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. 


Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82

Download our App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook



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

50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days – 1990

Day 30 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

For thirty years the cast had rehearsed in large rooms with tape on the floors marking out their homes but in 1990, Coronation Street was given exclusive use of its own studio called Stage One allowing rehearsals to be done on the actual set that the scenes would be filmed on. Rather than sets being erected for filming and then being dismantled so that other filming could be carried out, sets for places like the Rovers, shops and café could be kept up permanently with house interiors erected as required. The Coronation Street cast also got their own dressing rooms, make-up facilities, costume areas and Green Room.

With the expansion to three episodes a week the previous year this all helped in dealing with the increased workload and tighter schedules. More characters were needed too and the erection of houses, shops and flats on the even side of the Street gave the production team the space to expand the cast and to move some existing characters from off-street residences onto the actual Street. The first characters to set up on the other side of the Street were Des and Steph Barnes. Steph’s father, who had built the new houses, sold no.6 to them at cost price and they moved in on their wedding day. They were labelled by some as ‘yuppies’ but they were really just working class people who had a bit of cash, Des was a bookies clerk and Steph a shop assistant. At their housewarming, Steph got Kevin Webster drunk and shaved off his moustache, thus winning a bet with Des who was forced to drink in the Rovers without his trousers.

Rita Fairclough closed the Kabin on Rosamund Street relocating it to one of the new premises on Coronation Street and moved out of no. 7 and into the flat above the new shop. Jenny Bradley swiftly moved in her friend Flick Khan and her younger sister, Joanne who became the centre of attraction for Steve and Andy McDonald. Steve won the battle for Joanne’s heart but his father, Jim, didn’t approve so they stole Jim’s motorbike and ran away to the Lake District together. The romance was short-lived and Joanne soon returned to the Street after having to take a badly paid job in a hotel. Liz went to fetch Steve home and threatened to leave Jim if he laid on finger on their wayward son.

Also in 1990: Rosie Webster and David Platt born; Deirdre divorces Ken; Ken sells the Recorder; Alec tracks down estranged daughter and hits it off with his granddaughter Vicky; Curly Watts and Kimberley Taylor get engaged; Alma moves in with Mike but he takes up with Jackie Ingram; Jack Duckworth buys Vera an Alsatian called Boomer; Percy Sugden lies about his age to get a job as a lollipop man.