Want You Back (From The Dead)

Halloween traditionally was a time to remember the departed, in particular the saints, before the actual celebration of their faith, life and death on November 1^st. Over time and with the influence of various religions, cultures and cults the feast took on a more sinister meaning and now we revel in the possible return of the undead on October 31^st whilst loading up on sugary treats and filling our homes with bizarre plastic decorations.

A couple of years ago, before the pandemic, I gave in after a lifetime of resisting and finally dressed up for a Halloween with my family. It’s also my birthday so it marks my turning another year older and being another year closer to my own death. Which is nice.

Anyway I chose to dress up as my favourite Star Trek character at this party so I excitedly donned a stretchy silver catsuit in the style of Borg goddess Seven of Nine and checked myself out in my sister’s full-length mirror. This Blog, written at the time, will explain why I had to take the costume off immediately, and why somebody in Weatherfield suffered a similar Halloween fate.

The spookiest time of year is almost upon us again and to avoid any costume nightmares I won’t be dressing up this year, but it looks like some of our Corrie favourites will be. There’s a huge storm, an explosion, more sinkhole drama and some dangerous and unpleasant people returning to the cobbles so it looks like an exciting few episodes await us at the end of the month. We may even be treated to a bit of death.

Coming soon (run)...

In keeping with the ‘return of the dead’ (or undead) theme, I was thinking who I’d like to see back on the cobbles at Halloween. The Sanderson sisters returned to cause havoc in the brilliant Hocus Pocus and Michael Myers still can’t stop coming back to terrorist people at this time of year in the ridiculously scary Halloween films. Corrie does go a bit mad with its storylines from time-to-time, admittedly not zombie-mad, but why not embrace the supernatural for a few episodes?

Ivy Brennan is an obvious choice for a Halloween comeback. Already deeply spiritual in life, Ivy’s Catholicism often caused friction within the family. She died when on a “religious retreat” and after her death Vera Duckworth claimed to have bumped into her ghost on Don’s landing. An exorcism soon followed. Ridiculous.

"I see dead seamstresses"

The most perfect Halloween return, for me, would come in the form of evil (and recently cremated) Pat Phelan. I can just see the horrified faces of all those that hated Pat as he appears out of the October darkness seeking revenge. Eileen, half terrified and half unsurprised he’s come back would have to kill him again. It would be brilliant.

Norris Cole once held a séance after being convinced the Kabin was haunted. While it turned out not to be evil spirits but a bit of damp, perhaps he’s now floating about the place, trapped between two worlds, unable to leave Rita. Time for Gemma to get the candles back out and see how Nozza’s getting on since he crossed over?

I also have this image of Fred Elliot coming back from the dead like the Jacob Marley in a Christmas Carol but instead of chains he's got loads of strings of sausages holding him down. 

Fred. Dead.

Anyway it looks like the buildup to some the the Halloween and autumn/winter storylines has already begun. You can read more about what’s in store on the Blog HERE and on the Corrie website HERE.

Have a good one.

@StevieDawson

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Smile, Though Your Heart is Aching

I can’t stand crime dramas. It always baffles me how successful they are. It’s a whole industry centered around death and misery. I did dip my toe into Broadchurch last year but that was only because Julie Hesmondhalgh was in it and it was the last ever series so I didn’t need to worry about getting hooked. Which I might have, it was very good. Julie was brilliant in it too.

Some of our most successful and long-running TV shows have been crime dramas. Prime Suspect, Morse, all of Agatha Christie’s work, Midsomer Murders, Silent Witness, CSI Miami, CSI Las Vegas, CSI New Brighton (etc, etc). And the basic premise in all of them is that someone’s dead and we all need to be kept in suspense until right at the very end when the person we least expected to be responsible turns out to be the killer. Or the rapist. Our obsession with death keeps these franchises going. Are we this eager to see characters on television peg it to prepare us for our own end? Or is it that death is still such a mystery to us that we use fiction to try and understand it more? Who knows. 

This week’s Coronation Street proved yet again that death is a key ingredient for soaps as well as drama. Aidan’s devastating suicide and the aftermath has been praised by fans and media alike over the past few days, and some have said Corrie is back to its best. Here's a Radio Times article including some Tweets from the public.

Gail’s monologue from her front window, looking out over the cobbles across the street she’s known for forty years, was a particular high point from Wednesday’s hour-long episode. She pondered how she and others could have done something to help Aidan, if only they’d known what he was going through. And how concerned she was for her son David’s own safety and wellbeing. It was a gut-wrenching episode that I found difficult to watch. But it was also a brilliant piece of television, beautifully and skillfully written by Jonathan Harvey. It will go down in history as one of Corrie’s best I’m sure.

