Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 1

STEVE MCDONALD
(440 VOTES)

Duration: 1989-

Played by: Simon Gregson  

2012 character poll position (men): 2

Having led the race since the second week, Steve McDonald is at No.1!! I believe his popularity soared when he married Karen in 2001 and thus making him one of the show’s all-time favourites.

Over the course of 26 years, Steve McDonald has gone from a mischievous teen who caused trouble for Alf Roberts to a father, cab firm owner and pub landlord loved by millions. He arrived on the Street with parents Jim and Liz and twin brother Andy. 

For a man who’s only in his forties, Steve has been married six times! First wife Vicky Arden was wealthy and he only married her for her money. When he got into hot water criminally, he blamed her and she quickly filed for divorce. He married second wife Karen Phillips for a bet in 2001 but they fell in love and became popular with fans due to their fiery arguments. The marriage ended due to Karen’s affair with Joe Carter and Steve’s one night stand with Tracy Barlow – resulting in the birth of his daughter Amy. After a few months, Steve and Karen reunited and remarried in 2004 but the marriage soon collapsed and Karen left the Street and they divorced in 2006. 

After relationships with Tracy, Ronnie Clayton and Michelle Connor, Steve married Becky Granger in 2009. Their marriage was also tempestuous with both making mistakes which resulted in their divorce in 2011. Steve then married Tracy when she became pregnant with twins. But when she miscarried, she accused Becky of pushing her down the stairs, a lie to gain Steve’s sympathy. Becky got her revenge though and announced that Tracy was lying and had medical evidence that showed she had had a miscarriage. A furious Steve divorced Tracy. He then returned to dating Michelle. After a tough relationship with Steve hiding his depression from her, they eventually married in 2015.

Steve owned the Rovers between 2006 and 2012 and has been since 2013 (albeit a brief period in 2015) and has been running cab firm Street Cars since 2000, enjoying a wonderful camaraderie with Lloyd Mullaney and Eileen Grimshaw. When he wanted money to start the cab firm, he borrowed from drug dealer Jez Quigley. When Steve failed to pay him, Jez sought revenge and beat him up and left him for dead. Steve’s dad Jim sought revenge on Jez by beating him up and this resulted in Jez dying of a punctured lung. 

Steve is of course known on this Blog for his gurns!

Should Steve be at no. 1? Are you a fan? 

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 2

ROY CROPPER (408 VOTES)

Duration: 1995-
Played by: David Neilson
2012 character poll position (men): 3

For the first week of the polls, Roy was in first place but then settled for second place. 

Roy was brought into the serial in 1995 as the eccentric neighbour of Deirdre Rachid at Crimea Street. A secondary character for two years, he became a regular in 1997 when he became Gail Platt’s partner at Jim’s Café. As he was the major shareholder he renamed the café Roy’s Rolls. He later bought Gail’s share and relocated from Rosamund Street to Victoria Street. 

Known for his shopping bag, Roy was and still is a popular character, known for his quirky conservations filled with facts and for being a bit serious. Soon after he became a regular he was paired off with Hayley Patterson. She was no ordinary woman – she was a transsexual. But this didn’t stop their romance and they had a blessing ceremony and Hayley changed her name to Hayley Cropper. In 2010, due to a change in the law, Roy and Hayley could get properly married, which they did. For more than a decade, Roy and Hayley established themselves as one of Corrie’s classic couples, side by side to the Duckworths, Ogdens and Barlows and they were well loved by fans. In 2013, Hayley received the devastating news that she had cancer. Over the next few months, the Croppers spent time ticking off Hayley’s bucket list like re-visiting the lake where they first kissed and dancing in the ballroom in Blackpool Tower. Hayley made the controversial choice of wanting to kill herself by taking an overdose. Roy was devastated when she drank the cocktail and slowly passed away.

Roy struggled to move on with his life without Hayley but with the support of friends Carla, Anna, Fiz, Tyrone and Chesney he eventually came to terms with it. A year after losing Hayley he befriended Cathy Matthews on his allotment and their friendship blossomed into courtship.

