Who lives where in Coronation Street (2/2)

Writing a post earlier in the week about the inhabitants of Weatherfield houses, I realised that there are far too many residences on the set nowadays and I'd have to therefore split it into two posts. Here's the first - and here's the latter of the set, covering Victoria Street, Rosamund Street and beyond.

19a Rosamund Street
Firstly it's worth noting that this is the only current residence on Rosamund Street. Whether that changes with the new set we'll have to wait and see. It's also worth stating that prior to the set move to MediaCity, this flat was numbered 9a, and prior to 2007 the entrance to it was on Victoria Street, where it was numbered 17a. Peter Barlow and his girlfriend Toyah Battersby currently live here, with Peter's nephew Adam.

14a Victoria Street
The flat above the community centre was last occupied by Kirk and Beth Sutherland. Janice Battersby was the longest serving resident and it is currently vacant.

15a Victoria Street
Steve McDonald owns the flat, which was rented by Kate Connor and Alya Nazir until tonight. He's turfed them out so that he and Liz have somewhere to live when they move out of the Rovers!

16a Victoria Street
Above Roy's Rolls Cafe is another flat, two-bedroomed and occupied by Roy Cropper and his lodger Brian Packham. Roy's wife Hayley took her own life in the front bedroom back in January 2014. Ken Barlow was staying here following his attack a few months ago but has since returned to No. 1.

18a Victoria Street
The flat above the kebab shop was home to Leanne Battersby until last year when she moved in with Nick at Victoria Court. It is now home to Leanne's half-sister Eva Price and her fiancée Aidan Connor (though perhaps for not much longer if Aidan's affair with Maria Connor is exposed!)

19a Victoria Street
The builder's yard's flat has fresh carpets with thanks to Pat Phelan - who had to replace them when he murdered Andy Carver in the flat last year. Luke Britton lives here now with his brand new flatmates Kate Connor and Alya Nazir who moved in after being turfed out of No. 15a Victoria Street. The flat featured heavily a few years ago when Rob Donovan followed Tina McIntyre upstairs and out onto the open roof where she was pushed and murdered following a blow to the head.

8 Victoria Court
Stylish although obscure in design, No. 8 Victoria Court was home to Nick Tilsley though now he's ran off to..er..somewhere, the only residents are single mum Leanne Battersby and her sons Simon Barlow and Oliver Battersby.

9 Victoria Court
This residence hadn't been seen for years until Robert Preston moved in. He was 'homeless' on the show for a while, with nobody quite knowing where he lived until his new flat appeared on screen. Girlfriend Michelle Connor moved in earlier this year.

12 Victoria Court
This is definitely the most lavish apartment, and previously the home to Carla Connor, her dad Johnny Connor now lives here alone. He's just kicked Jenny Bradley out after calling off their marriage.

5 Grasmere Drive
Audrey Roberts' house since she moved out of Coronation Street back in 1989 with husband Alf. She's lived alone since he death except for brief times when people have moved in such as Bill Webster, Nick Tilsey, David, Sarah-Louise and Bethany Platt.

28 Grayling Street
Now this is quite possibly the most ludicrous living arrangement. Izzy Armstrong lives in this bungalow with her son Jake Windass and Jake's dad Gary. Now I don't know about you, but I wonder how Sarah-Louise feels about her boyfriend still living with his ex? I know it's for the benefit of Izzy's health and to care for Jake but I can't imagine her being very happy about it.

Unknown Addresses: According to blog readers, Alex Warner now lives at in assisted living accommodation, we also currently see an unnamed flat above Nathan Curtis' tanning shop.

And well I've rather enjoyed compiling this little list of residences, so I think next week I'll do a follow up of 'who works where', as I've noticed there's a few new additions to some businesses recently.

You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk.

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Who lives where in Coronation Street (1/2)

This week, our blog editor Glenda posted about the 5 Weatherfield locations that we no longer see, and asked if anybody would do a post about who lives where in the show currently, following a rapid change in residents living arrangements in recent weeks. I've took it upon myself so here goes - let me know if I have anything wrong!

Rovers Return Inn
Well Kate Oates has teased that there will be a new name above the door at the Rovers this Summer but currently it's just Steve and Liz McDonald who live here. We know there are two bedrooms upstairs at the pub, but it makes me wonder where Amy sleeps when she stays over. Perhaps she has a bed in one of the rooms, or sleeps in that random living room that appeared upstairs in the late 2000s.

No. 1 Coronation Street
Ken Barlow, the house's inhabitant for best part of the show's on-screen history (1972-74, 1976-90, 1995 onwards). He lives here with his adopted daughter Tracey, and her daughter Amy. We recently saw the living room at No. 1, which is Amy's bedroom.

No. 2a Coronation Street
Maria Connor and her son, Liam Jnr. live here above Audrey's Salon. Michelle Connor was living here but moved out recently after a falling out. Aidan Connor has also spent one too many nights here recently, though not to fiancée Eva's knowledge.

No. 3 Coronation Street
As Emily is in Peru, Norris Cole is renting her bedroom out to lodger Sean Tully for company. Oh how I wish we could see more scenes from inside No. 3! Just think of the hilarity...