For the chop

And it will be in good company. Some of my favourite storylines and scenes have centred around Corrie deaths. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Audrey complain that she hasn’t had time for a cup of tea whilst standing over a near-lifeless Alma as she faded away. I swear I saw Amanda Barrie lick her lips in that death scene at one point. Anyway because I loved those two characters together so much, Alma’s death from cancer is one of my all time favourite episodes. 

I also enjoy reliving the moment Fred Elliott keeled over in Audrey’s vestibule. The two of them had some great scenes together towards the end, and after parting on good terms, Audrey ended up being the last person to see Fred at his best. I say at his best. Fred was given the perfect final goodbye as the comedic character’s coffin got stuck on the crematorium conveyor belt, causing Audrey to burst into fits of giggles as other friends and family looked awkwardly on.

The tram crash of 2010, widely criticised, is another of my top Corrie moments. Death and destruction everywhere. I thought we’d lose Rita at one point but she suffered nothing more serious than an Uncle Joe’s Mint Ball to the face. The disaster brought some questionable CGI along with a handful of dead characters. I loved it. It’s imperfections and all. I even enjoyed seeing real life reporters from ITV News and Granada Reports including Alastair Stewart, play parts in the unfolding drama. It was awkward as hell. But brilliant. The perfect way to celebrate 50 years of Corrie. 

Mind the Gap - in your roof

Going back a few years, Judy Mallett’s death was harrowing. She’d had a car accident a short time before her demise and suffered an embolism as a result. The scene of her collapsing, holding her chest in the back yard of Number 9 was awful. In heartbreaking scenes, her husband Gary was grief stricken and struggled to accept she was dead.

Aired well before my time, a Corrie death that everyone knows about it Stan Ogden’s. Actor Bernard Youens had passed away and it was decided that they would kill off Stan. This led to the iconic scene of Hilda, sitting at her dining table clutching Stan’s glasses case, wedding ring glistening in the light. It was perfectly heartbreaking.

Probably the most well known Corrie death was that of Alan Bradley in Blackpool. Despite the tram hitting him with as much force as a bluebottle flying into some double glazing, he met his maker in one of Corrie’s best rating episodes with over 26 million people watching.

All of these deaths in some way brought characters within Coronation Street together. Particularly Aidan’s recent death which seems to have touched everyone on the Street. And of course peppered among the distressing scenes of pain and anguish are little comedic gems, like Beth worrying if they would still have jobs now that the boss has croaked it. Perhaps we love watching these types of storylines on TV because at the end of it, we always see some kind of justice. And that is quite satisfying as a viewer. Quite what justice can be found from Aidan’s death who knows, but the awareness the story has created over mental health and suicide is a positive real-life effect that we can all be thankful for.

Coronation Street is all the better for it’s deaths. They can have a message, be heartbreaking, see storylines come to a conclusion, or in some cases provide a bit of comedy. Corrie is capable of handling all of the above, and I look forward to the grim reaper returning to the cobbles in due course. Who for? I wouldn’t like to say….

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Someone called ‘UnitedRoar’ on YouTube made this little compilation of Coronation Street deaths over the years. The sicko. Enjoy.

Twitter: @StevieDawson

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The Saints and Sinners of Summer's Corrie

Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been several weeks since my last blog. 

I’ve been enjoying reading rather than contributing to ‘The Blog’ these past few weeks. Through a combination of hectic work schedule and lack of inspiration I’ve not felt compelled to share my own thoughts on Corrie, but the musings of bloggers old and new have kept me fully in the loop on all things cobbled. I last blogged back in May about the lovely vigil for friend of the blog Martyn Hett, who died in the Manchester arena bomb. Not sure if these events triggered my blogger’s block, but as storylines build up to their autumn/winter crescendo, I thought I’d dip my toe in the water again and share some of my thoughts on Corrie’s current storylines.

Love thy neighbor

I’m not convinced by Kev and Erica’s little affair, they don’t seem well suited to me, sexually or emotionally. Their affair however has led to some more awesome performances from the brilliant Debbie Rush, who plays down in the dumps Anna Windass. Debbie plays anguish and torment so well, and Anna’s recent heart-to-heart with Kevin tugged at the heart strings. Her confrontation at the Bistro with Erica, where she laid down the law was also great – is Anna finally taking back control of her life?

The surreal but hilarious shenanigans from Norris and Mary have had me in stiches over recent weeks. Sometimes blurring the lines between soap and comedy, they end up in situations some might say are well beyond realistic, but I think Corrie can get away with this and it provides us with some much needed giggles. Last week Norris grudgingly agreed to marry his scatterbrained friend so that she could win a couple’s competition and visit her son in South Africa. If the wedding does happen, I’m sure it will provide more comedy gold, and I really hope Mary gets to see Jude.