Roy has starred in many storylines over the years including being tricked by Tracy Barlow; taking in various waifs and strays; being suspected of dealing drugs with Ken Barlow; finding about Hayley having fathered a child; nearly murdered by Tony Gordon; and reuniting with mum Sylvia after many years of estrangement. Not one to show his emotions, Roy showed his caring side when looking out for Becky McDonald, who fondly called him ‘Royston’ and saw him as a father figure.

Should Royston be at 2? Are you a fan? 

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 4

TIM METCALFE (229 VOTES)

Duration: 2013-
Played by: Joe Duttine
2012 character poll position (men): Not included

A male character who has definitely become popular since his relationship with Sally Webster. 

Introduced as the estranged father of Faye Windass, Tim worked as a builder. Despite Faye’s adoptive mother Anna’s initial disapproval, Tim kept in contact with Faye when he got a job with Jason Grimshaw.

Both Anna and partner Owen Armstrong attempted to force Tim out of Weatherfield but he began a relationship with Sally. 

When work dried up with Jason, he established himself as a window cleaner – continuing the lineage of street window cleaners (Stan, Eddie, Jack). His down to earth attitude is a stark contrast to the snobbery of Sally and they are a reminder of Richard and Hyacinth Bucket. In 2015, Tim employed Craig Tinker as his assistant. It was revealed in 2014 that Tim was dyslexic but he has overcome this problem by now.

Surprisingly, Tim has a formed a close friendship with Sally’s ex Kevin. This is a contrast to Kevin’s animosity towards Sally’s men. But this provides and interesting dynamic to the Webster household. Kevin was even best man at Tim and Sally’s wedding in 2015.

Tim is definitely in the mould of Corrie’s classic hapless men – Stan, Jack, Les and Steve and has to be one of the brightest stars of Corrie in recent years after the departures of many classic characters.

Are you a fan of Tim? Are you a fan of his relationship with Sally?

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 5

PETER BARLOW (205 VOTES)

Duration: 1965-1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1986, 2000-2003, 2007-2014, 2015

Played by: John Heannau, Christopher Dormer, Mark Duncan, Linus Roache, Joseph McKenna, David Lonsdale, Chris Gascoyne

2012 character poll position (men): 7

One of the twins born to Ken and Valerie Barlow fifty years ago. After appearing sporadically over 21 years, he was re-introduced in 2000 and it is this Peter that has won fans’ hearts.

After Val’s death in 1971, Peter and his sister Susan were packed up to Scotland to be raised by their maternal grandparents. Peter later joined the navy and married Jessica Midgeley in 1990.

Newly divorced Peter returned to the street in 2000. He wooed both Shelley Unwin and Lucy Richards and married them bigamously. He was never punished by the law, only by a punch from Shelley. Lucy gave birth to Simon in 2003 although she refused access to Peter. Peter then left.

He returned in 2007 with Simon, who Peter had to take on after Lucy’s death and bought the local bookies. Struggling with fatherhood and women, Peter became fond of the drink and ultimately became an alcoholic. With the support of his family and girlfriend Leanne Battersby he sobered up. But when Leanne briefly left the street, he nearly killed himself and Simon when he drunkenly left a cigarette to burn in his flat.

Peter also escaped death when a tram crashed into the street. Afraid that he was going to die, he married Leanne. Unknown to Peter, Leanne had been having an affair with her ex Nick Tilsley. When Peter found out he confronted her at their marriage blessing. The marriage survived but Peter then had an affair with Carla Connor.

Peter and Leanne divorced and Peter got engaged to Carla. But then the Barlow gene hit again as he embarked on a fling with Tina McIntyre. Peter and Carla did marry but the marriage ended when the affair was exposed. 

When Rob Donovan pushed Tina off the balcony of the builder’s yard, he framed Peter who spent months in prison. It was Rob’s confession that led to Peter being released. 

