'An Evening with' Corrie Writer Jonathan Harvey at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre

Whenever I read the words 'An Evening with'.. my TV brain immediately conjures up images of 1980's television and those iconic 'An Audience with...' celebration of Britain's finest talents. From Kenneth Williams to Victoria Wood, they were always a jam-packed affair and with a TV star audience (often 1980s Corrie stars) and were the staple of Saturday night telly. I start this article with that memory as I feel tonight's interview with corrie writer Jonathan Harvey is set in a similar (albeit Covid19) kind of way. This evening's fundraiser in aid of Manchester's Hope Mill theatre (and a writing competition mentored by the man himself) is a ‘This Is Your Life’ special, perhaps, and dives deep into the life and work of this longtime Coronation Street writer. 

Filmed in Covid19 conditions at the theatre, the show was presented by another Corrie legend, actress Denise Welch, aka one time Rovers Return landlady Natalie Horrocks, who is the perfect host for this celebration on the writer's life and most recent works. If you’re unfamiliar with his pre-Corrie catalogue, Liverpool born Jonathan Harvey is probably best known for creating the outrageously camp and downright hilarious 1990’s comedy classic ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ starring national treasure Kathy Burke. This often celebrated work could be considered a pinnacle in any other writer's career but Jonathan Harvey is an accomplished playwright, novelist, and screenwriter who has also written 276 episodes of Coronation Street (including some absolute classics)

the classic 'AA scene' was written by Jonathan Harvey

About 18 months ago I had the pleasure of a one-on-one phone interview with the writer, for this very blog, so covering this ‘Evening With’ special (accessed via Vimeo) seemed like a no brainer, and a great way to raise money for the creative arts industry. Jonathan is (no hyperbole) an absolute writing idol of mine so I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night! 

Jonathan Harvey (R) with Coronation Street creator Tony Warren (M) and fellow writer Damon Rochefort (L)

Q How did Jonathan Harvey become part of the corrie writing team? 

“I started writing for the show in 2004 after initially being approached by executive producer Carolyn Reynolds and turned it down twice before reluctantly accepting. As a religious corrie watcher, I was nervous and was reluctant to ‘peek behind the curtain’ to work backstage on the show and as a huge fan, to maybe lose some of the magic. As a writer, the camaraderie of Corrie is nice, and being part of 18 writers, feels like a huge team”

Of course, we had to have a few Corrie stars pose a few questions via video link.  First up was actor Antony Cotton (aka Sean Tully) who asked the following question; 

Q - Starting on Corrie you wrote Todd’s coming out story, How important do you think it is to write for the LGBT characters and do you think the representation on Coronation Street is strong? 

“As a writer, I felt, you know, what took you so long? Show creator Tony Warren was gay, the show has LGBT in its blueprint, and there is a natural fluctuation of characters within LGBT on Coronation Street and it must continue”

Q- Do you gravitate towards writing those characters?

“No not now, but to start with yes I thought I was ‘head of gay’ but as you go through life you realise that as a writer you can give any character a voice” he added “I recently helped create the Geoff and Yasmeen coercive storyline- it a writing job that just keeps on going”

Second up was ex-Corrie actress and one of the writers best friends in real life, Catherine Tyldesley (Eva Price) who asked;

Q-I first met you when I was working on the BBC drama ‘Lillies’ and my question is if you could go back to your 18-year-old self when you won your first writing award, what advice would you give you? 

“To be kind and to keep writing. When younger I had acne which blighted my youth and it was awful really but I laugh about it now and life gets better, I’d say that’s important” 

For more details about the playwriting competition, £5K prize, with mentoring from Jonathan Harvey himself, check out the details on the hope mill website

Thanks as always to @CoroStreetBlog editor Glenda 

I am @rybazoxo your (self-appointed) cobbles connoisseur & lifelong Corrie fan 

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Interview with Coronation Street Story Associate, Furquan Akhtar

It's time to meet Furquan Akhtar who is one of the Story Associates on Coronation Street.

In an exclusive interview here on the Coronation Street Blog, we asked Furquan about his job and what it was like to shape the stories on our favourite soap.  So, here we go....

Can you explain your job please - how long you've been doing it and how you got the job, what your experience was before joining ITV?
I’ve worked at the show for over three years now and it was my first job in TV. I started as a Trainee and I’ve been fortunate enough to work in several different departments from production to archiving. I landed a more permanent job as an Editorial Assistant and was promoted this year to Story Associate. Being a Story Associate involves pitching stories, writing to tight deadlines and putting in long hours!

