Lee Boardman and Jennifer James are a familiar couple to Coronation Street fans. Lee played the wonderful villain Jez 'Steve McDonald, come on down' Quigley in Coronation Street and Jennifer played Rovers barmaid Geena Gregory.
The couple met on the set of Coronation Street and are now married. They set up their own acting school called Actor Tribe three years ago in Knutsford. Now following its success, they are expanding, with a new school in Heaton Mersey, Stockport.
Lee and Jenny are being supported in their venture by fellow Coronation Street stars and friends, who are patrons of Actor Tribe, including Stockport’s Sally Lindsay (Shelley Unwin) and Suranne Jones (Karen McDonald). Students at Actor Tribe have previously had masterclasses from Suranne, Sally and comedian Peter Kay, as well as meeting top agents, directors and casting directors.
Actor Tribe will be holding a meet and greet event on Sunday, September 11, between 12 noon and 2pm, at Natalie Wood School of Theatre and Dance, Winsor House, Heaton Mersey Industrial Estate, Battersea Road.
Pat Phelan, played by Connor McIntyre is an exceptionally effective villain, one of the best to walk the cobbles. He has just the right mix of menace and credibility. There was Jez Quigley too who had the same ability to appear like a good, misunderstood guy. Tony Gordon was similar in that skill too but Richard Hillman was perhaps the real king of the villains. Nevertheless, Phelan sends a shudder down the spine.
Viewers will remember the entanglement with Owen, Gary and Anna and how Phelan cheated them even after Anna had gone through with the whole sleep with Phelan plan to help the family coffers. We might have guessed that he would not keep his promise. Just to annoy further the Armstrong/Windass clan, Phelan sent them a postcard from Dubai.
On his return to the cobbles, he seemed down on his luck. Valerie had seen the real Pat Phelan and divorced him. She had all his assets too, apparently, though a man as keen on the good things in life as he is, it seems odd that he would have allowed this state of affairs. For the sake of the storyline we will have to accept this.
Then. what was this? Heroic Phelan - the man who stepped out in front of the getaway car after the bungled bistro burglary. It was Kevin, his new boss, who dragged him away from the car. Anna went over to see how Kevin was only to be stunned by the sight of Phelan. His presence caused many a problem between Anna and Kevin. As yet, Anna has not revealed to Kevin what happened between her and Phelan. But she will. This is soap world and all must out.
Phelan's skill is to appear as one of the nicest imaginable chaps you could ever meet. Good fun, easy-going, loyal and decent. He is able to disguise his real feelings when he needs to do so, as he proves in tonight's episodes.
Andy is instructed by Michael concerning Phelan, not to be 'fooled by his affable charm.' Michael tells him to keep an eye on Phelan. Andy overhears Phelan on the phone, clearly haggling over a price. Andy realises that it is the chisels Phelan had admired and called 'beauties'. He reports to his 'dad' and Michael confronts him in the builders yard. Suddenly, Michael grips his chest and tumbles down the stairs. Phelan's true colours are here exposed and he seems almost pleased, or at least amused by Michael's misfortune. He's sorry he didn't have his camera with him. He does nothing to help him but the moment Jason arrives Phelan's voice and attitude change completely. He's all call the ambulance and concerned expressions.
At the hospital Michael tells Phelan that he's not wanted and Eileen cannot understand Michael's antagonism. After all, this is the man who fixed her kitchen cupboards. Michael is agitated and the doctor has to tell him that he 'must avoid any undue agitation'. Phelan is on top of things though and when questioned, Phelan claims that he was talking to a mate who would polish and sharpen Charlie Stubbs' chisels. So, he was doing a favour for a mate. What a great bloke!
On leaving Michael at the hospital Eileen reveals that Phelan is giving her a lift home. 'Don't you worry Michael,' crows Phelan, 'I'll take good care of her.' Michael's heart cannot be helped by this.
Move over Jez Quigley… do one Rick Neelan –
there’s a new bad boy in town and his name is Callum Logan!
Callum - Kylie’s ex and the biological
father of Max - will be making his on-screen debut this evening. I attended a
round table event at ITV Southbank yesterday during which I was able to quiz actor
Sean Ward on what we can expect from Corrie’s new baddie.
Fresh out of prison after a two year
stretch for assault and having set up shop as a drug dealer (hence the “bit of business”
he was conducting in Leeds on Wednesday night), Callum is a nasty piece of work.
Sean Ward, on the other hand, is a top bloke who I suspect couldn’t be nasty if
he tried. Here we are (a) doing bad boy poses and (b) in a more relaxed stance:
Sean is “very excited” to be joining
Coronation Street and jokes that being a bad boy is “much better than the
rom-com guy”. He describes Callum as a “bad lad” who deals drugs and has “never
been around for Max”. However, he feels that Callum only really went off the
rails when Kylie left, after which he “resorted to violence and ended up in
prison”.
I asked if Callum is an out-and-out villain
or whether there could be something of the “loveable rogue” about him. “That’s
how I’ve tried to play him”, he says. Despite the fact “he’s got history, a bad
past and a terrible job”, Sean sees Callum as a “flirty
cheeky chappy” with “a little glint in his eye”. And deep down, he still cares
for Kylie. I suspect there could be feelings that remain on her side too -
first love and all of that.
Whether Kylie is searching for answers
about Max’s condition or trying to score some stronger chemicals than ADHD
tablets, she will be reunited with her ex tonight. According to Sean, Callum “definitely”
wants Kylie back and would go “as far as he can” to get her. But if successful,
whether or not he would keep her is another matter. “It’s all about the chase”,
says Sean. Classic bad lad!
