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Sean Wilson in car smash
5 July 1997 by Briony Warden
Coronation Street star Sean Wilson walked unhurt from a road smash which destroyed his sports car, police said today. The actor, who plays the Street's "nice nurse" Martin Platt, was uninjured when his TVR convertible and a Ford Sierra were in collision in Failsworth, Manchester.

Wilson, who was married just two months ago, was enjoying a day off from filming the top Granada soap when the accident happened on Westminster Road at its junction with Roman Road on Monday evening. The Ford driver, 25-year-old Gary Lloyd, of nearby Ashton Road East, was treated for minor head injuries at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Sally Whittaker's My kind of day
From Radio Times 5-11 July 1997, by Nicki Household

It's pretty soapy in our house with me in Coronation Street and my husband, Tim Dynevor, writing for Emmerdale. We watch both series when they're on, but afterwards we try to talk about other things because we don't want to get soap-obsessed. When you're in the cast you know the storylines in advance, of course, so when I took three months off for the birth of my son, Sam, in March it was exciting to be able to watch the Street without knowing what was going to happen - especially when my screen husband Kevin started having an affair!

Away from work, my life begins and ends with the family. When we had only Phoebe who is now two, Tim and I managed the children between us, but organising your life around two kids is too difficult, so we've just employed a nanny, Alison, who is fantastic. On a normal morning, I get Phoebe up and dressed and give her her cornflakes before I leave for the studio at 9am, when Alison arrives to take over. But if I'm filming at the crack of dawn, she stays over and gets up with the children. I really love my job. When I was growing up in north Manchester, I always dreamt of being in Coronation Street and when I went to drama school in London, everyone said I would obviously be in it because I had a northern acent! After nearly 12 years, the series has become a way of life, and it suits me doubly well now that I've got children because I get whole blocks of time off when my character isn't doing anything.

At the moment, with Sally's big storyline, I'm working six days a week, but we only live half and hour's drive from Manchester so I'm often back in time to give Phoebe her tea. I'm still breastfeeding Sam night and morning and really enjoying it this time around - I'm more relaxed about it than I was with Phoebe, and miss it when I'm at work.

In the evenings, Tim and I open a bottle of wine, cook a vegetarian supper together and talk about our day. I'm not veggie, but I like to eat the same as Tim. He works better at night when everything's quiet, we go our seperate ways at 10pm - he to his study or write until four in the morning and me to bed with our scripts. But we keep the same hours at weekend which are devoted to the children. We go swimming, visit cafes with bouncy castles, go to fairs and teddy bears' picnics and for long walks in the grounds of Dunham Massey House. I often wonder what Phoebe thinks when people we don't know greet me like a long-lost friend, but she seems to take it in her stride. I think she thinks everyone's mum is on television.

We have no time for a social life, but we see a lot of both our families. Sometimes I do a meal, but I'm not a brilliant cook and my favourite kind of evening (which we had on my father in law's birthday recently) is an Indian takeaway.

I'm happier now than ever in my whole life. Our two children have made Tim's and my life complete and we're always saying how licky and happy we are. I'm also very excited that Tim's writing is going well - besides Emmerdale, he has a sitcom, Slap, in production with Channel 4. It's wonderful that my job keeps me here in Manchester, so he can go off and do things when he needs to. If I had to go away to work, like most other actresses, our family life would be impossible.

Baldwin teed-off with women golfers
10 July 1997 by Maurice Weaver
WOMEN golfers were outraged yesterday after a television soap actor described them as a bunch of bossy "cockroaches".

Johnny Briggs, who plays wheel-dealer Mike Baldwin in Granada's Coronation Street, said that the presence of women on the fairways and in the clubhouse was "an abomination". In an article in Shires Golfer, a Midlands-based magazine, Briggs, who plays off a 16 handicap, said: "I find women in golf clubs and on the course can be treacherous. They take liberties, don't know the rules, often have no idea of etiquette, take forever to mark their cards and sometimes seem to take over everything like cockroaches. They are a pain." The actor, who lives at Wordsley, West Midlands, and is a member at the nearby Stourbridge Golf Club, said that he was reluctant to get involved in club politics because of the "wife domination" of committees. Women, he added, were "an abomination on the golf course and shouldn't be allowed except in women-only clubs". A small number of clubs had "seen the dangers and keep women in their place". Others, such as Northenden Golf Club in Manchester, where he plays when filming at the Granada studios, were "now in danger of being overrun by them".

