Coronation Street General News Thread

Coronation Street has picked up its second gong in two weeks by winning the top soap prize at the 2012 Broadcast Awards. :cheer:

The Weatherfield show was named 'Best Soap/Continuing Drama' at Thursday night's ceremony, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Coronation Street triumphed in the category over fellow nominees Casualty, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Holby City and Hollyoaks.

The Broadcast Awards are not determined by a public vote, but instead use a panel of judges to reward excellence in television each year. Emmerdale claimed the top soap title at last year's ceremony.

Other winners on the evening included Downton Abbey and The Inbetweeners.

Coronation Street's victory comes just a week after the show was named 'Most Popular Serial Drama' at the National Television Awards.

I put it all down to the return of that Dennis chappie

The current Coronation Street set could be preserved as a historic monument, it has been revealed.

The Granada Studios set, including the Rovers Return and the Kabin, is apparently close to being listed by English Heritage and turned into a tourist *attraction, the Sunday Mirror reports.

Filming of Coronation Street is being relocated to the new MediaCityUK complex at Salford Quays this year after being approved by Trafford Council.

An English Heritage source said: "There's a really good chance it will be granted listed status in April. It's a truly iconic place that millions have grown up with, and a lot of historic TV moments have happened there. It would be perfect sense to turn it into a tourist attraction."

The present outdoor set was built in 1982 and *attracted half a million visitors a year on public tours of Granada Studios until 1999.

A brand new set will be built at MediaCityUK and the old site will be sold for development, but it can't be knocked down if it is granted English Heritage status.

An ITV spokesman said: "We are aware of the listing application."

Dancing On Ice star Vicky Ogden has revealed that she wants a cameo in Coronation Street.

The professional skater, who joined the show this year, said that celebrity partner Andy Whyment - Kirk Sutherland in the soap - is taking her for a tour of the cobbled streets.

"Andy is taking me on set with him so I can follow him around and meet some of the cast. I'm a Corrie fan but I only ever get to see it from my sofa so it will be amazing to see it from behind the scenes," Ogden told the Daily Star Sunday.
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"I'm hoping to get a cameo or get in a shot - that would be great.

She added: "We have a brotherly, sisterly relationship. He's incredibly hard-working and is determined to improve."

Andy Whyment recently admitted that he wants to stay in Coronation Street for as long as possible.

Kirkie has scored

Coronation Street producer Phil Collinson has revealed that he will be sticking with the soap until at least 2013.

Collinson was appointed as the show's boss in November 2009 and took office a few months later, succeeding Kim Crowther.

The programme's chief has now confirmed that he will remain in his position for the foreseeable future, overseeing Coronation Street's studio move to Salford Quays.

Collinson told the Manchester Evening News: "The show is moving to Salford Quays next year. That's a very big move for us. I'll see that through as producer. So that takes me into the middle of next year.

"I can't see beyond that at the moment. I'm happy to be creatively leading the show and still think I've got more stories to tell."

Discussing his role, he said: "It's a tough job. There are a lot of different responsibilities. But I really enjoy it. I was a fan of Coronation Street before I started working on it, so it really is a privilege."

Coronation Street has enjoyed a recent run of success by picking up the top soap prizes at the National Television Awards and Broadcast Awards. The show has also been delivering strong ratings to ITV1.

Former Coronation Street actors Graeme Hawley and David Crellin are to star in the same stage play.

Hawley appeared in the ITV1 soap for four years as John Stape, who went on to steal Colin Fishwick's (Crellin) identity, and cover up his death by burying him at Underworld. Stape later died in a car crash after a brief return last year.

The pair will star in Saturday Night and Sunday Night at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre from next month.

Graeme Hawley revealed that he was glad to appear in a new role after playing a villain for many years.

"It's a good way to go, 'that's done' from Corrie, and now for something completely different," he told the Manchester Evening News. "I'm excited to come and work at the Royal Exchange, it's a unique space.

"Corrie has been the perfect job for me. It's worked out great, there's never been a time when I was kicking my heels in the show, I was either in prison, on the run or dying. From a personal point of view I've been able to go away, do other stuff and return to the role over the months."

