The Corrie Nitpick post

Reposted from State of the Street by permission

Ah yes, nitpicking on things that ITV would rather we just ignore because they can't be bothered to fill in the details. But God is in the Details, right? Or the devil is. And this inquiring mind wants to know...

Is anyone visiting Maria in prison aside from that one time Aidan showed up? Has Eva found a replacement slot? Audrey or David? What about Kirk? Kirk never mentions Maria yet he is close to her and was very protective of her when she was going through the trial and everything. I imagine he probably is visiting her but this is the kind of thing I wish they would throw into a random conversation, something like Audrey telling David he'll be on his own this afternoon because she's visiting Maria. Poor Maria, it's bad enough being locked away. Imagine not having one visitor? And what about her parents? You'd think they would come to see her, wouldn't you? I wonder if we'll ever know if they deported poor Pablo who was too frightened of his own family's reaction to just marry his boyfriend in the first place instead of having a sham marriage with Maria.

At the moment, Michelle is too consumed with grief to think of anything besides her loss. I would like to see, at some point, either that she's heard from Maria or maybe see a scene when Maria finally gets out where Maria comforts Michelle. Does anyone remember that Maria went through the same thing? She went to the doctor because her baby stopped moving and was told the baby inside her had died and she had to deliver it, knowing he was already dead. I don't remember how far along she was, past Michelle's 23 weeks but she wasn't much farther along I don't think. The baby certainly would have been premature but a good couple of months though likely would have survived if he'd been born alive. But of anyone in the show, Maria would be the one whose situation is the closest to what Michelle has gone through.

I applaud Corrie when they bring up old history and they have mentioned that Liz has lost a preemie baby, her Katy, with a lovely conversation between she and Michelle, sharing similar emotions. But I also think they could pull out history a little more often. When Faye had her baby and then rejected the child, Anna might have had Sarah talk to her. It might not have changed Faye's mind but that nod to Sarah's teenage pregnancy would have been nice. I know Sarah didn't know Faye but it still would have been nice to have a mention.

Doesn't Brian still own half of the flat next to Rita? He and Julie bought it off Jason. When they split up, there was talk about Julie not being able to afford to buy Brian out of his half but she continued to live there until she left as far as I recall. They left together at the time and have now broken up. Are we to presume they sold the flat at some point? I think so. But if they sold it, why isn't there anyone living there? Poor continuity there, I think.

Why did Adam post Daniel a birthday card? They live together in the flat over the corner shop. Or did he just say that because he forgot to buy one? Probably this. Speaking of Daniel, I hope we eventually find out what happened to his mother and why she left. Surely a bit of teenage angst couldn't have sent her out the door without a word for all those years? Maybe Daniel has killed her. It's the quiet ones you have to worry about, you know! He's already showing signs of being his father's son by quietly flirting with Sinead even though she's already involved in a long term relationship even if it *is* with the old-before-his-time Chesney.

Peter moved back into the flat over the flower shop which he owns, you may recall. He is only renting the shop premises to Tracy and was renting the flat to Anna. Anna had her own furniture in there, I think. But if she moved in and was using Peter and Carla's things, then what did they do with her stuff from Number 6? Storage? Sold? If she moved her goods in, then when Peter first moved out and away to Portsmouth, he must have arranged for his things to be sent so there was room for her stuff. Now she's living with Kevin and he's got a house full of furniture. What did she do with hers? When we've seen Peter in the flat, it looked like it had been emptied with only a few things in it. The case of the disappearing furniture. I think someone's playing a shell game with it.

I'm still confused about the money Sharif owes. (and what is Yasmeen using to live? Just her own pension plus whatever Zeedan and now Rana bring in, (some of which is going to pay Dev back, apparently)?) Sharif paid for the down payment on the flat that never happened and he gave Alya about the same amount for the specialized machine for the factory (which doesn't really seem to be earning its keep, does it?). He took some of the money from the gym's accounts but surely not for both things so some of it must have come from his and Yasmeen's own bank accounts or investments which would appear to have been substantial at some point. It seems odd that there is no money to repay the gym.

And if Dev had to pretend his car was not his car (he gave the keys to Chesney when the bailiffs were carrying out gym equipment), why didn't the bailiffs go after his other businesses? It was said they couldn't take the sewing machine because it wasn't related to the debt directly so why was the car, a personal belonging of Dev's under threat? Dev as a long time business man would know whether it was or not, wouldn't he? So if he thought there was a chance of his personal belongings being confiscated, then so would his house and shops. Oh, I don't know. I'm willing to suspend disbelief but I hate being confused.

