Strictly Corrie Dancing

As Strictly Come Dancing returns to TV here's a reminder of 2015's s fab-u-lous blog post by @Merseytart. It's all about Coronation Street stars who have been strictlified...

With the announcement that little Katy Armstrong is about to don twelve inches of fake tan and a diamante thong to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, I thought it would be an ideal time to look back at previous Coronation Street stars who've braved the ballroom.

For the first few years, there were no Corrie stars on the show, and there still haven't been any current cast members shaking their groove thang on the dance floor.  For some reason ITV isn't keen on letting its soap stars have time off to appear on one of the glittering stars in the BBC's firmament; can't think why.  Shame, because who wouldn't want to see Rita or Gail doing a samba to Ooh Stick You? In fact, the first Coronation Street actor to appear on the show hadn't even been on Corrie yet.

Jill Halfpenny - Series Two

AKA: medical strumpet Rebecca Hopkins.

Professional Partner: Darren Bennett

Eliminated: WINNER!

Strictly Journey: I completely forgot that Jill Halfpenny was in Corrie - I remember her mainly from Byker Grove, because I'm ancient - but Strictly blogging legend Chris Rubery (aka the Monkseal) pointed out my error on Twitter so I had to do a quick re-edit of this post mere moments after pressing "publish".  Jill, of course, won the show, and has since gone on to be spoken of in hushed tones as Queen Of All Things Strictly.  Jill Halfpenny is the winner of all winners, a sainted dance legend, and so we'll just forget the fact that she broke up Martin and Gail's marriage, the TART.

Will Thorp - Series Three

AKA: Chris Gray, tedious wife batterer.

Professional Partner: Hanna Haarala

Eliminated: Week Six.

Strictly Journey: sadly, Will's appearance pre-dates both my interest in the show and YouTube so I was unable to review his performance.  However, he was eliminated ahead of middle aged BBC Breakfast legend Bill Turnbull so I don't think he was the new Fred Astaire.

Ray Fearon - Series Four

AKA: Nathan Cooper, mechanic and one-time sexual plaything of Tracy Barlow.

Professional Partner: Camilla Dallerup

Eliminated: Week Six.

Strictly Journey: again, YouTube is not our friend, and the only footage I could find was a grainy video of the male contestants doing a group dance.  Ray seemed to be a big fan of the "stand still while the professional twiddles around you" dancing which usually means a duffer.

Claire King - Series Four

AKA: current resident cougar Erica Holroyd.

Professional Partner: Brendan Cole

Eliminated: Week Eight.

Strictly Journey:  Claire danced like a stripper in need of her rent money and had absolutely no compunction about steaming up the camera lens with filth.  Also, she hated Brendan, leading to a prickly relationship on the floor.  Pretty fantastic all round, really.

Brian Capron - Series Five

AKA: Norman Bates with a Briefcase, Richard Hillman

Professional Partner: Karen Hardy

Eliminated: Week One.

Strictly Journey: see above.  I assume Brian was dancing in character as the recently revived zombie corpse of Richard Hillman, and that was why he lumbered around with no sense of rhythm or movement.  It was actually painful watching him clatter round the dance floor.

Stephanie Beacham - Series Five

AKA: canal-based trollop Martha Fraser.

Professional Partner: Vincent Simone

Eliminated: Week Two.

Strictly Journey: A legendary diva like La Beacham insists on looking her best at all times.  Presumably that's why she danced so timorously: she was afraid of messing up her hair.  She was mostly fabulous offscreen, barking her opinions on her fellow dancers on It Takes Two.

Craig Kelly - Series Seven

AKA: forgettable factory manager Luke Strong.

Professional Partner: Flavia Cacace

Eliminated: Week Eight.

Strictly Journey: Blackpool-born Craig (he was from Blackpool) made great mileage out of the fact that he really wanted to perform in the Tower Ballroom during the traditional Blackpool week.  In fact, Blackpool-born Craig couldn't seem to talk about anything else, and the viewers clearly took pity on him, letting him stay on the show far longer than more qualified contestants so they could give him the chance to cha-cha-cha in the home of British ballroom.  Then they promptly voted him out, because the Great British Public will only take so much.

Tina O'Brien - Series Eight 

AKA: pocket sized irritant Sarah-Louise Platt.

