Coronation Street Part 6: Keep cobbling on!

What's the story with the hot guy slumming it with Sean? Did he kill his wife? Maybe Sean could be next? 🤞

r1 sadly not - we-ve been hoping for a homophobic murder featuring that foul scratty fuckung cunt for 25 years. Old people in the UK have a lot to fucking answer for

Carla's looking better since she had her hair did

r3 did she wash it?

How low can I go? Ask your wife Kenny boy -- she's so low she's bent half over. Ain't that right "Drearie"?

R5 It was Our Tracy! Oh Ken..

Put them in tiers, bitches…

I agree with most of his choices.

....

How do you edit it to add the pics?

This is mine, there were lots of faces I didn't recognise. I didn't recognise Hope in there but she's under "hate"

r6 Ken, DO something (and he just fucking dithered as always)

r11 I'd keep your top ones but move Tracy Barlow up a tier and then shove the rest to the bottom.

R13 I do love Our Tracy a lot of the time but the writing for her can be a bit uneven, and I don't like her paired with that sap Steve. She's great with Mary though, or bitching at Carla.

That little butterball Lily is going away to a football camp? It should be a farm for little fatties.

R15 ah yes! I don't do much blame the actress but I saw an episode where that little brat was hella annoying

All those little kids are fucking awful. Hope is unbearable and the girl playing Ruby seems retarded. Cute kid, though.

All Craig's fat has found a new home on Chesney and Paul.

Did Alya blow up real good?

R19 an explosion?

Yes, R20. A bomb was planted in her van. But she jumped out before it exploded. She’s OK.

Said no one ever except him.

The actor who played Jacob posted on Instagram that he's left Corrie for good. I'd assumed it was a temporary exit - it seemed a bit rushed.

Toyah and Imran are rumoured to be dating in real life. Lucky Georgia Taylor, if true!

Imran was so gorgeous! Imagine being spitroasted by him and Adam in that Solicitor's office!

R22 lol, as much as I dislike Izzy I do feel a bit bad being so hard on the actress in previous threads. Girl has got to make a living! Besides, she barely gets more than a scene here and there. Sean, Billy and Eileen are much worse.

Howdy Doody Billy sets my teeth on edge. And what happened to his backstory of being sort of responsible for killing Ken Barlow’s daughter Susan?

R26 it's another storyline conveniently forgotten after Peter got revenge on him. Who in hell would want someone as judgemental and messy as their Vicar?

I hope they make Amy bitchy for a while-and Aadi helps to mend her broken heart.

Yeah, Tyrone, get a pet for the miniature psychopath who's obsessed with her serial killer father. What could go wrong?

I see there's been a stabbing

Yes, Alya was stabbed a few weeks after the vehicle she was driving blew up.

Not a good month for Our Alya.

Say it ain't so!

We can only wish. But I doubt he’ll be dead.

R33 I agree, this storyline is stupid. Likely it will be that the guy is innocent but dumps Sean for doubting him. Not like Corrie can afford action shots on mountain tops anyway.

Imagine landing a role on a big soap then being asked to play opposite one of the worst actors on TV and miserable Eileen

Who will Stephen kill next? Maybe we can sent ITV some requests..

I genuinely think Stephen should go postal and kill a whole bunch of them with an illegally obtained weapon. And other dead wood characters like Izzy would just move away because it’s too painful to remain in Weatherfield.

Of course I wouldn’t show the massacre. We’d see a grim faced Stephen start to walk over to wherever he commits the crime. Screen fades to back. We pick up a month later and find out that he gunned down Sean, Hope, Gary, Kirk, Brian and Ed. And we find out Stephen finally turned the gun on himself.

Sean, Eileen, Billy

Oh yeah, forgot about Eileen and Billy. Yeah, them, too.

Why the fuck was Rita behaving like a stupid old biddy in last night’s episode? Shame on those writers.

^ Yeah, that was weird, R40

What was Rita doing last night, wearing her wig backwards?

I was watching the cheesy old BBC series Born and Bred from the early 2000s, and I was trying to work out where I recognised the hot artist from. Turns out it's none other than Corrie's very own Billy the vicar.

R43 I'm shocked he was once cute

He looked less like Howdy Doody back in them days.

Jesus, if tonight’s wasn’t proof that this show needs a massive cast cull and hard reboot then nothing would be. For fuck’s sake who the fuck thinks Sean is worth watching for more than 30 seconds an episode?

Also with Billy the vicar (teenage boy having an affair with his brother-in-law

I have a feeling they're going to pair Todd with Paul

Yawn re Todd and Paul.

Stephen is nuts, spiking Carla with LSD

Anyone watching?

I am but fast forwarding through 90% of it, only stopping for Evelyn, David, Gail/Audrey and Jenny/Daisy. Nothing else.

Not even Carla being drugged R51?

I stopped a bit to watch it, R52.

My god isn’t the American who plays Canadian Stephen giving one of the worst performances ever? I’m referring to the scene last night when Carla “demoted” him. Poor Tina O’Brian (Sarah Lou) looked embarrassed to be in that scene.

There's an upcoming storyline involving Amy that could be interesting. Don't want to post a spoiler, but if you Google it it's easy to find.

Guess the writers are being lazy and re-pairing Billy & Paul

Stephen is an idiot if he thinks getting Carla out of the way will mean he gets control of the factory, how much can he possibly make in a backstreet knicker factory (as Carla once referred to it!)?

What's up in Weatherfield?

Will Gail expose Stephen and he tries to kill her?

“My god. You’re (insert name of Canadian serial killer here) with a briefcase.”

"Mam, he's Robert Picton with a sewing machine!"

Isn't Carla still waiting to be cleared of causing the factory roof collapse? Ginger nuts is still free as a bird. For a while they were making him a villain but half-heartedly so.

And why would she be afraid of going to jail for knocking down podgy Paul? She would rightly claim she wasn't in her right mind and was not legally responsible. And porky turning down a £15k settlement so he can get more is another ridiculous plot point, he'd have torn Peter's hand off.

Maureen Lipman is such a wonderful actress. She's practically carrying this show.

There is no justice in Cerberus being killed off while Sean lives on.

Paul will be exiting.

He's got Motor Neurone Disease (MND), so it'll be curtains for him.

I hate this...Paul was a great character who was actually likable

That explains why he and Billy got back together so abruptly.

I quite like Paul, I would have axed a boatload of characters before him.

More screentime for Gemma. And it requires serious acting from her. Yikes.

At least the actress playing her mum is good. Did they ever resolve the story of her look alike getting her in trouble? They seem to have dropped that storyline. This show is a fucking mess.

Tonight's episode was brilliant - the best in ages. (I could have lived without the experimental editing, though.)

The extended opening dream sequence was genuinely awful. I agree with those who have written on other boards that although there was some good acting it just didn’t feel at all like Corrie. At least we got a break from the dumpster fire which is serial killer Stephen.

What a surprise twist about Ryan getting attacked instead, sharp writing.

I guess in addition to Gemma getting more screen time we're going to have to put up with more Billy as well!

I would totally be on board with Stephen's killing spree if Sean somehow uncovers his plot and becomes the third victim.

What's up in Weatherfield?

No hotties.

What's wrong with Sarah-Louise, shagging that bit of rough Tesco special sausage when she's got prime Aberdeen Angus steak at home, with a great slab of meat under his wee kilt?!

^ And she spent half of last year whinging at Adam because she suspected he MIGHT have an affair, R73! Such a hypocrite.