Mary didn't go to South Africa after all. So where is she? We haven't had so much as a glimpse of her let alone a line of dialogue. She might as well have gone! I think she should have, too, if just for a holiday to get to know her son and his wife. I think we had a throwaway line that she was pregnant, not that they already had a child but I could be wrong. What would keep her from at least going to meet her grandchild or be there when the baby comes? Maybe she will do that. Seems a waste of the ticket Jude must have bought her. I know nowadays she can talk to them every day via a video app which she likely is doing and it's a very good way to get to know someone. I hope he's not completely forgotten and that she mentions him from time to time and visits.

Where did Phelan bury the body and when did he have the time? When he arrived late to his wedding, there was a bit of dry dirt on his shoe. When he fought with Andy, time was already getting a bit short for him to make it to the church/registry office on time. Are we to believe he had time to dig a hole somewhere, dump the body and still make it to the wedding not quite too late? Also, bashing Andy over the face at arms' length is not going to be clean. He should have had blood splatters all over his coat, tie, collar and cuffs even if the coat protected most of his wedding suit. I did notice he came into the wedding venue without his coat on. I guess we'll have to be satisfied with that. One more point, Luke lives in the flat with Andy and Steph. Won't there be blood on that carpet? Did Phelan also have time to tear up the whole thing? It would have taken more than a wipe with a damp cloth to clean that up.

That's it for the nitpick rant this time around, gang. I try not to be too negative most of the time but sometimes, I just can't help myself. There's a lot of good to Corrie, far more good than bad in my opinion but it helps to get the little everyday picky stuff off my chest now and then. I'll just get me coat.

Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)
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Marc Anwar sacked from Coronation Street

Actor Marc Anwar, who plays Sharif Nazir, was fired yesterday by ITV. It's in all the media, but using the Radio Times as a source, he allegedly posted racist comments on Twitter.

"ITV said in a statement: “We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar. We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.”

ITV has decided that scenes already filmed will be shown but after that, Sharif will be minimised on screen until the character's exit. The current plot deals with the discovery of Sharif's seven year affair with family friend, Sonia, and it's believe that once his family finds out, the emphasis will be on his wife and grandchildren which will make it easier for the powers that be to work around the situation.

Rather than post here what the offending comments were, if you want to know, click through the link above. 

Updated: Marc Anwar has posted an apology and you can see the video on the Manchester Evening News website, here.


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Until Plot Do Us Part

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a happy couple in possession of a good marriage must be in want of a plot twist. It’s seldom a harmless one either, and generally something devastating for one if not both parties.

Yes, it’s soap, and Corrie has had us enthusiastically sobbing and despairing at countless heartaches and infidelities over the years. In recent weeks and months we’ve seen Billy and Todd, Nick and Leanne, Luke and Maria, Gary and Izzy, and Caz and Kate embroiled in relationship drama, while secrets threaten the happiness of Aidan and Eva and Steve and Michelle.

The course of true love never did run smooth, but the cobbles tend to offer added bumps along the way. However, while we wouldn’t be without this feature of our favourite soap, does every couple have to be rocked by catastrophe from within the relationship itself? Seeing as the thread of normality is one of the most endearing things about Coronation Street, why can’t we have a strong, devoted couple who simply love one another and face life’s obstacles together, as people do in real life?

While not without their troubles, Tyrone and Fiz and Steph and Andy are among those showing stability at the moment. But it’s a fact that, along with Tim and Sally, Beth and Kirk and Sharif and Yasmeen were probably the closest thing to the faithful, enduring couple that we’ve seen in some time. It actually pains me to write that in the past tense, as we have now come to learn that Sharif has been having an affair for the past seven years, and Beth is a bigamist.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the Nazirs from the beginning was the love and respect the couple clearly had for one another. As we got to know them we could see Sharif’s admiration for his clever and passionate wife, and the strength she gained from his support, particularly after the death of Kal. She in turn helped him when he struggled to cope with the news that Alya had slept with Jason, allowing him to see the situation in a new light. This was not the guise of a man engaging in an affair behind his wife’s back, or a husband giving any indication of being remotely interested in anyone other than the woman he clearly adored.

Beth and Kirk’s unlikely pairing has been a triumph, and a ripe source of humour as well as proof that couples can simply be happy with one another, irrespective of what life throws at them. They also show that good marriages are far from boring to watch, a fact which is thankfully supported by Tim and Sally. As with the Nazirs, Beth and Kirk have had their ups and downs, but consistently supported one another and faced the world together. Their 80s wedding was joyous, and at no point did we see a hesitation or glimmer of doubt, concern, or guilt from Beth which might have indicated that she was already married. In fact, she wanted them to have a dream wedding, and so much so that they exhausted themselves working extra shifts to pay for it. Nobody would have suspected that she was entering into a bigamous marriage, and while her behaviour is questionable at times, such is her love for Kirky, it’s hard to believe she would.