He added that he is pleased to have had a definite end for his previous character, saying: "It was also important for me that there was a line drawn under the character this time. If he hadn't been killed there would always be that thing of 'I could go back'."

On reuniting with his former co-star Crellin, Hawley joked: "Our characters don't interact that much in this production, which for David's life is probably a good thing. I might try to accidentally kill him in some shows just to put a twist back in it. But funnily enough it's like we're fated to work together - this is now our seventh job together as actors."

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning also stars This Is England's Perry Fitzpatrick and will run from March 1 to April 7.

Graeme Hawley recently revealed that he would like a part in Hollyoaks to round off a complete set of soap roles.

In May at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton the world premiere of The Queen of the North will be played on stage - a tender, funny and insightful new play about the life of Coronation Street actress Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie Tanner.

Taking on the role of Pat Phoenix will be Lynda Rooke. Soap fans might recognise Lynda from Hollyoaks, where she played Jill Patrick from 1997-2000.

Lynda last appeared at the Octagon Theatre in the 1988 production of Corrie writer Jim Cartwright’s Road and was nominated for a Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for her performance.

Lynda will be joined onstage by John McArdle who will be taking on the role of Tony Booth, the well-known actor who lived with Pat during the last six years of her life. The couple eventually married in 1986 just days before Pat died. John McArdle has performed several times at the Octagon, most recently in last year’s production The Demolition Man, and is well-known for his TV appearances as Billy Corkhill in Brookside, and roles in Prime Suspect and Mersey Beat.

Lynda Rooke said: “I am so pleased to have the opportunity to take on the role of such a strong and inspiring woman. I’m extremely excited, and honoured, to play such a crucial role and was really impressed with the script as soon as I read it. Ron Rose’s writing is fantastic and I really hope that many people from Bolton and the North West who were fans of Pat Phoenix, or perhaps want to know more about her life, will come and see the production”.

Bev Callard, who played Liz McDonald in Coronation Street, is set to play the mother in Little Voice at the Futurist Theatre in Scarborough. The play runs from Monday September 10 to Saturday September 15 and I'm waiting for the phone lines to open to book my tickets today.

Little Voice is one of my favourite plays, ever, written by Corrie scriptwriter Jim Cartwright. And Scarborough is one of my favourite places.

Let's just hope Bev does follow through and end up on the stage for this one as she's had some health problems that have meant she had to drop out of panto and out of the play Hormonal Housewives. In both Bev was replaced by ex-Corrie actress Margi Clarke, who played Jackie Dobbs. And that just wouldn't work for Little Voice. Bev is the perfect choice.

Coronation Street star Malcolm Hebden was taken to hospital after falling ill in his dressing room.

The 72-year-old, who plays busybody Norris Cole, was checked over by studio medical staff before being sent to A&E for tests on Thursday.

He was given the all clear and back at work just a few hours later.

A Street source said: “It was nothing serious but our medical staff thought it was for the best to give him a thorough check over.”

Malcolm first appeared in Coronation Street in 1974, playing Mavis Riley’s Spanish boyfriend, Carlos.

He reappeared as Norris Cole in 1994, but gave up the role in 1997 before returning again in 1999 and eventually becoming owner of the Kabin in 2009.

I thought the Kabin was now called Norrisions ?

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Originally Posted by dennis tanner

i thought the kabin was now called norrisions ?

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lol

This Thursday night, March 22nd, there'll be a Celebrity Juice special where it's Corrie v Eastenders.

On the panel this week are two of Coronation Street's finest: Catherine Tyldesley (Eva Price) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), who are there to take on the might of two of EastEnders' biggest stars, Rita Simons and John Partridge.

Expect lots of Soap based fun!

Celebrity Juice Soap Special will be shown on Thursday 22nd March on ITV2 at 10pm.

Presiding over the whole thing is Bang Tidy host, Keith Lemo

Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan has revealed that she wouldn't rule out posing for Playboy.

The actress, who plays Tina McIntyre in the ITV1 soap, also said that she would strip on screen for the right part.

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"I wouldn't say no to something like Playboy if it's tastefully done. But I will never get my boobs out, unless it was for a professional acting job. They're my boobs. I don't want the world to see them," Keegan told The Sun.

