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Alf death rumpus
Wednesday 6 January by Jerry Lawton

FURIOUS insurance chiefs claim Coronation Street has lost the plot over Alf Roberts' death. Tonight's storyline has Alf's shattered widow Audrey missing out on his death pay-out because the policy expired the day before he died.

Alf kicked the bucket on New Year's Eve while the policy was still in force, but his death certificate wasn't signed until the next morning, by which time it had run out.  But brokers point out that in the real world companies offer 30 days' grace before cancelling policies. And they say the bungle could panic millions over their policies.

Richard Eager, spokesman for Greatminster's M & E Network, said: "Our concern is that Coronation Street's 16 million viewers might take this as fact. "I've never come across an insurer who hasn't shown the greatest sympathy and understanding in a situation like this. "If the country can campaign for Deirdre to be released from prison, there's certainly a case for Audrey to get her cash."

A Coronation Street spokesman said: "If all this storyline does is to get people to check their insurance policies for their own peace of mind, then it's no bad thing."

A Rovers return for sober Kev
7 January 1998

CORONATION Street star Kevin Kennedy is returning to the soap after beating the bottle. He's going back to work in four weeks, though it won't be till the end of March before viewers get a chance to see his character Curly Watts in the Rovers.

I'm told the last six months, which have seen Kevin in and out of rehab, have been the hardest in the 36-year-old actor's life. But last night he told me: "I feel brilliant and am looking forward to going back. I'm told they've got some great storylines lined up for me. "I'd also like to thank the members of the public who sent me flowers and cards. Their support has been unbelievable."

But it won't be so easy for Curly when he makes his long-awaited return. His home has been taken over by ex-con Jackie Dobbs (Margi Clarke) who is squatting there with her tearaway son Tyrone, played by Alan Halsall. Scriptwriters wrote Kevin out after he made his booze crisis public last July. Curly fled the country, possibly to Kuala Lumpur, to be with his wife Raquel, fearing he was going to be charged with blackmail at his supermarket. Friends said Kevin would find life without booze hard. He and his bubbly wife Clare loved to party. But after talking to him, I reckon he's got his life back on track for good. Cheers, mate.

Rita's girl is back on the Street of fame
10 January 1999

THIS is Coronation Street actress Tracie Bennett - back 17 years after she last walked the famous cobbles. Tracie, now 34, is returning to her old role of Rita Sullivan's sexy foster daughter Sharon Gaskell. Sharon caused a sensation in 1982 as the teenage temptress who tried to seduce Brian Tilsley. This time round she will be in the middle of another explosive love triangle involving new Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes.

Tracie returns to Weatherfield on Friday to give Rita the news that she is planning to get married. Her announcement should be a tonic for the Kabin boss, who is reeling from being jilted by Alec Gilroy and grieving over the death of old friend Alf Roberts. But the smiles will not last. As Sharon prepares for a March wedding, her husband-to-be, salesman Ian Bentley will cheat on her with Natalie. "It's a fantastic story to come back to," said Tracie, who has put a career on New York's Broadway on hold to return to the soap.

After leaving the Street, Tracie made her mark in Shirley Valentine, playing Pauline Collins' daughter.

Street legend Ena puts her stamp on Millennium
10 January 1999

CORONATION Street battleaxe Ena Sharples is to be the Royal Mail's face of the Millennium - with a special stamp commissioned to show her in all her grim, hair-netted glory.

The portrait of Ena, the hatchet-faced queen of the Rovers Return snug bar, will be painted by controversial artist Justin Mortimer. He had already submitted one idea for a stamp design featuring a Dalek. But Royal Mail chiefs said it wasn't scary enough - and plumped for Ena, as played by the late Violet Carson, instead.

Mortimer, 27, has already been in hot water over one of his pictures. It was a soft-focus portrait of the Queen. which made it look as if her head had been cut off. Ena - and 47 other icons of British life during the past Millennium - will be on a series of stamps to be released next year. The Royal Mail has asked artists to paint everything from potatoes to tattooed Maoris.

The 12-stamp entertainment series, due out in June, includes pop star Freddie Mercury performing at the Live Aid concert, Charlie Chaplin and Bobby Moore lifting the World Cup. But Ena will undoubtedly be the star of the collection, reviving the early days of the Street, when she and Minnie Caldwell performed character assassination on their neighbours over a few milk stouts.

As a God-fearing woman, Ena made an enemy of the sluttish Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) and their verbal bouts are part of television history. A spokesman for Coronation Street said yesterday: "We are delighted. "This is a face from Corrie's past that will carry the show into the next millennium. "It is particularly poignant for us as the Year 2000 will mark the programme's 40th anniversary.