Peter left the street once more in 2014 only to return briefly when Deirdre died in 2015.

A fan of Peter? Should he return once more?

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 6

MIKE BALDWIN (193 VOTES)

Duration: 1976-2006

Played by: Johnny Briggs 

2012 character poll position (men): 5

The cheeky Cockney who bought the old warehouse on Coronation Street in 1976 and turned it into a denim factory that employed many over the years. Mike was introduced as an attempt to close the North/South divide between viewers. He quickly became a hit.

He became a Casanova to rival Ken Barlow. Over 30 years he had 18 girlfriends and four wives. His conquests included Bet Lynch, Deirdre Barlow, Maggie Dunlop, Gloria Todd and Penny King. His four wives were Susan Barlow (1986), Jackie Ingram (1991), Alma Sedgewick (1992) and Linda Sykes (2000). It is debatable who his true love was: was it Alma or Deirdre?

Fond of whiskey, he fathered three sons: Danny (who he thought was his nephew), Mark and Adam. Mike didn’t have a lot of luck with his offspring. He only got to spend a few years with both Danny and Adam; and Mark had an affair with Linda.

Apart from romantic life, Mike’s main storylines involved the boom and bust nature of his business. He sold Baldwin’s Casuals in 1989 and established Underworld in 1996. His capitalism clashed with many, mainly Ken Barlow and Don Brennan. Ken detested Mike’s outlook on life and how he treated women. But their rivalry deepened when Mike embarked on an affair with Deirdre and later married Susan. They would later clash over both Alma Sedgewick and Maggie Redman and over Adam’s custody. 

Mike and Don’s rivalry on the other hand was more sinister. Don was a gambler and during a card game he managed to almost bankrupt Don. The rivalry reached its head when Mike sold the street’s failing garage to Don which led him into further debts. Don plotted revenge by setting Mike’s factory on fire; trying to kill Alma; and trying to kill Mike. His last attempt drove him literally to his death. Both Mike’s rivalries are remembered for how both Ken and Don would coldly call him ‘Baldwin’. 

In 2005, Mike began to behave strangely and he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It was heart-breaking to see a once powerful man now so helpless and lost. He died on the cobbles in the arms of arch-rival Ken.

Were you a fan of Michael Vernon Baldwin?    

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 7

DAVID PLATT (191 VOTES)

Duration: 1990-
Played by: Thomas Ormson; Jack P Shepherd
2012 character poll position (men): 12

Despite being born on Christmas Day, there’s nothing angelic about David Platt! The son of Gail and Martin spent the first decade of his life as a background character before the role was taken over by cheeky Jack P Shepherd who has matured into one of the soap’s current stars.

His mum’s marriage to Richard Hillman has affected him greatly as he has become an evil mastermind himself. Despite becoming a family man recently, his deviousness has come to the fore once again, albeit in desperation this time.

The boy with a rabbit called Barney has come a long way. And very dramatic as well! His evil deeds have included greeting cards to Gail supposedly from Richard; pushing Gail down the stairs; vandalising the street; sabotaging Sarah’s wedding; framing Gary Windass for burglary; and plotting to kill Nick.

His first girlfriend was Tina McIntyre but in 2011 he married Kylie Turner and has become a loving stepfather to her son Max and in 2013 their daughter Lily was born (although it was debated if Nick was the father!). 

He currently works as a junior stylist at Audrey’s salon. His wit and sarcasm makes him popular amongst viewers, especially when talking to his mum or grandmother.

Are you a fan of David? 



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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 9

KEN BARLOW (144 VOTES)

Duration: 1960-

Played by: William Roache

2012 character poll position (men): 9

The longest running character in the show’s history and the only original character to remain since the first episode (albeit a brief hiatus between 2013 and 2014). Viewers have seen him grow from a university student to caring grandfather to Simon and Amy.