In the cases of all the other troubled couples, their woes have arisen organically out of the drama. However, with regard to the Nazirs and Sutherlands, it would certainly seem that their existing backgrounds have been revised, and quite dramatically at that, for the sake of creating new stories in the present. Both revelations have the shock factor, but for me, the believability isn’t there. Why? Because these very particular actions would have needed to be part of their stories in the first place for them to ring true.

This is not to say that hitherto unknown ghosts can’t arrive to haunt people, but if they do, the chosen ghost has to make sense in the context of the existing drama, and who that character is as a person. With regard to Beth and Kirk, I personally think their marriage should be sacred, and bigamy simply isn’t believable to me in this instance. As above, there is nothing wrong with a resurrected skeleton, and they have proven themselves to be great for drama. Indeed, the reappearance of Craig’s Dad already has this potential without the bigamous element.

While my preference for the Nazirs is fidelity, if Sharif absolutely had to play away, why not have him embark on an affair in the present? Considering the strength of the couple, there would have to be a good justification for it, but we could then experience the situation unfold, his potential turmoil and possible guilt-ridden reveal, and feel fully invested in it.

While we can't be sure of how the drama will progress for either of them, and there's no doubting that whatever happens will be performed well, as Beth’s marriage and Sharif’s affair predate their first appearances on the programme, they now alter my perception of their characters and every scene I’ve ever seen them in, and this jars because they simply don’t match. We all know the suspension of disbelief is essential to viewing Corrie, but for us to believe in the drama, realism must be at the core of who the characters are, the actions they take, and how they deal with the situations they find themselves in. Even if the actions or situations are unheard of and surface from the past, fitting both the character and the drama which has gone before is essential if we are to believe in them. These retrospective additions to Beth and Sharif's stories are proof of just how important this is.

By Emma Hynes

Twitter: @ELHynes

Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites

Instagram: emmalouhynes

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First-look pic: Alya clocks Sharif and Sonia on Coronation Street

Here's a preview picture from the episode of Coronation Street to be shown on Monday 19th September 2016.

Sharif’s guilt-ridden after sleeping with Sonia (oh 'eck!) and when she starts criticising Yasmeen’s taste, Sharif forbids her from mocking his wife.

Sonia’s chastened but as Sharif places a hand on her back, Alya walks in and clocks their intimacy. 

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Is Rana Sharif's secret daughter in Coronation Street?

There's a been a lot of speculation on the Coronation Street Blog lately about Rana and Sharif, and I'm liking what I read.

We already know, because ITV have told us in the previews for next week, that Sharif has been having a secret affair for the last seven years with a woman called Sonia.

And last night, we saw Rana become very uncomfortable when her parents were mentioned. 

So, I'm putting 2 and 2 together and possibly getting 32 here but, what if Rana turns out to be Sharif's daughter?  It could get very icky if she is, of course, as this means she'll have been canoodling on the sofa with her relation.

Speculation Street, indeed!

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The chickens can stay

I'm feeling a bit "meh" about Coronation Street at the moment. There are some good bits and some not so good bits, yet nothing truly awful. I'm in the midst of a Corrie conundrum. 

I'll kick off with what I'm enjoying at the moment. Strangely, I'm beginning to quite like Steve and Michelle together. Steve has always been a favourite, Michelle less so. However her unflinching support now his depression is out in the open has been pleasing to see. I actually have less of a problem imagining them walking down the aisle now. Having said that, I stand by my original comments that it would be more truthful to the depression storyline had we seen more of Steve interacting with his counsellor. A bit like Tim's reading difficulties, this side of things has been badly handled.

I've also thoroughly enjoyed the ongoing Kevin/Jenny/Rita story. I hope we will see more of this soon. There's always a risk attached to bringing back characters from another era however Jenny has slotted back in beautifully and I really don't want her to leave again. I hope her story is not cut and dried - I like elements of her ginger minx character but I think it's time for some more layers. 

I was dubious about Faye's pregnancy storyline but the young actress Ellie Leach has put in some superb performances so far. I hope it doesn't end up going over old ground however as Sarah and Bethany will shortly be back with us it would be absurd for them not to share scenes and experience. I've also loved Craig's involvement in this story. Colson Smith is a great actor and has come on leaps and bounds. Craig has been a loyal and supportive friend to Faye and it's heartening to see a younger character with those qualities. 