The first response, a verbal equivalent of a No. 1 wood, came from a spokesman for the Women's Professional Golf Association. She said: "This is an ignorant caveman speaking." Kate Jenkins, chairman of the ladies' section at Halesowen Golf Club, west of Birmingham, was wielding her driver close behind. "Cockroaches! I'd like a drop of DDT to put Mr Briggs down. All I can say is that we have had no complaints about women's conduct at our club. Perhaps we should be grateful he's not a member."

The actor's outburst left many of the golf world's traditional mouthpieces mute with indignation. A spokesman for the Ladies' Golf Union at St Andrews gasped that it would be "quite inappropriate" to react at all.

Brooke Ward, chairman of Stourbridge Golf Club, issued a hurried statement distancing himself and all around him from his outspoken member's views. It said that Mr Briggs's comments "in no way reflect the opinion of the gentlemen of the club". Norman Fletcher, assistant executive director of the Professional Golfers' Association, thought it most unfortunate when golf was seeking to attract young women. Invited to comment on Mr Briggs's views, he pondered for a moment. "Hmm. I want to choose my words carefully here," he said. "Yes, you can say I think this description of women is, um, a little unfair."

Sylvia Painting, 73, a former club captain of the Halesowen Club, dismissed Mr Briggs's view as "a load of utter rubbish". Women, she said, were no more trouble on and off the course than men. "I say, bring this man Briggs down here - let's have a look at him." Freda Davis (handicap 28) said she thought that the actor must have run out of fan letters and needed a fillip for his ego. "Let's face it, he's just proving he's as bad as his character in The Street," she said. "That Mike Baldwin always got on my nerves. He never does anything except open his mouth." Netta Neale (handicap 24) suspected he had a chip on his shoulder because "he's not very popular with the ladies". As for calling people cockroaches, she thought that "disgusting". Joan Thorne (handicap 30) pointed out that women members did a lot for club life. She said: "Who else does the flower arranging? Who does the sandwiches for open days and charitable events? We make the tea and sit on the committee and still find time to play." Pat Parish (handicap 33) dismissed it all with a wave of the arm. "He's living in the past, poor chap. We pay our fees with the men, so we play like the men. This is the 1990s, you know. He's living in the past . . ."

The Nation Waits For It - Sally's Revenge
10 July 1997

Corrie Boses are looking forward to another big audience for tomorrow's episode - when the the Street's slapper finally gets a slap.

Erring Kevin Webster's sleeping partner, Natalie, gets her come-uppance when his wronged wife, Sally, returns from Scarborough to the family home. Street insiders say that the scene, in which the home-wrecking Natalie - played by Denise Welch - is sent sprawling by a furious Sally, is destined to become one of the Coronation Street classics.

"Viewers have been waiting for months to see Sally get her revenge," says one insider, "and the sparks really fly tomorrow night."

Granada insiders are delighted at the way the eternal love triangle has hooked viewers, despite criticism about the sexy storyline from cast member Bill Waddington, who plays Percy Sugden.

Early figures show that on Monday night (when the increasingly pathetic Kevin, played by Micheal Le Vell, was told where to go by Sally, played by Sally Whittaker), the Street captured 70 per cent of the viewing public.

That's a sizeable increase on its normal 15-16M audience per episode.

A Street spokesman tells me: "Our share is always around 65%, but these sort of figures are phoenomenal. The story has really captured the public's imagination. It has got legs at least until Christmas - there's a lot more to come."

The Battersby battle has begun !
10 July 1997 by Collette Walsh

If you thought Tracey Barlow was as bad as it could get when it comes to tearaway teenagers on Coronation Street, then think again. Leanne and Toyah Battersby, played by Jane Danson and Georgia Taylor, only moved in a week ago and already they've sent tongues wagging at the Rovers. Tipped as the street's answer to the Spice Girls, (or should it be the Strife Girls?), the Battersby sisters are soon to become as notorious as Betty's hotpot.

