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Street's Axeman has axed himself !
2 April 1998 by Christine Smith

CORONATION Street producer Brian Park - who took the axe to a string of famous characters - sensationally quit the soap last night. The mastermind who revived an ailing TV institution by killing off fuddy-duddies such as Derek and bringing in new blood like the brash Battersbys rocked Granada by giving his notice. Park, 43, will leave at the end of the year after a dramatic 15 month reign as Street chief, which culminated on Sunday with the jailing of Deirdre Rachid.

About 19 million viewers tuned in for that, compared to audiences as low as 12.5 million when Park first started carving up the cast. Park is setting up his own independent production company and taking Street senior scriptwriter Ann McManus with him. His decision brought disbelief from Granada executives. One said: "It's like one of his own storylines has come to life. This is such a shock, I'm speechless."

Park told The Mirror last night: "It's an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world. Coronation Street is a national institution. It dominates your life and I probably won't miss it until I've left. Then it will hit me. It's been a real rollercoaster ride. When I arrived, Corrie had gone past its sell-by date and would have continued to decline. There was an image problem and what I set out to do was to crank it up a gear. I have no regrets about what I've done and the viewing figures speak for themselves."

Park was recruited in January 1997 to shake up a 37-year-old series being overshadowed by the BBC's EastEnders. He was quicky dubbed the Freddy Krueger of Weatherfield as he got to work with the axe. He dumped old favourites like Derek and Mavis Wilton, Don Brennan, Bill Webster, Maureen Holdsworth and Andy McDonald.

Warren Jackson, 17, who had played troubled Nicky Platt since he was 10 days old, was replaced by Adam Rickitt because he wasn't sexy enough. Younger cast members like Tracy Shaw were given bigger storylines and there were attractive recruits like Tina Hobley and Matthew Marsden.

Park introduced more sex and violence - and the outrageous Battersby family. "I know everyone hated the Battersbys at first," he said. "And I'll admit it, I made them so awful in the beginning because I wanted impact. And I got it." Denise Welch was drafted in as vamp Natalie Horrocks - a throwback to the golden days of Elsie Tanner - and her affair with Kevin Webster boosted ratings.

Yesterday the cast were being contacted to be told of his bombshell departure. One senior executive said: "It is all top-secret but Brian has told his bosses that he wants to leave. He wants to go it alone and feels now is the right time to quit. He wants to go out on a high. The Street is going through one of its strongest phases ever, with the Deirdre saga gripping the nation. Brian will be missed - not just by the stars, but also by the viewers." Another Granada boss said: "Brian was given the biggest job in British television and has done the business. "He made some bold promises and has kept them. Everyone should be very grateful and wish him luck for the future."

Last night Park pledged to go out with a bang. He said he had "come in with an agenda and as far as I'm concerned, I have completed that agenda". But he added: "I haven't gone yet! There are some great new storylines coming up and I'm determined to top the Deirdre saga."

His proudest achievement is the introduction of the Battersbys. "They shook up the Street like no other characters have done for years," he said.

Will Deirdre take the fall? A nation cries 'No!
1 April 1998 by Audrey Woods, Associated Press, London

Nineteen million people sat transfixed in front of their TVs, outrage building at what was unfolding: Poor, gullible Deirdre had been thrown in jail for fraud, taking the rap for her ne'er-do-well boyfriend on Britain's longest-running soap opera.

"Free Deirdre!'' insisted the nation's tabloids. "A gross miscarriage of justice,'' an editorial in The Sun said after Sunday's episode of Coronation Street left Deirdre in distress. Tony Blair's spokesman said Tuesday it was the Prime Minister's view that "anyone with eyes in their head'' could see she is innocent.

Never mind that mild-mannered Deirdre Rachid is an imaginary resident of the fictional town of Weathersfield in northern England. For the past 25 years, devoted Coronation Street' fans have shared the joys of her marriages and love affairs and wept with her tragedies. So if anybody thinks they are going let Deirdre languish behind bars while that rotter Jon Lindsay walks free, they can think again.

"The whole nation is deeply concerned about Deirdre, Conservatives as much as everyone else,'' Tory Party leader William Hague said Tuesday. Art has been imitating life on Corrie, as the show is lovingly called, for almost 38 years. Four nights a week, at the sound of its catchy theme song, families throughout this nation of 58 million (and in other countries, too) head for their living rooms with their supper plates or cups of tea.

Twelve years ago, when Deirdre was thinking of leaving husband Ken Barlow for Mike Baldwin, the denouement of the affair was broadcast during a soccer match. For the benefit of Manchester United fans who couldn't tear themselves away, the team flashed "Deirdre stays with Ken'' on the scoreboard at halftime. Of course, that was before Ken had an affair and the marriage ended, and Deirdre's vacation romance with Moroccan waiter Samir Rachid led to marriage. But Samir was murdered on the eve of donating a kidney to Tracy, Deirdre's daughter by her first husband. Grieving Deirdre then was taken in by the smooth charms of Jon Lindsay, although almost everybody out in televisionland could see he was no good for her.

Granada Television Ltd., maker of Coronation Street, is staying tight-lipped about Deirdre's future. But The Mirror newspaper, quoting an unidentified insider, said she would be freed relatively quickly. Blair, an avowed fan himself, has a family tie to the soap through his wife, Cherie Booth. Her one-time stepmother, the late actress Pat Phoenix, was one of the mainstays of the program for years. Blair's spokesman, speaking with the usual anonymity, said the Prime Minister can't really get involved in cases like Deirdre's. But, he noted, Blair wants scriptwriters to bow to public and Parliamentary opinion "and, while they're about it, make sure Sally and Kevin, the Websters, whose marriage is in trouble, live happily ever after.''

As the world ends...
Editorial from The Ottawa Citizen, Thursday 2 April 1998

With the millennium approaching, signs of madness are everywhere.