R74 she really doesn't deserve him, a many willing to put up with her and she won't even be faithful to him

Jesus, how much queenier can Max get? This new storyline with him and the new girl is ludicrous. I bet he and Gav did the nasty in juvie.

I did think he and Gav were flirting a bit at points, R76

I didn't think it was possible, but Summer might actually be becoming... likeable?

Daisy and Ryan? WTF he’s a worse actor than Sean … almost.

The previous Ryan was gorgeous, Sol Heras. This one isn't bad if you've had a couple of Newton & Ridley's.

I'd suck off Ken-Junior, Daniel, he can be sexy in a nerdy way..I might possibly let Sarah's bit of rough have a go if I was very drunk, he looks like he might be a raunchy shag.

The gap between his two front teeth is a turn off.

R82 he'd have me from behind

Nice scene with Paul’s mother and Shona.

Who are the hottest men on the cobbles?

Adam sitting in his undercrackers tonight. HOT.

Mmmm he's a big horny brute, I wonder how big his sausage is

How are the storylines?

They're actually improving, R88. Last year was pretty awful, but the show has been quite watchable recently (except for Stephen).

I like the Roy & Evelyn friendship, mainly because of the excellent acting

Here's the hottie who played Ryan previously. No idea why they didn't bring him back when Ryan was reintroduced instead of recasting the role, not that the current actor isn't very good

Lindsey Corkhill as Tyrone's druggie mum! Fantastic scene between her and Evelyn.

Claire Sweeney is a good actress but I'm surprised they had the original mum made into his adoptive mother, she just wasn't the type

I remember when Lindsey Corkhill became a gangster on Brookside

The all-time best line in Brookside was when Lindsey was accused of stealing the Spanish holiday money, and Bev McLaughlin said, "It was the girl from the chippy. She's gone from peeling potatoes to stealing pesetas."

Love Bev! Used to fancy the guy who played Mike Dixon!

Bev was frigging hilarious. And the actress Sarah White bore a very close facial resemblance to Celine Dion which added to my amusement.

Poor Adam starts having panic attacks. At least they've given him a storyline after squandering him for years

We call Adam big dick face in our house.

R99 I'm sure he's at least 8 inches and chubby

Are we getting any major shakeups soon? Claire Sweeney's fine and all, but I'm kinda bored. They need to wond it down with the Canuck ASAP.

I don't like Stephen at all either and don't care about Tim's mum enough to be bothered if he kills her.

Wasn't like when Richard Hillman tried to kill Emily or Audrey.

The only good but was the psychological torture of Carla because I actually care about that character and Alison King is a brilliant actress.

Agreed. We've seen the fill spectrum of Carla's vulnerability. She's best when she's leading from the front so I hope this comes back.

I'm not in the age group that would be invested in Paula Wilcox, but I get there is one.

Overall, I worry they're investing in archetypes via more recent joiners rather than mining the richness of the long-term characters, and there's some intimacy lost in that. Missing when Liz and Deirdre were around, for sure.

Completely agree R103. Glad they have picked up on Carla being Ryan's Aunt and showing her supporting him.

Elaine on this show is as mind-numbingl uninteresting as the one who plays Wendy on Emmerdale. Why the fuck were they made regular characters on contract? It makes no sense.

Michelle Connor is a seriously rubbish mum.

Toyah's only been a widow for about a year and now she's engaged again. Just don't get into a car with her, Spider.

I just want a spike to impale Stephen’s head, already. And for Adam to get a haircut.

Can't wait to see Audrey's reaction when Stephen is finally exposed. Why does EVERYBODY steal Audrey's money?

Can't wait for Stephen to be exposed full stop so we can finally move on from this lame storyline.

R107 it's hard to forgive her for killing the hottest guy on the street

R109 what's amazing is how she keeps building it up. I remember she bought Gail's house for her after Richard was exposed. And those Grandsons stole her money from Archie the undertaker

I have to say that I'm glad Fay left. She was a useless character, not a vilain but not sympathetic.

Agreed, but the downside of her leaving is it makes an Anna return more unlikely.

R114 why did you like Anna? I thought she was fine as a secondary character working with Roy and taking care of her family but never had any interest in her leading storylines or feud with Phelan.

I haven't watched in ages. Why's become of Kevin and Abbehh?

R116 I think they're still together. Last I remember of Abi she regretted sticking up for that mechanic lad who raped Amy Barlow.

They’re still together just pushed way to the back burner for the time being

The actor who plays Kevin is lucky to be set for life and still involved in good storylines as a supporting character, such as Seb's murder. Wasn't he going to be let go at one point?

R115, I think Anna could have really blossomed if she there were better circumstances given to her. She was a good, growing presence in Weatherfield and I was sorry to see the sensationalism of Phelan storyline kind of kill any hopes of a long tenure. She also had two husbands who were terrible co-stars and deserved to be offloaded, which I think took the wind out of her sails. It was justtoo much. I wonder what could have been if she had done better. Even with so many people connected to Anna gone, she's still got some deep connections with Roy, Carla, and Gary...and with the viewers because of her involvement in Hayley's death.

Kevin and Abbeh are still together. He just got back from a long stint off under the guise of his Dad passing away in Germany. It might have been because Michael Leveil was involved in a lawsuit against the tabloids and needed time away for that. Looks like Abby will be getting involved with Claire Sweeney's fellow addict character's storyline.

My god, Eileen looks a hell of a lot thinner now. And a nice haircut, too. Good for her.

R122 she'll be getting a new man between her thighs then, the old tart!

I think it's high time Eileen and Gail became the new Jack and Vera

Vera was actually an annoying old cow most of the time, but both were quality actors who could do comedy and drama

Omg Eileen is back with a fake tan and an Ellen DeGeneres haircut!

Is she looking sexy?

She's indexing towards Madge on Benidorm, and I say this with love. Our Deirdre was the same.

Deirdre was amazing, I'm afraid Eileen has never appealed to me as a character. She's just so rude and sarcastic, and I hate her facial tics.

Deirdre & Blanche were amazing together, I'd watch a week of them

The answer is A: Meryl Streep!

I wish that sexy Ali would return

My husband is convinced that the the guy who plays Spider is one of those fugly guys who has a huge cock. Was glad to see him go. Toyah's aging fast.

Feel gross but I find the guy who plays Tim guilty pleasure sexy.

WTF is wrong with the way Craig talks?

I adore Mary and wish they'd invest more in her again.

r132 Spider was hot when he was younger..nice lips and big eyes. I agree with you about Tim... and Gary Windass can rock the tight jeans

I like the friendship between Roy and Evelyn. The charm of the show is the mix of sweetness and steaminess... and also old broads making it with young hotties

R134 I like their friendship too, very well done

Fair play on Spider. I can see it working really well in its time, especially if he has that huge cock.

Rumour has it Spider has his Aunty Em in a freezer in Scotland and has been claiming her pension for 2 years!

Are we going to have to wait until Christmas to get Tim off the screen? He makes me miss sexy scottish villain Tony Gordon.

R138 hmmm

Ugh, not Tim, Stephen the milquetoast Canadian shitshow.

When Paul told Billy he didn't know what he would do without him, and Billy said, "You won't have to," I thought for a moment he was going to add, "Because you'll die first." Bit harsh.

I can't get over Daniel Brocklebank being anti-vaxx.

Was he also anti-vaxx for m-pox?

