Michelle Collins and John Michie join as Stella and Karl

[alan45]

That must be the answer She is from Manchester but spent some time in Albert Square and now has a mixed accent. Well spotted Alan

More likely reason is that she is a crap actor

[layla]

Yes, but she's supposed to be from Manchester. She's not supposed to be a Southerner!

Does it really matter about her accent. I am born and bred in Manchester. Lots of my neighbours were Irish, even some southeners, my father was a Scot. My sister has an aussie accent from years of living their. We don't all talk like the Oasis brothers.

Corrie writer are off the boil at the moment. Need a new producer. This one is utter rubbish.

[alan45]

Does it really matter about her accent.

Not really. Its about her acting ability or lack of. The storyline surrounding her arrival was particularly crap

[alan45]

CORRIE star Michelle Collins has raised eyebrows among cast pals by enjoying a break in New York with her teenage daughter and Street boss Phil Collinson.

The actress, 50, went sightseeing and took in a Broadway show with him before daughter Maia posted snaps on Twitter of them in the Big Apple.

Michelle, set to sign a bumper new contract when she returns to work as Rovers boss Stella Price, spent six days in the US.

But the fact she was with her producer sparked gossip among some Corrie crew and cast back home.

One established member of the team said: “It all sounds a bit close to home. No one has ever known someone to go off on holiday with one of the bosses. People will be having a good old tittle-tattle about this.

“No one likes favouritism but it certainly looks like Michelle has confirmed herself as one of Phil’s favourites. He did bring her in as Stella and stuck by her through the tough times when she was getting flak for having a supposedly dodgy northern accent.

“And we know they have been to some charity events together. But to be seen having a pre-Christmas break in New York together really seems a step too far.”

Ex-EastEnders star Michelle was snapped looking relaxed and happy on the Brooklyn Bridge while daughter Maia, 15, proudly posted photos of her and Collinson in the city’s High Line park and on Broadway after they had seen Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.

Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley, who joined the show at the same time as Michelle to play her feisty daughter Eva, was one of the first to see Maia’s Twitter snaps.

She said: “Did you guys have a fab time? I sooo want to go next year….give my love to your mummy.”
Collinson and Michelle went on an unprecedented public relations mission earlier in the year to dismiss claims that

Corrie viewers were turning off because of their dislike for the new Price family.

The 41-year-old producer also denied he hired Michelle because they were old pals. I suppoese it was because of her great acting ability then

He added: “Michelle’s casting was completely democratic. It was made by committee and absolutely not my decision alone.”

Speaking about her part in Corrie, Michelle said: “It was a tough role to step into – like going into the Royal Family.”

[Perdita]

Michelle Collins has said that Coronation Street viewers are generally more positive about her accent now.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Stella Price actress insisted that she does not believe her Manchester twang has altered at all since joining in June last year.

Producer Phil Collinson and various cast members have publicly defended Collins after her debut performance as the show's new Rovers Return landlady drew criticism from some sections.

She admitted: "It's funny, people now come up to me and say, 'Oh your accent is much better now', but I haven't changed a thing!"

Referring to her role on EastEnders, which she played between 1988 and 1998, the 51-year-old added: "I knew it was always going to be hard for people to adjust to seeing Cindy Beale in the Rovers at first.

"But I think now viewers have accepted me a bit more, it's great."

Collins, whose character is currently involved in a gambling storyline, recently signed a new contract with the ITV soap.

[Katy]

I did think she was getting better but when she went all dramatic over leanne leaving she was really bad and ott. and the accent proper grated on me!!

[Perdita]

Coronation Street star John Michie has revealed he's become fascinated by gambling addiction, while preparing for his latest storyline.
The former star of The Bill plays Karl Munro, partner of Rovers landlady Stella, and the character's card-playing hobby is starting to cause him some trouble.
John told Inside Soap magazine: "If you'd asked me a little while ago, I probably wouldn't have chosen a gambling story for my character, but it's made me realise that it's a fascinating addiction to have - if you can use 'fascinating' and 'addiction' in the same sentence!
"I love the way that it's all going to be mixed in with Karl's affair with Sunita as well."
The Scottish actor also confessed he enjoys a bit of a flirt, just like his character.
He said: "I always put little bits of me in every part I play. So yes, there are elements of Karl in me.
"I like a bit of a flirt, I've been a ne'er-do-well at times, and I can be a tad lazy!"

PA

[Dazzle]

She admitted: "It's funny, people now come up to me and say, 'Oh your accent is much better now', but I haven't changed a thing!"

This smacks of arrogance to me. If I'd received the criticism that Michelle Collins had, I'd get a coach to help me with the accent (or a different coach if I already had one).

I can tell her accent hasn't changed because it still grates on me as much as ever.

[alan45]

If I'd received the criticism that Michelle Collins had, I'd get a coach to help me with the accent (or a different coach if I already had one).

