I'm surprised there's no sympathy for Michelle Collins' ordeal. It was a horrible experience, no matter what you think of her acting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
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I'm surprised there's no sympathy for Michelle Collins' ordeal. It was a horrible experience, no matter what you think of her acting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Perdita
Coronation Street has picked up the 'Best Soap/Continuing Drama' prize at the Broadcast Awards 2013.
The ITV show beat EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Casualty and Holby City to the title at tonight's (January 30) ceremony, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
It is the second consecutive year that Corrie has won the category, and comes just a week after the soap was named 'Best Serial' at the National Television Awards too.
Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Eva Price, took to her Twitter account to share her joy at winning the award and post pictures of her co-stars at the ceremony.
The Broadcast Awards are determined by a panel of judges to reward excellence in television each year.
The Chase, Educating Essex and Holy Flying Circus were among the other winners at this year's event, while BBC Two took home the coveted 'Channel of the Year' accolade.
Former Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson is engaged after proposing to his girlfriend of 12 years.
The Jim McDonald actor asked best friend and fellow actor Neil Morrissey to help with his proposal to Debbie Savage since she had already turned him down once.
She had previously insisted that the pair didn't need to get married, but Lawson said he knew she wouldn't refuse him a second time if the Men Behaving Badly star was present.
He told The Sun: "I know I'll be with Debbie for the rest of my life.
"When I met Debbie my life was a shambles. I had just left my second wife and barely had a penny. I couldn't survive without her now."
Savage said: "Neil burst into tears when I did. Then Charlie did. Then we ordered some good red wine."
Asked if Lawson is anything like Jim in real life, she joked: "If he was, I certainly wouldn't be marrying him. I'm so pleased I said yes - it finally just felt right."
The couple, who live in Prestbury, Cheshire, are arranging a summer wedding.
Jim McDonald, best known for his drama-filled marriage to Liz, was last seen in Corrie in 2011 holding up a bank.
Coronation Street has been rocked by a homophobia scandal after staff complained that hate-filled comments were made on the ITV1 show’s set.
Bosses on Britain’s most-watched soap have now pinned a memo to the wall of the iconic studios, ordering actors and crew that anti-gay slurs will not be tolerated.
The memo says: “We have just been made aware of *several recent instances of homophobic remarks being made on the studio floor.
“We are sure the vast majority of people working on Coronation Street find such behaviour unacceptable.
“But we’d like to make it absolutely clear that this is completely unacceptable. ITV has a bullying and harassment policy which clearly states that such behaviour may lead to disciplinary proceedings.”
The notice was placed in three locations around the soap’s Manchester studios following two complaints.
Gay Corrie actor Antony Cotton, 37, is believed to have been the subject of homophobic remarks. It is not known if he heard them, but no *complaint has been made.
A Corrie insider revealed that show executives *issued the warning because they feared an “unpleasant *culture” had started to develop.
Our insider said: “This is an extremely worrying development. Coronation Street prides itself on being a tolerant and accepting place. One of our most popular actors, Antony Cotton, is gay and so is our outgoing executive producer Phil Collinson. We have had a number of gay characters on The Cobbles.
“The fact people are making homophobic jokes on set is unacceptable. And what makes this even more worrying is it seems this was not an isolated incident.
“From what we know, a couple of *members of crew were deeply offended by the kind of language being used by some people on set.
“It is unclear whether it was crew or cast who were making the jokes, but it seems certain people were starting to make some really crude comments and that a nasty culture was developing.
“We took the view that we had to nip this in the bud before it got out of control. It was a big call putting these notices up as we were aware there was every chance it could leak out, but the situation was serious enough we had to take action.
“There is a duty of care to all our staff and none of them should be made to feel uncomfortable while they’re at work because of the behaviour of others.
“Cast and crew alike have been left in no doubt that anyone who continues to use homophobic language will be severely disciplined. People caught in future face the real possibility of getting sacked. We have taken decisive action and are hoping this is the end of it.”
The warning notice, dated February 4, was signed by senior producers Kieran *Roberts, Stuart Blackburn and Robbie Sandison.
The soap scooped a string of accolades at the National TV awards and millions of fans have been hooked by same-sex storylines involving Sean Tully, played by Antony Cotton, and Marcus Dent, played by Charlie Condou.
There was also a much-loved plot between Brooke Vincent’s character *Sophie Webster and actress Sacha Parkinson’s Sian Powers.
But despite the storylines being a hit with fans, the show, whose original writer Tony Warren was also homosexual, has been caught up in a gay row before, when some of its stars criticised the plots.
Soap legend Jean Alexander, who played Hilda Ogden, branded the number of gay characters “excessive”.