"I see them as my private bits and I don't want the whole world judging them. But I'd love to do a period drama one day. I've seen nudity in a period drama and thought it looked tasteful. You weren't going, 'Oh my God - her boobs!' It's not like in a picture where you just look like you're showing them off."

Speaking of her 'Sexiest Female' wins at the British Soap Awards, she added: "It's so flattering but I'm the least sexy person. When I first won it my friends were all laughing. Even I was like, 'Why have I won this?'

"That's why, when I win the sexiest soap star award, part of me is pleased because I think people are voting for Tina. She doesn't try too hard to be sexy and that's good. Girls should be like that. They can relate to her. They don't have to go out with their boobs or bum showing."

Keegan, who recently denied reports that her wedding to The Wanted's Max George had been cancelled, insisted that getting married simply isn't a "priority" for the couple at the moment.

That girl is far too modest

A teenager has been detained for a minimum of 16 years after murdering his mother in an apparent Coronation Street copycat killing.

Daniel Bartlam, then 14, attacked his mother Jacqueline, 47, with a claw hammer as she slept - before dousing her body with petrol and setting it on fire to destroy evidence, BBC News reports.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Bartlam had been inspired by Coronation Street villain John Stape, who killed Charlotte Hoyle with a hammer before leaving her body in the wreckage of a tram crash to cover up his involvement.

Police found a clip of the Weatherfield crime on Bartlam's computer, along with videos of violent scenes in Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and horror movie Saw.

Detectives also found a self-penned "soap opera plot" on his computer, in which he fantasised about killing his mum.

Following the murder in April 2011, the boy initially told authorities that an intruder had killed his mother, and kept up the story for some time. However, he later admitted that he had been responsible.

Bartlam, now 15, was found guilty of murder nearly two months ago and has now been sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in custody.

Katherine Kelly, who played Becky McDonald in Coronation Street, is to star as Kenny Everett's wife Lee in a biopic called The Best Possible Taste.

The film stars Oliver Lansley as Kenny Everett and Katherine as Kenny's wife Lee Middleton in the biopic of DJ and comic Kenny Everett's life.

The Best Possible Taste will focus on Kenny Everett's relationship with his wife, singer Lee Middleton. It will also feature some of Everett's most famous characters including Sid Snot and US chatshow host Cupid Stunt.

Everett married the singer in 1966 and separated in 1979. Born Maurice Cole, the comic started his professional life as a pirate DJ for Radio London and Radio Luxemburg before joining Radio 1 in the mid 1960s. His TV work included stints at Thames TV from 1978-1980 and his most famous BBC programme, The Kenny Everett Television Show which ran from 1981-1988. "Kenny Everett was a genuine original: wild and unfocused maybe, but also deliciously anarchic and always entertaining,"

BBC Four controller Richard Klein said. "In many ways Kenny was a very modern celebrity, wearing his heart on his sleeve while coping with a complex life. "Re-evaluating this talented and exuberant personality, enabling audiences to reconsider Kenny's undoubted impact and legacy, makes this a very BBC4 drama." Lansley co-starred and co-wrote the short lived BBC comedy Whites, starring Alan Davies.

Andy Whyment, who plays Coronation Street's Kirk Sutherland, says he's got no plans to leave Corrie. In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Andy talks about recently taking part in ITV’s Dancing On Ice and says there’s no fear of him ever giving up the day job as Kirkeh.

He says: “I’ve always said I’ll stay at Corrie as long as they’ll have me, I’ve been there 12 years now and I can honestly say I enjoy it as much today as I did the very first day when I started. I don’t know what’s going to be next for Kirk, but it’d be nice to have a bit of a storyline to be honest when I go back. I just enjoy working there, and whatever they give me I’ll be happy with.”

Andy adds that his Corrie bosses gave him their blessing for him to take part in Dancing On Ice – and gave him an extra five weeks off to take part in the tour, which calls at the Manchester Arena on April 18 and 19.

Kirkeh knows where he's bread's buttered

Hands up if you can remember Deirdre Barlow's toyboy on Coronation Street? He was called Samir, a Moroccan waiter who Deirdre met on holiday. They got married and looked like living happily ever after until Samir was killed off. He's also the one who saved Tracy Barlow's life after her dabble with drugs storyline - and his kidney lives on inside her!

