Craig Charles: How Corrie put up with my crack cocaine hell

Tonight on the W Channel, Craig Charles is the guest of John Bishop in the show John Bishop: In Conversation.  And from the preview of the show (via the Manchester Evening News) it seems as if Craig is going to talk about his time on Coronation Street when he was caught taking crack cocaine. 

But instead of sacking him, he reveals how Corrie helped him and sent him to rehab.

Craig says: "I was dead lucky that I had a wife, Jackie, who I adore and adores me, I had kids who know what I’m really like, and I had a reason to get better. I had a job that I loved and I had enough people who knew what I was like to say, ‘Let’s care, let’s care for him, let’s care about him, let’s get him well, rather than let’s sack him.

"When my mum died I got into drugs. When my dad died, I did again. It was just a case of... I was like stuck in this little flat in Manchester missing my family, working like 14 hours a day, then travelling vast amounts of motorways all the time. It was just a way of coping.”

Charles said he now pursued 'positive addictions... like I work a lot. I love funk and soul (music). I get obsessive about it'.

The Red Dwarf star became tearful as he talked about learning, while he was stuck in the I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, that his brother had died, aged just 52.

“We’d not been speaking... we’d fallen out. We’d had a family disagreement,” he told comedian John Bishop, on TV channel W.

“He texted me. I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone I was going in (the jungle), and he texted me a couple of times before I went in saying‘Craig, it’s Dean, just wanna chat’ - and I’ve kind of ignored him.

“I thought look, I can’t really deal with this right now. What I’ll do is, I’ll go in the jungle, come back out and we’ll all be together by Christmas. And that never happened.”

John Bishop In Conversation With Craig Charles is on W on Thursday at 9pm.

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Craig Charles interviewed on Loose Women

Craig Charles, who played Lloyd Mullaney on Coronation Street, was interviewed on ITV's Loose Women today.

He talked about leaving Corrie to take a part in Red Dwarf and the sad news that his brother died when he was taking part in the celebrity jungle. He said he'd like to go back into the jungle to finish what he started.

Craig's currently DJing on BBC 6 music and BBC Radio 2. He will be performing at Glastonbury as well as many other festivals this year. He's also doing a DJ gig at the Old Manchester Studios with Candi Staton. 

Sadly, the news that I was hoping to hear - that he might be returning to Coronation Street - wasn't touched on.  Come on new Corrie Producer, let's get Craig back on Corrie.  We need Lloyd back at Streetcars with Steve, where he surely belongs.

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Craig Charles reveals why he's leaving Coronation Street

Craig Charles, who plays Coronation Street cabbie Lloyd Mullaney, is leaving the show later this year.  Craig was interviewed on ITV's This Morning today and in a moving interview he revealed his reasons for leaving Corrie.

He said: "My brother died last year, he was 52. I'm 51 and when he died, I'm sure you know I was in Australia (filming I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here) and I just thought 'there's things I've got to do. I've got to do some things, before it's my time, you know?' And Coronation Street is such a big part of your life that there's some things you don't get the chance to do."

He also talks about bringing his love of music into Coronation Street as Lloyd and the cross-over episode of Red Dwarf which was filmed on the cobbles.

He's signed a deal with Sony records and is bringing out a record on September 18, a compilation funk and soul album. 

He's also working with the 90 piece BBC Philharmonic orchestra on an epic poem called Scary Fairy and the Tales of the Dark Wood in time for Halloween.

And in November he starts filming two series of Red Dwarf which will take him up to March 2016 when he'll be free. Let's hope Corrie will have him back on the Street!

Craig has already admitted he doesn't really want to leave Coronation Street. Read that here.

You can watch the interview here.

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Andrea returns to Corrie to find Lloyd with another woman

 

Andrea Beckett returns to Coronation Street next week finds Lloyd enjoying a drink with another woman.  But although we've seen the pics of Lloyd snogging Liz (have a peek here), it's Erica he takes for a drink as Andrea storms back into his life.

 

Craig Charles, who plays Lloyd, tells this week's Inside Soap magazine that Liz is the one who suggests Lloyd takes Erica for a drink to cheer up after Andrea's depature. But Andrea turns up and spots them both together.  Needless to say, Andrea's not best pleased.

Liz then comes up with the idea of inviting Lloyd round to the Rovers back room to cheer him up with a take-away.  They have something to eat, a few drinks, and a bit of how's-your-father.  Lloyd ends up staying the night with Liz but Craig Charles says: Lloyd regrets it the next tday. He's got himself into a right mss as he's wary of upsetting both Liz and Steve."

