Coronation Street Blog: march 2021

Showing posts with label march 2021. Show all posts

Thursday, 18 March 2021

Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 17th March 7.30 & 8.30 pm

It's nearly 2 years since the Bailey family moved into N0.3 Coronation Street and as relative newcomers, they’ve been quick to incept some drama onto the cobbles. With each family member having some drama or other to contend with it seems fitting that Ed's brother Ronnie's arrival should be very much the same.

Tonight, the Bailey drama thermometer is cranked up to 100! When Ronnie’s wife turns up, she’s full of accusations regarding Aggie and Ed’s marriage and Ronnie’s previous relationship with his brother’s wife. Ronnie tells his wife that he thinks Micheal may be HIS son! Ed hasn’t met Ronnie’s wife before either so some suspicions and sparks are sure to fly. Meanwhile, Grace is racially profiled in Frescho’s store and then locked up in a security office, prompting premature labour. The fast pace of the drama doesn’t make it any less shocking and we all know it happens. It’s not preaching or woke. Corrie is doing here what it’s always done - highlighting important issues. Anyway, Grace is rushed to the hospital and gives birth to Micheal’s baby. We just need to know who the Grandfather is now!

Ronnie should have been there to pick her up, of course, so he gets a gob full from Michael. The emotional intensity between Father, Son, and Uncle is clear, the touchpaper now being lit for what is sure to come. Guilt-ridden, Ronnie tells his brother the real reason he’s back in Weatherfield and Grace soon gives birth. Ed gets on the phone with Aggie and she’s quick to dispel any paternity worries.Ronnie’s a charmer, entrepreneurial, humourous, and a dapper dresser. He is Michael’s Dad, isn’t he? Either way, I’m looking forward to finding out the truth in this paternity battle!

Tyrone and Alina’s flirtatious fettling is a slow-burner but I am quite enjoying it. Yes, if the table was turned and Fiz was playing away, we could have more material but still, it works, and quite believable. I think. With the obvious chemistry between them though - who’s going to be the one to spot it? Visiting her in the factory, can’t be a good move - surely! Alina’s car mechanic knowledge seems to be an aphrodisiac to Tyrone, so its lucky Kev got in there first with Abi, eh! Meanwhile. Fiz is getting enthusiastic about the idea of them marrying.

Abi’s nonchalant attitude to weddings is high-end Corrie and one which I never knew I needed! She is gold, isn’t she! Abi has little interest in Debbie’s whimsical wedding plans, so it’s good to see her pal Tracy join in with the dress fitting afternoon at the Bistro. I’m glad Abi and Tracy are besties again - it’s been a while. It does beg the question tho; where is Tracy’s other BFF, Beth Tinker? Anyway, I digress. With Sally also in attendance, this is the creme de la creme of Corrie women and the comedy is in full flow. Honesty is sometimes not the best policy, and that is where Tracy Barlow shines - superb! The wedding dress may have been spoiled but, again, Debbie and Abi do seem to have rebuilt a few burnt bridges - so at least that’s something.

Elsewhere in tonight’s episodes; Steve’s fundraising efforts are taken up a notch with a feature in the Weatherfield Gazette. Brian’s newspaper bill badgering upsets Cathy. Leanne’s fleeting appearance and hermit-like lifestyle cause some concern for Nick. Sam and Simon also bury the hatchet.

@rybazoxo your cobbles connoisseur

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

Tuesday, 16 March 2021

Fiz fights Alina after Tyrone affair? Corrie blog interview with Jennie McAlpine

No. 9 Coronation Street. An address synonymous with the matrimonial bliss of Jack & Vera? - hardly! However, the longest-lasting marriage on the street was for most times, harmonious, giving a warm and welcoming home to a surrogate son, Tyrone Dobbs. After the Duckworth's deaths, Tyrone had no luck with Molly, nor Kirstie, but has set up a loving family home with Fiz Brown, and their respective daughters, having bought the house from Jack.

Just lately though, the unwed Tyrone seems to be showing signs of a mid-life crisis, and a growing friendship with Alina Pop. Jokingly, Fiz has chastised Tyrone about the awkward flirtation, but what if temptation becomes too much? Is Tyrone about to start an affair with Alina?