Professional Partner: Jared Murillo

Eliminated: Week Five

Strictly Journey: at first it looked like tiny Tina could be a whizz on the dance floor.  Unfortunately, her daughter caught chickenpox during her time on the show, leading (a) to her mind understandably being on other things and (b) Tina herself catching the pox and having to miss out one week.  The following week she was back but she was kind of beat and frankly sending her home was a relief for everyone.

Jimi Mistry - Series Eight

AKA: recently flame grilled gym owner Kal Nazir.

Professional Partner: Flavia Cacace

Eliminated: Week Six

Strictly Journey: back when he was still "Hollywood star Jimi Mistry", he looked like a shoo-in for the final.  He'd shown his dance skills off already in The Guru and he was a charming chap.  It was therefore a SHOCK! BOOT! when he went out in week six, losing out to the frankly bonkers (in a good way) Michelle Williams.  Still, he got a wife and child out of the experience, so he probably couldn't care less.

Debra Stephenson - 2011 Christmas Special

AKA: crypto-incestuous Cockney Frankie Baldwin.

Professional Partner: Ian Waite

Eliminated: it was a Christmas special, so there was nothing as cruel as an elimination; Debra came second in the judges' rankings.

Strictly Journey: Debra insisted on miming along to the lyrics of Baby It's Cold Outside as she danced, which is just annoying, but she acquitted herself admirably and actually got the same number of points (37) as Charlie "Janine from EastEnders" Brooks.  Charlie was declared the winner though.  Was it because the Beeb would rather award the win to one of their own instead of an upstart from the commercial channel?  I couldn't possibly comment.  (Yes).

Natalie Gumede - Series Eleven 

AKA: her who belted Tyrone with the hoover nozzle - Kirsty Soames.

Professional Partner: Artem Chigvintsev

Eliminated: Finalist (so let's say she came second, because let's face it she was better than Susannah Reid)

Strictly Journey: a long-limbed dance icon, Natalie strode her way across the dance floor with aplomb, and probably should have won.  A week off due to illness and the public's lingering unwillingness to vote for a psychopath who'd beaten up poor Tyrone meant that she was unfairly denied the glitterball.  Also, in the final, she claimed to have "touched the divine" on the dance floor, which is the greatest way to describe fannying about to a C-grade version of And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going I have ever heard.  SHE WAS ROBBED, is what I'm saying.

BONUS: Tupele Dorgu - Strictly African Dancing

AKA: mouthy Underworld legend Kelly Crabtree

Strictly Journey: part of the BBC's Africa season in 2005, Tupele was roped into performing traditional dances with an African troupe.  She lost the crown to footballer Robbie Earle, but has since parlayed her dance experience into various touring musical theatre productions so she's doing fine.

Will Georgia May Foote manage to go one better than Natalie Gumede and snatch the Strictly crown?  She claims to have had a little bit of dance training as a child, which usually means she spent most of her infancy in a tutu doing the splits and she'll blow us all away with her skills (see West End star Denise Van Outen claiming that all she'd done in Chicago was sit on a chair).  It also means that the public, while appreciating her talent, won't vote for her because she didn't have a journey.  We shall see when Strictly returns in September.  In the meantime, keeeeeep dancing!

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



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

Tracy's Revenge - next week on Coronation Street

The Coronation Street blog sat down with cast and crew of Coronation Street on Friday where all was revealed ahead of the explosive week titled 'Tracy’s Revenge'. In a small screening room in Central London, Kym Marsh, Jimi Mistry and Sally-Ann Matthews sat with us as we watched each gripping episode, enjoying every moment just as much as we did with each actor's character having a central role in the episodes. Producer Stuart Blackburn shared a few teasers for the months ahead, as summer on Coronation Street promises to be truly unmissable and more than worthy of that recent BAFTA win.

Director David Kester offered an insight into the many hours put in to creating such an epic and unforgettable series of stories, culminating in several life-changing events. The fire itself, the central event in next week’s episodes, took over five weeks to film, several weeks longer than planned, as cast and crew worked painstakingly to get it just right. We've seen the build up to these scenes over many months, and at the centre of the story, we'll be left wondering whether Tracy has yet again gone too far. But it’s not just the event itself we should look forward to. What happens on Coronation Street next week will have repercussions for many months to come and will see families torn apart, surprise new relationships formed, with new and uncharted directions for some of the characters we know and love. 