For instance, in response to the fictional jailing of a character in the soap opera Coronation Street, both British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the leader of the opposition, William Hague, have joined the popular chorus for a mitigation of her sentence. The Tory leader lamented, "The whole nation is deeply concerned about Deirdre, Conservatives as much as everyone else."

Predictably, activists against false imprisonment have condemned both politicians for trivializing their issue. So a spokesman for Mr Blair claimed he was speaking only as a member of the public - and then went on to describe a few other plot changes Mr Blair would like to see. By the way, the Prime Minister's wife's stepmother was once a star on Coronation Street. It's like, well, a soap opera.

True, when Sherlock Holmes was killed off by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a century ago, people were angry. But they were angry at being deprived of fiction they loved. They didn't think it was real. They didn't confuse Conan Doyle with Moriarty. Today in Britain, members of the public are accosting the actor who played the jury foreman and ripping into him for delivering the wrong verdict.

Folks, all he did was say his lines.

Why is Britain transfixed by Deidre's demise?
Thursday 2 April 1998

It was quite a year for Weatherfield. There was a gas leak at Albert Tatlock's house; Elsie Tanner was knocked down by a taxi, and Stan and Hilda Ogden were invaded by mice. Diverted by high drama such as this, hardly anyone noticed the new secretary who started work at Ray Langton's builder's yard. It was 1973, and Deirdre Hunt was then considered to be something of a dolly bird.

She had her pick of Coronation Street's eligible bachelors, but as the world now knows, our Deirdre had a fatal attraction for all the wrong ones. First, her engagement to Annie Walker's son Billy collapsed; her subsequent marriage to Ray Langton went the same way. Moving in with Ken Barlow was another mistake, but at least her affair with Mike Baldwin won her a friendship that would cushion her through the financial tribulations to come. In 1994, Deirdre fell for a waiter called Samir Rachid while on holiday in Morocco. But their marriage ended in tragedy, when he was pushed off a canal towpath while on his way to donate an organ to Deirdre's ailing daughter, Tracey.

That, you may think, would be heartbreak enough for any person. But it is Deirdre's latest romantic entanglement, with a heartless conman called Jon, that has been her unmaking. On Sunday night, a public bench filled with 19 million people watched as a judge told her that she was the instigator and manipulator of a heinous fraud and that she must serve 18 months at Her Majesty's Pleasure.

"I'm not guilty," she sobbed behind enormous spectacles, as the bailiff took her down - but her friends knew that anyway. It sounds like the plot of a soap opera, and of course, it is the plot of a soap opera - but it's at times like these that the line which separates fact from fiction seems not to matter.

Those regulars at the Station pub in Harecroft, just outside Wilsden, knew fine well the other day, when they got up a petition calling for her release, that Deirdre wasn't a real person. But because their lives are played out in real-time, before an audience of almost everyone, the long-running characters in our favourite soaps are sometimes as close to us as our own families. Deirdre (or the Weatherfield One, as she's now known at The Station in Harecroft) is not the first character to benefit from an outpouring of emotion by people who really should know better.

It was at Christmas 1996 that Susan Carter, an everyday housewife in a village of everyday folk, became the hero of penal reform groups everywhere. Sent to jail unjustly (though the quality of mercy in this case was open to debate) and separated from her family at the beginning of the festive season, her sorry plight engendered outrage - real, genuine outrage - right across Britain. Susan Carter was a character in The Archers, and because The Archers is on Radio Four and enjoys an influential, up-market audience, it wasn't long before questions were being asked in the highest of places. The then Home Secretary, Michael Howard, said it was unthinkable that a first-time offender would be treated in such a way by a real court - but several cases soon came to light which proved him wrong.

This week, politicians are once again clamouring for action, confident that by doing so, they will be currying favour with millions of voters all at once. Tony Blair went on national radio on Tuesday morning to support the campaign for Deirdre's release. Fraser Kemp, Labour MP for Houghton and Washington East, said he would draw the Home Secretary's attention to what he called a gross miscarriage of justice.

This, however, will not help the luckless Deirdre, whose fate lies not in the hands of the legal system but in those of the scriptwriters at Granada Television. "If this were a real case, we'd assume she was guilty," says Governor Paul Foweather at Askham Grange Women's Open Prison near York, who watched the events of the weekend and empathised. "Anyone who is convicted by a court, we consider to be guilty." But new prisoners such as Deirdre are, he adds, given counselling and a free phonecard.

If the Weatherfield One is wondering who to call with hers, she'd do well to find Mike Plowman's name in the phone book. A native of Little Horton, Bradford, and now a businessman in Oxfordshire, Mike is arguably Britain's biggest and best informed Coronation Street fan. He did, after all, know Deirdre's fate 48 hours before she did. "Last Friday night, I announced on my web site that I knew what the verdict was but that I wasn't going to tell anyone," he says. "I got 120 E-mails from people all over the world demanding to know."

Mike runs one of several unofficial Coronation Street Internet sites, which are for the most part tolerated, though not sanctioned, by Granada. "The response from around the world to Deirdre's imprisonment has been phenomenal," he says. "People in Canada are up in arms and they won't even see the episode for another eight weeks. It's actually quite unexpected. I didn't think it was that hot a storyline - but when something like this happens to a major character, people who don't watch regularly will suddenly tune in, as if they're visiting an auntie they don't see very often. All the long-standing characters in Coronation Street are like family to the general public."

Mike is obviously well connected at Granada, so what, pray, can he tell us about Deirdre's future? Can she sink lower still? The truth is that no-one has decided yet. The subsequent episodes haven't been filmed, and until such time as the script is committed to video tape, the plot can be changed at will. Nevertheless, Mike is in on the informed speculation. Those who don't wish to speculate may care to stop reading right here.

"I think she'll be out in two to two-and-a-half months," he says. "She's supposed to be serving 18 months, but it's rumoured that Jon's wife will be racked with guilt and remorse, and she'll come forward. She'll go and see Ken who'll then persuade her to go to the police."

