Corrie's Richard Hawley to Star in New Stage Play

The Corrie connections are in abundance for crime writer Hilary Bonner as actor Richard Hawley, who played Johnny Connor on the cobbles until his watery death in the epic sink-hole episodes last week, announced he’s set to join Bonner’s brand new stage play ‘Dead Lies’, which tours the UK next year. 

Richard is a well known face on TV having appeared in crime and daytime dramas such as The Bill and Family Affairs as well as Downton Abbey and some big budget films like Love actually. We saw Johnny struggling in the dark sewers beneath Weatherfield on Friday as the Horrornation Street drama took a devastating turn, when he slipped away in front of his helpless ex Jenny. The actor made the announcement about his new role on Monday's Loose Women.

Dead Lies is Hilary Bonner’s first stage play and follows Peter George, “a politician who promises a new kind of politics beyone sleaze and spin” (which would be nice). Joe Harmston directs the political thriller which is produced by Red Entertainment. The tour starts in the spring of 2022.

Hilary is married to Corrie icon Amanda Barrie (Alma Sedgewick), who herself will be treading the boards this winter in panto as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, at the Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple.

You can buy tickets for Dead Lies HERE and for Cinderella HERE.

Enjoy!

@StevieDawson

---

---

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

Social Distancing with Amanda Barrie

Corrie and Carry On icon Amanda Barrie has written in today's Daily Mirror about life in isolation as she and wife Hilary Bonner adhere to the government's social distancing rules.

Amanda shares memories of her early career and life during and after the war, but admits we are in unique and testing times due to the global pandemic. She said of the current situation:

"All the trivial normalities of my life, like everybody else’s, have suddenly disappeared.

Surely nothing in history has ever moved as fast or disrupted lives so swiftly as the coronavirus.

I’m an old chorus girl and a wartime babe. My childhood memories include being buried in an avalanche of black-market tinned peas while sheltering from bombs under the cellar stairs.

Nothing, nothing, comes close to this."

Social Distancing with Style

Amanda and Hilary (and their cute pup Coco) live between London and Somerset and are spending isolation away from the city.

The couple have vowed to get dressed up for dinner a couple of times a week whilst secluded from the rest of society, have a routine for cleaning and chores, and are working on a secret book project together.

Amanda appeared in Celebrity Big Brother back in 2018 which looking back was perhaps a bit of a dress rehearsal for life cooped up for real. Although this time she's not trapped in with Anne Widdecombe so every cloud...

We at the Corrie Blog send Amanda, Hilary and little Coco all our love and best wishes in these strange times.

The full article in the Mirror is HERE.

@StevieDawson 

---

---

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