The Coronation Street Blog will be with you all the way, with perspectives, opinions and exclusive news from the actors and producers themselves. So keep checking the blog over the coming days. In the meantime you can whet your appetite by watching the Tracy's Revenge trailer here.

Whilst we had them, our writers took the opportunity to ask producers about another major storyline heading our way; Deirdre’s demise. Beverley Callard revealed this week that whilst she tried hard to keep reality and Coronation Street apart, her first scenes in the Barlows’ living room recently brought back the reality of her friend Annie Kirkbride’s death, and it was a difficult experience. Stuart Blackburn revealed that they are now working on Deirdre’s funeral and the aftermath, how families and friends come together to remember the iconic character. Expect tears, laughter and the odd lock-in at the Rovers.

Don’t forget to follow #TracysRevenge on Twitter, where blogger @StevieDawson will be sharing more about the coming week’s brilliant Corrie.

It's going to be explosive...

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

Jimi Mistry leaving Corrie as Kal Nazir

The official Coronation Street website at itv.com/corrie have announced that Jimi Mistry is leaving Coronation Street as Kal Nazir.

Jimi said:"I have had a fantastic 18 months on Coronation Street but I never saw myself staying around forever, my life is in London and I enjoy playing a variety of roles."

I rate Jimi Mistry as an actor and wish him all the very best for his future.  But I can't say I'll be sorry to see Kal leave. For this Corrie fan, I don't think Kal has worked as a character or fitted into the Street, and neither have his son and father.

The Nazir women, on the  other hand, are great.

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

Mortification Street

I came home late from work last night and sat down to watch Coronation Street before bed. What followed were some of the most mortifying scenes I've witnessed in Corrie's long history. Right up there with Tracy's "sexy" dance before offing nasty Charlie Stubbs, worse that Dev's naked form being displayed on the side of the posh flats and almost giving anything "Molvin" a run for its money.

The mortification levels were so high in our house thanks to the delightful hen party storyline which saw Weatherfield's finest personal trainer, Kal Nazir, overexcite some rather unpleasant females by serving their microwaved puds half naked. The sight of Kal, stripped to the waist and slathered across the midriff with chocolate mousse was not only a waste of pudding, but a waste of my time as a Corrie viewer. Quite why this got Leanne's pulse racing I'm not quite sure, but it did and they snogged and nobody ever saw that one coming. 

It was just so tedious. My complaint about last nights scenes comes in two parts I'm afraid, so buckle up.

First of all, and possibly most importantly for the reputation of the programme, this storyline was just incredibly contrived, hackneyed and disrespectful. How many times has the dreadful male stripper plot been used? The mild titillation afforded by half naked men in the 7.30pm time slot really isn't worth the effort. It really doesn't do the writers, actors or viewers any favours. It's not funny, it's not dramatic, it's not clever.

I blame the arrival of Brian Park back in the 1990s for this phenomenon. When he introduced Adam Rickitt to the viewing public back in 1997, Corrie would never be the same again. The female characters were soon to drool over his physique which was amply displayed, whether essential to the plot or not. Ever since, there has been a long line of muscular young men fulfilling that role. Yawn. Time for some new ideas I think.

My second complaint is not directly about Coronation Street itself. I've been dismayed but not altogether surprised by the reaction to Jimi Mistry's role in the aforementioned storyline. Never mind whether you like the character or respect the actor, it really is totally unpleasant to pass such scathing judgements on someone else's appearance. Some of the comments I've read on internet forums and comments pages have been really out of line and I only hope the actor himself hasn't seen them. Fair play to the man for making the most of a lousy script and a bad idea. He did his best. I'd like to see how some of the people posting such negative comments about his appearance would cope if they had to endure such treatment. 

So enough with the half naked waiters and the sticky toffee pudding. Judging by the content of last night's Corrie, they should've been serving up Manchester tart instead.


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

What do we think of Corrie's Kal so far?

Kal Nazir has now been on our screens for a good few weeks so I thought I would ask the question - what do you think of him so far?

So far we've seen Kal bond with Dev and attempt to help Nick through his current difficulties. We've also seen him attract the attentions of Stella and Come to Deirdre, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the beginnings of a spark with the newly separated Leanne. 

The Corrie writers have done a good job of involving Kal with the Corrie community and now a new gym is planned, that's bound to continue. Really though, can you see the likes of Kirk and Beth pounding the treadmills?