"This just goes to show that Corrie is a programme which is still in the forefront of British life and will continue to be well into the future. "We're also intrigued by the choice of artist. It will be interesting to see how that works out."

Former Rovers barman is to be killed off at last
11 January 1999

Rovers Return barman Fred Gee is to be finally killed off - 15 years after he last appeared in Coronation Street. Fred, played by Fred Feast, has not been seen since 1984, but viewers will learn of his death when his wife Eunice reappears later this month.

The couple were married in 1981, and 17 million viewers tuned in to watch them tie the knot. Eunice will return as temporary landlady to Jack and Vera Duckworth when they leave the Rovers.
Vera asks after Fred, an old gambling buddy of Jack, and Eunice - played by Meg Johnson - has to break the news that she is now a widow.

A Coronation Street source told The Sun: 'Fred Gee had to die. There was no desire to bring him back. 'They couldn't have his wife Eunice popping up without explaining what had happened to Fred. So it was decided that Eunice would be a widow.'

Actor Fred, 69, was a Street regular for 13 years. He developed cancer after quitting the soap but managed to beat it. As recently as 1994 he said he would like to return to the Street, but his wife Kath said he no longer cared what the show did with his former character.

Eunice is one of three old faces making a Street comeback. Deirdre Rachid's mother Blanche Hunt, played by Maggie Jones, has already returned, and tearaway Sharon Gaskell - played by Tracie Bennett - will be seen soon.

I fought back to life twice, then I was bumped off with just two months notice... it was so sad
11 January 1999

It was the heart-rending scene which reduced Coronation Street fans everywhere to tears. As the clock struck midnight at the New Year's Eve party, the nation's most famous shopkeeper, Alf Roberts, was found dead in his armchair.

For soap viewers, who have also followed actor Bryan Mosley's real-life brushes with death, it was an unbearably poignant sight. But for veteran Bryan, who is a household name as former mayor Alf, it was not just the passing of an old friend. He also felt let down by programme-makers - who after 37 years, gave him just two months' notice of their decision to write him out. It was a huge and unexpected shock for Bryan, who had hoped to keep going until the millennium.

"I am so disappointed that they did not phase me out gently," he says. "It was like: 'Crash, bang, you're going.' "I felt it was a mistake to get rid of Alf so soon, but my health was a problem. Now I understand the decision and I'm relieved it's been made for me. "I do happen to feel Alf is great loss to the Street and I think he will be missed. There was still a lot for him to do as a character."

The disappointment was all the greater for the 68-year-old actor because, after suffering two heart scares and a dramatic 5st weight loss, Bryan is enjoying his best health for ages. "I feel like a new man, the best I have felt for three years, and I kept telling the producers I was getting better all the time,"he says. "Granada had been very good to me throughout my illness. I'd hardly been on screen for a year, yet they kept my character going. They arranged for doctors and nurses to look after me and everybody helped to pull me through, so the decision to kill off Alf did come a bit like a bolt out of the blue."

As a down-to earth-Yorkshireman, Bryan doesn't like to make a fuss. But he now wishes he had pushed harder for Alf to stick around. He says: "I did want to work until the millennium and then retire to Morocco or something. I've been around a long time, and I thought they could have done that for me. " He had been back in the show since February after a long recovery from a heart attack, complicated by anaemia and a chest infection, a year earlier. "All the time I was in hospital, I was aiming to get back on the screen," he says. "That was my target. The idea of going back drove me on. "When I came back, I was just pleased to be there, although I looked like something someone had dug up. I couldn't breathe properly. "It was a strain on everyone else because they thought: 'Is he going to drop dead, or what?' In fact, I looked iller than I was. But, of course, my appearance had changed so much."

Bryan realised Alf's days were numbered the day he was summoned to the production office. "The old producer, Brian Park, had told me when I came back that I would be eased out gently," he says. "But then I had a call from the new producer, David Hanson. I asked him if he could tell me over the phone, but he said he would rather see me face to face. That's when I could see what was coming. "Whenever you go up to the office, the rest of the cast say 'Good luck', because you know they are either going to fire you or send you to Tanganyika. "David explained that they had decided to write Alf out and asked me what I thought about it. I replied I did not think it was a very good idea, because I was feeling better all the time and could still contribute to the show. "He listened to what I said, but told me that the decision had been made to kill Alf on on New Year's Eve.

