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Joanna Lumley has revealed that she would "love" to return to Coronation Street.
The actress had a brief stint in the ITV1 soap in 1973 as Elaine Perkins, who was pursued by Ken Barlow (William Roache).
Lumley hinted that she nearly returned for her character to have an affair with Ken, but was too busy at the time. Stephanie Beacham was eventually cast as Ken's mistress.
"I'd love to [return]," she told Holy Soap. "I nearly did a couple of years ago, but I was filming. They had to do the story they were going to do with someone coming in and stealing Ken Barlow's heart and them having a wild affair.
"I thought 'Make it me! Make it be the girl he once proposed to!', but I couldn't do it."
She added: "I loved doing that show. I was there at the time with all the great, great people - Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Annie Walker."
Rock band Status Quo have also stated their desire to return to the show, following their 2005 cameo.
Lumley recently announced that she will film new episodes of Absolutely Fabulous later this year.
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FORMER Corrie star Ian Mercer has been convicted of benefit fraud - just weeks after appearing in the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
The actor, 50, who played Gary Mallett in the soap, falsely claimed £2,300 for council tax.
He was shopped by a tip-off which revealed he was still claiming despite getting acting work.
Mercer said it was an oversight caused by the on-off nature of his job.
But he also failed to reveal selling a £200,000 house, magistrates in Bedlington, Northumberland, heard. Mercer claimed the benefit on a rented house in Pegswood.
The married dad of two - who has repaid the cash - said: "I'm in and out of work." He was fined £165.
Mercer plays a henchman in the Pirates film and went to its world premiere in California three weeks ago
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz1NWhB5M3C
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Brooke Vincent reportedly had to break up a row outside a Manchester club after a night out turned sour.
Coronation Street's Vincent, who plays Sophie Webster in the soap, was celebrating her 19th birthday with close friends including co-stars Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt) when the incident occurred.
The Mirror reports that at around 1.50am this morning Vincent had to break up a fight outside Sakura Bar, after they had previously dined at Rio Ferdinand's restaurant Rosso.
Sacha Parkinson, who plays Vincent's on-screen girlfriend Sian Powers was reportedly not in attendance. Parkinson announced that she was quitting Coronation Street last week.
Brooke Vincent had previously tweeted: "Thanks for all my birthday night out messages. No doubt I'll be very drunk later so I'm apologising in advance."
Vincent signed a new 12-month deal with the soap in May. She also revealed that she is "straight and single".
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JacquelineLeonard has revealed that she very nearly landed the role of Stella Price in Coronation Street.
The former EastEnders actress, who played Lorraine Wicks in the soap, and has since appeared in Doctors and River City, told Inside Soap that she was just pipped by Michelle Collins for the role.
She said: "I auditioned recently for the new part of Stella Price. I actually got down to the last few for the role, but as we now know, it went to Michelle Collins."
Leonard added that the role would have been perfect as she lives in Manchester with her husband Alex and their eight-year-old daughter Aleisha.
She added: "That part would have been great to do because the Street set is right on my doorstep - but that's life, isn't it?
"It's quite ironic really, what with Michelle being a southerner having to come up north to film her scenes!"
Leonard is returning to work after suffering a cracked pelvis in an ice-skating accident. She explained that she is reprising an old role, but declined to reveal more details.
She added: "I'm going back to film that for a few weeks, but after it's done, I'm not really sure what's coming up next."
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Coronation Street star Samia Smith has reportedly filed for divorce from her husband Matt.
The actress, who plays Maria Connor in the ITV1 soap, split from the property developer in January after five years of marriage.
She has cited his "unreasonable behaviour" as grounds for ending the marriage, the Sunday Mirror reports.
She has since begun dating her Coronation Street co-star Will Thorp (Chris Gray), while Matt has been spotted with model Hayley Goodhead.
Speaking in January of Samia's new relationship, Matt said: "They have to live with what they've done. She's my wife. I love her and we've got a child. I'm just trying to get on with my life."
The former couple have a 19-month-old daughter together named Freya.
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Jennie McAlpine has spoken of her desire to cameo in Benidorm as her Coronation Street character Fiz Stape.
The 27-year-old admitted to being a fan of the ITV comedy and suggested that the Costa del Sol would be the perfect place for her character to retreat after the discovery of husband John's (Graeme Hawley) murderous streak.
"I would jump at the chance of a cameo in Benidorm," she told The Sun's Buzz Magazine. "Maybe I could do it as Fiz?
"She could go on holiday to Spain with baby Hope to recover from the trauma with John. Or perhaps he's on the run and hiding out on the Costa del Sol. The possibilities are endless."
McAlpine recently said that she is glad to represent "ordinary looking" people in her role as Fiz on Coronation Street.
"I'm not perfect and I like that. I *probably look like most of the young girls who watch Corrie and I think that's important," she said.
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Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine has spoken of her pride after her dad was awarded an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
Thomas was given the award for his contribution to mental healthcare. He runs Mood Swings, a Manchester-based charity helping people recover from mood problems.