Actor Al Nedjari has given an interview to Yahoo! about his time on Coronation Street – and how much he hated it!

Al says he saw himself as a worthy, idealistic actor who wanted to do really important theatre. He left drama school on Friday and by Sunday evening was on the set of Coronation Street.

From the interview at Yahoo!


You weren’t happy at all?
Ha. I had really mixed feelings. I mean, I knew I was going to get paid to do a job which was why I was going to be an actor but I didn’t really want to be on television and I certainly didn’t want to be on a soap. In the end though, I thought ‘you know, you might never get a first job’ . That happens to a lot of actors. So I thought ‘I’m going to have to say yes to this, aren’t I?’

But do you regret it?
I don’t really, no. I learnt everything there is to know about television acting. I became skilled at it and it was quite fascinating. And it was interesting being part of the culture. But I did struggle being recognised in the street. I hated that. I like to sit in cafes and look at people, so that was really hard. But from a professional point of view, I did make a name for myself.

Watching it again, I don’t think they’d do it now.
I don’t think they would either. They’d had criticism for not including ethnic minorities in the show and their response was to get me in. Someone a bit ethnic.


Were you relieved to be killed off?
I was then. But just recently, I was thinking looking back I would probably stay in the show for longer. Although the character was known, he was there and gone in a flash. I was worried that I’d have to play more Moroccans, but in actual fact, that’s probably a fear that was unfounded.

How did you get on with the rest of the cast?
I got on brilliantly with the immediate people around me. Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre Barlow) and I got on very well and she was lovely and Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) was lovely and at the time it was Dawn Acton playing Tracy and we got on well. But otherwise it was a bit like an airport lounge, the green room there.

By and large people had been there for years and I have to say it was a bit impersonal. A lot of the older actors were slightly contained. They weren’t very nice. I understood it by the end of my time there, though. It takes a lot out of you and if you do it for a number of years it must feel like a hellish routine. It sounds like a sob story but there’s an element of people not giving it any more than they had to. Mind you, it’s not like I was in a particularly good place.

You swan in with your big ideas…
Yeah, I thought I was the big actor and wanted to go off and do something important rather than this frivolous TV stuff. So it’s not like I made friends for life there. I certainly didn’t get on with the young people in the cast, who were well paid and all that. I found that side of it rather facile and objected to it.

Anne Kirkbride is massive on Twitter, you know.
It’s a funny world, isn’t it? She’s a national institution, isn’t she? She’s great. You don’t ever read an article with her talking, do you? She just leaves you with this idea of a TV personality that she wants you to.

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Originally Posted by Dennis tanner

Kirkeh knows where he's bread's buttered

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You're not wrong there. Although Kirkeh hasn't had any major storylines he knows not to bite the hand that feeds, unlike some soap stars who think once they've done a year on a soap they should be given a staring role in a hollywood blockbuster.

Coronation Street's current set will not be preserved by the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) when the soap's production moves to MediaCityUK, it has been confirmed.

Coronation Street relocates to its new home at Salford Quays next year, leaving the future of its existing base at Quay Street uncertain.

As MOSI is adjacent to Coronation Street's current set, reports have often suggested that the two attractions could be combined.

However, such a move has now been ruled out by MOSI's director Jean M. Franczyk.

Franczyk told Manchester Confidential: "There's going to be someone out there who is probably the best in the world at running a Coronation Street visitor attraction, but it's not going to be the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

"That's not our role. We have so much work to do in celebrating the historic site and contents we already possess. Coronation Street is for someone else."

Earlier this year, it was rumoured that the Coronation Street set could be listed by English Heritage. The full-street outdoor set was built in 1982.

Bill Roache has revealed that one of his on-screen Coronation Street kisses led to real-life passion once the cameras stopped rolling.

The actor, who plays Ken Barlow on the soap, discusses the mystery romance on Piers Morgan's Life Stories this evening (April 13).

Roache commented: "A kiss is a demonstration of affection and it should be sincere and truly meant, but you've got to be careful to keep the lust out of it when you're acting.

"You can turn lust into love and you can make a kiss truly loving and truly affectionate - a loving and caring kiss without the lust."

