Coronation Street Episode Review, Wednesday 15th February, 8 pm

Stephens's murky murderous tirade takes a different slant tonight as he uses Rufes’ Class A's to drug factory nemesis, Carla. Admittedly, as someone interested in micro-dosing psychedelics (I'm not kidding, I'm your multi-faceted Corrie fan) it wasn't the opening gambit I expected to use when reviewing tonight's Corrie but here we are. Tonight starts with Carla and Peter bickering over the motorbike bet in their swanky flat. It's very Carla in taste, isn't it? Also, nice to see that Dee-Dee has spiced up her and Paul’s flat, isn't it? Are we due some more interior work at other residents' houses? I'm thinking about Number one, specifically.

Back at the factory, Carla’s decided on a Rishi-style cabinet reshuffle, putting Sarah back into her old role whilst demoting Stephen. Feeling vengeful by her well-grounded accusations, Stephen remembers he has that LSD from Rufus, so he spikes her THE BOSS mug -partly in revenge, and probably to undermine her character. Considering he’s got two murders under his belt, isn't this all a bit bonkers? Carla feels the effects of the drug pretty quickly, and with the factory lot team bonding at the Rovers, THE BOSS is a bit out of sorts - much to Stephen’s delight. Can you imagine seeing Sean behind the bar whilst tripping your head off? I'm not surprised she felt off-colour. Stephen then sneaks back into work to shred some of Carla’s paperwork. Back at their flat, Carla is still tripping. Peter tells her to slow down with work before she has another psychotic episode. It seems Stephen’s plan has worked. 

Meanwhile, I’ve always assumed Amy Barlow to be quite a brainbox, so why she invited her old headteacher/corner shop proprietor to be her short-term lodger is anyone’s guess. I'm assuming this is Corrie having a crack at intergenerational humour via Brian’s rather unique characterisation. Tonight, he’s got in the kitchen to cook for Amy, stealing her chocolate, and the house kitty. Later, Brian replenishes his takings and then gets invited to a uni gathering of Amy’s pals and embarrasses them all by lecturing them on studying, before getting drunk and skiving off work, like a real student. Amy vows to get him back together with Mary.

Alya’s 30th birthday is upcoming with no mood to party, whilst Zeedan gets a blast from the past when his wife/ex-wife Marriam turns up at number 6, telling him she forgives him for her Dad's death, wanting to get back with him and live in London. Alya tells her brother to take the job, lying that she's okay now following the stabbing. She’s not, definitely, but is keen to please her brother no-less. 

I loved the Roys rolls scene tonight with Bernie, Gary, Maria, Spider, David, Todd, (and Debbie nosing in the background) We don't usually see that amount of cast in the cafe in one scene, do we? David’s still down in the dumps with all of the Max drama but good to see Maria defend him, and Todd’s sarcastic tea comment had me laugh out loud. Gary’s not laughing though and is displeased with his wife defending David’s fatherly skills, and with her covering for Audrey at the salon, it’s clear she’s drawn a line on where her loyalties lie. 

Audrey tells Maria to try and clear David’s head, ahead of Shona’s return. Later, Sarah tells Adam that, with her career back on track, she’s no interest in another baby.   

Elsewhere -Summer’s conditional offer for university inspires Paul to ask Billy for a drink. Paul fancies his chances at a reunion, but takes Dee-dee along as company, as Billy brings Summer with him. Paul denies his feelings for Billy to his flatmate making him think twice about how he should deal with them. 

What did you think of tonight’s Corrie? Let us know in the comments box. 

I am @rybazoxo on twitter - Corrie connossieur, and street superfan. 

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Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 13th Feb 7.30pm

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of the Coronation Street Blog, and the first of tonight's two episodes-reviewed in a handy blog post.

Abbie and Carla reconcile after their recent argument, but you wonder how much trouble a boat can cause?.

Meanwhile, Abi is excited to be heading to Kefalonia with Captain Barlow. With Simon off of school, he's keen to help his dad on the boat, although Peter hasn't told his son about his trip with Abi until Carla tells subtly fills him in. Confronting his father in Roy's, Simon tells Peter that Abi means nothing to him, unluckily in earshot of Seb.

Later, paying her son a visit to tell him the news, Seb obviously can't wait to chastise his mother again and reveals Peters true feelings.

As David questions Shona's recent sneaky discussions with Nick, Clayton receives a beating for his Mums failed drug deal. Beaten to a pulp, Shona is called to the hospital. At the shop, David quizzes his brother and smashes a mirror in frustration. Over at Weatherfield General, Clayton is relatively unscathed but can Shona escape her sons latest drug dealing violence?.