Honour thy mother and father

Billy and Todd have started on a new adventure in life, with the arrival of Billy’s goddaughter Summer. I like nice Todd, even if there’s still the odd glimmer of evil and mischief in there every now and then. He and Billy actually make a good couple, and it will be good to see them tested as Summer settles into Weatherfield life. From Todd’s initial apprehension at taking on Summer full-time, to his now instinctive protectiveness over her, it’s been a heart-rending storyline that has moved at just the right pace. I also like the fact that religion has come into a lot of conversations recently, especially when it comes to Summer’s rather stern and deeply unpleasant grandmother. As an atheist it’s always interesting to see how religion and religious thought is interpreted in today’s television.

Beverley Callard is blowing me away recently. As the Rovers enters a new era with Peter Barlow at the helm, Liz McDonald has moved on to a job at the Medical Centre, where boss-from-hell Moria is doing everything she can to make Liz’s life a misery. From criticizing her interaction with patients, to mocking her fashion sense, Moira has certainly taken a disliking to Liz, even if she tries to hide her digs as constructive criticism. Trying her best to make positive steps in her new life, Liz struggles to keep up with some of the demands of her new job, and her family life, as ever, makes things even more difficult, but this has given us the viewers some brilliantly funny scenes to enjoy. Friday’s episode saw Liz whack Steve across the head for interfering in her life, after he asked Peter to give her a few shifts behind the bar. Liz’s sharp wit, impatient grimace and at times short temper highlight Bev’s brilliant acting skills, whether she’s playing comedy or drama. I’m really enjoying seeing her in a new environment, even if it still doesn’t seem quite right that she’s no longer amongst the glistening optics of the Rovers Return bar.

Thou shalt not commit adultery

I’m a little bored with the Maria, Aidan, Eva storyline – as with most soap affairs it’s dragging on a bit. The elements I’ve enjoyed have been Eva’s game play, spending all of Aidan’s money and putting him and Maria in some pretty awkward situations. And whilst Adam Barlow’s involvement now means the stakes are much higher, I’m wondering when the cat will be out of the bag and will it be a bit of an anti-climax?

Thou shalt not bear false witness

It has been great seeing Craig given some proper storylines that don’t revolve around his rat. He’s really matured since Bethany’s grooming story was revealed and it has given Colson Smith, who plays Craig, the opportunity to show us that he’s worthy of his place on the Street. Bethany’s closeness to Craig has been really sweet, with some lovely scenes, as has her ever-growing friendship with Mary, who helped Bethany through some of her darkest times. They have both given Bethany the strength to tell the whole truth about Nathan and his pervy mates. Unexpected and surprising friendships often work really well on Corrie - look at Roy and Becky for example, or Tracy and Mary. Speaking of which, I’d love to see more of Dr Gaddas and Liz together. They are complete opposites as people but it would be nice to see them both get into trouble again with Moira and strike up a bit of a friendship.

Forget me not

It has been really nice in the past few weeks to hear references to some old characters, including Bet Lynch and Fred Elliott. It’s nice to know they haven’t been forgotten by characters or producers. The past is very important in Coronation Street, most characters in some way are linked to residents of years gone by. I’m quite excited at the prospect of some old characters coming back to the cobbles too – I can think of a few I’d love to see return, who would you like to see come back?

So that’s me caught up. Welcome to all new Corrie bloggers, I love your work!

Stevie

@StevieDawson

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Cruising in the Canaries with Corrie's Fred, I say, Fred

Fancy a cruising holiday with Fred Elliott, I say, Fred? Course, you do, right?

John Savident, who played the larger-than-life butcher Fred Elliott in Coronation Street joins  an all-star cast of television and radio celebrities on a cruise to the Canary Islands and Madeira next month. 

The October 14 cruise will have soap stars past and present from EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale onboard.

During the 15-night cruise there will be plenty of opportunities to meet stars and to hear stories of behind-the-scenes incidents, both funny and disastrous.

Mike Hall, CMV's Head of Marketing, said: "This is a rare opportunity to cruise with a number of Britain's favourite soap characters. "Passengers can enjoy exciting talks, amusing tales from behind the camera and fascinating personal life stories - all in addition to a great variety of interesting and attractive ports of call."


