Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 16th of Jan 8.30pm

Promises of 'threats and menace' on tonight's 2nd part of Corrie make me wonder if Sally will escape Marcia's evil clutches?

Yes but not quite. Coming to Sally's aid and just in time, is yoga pal Jody, who floors the scouse crim, as a thank you for helping the girls with their education.

Nick continues to fool a deluded Leanne, whilst David's at the cop shop reviewing the footage. Spotting a tattoo on the CCTV image, David quickly realises who the culprit is. Back at The Rovers, David organises a family dinner and a pre-meal shave for Nick.  Rana and Kate decide to hold their wedding at the pub in hope of bringing it back to its former glory.

At the hospital, Daniel is worried about baby Osbourne and is informed that the premature birth has caused a bowel defect. Holding off from telling Sinead, the little fella is christened Bertie, in honour of Ken's 'Uncle' Albert.

Meanwhile, Tracy's reverse psychology is having little effect on Steve, the cab boss is suddenly a bit broody. Over dinner at the bistro, Tracy confesses that her feelings have changed and Steve admits defeat.

At the Salon, David lets slip that he knows his brother stole Audrey's cash. A little cut for Nick (that's the promised menace) does little to dispel his duplicity though. Blackmailing David with the truth about Kylie's death, how much lower can Nick go?

Back at The Rovers, the mood is lifted as a newly released Sally strolls back onto Coronation Street, and witnesses Tim moodily harassing Imran. In no mood to celebrate, Sally laments to Peter and quickly exits the party.  Welcome home Sal!

That's all for this Wednesday, I shall be back same time, next week.

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

TA-RA!

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Who is Corrie's new grumpy old man?

Next week in Coronation Street, Sinead will give birth to her baby. It'll be a baby boy and he's going to be named Bertie after Ken's late wife Valerie's Uncle Albert.   You can read more on that here.

News that the spirit of Uncle Albert is returning to Coronation Street has started me wondering about Corrie's new grumpy old men. Where are they?

Without Norris, we've been missing the caustic tongue of an older fella. Indeed, as older men go we've only really got Ken, Johnny and Brian.

It's wonderful to have Evelyn as the battle-axe, superbly played by Maureen Lipman.  She's filled a wonderful Blanche-shaped hole, while taking on the mantle of the battle-axe as her own. I like her a lot.

But where's the new grumpy old man, the new Albert Tatlock?  Could it be Tyrone or Chesney perhaps, in years to come?

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Remembering Uncle Albert

Uncle Albert wasn't Ken, or Deirdre's uncle. He was the uncle of Ken's first wife - Valerie Barlow.  Read all about grumpy Uncle Albert on corrie.net

There's an homage to Uncle Albert from The Skids on youtube. He's also commemorated in a song by the Damned - read all about that here.

Played by Jack Howarth.

Interestingly, there's a comment here from Coronation Street Blog reader chartreuse who says this about Albert's medal on the episode shown on Monday 21 July.

"This is so funny - or odd, not sure which. I have been watching Vintage Corrie and Albert has just sold his medal for the train fare down to London for Remembrance day. He did not get much - I think 40 pounds at the most! Then Ken bought it back because he could not bear him being without it!"

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Corrie originals - Jack Howarth MBE as Albert Tatlock

First appeared: 9th December 1960

Last appeared: 25th January 1984

Jack Howarth played the role of grumpy pensioner Albert Tatlock between 1960 and 1984.

Born in Rochdale in Lancashire in 1896, Howarth attended the same school as wartime singer Gracie Fields. Like many of the Street’s early cast members, Jack Howarth began his acting career in the theatre. He later ran his own cinema during the 1910s and was also a member of the Lancashire Fusiliers during the Great War. He also ran his own theatre in Colwyn Bay, North Wales and that’s where he met William Roache (Ken Barlow) for the first time. None of them would think they’d work alongside each other for nearly 25 years on Coronation Street. He made his television debut in 1949 in The Cure for Love. During the 1950s in appeared in films The Man in the White Suit (1951) and Hobson’s Choice (1954) and TV shows The Secret Garden (1952) and BBC Sunday Night Theatre (1950-1953). In 1960, he appeared in Emergency Ward Ten, one of Britain’s first soap operas.

In 1960, he was chosen to play the role of 65 year old curmudgeonly WWI veteran Albert Tatlock in new drama serial Coronation Street. Appearing in the first episode, Albert is fondly remembered for his flat cap and glasses and boring his residents with his wartime stories, Albert was Britain’s Mr Grump. A widower throughout his tenure, romance did enter Albert’s life occasionally. Clara Midgeley proposed to him in 1965 but he declined. He became engaged to Alice Pickens in 1969 but they called off the wedding when the vicar’s car broke down and they saw it as a bad omen. He proposed the next time to old friend Minnie Caldwell in 1973 in a bid to bid to solve their financial worries but Minnie called it off when she grew tired of his habits. Albert’s life revolved around his allotment and he enjoyed reminiscing with Minnie and Ena Sharples in the Rovers snug while supping his rum. He was elated when his niece Valerie married Ken Barlow in 1962 and when their twins Peter and Susan were born in 1965. He was devastated when Valerie was electrocuted in 1971 and the twins were sent up to Scotland to be brought up by her parents. Albert maintained a close relationship with Ken who moved in with him between 1972 and 1973 and from 1976 onwards. Albert disapproved of Ken’s marriage to second wife Janet Reid but warmed towards his third wife Deirdre Langton and encouraged them to live at his house after they married.

By the early 1980s, Jack Howarth’s health began to deteriorate. In 1984, he took time off from the serial and was expected to return but sadly passed away in March that year of a liver complaint while holidaying in Llandudno, North Wales. He was 88. He’d been awarded an MBE the previous year for his charity work and his association with the disabled. Albert Tatlock was killed off in May while visiting his daughter Beattie, around four months after his final appearance. At the time, Jack Howarth was one of two members of the original cast still in the show – William Roache was the other. Over 23 years, he appeared in 1307 episodes. Albert’s presence still remains at No. 1 with his photo on the mantelpiece and Ken often recalls Albert’s fatherly advice over his own father Frank.

 
Jack had married Betty Murgatroyd in 1929 and had two children: John (b. 1930) and Anne (b. 1939).

Did you ever see or meet Jack Howarth? Do you have any pieces of trivia about him?  Did you know he once featured on a Damned single?

Research from Corriepedia, Wikipedia and IMDB.

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Corrie connections to The Damned 'Love Song'

Captain Sensible from The Damned was interviewed this weekend on BBC Radio 6 by Steve Lamacq.  Steve told The Captain that he'd always, always, wondered who gave the introduction at the start of the album Machine Gun Etiquette before it runs into their hit Love Song.

Well, blow me down with a feather if The Captain didn't only go and reply that it was Jack Howarth, who played Coronation Street's Albert Tatlock.  The Captain said that he'd never told anyone that before because The Damned basically nicked Jack Howarth's vocals from an LP that he recorded.  And this means, dear me, that no royalties were ever paid.  But as it's now been revealed on national radio, we feel we can blog it here now.

And so, for your listening delectation, have a listen to this below via the wonders of YouTube and see if you can catch Uncle Albert at the very start of the song.  He says: "Ladies and gentlemen, how do!".

For more Albert Tatlock-related pop pickings, have a listen to the chorus on The Skids track TV Stars.

Too young to remember Albert Tatlock? Have a look here.


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