Lloyd tells Dev that he's not interested in a relationship with Liz but Steve pressures Lloyd to take his mum to dinner in the Bistro. And just as they're about to set off for their dinner date, Andrea turns up again, asking Lloyd to take her back.

I just wish Lloyd wasn't leaving. I'm going to miss him a lot.

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Liz snogs Lloyd - first-look pictures from Coronation Street

Here are our sneak preview pictures of Liz and Lloyd snogging on the sofa!

The episode will be shown on Thursday 27 August and I can't wait to see these two back together again. Sadly, we know that Lloyd is leaving Corrie so there's no long-term relationship on the cards.

 

In an attempt to cheer Lloyd up, Liz invites him to spend the evening with her, suggesting that they can watch TV and share a takeaway. Lloyd reluctantly agrees. As Liz and Lloyd compare their failed relationships, Liz gives Lloyd a comforting hug…

The last time Liz and Lloyd got together was back in 2008 and this is how they looked then.

Steve wasn't happy about his mum getting together with his best mate last time around.

Heaven only knows what he'll have to say about it this time!

 

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Lloyd's Northern Soul record gets nicked - by Andrea

Lloyd's a man who likes his music and his vinyl collection means the world to him.  Next week on Coronation Street, one of his favourite Northern Soul records goes missing - and it's been stolen by Andrea to pay off her daughter Jess' debt.

Inside Soap magazine reveal that there's a twist in the tale to come in this story after the couple split up. 

We already know that Craig Charles and Hayley Tamaddon (Lloyd and Andrea) have filmed their final scenes.  

However, they will also both be featuring in the live episode to be shown in September, so I'm not quite sure what's going on there and how that will work out.

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Craig Charles: "I don't really want to leave Coronation Street"

There's an excellent interview in the Daily Mail's Event magazine today.  Craig Charles, who is leaving Coronation Street as Lloyd Mullaney, is interviewed in the magazine and it's a very good read. 

Talking about leaving the soap after 10 years of playing Lloyd, Craig says: ‘I don’t really want to leave. I have had a fantastic time on Corrie but I can’t keep asking for time off. Coronation Street will go on but they wouldn’t make another Red Dwarf without me. I can’t let the other lads down.’

He says he'll miss his on-screen cabbie partner Steve McDonald, played by Simon Gregson. 'I’m going to miss Simon so much," he says.  And he says that he doesn't yet know how Lloyd will leave the show.  ‘I don’t think they are going to kill me off. I don’t know. I hope not.’

Craig also talks about the death of his brother while he was in the Celebrity Jungle last year; the false accusation of rape and his past cocaine addiction. 

It's a hard-hitting interview, well worth a read, and it's here.

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Craig Charles leaving Coronation Street as Lloyd Mullaney

In the same day as the announcement about Alison King leaving Coronation Street as Carla Connor, comes another shock too.

An ITV spokeswoman has confirmed to us here at the Coronation Street Blog that Craig Charles, who plays Streetcars cabbie Lloyd Mullaney, is leaving the show in September.

Simon Gregson, who plays Steve McDonald, posted this on twitter after the news broke:

@SoapQueen86 @CCfunkandsoul I'm 😔

— simon gregson (@simongregson123) May 2, 2015

Craig will be leaving the show to return to filming Red Dwarf and hopes to return to Coronation Street one day.

Craig Charles said: “I have had an absolutely fantastic ten years on Coronation Street and I will be very sad to leave. Lloyd has become a huge part of my life and I have made some amazing friends with whom I will always keep in touch.

“But I feel I owe it to my colleagues on Red Dwarf to join them in filming the new series and finding out what is in store for Lister and the others. I would love to return to Coronation Street at some point in the future.”

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Andrea and Lloyd - Yay or Nay?

Storylines and characters come and go on Coronation Street. I like some of them, I dislike some of them. I probably like stories and characters that you don't like, yes you, reading this. And some of your favourites will be on my dislike list. 

Some storylines are dull and easily ignored and I thought Andrea and Lloyd might be one of them. But this romance fails on all fronts, for this Corrie fan, and it's bugged me into blogging.

There is zero chemistry between Andrea and Lloyd. They are not believable as a couple. Andrea's husband Neil is clearly mentally ill and going through some sort of breakdown over losing Andrea. It should not be funny, but it is, because anything that anyone does to split up Andrea and Lloyd and show them for the farce that they are, can only be applauded.