"I replied: 'If that's it, that's it.' At the end of it I was more sad than angry. I was really annoyed because they said they were going to ease Alf gently out. It would have been nice to get some more notice. One is a legend, you know! You knew he was always there - good, old solid Alf. "It's also a shame to break the partnership up between me and Sue Nicholls, who plays my wife Audrey, and I shall miss her a lot. But afterwards, I thought: 'What a relief!' I realised what a stress it was, not only for me but for my wife Norma, who had been on at me for ages to pack it in. All the family said I should have jacked it in long ago. "Now I will miss Alf. But I won't miss the schedule."

Bryan did not want to "die" of a dramatic heart attack. He had suffered serious real-life ones in 1991 and 1997. "In the event, I still died from a heart attack - but quietly, in the chair," he says. He was the third longest-serving cast member after Bill Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, and Eileen Derbyshire (Emily Bishop). He says: "Filming that death scene was bloody boring, because all I had to do was sit there and pretend to be dead. Sean Wilson, who plays my son-in-law, Martin, had to shake me and say: 'Oh no, he's gone, Audrey.' "In rehearsal, I leapt out of the chair and yelled: 'Surprise!' I couldn't resist it. Poor Sean nearly jumped out of his skin. Then two extras kept tripping over my feet. I had to say: 'Oi, come on, I am supposed to be dying here.' "Really, my final scene was funny. But I imagine some viewers shed a few tears. I just feel sorry for all the old dolls for whom Alf was an old friend and who were upset to watch him slip away."

After filming the scene, Bryan was presented with a huge bunch of lilies, orchids and roses from the producer. "I saw the lilies and joked: 'Bloody hell, the funeral's not until next week, is it?" he laughs. "Then I cracked a joke about all the wages I was going to miss out on. "There was an anniversary party that night, and I was in two minds whether to go. I didn't want a big send-off. They told me: 'This is really Alf's night.' I was very touched by that. "I was presented with a cake in the shape of my trilby and a scene of the Street with all the characters. "It was a mind-boggling evening. I shed a few tears when they showed a tape of some of my scenes."

As one of the most experienced actors in the cast, Bryan was often been asked for advice. And he feels sorry for today's younger stars. "They have got to learn the job in the sight of millions of people," he says. "It's total exposure the whole time. It's fame first, experience afterwards. "The beauty of the first cast was that they were stage actors who, if anything went wrong, knew how to put it right again. If you did get it wrong, it was a calamity. You couldn't stop and cut the tape. "Now the young ones just stop and giggle and think it's a great joke. I personally found it frustrating, and I could get quite impatient. "It's not fair to name names, but half of you thinks: 'Oh, they're young,' but the other half thinks: "For God's sake, get on with it."

But Bryan also sympathises with the newcomers. "It must be murder to be so young, in Coronation Street, and be paid thousands a week but not be able to go out and have fun," he says. "Just look at Simon Gregson, who plays Steve McDonald. In his wild days, he probably did what any other young person of his age got up to." And Bryan admits that younger cast members such as Tracy Shaw add a touch of glamour. "They are not the slags they used to be," he adds affectionately. "Pat Phoenix started out like that, though she turned into a beauty queen."

Sexy plot lines are still no replacement for good old-fashioned characters, Bryan insists. "The show used to be about relationships and caring and minutiae of living. It was about the things that weren't important but things that people recognised. "It still has all these things and is still popular, but it is not the same show. It has to move with the times. Competition from shows like EastEnders has changed the medium." "We had scenes about nothing, but people recognised the character. I once went into the shop with Albert Tatlock. I said: 'Age before beauty,' and he said: 'Nay, I only came in with you,' and we went out again. People still remember it, because it was so typical of two fellas walking into the shop."

Now Bryan is determined to make the most of his sudden freedom. "Someone once said to the artist David Hockney: 'When did you realise you were rich?', and he said: 'When I woke up one morning and thought, I can do what I like.' "I am not saying I am rich, but that's how I feel. I can do exactly what I want. Over the years, I have really had no life of my own. Now I am enjoying catching up with everyone, especially Norma. "At least I will have my own identity from now on. "I have no interest in the Street. It was part of my life, but not any more - although I might go back to give them all a bit of my leaving cake." "Even now, I won't watch Coronation Street regularly. "But I may tune in in the future to watch my old mates - if there are any left."

Vera out on Street
11 January 1999

IT'S CHUCKING out time at the Rovers Return and Jack and Vera have got no home to go to. Coronation Street's new landlady Natalie Barnes is moving into the flat above the pub and that means the Duckworths have to take a room in a pokey B&B. The soap's favourite duelling couple had no idea naughty Nat would become the Landlady from Hell when she saw off meanie Alec Gilroy who was trying to starve them out. But Natalie is about to show her true colours and reveal that her loyalty to the Duckworths was just part of her business plan. She wants them to take wage cuts and demotes Vera to pub cleaner.