So it's a happy ending? With Deirdre involved, that seems most unlikely.

Sarah Lancashire to return to the Street ? She thinks not....
Thursday 16 April 1998
Playing Raquel had got to the stage where I no longer had to think about it, the part had become second nature. It was like putting on a familiar coat. The scriptwriters begin writing for you, with you in mind, and that makes it even easier. You forget how to learn about a new role and the work you need to put in it.

Also I'd never been looking for a long-term part in Coronation Street. When I joined it was on a three month contract. It was just a brief port of call- just another role. I wanted a job not a way of life. Which is how things are in a series like that.

For me my way of life is going to be Sainsbury's and picking up the kids from school - work is something different. Of course I had a choice - to stay and find a way of dealing with all that or to go. I certainly don't want to portray myself as an unhappy victim. I can't bear it when I hear people going on about the pressures of being in a successful programme when they're being paid a lot of money. That's part of the whole deal and what you're being paid for.

Nevertheless the hours on CS, whatever the pay, are long and punishing for the stars of the series. Early starts, late finishes, working weekends. There's no comfortable pattern and given the demanding schedule and large cast the show comes first. Not easy when you have two young boys.

If you have my sort of tastes though, it's hard to meet people. I can't wait to be 40 - it's desperately dull being young if you don't like pubs, clubs and pop music. I love things like carpentery, DIY, renovating old furniture and going to the garden centre. That's why it was such fun playing Raquel because she was so different. But five years was quite enough thank you, and the price was starting to prove too high.

Streets ahead with the news of Deirdre
Monday 20 April 1998
NEWS that Deirdre Rachid's Coronation Street prison nightmare was over soon began making its way around the world thanks to a South Hetton woman.

Glenda Young was soon logging on to the Internet to tell her devoted readers across the globe that Ken Barlow's ex-wife was free. Mrs Young, 33, writes the regular updates of Britain's favourite soap for an unofficial Coronation Street web site. The Durham University secretary has been writing the page for four years. It has a mailing list of 600 fans from countries as far away as Canada and Africa.

She began writing the page for a friend in San Diego and soon word spread among British people living abroad. Mrs Young admitted she wouldn't probably watch the soap if she didn't write the updates, but said she was a fan. "It's a great British institution and people who are into it do get into the storyline," she said. "I have made some new friends, and the feedback from the weekly updates is phenomenal, especially from people who've gone abroad to live and are feeling homesick. They come across something as simple as finding out what is happening in Coronation Street and it's a link with home."

Coronation Street scene 'was suitable'
21 April 1998 by Alison Boshoff - Media Correspondent

SCENES in Coronation Street in which a character revealed that she was a transsexual were suitable for family viewing, a television watchdog ruled yesterday.

The surprising revelation during a candlelit meal in Gayle Platt's cafe that the character Hayley Patterson was a man left Roy Cropper speechless. Ten viewers complained to the Independent Television Commission, saying it should not have been shown during family viewing time. The ITC said the issue had been handled with tact and "great sensitivity". It rejected the complaints that the scene crossed the boundaries of taste and decency.

The ITC also rejected complaints about Gail Platt referring to Roy Cropper as "mentally retarded" during a sharp disagreement. The reference was made in the heat of the moment and was immediately criticised, so there had been no breach of the ITC's programme code.

Jim's in trouble so he is...
Friday 24 April by Chris Hughes

THIS is the terrifying brawl between Coronation Street's feuding McDonalds to be shown tonight. The soap's most brutal fight scene ever will leave viewers wondering whether Jim McDonald is dead. The dramatic cliffhanger episode ends with him plunging three storeys off 30ft-high scaffolding into a building site skip. It's the chilling climax to his ongoing war with son Steve over hairdresser Fiona Middleton - who slept with them both.

Viewers will have to wait until Sunday evening to learn Ulsterman Jim's fate. The plot twist is aimed at continuing the ITV show's lead over BBC's EastEnders in the soap ratings war. Insiders revealed the set was closed and the scenes secretly filmed with the cast sworn to silence.

The feud between Steve and Jim - actors Simon Gregson and Charlie Lawson - has been building up this week with Liz McDonald vainly begging Steve to give his cash-strapped father a job.

Tonight Jim lands a handyman job at Kevin Webster's garage and gets drunk celebrating before visiting Steve's site to gloat. Without a helmet he staggers up the scaffolding shouting "You can stick your job" to Steve, who has vowed he will never speak to his father.

The pair fight before Steve - trying to defend himself - finally pushes his father over the edge. One source said: "The effects of this scene will be be seen on TV for the next few months. It is one of the most sensational soap developments this year."

Who's Corrie Now ?
The Word on the Street with Adam Rickitt

The Young Telegraph, Saturday 25 April

He's run away to Scotland to get married, given his mum Gail sleepless nights and is now pen-pals with a prison inmate in order to uncover the mystery of his dad's murder. Our Nicky has had his fair share of the Weatherfield action over the last six months. And it's been pretty exciting for 19-year-old actor Adam Rickitt, too. YT caught up with him on the set of Britain's number one soap....

It's a big leap from schoolboy to soap star, Adam. How did you manage it?
I always wanted to be an actor and the day I left school I told my dad about my ambition. He looked at me really hard for about 10 seconds; I thought he was going to explode and tell me that would be a complete waste of my education. But instead he said, "Do something about it then, just don't be a waiter who wants to act!"

So no part-time job at a burger bar then?
No, I immediately sent off loads of letters to agents with my picture and a tape of me singing. They did the job - I was signed up straight away by one of the biggest agencies in Manchester.

How long did it take before Coronation Street came along?
I spent about eight months just taking acting and singing lessons. Then one day my manager said, "Right, you're ready to start doing auditions - here's two!" One was for a part on Corrie and the other was an advert. I got both but there was no question about which one I would take.