Now then, I love Lloyd, always have and always will.  Andrea seems okay but the two of them together just Does Not Work. And while I'm having a moan about Andrea, where's this mysterious child called Jess she keeps mentioning?

Come on, Corrie. Split these two up, Put Lloyd and Eileen together one drunken night in the Streetcars office where they have a heart-to-heart over Fat Brenda's gypsy creams and let Andrea go back to Neil. Please. 

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There's something about Neil

I know fans out there are finding the triangle between Lloyd, Andrea and Neil to be tedious. Andrea has lost her freshness, her spark and we all think Lloyd deserves better and can see more heartbreak coming a mile away.

Neil is seen to be just as Andrea thinks of him, boring and dull but he's also just had his whole world blown apart by something he never saw coming. He sees himself as a dependable bloke, a good provider and a good husband and father. He's probably all of those things but because he's spent most of his life working out of the country and Andrea felt like she married too young, it was never bound to work. He just doesn't accept it.

Neil is starting to creep me out with his single minded obsession to getting Andrea back. Where do I see this going? How much does he remind me of another former Corrie character? Read about it here on State of the Street.

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Is Andrea the one for Corrie's Lloyd?

I don't know what it is, but the whole Lloyd, Andrea, Neil storyline just isn't working for me. I hate to admit it, but I did begin to fast forward through all their scenes last night.

I've always loved Lloyd. Craig Charles is brilliant in Corrie. His double act with Simon Gregson is a joy. It's a shame they didn't spend more time developing the Lloyd and Jenna relationship onscreen, instead preferring to focus on Lloyd and Andrea. 

The whole story is just a big snooze to me and it's such a pity. Lloyd is crying out for a decent story to get his teeth into and I'm afraid this really isn't it. The actor playing Neil is great although I'm really not sure what this character's game is! I'm sure all will become clear in time, hopefully fairly soon though as it feels like this is being drawn out.


I do have a bit of a problem with the way both Lloyd and Andrea have dealt with Neil. Yes he is being painted as a big wet blanket who won't take the hint, but they are treating him cruelly at times. Given that Andrea in particular has cheated on Neil and broken up their marriage I feel like she should have a bit more respect for her husband. 

Lloyd too has been rather harsh and less than understanding. As he acknowledged briefly last night, he knows what it is like to be messed about and dumped by a partner, so even though he was an unwitting accomplice in this mess, he should really be more sympathetic towards Neil. 

I'm not sure what I make of Andrea. At first she was a breath of fresh air, mainly because she highlighted how atrociously Michelle treats Steve. Then things got complicated and her motives became unclear. I don't think she's a baddie in the traditional sense, she's flawed and human like the rest of us. At the end of the day though she basically just irritates me and I can't seem to get past that. 

So what do we all make of this storyline? Are you enjoying it or do you wish we could move on to something new? Do you think Andrea is the one for Lloyd? 



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Should Liz and Lloyd get back together - Yay or Nay?

Lloyd's not had much luck with women and it appears as if his fling with Andrea is over, for now.  I'm loving with way Liz comforted Lloyd this week on Coronation Street.

We've already raised the idea that Liz and Tony might not have much mileage left in them if Tony does what we think he might do with Tracy.

So is it time for Liz and Lloyd to get back together?

I say Yay!  What do you say?

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Why I'm sorry to see Corrie's Jenna go

Yesterday it was announced that actress Krissi Bohn would be leaving her role as Corrie's Jenna Kamara this summer. As we've not really seen that much of Jenna I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise, however I found myself getting very vexed over this latest exit.

First and foremost I feel sorry for the actors. Krissi Bohn has done her best in the role of Jenna and she's always impressed me even though she's been given very little to do. The character had great promise at first I thought, however she was underused and saddled with the really poor Sophie Webster plot and that didn't help. There were no attempts to revive Jenna's fortunes on the back of this and I struggle to believe the Corrie writing team couldn't come up with something interesting for this promising character to do.

I also thought Jenna had great chemistry with Lloyd, played so brilliantly by Craig Charles. They were very believable as father and daughter, yet again, sadly the actors were never given much of a chance onscreen to show this. Craig Charles was interviewed when it was announced he would be getting a Corrie family and you could tell he was thrilled to have a family and that it would also be Corrie's first proper black family too. Two years down the line and the writing is on the wall again. Mandy and Jenna were a definite improvement on the last characters Lloyd was involved with - Cheryl and her son Russ - remember them?