.

I know what sort of a coach she needs

[alan45]

The actress, formerly Cindy Beale in EastEnders, confessed in a frank interview with The Sun that her stint on Coronation Street has been far from plain sailing.

Michelle, now playing northerner Stella Price, revealed: "I thought I could just come in through the back door. But, as landlady of the Rovers, you just can't do that!

"I am having a great time working on Corrie but it's also really tough and I don't think you can ever feel settled in a job.

"I act each scene as if it's going to be my last. You never know if you are going to get a scene where you die!"

Not that Street bosses have any plans to kill Stella off — far from it. They've packed her diary with storylines. Over the next few weeks, an unsuspecting Stella discovers Karl has been gambling away the couple's savings, running up tens of thousands of pounds' worth of debt too — and when the pub boss finds out, she sends him packing.


But Karl has also been growing close to her best friend Sunita who, feeling unloved at home, is happy to be his shoulder to cry on.

Michelle is looking forward to the gritty plot which will leave viewers wondering whether Karl does the dirty on her or not.

"I don't want to work on a soap where you are just pouring tea," says Michelle.

"For me, it would be soul-destroying and now people have had a chance to get to know Stella, it's great to be given some big storylines.

"She is a strong, feisty woman who is very much the breadwinner. But the question is: Can a strong woman have it all? Yes, she has got a pub she always dreamed of owning and a daughter she has found but all this has meant she has taken her eye off the ball when it comes to her own marriage."



Michelle thinks the storyline will strike a chord with many women who constantly wonder if they have "got it all".

Ask this very question to Michelle and she thinks not.

The actress, who has a 15-year-old daughter, Maia, from a previous relationship with Fabrizio Tassalini, confesses: "No, I don't think I have ever had it all.

"When I think about the good jobs and great relationships I have had in the past, I think they have come at different times.

"I really do think that whilst men may initially be happy you are a strong woman, they don't like it after a while."

Michelle has enjoyed several long romances and been engaged but she has never married.

Now single and happy to be so, she goes on to reveal that she finds it hard to meet potential boyfriends who are happy to let her take all the limelight — given she is a TV star.

She says: "I need to find a man who is quite happy with that. But would I date another actor? No.

"Two actors for me don't really go. It is not a marriage or relationship made in heaven.

"There is too much insecurity if one is out of work and it can become very competitive if one is more successful than the other.

"For me, I don't think it would be a good idea to date an actor.

"This storyline with Stella is good and I think it does strike a chord with people. It makes you wonder if you can have a career and keep a man happy at the same time. I am sure it works for some people." Michelle also admits she has found it hard commuting from her London home, where her daughter lives, to Manchester every week — but moaning about it is definitely not her style.

She says: "Playing Stella is a great role and I feel lucky to have been given the chance when there are so many actresses who aren't working very much.

"It's tough, though, because Corrie is not based in my home town. I wouldn't moan because a lot of people in Manchester could turn around and say, 'Well, I can do that job' and I feel grateful to be playing Stella. But being a single parent is difficult. It constantly means I am juggling and, yes, I have a good team around me as my family help out and I have someone who lives in but I want to be there for my daughter too.

"It's why I am happy being on my own right now. I can't come back home and then go out at weekends, going on a date."

While the rest of the cast have made Michelle feel at home on set, she confesses there was a difficult time after critics questioned her northern accent.

"That was horrible," reveals Michelle. "It did make me go home and think, 'I want to leave.' But then I realised I needed to put everything into perspective. I was like, 'No, I have been an actress for a long time. I can't be that c**p or I wouldn't be here today.'

"I had to keep my head held high. I couldn't walk out." Now seven months on, Michelle is chuffed to bits that viewers have taken her character to their hearts.

She adds: "People are now really positive about Stella. I have received some lovely letters with people saying such nice things."

But does Michelle see herself staying in the soap for a long time?

The down-to-earth actress says she would not be so arrogant as to think she has a right to be in such a top-rated soap for ever. "It's very easy to get lazy but I would never do that," she says. "I love Coronation Street but I really could not say if I will be here in ten years.

"My family and friends are down in London and I am leading a nomadic life at the moment. I don't know how long I will be able to keep it up for but I am enjoying myself a lot."

And when she isn't busy working or spending time with her daughter, she is happy to champion Barnardo's Child In Crisis Appeal.

She says: "I've seen first-hand the families that Barnardo's work with and it is clear to me that many of them really are at crisis point.

"Barnardo's services help the poorest families, many who are being priced out of a decent living." With that parting shot, Michelle has to dash off to learn lines for her next scene.

As she leaves, you wonder if she will ever find love again and be able to boast that she is, indeed, a woman who has it all.

She declares: "I've met a lot of frogs and maybe a prince will come along but right now I really don't need a man

"I am not just saying that. My priority is my daughter. She will always come first."