It has been a joy to see more of Emily too. I have liked her interactions with Billy the vicar and it's good to see her doing something that doesn't just involve making up the numbers with Rita and Norris. I fear that sometimes the character of Emily is treated as nothing more than a walk on part but given the right material Eileen Derbyshire still knows how to play it. Unfortunately the material just doesn't always seem to be there.

I'm missing Eva already. Of the three actresses away on maternity leave, she leaves the biggest gap for me. True, Fiz and Kylie have carried bigger story lines but Eva is such a refreshing presence in Corrie that I think her absence will be the most keenly felt. I'm also missing Carla who seems to have disappeared into the Corrie cupboard along with my favourite Nazir, the sparky, spiky Yasmeen. I'm still enjoying Steph even though her current storyline is irritating me (more later) and I hope we see more of her brother Luke. I'm not sure being saddled with Maria is the best thing for his character but the siblings are a breath of fresh air. Finally, I have high hopes for Roy's upcoming friendship with newcomer Cathy. I can see Melanie Hill having great chemistry with David Neilson and as we have been assured it will not be a romantic storyline we can all sit back and enjoy.

Now to some of my low points from recent viewing. I think my general feeling is that there are currently just too many characters I don't really care about or see myself investing time in learning to like. I think I'll call it Sophie Webster syndrome. On paper they read like a good idea but in practice, less so.

We'll start with the Windass-Armstrong clan. All the stuff with Linda just did nothing for me. I already disliked Owen so this has just shunted him further into the pit of scheming negativity. Anna, who has had her moments is swiftly turning into a pinny-clad shrew who spends her time ferrying plates of food back and forth with a permanent scowl on her face. Katy is pointless but she's away soon so we'll leave that be. Izzy seemed surplus to requirements after her split with Gary so who knows what she'll be once Owen and Katy have both left?

Apart from this lot, the other family dominating screen time at the moment are the Platts. I don't even know if they have a collective name anymore as so many surnames are involved. Platt, McIntyre, Roberts, Tilsley, Rodwell, Carver, Logan, Turner. Phew. I love Audrey's constant support in the background but she needs to ditch them all fast and crawl out of number 8 into a storyline of her own that also does not involve Maria, Ken Barlow or Anna Karenina. Gail and Michael are an excellent match, two big drips. All this stuff with David, Max and Callum is tedious. They all seem to have forgotten that Kylie didn't just leave, David chucked her out.  Callum is yet to develop into a character worth keeping, I'm not sure if they are writing him as a villain or a camp comedy element. Whatever, it's dragging on too long.

Talking of dragging on too long, we now come to the ongoing Andy/Gavin saga. It feels to me that the writers don't have enough confidence in their basic plotlines so they must constantly make them even more complex and therefore unbelievable. Qudos to stalwarts Helen Worth and Sue Nicholls for keeping up with this one. I actually quite enjoyed the real Gavin, he was an odious baddie got rid of far too soon. He could've given Callum some tips. Basically it's all just too convoluted and at the end of it I don't really care what happens to any of them. We've been promised it will come to a dramatic head and that there will be repercussions for all. Hooray. More simpering Gail and scenes of Michael clutching his chest. When Gail asks him if it's his heart, it would be the perfect time for Les Dennis to squeak out "I don't really know..."

Less irritating but worth a ponder is the continuing presence of Chesney and Sinead. Why can Coronation Street no longer create and develop nice characters who are also interesting? Why does nice equal dull or old before their time? And when these options run out they can always morph into vamps that bed their neighbours, turn bunny boilers and face horrible deaths which are accompanied by swathes of publicity. Chesney and Sinead should be likeable. We, the collective audience should be fighting for them, willing them on. Not leaving the room to stick the kettle on whenever they appear. 

Minor points before I go: I hope we never see Liz's friend Erica ever again. Sharif needs to be bundled into the van that comes to take the chickens away and never be seen again. The chickens can stay. I'm still not sure about Vicar Billy but that may be because he's sharing most of his scenes with Sean. Todd's London backstory - what on earth is it?? Still don't like Andrea. 

And on a purely gratuitous note, can we have more scenes written in featuring Gary Windass with his top off. Even at the cafe, I don't care about the hygiene risks. I've been in it, it's not that clean.

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Ranking The Nazirs

It's been just over a year since Kal Nazir made his first appearance on the Street, and with their purchase of number six they've finally established themselves as residents.  It's perhaps time to give them a report card on their progress over that time.