Asked how many of his Weatherfield kisses had resulted in off-set passion for him, Roache replied: "One".

However, the 79-year-old refused to reveal the identity of the co-star in question.

Roache filmed his Life Stories appearance last month, and the interview soon made headlines as he confessed to an affair with Pat Phoenix and sex with "up to 1,000 women".

Piers Morgan's Life Stories: Bill Roache airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1.

Hi there just joined, couldn't find an hello place, so thought why not my favourite soap, who'd have thought Ken!!!

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Originally Posted by Perdita

Coronation Street's current set will not be preserved by the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) when the soap's production moves to MediaCityUK, it has been confirmed.

Coronation Street relocates to its new home at Salford Quays next year, leaving the future of its existing base at Quay Street uncertain.

As MOSI is adjacent to Coronation Street's current set, reports have often suggested that the two attractions could be combined.

However, such a move has now been ruled out by MOSI's director Jean M. Franczyk.

Franczyk told Manchester Confidential: "There's going to be someone out there who is probably the best in the world at running a Coronation Street visitor attraction, but it's not going to be the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

"That's not our role. We have so much work to do in celebrating the historic site and contents we already possess. Coronation Street is for someone else."

Earlier this year, it was rumoured that the Coronation Street set could be listed by English Heritage. The full-street outdoor set was built in 1982.

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I have to agree that it's nothing to do with MOSI

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Originally Posted by pattsy

Hi there just joined, couldn't find an hello place, so thought why not my favourite soap, who'd have thought Ken!!!

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There used to be a thread to say hello but it disappeared a while back when the site was upgraded, I think.

Welcome to SoapBoards, pattsy, nice to meet you.Hope you like it here.n :)

Corrie is my favourite soap also :D

Coronation Street star Helen Worth is to marry again after getting engaged.

The 61-year-old actress, who plays Gail McIntyre in the ITV1 soap, is engaged to 54-year-old deputy headteacher Trevor Dawson following his proposal last month.

The couple, who have been dating for over a year, plan to marry in front of family and close friends before the end of summer.

"Everyone in the cast is thrilled for Helen - nobody deserves to find happiness more than her. If everything goes right they could be man and wife by the end of the year - they don't see any point in dithering," a friend told The People.

"The one thing missing from her life for many years was a loving *partner to share in her success. She has found that in Trevor and everybody is overjoyed for the pair of them.

"It's a long-distance love affair that has gone the extra mile and they're so good for each other. Helen has always been a very private person, but it's plain to see how *delighted she is with the *development in her love life.

"These days she *appears to be smiling all the time - the fans would hardly *recognise her after having to portray all that awful anguish for so many years. Her engagement is *brilliant news - she's been besieged by genuine friends wishing her *every happiness."

Worth divorced actor Michael Angelis in 2001 after 21 years together when he confessed to having an affair.

A Coronation Street spokesman last night confirmed the engagement.

Coronation Street stars have reportedly come to an agreement with ITV over their pay.

The cast was facing salary cuts of up to 37.5% after bosses moved the Saturday omnibus from ITV1 to ITV2 in January.

ITV proposed to cut the repeat fee each actor receives since fewer people would watch the show on the digital channel.

The Sunday Mirror reports that cast members, said to include Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), have now finalised a deal with ITV after it agreed to pay more than initially offered. The move follows fears that some big names would strike or even quit.

An Equity union *spokesman said: "We've prevented members' incomes falling off the edge of a cliff. That's what would have *happened if they'd lost 37.5 per cent.

"You never get everything you ask for, but we have got more than they initially wanted to give away."

The deal is expected to last for a year before negotiations restart.

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Originally Posted by pattsy

Hi there just joined, couldn't find an hello place, so thought why not my favourite soap, who'd have thought Ken!!!

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ayup pattsy, welcome to soapboard, you have excellent taste, corrie is on form at the mo.

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Originally Posted by Perdita

Coronation Street stars have reportedly come to an agreement with ITV over their pay.

The cast was facing salary cuts of up to 37.5% after bosses moved the Saturday omnibus from ITV1 to ITV2 in January.

ITV proposed to cut the repeat fee each actor receives since fewer people would watch the show on the digital channel.