How long do you think you would have stuck at it if you hadn't got a part?
I had a place at university if things didn't work out. I was going to study English and wanted to become a lawyer But I was lucky that my dream came true

So you're not lacking in the brains department, then?
Don't seem so surprised ! I may have blond hair but l got 10 A's at GCSE and an A and three B's at A level.

You went to a really posh boarding school, right?
I wouldn't say that. It was a good school - I think my dad went went there as well as my three older three older brothers. I loved it. Boarding school is just 24 hours a day with your mates. It teaches you a lot about respect and how to get on with people

Did you watch Coronation Street when you were at school?
Erm... not really. I'd seen it a few times and knew who some of the long-running characters such as Gail. But I didn't realise it was full of all these great young characters. I used to think Corrie was full of OAPs!

Was your lack of Street knowledge a problem when you took the part of Nicky?
No, I was given what they call a "backdrop" on Nicky's character with a line from almost every episode. It helped a Iot because I built up a goob idea of what he was like. It also meant I wasn't star struck when I first went on set. I just walked round the Rovers Return going, "Hi, who are you?" to all these famous actors!

Was it hard fitting in?
No. Everyone is genuinely nice. It's great being one of the youngest as well because you get looked after and are given loads of advice.

How well do you get on with the other young actors?
We really stick together - Jane Danson (on-screen wife Leanne), Martin Hancock (Spider) and Steven Arnold (Ashley). They're brilliant

You still live in Manchester. Do you get recognised a lot?
Yes, loads. I rememhreeer the firsta time I was spotted. I was in the supermarket with my mum buying something really embarrassing like make-up. This girl came up and shouted, "Oooohh, it's Nicky Platt!"

How do you cope with all the attention?
I usually flick my hair in front of my face and run off not knowing what to say. Failing that I just blush and look very, very embarrassed.

Come on, you can't mind that much. You used to be a model!
Only for the money - I hated it. It's such a hard job and not at all glamorous. Also, I absolutely hate having my photo taken!

Is it true you are good mates with Paul Nicholls?
We met once at a party and chatted for five minutes - I don't think that makes us best mates! He's a really nice guy, though.

Do you mind being compared to Paul?
It's not fair to say we're alike just because we are both young, male and from the North. But I suppose you are always going to get compared to somebody, so I don't really mind. I just wish it was Sean Connery !

Gaynor: I'm Going To Quit The Street
29 April 1998

I AM saddened to hear that The Street's delightful Gaynor Faye is planning to leave the show. The talented brunette, who has played gutsy Judy Mallett for three years, has been agonising over the decision. Her agent, Sophie Gibson, is already discussing new TV work for her after she leaves in October.

This is the third time this year I have exclusively revealed the loss of major Street stars. Just a month after I broke the news, in February, that Weatherfield's stunning barmaid Tina Hobley was leaving, I reported the demise of bonking bookie Des Barnes. Womaniser Des, played by Phil Middlemiss, 34, will leave in October for the lucrative world of panto. However, Tina, 26, who plays curvy Samantha Failsworth, is going at the end of next month to spend more time with her fiance Steve Wallington.

Gaynor, 25, daughter of Band Of Gold creator Kay Mellor, is determined to continue her acting career. The departure couldn't have come at a worse time for the soap's writers, who have begun developing an amazing storyline for Judy. She's about to discover that the longed-for child she's expecting is not her husband's.

A Street insider says: "It's a real surprise Gaynor is going. No one wants her to leave but she wants to do something a bit more heavyweight. She's had some tough storylines and has been working very long hours. I reckon, in part, she'd like to spend more time with her boyfriend, Aaron Cowlrich."

TV Kev collapses in a pool of blood
14 May 1998 By Brian Roberts and Stephen White

CORONATION Street star Kevin Kennedy collapsed in a pool of blood outside a pub yesterday as he mourned tragic Bill actor Kevin Lloyd.

Kennedy, who plays dimwit Curly Watts in the Street, split his head open as he crashed to the pavement. The star was devastated that hadn't been able to go to Lloyd's funeral because of a crippling stomach bug he picked up during a Caribbean holiday.

But the day afterwards, 38-year-old Kennedy visited various bars in sweltering temperatures before he keeled over in front of horrified onlookers. One of them said: "Kevin was lying on the floor curled up almost like a baby.

"There was blood all over his head and all over his white tee shirt. He was just moaning.

"It was an awful sight."I asked him if he was all right but he just mumbled and didn't seem to be making any sense at all.

"His wife was stood over him. She looked absolutely terrified". Another witness said: "There were two police cars slewed across the main road. A policewoman was cradling his head and three male officers were stood around.

"At first I thought it was an old man who had collapsed. Then everyone started saying that it was Curly from Coronation Street. He looked in a really bad way."

Police sealed off the busy street in Manchester as they tended to Kennedy on the pavement. Then he was taken to hospital where his condition last night was "stable".

His wife Claire was at his bedside. Close friends of the star told yesterday how Kennedy felt "desperately ill" after his break in Barbados.

One said: "He was vomiting all the time and simply could not eat. He felt really low, which is unlike Kevin because usually he is the total life and soul of the party.

"While he was away he had heard of Kevin Lloyd's death. They were friends from years back and I think that sad news depressed him as well.

"He had desperately wanted to go to the funeral to pay his last respects. But on the day of the funeral he was so ill he couldn't even get out of bed. He even took one day off sick from the set at Granada and that is just not Kevin. He is a total professional and never likes to miss a day at work."

A Granada spokeswoman said yesterday: "He has been feeling ill for a couple of days and was filming this morning when he again complained of feeling unwell.

"He certainly did not look too good but carried on like the true trouper he is and completed the shoot. He left this afternoon and went back home."