For our latest online Corrie press day conference, this blog zoomed in for a chat with Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz, to talk more about it;

Q-Do you feel like Fiz and Tyrone have lost their spark?

JM - “Well, Fiz certainly doesn’t think so! She feels like everything is okay, with the kids, Evelyn and the dog. She’s happy I think and has everything she’s ever wanted - she’s settled”

Q -This week, we see Tyrone slap down the idea of getting married to Fiz. How does that make her Fiz feel?

JM- “She thinks they’ve never gotten married simply because they’ve not got around to it. Tyrone says that he doesn’t like the wedding idea, and she’s quite shocked. Fiz fancies a Greek wedding along the theme of ‘Mamma Mia’ but Tyrone then drops this bombshell”

Q - Tyrone tells Fiz he has feelings for Alina, can you tell us how this comes about?

JM- “Fiz jokes about Tyrone having a crush on Alina until there is a moment when he admits to wanting to spend time with Alina and wanting to be somewhere else. He says he thinks he has lost the spark with Fiz. He could be having a mid-life crisis!”

Q- Fiz decides to then confront Alina. Can you tell us how that comes about?

JM - “Tyrone and Fiz try to be civil with each other and get past it but then Fiz sees Alina out on the street and takes her to Roy’s rolls, mutual ground so to speak, for a chat about the situation. I say chat but it’s more of a threatening monologue! She thinks, well if that doesn’t work, I don’t know what will! She warns Alina off and tells Tyrone to take up cycling or something, instead. She’s done her bit. It’s 18 pages of a script which is quite long, so a privilege to do”

Q - Who do you think would win in a fight between Fiz and Alina?

JM - “Well, in the scene we did at Roy’s Rolls, this is Fiz saying to Alina, if this fight was to happen, Fiz would win the fight. She may have mellowed but she still has that fight in her”

Q - Do you want Fiz and Tyrone to stay together?

JM - “Yes, yes I do! I love working in that house, working with Alan Halsall (who plays Tyrone) and shouting at Alan! They’re also many scenes where it shows they are fond of each other, they like each other. And where would Fiz live? I don’t want to move out again! It’s pretty humiliating for Fiz and I do feel sorry for her!”

Q - Do you think Fiz and Tyrone are the modern-day Jack and Vera or more like Sally and Kevin?

JM - They could be more like Sally and Kevin -It is possible, yes, but not good for me keeping the house, is it! No, in answer to the question there is no modern-day Jack and Vera because they were that iconic couple. Although the Dobbs live in that house, it is still the Duckworth’s, with the bar and their living room table, still in situ. The comparison is sweet but I don’t buy it”

Q- 2021 is your 20th year in Coronation Street, do you have a favourite storyline or scene?

JM - “It is so hard to pick just one! It’s easy to say that its the story you are doing at the moment but the writing has been brilliant and with the restrictions, and the crazy times we are going through, they’ve done an amazing job. Also, the John Stape story - I’ll never forget that”

******

This is promises to be a major storyline that plays out throughout 2021 on Coronation Street.

What are your thoughts? Is Tyrone having a mid-life crisis? Will the fall-out see Fiz finding another fella on the cobbles? Are Tyrone and Alina about to become the newest cobbles couple?

Stay tuned to this blog for more revealing cast interviews!

@rybazoxo

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

Tuesday, 2 March 2021

Will Mellor Joins Coronation Street!- Corrie Blog Press Day Interview

2021 sounds almost space-age, doesn’t it? I remember watching Back To The Future in the late 1980s, as though it was yesterday, and imagining how futuristic 2015 sounded! A weird start to a Corrie blog post maybe, but I tell you that because it’s one of my earliest TV watching memories. We’ve all got them, haven’t we? Being a Coronation Street fan, we all have those memories of first watching the show, our fave character actors, and maybe wonder what they are doing now? How many of our fave actors in other shows have landed on Corrie?