"Now that the Battersbys have moved in, Coronation Street is going to be a much louder and rowdier place," assures Jane, 18, from north Manchester, who plays Ginger Spice look-alike, Leanne. "If you thought the Duckworths were common, or the Ogdens were rough, then just wait and see what the Battersbys get up to. They're a right bunch of yobs!" she laughs. Along with her co-star Georgia, 17, from Wigan, who plays her wild-child sister Toyah, Jane originally auditioned for the part of runaway Zoe. Neither of them got the part, but they were told they'd be considered for two other, top secret, roles.

"When I found out what it was, and that I'd got the part of Toyah, it really was a dream come true," says thrilled Georgia. "I've never acted professionally before, so you can imagine how daunting it was for me at first. But, now I'm getting used to it. It's definitely easier to come on the show as a family than a single character. The other week Matthew Marsden, who plays mechanic Chris Collins, took us both out for lunch. Can you imagine it? Sitting around in a restaurant with the Street's hunk?" she laughs.

Jane, who made her television debut at 11 playing an eight-year-old murder victim alongside Robert Lindsay in the hard-hitting drama GBH, attended Oldham's Theatre Workshop, like many of the soap's other stars. Since then, she's appeared in several ITV productions, including The Bill, and more recently The Grand. But, she says, acting on Coronation Street is another world. "We've both got such great parts, we feel very lucky The great thing is that we're acting alongside such talented actors. We've only been on the set six weeks and already we've learned so much. Everyone is so professional and friendly it's great," says Jane.

The soap's tight schedule has been something the girls have had to get used to very quickly Working five or six days a week and learning new lines every night, has, says Jane, made them very disciplined, but has helped them settle into their roles. Over the next few episedes the Battersby sisters will manage to upset, offend and in some cases, terrorise, just about every resident on the Street. The shop-lifting, alcopop-drinking, chain-smoking, and mouthy duo are, she says, determined to cause as much trouble as they can.

"They really are outrageous," says Jane, who, when she's not acting on the show likes nothing more than going out for a quiet meal with her friends or shopping for designer clothes, unlike her character Leanne, who prides herself on her cut-price Spice Girl get-up. "I couldn't be more different to Leanne," she laughs. "She's a real Mark One shopper She thinks she looks good, but I'm afraid she's one of those girls who never quite gets it right. Just look at her hair for a start!" Jane's naturally brunette locks were bleached and dyed a dodgey shade of orange to get the cheap `n' nasty look the producers wanted. It was, laughs Jane, quite an experience, but a necessary one, in order to give the Leanne character a truly tacky image. Combined with a permanent love-bite on her neck, and badly applied make-up, she's pure trash, says Jane, a mite embarrassed. Off screen she's more inclined to wear studious looking glasses and her long hair combed neatly.

Toyah, adds Georgia, is a bit of a Baby Spice wannabe, but without the angelic looks and sweet smile. Thieving and yelling abuse down the street is more her thing, she says. "Off screen, I'm glad to say I'm nothing like Toyah She's a real nightmare. Like Leanne, she has no dress sense. She's wears her hair in stupid bunches and as far as Toyah's concerned, the shorter the skirt the better

On screen we're like two peas in a pod," she adds, "there's only two years between us. Off screen we get on really well, too, so it helps things come together. We basically draw from one another and try to make it as wild as we can. There's already a bond between us." Both girls are aware that starring in Britain's longest running soap will mean a lot of changes in their life, both practically and financially too. And, although it's early days, both are aware of the pressures fame can bring. "We only appeared on Corrie last week and already we've been stopped in the street. It was really weird," says Georgia, a keen pianist.

"But it's something we've got to get used to. Part of you is really chuffed to be recognised but you re also conscious of giving out a good impression. There's no way we could behave like our characters". Obviously we're not going to go crazy adds Jane. But for any young person the prospect of earning a good wage is really exciting. Just the other day I was able to treat myself to a really nice suit from an expensive shop. I'd never have been able to do that before. Luckily we get a lot of support from our families and of course everyone at the Street is on hand to advise us and guide us. They know exactly what we re experiencing.

Both are delighted with the way their careers are going, say Jane and Georgia, because they know that acting is not always a career that brings fame and fortune, and that roles like the Battersby sisters are few and far between. "I think now after the great time we're having on the Street, it would be hard to go back to normal life, so to speak not because we're too big for it, it's just that acting in Coronation Street is another life. That's why we're determined to make the best of it while we can. We're so lucky" says Georgia. `As far as my friends are concerned, I'm still me," adds Jane. "I like doing things like listening to music and going out to the pub just like them. I don't think I'm anyone special. It's important to keep your feet on the ground, and that's what we intend to do."