No. 4 Coronation Street
The one with the moving staircase, No. 4 has been home to Cllr. Sally Metcalfe since she swapped houses with the Peacock's back in 2008. She lives here with her husband Tim, and daughters Rosie and Sophie from her previous marriage to Kevin Webster. Her sister Gina Seddon moved into the house recently, meaning Rosie and Sophie have had to go back to sharing a bedroom!

No. 5 Coronation Street
Tenant Chesney Brown is currently sleeping on the sofa after the return of wayward ex-girlfriend Sinead Tinker earlier this month. Her auntie Beth and Beth's husband Kirk Sutherland also live here, alongside Beth's son Craig. I really do wonder where they all sleep in this house, does Craig share a bedroom with his mum and stepdad? It's also worth noting that No. 5 has a fantastic brick fireplace that we never see anymore.

No. 6 Coronation Street
It was our blogger Graeme who noticed in 2014 that the house was cursed, and that was probably something to do with the wallpaper that had been up donkeys years. Luckily, the Nazir family tastefully revamped the house and built an orangery on the back of it last year, but the house still remains cursed. Relative newly-weds Zeedan and Rana Nazir live here with house owner, Zeedan's grandmother Yasmeen and kebab shop worker Cathy Matthews. Does any reader know where Cathy's nephew Alex Warner lives? I was sure that he'd also moved to No. 6 but his absence on the street recently suggests not.

No. 7 Coronation Street
The front of No. 7 collapsed due to a dodgy beam all the way back in 1965, but was rebuilt in 1982 after many years of being rendered through the middle and replaced by a bench. The back half of this residence still dates back to when the street was built in 1902. Shop owner Dev Alahan lives here with his twins Aadi and Asha, and his girlfriend Erica Holroyd. The children's in house nanny Mary Taylor sleeps in the converted loft space.

No. 8 Coronation Street
Home to the Platt family since it was built, and currently owned by David Platt, No. 8 is also home to David's mother Gail, children Max and Lily, sister Sarah-Louise and her children Bethany and Harry. The garage of No. 8 was recently converted into another bedroom with en suite.

No. 9 Coronation Street
Tyrone Dobbs inherited this house from previous owner Jack Duckworth and lives here with his girlfriend Fiz Stape, with Hope and Ruby, their children from previous relationships. The living room at No. 9 is the girls' toy room, though Luke Britton and Freddie Smith have lodged here over the past year.

No. 10a Coronation Street
Rita Tanner's home above her pride and joy The Kabin. Lairy kebab shop worker Gemma Winter lives here too, and it wouldn't surprise me if Jenny Bradley came running back to No. 10a soon following troubles between her relationship with Johnny Connor.

No. 11 Coronation Street
The abode of Eileen Phelan and her evil husband Pat. Eileen's son Todd Grimshaw also lives here, alongside his boyfriend Vicar Billy Mayhew, who splits his time between No. 11 with Todd and the vicarage. Sean Tully used to live here for many years, sleeping in the front bedroom before moving in with Norris recently at No. 3. Shona Ramsey was staying at No. 11 until her recent departure - but she will be back soon. Will she have a place to stay though, as Billy's goddaughter Summer arrives in Weatherfield very soon.

No. 12 Coronation Street
The last resident of No. 12 was Julie Carp, but she left in 2012. To the best of our knowledge, nobody has lived here since!

No. 13 Coronation Street
I'm glad Kevin Webster is back at No. 13, afterall he did inherit it from Hilda back in 1987 and I always thought it was a shame that he swapped it with the Peacocks back in 2008. He lives here with girlfriend Anna Windass, his son Jack and Anna's adopted daughter Faye.

No. 15a Coronation Street
Troubled Daniel Osbourne is all alone in the flat above the corner shop now that his nephew Adam, ex-girlfriend Sinead and mum Denise have moved out.

...and I'm going to leave this blog post there, for now. I'll cover Victoria Street, Court and Rosamund Street in another post later in the week as I'm fearing now that this blog could go on, and on, and on. Just imagine what it'll be like when the extensions are added to the set!

You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk. With thanks to Corriepedia for some information for this post.

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Wall of Death

There's an important anniversary coming up on Corrie.  On the 3rd July 2006, Charlie Stubbs bought number 6 Coronation Street as a home for him and his fragrant girlfriend, the delightful Tracy Barlow.  Yes, ten years ago today.

That's not the anniversary I'm talking about though.  No, what's far more important is that it will mean it's almost ten years since Tracy Barlow put up that awful wallpaper in the living room of number 6.

Of course you know the one I'm talking about.  Pastel blue and white, a mix that swims round the back of your eyeballs like you're experiencing an extremely polite LSD trip.  Perhaps it was a good choice in 2006.  Sandi Thom had got to number one with "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)" in June of that year, so there was clearly something weird going on in the national psyche.  In 2016, that wallpaper is a cause of revulsion, frustration and anger.  For me, anyway.

