Corrie “shares” character with ITV thriller ‘Liar’

The ongoing storyline involving Pat Phelan and runaway villain Vinny Ashford introduced us to a familiar face recently, as we met Vinny’s mother Flora McArdle. Easily manipulated, Phelan has been using elderly Flora to get information on Daniel’s investigative plans and of course he’s keen to track down fugitive Vinny – who’s real name we now know is Harvey McArdle.  

Eileen as Mrs McArdle

Mrs McArdle is played by actress Eileen Davies, who you may have spotted on ITV’s hit show ‘Liar’ recently starring Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt. Amazingly, Eileen again plays a confused elderly relative of serial rapist Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd), who he too manipulated in order to get away with his scheming and lies.

Aunt Sylvia in ITV's 'Liar'

Eileen doesn’t just play confused old ladies though, and she has actually been in Coronation Street before. Most recently she played Celia Smethurst, a church-going friend of Emily Bishop who was part of a little club of funeral gate-crashers that included Blanche Hunt. And even further back than that she has appeared as Judge Carmichael on two separate occasions in 2006.

Do any of you know who has played the most different characters in Coronation Street?

Twitter: @StevieDawson  

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Downton Abbey - Weatherfield Style

With tongue firmly in cheek, here's a little look at some of the Downton Abbey characters from Coronation Street.  There's more details of the actors who have worked in both Corrie and Downton Abbey here.

The Dowager Countess of Grantham is clearly Corrie's Blanche Hunt in disguise. Head of a family she can no longer control, with an acid tongue and some wonderful cutting comemnts.

Charles Carson the Butler. Decent, straightforward, salt of the earth, just like Jack Duckworth, only Carson doesn't disappear for hours on end down the cellar. Not yet, anyway.

The Earl of Grantham meets the Codger of the Cobbles.  Both of them trying and failing to run a household full of women who've got the measure of them both.

Mrs Isobel Crawley and Mrs Rita Littewood-Fairclough-Sullivan. A woman who Gets Things Done.

Matthew Crawley lets women wrap him around their finger, just like our very own Steve McDonald.

Thomas Barrow, First Footman reminds us of Liam Connor. We can't say exactly why, there's something about the man but we just can't put our finger on what it actually is....

See also:
The Sopranos - Weatherfield Style
Mad Men - Weatherfield Style
The Flintstones - Weatherfield

Rob James-Collier returns to our screens

Fans of Rob James-Collier, ex-Liam Connor of Coronation Street will know that his first post-Corrie tv role was footman Thomas Barrow in the period drama Downtown Abbey. Ian Wylie caught up with Rob for a feature on the new season of Downton which takes place in 1916 in the thick of World War 1.

When we left Downton last year, it was 1914 and the Great War was just beginning. Rob's character had been causing a bit of trouble at the manor and he decided to join the Medical Corps in hopes of avoiding combat. You see Thomas is a bit on the shady side, ducking and diving and that sort of thing. But Thomas' plan doesn't work out quite as he expected and he ends up in the thick of the action.

Rob spoke to a veteran of the Falklands to get some insight and was inspired by the stories he was told. He's determined to give as good a portrayal as possible. It sounds like his character will be affected profoundly.


Downton Abbey returns for a second season on ITV1 on Sunday, September 18. There will be an 8 part series and, later, a Christmas special.

Downton Abbey's Corrie connections

Is anyone else enjoying the new ITV Sunday night drama, Downton Abbey?

Apart from the obvious and very lovely Rob James-Collier who was Liam Connor in Coronation Street and is now in Downton Abbey as Thomas the footman, there's a couple of other Corrie connections we've spotted.

Joanne Froggatt, who played Zoe Tattersall in Corrie, is playing head housemaid Anna in Downton Abbey. She's on the picture below, on the left hand side.

Siobhan Finneran, who starred in the Corrie spin-off DVD Romanian Holiday (and this fan would love to see on Corrie full-time) appears as Sarah O'Brien, the Lady's Maid. She's on the picture below, on the right hand side.

And writer Julian Fellowes is also a huge Coronation Street fan. I know we won't have spotted them all, so have you seen any more Downton Abbey / Corrie connections?

Just announced: Nigel Havers (Lewis Archer) is also joining the show.