Vera Goes to Vegas - the Movie
14 July 1997 by Don Frame

At last... the lid is being lifted on Jack and Vera'santics when they hit the bright lights of Vegas. TV viewers saw the Duckworths return to the Rovers, suitcases in hand, and weighted down with souvenirs after their holiday of a lifetime earlier this year. Now a special, feature-length video will give Corornation Street fans and insight into what went on after the pair jet off.

Granada say it will be punchier and more adventurous than anything previosly captured on video. To add extra zest, it will include sexy crimpers Fiona and Maxine who, unknown to Jack and Vera, also signed up for one of Alec Gilroy's dodgy holiday deals. At one point they will be seen heading off down the Las Vegas strip in an open toppped limo, Thelma and Louise-style.

The video, which is being shot in the gambling city, is set for release in time for Christmas. But Granada have promised there will be no repeat of the Raquel and Curly honeymoon video fiasco, which landed them in court and angered thousands of viewers. Half a million soap fans rushed out to buy the "secret" feature-length special filmed on board the QE2 as Christmas presents two years ago, only to find it being shown on TV three months later. Granada say the Las Vegas special will have a two-year exclusive video window and will not be seen on television, including satellite, before November 1999.

Carolyn Reynolds, controller of drama serials at Granada TV and co-executive producer of the video, said "It's going to be punchier, bolder and more adventurous than anything we have done on video before. There are some classic Jack-and-Vera moments." The Street stars are due to be on location in September.

Rovers landlady Vera - actress Liz Dawn - said: "I'm acstatic about about recording the video in Las Vegas as I've always wanted to go." And she revealed: "I'm looking forward to the prospect of prospecting in the gambling capital of the world and hopefully, I'll get a chance to play the slot machines. This could be my lucky trip."

Street sex shockers !
15 July 1997

CORONATION Street is set for more sex and will become as steamy as a Hollywood mini-series in the next few weeks as the ratings battle hots up. Veteran actor Bill Waddington quit his Percy Sugden role complaining of the show's nookie count.

But SEXY SHOCK No1 will see down-trodden Sally Webster heading for her first fling since cheating hubby Kevin dumped her for randy Natalie Horrocks. By September Sally will be seen having heart-to-heart chats with handsome Chris Collins, Kev's mechanic side kick. She's jealous that he is sleeping with fashion designer Angie Freeman. But yesterday an insider predicted: "It's odds on plain housewife Sally ends up in bed with him."

SEXY SHOCK No2 sees hairdresser Fiona Middleton become pregnant - and agonising over just who is the father. And Fiona has a one-off fling with Jim McDonald before she decides to wed her cop fiance Alan McKenna. Jim has had a "snip" vasectomy op. But he winds Fiona up, saying the op hadn't worked - before finally admitting the cruel bluff.

Percy stays
19 July 1997

CORONATION Street's resident grump Percy Sugden is to stay with the show, it was revealed last night.

Actor Bill Waddington, 81, was set to quit in September over his fury at the soap's sexier storylines. But he changed his mind after hammering out a deal with Granada bosses that gives him more free time to spend with wife Sheila, 62.

Bill was deluged with letters from fans begging him not to leave the Street. And yesterday he announced Percy will be staying on in Weatherfield to moan about all the bed-hopping. "I've had loads of letters from all over the world from people who wanted me to stay on," he said. "I've been surprised by people's response and very touched by their good wishes. "I'm staying with Coronation Street and now I've got the best of both worlds. "It's partial retirement if you like. It will give me a chance to have some home life with Sheila. At my age, I feel I am entitled to it. "But Percy's presence will be felt in Weatherfield for a long time to come. "I've got to stay on to make sure those Battersbys stay in line."

Bill's real home life is a world away from the cramped two up, two down house that Percy shares with Emily Bishop. The actor has turned a 17th-century barn into a dream home high on the Pennine moors near Sheffield where he lives with Sheila. The couple tend their extensive grounds and Bill breeds horses. Of his new life, he says: "I'm a very lucky man. At a time of life when lots of people are being pushed into rest homes, I have a lovely wife and a fabulous new house. "Now all I want is the time to enjoy them both."

