Mother's Day pride for Liam Bairstow and his mum

There's a great Mother's Day interview in The Telegraph and Argus which fans of Coronation Street's Alex will enjoy reading.

It's an interview with the mum of Liam Bairstow and as we know, Liam plays Alex in Corrie. He's an actor with Down's Syndrome too. 

Liam's mum Josie gives a lovely interview, perfect for Mother's Day and says she cannot contain her pride at seeing her son now gracing the cobbles of Britain’s best loved street - the soap they have watched together since he was young enough to catch up on the drama unfolding on Coronation Street.

You can read it all here.

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Meet Corrie's Liam at World Disabled Snooker tournament

Liam Bairstow, who plays Alex Warner in Coronation Street, will visit the Tradewell Snooker Centre in Southcoates Lane, Hull to take part in the Humber Classic tournament, organised by the World Disabled Snooker Association.

Liam will play in the tournament on Saturday 25th August in Group Six, for individuals with Down's Syndrome, says The Hull Daily Mail.

The Tradewell Snooker Centre has hosted a number of events for disability snooker in the past, and will be hosting the Group 8 world final in November, for players with hearing impairment.

The Humber Classic tournament will run from Friday to Sunday. Anyone who wants to see Liam play should get to the Tradewell Snooker Centre at 11am on Saturday.

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Coronation Street's Liam Bairstow swaps cobbles for the stage

Liam Bairstow, who plays Alex in Coronation Street, is taking to the stage in 2017 in a touring play called Contained.

Contained is a vibrant, compelling and personal production. Nine interwoven true stories about family and friendships, love and loss, the everyday and the extraordinary. Alongside the performances are a series of workshops, performances and activities aimed at sharing and advancing learning disability arts.

You can find out more, buy tickets and see the tour schedule here.

Liam has been on tour during the course of 2016 already with this touring production of Contained, so there is no reason to think that he may be leaving Coronation Street.  And I truly hope he doesn't, I think he's a diamond on the show.

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Tonight: Liam Bairstow on A World Without Down's Syndrome

Liam Bairstow, who plays Alex in Coronation Street, is interviewed tonight on TV. 

He'll take part in the BBC2 documentary called A World Without Down's Syndrome.  Don't miss it, it's on BBC2 at 9pm.

This film explores the science and thinking around the proposed new screening test for Down's syndrome and its possible availability on the NHS.

Driven by the experience of raising her son Olly, who has Down's syndrome, Sally explores some of the ethical implications of our national screening policy.

By talking to experts in the Down's syndrome community, the world's top scientists and including people with Down's syndrome in the debate, Sally investigates a thorny subject that begs questions relevant to us all: what sort of world do we want to live in and who do we want in it?

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Girlfriend for Alex on Coronation Street

Liam Bairstow, who plays Cathy's nephew Alex in Coronation Street, is interviewed in this week's Inside Soap magazine.

He talks about playing Alex in Corrie and his current storyline which sees Alex go off the rails, just a little. He starts drinking and proves a handful for his aunty Cathy, played by Melanie Hill.

His mum Nessa wants Alex go to and live in Scotland with her and her new boyfriend, but Alex wants to stay in Weatherfield.  He turns to drinking to help him cope with his mother moving away.  However, Cathy then asks Alex to move in with her and Roy in the flat above the cafe.

Liam says he's excited about becoming a more regular fixture in the show now that Alex is moving onto the Street.  He says: "It's really emotional."  He also reveals there could be love in the air for Alex too. "There's been talk about a girlfriend in the long term. It's great being recognised when I go out now. Girls wave at me and someone asked me for a selfie the other day!"

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Watch: Shayne Ward and Liam Bairstow singing 7 Days

Shayne Ward, who plays Aidan Connor on Coronation Street, posted this smashing little video to twitter yesterday. 

It shows Shayne with Liam Bairstow, who plays Alex in Corrie (Cathy's nephew) and they're miming along to the song 7 Days.

Have a little look here. It's lovely.