Jennie, who plays Fiz Stape in Coronation Street, wrote on Twitter: "Proud daughter this morning. My Dad has been honoured with the OBE for his contribution to Mental Health Services."
She has previously spoken of her own work with the charity, saying that she prefers it to acting.
"If I hadn't been an actress I'd have done something like this full-time," she said. "It's loads more satisfying than being in Corrie. I love playing Fiz, but I get more out of charity work. I go to the office on my days off and answer the helpline or make cups of tea."
The soap star recently confessed that she wants a cameo in Benidorm as Fiz.
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Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan has reportedly become engaged to The Wanted's Max George.
The boyband singer is said to have "wooed" the soap star with a £10,000 diamond engagement ring and a pet chihuahua while on the set of the ITV1 show, just before her 24th birthday last week.
The pair have been dating since December, when they were spotted together at a Manchester hotel.
"They might have only been dating a few months but they want to spend the rest of their lives together," a source told the News of the World. "They're committed and the wedding promises to be stunning."
The couple won't marry for a while though, as they are both busy with their respective careers.
Keegan recently admitted that she is "in love" with George.
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CORRIE'S ten-year-old star Ellie-Louise Leach is exhausted - after being kept on set for eight hours at a time.
She has been left bored and miserable by the schedule - which tops guidelines recommending two hours a day for child stars.
And Ellie, who plays troubled Faye Butler, told her followers on Twitter that she dreads being asked to stay late as show chiefs battle to get five episodes out a week.
Sleep
Her Twitter account is littered with posts to her 2,560 fans about her workload.
One reads: "Morning tweeps! On ma way to work. Hope I don't do over time, I'm so tired it's too bright!!"
Eight hours later Ellie wrote: "Finished work and so tired OMG feel like I could sleep for a million days."
When asked by one Corrie fan if she'd had a good day she replied: "No not really." In another Tweet, the child star, who joined the ITV1 show in January, wrote: "Been at work eight hours. Really tired."
And in a frustrated message sent from the studio, she moans: "At work, supposed to be finished in 15 minutes and not even gone on set once yet! Bored.com."
Ellie, who is the real-life cousin of Sophie Webster actress Brooke Vincent, even posted a picture of herself appearing completely worn out.
Her character has had some big storylines in the short time she has been in the soap.
Faye was adopted by the Windass family - who then split up over her.
And she was constantly in trouble for stealing and lying.
Faye also revealed teenage neighbour Katie's secret pregnancy - and her mum died of a heroin overdose.
But despite Ellie's apparent cries for help over her schedule, Corrie bosses insist they are doing nothing wrong.
Labour laws for child actors state children can work a maximum 12 hours a week during term time, including two hours on school days and Sundays.
They also specify a "maximum of five hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds".
Producers for the Weatherfield soap insist they negotiate Ellie's work hours with her Local Education Authority.
Legal
Coronation Street spokeswoman Janice Troup added: "ITV follows the legal guidelines in a scrupulous fashion.
"Ellie filmed on Bank Holiday Monday for two hours and six hours when on school holiday last Wednesday.
"She is also due to work this coming Monday which is the sum total of her filming during a period of two weeks.
"Coronation Street takes its obligations to child actors seriously and Ellie is well within the terms of her contract. She never works overtime."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz1P7uIFqEH
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Coronation Street bosses have insisted that the soap complies with child employment laws 'scrupulously' following reports surrounding the working hours of 10-year-old cast member Ellie-Louise Leach.
Leach, who plays troubled youngster Faye Butler on the show, sparked scrutiny over her schedule by admitting to feeling "so tired" in a series of Twitter posts, The Sun reports.
One tweet on her account reads: "Morning tweeps! On ma way to work. Hope I don't do over time, I'm so tired it's too bright!!"
Another says: "Been at work eight hours. Really tired."
However, in a statement, Coronation Street chiefs clarified that the "eight hours" of filming in question spanned two separate days.
A spokesperson commented: "ITV follows the legal guidelines in a scrupulous fashion. Ellie filmed on Bank Holiday Monday for two hours and six hours when on school holiday last Wednesday. She is also due to work this coming Monday which is the sum total of her filming during a period of two weeks.
"Coronation Street takes its obligations to child actors seriously and Ellie is well within the terms of her contract. She never works overtime."
Leach, who joined Coronation Street in January, is the real-life cousin of established cast member Brooke Vincent - better known as Sophie Webster on the show.
Writing on her own Twitter account this morning, Vincent insisted that her relative's online posts had been taken out of context.
Responding to the reports, she explained: "She is 10 years old stop making something out of nothing, yet again you only print the bits that you want when there was much more tweets involved. Not only was she on school holidays when she wrote this, but it was also 7.30am!!!! Get a frikkin life what 10-year-old is not going to be tired at this time!"
Faye was fostered by Anna and Eddie Windass a few months ago, but Anna is now her only guardian after Eddie decided to leave Weatherfield for a new job abroad.