Bill married Sheila two years ago after the tragic death of his third wife Lilian from cancer in 1980. Their sweeping hillside home, which has taken 18 months to modernise, is triple-glazed to seal out the strong winter winds and has glorious views over surrounding farmland.

Tracy in new health fears
21 July 1997
WAFER-THIN Street star Tracy Shaw launched a new Corrie video yesterday - and immediately sparked fresh fears about her health. Onlookers speculated that she was losing her desperate battle against the slimmers' disease anorexia. One Street source said: "We are worried about her. "She's always been slim, but there's nothing to her now."

Tracy, 23, hid her painfully lean figure under a floppy shirt and baggy trousers as she promoted the video Jack and Vera in Las Vegas. But not even loose clothing could hide the fact that her weight has plunged yet again. Tracy, who plays man-eating crimper Maxine, first admitted she suffered from anorexia after she was stopped for shoplifting last year. At the time she said: "It's very much an image thing. "It's like another voice in your head telling you not to eat."

Pals told how she would starve herself for weeks at a time and in 1993 she spent six weeks in hospital after her weight plummeted to just 6st. She was even let off part of a driving ban for speeding because she said she needed her car for counselling to help her beat the illness. Tracy fought back and won the 1996 Rear of the Year Award. Friends said this "crowned" her recovery but yesterday's appearance told a different story.

The new video, due out in November, will show the antics of Jack and Vera, alias Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn, when they swap dreary Weatherfield for glitzy Vegas. And Maxine and Fiona, played by Angela Griffin, will be having a ball with them.

You're Killing a British Institution
10 August 1997

Coronation Street's most respected star Jean Alexander last night broke her 10-year silence over the show to ask controversial new producer Brian Park: "Why are you destroying it?"

Jean, 70, who played Hilda Ogden for 24 years before leaving 10 years ago, said: "I always thought Coronation Street would go on forever - a great British Institution - but now I have my doubts." "It's becoming more depressing than EastEnders, with more sex and violence than Emmerdale. It's just continuing doom and gloom."

Since leaving the show Jean has always refused to criticise it. Now her comments - aimed directly at Park - are bound to rekindle the national row over the changing face of Coronation Street. From her home in Southport she said: "I'm not a prude, but there's so much sex it's boring. "People, even those with the strongest sex drives, do get up to other things. "I used to be a big Street fan. I hardly missed an episode until recently. But now I rarely watch it because it has become so miserable.

"People come up to me every day asking, 'What are they doing to the Street? We don't like it any more' - and I agree with them. "They say all the happiness has been drained out of it. The fun and laughter has gone. "Some of the fans are elderly, and have been watching the Street since the first episode 37 years ago. "But many are young people - teenagers. And even they tell me they are no longer watching the Street. No-one had a good word to say about it.

"Granada TV was good to me. Playing Hilda all those years was the best acting job I've ever had...best paid too. "I'm not ungrateful, and I'm not bashing the Street just for the sake of it. I care for it too much. I'm speaking out as the voice of its fans, the millions who also love it but, like me, are worried at the way it is going."

Softly-spoken Jean added: " I was told that Brian Park said he planned to roughen it up to boost its ratings, but less and less people are watching it now. "And parents must be worried with the increase in sex and violence. "It's time Mr Park listened to viewers. "There's little humour or laughs, because they are not in the scripts. "They have two great comedy characters in Roy Barraclough (Alec Gilroy) and John Savident (Fred Elliot), but they get few chances to show what they can do. "Peter Baldwin and Thelma Barlow were a wonderfully funny couple, but they've killed off Derek and now Mavis is about to leave. "Even all the humour has been taken out of scenes between Mavis and Rita - and Barbara is being given less and less to do. Now the Street's only stable couple, the Websters, have jumped on the sexual roundabout, and are screaming at one another. "The producers don't seem to want happy families any more - only a family from hell, the recent arrivals who are like thieving magpies, pinching anything from anyone. What a wonderful example they are to family viewers!"

Jean added: "Soaps have to change. Everything changes. Life is so different from the 60s.or even when I left 10 years ago. "But there was always a lot of fun, love and happiness in the Street. That's why it's been a favourite for so long - but for how much longer? "It has the best writers, actors and production crews, but it is the producer who decides the story-lines and has the ultimate responsibility for for what we see."

