyrone turning into a Jack Duckworth clone at the breakfast table in his vest, Claire and Graeme doing the Charleston in the butcher shop, much to Ashley's horror, Claire wincing over the taste of cider. Even the Windass second annual Christmas light and music show extravaganza wasn't objectional, especially Eddie's line when it stopped for the second time, "Folk are gonna be that disappointed" took me off guard and I actually found myself laughing! That's a first!

The Kevin and Molly stuff was awful but only because I just don't like that storyline but even on Friday, it seemed like it was moving on a bit more. We already know it's not going to be as easy as it sounds. Kevin wants Molly to leave Tyrone but circumstances are going to prove that it's not going to happen just yet.

This week's awards and best lines from Corrie

Deer in the Headlights: Ashley. I could hear a distinct "BUCK BUCK BUCKAWWW" in the background.

"Happy" Families award: Gold Star: The Barlows. That scene at Peter's alcoholics meeting was classic stuff. Airing the family dirty laundry, running rough shod over the recovering alcoholics. Blanche probably had the best day of her whole year, Ken got the best advice from a down and out fella with dirty fingernails and Deirdre got to humiliate Ken further.

Silver Star: The Connors. Mammy Connor mithering the life out of Maria over the baby and Tony. Tony pushing them all out the door, or trying to, but Maria had the honour of the final ejection.

Bronze Star: The Peacocks. Claire regains consciousness and Ashley tells her in the next breath that she lost the baby that she didn't know she was having. Claire is so terrified of a repeat of the Post Natal depression if she got pregnant again, that she's insisting on Ashley having the snip but he bottled it!

Tempest in a teapot: Gold Star The headlines screamed CLAIRE'S SUICIDAL! She wasn't at all, not really. Just upset, feeling both guilty, scared and a bit closed in back in her hospital room. Ashley went beserk, was far more upset than she was.

Silver Star: Norris. For all his whinging and moaning, he didn't have any trouble running around to all the cobblers trying to get fixed the shoes that he'd torn up.

Lines of the week:
Peter: "It's just a load of people sitting around in a circle talking about their problems." Blanche "Anything's better than Loose Women!" (and just about anything Blanche said in the meeting, too!)

Peter, after the fallout: "Whichever way you look at it, I'm screwed!"

Norris: "I'll just lie here slowly rotting away, shall I?" Emily: "If you like!"

Tony to Helen Connor: "Why don't you take your toxic tongue and your tubby hubby back to the land of Begorrah and BeJesus."

Corrie gold stars and awards for the week of July 13

Jealous Much? Gold star: Molly watching Kevin and Sally come back from a romantic weekend when it should have been her.

Fashion award Sean in Marigolds.

Misery guts award Gold Star: Molly. Didn't she look pathetic mooning through the window at Kevin as the cab drove off?

Brass Neck award Gold star: Umed for soaking every gullible customer that comes in the shop (usually Darryl).

Hissy fit award Gold Star: Claire. Boy, when she gets in a snit, she really blows a gasket - literally.

Lines of the week:

Claire: "It's a bit of grass, not the water feature at Chatsworth!"

Umed to Sally: "You have the mind of a philosopher and the face of an angel". (He's as blind as a bat, that one!)

Becky: "I was off my face most of the time and so were you." Slug: "But we were 'appy"

Ashley Peacock, loser?

I was looking at the spoilers, as you do, and reading about Ashley and Claire's upcoming crisis. Claire's about to have a miscarriage after suffering a blood clot. That old black dog, depression, kicks in again, fuelled by the guilt she feels that she didn't want to be pregnant anyway, and she's left on the top of the hospital, upset and suicidal. Of course Ashley manages to talk her down. The spoilers don't say that, but you know that's what will happen. But how much can one man take? If Eileen is a love loser, is Ashley a life loser? Every time he does manage to find something good, something really horrible happens. You can read more about it over here.

Spare part characters on Corrie

You know what a spare part is? Something surplus to requirements, usually. Sometimes there's an extra screw or nut left over when you assemble that flatpack cabinet or chair. Things seem to work ok without it but you always wonder if things would be more complete with the extra bit.

There are characters like that on Coronation Street, too. Characters that could add so much more to the show if they were inserted into the storyline or had one of their own. These characters have had storylines in the past, of course, but seem to be wasted at the moment. Kelly Crabtree is one of those characters and to find out a few others I think are vastly underused, have a read over here.

Claire Peacock in suicide drama

Poor Claire. Whether the rumour's true that she's going to get a life-threatening blood clot or this new rumour that she's going to try to commit suicide, well, her Coronation Street future's not looking bright.

The Star reports that Claire's gripped by depression as she recovers from an operation to remove a blood clot and tries to throw herself off a hospital roof after losing her unborn baby.