Not long afterwards Kennedy, dressed in Bermuda shorts, strolled with his wife to a number of bars in the trendy Didsbury area of south Manchester, just half a mile from their flat.

In the Didsbury Brasserie - the last place they visited before crossing the road to the Famous Crown pub - staff commented on his unusual behaviour when he ordered himself a soft drink.

Assistant manager Emma Jeffrey, 23, said: "He ordered a non-alcoholic drink for himself and his wife had a coffee. They stayed for about 20 minutes or so. People who saw him did actually remark that he looked pretty unwell and really shaky.

"Before he came in he looked OK and waved and smiled at people. When they left they headed to the pub across the road and it was there that he collapsed. He didn't even make it into the pub."

One source at Granada TV said last night: "It's no secret he loves a pint of beer."

Tina "hauled over the coals" for bar brawl
Friday 15 May 1998 by Chris Hamilton, PA News

Coronation Street star Tina Hobley was today "hauled over the coals" after becoming involved in a rumpus in a hotel bar with fellow Street actress Vicky Entwistle. It is understood the pair had a bust up in Manchester's Le Meridien Victoria and Albert Hotel after an evening drinking with other stars of the top soap.

According to reports, the two actresses had to be separated by other members of the cast. The reports said the row may have started after Tina, 26, who plays Rovers Return barmaid Sam Failsworth but is soon to leave the show to get married - made a comment about the lipstick worn by 29-year-old Vicky, who plays the mother of the Battersby "family from hell". The pair were pulled apart by Stephen Billington, 30 - who recently joined the show as Les Battersby's long-lost son - and Denise Welch, 39, who plays Natalie Horrocks.

A Street insider said today: "Tina was called in by the producer this morning, hauled over the coals, and basically told her behaviour was unacceptable." "It's been said that Vicky had a hand in starting it, but that's just not fair. "Tina may be leaving the programme, but as far as the public is concerned she is still one of the faces of Coronation Street and her behaviour cannot be accepted."

A spokeswoman for Ms Hobley's agent said today the actress would not be saying anything about the alleged incident. "This the first I've heard of it. I've just the phone down on her and she didn't say a thing," she added.

Collapse scared me to death, says Street star Curly
17 May 1998

CORONATION Street star Kevin Kennedy admitted yesterday that he was "scared to death" by his mysterious collapse outside a pub.

Kennedy, who plays Curly Watts, revealed that he had exploratory stomach surgery during his two-day stay in hospital, but would still need further tests. "The test results have not come back yet so I'm as much in the dark as everyone else," said Kennedy, now back home in Manchester. "It is in the doctors' hands now. There are further tests to be done and they've given me a lot of stuff to take. But they obviously think I'm well enough to come home."

Kennedy, 37, who was rushed to hospital with concussion after collapsing and hitting his head on Wednesday, said: "I would like to say now it was not down to alcohol. A hangover only lasts for six hours, and this went on for three days." But proving his fall had not affected his sense of humour, he added: "They tested me for everything, including rust."

Shaw-fire hit - Music's right up Tracy's Street
20 May 1998 By SANDRO (Mr Showbiz) MONETTI

STREET stunner Tracy Shaw is being lined up by pop bigwigs to be the next Kylie Minogue.

The producers who turned the Aussie songstress into a chart star are banking on the Coronation Street cutie following in her footsteps.

Kylie started off as a starlet in Down Under soap Neighbours. Now Tracy's all set to take the same route, though she's pledged to hang on to her role as Maxine in the Street, no matter how many records she sells. Masterminding her assault on the charts are producers Mike Stock and Matt Aitken, who with ex-partner Pete Waterman turned Kylie into a pop queen.

They're confident they can do the same with Tracy. Fans first got to hear her singing abilities when she performed Happenin' All Over Again on last year's straight-to-video Corrie special Viva Las Vegas.

Stock and Aitken saw that tape and instantly knew they'd discovered a star. The duo signed her up and produced a new version of the song, which hits the shops on June 8.

Tracy, 24, says: "I've always wanted a pop career. "I can't wait to show the world what I can do."

I'm Shaw back !!
20 May 1998

Skittish, dizzy, and bubbly are the terms often used to describe Coronation Street's Tracy Shaw.

Certainly, she is an effervescent girl, talking ten to the dozen, words spilling over each other as she jumps breathlessly from the topic of her forthcoming wedding to Darren Day to her next scene in the Street. Her beautiful blonde curly head bobbing up and down as she squeals with excitement about the fabulous new home she and Darren are planning to move into this summer.

But there is one subject that stops Tracy in her tracks. Anorexia. The slimmer's disease of which she has been a victim. It robbed her of much of her teenage years and she admits it has taken her till now - aged 24 - to become "right". Her figure is fuller than it has been for as long as she can remember, causing some people to suggest that she's had a boob job. But the truth is she's no longer a waif but a real woman - without any help from the silicone surgeon. In fact Tracy can now look at a plate of food with the anticipation of pleasure not guilt.

"It's taken me a long time," she says. "But I can honestly say that I'm happy with everything in my life. "I've had to go through a lot of counselling, some of it very difficult, but it's the only way you can get your head straight. It takes a lot of tears and talking to get to this stage but I've sorted out who I am myself. Tracy adds: "I used to see my counsellor twice a week, sometimes just once. Luckily it was the right person. I'd had several till I met this lady, from when I was at drama school and it got me nowhere. "This one was just right for me. I could pour out my heart to her. She analyses everything. I couldn't hide anything from her. It's all there in your eyes and body language. "It even carried on after I'd met Darren and though I no longer see her she's there for me if I need to call her.

"Sometimes I used to hate the sessions because it can cause a lot of heartache and pain letting all your emotions come to the surface. Because it's a lot deeper than just not eating. But I came away feeling better about myself, and more positive. "Not eating was my way of coping with problems. Some turn to drink, with me it was rejecting food. "I would punish myself for feeling nervous or insecure. I still am insecure, and though people won't believe it, I'm quite shy. "But I recognise this defence mechanism of starving myself now and control it."