Jean has been asked several times to make a comeback to the Street - even just for a few weeks. But she said: "Hilda is living a new life now, retired with a little nest-egg after working as a housekeeper to the doctor somewhere in Cheshire. "She's not going back because she wouldn't fit in there any more. "She would feel threatened by all the violence and disgusted with all the hanky-panky."

Since joining the show in January, Park has got rid of six main stars. They are: cabbie Don Brennan (Geoff Hinsliff), salesman Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin), supermarket manager Anne Malone (Eve Steele), brainbox Andy McDonald (Nick Cochrane), shop owner Maureen Holdsworth (Sherrie Hewson) and handyman Bill Webster (Peter Armitage). Thelma Barlow, who plays Mavis Riley, is also leaving.

Controversial storylines under Park include:

THE split between the loving Websters - with mechanic Kevin having a sizzling fling with maneater Natalie Horrocks.
THE introduction of the neighbours from Hell, the Battersbys.
CABBIE Don Brennan plunging into an icy dock after becoming a serious sex pest
Derek Wilton being killed off with a heart attack following a road rage incident.

Throw in several sexy romps - the most bizarre being middle- aged Jim McDonald's seduction of his son's ex-girlfriend, young hairdresser Fiona Middleton - and you can definitely say that 1997 was The Year of Change for Coronation Street.

It's all so different from the yesteryear. For instance, do you remember?

Len Fairclough's first date with Elsie Tanner at the Orinoco Club in 1963.
THE goods train ploughing through the viaduct in 1967 - miraculously no-one was hurt.
Wide-boy Mike Baldwin opening a shirt and jeans business in 1976.
Ernie Bishop dying after being shot in a wages snatch in 1978.
The famous love tangle between Mike Baldwin, and Ken and Deirdre Barlow in 1983.
Hilda Ogden accepting Dr Lowther's offer to become his housekeeper in the country in 1987.
Steph Barnes leaving bookie Des and running off with her lover Simon in 1991.
Nanny Carmel's obsession with nurse Martin Platt in 1993.
And, in 1995 after 25 years in the Street, Rovers landlady Bet Gilroy bowing out to head for a life in the sun.

But Park hasn't just confined his changes to the actors and their storylines. He has now brought in an Australian, Wayne Henry, as assistant producer to give the show an even fresher look. An insider said : "The old producer Sue Pritchard and her assistant Kay Patrick have long gone now. "It's as if the old school has finally gone with Brian Park bringing in his own dynamic team. "The word around the studios is that Wayne is trying to ensure that the storylines become even more appealing to the younger audience. Talk is that there is pressure from the advertisers to attract the younger set to watch the show. "And that's certainly the feeling amongst the production crew".

Meanwhile, the Sunday Mirror can reveal that Brian Park is revelling in the storm his changes have created. A highly-placed source said : "Brian is basically a man who loves to be hated and by being that way he feels he has done his job at Granada. "He has no problem with any criticism that comes his way. His feeling is that any publicity - good or bad - is good for Coronation Street. "He is boastful of the fact that people in pubs, clubs, shops, at work or wherever, are all talking about the new-look Coronation Street. "His attitude is that if people are talking about the sexy storylines or the neighbours from hell, then he's done his job - and done it well."

Happy exit for Street's Maureen and Bill
17 August 1997

Coronation Street's Maureen Holdsworth is to run off with handyman Bill Webster as the soap's axeman Brian Park pulls off another surprise...a happy ending! Street executives fear producer Park might be guilty of a major error by killing off too many old favourites when they make their final exit. Dopey Derek Wilton collapsed with a heart attack, while Joyce Smedley was mown down by a car.

But Maureen and Bill will vanish into the sunset - still breathing - to start a new life together. Sherrie Hewson and Peter Armitage, who play Maureen and Bill, got their marching orders in the last round of sackings. Viewers will see Maureen grow closer to old flame Bill as he provides a shoulder to cry on as she gets over the shocking attack on her mum Maud.

A Street insider said: "There have been enough sticky endings in the Street and it was felt Maureen and Bill deserved some happiness. Pairing them off was an ideal way of writing them out - while leaving the door open for a return in the future."

