Book now for your Coronation Street Tour #CorrieTour

Booking is now open for fans to visit the new set at Trafford Wharf, close to Media City.

National Holidays are now offering fans the chance to travel to the set by on a coach break that includes coach travel with reserved seating throughout, one night dinner, bed & breakfast hotel accommodation, admission to Coronation Street - The Tour and an inclusive visit to Liverpool, all from just £99.

Go behind the scenes of the working set, discover the secrets of the production process, hear the fascinating stories from studio guides and explore the iconic sets that have regaled your living room for the past 50 years, such as the Rovers Return, Roy’s Rolls, Underworld and The Kabin!

Find all dates and book your place here 👉bit.ly/NHCoronationStreetTour

Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!   

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook 

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street episode review, Weds 2 May, 8.30pm

'Hey Jude', has been lying through his teeth -  the shark, and Mary has been doggy paddling alongside him in this daft storyline. What's even more ridiculous is that Angie, the accountant has not added all of this up. Really? Angie says: "Do you think this is funny?" No we don't, Angie. 

Leanne and Peter are getting dirty looks from sulky Simon again. And Angie clearly needs more than counselling from Toyah, given the fishy stories she has had to listen to from her husband. How will Toyah handle this news now that she is head over heels with her new baby? Angie calls her. 

Yasmeen is at Sally's and the two bicker and fight. I like the feud between these two. As, deep down they do respect each other. It feels like one of the old Corrie rival stories and I buy it, totally. 

Eva cannot get her head round Jude's lies. The scriptwriters are laughing as they hit the keys and type because the lies Toyah and Eva have told about this baby make Donald Trump seem humble and reasonable. 

Angie visits the Law firm and drops in on her boss. Tipsy, she makes a play for him and he responds. Adam and Angie, sounds like it would make good car stickers in the windscreen. But Adam backs off, as he knows it's a bad idea. Another secret for us to know and for others to find out. 

Eva and Toyah sit cooking up more lies. We have a man who has pretended to be a marine biologist and a woman who has pretended she is not pregnant. Angie gets back home and Jude asks her to press reset and says he can tell her anything she likes. So, she tells him that she kissed a Barlow (but not that she liked it!) 

Toyah facetimes Peter and Simon and shows them the baby. She continies to lie though, and sulky Simon looks confused. Not really surprised, as there have been so many lies. But, he feels left out, as Peter goes all emo and is chuffed as any thing, and Simon feels replaced. Poor Aidan congratulates him. 

Jude gets angry with Angie for her confession. The pair argue and she mentions that he "earns next to nothing." He always did and she never questioned his role at work for two years? When Angie says "Where do we go from here?" - McDonald's making Fillet 'O Fish with Jude's C.V!

Toyah has a qualification in counselling but grabs that baby, like a hungry kid on the hunt for chocolate, with very little empathy. Meanwhile Eva looks.bereft. The lies will haunt them both for some time to come, methinks. 

Apart from the fishy tales, a good episode, as you sense things are coming to a head for Toyah and Eva. 

By Glenn Meads who is on Twitter and LinkedIn
You can read all of Glenn's guest blog posts here.
Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!   

Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers  

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook 

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 2nd of May 2018 7.30pm

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of the Coronation Street Blog and the first of tonight's two episode reviews!. 

Toyah's torrid web of lies continues to spin, and her plan to claim Eva's baby looks to be coming to fruition. Eva's baby girl leaves the hospital and her birth is registered but Eva looks fraught with worry, her maternal instincts are clear to see. 

Mary 'fishy' plans to save Jude's lies are also in place. The hired actors pre-performance preparation in Preston Petals fools Ken, yet he recognises a vague familiarity in their faces.

Following his false fire alarm fiasco though, it seems they needn't have bothered as Jude is fired from the Marine Life Centre.

Over dinner, the actor's performances descend into a true farce when Brian brings the council job description around for Jude, blowing their cover!. As the dinner descends into drunken innuendo and literal amateur dramatics, it's clear to Angie that something isn't right. When the guests leave, Jude unwittingly admits his career faux par and marital deceit to his wife.

Round at Sally & Tim's, Sally is keen on getting to know her father-in-law Geoff with another Monday night dinner party!. In true Corrie style, it isn't long before Gina & Dev are also invited and Geoff brings Yasmeen, which ruffles Sally's mayoral feathers.


In other news, Jenny postpones the leaving party, Summer asks Aidan a favour, Kirks dog walking business blooms and we discover Weatherfield County's chant!.

Anyway, that's me done for another week. Keep an eye out for tonight's 8.30pm episode review written by @glenn_writer.

TARA!

You can follow me @rybazoxo on twitter-your self-styled 'Cobbles Connoisseur'

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

Home from Home: New BBC Sitcom by Chris Fewtrell and Simon Crowther

Chris Fewtrell (left) and Simon Crowther (right) are two names with which Coronation Street fans will no doubt be well familiar, both having written for the soap for fourteen and twelve years respectively. In that time, they have brought a myriad of storylines to life through their carefully crafted scripts.

In looking back at episodes they've written which have resonated with me, some in particular stand out. With Simon, I count the one in which Jack Duckworth passed away as one of the best I've seen in my time watching the show. In it, we were witnessing the death of a legendary Corrie character in more ways than one, as we saw a man experiencing an encroaching distance between himself and the world around him before he became reunited with wife Vera in death, and it was intensely moving. He also wrote a key episode as part of the 'Who Killed Tina?' storyline, where Rob Donovan pushed her from the builders yard balcony.

