Coronation Street General News Thread

[Perdita]

Lisa Maxwell has revealed that she very nearly took the role of Stella Price on Coronation Street.

The Loose Women star was rumoured to have auditioned for the role back in April, before it was announced that Michelle Collins had won the part.

Maxwell told The People that the offer to appear behind the bar at the Rovers Return was too good to resist.

"I have turned down other things but the chance of being on Corrie was too good an opportunity to miss. When I first started acting my grandparents said to me, 'You know you've made it when you're landlady of the Rovers'. So I couldn't really not go for it! I had to do it for them.

"I had an audition and a screen test, I even filmed scenes behind the bar of the Rovers. The decision was made by several different people and I know some of them wanted me and some wanted Michelle Collins.

"It just wasn't meant to be me. Michelle is great and I'm really pleased for her after she got it. I wanted it but leaving my family would have been hard, I know."

However, the actress added that she was more than happy with her place on the Loose Women panel, as it suits her lifestyle.

"Loose Women really is perfect. I love it. Its great. If I'm feeling a bit low or fed up there's always someone there to make me feel better.

"I've turned down a lot of other TV roles because I wouldn't want to give it up. I went from working 14 hour days, six days a week on The Bill to this. It couldn't be better.

"It's live and we finish at 1.30pm so I can be home in time to pick up my daughter Beau from school without her noticing I've been gone. What other job could be that good?"

Lisa Maxwell and her Loose Women colleagues recently threatened a mutiny on the show after Kate Thornton and Zoe Tyler were axed.

[alan45]

Coronation Street star Chris Fountain passed out naked outside a holiday villa, according to his girlfriend.

The actor, who plays Tommy Duckworth in the soap, was found naked against a wall while other holidaymakers passed by.

Chris Fountain recently revealed that he is nothing like his alter ego Tommy Duckworth in real life.

Looks like he is very like his Alter ego to me

[Perdita]

Michelle Keegan has agreed a lucrative golden handcuffs deal with Coronation Street for another year.

ITV is finalising a deal with the actress, who plays barmaid Tina McIntyre in the soap, that will see her £90,000 salary increased to six figures.

A source at the soap told the Sunday Mirror: "Michelle is *over the moon. She was always *confident of being offered a new deal but actors' jobs are never secure.

"She says that life just can't get any better at the moment and so far this year has been the best of her life."

Keegan was rumoured to have been offered a £130,000-a-year deal by ITV earlier this year. The actress became engaged to The Wanted's Max George in June.

[alan45]

CORRIE'S Simon Gregson looks pretty in pink - after having his brown locks dyed.
Simon, 36, who plays Steve McDonald, was helping hairdresser Stephen Peel raise cash for The Christie cancer fund.

The crimper, 60, said: "I asked Ricky Hatton, the boxer. He said he'd donate boxing gloves but he wasn't having his hair dyed pink!

"I asked Simon and he said, 'Yeah why not?'."

Stephen, who runs the William Jon salon in Ashton under Lyne, Greater Manchester, washed the dye straight out of Simon's hair to avoid him turning up in the Rovers with a pink barnet.

[Perdita]

Coronation Street's Michelle Collins and Bill Roache have been announced as part of the lineup for two Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? soap star specials.

The pair, who play Weatherfield's Stella Price and Ken Barlow, will team up together in a live broadcast on August 20, while their co-star Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor) will appear with fiancé Jamie Lomas, better known as Hollyoaks' Warren Fox, the following evening.

Emmerdale's Mark Charnock and Dominic Brunt (Marlon Dingle and Paddy Kirk) will also play the game together, as will on-screen mother and son Lucy Pargeter and Danny Miller (Chas Dingle and Aaron Livesy).

Hollyoaks' McQueen duo Gemma Merna and Jennifer Metcalfe - Carmel and Mercedes in the Channel 4 show - are also taking part.

Each pair will be raising money for charity and a viewer at home.

Danny Miller said of the challenge: "I've grown up watching Chris Tarrant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? so getting into the hotseat is going to be very daunting."

Meanwhile, Mark Charnock said: "It's such an iconic show and I've always wanted to do it, but I can imagine Dominic and I will be clinging to each other, panicking, going red and sweating!"

Further soap star pairings are expected to be announced later this month.

[Perdita]

Filming on Coronation Street finished early yesterday due to the rioting in parts of Manchester.

The soap's staff were sent home to avoid getting caught up in the escalating violence and because police helicopters and sirens were causing too much disruption on set.

A Coronation Street spokesperson told WENN: "We did actually just close a couple of filming units a little bit early due to the disruption in Manchester."

Michael Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster in the soap, tweeted last night: "Just been sent home from work! Stay away from Manchester please!"

Brooke Vincent, who portrays Sophie Webster, tweeted: "As if everyone's been sent home from work!! This is stupid now! I can't believe that 10 mins down the road is getting destroyed yet nobody can do anything and stay inside!!! I feel so worthless, it's not cool."

