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Channel 4 has announced that a Coronation Street-themed episode of Come Dine With Me will air next month to mark the soap's 50th anniversary.
Former cast members Julie Goodyear (Bet Lynch), Ken Morley (Reg Holdsworth), Tupele Dorgu (Kelly Crabtree) and Philip Middlemiss (Des Barnes) will all feature in the special edition of the popular culinary contest.
Following the usual Celebrity Come Dine format, the foursome must compete to host the best dinner party in a bid to win a cash prize for charity.
It is thought that the one-off episode will see tension develop between the competitors after Morley's bawdy sense of humour fails to impress Dorgu.
On the second night of the competition, things get worse when Morley arrives in character as an annoying American preacher - earning him a telling-off from the actress.
Meanwhile, when it is Goodyear's turn to play hostess, she orders the male contestants to arrive in drag and causes a stir by having a scantily-clad slave named Dave serving her guests.
Come Dine With Me's Corrie special airs on December 5 on Channel 4.
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Former Coronation Street actor Johnny Briggs has claimed that the soap has survived because no one person has been allowed to become the star.
The Weatherfield drama will celebrate its 50th anniversary next month and Briggs - who played Mike Baldwin for 30 years - told Hello magazine that there is only one true star.
"The true strength of the Street is that there isn't a star," he said. "The star of the show is The Rovers.
"People come and go, and the show still carries on."
Briggs was reunited with five other cast members for a shoot for the magazine, including William Roache (Ken Barlow), Bill Tarmey (Jack Duckworth), Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan), Betty Driver (Betty Williams) and Julie Goodyear (Bet Lynch). The six have clocked up an impressive 215 years on the ITV soap between them.
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More ravings from Kym Marsh
Kym Marsh has revealed that she would like her fiancé Jamie Lomas to appear in Coronation Street.
Last month, it was confirmed that Lomas would make a shock return to Hollyoaks - eighteen months after his character Warren Fox appeared to have been killed off. However Marsh told Hello magazine that Lomas could take on another bad guy role in the ITV serial.
"Being in Coronation Street has changed my life," she said. "I'd love Jamie to be in it too.
"He'd be a great Corrie baddie."
Dream On
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Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan has spoken of how she was bullied for a prolonged period of time as a teenager.
The actress, who plays shop worker Tina McIntyre on the ITV1 soap, told The Mirror that she regularly received abuse from a group of fellow youngsters while walking home from school each afternoon.
In an interview with the newspaper, Keegan explained: "I was only about 13 at the time so I was really scared. People are always braver in numbers and when they see someone on their own they tend to single them out.
"I had to change schools when my mum married my stepdad, so I had to go home on the bus to our new house and then walk for a bit alone. We didn't live far from the bus stop but I had to walk past groups of kids from the local school.
"There was no reason for them to pick on me other than the fact I was wearing a different school uniform and went to another school. It was ridiculous. They felt I didn't fit in. They would snigger every time I walked past and make nasty comments about what I was wearing."
Keegan - who is supporting the work of children's charity Beatbullying - added that her experience went on for two years before stopping when she confronted her tormentors.
She said: "I just snapped - I'd had enough. I stuck up for myself. From that day on they left me alone, they were stunned into silence and didn't say anything again."
The 23-year-old also called on the Government to do more to tackle the issue of bullying and encouraged victims to speak out rather than suffer in silence.
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ASTON MERRYGOLD has set his sights on newly single Corrie star MICHELLE KEEGAN.
The JLS lothario has been poring over last week's bikini pictures of Michelle, who plays gobby Rovers barmaid Tina McIntyre.
He got hold of her BlackBerry Messenger pin and is now plucking up courage, and the right words, to ask Michelle out.
A source said: "He thinks she's gorgeous.
"He got really excited when he found out she had split up with her boyfriend.
"He's trying to figure out the best way to ask her out."
Aston's not being coy about his affections, either.
He's been mentioning Michelle - who recently broke up with her model boyfriend BRADLEY HOWARD - in interviews.
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It's a textbook celebrity-pulling technique.
In a chat this week with Look magazine, he admitted with a glint in his eye: "I don't know if there is an ideal woman for me - then again, there's Michelle Keegan.
"She's gorgeous and now she's single again."
And which man would blame Aston?
Michelle's character Tina is easily the fittest girl in Weatherfield - since purple-rinsed Phyllis Pearce left the soap.
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Former Coronation Street star John Savident has revealed that he was inspired by quirks of real-life people when filming scenes as fan favourite Fred Elliott.
The actor explained that a neighbour from his childhood was among the people who influenced his performances as the Weatherfield butcher, who died on screen in October 2006.