Just watched that clip after Gail found out Audrey tried to kill herself. Wonderful chemistry and writing

Adi's sleeping with a runner-up from that Over The Rainbow show where Andrew Lloyd Webber picked the next Dorothy. (she wasn't Dorothy).

I can't n't believe I'm old enough to remember him as one of Sunita's baby twins and now he's having sexy times! Hope this doesn't ruin his chances with Amy forever.

R145 I remember when Sunita threatened to abort the twins at 5 months or something (!) when she found out Dec was having an affair!

*Dev!

I wish they had stolen Sunset Beach’s turkey baster storyline for Mad Maya and Sunita.

R148 haha that was a good one. Who'd be Mrs Munrou?

Mad Maya vs. Sunita was quite possibly the pinnacle of televised entertainment.

I actually like Maya until she lost her mind over skeevy Dev of all people. Didn't she smash into a wall at high speed like 'peg-leg' Don Brennan?

And now we have Bernie.

But before that we had Dev and DEIRDRE. For a bit, anyway. What the fuck were they thinking?

Yes, Mad May’s car smashed into a pole and she blowed up real good. I miss her.

Oops, I meant Mad MAYA.

Mad May on EE also blowed up real good but in her house lighing up a ciggie near a gas stove.

I love how collectively horrified the entire UK was by Dev & Deirdre's liaison. It truly brought us all together. It was our 9/11.

We're three weeks behind in Canada. Just saw Stephen's Canada Day party, LOL!

Lol Maya didn't blow up? I remember being surprised she was still alive (and sectioned) as the same crash had killed Don years (I was a naive teenager!)

Deirdre and Dev made sense as a one time fuck. Deirdre had a crush on him and he was alone and horny. It happened on Christmas Day of all times and led to Ken overturning the dinner table in a rage!

Ken's always in a rage.

I remember Ken getting all self-righteous when he found out about Dev, saying, "How could you? I would never cheat on you!" FFS, those two were constantly cheating on each other! It was essentially a shared hobby.

R159 i don't think he said he'd never cheat on her, more like I thought we'd come to trust each other by now. Of course his affair with Martha years later made Dev poking Deirdre in the whiskers look like a minor blip in their marriage.

Interestingly I recently read that they were going to be reunited much earlier in the 90s but Anne had to leave the show for cancer treatment. In the interim they needed to find a storyline for Bill and came up with the relationship with Denise (and Daniel's conception). If things had gone to plan we might also have had no Samir and John Lyndsay!

I really like learning about scrapped storylines, sad as that sounds!

R160 - speaking of scrapped Deirdre-related storylines, I remember the papers reporting in the mid-00s that Deirdre was going to have a one-night-stand with a younger man. He would then start blackmailing her for thousands of pounds, threatening to tell Ken. In the end, there was a scene where Deirdre drunkenly kissed a young man in the Rovers, but that was it. It sounded like quite a dark storyline for that era, so I wonder if that's why they dropped it.

R161 wow I never heard of that storyline, it does sound dark! Blanche could have waded in and sorted him out..

Or Tracy would have whacked him over the head with an ornament.

Tonight’s episode featured a needless flashback and a SFX shot of Adam having one of his anxiety attacks. Bleccch.

Who's the father of our Sarah's baby?

What a slut that Sarah Lou is. Must be like throwing a banana down a hallway.

R166 you watch you mouth, you don't know what you're talking about! Why does everybody need to interfere with my family's business?!

Aldi and the man eater is pathetic

Adi FFS autocorrect

I agree about Aldi and the man eater. I can’t believe some idiots on UK message boards say she should be made a regular. She’s a bargain basement Rosie Webster at best.

Agree she’s a vile chav

As depicted in her very first scene when she was scarfing chips down her big gob. Disgusting.

I need Uncle Canada to be discovered. The writers are hoping we’ve forgotten how many he improbably murdered.

Those bitches on the writing staff need to deliver, R173. These people gave us some damned good television elsewhere and have done great things like bringing Maureen Lipman on, so I can't understand why they've shamed themselves with this festival of stupid. We better get a massive Christmas gift in the form of an [italic]extremely[/italic] satisfying end.

Um, can we talk about the Viktor & Rolf goes to Primark number Sarah Lou had on last week? I was worried that frill collar was going to put an eye out.

I wonder if Adam wears boxers or briefs..

THANK GOD that horrendous child actress who played Ruby has finally been replaced. They waited at least two years too long to do it but better late than never. Jesus, she was awful.

Maybe that means Ruby will be given some part of a storyline

Really tired of the Platts. Where did Gary and Maria go?

Also: Is the Paul dying storyline a long dignified play to get Todd and the Vicar back together for good? Was Paul a mistake of a character that they're trying to fix to save Todd's trajectory?

Todd really isn't that important to the show

He may nit be, but I could see him being important to some people on the production staff. They keep bringing him back.

I think they should brimg back original recipe Todd. I don’t think the actor should be banned forever based on his behavior.

R182 Apparently some of the female cast members (the ones who play Fiz, Eileen, Mary, Izzy) vetoed any chance of Bruno returning as they were afraid of his wandering hands..

Will something will be done about Nick Tilsley/Ben Price? He's been in this odd one-note, low-energy perma-worried state since David bashed his head head in eons ago. It's like watching paint dry. Emotional eunuch.

Adam's hair (and its various moods) is like another character in this show.

How could that silly tart Sarah not use a condom with her rough trade?

🍾 🍼 🎈 It's Damon's! 🎈🍼 🍾

Will it have a gap between its teeth, too?

Her mam Gail was also a tart who didn't know if Sarah's dad was my Brian or his cousin Ian, who she'd been cavorting with when my son was off working his cock to the bone to provide for his family!

Like mother, like daughter!

Catherine Tyldesley has gone viral due to #cakegate. She seems to be a real-life Daisy, expecting free shit for social media exposure.

She doesn't come across well in the video she released:

Why didn't she just ask our Leanne to make it for her?

Or Janice. I hear she needs the money.

Trouble in paradise? Ratings are in the shitter; the storylines aren't that great.

Good. The show (and cast) need a massive overhaul.

That article says many shows have dropped in ratings and more older people might be streaming the show instead?

I do agree they need to rethink some of their storylines, including ending Stephen. I think if he tried to kill Audrey, Gail or a character people care about then it might be more interesting. Who gives a shit about Elaine? (Sorry)

Richard Hillman worked so well because he went after or killed popular characters and it was all well acted and somewhat believable. Here there isn't that tension.

I also wonder how they'll write Peter out as Carla is staying?

Lucy Fallon is returning as Bethanny Platt so that’s good.

Bethanny is lovely and all, but I'm not sure Corrie needs more Platts at the moment unless there's some surprise Becky or summat.

Poor Lucy could have had a big career, she was really good and worked well within the family.

Maybe she will shag Adam's big Scottish cock?

Or Daniel’s?

R200 why not both? If I was really kinky I'd have had Ken too and complete my set of Barlow boys! (Simon doesn't count as he's unattractive)

Looks like Stephen tries to strangle Tim. Just gets more and more ridiculous

Am I missing something or would the most obvious way of getting money be to kill Audrey?

He can't even manage that, R203. It's that much of a shitshow.

Richard Hillman's first kill was simply leaving his business partner to die after her fell

His second was lashing out in anger under provocation from his ex-wife.

The real fun started when he tried to make Audrey lose her mind so that Gail could control her finances.

His bloodiest crime was trying to crowbar Emily Bishop for her house

NuRuby is a big girl.