Roy's coffee addiction is causing concern for Carla as his sleep deprivation and parasomnia put Alex in near danger, who's back working behind the counter.

Failing customer confidentiality, Alex is keen to tell Mary all of the latest gossip, and Mary is fitting perfectly into her new role as Ruby's new childminder. Tyrone is pleased with Mary's cooking, and eccentric house cleaning (headphones and a fluffy pig, anyone?).

Chesney makes peace with Gemma, will his quiche win him a quickie after all?. Fish fingers and fraternisation are certainly on the menu over a planned supper with young Joseph.

Meanwhile, Sally dreams of yoga on a Hindu retreat and introduces Kevin to the idea of a mindful retreat for young Jack. Kevin tells Sally that he's got a  digital detox holiday planned with his son instead. How very millennial!. Maybe Roy could do with a detox perhaps but fear not, as Carla's filing soon puts him to sleep.


Over at Chesney's, Gemma starts making tea for Joseph and accidentally burns herself with a tray. Exclaiming the 'f word' in true Corrie comedy fashion blurts it out in earshot of the youngster (a lot of that going on tonight) The 'f word' has been dropped, and it isn't 'fish fingers'. Joseph is learning all about birds of prey, so if Chesney lets him watch 'KES', Gemma's 'f word' will be the least of worries! (great film, check it out, kids).

And outside on the street, Simon sits mournfully by the boat, looking a little lost... like a lost buoy perhaps.

Just how much trouble can a boat cause?.

More from me later tonight, with your Coronation Street blog review of 8.30 pm part two!.

You can follow me @rybazoxo over on Twitter, your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'.

TA-RA!

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Collecting Coronation Street: Props

It seems like an absolute age since my first instalment in my Collecting Coronation Street posts, where I spoke about cast autographs and how they make up a bulk of my Coronation Street memorabilia collection. As I said before, the majority of you are probably unaware of my Coronation Street Collection, which is the collective name for what started as a few small bits and pieces from across the show's history and has since morphed into a whole house full of archive Corrie props, costumes and more.

For me, the closure of Granada Studios was an absolute blessing, as there was a sudden influx of items being flogged on eBay that had been left behind by the Coronation Street crew as they were now considered worthless to be kept in the prop store at the new MediaCity Studios. It's always a shame to think that many props are probably discarded on a regular basis, but always rest assuring if they fall into my hands!

One of my favourite pieces - Blanche's funeral plaque

Another time when props show up on eBay is when they've been donated to charity auctions by the production team. Often pricey, but always worth it (as the money is going to a good cause), that's how I've obtained some of my best pieces, such as a painting of Nick Tilsley drawn in show by Hayley, and signed by Julie Hesmondhalgh. I've also bought a copy of The Weatherfield Gazette, from the time when Ken was opposing Peter's plans to open The Joinery (déjà vu?) which is signed by both Bill Roache and Chris Gasgoine.

I'd wanted a Roys Rolls table mat for a while, when suddenly one signed
by David Neilson and Julie Hesmondhalgh appeared on eBay and I
snapped it up!

When it comes to obtaining props, there's always a few difficulties regarding authenticity. I've found on a number of occasions that people try and sell the replica props that were included in the Coronation Street Treasures book (which is a great read none the less and definitely worth picking up). Whilst these replicas all look authentic and include letters from Richard Hillman, Roy's passport photos and a card from Des Barnes' funeral flowers, they were made in mass numbers for purposes of the book. I've seen many eBay users claim these are real, and sell them on for ridiculous prices!

I absolutely adore this painting of Nick Tisley that I purchased
in a charity auction on eBay, but can't find the episode anywhere!

Props that I buy tend to come in all shapes and sizes, from as small as a Rovers beermat to as big as Carla and Frank's wedding seating plan, but always a worthy part of my collection. They're often so personal and each have their own little story behind them. It's just a shame more props didn't show up on eBay as I'd love to add more to my collection. Perhaps a sofa? 

You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelAdamsUk, and also on my collection Twitter account @CStCollection.

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While Roy's away - here's what happens at his Coronation Street cafe

This week's Inside Soap magazine has a possible teaser about what might happen at the cafe when Roy is away.

As we know, actor David Neilson is taking a break from Coronation Street to star in a Samuel Beckett play with Chris Gascoyne. You can read more on that here and we'll be bringing you two separate reviews from the show by our bloggers Stevie and Emma.