It just felt that the actors were employed without the powers that be having a clear idea of what to do with them. When Jenna told her mother she was gay and entering a relationship with Sophie, there were initially very powerful scenes between mother and daughter. I can't remember now what they were up against, however this storyline seemed to be rather quickly brushed under the rug for the sake of something else. The fact I can't remember what that something else was speaks volumes.

The Corrie cast is far too big. There is no chance, even at five episodes a week, that every actor will get their chance to dominate in a high profile storyline. Despite this, the cast just seems to get bigger, even with characters leaving fairly regularly. There is about to be another deluge, with Kal's family arriving left, right and centre. I wonder how long they will last?

Even worse, the cast continues to be huge while it seems a smaller and smaller number of characters seem to dominate endlessly. As much as I like Chris Gascoyne, Alison King and Michelle Keegan, they do seem to feature really heavily. It's no wonder Gascoyne and Keegan are both leaving.

While it is reasonable that more senior members of the cast do not want to appear so regularly anymore, there are still plenty of other characters that are more than capable of carrying bigger storylines. As well as Lloyd and Jenna, there are super characters like Beth and Kirk, Deirdre, Jason and Eva and Sally and Tim. We see them in the background or in storylines that never seem to lead anywhere but I think there should be room made for them to tackle more challenging stuff. Even much respected cast members like Sue Nicholls, Philip Lowrie and Barbara Knox are only used these days as foils to younger characters like Tina and Maria.

Anyway, back to my original point. I always think it's a rather lame excuse when statements are released saying that a certain character has been taken as far as they can when really, they haven't actually gone anywhere at all.

I do think Corrie needs to look at its casting decisions and its cast in general otherwise things will never improve.

I hope Craig Charles stays in Corrie despite the ever fluctuating characters around him. He's an asset I wish Krissi Bohn well with whatever she does next. She is a good actress and deserves something that shows off how talented she is.

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Jenna Kamara to leave Coronation Street in summer

Corontion Street announced today that Krissi Bohn, who plays Jenna Kamara, will be leaving in the summer. She has been in the role for 2 years after being introduced as a physiotherapist helping Sophie Webster recover from a car accident. It was later revealed that she was the daughter of Lloyd Mullaney after he rekindeled his relationship with her mother, Mandy.

"I have enjoyed every single moment of my time on The Street," the actress said.

"Although I am disappointed not to have my contract renewed I am thankful for all the experience I've gained and look forward to whatever the future may hold."

Producer Stuart Blackburn also praised the actress, adding: "It is with great regret that we're saying goodbye to Krissi, she's a wonderful person and a great actor who has played a key role in some fantastic stories. We wish her all the very best for her future."

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Craig Charles on more drama to come for Corrie's Lloyd

Craig Charles, who plays Lloyd Mullaney on Coronation Street, is interviewed on the official Coronation Street website at www.itv.com/corrie and talks about the aftermath of Lloyd's heart attack.

He talks about Andrea not turning up for the race and then arriving late at the hospital, and of Jenna's suspicions about Andrea too.  He says there's going to be more drama in store for Lloyd. 

Indeed, we already know that Andrea has secrets...

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Lloyd's beard - Yay or Nay?

I know he's had a heart attack and he's not well in hospital and all that, but the pressing question of the day is this, Corrie fans.  Lloyd's beard - Yay or Nay?

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Just what is Andrea hiding?

Last night we saw Corrie focus more on Lloyd, Andrea and Jenna - and about time too. I love Craig Charles and Lloyd is a great character. I also think we need to see more of Lloyd and Jenna's relationship on-screen. Where does Andrea fit in though?

We don't know very much about her, although she obviously has some sort of secret. When Andrea first arrived she seemed to have the hots for Steve and Michelle took against her straight away. Initially I thought she was a breath of fresh air and warmed to her. However, now I'm not so sure.

At the moment Lloyd is oblivious to anything untoward going on behind the scenes. However last night, both Jenna and Eileen were deeply suspicious as Andrea's absence from the fun run was explained through what appeared to me to be a cobbled together tissue of lies. It's always the women who smell a rat!

It's nice to see Jenna being supportive and standing up for her dad - more of this please! We don't see enough of them on screen and this is a shame as I think Craig Charles and Krissi Bohn work well together and are very believable.

So what about Andrea then? What is she hiding? I did wonder if she had a child and didn't want Lloyd to know. However given Jenna's appearance in Lloyd's life, it's quite obvious he wouldn't react badly to this. So what then? Another bloke? Is she after Jenna? I don't know - what do you think, and how would you like to see this storyline progress?


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