Alya Nazir

Alya's emerged as the star of the family, for a few reasons.  Firstly, actress Sair Khan is talented at both drama and comedy, a valuable skill set in the often farcical world of Corrie.  She's also brought an intelligence and compassion to her scenes and storylines, and her background in fashion has made her a natural for working at Underworld.  She's certainly a better fit for the role of deputy manager than Michelle, Peter or (saints preserve us) Maria ever were - at least she's got a passion for the product.  I thought they'd use her staying at the factory to help with Beth's basque as a way to engineer a friendship with Sinead (they're both young characters who don't have much in the way of friends) but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way.  Her relationship with Gary is problematic; one minute she's presented as a strident, independent woman, the next she kowtows to her family's pressure, but there's definite chemistry between them.

Grade: A-

Yasmeen Nazir

A lot of people hate Yasmeen.  She's interfering, bossy and sharp tongued.  For me, that's why she's great.  Since the departure of Sylvia we've been missing a matriarch who speaks her mind, and Yasmeen has all these characteristics.  It's also tempered by a forcefulness and a passion for projects that I find appealing.  I'm not sold on the idea of a community centre in the butcher's shop (try doing a fitness class in there without banging your head on the ceiling) but I totally believe that this is the kind of thing Yasmeen would do with her time.  I loved the little (completely uncalled for) pep talk she gave to Sean before his date with Billy, and her dislike of Sharif's chickens was heartfelt.  Best of all, the prospect of her and Sally Webster engaging in an ever-escalating war of snobbishness over the garden fence makes me giddy; a kind of Mapp and Lucia with Manchester accents.

Grade: B

Zeedan Nazir

The biggest problem with Zeedan so far is: what is he for?  I don't know anything about him other than he's a bit sulky, he loved his mum, and he hates Leanne.  I don't know about his education, his aspirations, his dreams.  I don't even know how old he is - sometimes he acts like Alya's older brother, other times he's like a petulant teenager.  At the moment he just seems to be eye candy.  Giving him a job as a builder means he's got even less opportunity to be a distinct presence - what is he offering us that we haven't already got from Jason/Gary/Tony/Owen?  He gets a passing grade because I don't actively dislike him, but he can't get any more than that because all he's doing right now is existing.

Grade: C

Kal Nazir

While Zeedan hasn't established himself, Kal has taken his potential and thrown it down the drain.  A former Army colleague of Gary's who is now a fitness guru could be an excellent character.  Jimi Mistry is a charming, personable actor, who's got a history of good performances.  However, Kal has sunk over the past year into nothing.  He's not established himself as friends with anyone (in Friday's show, he was shown drinking with Kevin and Luke, and he stuck out like a sore thumb).  Early suggestions of friendships with Dev and Nick have fallen by the wayside.  His relationship with Leanne is tepid - they have no chemistry at all.  He seems too young to be a parent to Alya and Zeedan, and too old to be the child of Yasmeen and Sharif.  He's become a beige character, enough to raise a sigh of disinterest when he appears onscreen, but not enough to actually care about.

Grade: D+

Sharif Nazir

Ugh.  Sharif manages to be nothing to anyone.  At first he seemed like a hard taskmaster with a canny financial sense.  That disappeared.  He seemed to be a domineering father to Kal, until Yasmeen turned up and showed herself to be the power behind the throne.  He wanders into scenes, gets told to do something, looks unhappy about it, then does it anyway.  Where did he get his money from?  What is his background?  Why doesn't he have a job?  Where did this passion for raising livestock suddenly come from?  Is he from Manchester, even - his accent seems to come and go depending on how hard he's required to act?  I don't believe in him and I don't like him.

Grade: E

Impact on the Street:  Right now the Nazir family owns two businesses (the community centre and the gym) and have bought a house.  The latter point, of course, is ridiculous: they were shown to have a perfectly lovely home earlier in the year, and they've sold it to buy a house they can't all fit into.  At least I don't think they can all fit in there - are Kal, Zeedan and Alya all living there as well?  Haven't they got their own house?  The show's been annoyingly vague in that respect, bringing back nasty memories of when the Family of Sinbad had to put a shed in the back garden for the son to live in instead of, you know, buying a house that was big enough for them.

The gym hasn't been visited lately, and seems to have become a place for the Nazirs to talk rather than a part of Weatherfield.  I'm not against the gym as an idea - it's 2015 after all - but the set is far too small to be convincing.  The idea that Kal would only just have got round to putting in a sauna is also pretty daft.  The same criticisms can be made of the Community Centre: it's far too small.  Also, can you just set up a private Community Centre like that?  Who's paying for all of it?  Given that Weatherfield Council closed a library only a few months earlier I can't believe they're swimming in cash.