Tracy, 24, still finds it difficult to explain how the disease started. But she talks of her suffering as if it was a very different girl to the one sitting here today who experienced an overwhelming fear of food. She says: "I would be afraid of food. I don't know how on earth you get to that terrible stage, but I was there. "You become obsessed and it takes over your mind. I never knew I'd lost the amount of weight I had. At one point I went down to five and half stone and was hospitalised to keep me quiet and away from outside pressure. "The hospital wanted me to stop doing my drama degree, which I fought against. But it was a confusing time for me and for my mum and dad. It was a terrible thing to put them through. They felt helpless being confronted with this strange illness. It was impossible to reason with me. I took it out on them and they didn't know how to handle it. "I had to learn to make myself look in the mirror properly. It's easy to not recognise that you've turned into skin and bone whatever people say."

Tracy's enforced stay in hospital did nothing to alleviate the vicious spiral that she had fallen into of not eating and starving. And it wasn't until she met her counsellor last year that she started on the road to recovery. Now she is almost evangelical in her belief there is a cure. She says: "If I hadn't had counselling it would have gone on and on for the rest of my life. "And that's what I want to get across to girls who are ill. I want to urge them to get help. I don't think people realise what a huge problem it is. But if they saw my mailbag they'd realise. Many in showbusiness suffer from it too, people afraid to speak out. "In clubs, or on the street, girls will come up to me and say 'I've been through what you've been through' and we'll talk about it. I'm very open, I don't feel it's something to bottle up and be ashamed of. It's a disease and must be sorted."

While she doesn't exactly knock back the calories over lunch, Tracy tucks into a plate of mozzarella and tomato salad with relish. "I couldn't have done this once upon a time," she admits. "I used to weigh myself at least once a day and think about every morsel I put past my lips. I never had an alcoholic drink. All those calories would have been sinful. "Now I love a Jack Daniels and realise I can have those things without feeling guilty. "I'd like to write a proper authoritative book about my battle with the illness. If I could help just one girl I'd do it. "People are so ignorant of anorexia. Even my doctor called me to say he had a young girl suffering like I had and asked my advice. I try to reply personally to every letter from someone who is suffering. I feel I owe it to them to help."

Much of Tracy's recovery has to be down to the fact that she is in love, truly, madly, deeply with Joseph star Darren. Her friends are both enchanted and irritated by their absolute adoration of one another and after a year together it shows no sign of waning. Like a pair of playful puppies, they are besotted with one another's company and though separated in the week, they lock themselves away at the weekend - which is spent in the bedroom and kitchen.

Tracy says: "A lot of people have been cynical about me and Darren. They wonder how he could have been with Anna Friel, and then after that ending to be with me so suddenly. "But we don't care what other people think, we're happy and we can't help it if it shows. "Our relationship hasn't waned, we're closer than ever. During the week I stay in Manchester and Darren's in London or touring. "Our phone bills are huge. But come the weekend, I go to London or wherever he's touring, we shut the door and go into a cocoon. We stay in bed, read the papers, cook and watch telly. We like soppy movies."

She adds: "We get on so well, we're like Ying and Yang. I know everyone will think it's sickening, but there's so little happiness in the world people should be pleased to see it can exist. "He's in Hong Kong for six weeks and it's awful, our longest separation yet. But we accept our lives aren't going to be normal in that sense. Anyway the separations mean our reunions are all the more explosive."

The couple, who met in Manchester have not set a date for their wedding. Tracy, whose parents run a pub in Belper, Derbyshire, says: "My mum can barely contain herself, she is dying to get me into a wedding dress. But we plan to wait till next year - probably the summer." The pair have splashed out on a new home they aim to move into when Darren returns from his trip. It is, according to Tracy, "a dream house" and it sounds idyllic. Set in its own grounds in Bedfordshire it is 16th Century with eight bedrooms, three bathrooms a huge kitchen and swimming pool.

She says: "We want to spend our lives there. I can't believe things are going so well but Darren and I are honest with one another and if things got dodgy we'd confront it. "I used to hear people talking about how you knew when you'd met the "right one". With Darren that was instant. "I'd never wanted children but now that's something we both talk about. If it happened tomorrow we'd be happy but if it takes a couple of years that's fine. Neither of us mind.so long as it's got Darren's brown eyes and my curly hair. Sorry, I'm being soppy again."

She can't help it - she's mad about the boy.

Street's Gary nicked bench
22 May 1998

CORONATION Street star Ian Mercer pinched a park bench on the way to a barbecue and ended up in trouble with police. Ian, 36 - Gary Mallett in the soap - and a pal were spotted loading the wooden seat into the back of a Transit van. Cops nabbed the pair as they tucked into burgers at the party in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Both men were cautioned for theft. The pair said they thought the bench had been dumped. Neither the police nor Granada Television are taking further action.

Corry totty sorry Hobley's shame after throwing a wobbly
22 May 1998 EXCLUSIVE by JOHN MAHONEY

SHAME-FACED Street babe Tina Hobley has finally said sorry to co-star Vicky Entwistle for her drunken claws-out cat scrap.

Sexy Tina who plays Rovers temptress Sam Failsworth apologised for tearing into Vicky in an explosive bar brawl at a posh hotel. Guests were horrified  when boozed-up Tina pulled Vicky's hair and screeched: "Lipstick like that! You're a slapper!"

But nearly a week later Tina, 26, stunned the cast during rehearsals by telling Vicky: "I'm really sorry. "I don't know why I did it. Can we be mates again?" During the bar bust-up startled Vicky  Les Battersby's long-suffering missus Janice  tried to fend off tipsy Tina. The Daily Star revealed how blonde Denise Welch, who plays man-hungry Natalie Horrocks, pitched in to help Vicky, 29. But Stephen Billington  Battersby's son Greg got badly scratched trying to untangle the battling babes at Manchester's Victoria & Albert Hotel.