There has been a few for me, and as a comedy fan, Red Dwarf’s Craig Charles was a great addition to the cast. Talking of BBC comedies, I cannot believe it was 20 years ago since BBC3 launched Two Pints of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps (picture above) on its then-new youth channel. Becoming a huge fan, I went to watch it being filmed live at BBC studios, back in 2005. A star was born in (now national treasure) Sheridan Smith, and ex-Hollyoaks actor, Will Mellor, who played a jack-the-lad type in the coming-of-age sitcom.

It could almost be seen as synchronicity then (these things usually are) as fast-forwarding 16 years and I’m sat at my laptop ready to join another Coronation Street Press event to interview Will Mellor (WM) who is about to make his debut in Weatherfield as the latest bad boy incarnation! Will walks onto the cobbles on March 12th as Harvey, the leader of the local drugs gang that Simon Barlow has got involved with. Harvey piles on the pressure and even Leanne gets dragged into the drug dealing escapades.

In the role for a short-term period of 4 months, we talked to actor Will Mellor to find out more ;

Q - Have you ever starred in Coronation Street before?

WM - “No I haven’t. I always said if I was asked I would jump at it. It’s something I grew up with an used to joke about it. I would say as a northern actor, I must be the only one who hasn’t been asked to do it! the character is very different - I love this character and I’m very chuffed to be here!”

Q- It’s been 26 years since you were last in a soap (Hollyoaks). Is this the first villain/baddie that you have played?

WM - "He is a different kind of baddie than any I've played before. I played a baddie in Merlin as a Knight so that was a completely different realm. I was also in Eastenders for about four episodes, playing a guy who tried to rape someone, so that was different. Harvey is a seasoned pro, a bad guy, who's turning normal people into drug dealers; the lowest of the low if you ask me. There’s an arrogance that comes with this character. I don’t want to be stereotypical but you have to be realistic and believable. I want them to see the character and not Will Mellor, that’s what matters to me"

Q- You are coming into Corrie and Harvey is going to be rubbing up against long-established characters like Leanne Battersby and Simon Barlow. How does that feel?

WM - "Well, I was a little bit worried, or apprehensive to be honest. People who are die-hard corrie fans believe this show, and care about these characters, it has to be believable, but they must know that it’s not me! But I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if it wasn’t believable! I am expecting to get a little bit of grief but I’m quite glad I’ve done a lot of stuff before, so they know I’m not a drug dealer!"

Q- You’ve got quite the costume for Harvey. Is that an important part of the role for you, as an actor?

WM - "Absolutely, as soon as you put the clothes on, you walk differently. Harvey wears a ring and a chain and you immediately get that swagger. I’m also wearing my late dad's ring for the character. I thought it would be nice to incorporate it into the character and that way my dad is with me on set all the time. He was a massive Corrie fan and he would be so proud that I was in the show, so this way he is also in the show with me. Harvey wears a lot of street design and bling, he doesn’t do the suit or drive a Bentley, he is still grafting and dealing. The wardrobe team have done a great job’’

Q- Leanne has been through a tough time and thinks she can take on Harvey, but he doesn’t care she’s lost her kid, does he? He has no empathy with these people

WM - ‘’No, it’s all about self-gain for him. What he likes about Leanne and Simon is that they go under the radar. Simon is a young kid, with no criminal record, and if anything goes wrong it doesn’t land on him. That’s the problem with these people. Leanne is vulnerable he tells her she’s got a nice face, and she looks, unlike the rouge’s gallery he’s used too. He even gets her to dress up in a nurse’s outfit, as a frontline worker to deliver drugs, he just doesn’t care. The writing is really good and I don’t wanna be a cartoon baddie, these people are out there’’

*****

So, are we looking forward to Will Mellow joining the cast? Does Harvey look like he could be a baddie in the Pat Phelan mould, maybe? What are your thoughts on this Corrie county lines story? I would have loved to have seen Will Mellor act alongside Bev Callard (Liz McDonald) again but it looks like that won’t happen. If you get a chance do check out Bev in ‘Two Pint’s...’ online, she plays quite the part!

Another great Corrie press day! keep your eyes peeled for a new article next Tuesday.

@rybazoxo cobbles connoisseur