NuRuby will hopefully get some stories so we don't always have to endure Hope

So glad they backed off the predictable Bad Seed crap with Hope and made her just an everyday prepubescent cunt.

Oh, really? Ruby got the solo in the summer Big Shotz music spectacular or whatever the fuck it’s called. Hope is just a back-up singer and is NOT thrilled about it.

Ruby? You in danger, girl.

Hope is the THIRD backup singer and she's spitting feathers, but they've said in pressers that they wanted to calm Hope down a bit so it'll be interesting to see where this goes. Show still needs a bit of a shakeup.

Does Stephen spend much time with Audrey or Gail?

Why does Billy wear such tight pants?

R212 I imagine for the same reason he rolls his short-sleeved shirts up... lol.

Digital Spy actually reported something on this subject a few years ago.

Brocklebank was exposed as anti-vaxx in Reddit. Lost all respect for him.

Omg Hope and Ruby did Shakespeare’s Sister and it was GOLDEN.

How's Adam's peen?

R214 Did he get vaxxed for M-Pox, though?

Eileen looks like a completely different person.

I wonder if Todd copped a feel or Paul's ass or bulge as he carried him up those stairs

Paul looks very tan for someone on the brink of death.

He's a good actor, I'll give him that. He even brings out some decent acting from Billy.

Chesney remains a block of wood.

While I like Gemma Ihave to admit that I have no idea why they kept Chesney. He grew into a character who elicits indifference.

The actor is probably well liked and serves as filler on the street but yeah he's never elicited any excitement since the time Rita clipped him around the ear when he stole sweets from The Kabin

Too much history with Chesney. They’ll never let him go.

R274 whilst he's been on the show a long time I would argue his contributions are in the same line as Sean or Izzy, who actually remembers more than a handful of (relatively) forgotten storylines despite being on the show so long?

Whereas some characters like Becky, Karen or Richard Hillman to name a few are still well remembered by fans today.

And Corrie has rather unceremoniously cut quite a few actors who've had many years on the show - Derek Wilton, Martin Platt, Curly Watts, Ivy Tilsley...

It's a tough balance. Some of the most memorable characters have dosage limitations, as dear old Julie Goodyear taught us when Bet came back.

R226 I think Bet could have made a successful comeback if they'd written a better storyline, worked on getting her back in The Rovers and Julie was able to meet the huge increase in workload. Her return just saw her camping out on Audrey's set and be bitter in an awful wig.

Bet would be tricky as she is iconic but also maybe a bit dated and camp, but hey, they kept Fred Elliott til the later 2000s.

Is it still Ken and Rita who have jobs for life or does Gail and Audrey too?

Gail and Audrey don’t have jobs. Gail’s last job was as a cleaner in David’s barbershop.

R229 Sorry I knew I shouldn't have been lazy and typed the actor's names instead of characters!

The actress playing Emily also had lifetime guarantee I believe?

Supposedly Julie Goodyear just couldn't cope with the modern-day schedule. In her day there was only about an hour of Corrie a week and the cast were able to rehearse and do poncey shit like that. Nowadays, it's turn up, run-through for blocking then film - and don't dare to need any retakes. If you can deliver what they need these days, it doesn't really matter to the producers if you're a weak actor.

I think Julie left in 1995 when they shot maybe 75 minutes per week. I would have thought they could have eased her back in by shooting around her, it wasn't like she was in scenes with lots of cast. And the return storyline was crap

I certainly wouldn't be entrusting the current staff with a major comeback.

After reading this last night I was sad to read Julie has been diagnosed with dementia. She really made that character iconic

I've been watching some old episodes from the 2000s and it was much better. Not too much filler and acting was still good too

Watching old episodes from the 90s and they are great. Nothing hugely interesting happens, less characters and scenes but a good blend of serious, comedic, and everyday life. Pity soap is a race to be the most OTT nowadays

The guy who plays Henry is adorable but I felt sorry for him having to play those scenes in last night’s episode. And will someone ever tell the little chav playing Gemma to close her fucking mouth after she says something?

I can't believe they're letting this show remain so terrible. I worry that ITV is too afraid or too deluded to shake this show up due to connections to Russell T. Davies and such.

Also, my suspicion is that [italic] Beautiful Thing[/italic] writer Johnathan Harvey is setting the tone here and is one of the main reasons things are a bit stale. It's hard for me to even type that without feeling disrespectful, so imagine how hard that may be for ITV.

I'm hoping Iain McLeod will leave soon. He's been producer for five years, maybe he'll want to move on. A new producer would shake things up.

I can only see them doing a two year time jump (like what Neighbours will be doing) to do the cast overhaul that is so desperately needed.

Who should go?

Haha, R241, Sean is definitely top of the list.

I’d also get rid of Craig, Simon, Izzy, Brian, Kirk, Beth, Ed, Michael, Nina, Ronnie, Stu and Summer. And, for fuck’s sake, Gary-justice for Rana!

Every time Edison Bailey makes his first appearance in an episode, my husband and I imitate his voice, bellowing OH, FOR THE MUSE OF FIRE!!!!!!

He should go.

Seems ITV is looking for an Executive Producer, Continuing Drama.

Have they named he person who's taking over Emmerdale from Jane Hudson yet?

Carla finds out Stephen drugged her with LSD next week

Can't wait to Audrey find out that yet ANOTHER family member has stolen from her.

Where does Audrey keep getting her money from?

She's an old lady and by British standards, attractive. She dates men who die and leave her money.

Well Alf left her the house and salon, Alma's money went on helping Gail. Archie's money was stolen by her thieving grandkids

and Stephen took out a reverse mortgage on the house.

R251 that's the same thing that fucker Alan Bradley did to our Rita!

Did Audrey get anything from her gay ex husband or was it just Gail? I think Gail used some of it to stay in Thailand for several months. With Jenny and Stephen pkanning to move there they better let Gail pipe in with some suggestions.

R253 Ted wasn't her ex-husband, he was a guy who 'date' Audrey to prove he wasn't gay. He didn't leave her anything.

The only inheritances I think Audrey had were Alf, Alma and Archie. Alf's life insurance was invalidated as he'd died just after it expired so she didn't really get any cash, just the house and salon.

Audrey's finances change depending on the plot. Same with Rita

Lewis maybe left her a pretty penny too

Well that's the end of Stephen! What did we think?

My first impression is how gorgeous Adam looks with his new haircut!

It was a decent week, considering how farcical the storyline has been. I got a kick out of the Platts being colour-coded as the Scooby Gang. Sean was an odd distraction during the final confrontation.

I'm so glad Adam has cut his hair.

Can't understand why Stephen didn't check Tim was dead before locking him in the boot of the taxi.

I know, we could certainly have done without bloody Sean. Glad Audrey and Gail were more involved, that's really what this storyline lacked and what made the Richard Hillman storyline so compelling - connection to a core family and characters we care about being murdered. Who have a shit about Rufus or Teddy? It was a shame the hottie rugby player got bumped off but that's about it.

The Phelan story I couldn't like either as they linked him up with annoying Eileen.

I thought Friday’s episode was a hideoysly bad clusterfuck after Monday/Wednesday’s wacky but entertaining episodes. I’ve always liked the actress playing Sally but she was extremely weak. I think she was aware of how bad the scripts were and decided to phone in her performance.

Why did Stephen mutter 'Tim' as he died when he believed he was already dead, it's not like he thought he could be saved.