And Nick Cochrane – who was not on the show at the time but played Andy McDonald between 1989 and 1996 – added: “Fans love Corrie for its *traditional values. I don’t think it’s the right platform to highlight so many gay issues all at the same time.”
It forced Corrie boss Phil Collinson to give a series of interviews denying he had given the show a “gay agenda”.
Speaking at the time of the row, he said: “We have a very broad cast with *approximately 65 regulars.
“There are only two gay couples, just to set the record straight: Sean and *Marcus, who are a very loving couple, and Sophie and Sian, who are a young part of a *family who are loved, the Websters.
“There is no gay soapbox, we’re just telling stories about love. And the *audience want to see that, I believe.”
Last night a Coronation Street spokeswoman said: “ITV takes the feelings of all employees extremely seriously. It was felt that this message should be put up as a reminder to everybody.”
Sunday Mirror
Former Coronation Street star Sean Wilson has split from his wife of 16 years.
The actor, who played Martin Platt for 20 years, was left heartbroken when Gaynor walked out on him for an older man.
She has moved into a small bungalow with their two children, aged 14 and 12, just a mile away from the £500,000 family home
Gaynor, 49, has also given up jobs as a hairdresser and yoga teacher and is working on a knitting stall in a covered market in Stockport.
Sean, 47 – now an award-*winning cheese maker and on TV in Channel Five’s Great British Cookbook – told friends he was, “absolutely devastated”.
They said he cannot believe Gaynor has left him for a man in his fifties. A friend of the star said: “Sean and Gaynor were *together for years and as far as he was concerned everything was still going really well.
“They have two children and Sean was convinced they would end up spending the rest of their lives together.
“Then he found out about her new relationship, which was bad enough. But the fact this guy was older than him has further knocked his confidence.”
Sean joined Corrie in 1985 and was involved in a string of *explosive storylines, including his affair with Rebecca Hopkins (Jill Halfpenny) behind the back of wife Gail (Helen Worth).
He was axed in 2005 when writers admitted they had taken the character as far as they could. Sean played a few minor TV roles on shows including Waterloo Road before launching The Saddleworth Cheese Company.
He won three gongs at the 2009 British Cheese Awards.
But despite his success in the culinary world, friends say he lost some of his confidence when he lost his Corrie role, which may have contributed to the marriage breakdown.
The source said: “Sean is *naturally a very confident guy, but getting dropped from Corrie really got to him. He had a couple of roles after that but nowhere near the same level of success. It did affect him.
“But Gaynor hasn’t done very well out of it and is now working on a market and living in a small bungalow.
“Sean, on the other hand, is doing really well. He’s written a cookbook and he’s back on television where he belongs.
“It has been a tough time for him, but his life is very much on the up again.”
A spokeswoman for Sean confirmed the star’s separation saying: “I’ve spoken to Sean and,yes, his wife left him for anolder man.”
Bill Roache has reportedly split from his girlfriend Emma Jesson.
The 80-year-old Coronation Street actor is said to have ended his three-year relationship with the TV weathergirl, according to The Sun.
He is reported to have "drifted apart" from Jesson, who is 36 years his junior.
A source said: "Emma and Bill drifted apart towards the end of last year and have made the decision to split up.
"They remain good friends."
Roache began dating Jesson months after the death of his wife of 31 years, Sara Mottram, in 2009.
However, Jesson has since claimed that their relationship ended due to his spiritual beliefs. He is said to be a member of religious group the Pure Love Movement.
She said: "Our relationship in terms of love is definitely finished.
"Bill's spiritual beliefs became more of a priority last year. He wants that to be his path now and I accept that as he needs to be at peace with himself. We always knew 2012 would be a big year for him.
"Spiritually, it was an evolutionary year and really important to him. We're still very close and talk regularly, but we aren't together as a couple. We still have a relationship, but only as friends."
Coronation Street is reportedly preparing to begin shooting in 3D.
Producers of the ITV soap want the new set at MediaCity in Salford Quays to be "fit for purpose" and "future-proofed", according to the Sunday Express.
Part of this plan is said to involve the option of shooting special episodes in 3D for viewers watching with the appropriate equipment.
The show already shoots in HD and carried out 3D pilot tests two years ago alongside Emmerdale.
ITV insiders said that Coronation Street plans to make announcements about "minor changes" soon.
Corrie is thought to be the first regular drama looking at 3D options, as TV manufacturers develop new ways to watch 3D TV without glasses.
dev in 3d :) perhaps we could see inside one of bettys horsepots.Quote:
Originally Posted by alan45
Coronation Street is reportedly preparing to begin shooting in 3D.
Alan, I bet you can't wait to see your favourite pub landlady in 3D
[QUOTE=alan45;789000]Coronation Street is reportedly preparing to begin shooting in 3D.
Pity there isn't 4D, be good to see the back of one or two 'em