While David's away the show, Roy gets called away to help his mum Sylvia after she falls and hurts herself.

And in his absence, here's what might happen to the cafe...  Inside Soap say that as Roy prepares to leave, Alex - the nephew of Cathy Matthews - returns and reveals that he's unemployed. Roy offers him a job working in Roy's Rolls while he's away. But how will Alex fare in Roy's absence?

Well, there you have it. It appears that Cathy and Alex might be running the cafe while Roy's away, presumably with Anna's help. 

What do you think about that?

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The Magical Teleporting Cafe

Many people will know that Roy's Rolls moved from Rosamund Street to Victoria Street back in 1999, but what many don't know was that it first sat where Prima Doner sits now.

I uncovered this when watching some old episodes, and noticed there was something a little off about the location of the cafe, as it's not usually straight across the road from the Bookies.

This would make Roy's Rolls on the new set, the fourth version of the cafe!

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A look at the new set: Victoria Street

In next few weeks in the lead up to the switchover on-screen, I will be taking a closer look at the differences between the old Coronation Street set and the new set.

A lot of news articles all mentioned that the biggest change on the new set was the size of Coronation Street, but I think the biggest and best change of all is actually Victoria Street, ever since it was first shown in 1999 has always seemed a little cramped, due to size limitations at the old Granada studios set, it never really looked quite right.

The new Victoria Street however, looks bigger, a lot bigger, for example, in the picture above left, you will be able to see that there is enough room for two cars to pass Victoria Court, at the old set there was barely enough room for one.

Another noticeable difference is a whole new area of Victoria Court, which turns away down another unseen street, this is a brilliant little change, as it will make the Coronation Street area feel a bit more connected to 'Wider Weatherfield'.

The opposite end of Victoria Street that leads to Nuttall's Brewery has grown significantly larger too, making the entrance way to the fabled brewery seem a little more impressive. Also, Steve will finally have room to park the Streetcars fleet without blocking access. Which he better be happy about!

However the most noticeable difference to most fans will be the new door next to Roy's Rolls, which seems a little bit of a strange addition as nobody is sure where it will lead. It may just be a new entrance to Roy's flat, so maybe we can expect the staircase in the cafe to disappear?

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Fiz Stape - Weatherfield's one woman Mafia

There has been something really unlikable about Fiz lately, not only does she shout at Roy's friends, she made a point of being nasty to Roy days after he'd lost Hayley.

It seems almost as if she saw herself as the most important person in Hayley's life, even before Hayley died, it seemed like she wanted to make Hayley's situation all about herself.

Poor Anna and Jenna who came into a flooded cafe, decided not to trouble the recently bereaved Roy, after all, as far as they knew he'd been with his mother for the past week, but in Fiz's mind, Roy had been gone far too long. Anna did her best to cope with the flood without calling Roy, but it simply was enough for the Stape family Mafia, who scowled at Anna's attempts to deal with the situation.

What do you make of Fiz's recent behaviour? Is she right to meddle in Roy's life as much as she has been doing? It's fair enough that she's concerned, but she never gave poor Roy any space to grieve in his own way.

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Where's your favourite table at Roy's Rolls?

What a lovely thing we heard on Coronation Street last night.  When Julie wanted a  pow-wow with Brian, she told him to meet her at their favourite table in Roy's Rolls.

This got me thinking as to which would be my favourite table in Roy's Rolls, and I know where it would be. 

As you go in Roy's Rolls, you'd enter the cafe and have the counter in front of you. My favourite table would then be reached on the right hand side, underneath the window, tucked away behind the door and out of ear-shot of most of the other customers in there. Nice and quiet, secretive, the perfect table for a gossip and a catch up.

Which one would be your favourite table in Roy's?

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Official Corrie t-shirts now on sale

Official Coronation Street Roy's Rolls t-shirts are now on sale at the online Corrie store.

I think these are fab and a welcome addition to the calendars and books for sale on that site.

Wouldn't it be great to see Anna Windass and Hayley wearing these behind the counter in the Corrie caff?

There's a whole host of official Corrie t-shirts for sale online here.

Roy Cropper's credit crunch breakfast

Watching the live episode of Coronation Street from Corrie's 40th anniversary in 2000 at the BFI special screening, I noticed that Roy Cropper's breakfast in the caff was the budget price of £2.95.

Fast forward from December 2000 to February 2009 and tonight's episode of Corrie revealed that the menu in Roy's Rolls remains much the same with breakfast still at £2.95. Now that's what I call a bargain.

Picture courtesy of some wonderful behind-the-scenes snaps here.