In personal relationships, again, Alya is the winner, slotting effortlessly in with the factory girls, and I believed Yasmeen when she went to the cafe to talk to Roy about his conviction (and the less said about that storyline the better, by the way).  I believe that Zeedan would be friends with Gary far more than I believe Kal would be, while Sharif doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone he's not related to.

Overall: The Nazirs get a "could do better" from me.  As the Street's first Muslim family, they've got baggage that other families haven't had, with a weight of expectations that have been effectively managed.  The producers have done their best to slowly feed them in unlike, say, the explosive blast of the Mortons, and it's given us time to get used to them.  It's still difficult to completely say who they are though, and furthermore, how they'll fit in as the show goes on.  I'm not keen to see them all go - Alya and Yasmeen are definite assets - but if they don't improve over the next year I may be calling for a fire at number six.


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Why I like (most of) the Nazir family

There have been a lot of blog posts about the Nazir family on Coronation Street and a lot of comments left by fans on each post. It seems as if there's a love/hate thing going on with the Nazir family as a whole, and individual members of the clan have their own strengths and weaknesses too.  I've stayed out of the debate so far but feel it necessary to vent my spleen now.  I've had enough of the Nazir family - but not all of them. In fact, there's one I like a lot.

Yasmeen is the one I like best. She's gobby, forthright, strong - all the qualities of the typical Coronation Street woman. She's not a battle-axe although she does have a sharp tongue, not afraid to say what she thinks. In addition, not only did she endear herself to me with the sit-in at the library with Roy, she's opened Jamila House, the new Community Centre of the Street.  Yasmeen is the best of the lot and the one that should stay, if indeed Corrie were ever thinking of axing any of them, which they're probably not, but I do wish they would.

Sharif is next on my list of those I like most, but only because he acts as a feckless foil to Yasmeen's big plans. He's become a member of the Square Dealers, another nod to Corrie's history, and am  I over-thinking this, or are his chickens a cunning and not very subtle nod to Jack's pigeons?  Or maybe a fox will come and eat them, who knows?  Sharif can stay too, but only so that he extends his reign as the downtrodden husband, a type that we know on the Street only too well.

Alya is one I have mixed feelings about. I think putting her into Underworld with Carla could be a joy to watch in coming weeks. Or it could turn sour, my inner-Corrie jury is still out on this one. I like what I've seen of Alya so far except for the wrongly-matched relationship with Gary Windass, which I haven't enjoyed watching.  As a huge fan of both actor Mikey North and the character of Gary Windass, Alya was never going to be good enough for Gary, in my eyes.  Mind you, I'm not sure who would be.  He needs to get back with Izzy.  The poor lad also needs to get back to counselling for his post traumatic stress disorder too.

And then we come on to the other two Nazirs - Kal and Zeedan.  This is the tricky bit, because I was excited when I read the news that Jimi Mistry was joining Corrie as Kal, and that Chesney from Shameless was joining Corrie as Zeedan. These were two actors I have watched and admired on telly and in film, in other shows, in other dramas and always thought they were great.  But for me, neither of them fit in with Corrie and both should leave soon.

There, I've said it. It's just my tuppence worth.


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The curse of 6 Coronation Street

So the Nazir family are rather inexplicably moving into number 6 Coronation Street. I still do not understand the reason behind this impulse purchase, other than a crazy notion these days that every character connected with the programme must live on the street itself. Gone are the days of seeing the wider Weatherfield world it seems. 

I'm trying very hard to like the Nazir family. Alya is the brightest hope for a long term character I can take to. I can't even find the words to describe how boring I find Kal, Zeedan and Sharif. I feel sorry for Jane Danson as the trend for her character being placed with unpopular new arrivals continues. Yasmeen has promise but she can sometimes be just too full on for me. Putting her in charge of the new community centre has been a good move but the current Alya/Gary storyline isn't impressing me all that much.

Anyway, they've moved into number 6 which hopefully means that horrid living room wallpaper will soon disappear. Every cloud. 6 Coronation Street is something of a doom-laden property so that doesn't exactly augur well for its latest inhabitants. Shall we take a look at the evidence as we go through the keyhole? Ahem.

For the first eight years of its life, the house was owned by bookmaker Des Barnes. The fondest memory I have of this time is the lovely Phyllis Pearce acting as his cleaner. Sadly all was not well chez Barnes and before too long Steph had run off with someone else. More misery ensued as Des mucked poor Raquel about for years. And of course Des met his maker in the house thanks to a run in with a coffee table and some dodgy drug dealers. 