How is your job different to being a script writer?
Storylining is about creating the arcs for a story. The story has to have an arc across each scene, each episode and each block. We build this from what's pitched by the script writers and editorial team at story conference. We then take the pitches and talk them through. Then we see how they can play across the next three weeks.  We write the "beats" and help choreograph the story but it's only the first step of the process. It's up to our brilliant writers and Script Editing team to shape the storylines we give them into actual episodes. They have the final say and most importantly they create the fantastic dialogue Corrie is famous for.

Is being a Scriptwriter the "next step" for a Story Associate? Is that what you're aiming for yourself?
It's not the natural next step although it's a great jumping off point. Storyliners have gone on to write, script edit and produce. Some of the most prolific and successful writers in the country have had a stint in the Corrie story at one point in their career so it's definitely an exciting place to be. I hope to write in the future but at the moment I'm very happy with one of the most exciting day jobs in tele.

Can you describe a typical week at work?
Haha! In a short answer, no. That's what's great about it. From one week to the next you’re submerged in the wonderful world of Weatherfield. We work in three-week cycles, which spans three week's worth of story. The first week involves conference and story talk through. In week two we go away and write and then the producer gives you a storyline edit. You have to turn that around and then the Story Editor compiles them into episodes, which we'll work on again. This way you have had a hand in every story that plays on screen. 

Were you a Corrie fan before joining the show? If yes, how did that feel 'crossing over' to working and writing and helping to shape events and characters?
Oh definitely! Can you come from Manchester and not be? I have grown up with Corrie. It's the backdrop to many households and it definitely was in mine when I was growing up. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to work at Corrie and I genuinely still feel excited walking on the cobbles.

Do you ever get star struck with the cast members?
I did when I first started.  The first cast member I met was Julie Hesmondhalgh and she set the bar really high! She's so lovely that she gives Hayley Cropper a run for her money. I've also had the privilege to meet a lot of the Corrie legends. It was an absolute privilege to cross paths with Bill Tarmey and Betty Driver.

Who are your favourite characters to write for?  Who would you have loved to have written for?
I should give a really diplomatic answer shouldn't I? I think the one thing that Corrie is brilliant at is family units. There are so many rich family units to choose from at the minute and each one brings a different joy with it. From the past - I think the Duckworths would have been an absolute riot to write for.

What advice would you give to anyone interested in working for a soap?
I was given two bits of advice. The first is quite obvious - persistence. It's such a difficult job market and I graduated in a recession so I know exactly what it's like. You just have to keep knocking on doors and trying. The second is a bit more obscure - tea. I was told that tea is a commodity. It's served me quite well. If you meet people for a tea or coffee and talk about your work or what you want to do - you instantly have a connection and a contact. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to do that.

What's your Top 3 favourite things about your job?
1) The people. If you look at how many cast members have been interviewed over the years - they always say that Corrie is a family. I'll be honest I thought that was luvvie nonsense before I worked here. I will eat humble pie and say that - I've made some friends for life here.
2) The Show. No one's bigger than the show. It's taken on a life of its own and it's a testament to Tony Warren's idea all those decades ago.
3) Storytelling. My nephew asked me what I do and I told him - I write stories. His eyes lit up. It's absolute privilege to get paid to do write stories for characters you love for a show that's a national treasure.

And finally, what's your favourite seat on the bus?
Without a doubt it's at the top, at the front and on the right. So it feels like you're driving it.

You can find out more about Furquan here and follow him on twitter @furquan


You can follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog


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

Writing for Soaps session at London Screenwriters Festival

Remember Tracy Brabin, who played Coronation Street's Trish Armstrong - mother of Jamie?  Tracy's gone on from acting to writing for soaps and some excellent TV drama.  Check out her profile here.

Tracy will be one of the soaps writers speaking in the Writing for Soaps session at this year's London Screenwriters Festival.  The festival takes place in that London from October 26-28th October 2012 at the London School of Film, Media Performance, Regent's College.

The Writing for Soaps session is scheduled to take place on Saturday 27th October at 3.30pm.  The schedule is here.

Also lined up to Chair the session is Yvonne Grace. Yvonne has 20 years experience in producing and script editing long running series and soaps for ITV and the BBC. She latterly Exec Produced Crossroads and before that, produced Holby City. She has also script edited Eastenders and run storylining workshops for Corrie.  Yvonne runs a script editing and writer mentoring website called Script Advice  http://www.scriptadvice.co.uk/   

Yvonne and Tracy are joined by Mr Holby City Tony McHale. 

STOP PRESS: Corrie writer Damon Rochefort now confirmed to join this soaps session. More info here.

If anyone goes along to this and would like to write us a blog post after the event about the Writing for Soaps session, please do get in touch.

Check out the festival website.