Star guests announced include Derek Martin (Charlie Slater from EastEnders); Laila Morse (‘Mo’ in EastEnders & I`m A Celebrity); Ian Sharrock (Jackie Merrick in Emmerdale); John Savident (Fred Elliott in Coronation Street); Pete Moran (Coronation Street); Allen Mechen (Brookside) Jeffrey Holland & Judy Buxton (Crossroads & On The Up) and Sunny Ormonds (Lilian Bellamy in The Archers).

For more information go to cruiseandmaritime.com
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Whatever happened to Coronation Street's WARTS?

In last night's Corrie when the estate agent was showing the prospective buyer around Fred Elliott's empty butcher shop, Norris popped his oar in as an interested member of the Street's "Neighbourhood Watch".

Anyway, this got me wondering whatever happened to that other august body of Corrie business people, WARTS - Weatherfield Area Retail Traders Society? 

Fred was a leading light in that, and also the Square Dealers, and yet both networks seem to have been forgotten about despite the fact that the Street depends on small businesss to survive and there's no business network to support any of them. 

Bring back WARTS!

Blog Competition! WIN hamper of Fred Elliott's meat, I say, meat

With thanks to the lovely people at Aurora Food Marketing, we have another very special, exclusive competition for Coronation Street Blog readers. 

Note: Entries from moneysavingsexpert, Loquax or any other competitions website will not be entered into any of our competitions

We have a hamper of the new Fred Elliott range of meat products to be won by one lucky Corrie fan, drawn at random after sending in the correct answer to this competition.  The hamper will arrive at your address directly in a chilled polystyrene travel box and will include 12, I say 12, Fred Elliott meat products in the hamper.

The Fred Elliott meat range is now available in Northern England Tesco stores.

To be in with a chance to win this amazing Corrie prize, all you have to do is email me with the correct answers to these two questions and the winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries.

1. In Coronation Street, who was Fred Elliott due to marry on the day that he died?
2. On the Aurora Food Marketing website, which meat from the Fred Elliott range do they recommend using if you're thinking of making an extra tasty shepherds pie or chilli con carne?

Deadline is Tuesday 5th July, 2011 at 5pm. Only UK entrants please.

Fred's not dead, I say, he's a sausage

Coronation Street's dead butcher Fred Elliott is to have his own range of fresh meat sold in the shops.

WIN a hamper of Fred Elliott's new food range!

Fred was killed off by a heart attack before his wedding in 2006, and now his image will front Elliott's Prime Cuts, an 11-strong range of traditional fresh pork, chicken and beef lines.

Packs will show a picture of Elliott and the Rovers Return, and feature Elliott sayings such as "By 'eck, that's cheap" and "Aahh Saaay".

Dead, fat, fictional butcher promotes new meat products? I wasn't sure if this was an early April Fool or not but it appears to be quite real.

Santa Fred and his reindeer

As this is Christmas week, join me in the Wayback Machine for a look at one of my favourite funny scenes from Christmas past. You may recall that Elliott's Butchers had a corner of Freshcos back before the free standing butcher shop was opened in Victoria Street. The two overlapped for a short while but we haven't seen the grocery store shop since and the empire seems to consist of just the one shop, soon to be a memory, it seems.

Anyway, one Christmas Fred got a job lot of reindeer meat that he was trying to flog to the customers and made Ashley dress up like an elf to distribute samples. I don't know how Steven Arnold managed to keep a straight face in this scene, part of which went something like this:

Fred: "COME ON ASHLEH! SHIFT YERSELF!" (Ashley approaches) "Excellent!"
Ashley can't hear with the rubber ears on: "You wha?"
Fred tries again "EXCELLENT!"
Ashley: "Well you might think so".
Fred, handing him a plate of meat samples on toothpicks "Now the world awaits the latest innovation from Elliott's so get mingling.  And think on..If anybody asks what it is, remember it's sommat new but don't tell 'em what it is until they've  actually 'ad a taste. You know what folk are like...they've got small minds!"

Curly approaches, takes the mick out of Ashley and tries the sample and is subsequently horrified that it's reindeer though it was tasty. Fred points out that it's cheap, low in fat and high in protein. Curly allows it, but reminds them to keep it away from Santa's Grotto!

Golden!

In rememberence of Ashley Peacock and Fred Elliott.

50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days – 2006

Day 46 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

Sitting in the Rovers one day in 2005 Mike Baldwin suddenly couldn’t remember the name of vessel in which drinks are contained. It was a small, understated little scene but hugely significant as it signalled the start of the onset of Alzheimer’s. Over the coming year, much to the distress of people around him he became increasingly confused and lost and in his moments of clarity was in terror of the disease which was getting increasingly worse. Not all of his friends and family were wholly sympathetic though. His son Danny decided to try to take advantage of his vulnerable state and with his girlfriend Leanne Battersby, schemed to get Mike to sign documents that would hand control of the Baldwin empire to him.