While David is right to be upset with Kylie
for stealing Max’s pills, his grandstanding indignation is pushing her away –
onto harder drugs and potentially into the arms of Callum.
Callum looks down on David, who he
mockingly refers to as “the hairdresser”. But as hard as Callum might be, it
takes a brave man to get on the wrong side of David Platt. And besides – Platty must be a Senior Stylist by now. “We all know David’s done some crazy things”,
laughs Sean who believes it would be a great match between them and would “love
to be the guy” who gives David a slap.
Going by the preview clip for tonight’s first
episode (which is all that Sean has seen of himself so far), Callum’s early
scenes will take place inside the Dog and Gun pub, the name of which is
appropriately menacing. These scenes were filmed on location in Wythenshawe, traditionally
one of Manchester’s less salubrious districts. The clip can be viewed below:
Callum will initially inhabit a world
outside of The Street, away from the rest of the cast. “I don’t actually feel
like I’m on Coronation Street yet as I’ve not hit Weatherfield”, says Sean.
However, Callum is likely to “cause a bit of trouble on the cobbles” soon
enough.
Callum can’t believe that Kylie has
settled for a quiet life in cushy Weatherfield and will want to find out more
about the world she now lives in. Even though it might be what she deserves, he
will try to convince her that it is not what she wants.
Max may be the reason Kylie gives for seeking Callum out but she soon “falls back into her old kind of life and is able
to forget all the stress”. So it’s not really about Max then, as Kylie claimed
to Eva when setting off for the Paul Robeson Estate on Wednesday evening.
According to Sean, it is the drugs that
have brought Kylie back to Callum “but he thinks she’s coming back for him”.
With the lines blurred, he will use the drugs to “keep her around”. It seems
difficult to empathise with a character that doles out wraps of speed to
someone he is supposed to care about.
That said; Callum could yet redeem himself
as a father to Max. “I’d love to turn Max into a little Callum”, says Sean –
“get rid of that floppy hair, get the top button all the way up - the pair of
us could go bowling down the cobbles”. If Kylie and Callum sound like a recipe
for disaster, Sean points out that “the fact Max would have both parents in his
life” is one good thing that could come out of their renewed contact.
It must be daunting to come into a show as
big as Coronation Street but also to step into the lives of one its most established
families. “Kylie is such a loved character”, says Sean, “so that’s where I’m
scared because I’m leading her down an even worse path”.
Sean has “no idea what the plan is yet with
Callum” but there could be scope for him to stay on in Weatherfield. But not as
“a full time drug dealer”, says Sean. Not with the strict anti-drugs policy at
The Rovers (there is a sign behind the bar), made even stricter following that unsavoury business with Ryan Connor.
Corrie’s Publicity Manager notes that the
reaction at ITV has been very good so far and Logan’s run has been extended to
20 episodes. We’ll be seeing a fair bit of Callum in the coming weeks then.
While he has been acting for years (he
starred in the David Thewlis film “Cheeky” at the age of 12 and the excellent adaptation
of “Awaydays”, not to mention the current BBC1 drama “Our Girl” with Lacey Turner),
Sean can expect more notoriety as his Corrie scenes go out.
Until fairly recently, between acting jobs he
worked in the Manchester bar, “Almost Famous”. By coincidence, I was there last
week and when I describe the amazing double cheeseburger with pulled pork that
I ate there, he quickly identifies it as the “Triple Nom”. I wonder if any of
the “real journalists” present at the round table will report this key fact!
Sean quips that getting the part in Corrie made
him “nearly famous”. He enjoys talking to people and hopes that being in Corrie
will simply mean he’ll “be able to say hello to more people.” Just so long as
he doesn’t get handbagged or, worse still, “battered in Tesco!”
He is enjoying working with Paula Lane who
he describes as “a Goddess” for showing him the ropes on set. If he could
choose his ideal scene when Callum does eventually tread the Cobbles, Sean
would “love to go and have a bacon butty with Roy”. Who wouldn’t?!!
Corrie has a rich history of bad lads and
Sean’s favourite in recent years has been Rob. It could be said that Marc
Baylis is passing the baton on and who knows, maybe Callum will be up for Best
Bad Boy when the next awards season rolls round? Let’s wait and see.
It was great to meet Sean Ward yesterday and I look forward to seeing the sparks fly
between Kylie and Callum over the next few weeks; and exactly what this will mean
for the residents of No 8 Coronation Street.
I haven't watched EastEnders in years, but news this week that Nick Cotton is returning to the show (even though he's dead) made me smile. I remember him being a thoroughly nasty piece of work - and great fun to watch.
It got me thinking about the Corrie bad lads and villains, murderers and scum bags that have walked the cobbles over the years.
Which one, if you had to choose just one, would you like to return (even from the dead)?
My vote would go to the wonderful Jez Quigley. "Steve McDonald... come on down!"
It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street
photo. Whenever the subject of villains comes up on this blog, the likes of Richard Hillman and John Stape always seem to be rated highly. But I've never rated them as proper villains, now Jez Quigley, he was a proper nasty villain.
In last night's episodes, Beth told Eileen about the one date she had with Steve in October 2000 when he took her to a film (Billy Elliott) and was all over her. I wonder if this is rewriting history somewhat?
Looking back, that was only a month or so after Steve was beaten nearly to death by Jez Quigley in September 2000.
The month of October was mainly taken up with Liz returning and Jim turning himself in for manslaughter charges. Odd he'd have the time or strength to go out on dates but one thing is true, that was about the time when the movie Billy Elliott was first out. I saw it myself in London in September 2000.