At least with Richard he killed off already established characters

Gail and Audrey have such great chemistry

R262 - in real life, Helen Worth sends Sue Nicholls a Mothers Day card every year.

Audrey did some good acting as the grieving mother

She did.

When will they get rid of that fucking awful chav Lauren?

So Peter is going to lose it because he killed Stephen? Didn't he almost kill Billy and indirectly kill Tina? What's one more?

Ryan really is a glutton for punishment. Daisy has been nothing but trouble for him and he's still hankering after her.

Why did Audrey have her heart set on having Shuttleworth's do Stephen's funeral? There are loads of areas of the UK that your son didn't terrorise, Audrey. Pick a funeral director from one of those!

Pay attention, R267. It’s because George’s dad arranged the funeral of her serial killer son-in-law Richard Hillman’s funeral, haha.

Archie Shuttleworth was one of Audrey's few allies when Richard made everyone think she was losing her mind back in 2002. He and she also had a good friendship though I think he may have wanted to give her a poke in the whiskers, which she refused.

He also left her the best part of £100k in his will, even though I don't think they'd seen each other for years. It was a useful plot device to give Audrey money for Nick & David to steal.

Amy and Aldi make a sweet couple.

Enjoyed the scenes with the Platts tonight.

Daisy's love life is such a trainwreck. She just needs to cut her losses and realise neither Daniel nor Ryan are right for her.

I agree-nice scenes with the Platts.

Daisy seemed to have a bit of nice chemistry with Nick in their brief scene together. Hmmm.

The show is terrible at the moment. They need to bring back Jason and Janice. They also need to get some straight female energy on the show and drop all the 12-steppish stuff. They should be embarrassed at the Christmas storylines.

R273 Janice was a shrill bore. I was watching old episodes and she really wasn't such a great character.

I'd love to see Karen or Becky back but both actresses have gone on to bigger things. Same for Raquel

Janice could revive zombified Leanne and wooden Nick, and there could be some interesting things they could do with their nerd chil. Most strong female character returns won't happen because of the Julie Goodyear lesson, but I agree with you about Becky.

In watching old episodes I've come to appreciate how great Goodyear was as Bet. I had misremembered her as a camp caricature but she was deadly funny along with being great at dramatic stuff and believable as a welcoming but tough landlady.

She and Alec made a great team. This show used to be so good.

They could have come up with a better exit for old Peter

They're not coming up with much good these days.

Yeah like stealing Carla's money. I'm sure she would have given Jenny a loan of she got back all that money

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Emmerdale has more hotties

R281 Hollyoaks too.

I haven't been watching Corrie in ages, does it still have gay storylines?

Not really, R283. Illy and Paul’s relationship has been totally neutered with Paul MND diagnosis. And NuTodd is hardly ever on screen anymore.

NuTodd needs a cock up his ass. He's been through enough having to live with Eileen and Sean.

Todd used to be an intellectual who was destined for Oxbridge. Shame they don't have him progress with his career and even study as a mature student.

The actor playing Chesney really hasn't improved in 20 years.

R284 Thanks. I'd like to watch but I prefer gay storylines. Hollyoaks has some good stuff coming up, so I'll probably just watch that.

Apparently Todd starts a little something with Paul's carer

R288 When? How do you know? Is this a spoiler?

R289 it's in next week's preview at no.13 and was also teased as an upcoming 2024 plot

God, that was a bland Christmas Day episode. Corrie really need to up their game.

It's all Dr. Who alums, Russell T. Davies cronies, and long-tenured "family" on the production staff. It's entrenched and I don't see.chanfe coming for a good while.

I haven’t watched it since Raquel left. Whenever I catch it while channel hopping, I am disappointed at how extreme it has become to get ratings. It used to be relatable. Not now. I might watch it again if they bumped off Anthony Cotton’s character. He is a thermonuclear cunt in real life, by all accounts.

Cotton is an absolute cunt. The former Virgin train first class crew used to tell me tales of Cotton’s heinous behaviour on board and how they all used to laugh at him.

Cotton is one of the first ones that needs to go if the budget cuts are true. What a waste of space.

R290 Thank you! Might just start to watch again then. 2024 should be good, with gay storylines on both Hollyoaks and Corrie.

First time in several decades the Christmas episode wasn't in the overnight top ten. Not good.

Better link.

R297 Both Hollyoaks and Corrie are struggling. I'm reading people saying Corrie is the worst of the soaps, actually Corrie and Hollyoaks are mostly in people's "worst" category. It's a shame because both have gay storylines, though so do Emmerdale and Eastenders I guess. Though I have to give major side eye to Eastenders for showing lesbians in bed together, something they never did with Ben and Callum.

Nicky on Emmerdale is the hottest soap gay

R300 I agree, but I'm still annoyed at what happened to Ally.

R301 what happened?

R302 They just shipped him off. There was no closure. It was stupid. I preferred Nicky with Ally, so I stopped watching when that happened.

I wonder if Nicky is Vers

Well that was a sad exit for Peter, but we'll actress and filmed.

*well acted

I know someone who works on Hollyoaks and he said it’s common knowledge there that Channel 4 will swing the axe on it and it will go off the air in either September or December. And it will not be revived in any online format, either.

R307 they should go like Brookside, moved to late nights where the hotties can get their kit off

We all know how that ended, R308.

Back to Corrie: What an underwhelming sendoff for Peter. I literally fell asleep.

That must have been a weird Christmas for Carla, having dinner with three man she's shagged. Only Ken & Steve are the odd-ones-out.

I still can't get over the actor who plays Daniel and the gay vicar having a relationship that ended a couple years ago. Gay vicar is also an anti-vaxx freak.

R309 yeah it maybe needed a little more work to have it work but I do like how it was filmed

Good point, r312. I think the problem is that there's a lot of great technical execution happening, but it's just not all adding up to be a compelling show that forwards the legacy.

R311 I don't like old grey-beard at all, plus he's an unbelievable vicar

I worry they're going to pair him with Todd and make them a cornerstone couple. It seems the insiders really love him.

Brocklebank has landed himself a hot policeman

They should have written off Peter by having him banging Toyah, finally getting her pregnant and the two of them leaving Weatherfield together. Toyah could then return in a year with the kid.

Maybe this Christmas ratings fiasco will finally light a fire under ITV’s ass and they’ll start axing cast members who should have been gone a long time ago like Sean, Stu and Chesney.

Why has the actress playing Fizz been gone for so long? Does anybody know?

Simon's leaving, so that's a start.

Yes that would have been good and mopey Toyah would have a kid.

The show is fucking dire that retarded builder and family need to go.

Fiz is on maternity leave in real life.

Fiz is on maternity leave every other year, her fanny must be well worn by this stage.

Totally agree about culling Sean, Stu, Chesney. Izzy is as safe as houses now she won an MBE for her charity work

The Mum in the builder's family has been gone for nearly a year with no explanation. I hope she's ok. There's something going on that she must want to keep private.

I hope the poor ratings don't prompt Corrie to go overboard next year. Remember that random shooting spree at the Xmas fair, with Shona getting shot in the arm or tit or something.

I wouldn't be surprised if that Bobby was going through Carla's underthings while she was out. He looks the type

Paul's new carer is smoking hot. 🔥

Didn’t Shona actually get shot in the head? Which is why for a time she had total amnesia about being old misery guts Shona and became funsy Shona. I don’t think she ever regained her memory. Soap realism, heh heh.