The Sunday Mirror reports that cast members, said to include Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), have now finalised a deal with ITV after it agreed to pay more than initially offered. The move follows fears that some big names would strike or even quit.

An Equity union *spokesman said: "We've prevented members' incomes falling off the edge of a cliff. That's what would have *happened if they'd lost 37.5 per cent.

"You never get everything you ask for, but we have got more than they initially wanted to give away."

The deal is expected to last for a year before negotiations restart.

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These stars need to realise that the less they earn, the less tax they will have to pay:D:D:D

Coronation Street's Brooke Vincent was reportedly caught up in a real-life kidnap drama last week.

The Sophie Webster actress was wrongly identified by a petrol station worker as a screaming woman who was mugged, slapped and bundled in a car by an unknown man, The Mirror reports.

The witness, who had served Vincent several times at Gorton in Manchester, was convinced the soap star had been kidnapped before calling 999.

"Brooke was happy to put the record straight that it wasn't her. Police have to be careful in these cases," a source said.

"The attacker is often a boyfriend or husband and the victim can be too scared to tell the truth," the insider added.

Meanwhile, police - who now believe the crime was a domestic assault - have confirmed that they questioned Vincent last Thursday.

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Simon Gregson, who plays Coronation Street's Steve McDonald, has become patron of a charity set up to help children of fallen soldiers. Simon is lending his support to Scotty's Little Soldiers, which provides days out, gifts and holidays to the children of service men and women killed in action.

The Norfolk-based charity was started by Nikki Scott, whose husband Lee was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province, Afghanistan in July 2009, leaving her to raise their two children.

Father-of-two Simon, whose fictional dad Jim McDonald spent much of his time away with the army, arranged a trip to the Corrie set in Manchester for some of the children. The youngsters enjoyed a tour of the set, learned how the cameras worked and met some of the crew.

Simon said: "I have a huge respect for all of our service men and women, the job they do must be among the hardest in the world for them and their families. For this reason I am extremely proud to be a patron of Scotty's Little Soldiers, a wonderful charity to help some wonderful people."

For more information have a look at www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk

Is it just me thats confused, did Betty die in her own home in Weatherfield, or did she die in London at Gordons, and is the funeral in Weatherfield now, or just the wake.

Coronation Street veteran Bill Roache was rushed to hospital with pneumonia earlier this month.

The actor, who plays Ken Barlow in the ITV1 soap, was struck down with the disease as he approaches his 80th birthday, *following a speaking tour of Canada.

He has spent the last few days *recovering at his Cheshire home and plans to celebrate his landmark birthday with a party on Wednesday (April 25), The People reports.

"Everyone was concerned for him but he's such a battler and he never lets *anything get a hold of him," a source said.

"Pneumonia can be a killer for older people but Bill has always taken care of his health and well-being and that's why he's in such remarkable shape.

"He's planning a party to celebrate his 80th birthday and wild horses wouldn't keep him away from that. He can't wait to be with his family and friends."

Roache met Canada's PM Stephen Harper, who is a huge fan of Corrie, during his visit to the country.

"Bill is currently at home recovering from pneumonia. It isn't ideal, especially with his 80th birthday coming up. But he is doing very well and feeling much better now," a spokeswoman added.

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British Olympic hopeful Jessica Ennis swapped the track for the cobbles when she visited the set of Coronation Street this week.

The champion heptathlete was given a special behind-the-scenes tour of Coronation Street on a day off from her training for this summer's London Olympics. Ennis, one of Team GB’s brightest hopes for a medal at the 2012 games, revealed she is an avid Coronation Street fan and so relished the chance to explore the set and meet the cast.

Jessica said: "I'm a huge Coronation Street fan and it is wonderful to set foot on the world famous cobbles. If I’m out training, or away competing, I always record Corrie and watch back-to-back episodes when I get the chance. I'm currently two episodes behind but plan to catch-up soon. It is a brilliant show and if I was ever asked to pay a cameo role I would jump at the chance. I’d love it, even though I can’t act.' Dont worry about that Jess. It hasnt stopped Kym Marsh or Michelle Collins :)

Coronation Street actor Nicholas Asbury has recalled how some angry fans jeered at him after appearing in the soap.

The actor played the vet who put down Chesney's beloved dog Schmeichel last year.