Ken is the ultimate street Lothario. He has been married four times – Valerie (1962), Janet (1973) and Deirdre (1981 and 2005) and has had 25 girlfriends including Susan Cunningham, Wendy Nightingale, Wendy Crozier, Alma Sedgewick, Denise Osbourne and Martha Fraser. He’s even bedded our own Rita!!

He has fathered four children: Lawrence in 1961 (he found out in 2010), twins Peter and Susan in 1965 and then Daniel in 1995. I believe he’s the oldest man to become a father at 55. He also adopted Tracy in 1985. 

Known for his quiff and full head of hair, Ken is an intellectual who has always dreamt of leaving the street, but never has (well only briefly in 1990). He’s been a failure as a husband and father, but as a pillar of the community he is held in high regard. 

He’s had a long list of jobs as well: teacher, newspaper editor, taxi driver, community project manager, male escort, supermarket trolley pusher, columnist and shop assistant. But the job he loved the most was teaching.

Ken had a twenty year rivalry with factory tycoon Mike Baldwin. While they clashed about principles originally, the feud escalated when Mike had an affair with Deirdre in 1983. Ken and Mike had fought over Deirdre before Ken married her. Ken won the battle once more. Then the feud went into classic Dallas mode when Mike married Ken’s daughter Susan in 1986. Ken was pleased when the marriage failed in 1988. The feud would be revisited countless times over the years, mainly over Deirdre. Ken found out he had a grandson in 2001: Mike’s son Adam. Susan had said that she had an abortion. Ken and Mike fought a custody battle but by 2002 the rivalry thawed. Ironically, Mike died in Ken’s arms in 2006.

While Ken has always been classed as boring with his interests being literature and opera, he’s shared wonderful comic scenes with Uncle Albert and later Blanche. He has also maintained long running friendships with the likes of Emily, Rita, Alf, Bet, Mavis, Roy, Len, Elsie and Annie Walker.

Ken has recently had to come to terms with widowhood once more, having lost Deirdre earlier this year. He’s no stranger to being widowed (twice in 1971 and 1977 respectively). But now he’s older and wants companionship. I do still believe Ken has still got mileage in him left as a character. Although it has been said that he has escaped more assassination attempts than JR Ewing!!

Are you a fan of our Kenneth? 

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 10

JIM MCDONALD (143 VOTES)

Duration: 1989-2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014
Played by: Charles Lawson
2012 character poll position (men): 13

A former Irish soldier who was introduced as the head of the McDonald family who bought No11 from Alf and Audrey Roberts. 

Married to Liz for 28 years (on and off) and father to Steve and Andy and the late Katie. His marriage to Liz ended in 1996 when his temper got the better of him and he beat Liz up for having an affair with an army mate. They re-married in 2000 but Jim spent the marriage in prison and Liz called for a divorce in 2005. They attempted at a reconciliation in 2011 but to no avail. Many wish for them to reunite and run the Rovers together.

By trade, Jim had a number of jobs: builder, mechanic, barman and bar manager. He was in a building partnership with Bill Webster before Bill left for Germany in 1997.

Apart from Liz, Jim’s conquests included Fiona Middleton and Gwen Davies.

In 1998, Jim was confined to a wheelchair after falling in a brawl with Steve on scaffolding. He wrongly thought that he and Liz were to reunite when she cared for him, but in reality she was having an affair with his therapist Michael Wall.

In 2000, Jim sought revenge on Jez Quigley for nearly beating Steve to death. He beat Jez up and he died of his injuries. Jim was then jailed for manslaughter. 

Over the next 14 years or so, Jim would re-appear on the show, either trying to escape prison, having been released from prison or back in prison again.

Jim was a stereotypical Irishman – liked his drink and also used many Irish sayings like ‘so it is’, ‘what about you?’ and calling characters with their full name – Elizabeth (Liz), Steven (Steve), Andrew (Andy), William (Bill), Michael (Mike) but called Alec Gilroy ‘Sandy’. His Irish dialect and his alpha male role has made him popular amongst fans. 