Another tram crash, please. I've been watching old episodes (Annie Walker era) and even crude production values; there are some real stories, not the crap we get now.

I think it was great in the late 80s/early 90s when iconic characters were front and centre getting good storylines which were still believable. Very few dudes in the cast

Gail, Audrey, Alf, Alma, Mike, Jack, Vera, Bet, Alec, Mavis, Derek, Rita, Ken, Deidre, Liz, Jim, Betty, Raquel, Percy, Emily, Angie, Ivy, Reg, Maud

R307 NOOOO. This makes me sad. The show is getting good with the gay storylines. Hollyoaks is the best of all the soaps when it comes to gay representation.

Hollyoaks is right up there with serial killer representation as well! 💀🔪☣️

I think we've got gay representation in British soaps covered. This isn't the problem.

R330 But the conversion storyline with Carter and JP is so good right now. It's funny, emotional, heartfelt and yes: slightly ridiculous and over the top. It's just a great soap storyline. The innuendos in that one JP and Carter episode made me laugh so hard... Carter always being "behind" JP. Mentioning a creampie etc. Then JP cramping up on the couch and Carter stretching out his leg in a compromising position.

R331 creampie as an innuendo is gross, the writers are tasteless and will soon be unemployed

R332 Oh, ffs! Lighten up. It was just a joke. In the context it's funny. Carter is a pathetic closeted gay conversion therapist. JP said it to make him uncomfortable.

R332 I actually don't think he meant anything by it. He asked if he wanted a cream pie. He was literally holding a cream pie. It was just a funny inside joke for the gays watching.

R332 Why do you want Hollyoaks to fail? As I said: Hollyoaks is the best soap when it comes to gay representation. The gays are actually allowed to have sex, which is strictly forbidden on the other soaps. Gay representation is important. It's something which should be praised. As for the soap getting cancelled, maybe it will. I will still enjoy it for as long as it lasts. It has some good gay storylines right now, with JP and Carter, which I'm very much enjoying, and Lucas and DIllon, which is just starting. Sorry, I'll shut up now. I know this was off topic. There's a Hollyoaks thread for furhter discussions.

R335 I don't want it to fail at all, I just don't like how they seem to torture their gay characters. I don't watch it but think Oaks has had some great and brave plots over the years.

Ste continues to have the most punchable face on telly.

Back to Corrie-the fuggo who plays Simon has the second most punchable face. And why dud they never address the fact that he’s clearly mixed race but both of his parents were lily white?

Both Simon and Chesney were cute kids who grew fugly.

Simon is a slight bit better an actor than Chesney, who merely screws up his face

Christmas same day viewers.

I saw the upcoming storylines and have decided it's time to take a break after Paul goes. This show is in a bad patch.

Bringing Damon back isn’t the way to go. He’s a cardboard villain.

Yeah Damon is not an interesting character.

So, will Paul actually die, or will the writers come up with some last-minute miracle?

He will die yes, they can't not kill him off

I just hope they don't focus on Billy's grief. Does anyone actually like him as a character?

Billy will go back to being a ventriloquist’s dummy after Paul’s demise. Or even worse he and Sean will reunite,

I stop watching after Paul dies. Show is terrible right now.

I'm watching classic episodes from the 80s on YouTube. Someone has uploaded all episodes from each month in one video, with no breaks. They are a dozen times better than the current show, alas.

Tracy and Tommy Orpington? I can get behind that.

Steve needs a run for his money.

I wish Liz/Bev Callard would come back. Show is terrible right now.

They desperately need a new producer. The show is borderline unwatchable.

Why the cocky gimp showing up at Carla's? They barely use the disabled characters they already have.

Classic Corrie is playing the story where Todd discovers cock at baggy old Sarah Lou's expense. Such an innocent time...

Ah yes, the baby dies because daddy kissed Adam Rickets, r354. Meanwhile, in Canada, we just got to see Paul wet his pants on the floor.

This show used to be so good

We dropped Britbox over a year ago because of the decline in Corrie. They need to get away from all the crime and get back to storytelling.

I'll be switching off once Paul goes. It's dismal.

I dropped Britbox, too. Corrie is unwatchable. I can watch EE via my VPN. The ITVX app is terrible so not bothering to watch Corrie on it. I don’t want to see Paul die in slow motion, anyway.

Bet was such a great character. Camp at times, hilarious one-liners, strong at dramatic work and just a strong presence. A terrific pairing with Alec back in the golden years too

[quote] The ITVX app is terrible

Isn't though? It's crap.

I remember something like 10 years ago, I used to stream Emmerdale, and however ITV was doing things back then, it was such a breeze. I don't even want to go to ITVX. It's not worth the bother.

Broswer works a lot better, and it far easier than iPlayer to use with VPN.

Story-lines they need to explore

-Asha and Aadi fall in love with each other -Paul returns as a ghost and haunts Adam's shower -Cassie is revealed to be Abby's real mom -The quads go away for a month and return as 16 year olds

We call Adam "big dick face" in our house (no verificatia, though).

R364 I don't think you'd be far off the mark there

Fred Elliott is dead to me, I say, dead to me

Fred was a good character, but probably a relic of the past by today's standards

Leanne’s going into a cult to “save” Simon. At least the cult leader is hot.

Coronation Street has become an irrelevance because of its ratings driven quest for new sensational developments. It used to be character driven and well written and acted. It is now unbelievable. They need to go back to relatable situations and characters, and have a clear out of bad actors.

There are some on Twitter/X begging former Corrie writer Daran Little to replace the exec producer Ian McLeod but he’s only tweeted back ‘I’m happy at EastEnders.”

This Lauren mystery is a bit of an improvement, but not much of one.

Violet, who was Madonna in Corrie's takeoff of THE NEXT BEST THING, is back because her kiddo with World's Most Annoying Gay Man Sean is being charged for having a deadly weapon.

Poor Julie Goodyear's sad last days.

Happy 82nd birthday, Julie Goodyear!

"DON'T TALK SHITE!"

Sad news about Julie. She and Barbara Windsor were arguably the two queens of British soap, and they both ended up with dementia.

Tracy leaving for Spain with Tommy Orpington? At least she'll be way from that pillock Steve.

So I just rewatched Ken's suicide attempt from New Year's day 1991. Bet interrupts and talks him out of it. Julie was a bloody great actress! Really powerful and true to the characters. The whole show was great back then, with so many strong characters and well-paced storylines.

If anyone's interested, there is one video for every month of classic Corrie on YouTube, running back to back. Just type in month and year, then step back in time!

Bet Lynch was a terrific character, but Julie Goodyear is notoriously bad tempered and unpleasant in real life. Sorry to hear about her dementia.

There's been a barrage of complaints about the state of the show from longtime fans as well as current and former cast members. The production staff is having none of it, saying audience research shows people are happy with the show. I'd love to see that research.

Yea the show is on too much, too many weak characters, plot rehashes, bad acting.

Nothing like the golden era with Elsie . She was everything !

"Reports have revealed that Toyah Battersby's traumatic past will be revisited in the coming weeks, as viewers discover that she became pregnant after being raped by Phil Simmonds in 2001.

The new story is expected to reveal that Toyah's baby was stillborn and she buried the child in a park, leading to emotional scenes in the present day when she finds out the land is due to be dug up.

It's usually wise to see how a story plays out on screen before making a final judgement, but Corrie fans have certainly raised some valid questions about how this plot will fit in with established continuity."