Mike contracted pneumonia and was admitted to hospital but he ran off believing that he had some important business to take care of. He was spotted near his factory in the pouring rain by Ken Barlow who wrapped his coat around him and called an ambulance. In his confused and distressed state, Mike taunted Ken that Deirdre and little Tracy were going to move in with him now and that he was finished. ‘Deirdre loves me. She’s mine.’ And with that he suffered a massive heart attack and died on the cobbles in the arms of Ken. Ultimately Danny and Leanne’s plan to inherit Mike’s wealth were scuppered by the existence of another will which bequeathed everything to Mike’s son Adam, who sold the factory to Paul and Liam Connor.

Fred Elliott was a butcher with an eye for the ladies, unfortunately his love life was tragically unsuccessful. He’d married Maureen Holdsworth who promptly left him and ran away with Bill Webster. He married Eva Sykes who hadn’t bothered to divorce her previous husband first. And then there was his Thai bride Orchid, who turned out to be a con-artist market trader called Stacey. He was a serial proposer, asking Doreen Heavey, Rita Sullivan, Penny King and twice, Audrey Roberts to marry him but he was turned down every time. After years of trying he finally struck it lucky with Bev Unwin who gave him his chance to settle down once and for all.

In the run up to the wedding, Audrey admitted to Fred that when she last turned him down she was a stupid shallow woman who thought that she could do better but now she realises that she was wrong. If he’d asked her to marry her again, she would have said yes. But it wasn’t to be, Fred had now fallen in love with Bev and that was an end to it. At the church Ashley told his dad that Audrey had decided not to come and so he rushed off to see her. He told Audrey he hadn’t come to tell her what she wanted to hear, but that he loved Bev and he’s going to marry her. As he took his leave he told her: “Be happy. I say, be happy”. And as he headed to the front door there was a crash, a bang and a very deep moan. Fred had suffered a massive heart attack and died on Audrey’s Welcome mat laid out by her front door.

Also in 2006: Aadi and Asha Alahan born; Freddie (originally Thomas) Peacock born; Charlie Stubbs and Tracy Barlow get together; Ernest Bishop’s killer, Ed Jackson, returns to ask for forgiveness; David Platt sends his mother cards from Richard Hillman; Steve MacDonald buys the Rovers; Adam Barlow inherits the factory and sells it to Paul and Liam Connor; Becky Granger, Carla Connor and Michelle Connor make their first appearances; Maureen Webster returns briefly only to be told that her husband, Bill, is having an affair with Audrey Roberts.

Fab Photo Friday, April 9

I was looking through my Corrie images (you end up with quite a collection when you write for blogs!) and these two jumped off the screen. I thought they might bring back some fun memories. The photo above looks like Fred is just carrying on as he often did, postulating about something to Sunita. But no...what's happening is he felt a drop or two of water fall on him from the ceiling. This is what happened next!

Is Graeme the new Fred Elliot?

Now, I know Fred Elliot was one of the iconic Corrie characters and his absence leaves a large pair of shoes to be filled. Fred was eccentric, brash, and a little bit tragic. He had a heart as big as all outdoors and he loved his family and friends. I'm taking a long leap comparing Graeme to Fred, I know, but bear with me for a minute.

Graeme is also eccentric. Yet he has an innocence about him for all his dodgy pyromaniac past. He's sweet, yet street smart. He doesn't mince words, and he's kind and good hearted. He's always coming out with wonderful lines and observations, much like Fred though in a more bizarre way. Ok, he's totally off the wall and Fred wasn't like that but I think he's got potential. And so far, he's got that "loser in love" thing going. He did seem to have eyes for Tina at one point and he even tried to chat up Fiz but neither of them came to anything much.

Craig Gazey is a real find and Graeme has struck a collective "w00t!" in the hearts of Corrie viewers just like Fred did all those years ago, as did Roy Cropper, but I can't say Graeme is the new Roy because we've still got one of those. What do you think?

Fred Elliot in top 5 soap blokes poll

Fred Elliott came 5th in a poll of top soap blokes, as voted by the readers of Loaded magazine.

Fred is the only one from Coronation Street who featured in the top 10 of the poll, won by Harold Bishop from Neighbours.

John Savident stars in HMS Pinafore

John Savident, who played Fred, I say, Fred on Coronation Street is starring in HMS Pinafore at the Royal Theatre in Glasgow. Catch him while you can, I say, while he's there from March 10-14. Tickets and further information are here.

Want to see how Fred Elliott's making a come-back on Corrie this week? Click here.