Street's Nicky is chopped
20 August 1997

THE teenage actor who plays sulky Nicky Tilsley in Coronation Street has been axed after spending his life in the popular TV soap. Warren Jackson, 16, who earns £60,000 a year, is to be replaced by a new actor who will be involved in some steamy storylines. Warren has played tearaway Nicky since he was two weeks old but was written out last year so he could concentrate on studying for his GCSEs.

Cast members are said to be shell-shocked at the news, having only just recovered from massive change earlier this year when five stars were given the chop. Last year Warren's character disappeared following a series of rows with his family including stepdad Martin Platt, grandad Don Brennan and granny Audrey Roberts. A Street insider said: "Warren is realistic and knew the part wasn't a job for life."

Bryan's Miracle
24 August 1997

CORONATION Street star Bryan Mosely revealed last night how a miracle has given him a new lease of life, after suffering serious heart problems for years. The actor, who has just made a pilgrimage to the holy shrine at Lourdes, said: "Something special happened to me there. It's nothing short of a miracle. I feel blessed. "It has nothing to do with medicine. I found a peace at Lourdes among the hundreds of sick and handicapped people."

Bryan - the Street's Alf Roberts for 28 years - went on: "It has changed my life completely. I felt desperately ill on the journey, while I was there and even on the way back. "Then, after a good night's sleep I woke next morning feeling really well, better than I've been for years." Roman Catholic Bryan, speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mirror, added: "My faith is stronger. My health has rapidly improved, so much so that, God willing, I hope to be back in Coronation Street."

Bryan, 65, has been out of the soap for seven months following his second major heart attack in five years. His wife Norma and their six children have begged him to retire for the sake of his health, and rumours have swept Granada TV's Street set in Manchester that his character was to get the chop.

The gossips got it wrong. Last week Street producer Brian Park, known on the set as The Axeman after a series of sackings, visited the star's West Yorkshire home to ask him to return. Fans should see him reunited with screen wife Audrey, played by Sue Roberts, in October. Bryan said of Park: "He has been kind and considerate. I've been paid all the time I've been off sick. "I told him that I hope to be fit and well to do the job but if I feel I'm not up to it I'll quit. "Granada looks after its Street stars well. It doesn't make good sense to grind actors into the ground."

Bryan admitted he was having doubts about a comeback when he set off with Norma for a holiday in the South of France, taking in Lourdes. So the couple could relax, a male friend drove their car on the 3,300-mile round trip. "Norma suggested we go to Lourdes," said Bryan. "She thought it would help me feel better and come to terms with whatever the future might hold for us. "I wasn't too keen to travel because I'd just had an operation to widen my arteries. Norma said I must go while I was ill. I'm glad she convinced me. "She's been a treasure, looking after me for so long. Street fans sent me loads of get well cards and letters and prayed for me. Lourdes has given me a greater peace of mind."

He added: "Lourdes is not just for Catholics. I saw people from every race and religion, united in their faith. It was wonderful." Bryan has been enjoying the sun on his patio. "I just sit there with my straw hat on, a glass of beer and a newspaper, thinking it's good to be alive," he said. "But I can't wait to get back into the Street, back with my missus Audrey. "Norma doesn't nag me at home so it will make a nice change to get back to the ear-bashing. "I get a buzz from being nagged by Audrey and fighting back, even though she always has the last word."

Battersbys' Bad Boy To Move Into Street
25 August 1997

Coronation Street fans who think family from hell the Battersbys are bad should wait and see their jailbird son, bosses have said. The 19-year-old thief and thug, as yet unnamed, will raise hell for the reeling citizens of Coronation Street when he arrives in the New Year, producer Brian Park said. It shows that he plans no let-up for the disruption that has hit the Street's well-loved characters since the four-strong Battersbys arrived.

Bloodbath as Street madman escapes from hospital to hunt down arch-enemy Baldwin...
28 September 1997

The last time he took Alma for a drive she'll never forget as they hurtled into an icy dock. This time he's determined to make a lasting impression on Mike Baldwin with a chair leg. Yes, Coronation Street cabbie Don Brennan is back and this time he's really mad.

Geoff Hinsliff, who plays Don was one of the first casualties of the street's axeman - new producer Brian Park. But even dumped stars can be dusted down and given a new lease of life if they can pull in the ratings. And Park is convinced he's on another winner as demented Don escapes from his minders and decides to look up a few old friends in Weatherfield. "Don is totally deranged and there is no doubt that he is out to kill Mike Baldwin" said one of the show's executives. "It will be totally gripping TV that is guaranteed to get the nation talking."