Even her rape storyline was heavily criticised at the time because it was quite brutal and played like a whodunnit

^ Yeah, I remember the press accusing the storyline of trivialising rape by turning it into a game of Cluedo.

I was surprised that Toyah and Maria are being friendly recently. I thought they hated each other?

R384 the writers often lose track of who-hates-who! Carla has feuded with them been besties with most of her female peers on the street.

Classic Corrie is at 2005, and it's Suranne Jones chewing the scenery, the arrival of terrible Sean, with lovely Sunita and hilarious Janice as a buffer.

Oh sorry, late 2004. Suranne is leaving by Christmas.

2003-2004 was my favourite Corrie era (I started watching regularly around 1999). I'd really better start rewatching the classic episodes.

Carla made her debut as the bitchy, trophy-wife of Paul Connor in December 2006.

Never forget Carla's husband at the time of her 2006 debut was one of Leanne's customers during her whore days.

R390 he never actually fucked Leanne. Apparently he got sent random chicks from an escort agency without asking for a picture first. When he opened the door and saw Leanne he famously said "This is too sick, even for me!"

I actually didn't like Carla at first. I think it was partly because I found Alison King's attempt at a Mancunian accent so grating. The character overall seemed a bit too stereotypical and try-hard at first. But she really grew on me over time. I think she's one of the best characters introduced this century.

R392 I agree. She wasn't given much to do apart from argue with Paul and pal up with Leanne and Michelle until they killed off Paul and she took over the factory. I really liked her once she settled in and went after Liam while keeping Tony dangling.

I wonder if they always intended her to become a widow or if the Paul actor decided to leave. I don't think he was a very strong character compared with Carla

Christ, Tony Gordon was sexy.

^ Yes, he was hot. And the episodes where he held Carla and Hayley hostage in the factory (with Hugo from The Vicar of Dibley as his dim henchman) were brilliant. Ridiculous, but brilliant.

When is Paul taking his last breath?

At least three Corrie alumni in Mr Bates vs.the Post Office. Katherine Kelly (Becky). Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley), and Will Mellor (Harvey).

The very sexy Gray O’Brien (Tont). My god, that voice. I gather the actir has had medical problems in the past few years.

Georgia Taylor is a wonderful actress, but this stillbirth storyline is just strange. I watched Corrie religiously in the early 00s. I can't suspend disbelief far enough to accept that Toyah went through all that off-screen.

R399 same, it's a bit insulting to long term viewers. Why not have it a baby she gave birth to at some other point not connected to the rape?

Also, after a rape wouldn't emergency contraception be offered?

Great job by Georgia Tayllor but the retcon-ning and twisting logic into a pretzel (Les and Janice “didn’t notice”?) is quite unbearable.

Tense Patsy Palmer interview on GMTV that she cut short.

Oops that was for the Easties thread. Disregard

Wouldn't a rape victim be screened for sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy? Today's rape was reported right away so we're expected to believe the hospital and police etc didn't even offer follow-up?

Yeah, Toyah would have been offered emergency contraception, which is about 95% percent effective. Then she would have had had to have had no signs of pregnancy - not evening missed periods - for six months. (As rare as this is, my brother knows someone this happened to in real life - she gave birth in her bathroom.) Then you have to believe no one around her noticed how deeply traumatised she must have been for months afterwards. (They tried to explain this away with Janice being preoccupied with Dennis, but even Janice wasn't THAT rubbish a mother.)

So, basically, you have to believe a chain of very unlikely events occurred. And then on top of that, Toyah just so happened to be in that park (which she must not visit often, because she was clearly distressed at being asked to go there) at the moment someone tried to dig up her baby's grave. I know soaps require a lot of suspension of disbelief, but there's a limit.

Christ, Damon's been in prison for five minutes and Sarah's already zoning back in on Gary. Hardly surprising, though, given she's been pregnant by four different men.

since she was twelve. What a tramp.

Still love Carla. Poor Roy.

Adam ... yeah

R406 shut yet face Eileen!

Poor Ayla couldn't hide that pregnancy.

Gary Windass is aging well.

Is Paul dead yet?

Nope, and I wish antivaxx Billy would go with hi um.

There's something very strange about the way the writers have thrown in a long-lost brother of Paul's just as he's dying. You'd think the final stages of MND would be dramatic enough as they are without needing more plotlines. It all feels very rushed. Particularly the way they crammed so much into Monday's episode: Bernie telling Dev she has another son, followed by her thinking she'd found him and being told she hadn't, ending with the revelation that he is her son after all.

Fans on Twitter are dragging the writers/producers for filth with the stupid plot developments.

And Reddit

As well they should. Something drastic needs to be done with this fucking show.

That must be why ITV made Iain Macleod Executive Producer for Continuing Drama - so that he could now be over Emmerdale as well as Coronation Street. 🙄

They're obviously making a play for the crime procedurals audience, and taking the heart of the show down with it.

Elsie Tanner , Annie Walker and Betty Turpin are my patron saints .

R418 what am I cock? Chopped liver for a potluck hotpot?

So next week we see Carla finding out Peter maybe has a new woman. Obviously setting her up to feel she can take a new lover. A lesbian lover if rumours are true!

Carla, like many later-in-life lesbians in soap, has certainly had plenty of great/decent/questionable cock over the years.

R419 agreed -bad omission. Hilda with her butchering of big words also classic

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

I wish I hadn't seen people speculating on Twitter that Joel was involved! I would have been legit shocked otherwise.

Has anyone mentioned at any point in this storyline that Roy has been in prison before? He and Hayley went on the run with a street urchin about 300 years ago and they both got held on remand for kidnapping. I don't think I've heard it referenced once.

Was totally surprised. The duty solicitor bit was clever.

I'm glad Roy's out of prison, though. That was stressful.

mentioned a few times r422

Thank you, R422. I admit I haven't been watching Corrie too closely recently! It's been so blah.

Bless.old Roy for holding on to Hayley's photo when it was all.gpong down.

Roy did very well in prison. When Deirdre was banged up for 3 weeks she was near suicide. Gail seemed to settle in like a trooper. Wasn't watching when Sally was doing porridge.

Half of that fucking street has been in prison at some point. Roy, Gail, Tracy, Kevin, Sally, Steve, Maria, Fiz, Gary, Bernie, Yasmeen, Paul & Stu. Even Hope was in a mother-and-baby unit with Fiz.

Sets are expensive!

^ which is why there are an absurd number of people living in some of the houses on Corrie (there must be about eight in Gemma & Chesney's house!)

Gemma having quads was a stupid idea on Corrie's part

I think the Baileys made their attic into livable space. Makes me wonder if more of that will creep in for the other houses.

They just added those flats that look like they're on a council estate where Lauren lived and the police precinct.

Launch press.for new sets.

Why has Mama Bailey been AWOL for so long?

They wrote Aggie out in April saying she couldn't put up with Ed's gambling addiction and projecting his voice like he's playing Falstaff at the RSC at all times.

They've been tight-lipped about the actress's reasons, so I suspect it's a health problem that has to be kept confidential.

Buh bye. Simon. It was never explained why he was mixed race, right? I hope the recast in a year corrects that.

Let's hop they hire a better actor, too.

I thought Simon's late bio mother was black.

No, R439, she had dark hair but she was definitely white.

I wonder if Simon would be much better off with a nose job.

Simon's mother, Lucy:

I've read that Lorna Laidlaw (Aggie) is caring for her sick mother. Ronnie has also contracted Disappearing Bailey Syndrome.

