Two of Steve McDonald's ex-wives are teaming up in a BBC drama.
Suranne Jones, who played Karen McDonald and Katherine Kelly, who played Becky McDonald will star together in the new series of BBC drama Gentleman Jack.
It's written by ex-Corrie writer Sally Wainwright and produced by ex-Corrie producer Phil Collinson.
On joining Gentleman Jack, Katherine Kelly says: “I’m thrilled to be reuniting with Sally once again. I know how passionate she is about the life and times of Anne Lister, and I’m delighted to be portraying such a key historical character in Anne Lister’s story.”
Vanity Fair begins on ITV at 9pm on Sunday September 2 with the second episode screened the following night. The series then continues on Sunday evenings. It is going to be a feast for the small screen and will star Suranne Jones as Miss Pinkerton. The adaptation of the classic 1847 novel of the same name follows the lives of the quick-witted Becky Sharp and her best friend Amelia - as they negotiate the highs and lows of society life. Suranne Jones, you'll remember, played Karen McDonald in Coronation Street. She's on If you're a fan of Vanity Fair you might like to read Ian Wylie's cast interviews here. Earlier this year, Suranne said she'd be up for a return to Corrie. Find out more here.
Suranne Jones, who played Karen McDonald, is one of the ex-Corrie actresses who have been most successful since leaving the soap. You can find out who the others are here
And now, Suranne has said that she'd happily return to Coronation Street ... if it was for charity. "If it was for a good cause and we were going to raise a lot of money, I'd definitely consider it for Comic Relief," she said in an interview with The Sun. "I don't have time to keep up with Corrie but I'm friends with Jennie McAlpine and Antony Cotton so I do catch up. But I didn't know Steve had a baby - that is news to me and I am gobsmacked." This fan would love to see Suranne back on the cobbles for good, for real or for charity! Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers
I was on my way home recently when I spotted an Eddie Stobart lorry with the name of “Gail Audrey”. Surely, this truck must have been named in homage to the Corrie characters, I thought?
After all, we know that Gail is a Stobart spotter. In this wonderful scene from October 2012, a dozen road hauliers’ wives turn up at the Bistro for a Sunday roast and Gail reveals that they used to play “the Eddie Stobart game” in the Tilsley/Platt/Hillman/McIntyre/Rodwell family:
“It used to make long journeys fly by”, says Gail before recalling how they counted forty-eight on that last trip to Cromer. I can relate to this. When I was a kid, we did a lot of motorway driving and one way to make the time go slightly faster was to count how many Eddie Stobart lorries we would see on any given journey - just as the Platts did on the way to Cromer.
There was never a road trip that went by without clocking at least one of the iconic trucks in Brunswick green and Post Office red. Each lorry is christened with female names painted on the front. For example, “Rebecca Emily”, “Eleanor Joanne” or indeed, “Gail Audrey”. Part of the fun is looking for the name.
Eddie Stobart is a national institution and believe it or not, the company has a fan club with 30,000 members. There are many Stobart spotters out there and according to the book ‘Eddie Stobart: The Ultimate Guide to the British Trucking Legends’, famous spotters include Corrie’s Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) and also Suranne Jones (Karen McDonald) and Brian Capron (Gail’s husband, Richard Hillman).
Now that Corrie has a much bigger set at Trafford Wharf, with the street twice as wide as previously, I reckon there is scope for a storyline that sees the Gail Audrey truck drive along the cobbles. Perhaps once Underworld is back up and running, the Connors will need some help with logistics and warehousing.
I can see it now… Gail Audrey pulls up outside the factory and is seen by Roy Cropper the Stobart Spotter on his way back from the Cash and Carry. Roy immediately jots down the name and number plate (KX16 FLN) before scuttling off to tell Gail and Audrey about his sighting.
Audrey isn’t bothered but Gail is delighted by the coincidence and forces her way into the driver’s cab to take a closer look and get her hands on the dinky little curtains. Scriptwriters - I’m available.
Suranne Jones, who played Karen McDonald to perfection in Coronation Street, is joining the cast of Frozen.
No, not that Frozen.
This Frozen... it's a play opening at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London next year and is about a mother whose child goes missing.
Frozen originally premiered at the Birmingham Rep in 1998 and ran on Broadway in 2004 when it was nominated for a Tony Award for Best New Play. It ran at the National Theatre in 2002.
The piece, set in present day England, focuses on three characters: a serial killer, a psychiatrist and a child's mother, played by Suranne.
As well as Corrie she has previously starred in Doctor Foster, as well as Scott & Bailey, Lawless and Doctor Who.
Suranne Jones, who played Coronation Street's Karen McDonald, is one of TV's success stories. Since leaving Coronation Street she's gone to star in Doctor Foster and will soon be starring in the next Sally Wainwright drama set in Calderdale.
Sally Wainwright used to write for Coronation Street too.
In the new show, Surranne will play Anne Lister, a 19th century Halifax woman who embarked on a determined and passionate courtship with another woman.
Suranne Jones said: “I first worked with Sally 10 years ago and I remember the feeling of reading her scripts like it was yesterday. They were scripts for women; fresh, daring and bizarre in a wonderful, modern, fun, complex and challenging way. Now I once again get to speak the words of an almighty talent on a show I know she holds close to her heart.
"To have Sally direct me on this feels like I'll finally get to work on a project with her where the connection will be immediate, exciting and new each day, and we can enjoy that amazing ride together! I'm thrilled to be back at the BBC with this role and to be joining the Lookout Point and HBO family.”
Sally Wainwright, who also created Calderdale-based and filmed Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, said: “I am delighted to be working with Suranne once again, not just as a writer this time, but as a director. Bringing Anne Lister to life with all her complexity, passion, brilliance and wit is an epic challenge that will require all the boldness, subtlety, energy and humour that I know only Suranne will bring to it.”
The series will start filming next year. It’s a Lookout Point production for the BBC and co-produced with HBO.