Some might say that Kal has been presented as an overly cheerful character, although we do know he is a widower with children so there is bound to be drama to be had there. We also know that the rest of the Nazirs will be introduced gradually this year and it will be interesting to see how Corrie handles their first Muslim family. 

I must confess I am slightly biased in my opinions where Kal is concerned as I've always had a soft spot for actor Jimi Mistry. 

However, I'm interested in your views. Do you like what you've seen so far? Are you looking forward to seeing the rest of his family onscreen? And who on the street do you think Kal should be partnered off with?

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

Kal's muslim family to join Coronation Street

Coronation Street's new personal trainer Khalid will be getting a family on the show when his dad, mam, son and daughter move in.

Kal will become more prominent on screen over the next few months as he will go into business with Dev to open a gym at the Victoria Court complex.

Coronation Street's produer Stuart Blackburn says: "We've established that Kal, his son and his daughter live with Kal's mum and dad. We're going to see his mum, dad and his children - we're probably going to bring them onto the street and they'll be the first Muslim family that Corrie has ever had."

On Kal's dad Sharif, he added: "Sharif retired some time ago. He isn't rich, but he'd made enough money. We imagine that there were some health problems and his wife said, 'Now you're no longer going to go to work 12 hours a day!'"

Kal's dad will be played by actor Marc Anwar.  The rest of Kal's family have yet to be cast.

Follow Coronation Street Blog on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog


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

Pic: Coronation Street's Jimi Mistry weds Flavia Cacace

Many congratulations go to Coronation Street newcomer Jimi Mistry, who plays Kal, as he's just been married to his fiancee, the Strictly Come Dancing dancer Flavia Cacace.  Both Jimi and Flavia have posted the picture below to twitter today with the same message: "Had the most amazing day with family & friends @StPancrasRen ❤️xxx"

Flavia has also updated her name on her twitter account from Flavia Cacace to Flavia Cacace-Mistry.

Congratulations from all of us here at the Coronation Street Blog.

Follow Coronation Street Blog on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog


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

Introducing Jimi Mistry as new Corrie character Kal

Introducing Jimi Mistry, who I had the privilege of interviewing recently at ITV.

Monday night's episode this week saw Dev trying to get into shape, but soon he will have more than a walking work station in the shape of Jimi Mistry, who many will recognise from the film East is East or the soap Eastenders, and is joining Coronation Street as Kal, short for Khalid. He will play the role of a personal trainer and his mission is to get Dev into shape.

Kal will also be instrumental in helping Nick Tilsley recover and become fully fit. Jimi spoke highly of Ben Price who plays the part of Nick and was fulsome in his praise of Ben for his warmth and the terrific welcome he showed.

Clearly, to be a personal trainer the actor has to look the part and indeed be the part. Jimi told us that he believes in the mantra, ‘Be the best you can be’ - and who can argue with that?  As a result,  Jimi is putting himself through his paces and he spoke in particular about a form of exercise called ‘cross fit’ which is the exercise Jimi’s character Kal will be recommending to his clients and urging them to try  as part of their training regime.

Coincidentally, Jimi was already involved in this kind of training before he got the call from Coronation Street, so from that point of view, the character of Kal is perfect for him.  Exercise and diet are very important to him too, and it shows.  Whatever regime he’s been following, it is certainly working as he looks very healthy on it.

Jimi was in Eastenders from 1998-9, and since then he’s been working in a number of different countries. After roaming around the globe, Jimi was keen to get back to Britain. He is 40 now and is getting married again soon to Flavia Cacace from Strictly Come Dancing. Jimi says Strictly changed his life. From a very young age he loved to dance, practising Michael Jackson’s moves in his  parents’ garage. Interestingly it was only after the show that Flavia and Jimi got together and he proposed on New Year’s Eve.

Jimi feels that Coronation Street’s reputation is second to none and who can disagree? He was keen to join Coronation Street, but was surprised and delighted to be invited to join so swiftly.

In his role as Kal, Jimi plans to make a real impact in Britain’s best loved show. He is keen to invest a lot into his character, which will, he readily admits, mean hard work.  He said that he had a process for learning lines but when he told the cast about his process, they said that that would change and he’d be learning his lines the night before.  Also it has taken some time to get used to the way in which the scheduling and the filming are organised, but he has now mastered it.