Ever since then, the house has changed hands on a rather alarming number of occasions. It has become a temporary residence for a constant stream of ill-advised casting decisions. Debs Brownlow and Matt and Charlie Ramsden spring uneasily to mind. 

Then came the Harris family, never a happy, bubbly brood. They ruined the character of Martin Platt, daughter Katy killed her father and then herself and mother Angela went to prison. 

Then came Charlie Stubbs, who also breathed his last under that roof thanks to a combination of Tracy's woeful sexy dance and her nack with heavy, ugly ornaments. After a quick bottoming through, in come 23 members of the Morton family, although the only one I can remember is Sinbad from Brookside. Most recently we've had to witness the extended misery of the extended Armstrong-Windass clan, now forever banished to the gloomy flat above Tracy's emporium of knock off. Not exactly a glittering track record is it? 

So I wonder what lies in store for the Nazirs? Will it be more murder, mayhem and misery or will they lead a more charmed existence, sandwiched between Sally and Gail? I'd say it will be interesting finding out, but I'm yet to be convinced. 


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The Nazirs of Coronation Street

Guest blog post from Corrie fan long-time Coronation Street Blog rader Nathan Richardson, who shares his thoughts on the Nazir family.

It has been nearly one year now since Kal first appeared in Coronation Street. Introduced as the ex-army pal of Gary Windass, his raison d’être on the street was to be Dev’s personal trainer. The producers certainly thought the character had potential because, twelve months on, he has now opened a gym on the street, become romantically involved with Leanne, and introduced us to four members of his family.

But does anybody actually like him?

Personally, I thought his arrival rather ridiculous: the only friend from the army Gary ever mentioned was Quinny, and he died in battle. Suddenly, the proprietor of the corner shop has a protruding waist, and so Gary stepped in with military quickness, ready to implicate Dev unto a fitness regime courtesy of his old friend Kal? It seemed silly at worst, but, okay, this Coronation Street, it takes great liberties with what might actually happen in life, and we have to accept that.

But then (as always happens) Kal settled into the street, and I still didn’t warm to him. He worked also with Nick, after his accident, and they were occasionally seen out running together, but beside that he seemed to just drift. He drank in the Bistro, in the Rovers, became friendly with the other characters, but he had no real purpose; we knew he had children, that his wife had died, but he lived away from the street, and was something of a lone bird. If you’d have taken him away he’d have been quickly forgotten.

And then, this year, they introduced his family, and then my view began to change. Okay, his father, Sharif, didn’t do much for me. He played the archetypal interfering father, but Coronation Street is brilliant for its female characters, and once we met the female Nazirs (and once I accepted that Kal, judging by appearances, became a father aged ten) I began to love them.

Yasmeen, Kal’s mother, has, since Sylvia’s sad departure, taken on the feisty harridan role, the battle axe. A retired librarian, she is dogmatic and determined. In the past we’re told she has been arrested for protesting, and when the Weatherfield Library was under threat of closure, she quickly intervened, and staged a sit in protest, where, quite brilliantly, she spoke favourably of Elizabeth Smart’s wonderful novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. It made brilliant viewing. “The argument of the broken window pane is the most valuable argument in modern politics.” These words were spoken by another empowered Mancunian woman: Emmeline Pankhurst.

Yasmeen was introduced as another forthright, no-nonsense activist for the greater-good in society. Given her history, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her smashing windows, and I hope we see more of this aspect to her character. In short, I love her. Most recently, she has purchased the former butcher’s shop and opened it as a community centre. This gives her solid ground on the street, and hopefully the nucleus of many brilliant story-lines to come.

Alya is Kal’s daughter, and like Yasmeen, I think she is completely heavenly and fabulous. A fashion graduate, she works on the reception desk at the gym. She is friends with Gary Windass, and between the two there is something of a suppressed desire for each other. I think this is rather nice, rather old-fashioned, and it’s a joy to watch. The audience wants them to get together, but Gary is an unskilled labourer, and a father, too – there’s no way her family would welcome him, but we know that true love is blind to these things, and we want them to be together. Though Alya is not exactly an intellectual (to Yasmeen’s horror she confessed to having not read Wuthering Heights) she has more cultured tastes than Gary: at her request and his reluctance they recently went to see a Spanish film at the art-house cinema in Manchester. Soon, I believe she will become the trainee manager at Underworld, which shall also give the character more stability on the street, and it shall be interesting to see how her relationship with Gary develops now that, oh my, they have actually kissed.