Would you like Jim to make a permanent comeback?

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 11

CURLY WATTS (127 VOTES)

Duration: 1983-2003

Played by: Kevin Kennedy

2012 character poll position (men): 11

Norman ‘Curly’ Watts was introduced as a bin-man, working with Eddie Yeats and Chalkie Whitely. He was very studious and later became Emily Bishop’s lodger, moving his telescope into the attic. He lodged at No3 until 1988 when he moved in with the Duckworths. He later moved into No7 and bought the house from Rita in 1992.

After attending business school, became assistant manager at Bettabuys and formed a double act with pompous manager Reg Holdsworth. Curly’s battles with staff Vera and Ivy were quite reminiscent of Swindley and Ena Sharples in the 60s. He later became manager at Firman’s Freezers and later Frescho.

Curly was an unlikely Lothario. With his round specs he was currently a catch. His list of conquests include Shirley Armitage, Kimberley Taylor, Anne Malone, Angie Freeman, Maxine Heavey and Maureen Holdsworth. He certainly gave Des Barnes a run for his money. But his true love was Raquel Wolstenhulme, despite her not reciprocating his feelings. She did marry him in 1995 but only because Des had rejected her. Curly’s love for Raquel was proven when he named a star ‘Mrs Raquel Watts’ in her honour.

The Watts were only married briefly before Raquel left in 1996. She made a brief return in 2000 to tell Curly that they had a daughter called Alice. Curly later met and married policewoman Emma Taylor. They had a son called Ben, delivered with the help of Norris! 

Curly became a councillor in 2001, succeeding Audrey Roberts. But in 2003 Curly, Emma and Ben left for Newcastle.

Curly’s best friends on the cobbles included Kevin Webster, Terry Duckworth, Martin Platt, Des Barnes, Gary Mallett, Jim McDonald and Jack Duckworth.

Kevin Kennedy has wished to return as Curly many times. Would you like him to return?

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 12

GRAEME PROCTOR (124 VOTES)

Duration: 2008-2011
Played by: Craig Gazey
2012 character poll position (men): 4

Originally introduced as a cellmate of David Platt, he quickly became a hit with viewers and soon enough was lodging with the Platts. 

He was employed as a junior to Ashley Peacock in the butchers’ shop until Ashley’s death in 2010. He later followed a long line of Corrie favourites by becoming the local window cleaner. 

After failing to woo both Rosie Webster and Natasha Blakeman, he unexpectedly found love with Tina McIntyre, who was grieving after her father’s death. The relationship didn’t go down well with David who was Tina’s ex. But the relationship hit a snag when Tina introduced her friend Xin Chiang. Xin wanted to stay in the country but could only do so if she got married. Graeme and Xin had a sham wedding but they turned out to be in true love and both left the street, much to Tina’s heartbreak. But she quickly got over it when she caught the eye of Tommy Duckworth. And thus another love affair began…

Graeme also enjoyed annoying Norris – either by having the upper hand in an argument or becoming Emily’s lodger.

He was mainly a comedy character with moments including imitating Fred Elliott, dressing up as Liz McDonald and punching Steve McDonald.

Any Graeme fans out there? Would you like him to make a comeback?


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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - No. 13

EDDIE YEATS (90 VOTES)

Duration: 1974-1983, 1987

Played by: Geoffrey Hughes

2012 character poll position (men): 16

An old cellmate of Jed Stone who came to lodge with Minnie Caldwell in Christmas 1974.

A cheeky but lovable Scouser, Eddie was reminiscent of Jed with his dodgy dealings and mild criminality. Originally written out after going to jail, he was back on the street trying to redeem himself. He won the Ogdens around and became their on/off lodger before installing himself permanently in 1980.

He found regular employment as a bin-man or a ‘refuse collector’ as he called it just to sound impressive. 