I realise some people don't redecorate very often.  Emily Bishop has had the same wallpaper in her front room since the Cretaceous Period and that's fine.  In fact, I'd be a bit annoyed if Linda Barker suddenly turned up and told Emily how to brighten her nooks with some stenciling.  My point is, there have been three families living in that house since 2006, and none of them have thought "maybe a splash of magnolia would cheer the place up and distract us from the fact that a man was clubbed to death in this very room".  They've all been so lacklustre about changing the decor, I wouldn't be surprised if there's still a bit of Charlie's brain on the bordered Axminster.

First came Jerry Morton, better known as Sinbad from Brookside, who found enough money to have a crane lower a summerhouse into the back garden, but couldn't be bothered to nip to Homebase.  Mind you, he bought a three bedroom house despite having five children so clearly he wasn't the homemaking type.  The hideousness of the Morton family, with their many disparate children of random ages and their haunted grandfather, actually proved an effective distraction from that nasty blue and white pattern on the wall.  For a year they bellowed at one another, trying to summon us some kind of familial chemistry, before they were dismissed as a bad lot and shipped off to Spain.

Admittedly, the Windasses were initially tenants at number 6.  Most landlords don't like you blu-tacking posters to the walls, never mind a comprehensive redecoration, so you could understand why Anna didn't rush to do the place up.  But in 2011, Owen bought the house, and soon he moved in with Anna.  Owen was an actual builder.  He could have put up some cheery striped vinyl in a couple of hours with very little fuss - or at least, he'd know a man who could.  And yet that wallpaper carried on,  Anna mithered him about many things over the course of their relationship, but she never once demanded that he get busy with a scraper and some sugar soap.

Remember, during the same period, Ashley and Claire redecorated number 4 so comprehensively they actually moved a staircase.  But no-one had even the slightest inclination to pull down the pastel covered migraine at number 6.  I mean, look at that sofa: it doesn't match the walls at all, and everyone just lives with it.

The house was finally bought by the Nazir family, and I thought, "hurray!"  Surely there would be a radical change under the new owners?  After all, this was a family who clearly had a bit of money, a bit of class.  They wouldn't want to carry on with someone else's decorating mistakes.

Nope.  Yasmeen is clearly a woman who knows what she wants and frequently gets it, but all she seems to have bothered doing is chucking up a few paintings and getting a "summerhouse" built out the back.  And here we are, ten years later, still staring at that turquoise nightmare.  I'm starting to pray for a horrible fire - not because I have anything against the Nazirs, but because that might actually make them redecorate.  Surely Sally would see this as an easy win in her fabulous war of snobbery with Yasmeen?  "I never thought a respectable lady like you would take interior design tips from a convicted murderer."  Speaking as someone who has mercilessly judged my neighbours for crimes as minor as putting the toilet roll on the holder the wrong way round, I can't believe Weatherfield's own Margo Leadbetter wouldn't leap at the opportunity to get one over Mrs Nazir.

Perhaps it's a trick on us, the viewers?  Perhaps, like Nicky Tilsley's on-off brain injury and the continuing existence of Robert Preston, this is a test of our loyalty.  "Let's see how much of that wallpaper they can take before they start switching off."  Well, you've broken me, Corrie producers.  Never mind a sixth episode.  All I want from the Street in 2017 is two coats of Farrow and Ball.

Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Download our free App | Visit Corrie.net

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog

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

Should a Corrie home keep its character?

A new poll by Opinion Matters (on behalf of homewares brand Heart of House) has ranked Ken and Deirdre's living room in third place as the most outdated home in soaps. Not far behind are Roy Cropper's living room (5th place), Fiz and Tyrone's living room (7th place), the Rovers' back room (9th place) and Emily's living room (10th place).

As for the most updated and modern abodes, there is Carla's flat (which I think is also Peter's?) at 2nd place, Nick Tilsley's flat (6th place) and the Websters (not sure if it's No. 4 or No. 13!).

To see the full results, check them out on Digital Spy. 

This got me thinking about the homes of Coronation Street, and I asked myself a question: what's most important - fashion or character?

For many years, the interior sets of the street, bar the Rovers, lacked a lot of imagination. The floors were carpet-less and grey and the walls were brown or grey. Since the 1980s, they've been spruced up and a little colour and character has been introduced. Some of the props have been there for decades. The Barlows still have Albert Tatlock's sideboard and table and chairs while Emily's cabinet and table and chairs have been there since the 1970s. Although in real life, they probably would've faced the skip, in Corrie nostalgia is important and so they are kept. 

Following the studies of Darwin and Freud about people's links with their environment, playwrights began to include subtle hints about the personalities of characters through the pictures on the walls,the wallpaper, or the furniture. And Corrie is no different.

Hilda Ogden's 'muriel' and flying ducks symbolized both her quirkiness and her social aspirations; the Duckies' living room symbolized their lives - all over the place; while Mike Baldwin's flat represented his suaveness. It wasn't until 1982 when No. 7 was rebuilt that modern houses were seen and portrayed on screen and it wasn't until the new houses were built that Corrie began modernising.

So, should a Corrie home keep its character? Or should they go with the flow where fashion is concerned?

Download our App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook



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