The family that Alf built
12 January 1999

CORONATION Street fans find it hard to believe that Alf Roberts could be married to anyone but nagging Audrey. But actor Bryan Mosley's wife Norma is the rock on which his real-life 43-year marriage is based.

Having one of television's best known soap stars for a husband has not all been plain sailing for Norma. Bryan says: "We have been to places where people have pushed her out of the way to get a photo with me - and asked her to take the picture. "When I'd say: 'This is my wife.' They'd say: 'Oh, I thought your wife was Audrey.' It's been very hard for her at times yet she always supported me."

The couple first met when Norma was 11 and Bryan was 12 at the local church youth club. Childhood sweethearts, they married in 1956 when the actor who would become Alf Roberts was 25, and Norma was a teacher. And despite the pressures of showbiz and bringing up six children, their marriage is so strong it has been an inspiration to other couples. Before he fell ill again, Bryan and Norma passed on their experience of married life by talking about their relationship to couples about to tie the knot. "It's not counselling," says Bryan. "It's about giving people the benefit of our experience and sharing why we were still together and how we got to the way we were. "We advise couples not to let themselves get pushed into a lifelong commitment by parents or in-laws and to realise that problems may lay ahead.

The funny thing was that very few people said anything about discussing the meaning of marriage across the room from someone who played Alf Roberts. "In turn, Norma and I discovered things about ourselves and found that we were still basically the same people we married all those years ago." "Being involved in Marriage Encounter enhanced our own relationship. Our love is of a better quality now than it was. It's less selfish."

The couple have six children - Jacqueline, Simone, Helen, Jonathan, Bernard and Leonard - and six grandchildren. Yet despite their happiness over the years, there has also been heartbreak. Norma discovered she had breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Bryan says: "I would go out and drive off and say some prayers and have a good cry and come back again. "I did my best to be there, but it was a real problem trying to be Alf at the same time as giving all the help I possibly could to Norma. "At first they were worried the cancer might have spread but the doctors were confident it had been contained and Norma did not even need chemo. "Now we feel we have a responsibility to each other to stay around. After all, we got married to stay together."

Also, their first grandson Alex is profoundly deaf after catching meningitis at the age of 18 months. Bryan, who learnt sign language to communicate with Alex, now 22, says: "The treatment was streptomycin. It was either that or die. "But it was only found out later that he could have been given a smaller dose. It was a tragedy. It has affected the whole family. If you have one person disabled in the family, you are all disabled to other extents."

Bryan was born in Leeds on August 25, 1931, in a home that was a dead ringer for a Coronation Street terrace. "Our street had a chapel, a fish shop, a railway siding and a millionaire who lived in a tiny house, so you can't say that nothing happens in those back streets," says Bryan. His first performance was in the front of a pantomime cow when he was eight. During an 18-month spell in the RAF, he continued to act and his talent was spotted by his group captain. "He asked me what I was hoping to do when I was demobbed. When I said acting, he replied: 'Oh yes, I saw you the other night in The Importance of Being Earnest. You were very good.' "I went into rep as a character man, mainly because I didn't have the confidence. I felt better with a bit of slap on." He even won rave reviews alongside Peter O'Toole. "We acted together in Without The Prince and I was very proud of the review which said: 'Bryan Mosley was very effective. Also in the cast, P O'Toole'."

While his young family was growing up, Bryan was often away from home. The jobbing actor would hitchhike to London to look for work with just half- a-crown in his pocket, sleeping on a friend's floor. Meanwhile, Norma worked as a teacher occasionally to help pay the bills but there were still times when the cupboard was bare. "Norma brought the kids up. I was too busy working. I used to sell encyclopaedias door to door. One day I came home and asked Norma what was for tea and she told me it was a tin of beans. "I said: 'That will do.' Then she explained it was for the two children we had at the time. So I went out and sold some books and got to the grocers just before closing time so Norma and I had something to eat."

But even after he landed a role in Coronation Street in 1961, it was still not regular work and there were still hard times ahead. An actors' strike meant he was out of work and unable to claim the dole, instead living off loans from his agent. After five years of struggling, Bryan set himself a goal. If he couldn't get regular work in 12 months, he would quit. "I gave myself a year-long deadline and then it all happened. I landed a part in Z cars as the fingerprint man." After that, it wasn't long before he was making a name for himself in action serials, appearing in The Saint and The Avengers as well as another soap, Crossroads. He was even cast as dashing Patrick McNee's younger brother in The Avengers and says: "It was my biggest disappointment that it did not go ahead. But that's acting. It can be a depressing business."