Meanwhile, Antony Cotton, who stars in the soap as Sean Tully, added: "Devastated for my city and my fellow Mancunians. I LOVE Manchester - the GREATEST city in the world."

The rioting began in Tottenham over the weekend, before spilling over to Croydon, Clapham Junction, Peckham, Woolwich and other areas of London on Monday. Violence and looting have since been reported in Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Leicester, Manchester and Nottingham.

Journalists and cameramen from Sky News, ITN and the BBC were attacked on Monday evening when London erupted into mass looting and violence.

[alan45]

Coronation Street's Michelle Collins and Bill Roache have been announced as part of the lineup for two Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? soap star specials.

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Call me a cynic but this strikes me as yet another attempt by ITV to force us to like this woman in Corrie. They are pushing her to the front of most of the major storylines in Corrie as well as these promoting her at every opportunity. FFS the woman has only been on Corrie a few weeks

[alan45]

Here's some pictures of Sacha Parkinson (Sian Powers), Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) all planking at work on Coronation Street. Pics all tweeted by @SachaLParkinson








And here is one of Kate Ford Planking



and Michelle Collins

[Perdita]

Coronation Street bosses have announced that the soap will be supporting the Manchester Pride parade for the second consecutive year.

Cast, crew and producers at the show are currently working on an ITV float for the event, which is the highlight of a ten-day festival celebrating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender culture in the city.

Coronation Street won the 'Best Float' prize for its efforts in 2010, which marked the programme's 50th anniversary and contributed towards the parade's 'Through The Decades' theme.

The theme for this year's parade, which takes place on August 27, is 'Best of British'.

"For the second year running, Coronation Street and ITV are supporting Manchester Pride," a spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News. "It is a privilege to be the lead float in the parade again this year and it is a symbol of how we at ITV wholeheartedly and proudly support diversity not only in the workplace but everywhere."

Manchester Pride's festival director Jackie Crozier added: "The parade is one of the most 'Loud and Proud' and public parts of our festival so to have Coronation Street and ITV demonstrate such strong support as a part of this means a lot."


Brooke Vincent, who plays lesbian character Sophie Webster, is among the Coronation Street cast members supporting the project.

Vincent commented: "I had an absolute ball last year and think it's a great chance to come together in an awesome city like Manchester and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life.

"It's fantastic that Coronation Street is supporting Pride yet again and I'm very proud to be portraying a lesbian character on screen. Hopefully it will go some way towards making people realise there is nothing in any way wrong with being gay. You're born who you are!"

[alan45]

FAMILY Fortunes star Vernon Kay says he is fed up being asked to front new gameshows - and wants to move into ACTING.
The former T4 presenter, 37, says he has turned down countless offers to host other quizzes because he doesn't want to be pigeon-holed as a light entertainment frontman.

And he would like nothing better than to be in Coronation Street.

Vern declared: "I'd love to be a shop assistant in Dev's shop or a barman, or the cleaner in the pub."

The proud Boltonian - who also has a show on Radio 1 - even pulled out of ITV1's recent Saturday night show Sing If You Can.

Now Vernon says he wants to try new things like factual shows and acting.

He said: "I get offered loads of gameshows, but I host Family Fortunes - why would I want to do another one? Is there a gameshow out there that is better than ITV's Family Fortunes? I think not.

"I want to go out there and spread my wings. I just want to do more stuff that is not in the genre of light entertainment gameshows.

"I'd like to do stuff where I go out and meet people, talk about an issue, or something like that. Or maybe just be a captain on a panel show.

"I just want to put more stuff on my CV that isn't light entertainment.

"I love doing Family Fortunes and Radio 1, but there's nothing to say I can't go out and produce more or do a bit of acting. I would definitely be up for doing some acting, as long as the role was right.

"I did speak to a guy on Coronation Street a couple of years ago and he had this character lined up. Nothing came out of that, but I would be up for doing it now.

"Corrie has a real subtle undertone of comedy and that is what I have been brought up around."

He recently ended his exclusive deal with ITV so he could work on other channels - and potentially with his wife Tess Daly on Strictly Come Dancing when Bruce Forsyth retires. But he said he wouldn't want to step directly into Brucie's shoes - and would prefer Tess's job.

Vern said: "I would much prefer the backstage role on Strictly because Tess gets to ask questions off the top of her head and have a bit of banter.


"To me that is more satisfying than saying, 'here's what's next'."
The new series of Family Fortunes, which launches this weekend, will see episodes extended to an hour long - and it will again get the prime pre-X Factor slot.

It also means Vern will go head-to-head with Tess when Strictly returns next month.

Despite the mainstream image, he says he is proud of hosting such an iconic show - and All Star Family Fortunes on which Corrie actor Simon Gregson has appeared.

Vern recently fronted several shows in the US, including Dancing on Ice-style series Skating with the Stars, but says he has no major ambitions Stateside.


He said he wished fellow former T4 host Steve Jones well on the US X Factor - and wasn't jealous of him being on such a huge show.
Vern added: "I want to do a show that enables me to get the best out of myself.

"Often on the big shows, all you do is read an autocue. I like to do more than that."