Speaking on This Morning in an interview to mark Corrie's 50th anniversary, Savident said of Fred's mannerisms: "I based them on people I knew. We had a gentleman who lived down the road from us, and I don't think he liked children.
"Suddenly, the door would open and he'd say, 'I saw that, I say, I saw that!' or 'Get off them roses, I say, get off them roses!' Of course, we were nowhere near them! It used to mystify me, but of course later on it came in handy."
The 72-year-old also paid tribute to his former screen son Steven Arnold (Ashley Peacock), saying that working with him was "wonderful".
Discussing the twist which saw Fred revealed as Ashley's father and not his uncle as originally thought, he said: "The relationship between uncle and nephew was so strong. I could be totally wrong, but I have a feeling that it gave them the idea to make Ashley Fred's son. I was absolutely delighted. The relationship between the two was so much fun to do."
Savident played the role of Fred for 12 years.
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If it's done right, a soap theme tune can stick in your head for yonks (whether you want it to or not).
So if you're short of shower-humming material, try tuning into Radio 2 Salutes the Soaps on December 3.
A special concert celebrating all our favourite shows will be broadcast from the Mermaid Theatre in London.
Composer Tony Hatch, who is responsible for the themes for Neighbours, Crossroads and Emmerdale, will conduct a special segment devoted to his work.
The BBC Concert Orchestra will play themes from the likes of Corrie, EastEnders, Dynasty and Dallas.
And Wendi Peters, who played Weatherfield's Cilla Battersby-Brown, will show she can sing as well as act by performing a selection of songs of her choice. Richard Shelton, who played Dr Adam Forsythe in Emmerdale, will also flex his vocal muscles. Bonus!
Producer Bridget Apps told The Stage: "With it being a big year for Coronation Street, we thought this would be a good idea to jog a few memories of some old soaps and some current-day soaps."
You may want not to watch your fave soaps that night after all that lot...
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Former Coronation Street actors Bill Tarmey and John Thomson have both become involved in a special auction to raise money for the Cats Protection charity.
The pair - who played Weatherfield's Jack Duckworth and Jesse Chadwick respectively - donated their very own 'paw prints' to support the cause after being asked to draw around one of their hands, sign the picture and style it in their own unique way.
Tarmey and Thomson's prints will be put up for auction on eBay on December 1 and will remain open to bids from fans until December 11. Both images are already framed and ready to be hung up at home.
This is the fourth year that the Celebrity Paws campaign has taken place. 2009's project raised around £2,500 for Cats Protection, which helps over 215,000 cats and kittens annually.
Other celebrities who have donated paw prints this year include Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon, actor John Barrowman and stars from Gavin and Stacey.
Kate Bunting, PR Manager for Cats Protection, commented: "We are incredibly grateful to all our celebrity supporters who have been very creative with their works of art this year. Each drawing is totally unique and completely authentic so we hope bidders will be keen to bag a bargain while helping to raise money for the thousands of unwanted cats and kittens in our care."
Images of Tarmey and Thomson's prints appear below:
http://i1.cdnds.net/10/46/framed%20bill%20tarmey.jpg
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A member of staff received an electric shock while working on the set of Coronation Street, it has been revealed.
According to the Sunday Mirror, art director Leesa Mae was decorating the set with Christmas lights when the incident happened.
She was taken to a nearby hospital in Manchester after being flung from her ladder by the force of the shock.
She told the paper: "I'm shook up - the doctor said I was lucky."
Filming of the ITV1 soap was recently paused after a fault was noticed with the tram crash set.
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Coronation Street picked up two prizes at the Royal Television Society North West Awards on Saturday night.
The ITV soap was named 'Best Continuing Drama' at the Manchester event - beating off competition from Hollyoaks and Shameless - and also secured top honours by receiving the prestigious Judges' Award.
According to the Manchester Evening News, a short film celebrating the show's 50th anniversary was shown at the ceremony, before Corrie's creator Tony Warren and longest-serving actor Bill Roache came on stage to collect the Judges' prize.
As he received the gong, Warren said: "This means more to me than any award I've ever stood here with. It's not just because it's been 50 years, it's because it has the words 'North West' on it. I've always liked Manchester and Salford and I hope that's been shown throughout the years."
Meanwhile, Roache added: "It's wonderful on our 50th anniversary to receive this - it shows we're still up there."
Corrie missed out on a third triumph as cast member Helen Worth (Gail McIntyre) lost out to Shameless actor Ciaran Griffiths (Mickey Maguire) in the 'Best Performance In A Continuing Drama' category. Hollyoaks stars Glen Wallace (Malachy Fisher) and Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen) had also been nominated for the award.