And that leaves us with Zeedan, who only appeared back in September. It’s probably too early to cast an opinion on him, but from what I’ve seen of him I like. He has perfected the look of disappointment and is often seen shaking his head despairingly at his father, Kal. He’s currently working at the builder’s site, and I’ve no idea where he’s headed, but I’m keen to learn.

So yes, the Nazirs – I’ve gone from not liking Kal at all to not like him at all but adoring his family. They are a diverse bunch, and they provide great comic relief, but with the absent mother, and the occasionally fragile inter-generational relationships, there’s something very serious about them too.

It’s been a while since the street had a new family, and with three generations to work with, I think the writers are having great fun. I for one am having fun watching them, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Nathan Richardson
Twitter: @unfingermarked
www.nathanrichardson.wordpress.com

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Nazir Towers speculation

(cross posted with permission from State of the Street)

Apparently, the Nazir family is set to move into the Street. The only question is where because none of the houses are empty and there's only a couple of tiny flats available which, like all the other tiny flats, seem to have room for at least two bedrooms. You can tell from the size of the various buildings they're in that there's no way you can fit a two bedroom flat, with living area and bathroom into the space allocated. Elastic walls again. And some of the buildings, like the Kabin and the Salon/Taxi office have TWO two-bedroom flats! Madness!

But I digress.

Where will the Nazirs go? There's one house that has had a very frequent turnover ever since it was built, mainly it's been a scene of murder and mayhem and I reckon the current owners and inhabitants, Anna, Owen, Gary and Faye, will vacate when the bills mount up and the bank wants the house back. We haven't heard a lot about Owen's debt lately. He did declare bankruptcy but I don't think that related to the mortgage on the house though the bailiffs did come and remove some items but it was related to his business, I think.

I imagine that they're going to lose the house and they'll be the ones crammed into one of the tiny flats that are available, probably the one over the corner shop, and Sharif and Yasmeen will unrealistically give up whatever very nice house they currently own (much like Sunita did to move into Number 7), buy No.6 and move the whole clan in. The only other place that might be likely is a posh flat in Victoria Court seeing as only Nick seems to live there. (Is that where Carla is buying her flat?)

I think there's meant to be three bedrooms upstairs, again, somewhat unrealistically, but that's enough at least for the married couple and each of the two grandchildren. Kal can bunk in with Leanne or with his son and we're sorted. 

(And I still think Mary needs to rent a flat. I'm surprised Dev has never suggested the shop flat for her at a reduced rent considering her being his nanny and all. I believe the flat over the butcher shop (soon to be community centre) is vacant, as well. )



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Welcome to the Corrie family

Are we all ready for the arrival of more Nazirs? In addition to Kal and his dad we will also be meeting Kal's mother and his daughter in the next week or so. I think there is also a son to come as well.

I do like an injection of fresh characters into Corrie but it can be a difficult balancing act. Introduce a massive brood all at once (for example the Mortons, the Claytons or the Hopkins families) and viewers can struggle to take to them or even work out who they all are. Introduce them slowly and gradually and it can feel very drawn out and lacklustre.

The Nazir family have come in slowly with Kal being established as the main link. Putting him with Leanne also grounds them all as she is an established and popular character. However, the main stumbling block for me to overcome is that so far the Nazirs I have met are quite dull.

I like Jimi Mistry as an actor, I just find his character a bit dry with very few distinguishing features. Apparently there is more to him than meets the eye and hopefully the introduction of his children will spice things up a little. Kal's dad has made even less of an impact I'm afraid. I really do hope the introduction of a more satisfying family dynamic will help things along.

I always worry when there is a deluge of new characters. Coronation Street is already bulging at the seams so apart from worrying where the Nazir clan will live, it also makes me wonder which characters will be squeezed out to make way for this new family. We already complain that we don't see enough of the likes of Kirk and Beth, Jason and Eva and the older characters like Audrey and Deirdre.

I also hope the Corrie powers that be consult the history books as they prepare to introduce the latest in a long line of Weatherfield families. New families can have a significant impact on the overall tone of the show. We saw it in the 1970s when the Hopkins family took over the corner shop and left almost before the paint was dry on the signage. A decade later the Claytons left within months of their arrival despite dramatic doings with the popular Duckworths. And even though the Morton family had the lovely Michael Starke at the helm, there were just too many of them to get to grips with. Every time I saw them they seemed to have multiplied yet again.

So are you looking forward to the arrival of Kal's family? What are your views on how the powers that be have decided to introduce this latest Corrie clan?


Tweet me @GraemeN82


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