Fifteen million viewers watched the hour-long special back in April when Don kidnapped Baldwin's wife Alma, played by Amanda Barrie, and almost killed her by driving into the murky waters of Weatherfield quays. Don was sent to a mental hospital - but in a new twist he is diagnosed as suffering from cancer of the pancreas and is admitted to Weatherfield General Hospital. He is a dying man, but before he breathes his last breath he wants to gain the ultimate revenge on Baldwin - the man he blames for all his bad luck.

Don escapes from under the nose of a guard who is supposed to be watching over him at the hospital. And he has one thought on his mind...how to kill Baldwin, played by Johnnny Briggs. "Everybody in the Street thinks that Don is an incredibly sick man, but ironically it's Mike who isn't that convinced" said one of the show's executives. "Before Don escapes, he tries to get Alma to visit him in hospital, supposedly to ask for her forgiveness. But Mike tells her that Don is at his most dangerous ever, because he has absolutely nothing to lose. And how right he is."

Once he slips out of hospital Don begins a sinister cat and mouse game as he stalks various Street regulars. He turns up at the butcher's shop and eyeballs his former lodger, young Ashley Peacock. Then he takes a trip to his late wife Ivy's grave and gives Emily Bishop, who just happens to be there, the fright of her life.

Don even tries to get into his old house on Coronation Street, but is sent packing with a flea in his ear by the Battersbys, who have no idea who he is. Then in one chilling scene he turns up at Alma's supermarket and unknown to her rips down a poster with her picture on it. But all the time he is scheming his ultimate revenge - the brutal death of Mike Baldwin. He stakes out Baldwin's factory and notes what time to expect him in the morning. Then, fuelled on a cocktail of booze and painkillers for his cancer, he sets out on his mission.

Don pounces on Baldwin as he enters the factory then bundles him into an office where he takes him hostage. For once Baldwin is at the mercy of one-legged Brennan. He's tied to a chair and Brennan beats him with a chair leg - the start of what he hopes is a slow and tortuous death for the man he detests. Blood starts to trickledown Baldwins face and Brennan relishes every minute of his enemy's misery. But then his plans are wrecked when Baldwin's partner Angie Freeman, played by Deborah McAndrew, turns up. All he can hear is someone moving about, but Don panics and runs off.

Yet he's still not finished with his arch enemy and lies in wait for dazed Baldwin to come out of the factory. And as Baldwin starts to walk across the road, Brennan drives like a maniac straight at him... at the wheel of Alma's MG. He rants and raves that he's going to kill Baldwin as he accelerates towards him. But Baldwin manages to dive out of the way in the nick of time as Brennan disappears careering off down the road.

The Street source said "The scenes will make great viewing. Both Geoff and Johnny totally enjoyed recording them. Geoff in particuloar was delighted because he was able to play Don in a crazy and demented way and was allowed to make Don his most eveil ever. Don has nothing to lose and whatever he had done in the past pales into insignificance with these exploits. We brought a stuntman in for the specific scene when Baldwin had to dive out of the way of the car and it worked really well. After it had all ended Geoff and Johnny had a good laugh about it all. But on the screen everything is deadly serious."

But what happens next to Don? Nobody on the Street is exactly saying, although one executive hinted ominously, "more shocking drama will unfold." It looks as if the Street still hasn't done with Don...

Jack and Vera set to quit the Street
28 September 1997

Coronation Street's most famous double act have made a secret pact to quit together. Jack and Vera Duckworth, alias Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn, have decided that next year will be their last before they call time at the Rovers. Back in the Street, Betty Turpin's husband Billy Williams (Frank Mills) is also going - collapsing with a heart attack, just like poor old Derek Wilton. But Jack and Vera are likely to leave Weatherfield alive.

Liz is the driving force behind the Duckworths' departure. She's been in the Street 23 years and has told friends she wants to leave when she reaches 60 to spend more time with her grandchildren. And when Bill - himself a doting grandfather - heard Liz wanted to leave he started to think about his future. "Bill sat down with Liz and had a long chat with her" said a close friend. "They both felt one half of the double act wouldn't work on its own in the Street, so it would make sense for the Duckworths to go together."

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