Gail is leaving the street after 50 years; major storyline planned.

I can't believe our Gail is leaving after so long! Maybe she's sick of her once formidable character being turned into a daffy old woman used for comic relief?

Producers hate her, but this is yet another reason to bring Bev Callard back.

R446 why did they hate Bev? I know she complained about getting crap storylines

Gail's one of the longest-running TV characters of all time. I hope they give her a good send-off.

I just Googled, and Helen Worth is 73 - older than Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn were when they left. They were both still in their sixties. I thought the Duckworths were absolutely ancient at the time. Helen really doesn't seem that old.

I agree R448 maybe cause both had Heath conditions and played retired while Gail still has her kids around her, plus a fit mother Audrey and appears quite spry?

Yes, R449. I think it's also partly that Jack & Vera were written (and styled) as elderly in a way that Gail isn't - Jack with his pigeons, Vera with her twisties and chunky jewellery. Plus, Helen Worth has always looked quite young for her age.

Jack and Vera struggled to breathe in their later years and generally looked ancient. Gail is still rocking a tiny waist, dresses fairly well and doesn't come off as sone old Granny

Why the hell is Ed encouraging Dee Dee to marry a man she's had an on-off relationship with for less than a year? Great parental advice right there.

Bev was apparently a major pain in the ass and they had enough. Simple as that.

At least they didn’t turn Gail into a mean old bitch like EE did to Pauline Fowler. But that’s because the actress who played her really was a mean old bitch.

A mean old bitch who was quietly being treated for terminal cancer for years before she left.

[quote] At least they didn’t turn Gail into a mean old bitch like EE did to Pauline Fowler. But that’s because the actress who played her really was a mean old bitch.

I'm almost certain this is what happened with Sean Tully. Sean was quite kind-hearted when he first joined the show, but he became bitchy and self-absorbed after a couple of years. I legit think that working with Antony Cotton started to influence the way the writers portrayed Sean.

I hope they don't kill off Gail

I din’t think they will. They’ll probably just send her back to Thailand where she was apparently very happy a few years ago.

Speaking of Thailand Eileen found out her hot son in Bangkok (Jason) needed £500 for medical insurance. Just a few easy appearances on OnkyFans would have gotten him that modest sum and he wouldn’t even have had to present hole.

Bev Callard may be a pain in the ass, but is watching the show for the past two years.

Isn't Bev in debt to the taxman? As is (was) William Roache? Imagine working all those years then having to pay a fortune back in taxes

Bev's agent is author Melanie Blake, who has hinted that Ian Macleod's production team has been really shitty to older stars. Melanie's books are trashy fun, especially [italic]Ruthless Women[/italic].

I do like Liz when she's got good material. Watching old episodes she started out as very conservatively dressed, stay at home mum. It was years before they made her "tarty".

Rumour has it that Kate Ford is out due to endometriosis (bless her, it's so painful). I'd love it if her and Bev return together. There's some beloved Deirdre space Liz could take and get away with it.

Liz was cock crazy after she dumped Big Jim. I used to think her son Andy was unattractive but now I'm older I realize he wasn't half bad and would have been worth a good noshing!

I wouldn't be surprised if Beverley Callard returned at some point, given the number of times she's left and re-joined.

You know what would be a good twist? Lauren actually being dead. Since she disappeared, I've never doubted for a moment that she'll eventually turn up alive.

R465 I thought the flashback showed her being stabbed?

^ doesn't necessarily mean she's dead, though

She'll be walking around with sore tits

Ugh, the dreadful Summer is coming back from America with a new boyfriend.

Classic Corrie just turned the year to 2005, and Suranne Jones finally stopped chewing the scenery.

sigh! Woman gets engaged to a murderer... we've seen this a few times before

Aye, Jack and Vera were about ready for the knacker yard anyway.

We're getting towards the end for old Vera on Classic Corrie.

Hope current Corrie gets out of its slump for Gail's departure. The appearance of Deirdre's glasses has been the only high note lately.

Vera and Jack really were tired out by the end. I thought Jack's death was one of the best scenes on soap.

I wonder if Gail gets killed off? Or maybe married for the seventh time?

They're bringing back Martin Platt, and that's all we know.

Martin was a very dull character, Gail became much more interesting after they split

They're sending Gail off to Greece on a quest to find her chin.

R477, Aye, Ena. You got a dewdrop on the end of your nose.

Didn't you be opening yer gobby mouth, Martha Longhurst! Drink up yer milk stout!

Ena, you should be sayin' nowt about other people's looks, you ol' bulldog!

I thought they might shave Gail's head before she goes.

I hope David calls Gail “Mum” in her final scene.

Aw R402 you big softie ❤️

Remember when he called her mum on her birthday a few years ago?

On Classic Corrie, 2005 Brooke Vincent's Sophie is shattered because Sally unknowingly hoovered up her invisible imaginary friend, Ebony Rae.

I remember Corrie going off the boil around the mid. 2000s after having a few brilliant years with 13 year old Sarah having a baby, Killer Richard, Ken and Deidre reunited and Mad Maya, to name a few classic stories

R484 was she Australian?

R485, I'd say it went downhill around 2006. 2002-2004 was my favourite era: Richard Hillman, Todd's coming-out storyline, Mad Maya, Karen v Tracy...

Yeah 2006 the highlight was David going off the rails and forging greetings cards from Richard, making Gail need pills..

Told you Lauren was still alive!

Did she come to see Our Roy?

Caught up with Tuesday's episode. Great writing and acting, but it didn't really feel like Corrie.

Agreed. It was a bit surreal and I hope it hastens the end of the storyline.

Who gives a fuck about Lauren? I never did.

Really hope this storyline is winding up now that the Euros are over.

Is Rita still in The Kabin? They made her very doddery at Steve's party.

Gail confirmed to have a happy ending

She's retired from the cabin and that manky Brian Packham owns it now.

Dear Lord, is Rita still on the show? I wanna pull her flaming hair out by their black roots!

Bet, not buying The Rovers was her loss chuck. Must be worth four times what Newton & Ridley were looking for it back in your day, you saggy old slapper

I wonder who will drop dead first, Ken or Rita.

It just doesn't have the old magic. Even the stealing a statue and putting it in Tim's bed felt like old Corrie on paper but failed to make me laugh

Time for another tram crash.

Recast Les Battersby, bring back Janice, let the sparks fly. Bring back Liz or drop the unmoored Steve. Drop the true crime bullshit.

They need a return to big characters like Ena Sharples. Old women are very powerful. I was scared of her as a child, as well I should have been. In real life, Violet Carson was reputed to be a lovely woman.

Gail's getting a happy ending. I hope it's not with Martin.

R504 I thought that too, Gail is/was a much stronger character than Martin. I don't think she even needs a final romance to send her off happily

Will she get a new chin?

Gail gets a pixie cut.

R499, Rita doesn't die...no matter how hard you try.

The only good thing Martin did was save Rita from Alan smothering her

It's almost over for Paul.

I will cry

TRACY LUV!

I hope Joel murders Betsy, frames Carla and she’s arrested for it by her lover DI Swain.

That gal who plays Betsy os really good at serving cunt, though.

Also: can anyone else be the subject to blackmail? Jesus.

Martin Platt has arrived on set with the requisite press push.

Classic Corrie currently has the actress playing Beth as a family liaison officer for ginger Tommy's murder.

Paul finally croaks in tonight’s episode.

R517. I croaked 60 years ago! Where's me pipe?!