Tina got an 11-minute dressing-down by Coronation Street producer Brian Park over her tantrum.

Street star Leanne's clash with a killer
24 May 1998

A shocking scene will have millions of Coronation Street fans glued to their sets tonight. Terrified teenage bride Leanne Tilsley is suddenly confronted by Darren Whateley...who stabbed her husband Nicky's father to death 10 years ago.

Revenge-seeking Nicky has been putting HER name on letters he's been sending to Whateley in prison. And now the killer has been released he's come looking for Leanne. "It's a real ordeal for her," says Jane Danson, 19, who has played Leanne for almost a year. "She's found out Nicky has been writing to Darren in jail pretending to be her. "But she doesn't know he's been released - and she certainly isn't expecting him to turn up on her doorstep. She is being threatened by a man who could be planning anything for all she knows."

The soap's bosses think the storyline is so explosive that they haven't even told Jane what happens later this week. But she knows what she'd do if she were in Leanne's position. "If I were her I wouldn't have even answered the door in the first place!" she laughs. "But if my husband or boyfriend had lied like Nicky has I'd dump him - preferably in the nearest canal!"

It's a tough storyline for a young actress to cope with, but Jane is becoming used to playing the victim. This is the second time Leanne has been attacked on the Street since Jane joined last summer. Last time barmaid Sam came to her rescue but this time it looks like there's no escape. Says Jane: "Since I started acting on TV 10 years ago I've been murdered once, executed once and assaulted at least four times, so I suppose I must have one of those faces! But I'd much rather have meaty roles like this."

Jane, who laughs off speculation linking her with former EastEnders star Paul Nicholls, says she is happy being single - and even happier living near the Street studios with her mum Lynn and dad Jack. She says: "I've no plans to move out just yet, but when I eventually buy a place of my own I want to be able to afford a big house - I'd hate to live in a flat. "It's cool living with my parents. We watch Coronation Street together and if I do something wrong mum and dad are the first to point it out. "They've always been supportive, but never pushy. They didn't hassle me about getting an education in case the acting didn't work out; they were happy as long as I did my best."

Right now, Jane isn't looking any further than developing her Street character and she has a few ideas on how Leanne should progress. "She's still got a lot of growing up to do and I'm not sure whether she might end up regretting marrying Nicky. "He was her first real love and I can't see her settling for married life and being saddled with two kids."

Jane feels Leanne has become more sensible over the last year - and is even starting to resemble her. "When I first played Leanne she was the opposite to me. I was a goody-two-shoes and she was the wild one, but I think part of that was down to me having a stable family and Leanne growing up in a broken marriage. "Now we've seen a few more sides to Leanne's character. She's more gentle and thoughtful and even a bit playful. The only thing I've got to sort out now are her clothes. "She always puts the wrong colours together and I wouldn't be seen dead in some of the charity shops she goes to - I'm more of a Kookai girl."

But Jane doesn't care what Leanne is wearing after her brush with Whateley, as long as she's still in one piece. "The scriptwriters are so full of surprises you never know what they've got planned," she admits. "But I'll be happy when Darren Whateley's safely out of the way."

Matthew Marsden
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT (UK) LIMITED PRESS RELESE

Successful one time Coronation Street actor Matthew Marsden, who is about to realize his life's dream by embarking on a new career - singing. The 25 year old has just signed a major recording deal with Columbia Records and now the touch paper is well and truly lit.

The release date for his first single entitled "Hearts Lone Desire" is June 22nd 1998.

The Heart's Lone Desire - Tracklisting

CD1
Track 1: "The Heart's Lone Desire"
Track 2: "The Heart's Lone Desire" K-Klass 12"
Track 3: "The Heart's Lone Desire" K-Klass Bunker Dub
Track 4: "The Heart's Lone Desire" Metropolitan Mix

CD2
Track 1: "The Heart's Lone Desire"
Track 2: "The Heart's Lone Desire" Kaspian Mix
Track 3: "The Heart's Lone Desire" Kaspian Dub
Track 4: "The Heart's Lone Desire" Unplugged

CASSETTE
Track 1: "The Heart's Lone Desire"
Track 2: "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime

Tabby Celia gets into cat-fight as the Street's fifth moggie
29 May 1998 by Frank Corless

The 10-year-old tabby beat dozens of other cats to land the role as Natalie Horrocks' prized pet Tiger. And she got off to the purrfect start yesterday with the TV soap barmaid - played by Denise Welsh - nestling contentedly in her arms. But the fur is soon to fly over Celia when a bitter feud develops between Natalie and her Rovers Return colleague Samantha Failsworth (Tina Hobley).

The pair fall out over Casanova bookmaker Des Barnes. Samantha does not really want former lover Des, played by Phil Middlemiss, but cannot bear to see him hitting it off with Natalie. She has already pulled some bizarre strokes - even claiming to be pregnant with Des's child. But Sam is bent on further revenge - and it could spell trouble for Tiger. Soap chiefs will not reveal full details of the plot but a Street insider said yesterday: "Tiger has a vital role. She's going to be the moggy-in-the-middle. It's going to be gripping stuff."

Celia is owned by pet agency boss Kevin Horkin who adopted her from an animal sanctuary. He has supplied the Street with other pets in the past, including pub landlord Jack Duckworth's racing pigeons. Kevin has his own Dial A Pet series on cable channel L!VE TV and is an animal consultant for ITV's breakfast show This Morning. He said: "Celia is a natural, she has star quality. She takes to people very quickly and is good under lights and in front of the camera. The viewers are going to love her."