Asked which female character, if any, Kal might enjoy a relationship with, Jimi had no news. It is worth emphasising that he is single when he comes to the cobbles, so it surely must be the case that there will be a woman at some point, who will be rather taken with handsome Kal.

There is though, real sadness in Kal’s life. His wife has died and he has children, one of them a teenage son, who, true to form, being a teenager, is somewhat challenging.

Jimi himself has a twelve year old daughter, who lives in France with her mum, though he sees her regularly, so his experience of Street teenagers will be just in time for him.

A couple of amusing questions were put to Jimi, one being whether he would, if given the opportunity, change the theme tune to Coronation street. He said he would not change it fundamentally but he would add a little Billie Jean bass line - and who wouldn’t like a sample of that?

Another question was about whether there was anyone in particular he would like to shoot a scene with and he told us that Norris was probably at the top of his list.  Maybe if Kal opens a gym, which seems to be on the cards, we would be able to see Norris joining and breaking a sweat on the treadmill.  And how good would that be?

Asked if he was ready for the attention from both press and public, Jimi confirmed that he was.  Good job really, as it is a certainty that this very pleasant and charming man will be receiving lots of attention from both. He’ll be  a strong male character and The Street is in need one.

Do please excuse the pun, but it’s irresistible. It seems that there is a mystery (geddit) behind Kal’s arrival in Weatherfield.  On the surface he is undoubtedly charming and inspiring in his work, but there is a whole other side to Kal. Of course, Jimi cannot give away what this side is, but it certainly adds intrigue.

Follow Coronation Street Blog on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog

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

Are big name signings a good thing for Corrie?

I was really pleased to hear the news that Stuart Blackburn is bringing actor Jimi Mistry into Coronation Street. I've liked him since I first saw East is East years ago and I think he'll fit in well in Weatherfield. 

While many viewers appear to be happy about this new arrival, it did produce a few comments on how appropriate it is for a programme like Coronation Street to bring in well known performers as regular characters. Personally, I like a few well known actors involved - it brings good publicity for my favourite television show and most of the time, it works. 

However, some people have quite rightly said that actors with high profiles are unlikely to stick around for a long time to see their characters develop. That's a shame, but quite understandable given how sought after they must be.

While Sue Johnston's Gloria Price has not fitted in, we do have the wonderful Stephanie Cole as Roy's mum Sylvia. John Michie and Michelle Collins were both successful actors before joining Corrie as Karl and Stella. Joe Duttine is also a well known actor currently appearing. We already know both Sue and John are leaving in the near future, but who knows how long the others will stay?

In the past we've had some very successful short visits from the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Honor Blackman and Maureen Lipman, but sadly I doubt we'll see any of them back in Coronation Street any time soon. So are big name castings a good thing for Corrie in the long term? 

When Coronation Street first started, the only cast member with any profile whatsoever was Violet Carson. For a long time before she appeared as Ena Sharples she was known for her role alongside Wilfrid Pickles on his radio show. Apart from that, the cast were a group of unknowns who went on to become stars, some of them of legendary status. Should that not be what Coronation Street is all about? 

So what are your views on big names appearing in Coronation Street? Are you a fan, does it bother you either way, or would you prefer to see the Corrie powers that be recruit fresh faces and turn them into the stars of tomorrow?


You can follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog


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

Jimi Mistry joins Coronation Street

The official Coronation Street website at itv.com/corrie has announced today that actor Jimi Mistry will be joining the show.

"East is East actor Jimi Mistry is to join the cast of Coronation Street this autumn.

Jimi will play ex-squaddie turned personal trainer, Khalid, Kal for short, a mate of Gary Windass. Storyline details are being kept under wraps but we can confirm that he will set tongues wagging and pulses racing.

Khalid is set to be a charming, roguish character who has a wandering eye - and he is likely to upset a few of the menfolk of Weatherfield.

More details of the character will be revealed in the coming months. Jimi will start filming in September and first appear on screen in November.

Coronation Street Producer Stuart Blackburn said: “I'm thrilled to welcome Jimi to Coronation Street, with credits that include East is East, The Guru and Blood Diamond getting him on board is a real coup. Jimi’s character is going to have a swift impact on the lives of many in Weatherfield.”

What do you think of this latest signing to our favourite soap, Corrie fans?

You can follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog


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