When it comes to Chris, regular readers of the blog will be accustomed to me writing about his work over the years. We recently asked viewers to choose their single favourite episode of Corrie. A tall order! But, mine was one by Chris which directly followed Deirdre’s funeral in 2015. Slow paced, dialogue-heavy and covering just two locations, as friends reminisced in the Rovers, and the Barlows thrashed it out next door, it was sublime. Other key episodes for me which were written by him include the deaths of Michael Rodwell and Kylie Platt, and a beautiful episode from December 2013 in which terminally ill Hayley’s Christmas wish is simply to see the daffodils in spring.

The Hackett family (Little Neil (HARVEY CHAISTY), Neil (JOHNNY VEGAS), Fiona (NIKY WARDLEY), Garth (OSCAR KENNEDY)(Image Credit: BBC/James Stack)

Given the calibre of both writers, I was very excited to learn that they had created and written a new sitcom together which is currently airing on BBC One. Home from Home is a six-part series telling the story of the Hackett family who have fulfilled their dream of buying a lodge in the Lake District where dad, Neil (Johnny Vegas), is determined to have the perfect time for his family of four. 

Reining in Neil’s enthusiasm for a flawless adventure for his clan mightn’t be such a challenge were he not neighboured by the infuriatingly accomplished Robert, played to perfection by Adam James. On encountering this perceived challenge to his manhood, Neil's resolve becomes less about making decisions that please himself and the family than being better than Robert, often at the impossible. Buoyed by the enthusiasm of youngest son Little Neil (Harvey Chaisty), his resolve persists despite doubtful, yet benevolent, looks from wife Fiona (Niky Wardley) who is reluctantly supportive of his efforts, and the pained stoicism of older son Garth (Oscar Kennedy) who is every bit the awkward, yet endearing teenager.

The Dillons (Robert (ADAM JAMES), Penny (EMILIA FOX)(Image credit: BBC/James Stack)

What’s wonderful is that Neil's battle against this male embodiment of everything he perceives he isn't is one-sided. Rival Robert has no interest in one-upmanship which makes it impossible not to like him. In fact, every character is endearing and relatable, which is quite a feat when they engage in conflict at various points as things develop, and the main protagonist experiences jealousy, envy, disappointment and anger throughout. I think the key to this is that Neil's suffering is at the hands of himself rather than the person he’s pitting himself against, and this makes him sympathetic while absolving the other characters of blame for his self-inflicted victimhood. Johnny Vegas succeeds in silently conveying what's really at the heart of Neil's actions in those quiet moments between his disastrous attempts at achievement. The rest of the cast have no choice but to be on the journey with him, and in turn evoke empathy and sympathy by their very situation. Their ability to make the most of it is another contributory factor to ensuring their likeability.

Robert’s wife Penny (Emilia Fox) is also a disdainful joy to behold, whether smoking on a climb or musing loftily over how she thought her life would end, and their adopted daughter Petra (Olive Gray) is an intelligent, good humoured teenager who reacts with respect and kindness, not cruelty, when Garth’s crush is exposed by his little brother. Indeed, Harvey Chaisty's authentic performance in the role of Little Neil is a consistent source of humour.

Mercy (ELAINE PAIGE)(Image Credit: BBC)

Elaine Paige is a very welcome surprise in episode two, and marvellous as Neil’s confident, flirty, mother, Mercy. Even though she clearly riles Fiona (would anyone want to see their mother-in-law arrive at the Acropolis on their honeymoon to Greece?) she is an absolute delight. Nor do we like Fiona any less for her frustration. Again, all characters prove relatable at some point. The pairing of Mercy with Paul Barber in the part of Fieldhouse is a joy, and I hope we haven’t seen the last of either of them. In fact, while Paul has already had a couple of stints on Coronation Street, I could imagine this pair treading the cobbles, and would happily see Mercy dragging her leopard print cases out of a taxi and up to The Rovers' door.

The programme is a lovely watch which aptly captures the joys and fond frustrations of the family holiday. The comedy is as airy and warm as the beautiful Lake District cutaways that have me vowing to visit for the umpteenth time, but there is also enough spice in there to ensure it’s in no way saccharine.

From a writing perspective, you can hear both their voices in the script, which is interesting to observe if you’re a fan of seeing how collaborations are borne out. Aside from the show being a very enjoyable watch, knowing the work of both Chris and Simon on Corrie, it’s intriguing from the point of view of seeing how writers we know well in one arena bring their ideas and work together to create something new in another. If this does interest you, I’d recommend taking a look at their brilliant interview for BBC Writers Room in which they talk about their paths to writing for Corrie,  how they approached writing this programme, and who inspires them.

Home from Home airs Fridays on BBC One at 9.30pm, and I highly recommend tuning in. If you’ve missed the first two episodes, you can watch them on the BBC iPlayer. This week's third episode, with added Susan Calman in the role of Lorraine Sykes, sees Neil throw a party in an attempt to rectify his lack of popularity, but we're told his plan backfires when Robert proves to be the life and soul of the party.

I'm looking forward to it already!

By Emma Hynes
www.emmahynes.net

Twitter: @ELHynes
Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites
Instagram: emmalouhynes

---

Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License