Celia is the latest in a string of cats to find fame on the show. Minnie Caldwell's ginger tom Bobby became a household name padding up and down the cobbled streets of Weatherfield. His antics could even make old battleaxe Ena Sharples smile. Unknown to viewers there were three Bobbies. The first two cats in the role died. When Bobby died in the show, way back in 1981, genuine tears were shed among the cast.

Then there was Marmaduke, the fat ginger cat owned by Rovers barmaid Betty Turpin. He was kept at home for years and only talked about - until he gained celebrity status and became the new cat on the block in the 1990s.

Street gossip Hilda Ogden had a mischievous pet called Rommel. Seven lookalike cats played him over three years. Production chiefs had to recast once because an un-neutered tom kept peeing over actress Jean Alexander's leg.

But probably the most famous moggy on Coronation Street is Frisky who is featured in the programme's opening titles. He has been shown walking across Weatherfield rooftops since 1990. Frisky was chosen for the part after beating 10,000 entries in a competition run on the This Morning show. Owned by author John Rimmington, Frisky replaced the original ginger tom who was on screen for 14 years.

TV Curly's chest glad to be back...

Monday 8 Jun 1998

CORONATION Street star Kevin Kennedy went back to work yesterday for the first time since he was struck down by a mystery illness. The actor, who plays Curly Watts, even gave a flash of his naked chest to prove he is fully recovered. "I'm fighting fit, but I was really poorly," the 38-year-old star admitted.

Kevin collapsed in a pool of blood last month after he fainted and hit his head as he left a pub with wife Claire, 28, near their home in Didsbury, Manchester. Doctors ran a series of tests. They now believe he picked up a bug while on holiday in the Caribbean. Street scriptwriters rewrote several scenes to explain Curly's sudden disappearance.

Kevin looked happy as he arrived at Granada TV yesterday. He showed off a sun-tanned chest when he pulled up his shirt. But he laughed off reports that he has joined a gym as part of his fight back to health. "I've never been in one in my life," he said.

Street Des quits Soap
23 June 1998

BED-HOPPING bookie Des Barnes is quitting Coronation Street for good, it was revealed yesterday. He is set for a tear-jerking Christmas farewell, but actor Philip Middlemiss has yet to find out how he will be written out of the soap after eight years playing Des.

He said yesterday: "If I had my choice, Des would get involved in a couple of blonde Swedish exchange students then win the lottery." But he feels it is more likely he will be killed off by a jealous rival or find love at last after string of doomed romances. Philip, 35, has made it clear he will not be returning to the soap. He added: "It will be a wrench to leave the Street, I love playing Des. But I had been mulling it over for four or five years. "I honestly have no idea about my departure or demise. We only know two weeks in advance of filming. I'll miss working with so many great actors and actresses in the Street, but it is time to move on."

Philip revealed how he has been working on a six-part BBC drama with pal Gary Webster - Ray Daly from Minder. He will play a jobless Geordie who shelters his long-lost cousin, a Cockney wide-boy on the run from jail. It is unlikely Philip will be watching his final appearance in the Street - he will be busy rehearsing for panto. The star will be playing Buttons in Cinderella in Newcastle. Former EastEnder Sophie Lawrence has the starring role.

Three of her former colleagues on the BBC soap are set to cash in with an Albert Square version of the Full Monty. Actors Ross Kemp and Steve McFadden - brothers Grant and Phil Mitchell - get down to the bare essentials for a video special to be released at Christmas.

They and their TV mum Peggy - Barbara Windsor - are believed to have agreed a £500,000 deal. The brothers strip off after a drinking binge at the Queen Vic - and are caught by Peggy. An EastEnders insider said: "It's hysterical."

Street's sex-swap Hayley goes to market
Saturday 27 June 1998

CONTROVERSIAL Coronation Street character Hayley Patterson - the transsexual shop worker played by East Lancashire actress Julie Hesmondhalgh - makes her return to the soap tomorrow. And while her character has been off in Amsterdam undergoing a sex change operation, Julie has been in even more exotic locations, taking in Los Angeles, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela - and Haslingden! She visited the official opening of Haslingden's new market, together with the Mayor of Rossendale, Coun Mollie Disley and town crier Peter Gill, pictured with her.

The soap star, who is from Church and is a former pupil of Moorhead High School, Accrington, said: "It's great to see a market opening up for once rather than closing down and the new market here is lovely." "It's just been one exotic location after another for me since I was last on TV!" Julie's character is set to be reunited with hapless cafe worker Roy Cropper when she returns to the screen tomorrow.

The actress, who describes Hayley and Roy as a match made in heaven, said: "Roy goes out to Amsterdam to try and find Hayley. He does find her, but you'll have to watch to find out what happens when he does!"

Julie, whose parents John and Maureen live in Church, carefully researched her controversial role through reading and speaking to transsexuals when news of the new character got out. She has seen Hayley as a challenge and believes the support of actor David Neilson, who plays cafe owner Roy, has helped her as she defended her portrayal of Hayley following complaints from viewers.

Drink-drive arrest for Corrie's Les Battersby
Tuesday 30 June 1998

CORONATION Street actor Bruce Jones has been arrested for alleged drink-driving - weeks after his screen character Les Battersby suffered a similar fate.

Bruce, 45, was taken to a police station for a blood test after he was stopped and breathalysed near his home at 11pm on Sunday. He left about 30 minutes later when friends arrived to collect him.

Jones spent yesterday drinking and discussing the incident with pals at his local, The Bull's Head, 200 yards from his £150,000 detached house in Stockport, Greater Manchester. He refused to comment on the arrest, but said: "Everything will be all right." A police spokesman said: "A man was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol. "We are now awaiting the result of a blood- alcohol analysis."

The £100,000 a year star will be back filming today. In the soap, boozed-up Les was banned for 12 months after driving into a police car. A Granada spokesman said: "It will not affect Bruce's role in the show. "We are concerned to hear of this incident but as yet we have not spoken to him. "The matter is still the subject of a police inquiry so we cannot comment further."

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