His Liverpudlian charm and his way with words worked wonders with many being conned to buy dodgy and second-hand goods. For example Mavis bought a watch from him that immediately stopped working and Annie Walker bought a carpet with the initials AW on it, only to find out it was from the Alhambra Weatherfield bingo hall! But his lasting legacy was the ‘muriel’ he installed for the Ogdens in 1976. At first it was the Alps, but after Stan caused a flood they changed it for the Canadian Rockies. 

In 1982, he met Marion Willis and tried to impress her by pretending to own Mike Baldwin’s posh flat. But Marion was glad that he was a downtrodden bin-man as at least they were of the same class. Eddie proposed in 1983 and they had a shotgun wedding as Marion was pregnant. Stan and Hilda stood as proud substitute parents.

Eddie and Marion left for Bury during the Ogdens’ ruby anniversary party. Their daughter Dawn was born in 1984. Eddie made a brief return in 1987 to visit Hilda in hospital. In reality, Geoffrey Hughes wanted one last chance to act with Jean Alexander.

Were you a fan of Eddie?

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Top 25 Favourite Corrie Males - joint No. 17

DES BARNES & NORRIS COLE (62 VOTES)

Duration: 1990-1998 & 1994-1997, 1999- respectively

Played by: Philip Middlemiss & Malcolm Hebden respectively

2012 character poll position (men): Des didn’t appear; 8 (Norris)

While Des is a newcomer to the poll, Norris has dropped hugely in the polls since 2012. Once comfortably in the top 10, he’s now in the bottom top 20. Could lack of storylines and maybe a change in his personality from bumbling busybody to having an even crueller tongue be to blame? Personally, I believe the character has lost his spark in the last 8 years or so. What do you think? 

Des Barnes:

The bookie who moved to the street on his wedding day to Steph. He enjoyed winding up neighbours Derek and Mavis Wilton and even installed a boat in the back garden to annoy them.

Steph left him in 1991 and for many years he lived a true bachelor life and his conquests included Angie Freeman, Maxine Heavey, Lisa Duckworth and Samantha Failsworth.

His on/off relationship with barmaid Raquel Wolstenhulme was a long running storyline. While Raquel adored him, Des only used her when he was single. Des was gutted when Raquel married Curly, but viewers knew that Raquel’s dream was to become Mrs Barnes.

He later fell for and married vamp Natalie Horrocks, who had destroyed the Webster marriage. But a fortnight after the wedding, Des was attacked by thugs who were after Natalie’s drug dealing son Tony. After promising to take Natalie up Blackpool Tower, he had a cardiac arrest and died.

Were you a fan of Des?

Norris Cole:

Introduced as a salesman who Derek Wilton helped in his hour of need. Over the next few years, they would become rivals. Norris even kidnapped Derek’s gnome Arthur. Derek got his revenge by driving Norris to the wrong church on his wedding day to Angela (Derek’s ex-wife!!). 

After attending Derek’s funeral, he didn’t return to the street until 1999 when he turned up as a rep at the Kabin. Rita, who was struggling to find a suitable assistant, hired him. And thus a wonderful double act began.

Initially staying at the Duckworths’ B&B, Norris became Emily Bishop’s latest lodger in 2000. Reminiscent of her relationship with Percy Sugden, Emily is often exasperated with Norris’ nosiness and interfering, but he cares deeply about her.

While Norris and Rita have had hilarious moments behind the Kabin counter, their friendship took a different turn when Norris proposed to her. A flustered Rita rejected, stating that she only saw him as a dear friend. Since then, Norris has always been wary of Rita’s choice in men, especially her third hubby Dennis Tanner.

Norris is wary of any newcomers in the street. His suspicions about Richard Hillman were proved right, but sadly too late for poor Maxine Peacock. Sadly he wasn’t so wary about con-artist Mel Hutchwright aka Lionel Hipkiss.

In 2006, he became a partner in the Kabin with Rita and in 2009 he bought Rita’s share when she decided to retire. But lonely Rita returned to the shop as Norris’ employee. In 2014, Emily also sold No.3 to Norris after he became concerned about his future when Emily would pass away. 