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"I went to Manchester and filmed about three episodes of Coronation Street, during which I had to diagnose and put down Schmeichel," he told the Sunday Mercury.

"I know it's only make-believe but there are a lot of people who take Corrie as gospel.

"The day after, I faced some angry jeers and shouts in the street. I'd be walking along, minding my own business, when I'd hear, 'Oi! You're the guy who killed Schmeichel'."

Asbury added that the sad scenes were actually quite humourous to film as the dog was much more active behind the scenes.

"The dog was hilarious. He was supposed to be on his last legs with renal failure or something, but this particular dog was only about a year old and was very lively.

"Every time I said, 'We've got to put him down', he would jump up with his tongue lolling out, looking the picture of health."

The former Royal Shakespeare Company actor recently toured with director Ed Hall's acclaimed Shakespeare company Propeller.

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Originally Posted by alan45

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British Olympic hopeful Jessica Ennis swapped the track for the cobbles when she visited the set of Coronation Street this week.

The champion heptathlete was given a special behind-the-scenes tour of Coronation Street on a day off from her training for this summer's London Olympics. Ennis, one of Team GB’s brightest hopes for a medal at the 2012 games, revealed she is an avid Coronation Street fan and so relished the chance to explore the set and meet the cast.

Jessica said: "I'm a huge Coronation Street fan and it is wonderful to set foot on the world famous cobbles. If I’m out training, or away competing, I always record Corrie and watch back-to-back episodes when I get the chance. I'm currently two episodes behind but plan to catch-up soon. It is a brilliant show and if I was ever asked to pay a cameo role I would jump at the chance. I’d love it, even though I can’t act.' Dont worry about that Jess. It hasnt stopped Kym Marsh or Michelle Collins :)

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Jessica is not a HUGE fan. She's as fit as a butcher's dog

Coronation Street's Alison King has praised co-star Anne Kirkbride for her "madness" on set.

The 39-year-old, who plays Carla Connor, said that Deirdre Barlow actress Kirkbride holds court with the "funniest" stories.

She said of her fellow cast member: "During filming and waiting for filming it's pretty much madness. It's Annie Kirkbride, she's absolutely mad and when she's in. It's brilliant because you just hear the funniest tales and anecdotes."

Kirkbride, 57, is one of Corrie's longest-surviving stars, having been on the ITV serial since 1973.

Meanwhile, King revealed earlier this week that she was "absolutely as high as a kite" in the wake of her 'Best Actress' win at the British Soap Awards.

Coronation Street bagged seven gongs at Sunday's ceremony, tying with rival EastEnders.

Celebrity Juice's Keith Lemon has revealed that he wants a cameo in Coronation Street.

The TV personality, the fictional creation of Leigh Francis, suggested that Maria Connor actress Samia Ghadie will persuade ITV producers to give him a chance.

Lemon told PA: "I suppose my favourite soap would be Coronation Street because I know more people in Corrie than I know in any other soaps.

"I'm like, 'Hey how's it going, Michelle Keegan?', 'Are you alright, Samia Ghadie?', that sort of thing. I'm always telling Samia Ghadie [I want a cameo] because she seems to be my gateway into Coronation Street and she always introduces me to the producers and writers at showbiz event."

He added: "She says, 'I'm going to get you in' but all I want to do is be in the hairdressers and go, 'You've cut it too short, I'm never coming here again'. That's all I want to do."

Lemon appeared at last Sunday's British Soap Awards, presenting the award for 'Sexiest Female' to Michelle Keegan.

Michelle Keegan and Ryan Thomas will reportedly front a new ITV documentary from Kenya.

The Coronation Street stars - who play Tina McIntyre and Jason Grimshaw in the soap - will fly to Kenya to visit struggling families to raise awareness about HIV in the country, according to The People.


The trip will be part of Corrie Goes to Kenya, a documentary to be screened on ITV1 in July.

A production source said: "This trip will be a real eye-*opener. The cast will come face to face with people whose lives could not be more different from their own.

"When you talk to people affected by these problems, the impact is huge. And the Corrie stars are *desperate to help in any way that they can."

Michelle Keegan recently cancelled her engagement with The Wanted's Max George, but the pair remain in a relationship