Liam Bairstow has now joined twitter and you can follow him at @bairstowliam

7 days With @bairstowliam 🎶😀https://t.co/IlXOkfr4RB

— Shayne Ward (@shayneTward) April 8, 2016

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Liam Bairstow: "Amazing to be considered a role model"

Liam Bairstow, who plays Alex in Coronation Street, was interviewed by one of his biggest fans on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Grace Stockdale was invited to meet actor Liam, cast as Corrie's first ever actor with Down’s Syndrome last year.

And Grace, who also has Down’s Syndrome, got the chance to grill him about his experiences on the long-running show so far for BBC Radio 5 live.

It was conducted during Down’s Syndrome Awareness Week, aimed at improving understanding of the condition which affects around 750 babies in the UK each year.

Liam said:  “Being an actor on the biggest soap, it has been a huge honour to work with everyone here. I’ve got loads of people supporting me. My advice to others would be don’t be nervous, because it takes guts to be on TV.”

You can listen to - and watch - the interview here.

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Cathy's nephew Alex returns to Corrie next month

There's a lovely interview in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus with Liam Bairstow, who plays Cathy's nephew Alex on Coronation Street. Liam is the first Down’s Syndrome actor in Corrie's history.

Liam says: "Alex is a bit of a romantic person and likes figurines on wedding cakes. He's a cheeky lad who likes to go to the pub and is a smooth talker with the ladies. Roy’s Rolls looks a lot bigger on TV than in real life, the set is really small. When I was in the Rovers I thought one of the walls was real - until it moved."

The 28-year-old has been picking up tips from cast members. "I enjoy working with the other actors, they’re all really nice," he said. "Beverley Callard who plays Liz McDonald and Debbie Rush who plays Anna Windass helped to calm me down on set. If I started to struggle, they helped me with my nerves.

"In a scene in the Rovers the director was teaching me how to pick up a pint glass with my right hand while reading someone’s palm at the same time. It’s great to be around so many professionals."

Liam, of Bradford theatre company Mind the Gap which trains actors with disabilities, landed his Corrie role after taking part in an ITV acting workshop.

"I went last year with about 15 other people, it was called Breaking Through Talent and I met lots of Corrie cast members. We learned how to perform in front of a camera and work with different camera angles. All I knew was that it was a workshop. A few months later me and my mum were called into a meeting at Mind the Gap and I was told I had got the part. I was buzzing! I’ve watched Coronation Street since I was young. My mum is a big fan, I've grown up watching it with her."

Liam is currently in a new stage production, Contained, premiering at Mind the Gap's Manningham studio next month prior to a tour. Contained is on at the Silk Warehouse, Lister Mills, on Friday, October 16 at 1pm and 7.30pm and Saturday, October 17 at 7.30pm.

Liam will be back in Corrie on screen as Alex in October.

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Cathy's nephew arrives on Coronation Street next week

Cathy's nephew Alex arrives next week. He'll be played by an actor with Down's syndrome.

Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn said that actor Liam Bairstow was cast from a recent workshop they held for actors with disabilities.

Previews for next week say that Roy will be charmed by Alex and invites him to stay the night on his sofa when he turns up unexpectedly. 

But Roy and Cathy are embarrassed when Alex assumes they are an item. Will Cathy admit that she’d like to be more than just a friend to Roy? Anna encourages Cathy to open up to Roy about her feelings.  What will Roy say?

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Corrie cast actor with Down's syndrome as Cathy's nephew

Coronation Street has cast an actor with Down's syndrome to play the nephew of Cathy Matthews

Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn today confirmed that actor Liam Bairstow was cast from a recent workshop they held for actors with disabilities, and he has already started filming.

Stuart Blackburn said: "We ran a workshop called Breaking Through a while ago, which was for actors with disabilities. It was recognising that they get so few auditions, and actually we found a young guy there called Liam Bairstow, an actor with Down's syndrome.

"He's going to be coming in as Cathy's nephew. It's not some politically correct thing. We actually found there a really great actor with a wonderful sense of timing. The cast have been really enjoying working with him."


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