Norris’ storylines have included holding a séance in the Kabin; winning a contest as Eartha Kitt; representing Manchester in the Commonwealth Games; coming face to face with his brother Ramsay again; and a romance with Mary Taylor.

If Nosy Norris isn’t behind the Kabin dishing out insults with his gobstoppers, he’s often seen sweeping the pavement, waiting for the next saga on the cobbles.

Are you a fan of Nosy Norris? 

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Coronation Street - the men who got away

As you know, the the top 25 all-time Corrie males are being voted for over the next fortnight.

But who were the men that didn't make it? Who were the men that got away?

Nearly 40 other male characters were voted in the poll.

Here they are:

32 votes                                                                             5 votes

Derek Wilton                                                                      Tyrone Dobbs

30 votes                                                                            4 votes
                   
Len Fairclough                                                                    Jerry Booth
                                                                                          Kirk Sutherland
22 votes
                                                                                         3 votes
Alan Bradley
                                                                                         Ashley Peacock
17 votes                                                                            Craig Tinker                                              
                                                                                         Todd Grimshaw 
Ray Langton
                                                                                         2 votes
13 votes                
                                                                                         Jack Walker
Fred Gee                                                                           Jez Quigley
                                                                                          Sean Tully
9 votes                                                                               Steve Tanner

Danny Baldwin                                                                     1 vote
                                                   
7 votes                                                                                 Andy McDonald
                                                                                            Archie Shuttleworth
Lloyd Mullaney                                                                      Bert Tilsley
                                                                                            Callum Logan
6 votes                                                                                 Chesney Brown
                                                                                             Ciaran McCarthy
Jason Grimshaw                                                                    Dev Alahan
Liam Connor                                                                           Eddie Windass
Nick Tilsley                                                                            Ernest Bishop
Spider Nugent                                                                         Ian Davenport
                                                                                             Jamie Baldwin
                                                                                             John Stape
                                                                                             Lewis Archer
                                                                                             Rob Donovan
                                                                                             Robert Preston
                                                                                             Tommy Duckworth
                                                                                             Warren Baldwin


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Vote for your all-time favourite Corrie male

The search continues to find Coronation Street fans' all-time favourite Corrie male!

In the first poll, hundreds of you voted for your favourites from a list of 30 males, plus you got to include your own personal favourites.

I've now drawn another poll which includes the top 25 from that poll. You can now vote for TWO male characters in this poll. 

Then I'll make a countdown of top 25 by adding both polls results. 

So get voting for your favourites!

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Corrie's Mithered Men

Coronation Street has a well established history of strong women whose talk, camaraderie and resilience springs from its very foundation. An organic offshoot of such female representation has proven to be the beleaguered male; never too far from a telling off, apparently unable to get anything right despite his best efforts, getting away with what he can when he can, and usually to comic effect.
Names such as Stan Ogden and Jack Duckworth immediately spring to mind, but what of the current men of Coronation Street?

Courtesy of a recent set of Friday episodes, we were presented with a window on how men are perceived by some contemporary Corrie women. The double episode of the 9^th of August opened with Sally and Gail strolling along the street, the former complaining about Tim putting fun ahead of work, and the latter offering the following observation:

“The problem is that most men are on the laziness spectrum. Top end’s lying on the settee all day watching re-runs of Bullseye and eating last night’s kebab, and well, the bottom end is just leaving the lid off the coffee jar, that sort of thing. I think it’s just inherent in men, laziness.”

It wasn’t necessarily laziness that saw the men of that Friday’s Corrie fall foul of its women, but nevertheless, they were undoubtedly playing second fiddle.

Nick learned that Robert was the new chef at the Bistro by finding him behind the bar, already working. Hired by Leanne, Nick had no say in the matter, and tried to exert some belated authority by introducing a trial period which all three knew held no weight. Nor did Nick offer much in the way of advice or encouragement during Carla’s intervention. In a subsequent episode it took Erica to break up with him even though he’d slept with Carla.
We had Michael at the behest of Eileen and Gail, flitting between them like a pawed mouse as he attempted, failed and was caught breaking into Barlow’s Buys. As if his situation couldn’t have been any more dismal, his tool of choice was a spatula.
And while Tony has proven himself worthy of anyone's fear, there was little he could do as an undaunted Liz stamped his flowers into the concrete outside Roy’s with a determined stiletto. We also later saw Tracy move Robert into number one with no regard for Ken who was powerless to intervene.
Perhaps the most hen-pecked of all is Tyrone who appears to be getting it from all angles of late. If Fiz isn’t berating him or fighting his battles for him, he’s under pressure from Kevin at the garage despite having an equal share, and the recent camping holiday saw him completely emasculated by alpha-male Dougie. He wasn’t the only one, but appeared to be particularly singled out for ridicule as he attempted to assert his manhood, and failed miserably.

Poor Kirk is also well used to being on the receiving end of a scolding courtesy of Beth, and as he skipped behind her through the woods, attempting to keep up while she relentlessly berated him for getting them lost, he too secured his place in the ever burgeoning Corrie catalogue of mithered men, joining other existing characters such as Steve, Dev and Tim.

While persistently making little of men is no laughing matter, and is not an activity I engage in, I think what makes it work in Corrie is the manner in which the stories are portrayed and performed. While we can sympathise with the women some of the time, these men have often been victims of ladies who aren't always in the right, and we are encouraged to align ourselves with the men, and celebrate and share in their triumphs, enjoying their antics as much as they do. Indeed, you sometimes get the impression that they wouldn't have it any other way.

With the exception of the very serious and aptly portrayed domestic abuse storyline between Tyrone and Kirsty, for the most part, instances of mithering have generally consisted of light hearted additions to storylines, or subplots which have humour at their core. What is essential is that there are plenty more male characters who don't find themselves mithered, and enough women who don't engage in talking them down to redress the balance and counter the erroneous perception that 'all men are the same'. I did feel that Steve's past treatment at the hands of Michelle and Liz overstepped the mark, and was glad to see this remedied.

Another positive element is that the hen-pecked are given the opportunity to assert themselves, as last Friday's Corrie demonstrated in two ways. Firstly, the opening dialogue saw Steve roundly discredit Michelle's arrogant assertion that Aidan wasn't used to intelligent female conversation with the line "Yeah, I often have chats about renaissance art with Beth Tinker”.

Secondly, when Mary declared cut flowers to be "a time honoured pathetic male gesture," Tim taking the bunch home as an apology to Sally affirmed her assertion. But it also interestingly succeeded in diffusing it. Tim may have skipped out on cutting the grass in favour of a lark about at an art class, but he was thinking of Sally nevertheless, and seized an opportunity to soften her anticipated anger with something he knew she would like.

We didn't see the scene, but such is the quality of the characters that we can easily imagine it play out in our heads; an initially furious Sally mildly chides him with a twinkle in her eye at the sight of the bouquet before picking her best designer vase to proudly display her floral surprise while Tim reclines happily on the sofa cracking open a beer and wondering what's for tea.

As above, there are plenty of male characters who aren't actively harangued by women. Kevin, Jason, Sean, Billy, Callum, Lloyd, Gary, Roy and Zeedan, for example, are all well capable of asserting themselves when necessary.

While I enjoy the balanced comedy which arises from beleaguered males and scolding females, I also like to see men strongly represented. I enjoyed Tony avenging his son, I pitied Jason as he experienced the indignity of talking about being beaten up from his hospital bed, I like Kevin's new found entrepreneurship and Lloyd's decision to reject Andrea. Aidan is also shaping up to be a very positive addition to the male cast.

But whatever happens, there is no denying that the poor hen-pecked Corrie male, who is of such long standing and has provided many hours of entertainment, will continue to be found sneaking off to the Rovers for the apocryphal 'swift half' for many years to come.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

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