Bryan had the chance to go to Hollywood just before he was asked to rejoin Coronation Street, this time as a regular character. "I got the role in Get Carter with Michael Caine and they wanted me to go to America. But I had six kids by then. So I said a prayer to St Anthony to ask him what to do. Then a few days later the phone rang and it was Coronation Street. "I can't say I have never regretted it but it turned out my destiny was not to go to Hollywood." As his fortunes started to improve, Bryan still refused to let stardom change his priorities. "I have been in nightclubs and I hated it. The Street could have opened me up to temptation but the first thing in life always remained my family."

Now Bryan is looking forward to a comfortable retirement. "I am feeling better than I have for at least three years and although I can't fly, travel is my greatest luxury." Worries over money are far in the past: "There are two ways of living. With wealth and without and I know which one I prefer."

But even though it is the end of Alf, the Mosley acting dynasty may not be at an end quite yet. Several of his children are in showbusiness. Two are lighting engineers while his daughter Jacqueline, who also made a brief acting appearance in the Street, helped make the costumes for movie epic Elizabeth. Now Bryan's granddaughter Charlotte, 15, is following in her footsteps and training at drama school. "Maybe one day she will follow me in Coronation Street. But I would never recommend acting to anyone."

At his beautiful stone house outside Bradford with spectacular views across the Yorkshire Moors, he is also a keen amateur painter. But he has no plans to retire from acting altogether - and he is even putting himself forward for a cameo in the next Bond movie. "I would not say I am happier than ever but I am very happy. I am more certain now about what I want. I would like a little part in the next James Bond, not a huge mega-star part, just a quick cameo. "It's a great series and I know the director, so I am going to see whether he will give me a job showing Bond into a room or something!"

But despite being an actor all his life, there is just one person who gives Bryan Mosley his cues. "I'm waiting for God to tell me what to do," says Bryan. "When I heard the news that I was going from Coronation Street, I spoke to him and said: 'Let me know what you want me to do, boss.' He still hasn't told me!"

Street's Sally moves into Natalie's house
17 January 1999

Coronation Street's Sally Webster is set for more humiliation. renting a home from the woman who stole her husband Kevin in the first place. She will end up paying rent to Natalie Barnes when she moves into the home the new landlady of the Rovers shared with bookie Des before he was murdered. It means Sally will be living across the road from Kevin, which is now dating pretty factory girl Alison, just as the Websters move closer to the divorce courts.

A Coronation Street insider said: "It is a delicious twist to a long- running storyline for Sally. "She hates being Nat's tenant, but she wants to stay in the Street so she can keep her eye on Kevin." And Sally, who had a disastrous fling with conman Greg Kelly, will try her best to wreck Kevin's chances of happiness. The Street insider added: "It's all Fatal Attraction stuff. Sally is not the nice girl she once was.

Torrment of TV Deirdre
22 January 1999 by Brian Roberts

CORONATION Street star Anne Kirkbride is being treated in a clinic to combat fears that her cancer may return. The 44-year-old actress, Deirdre Rachid in the ITV soap, has had counselling because she is worried the disease will strike again. She was given the all-clear last November after a brave battle against non-Hodgkins lymphoma which attacks the blood and lymph glands. But she has since suffered the recurring nightmare that one day the disease will come back.

Her anxiety became so bad that she decided to seek professional help at the Priory in Hale, Cheshire. It is the same clinic where Anne's troubled co-star Kevin Kennedy, the Street's Curly, was treated for booze addiction. Anne, one of TV's most reclusive stars, has been a day patient at the private clinic for the past two months where she attends intense group therapy sessions. She has bravely bared her soul alongside drunks and drug addicts.

The star said: "I am now taking this course of treatment. I am having to face up to the counselling. My need is purely for counselling over my recovery from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It has nothing to do with any addiction." Last night a clinic source said: "Anne is brave. The therapy groups she is attending are horrendous." Granada TV, the makers of Coronation Street, said: "She has our full support."

I need this treatment... I'm facing up to it

THE private hire taxi swept along the gravel driveway on a crisp winter morning. Sitting nervously in the back was actress Anne Kirkbride - better known as Coronation Street's Deirdre Rachid. Off screen she is one of showbusiness's most reclusive characters and fiercely protective of her private life. Yet Anne was about to share her most intimate fears and thoughts with a group of total strangers.

The 44-year-old had decided she needed specialist help to guide her after her courageous battle against the rare but treatable cancer non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She had been struck down by the disease - which attacks the blood and lymph tissues - in 1993 and after a series of painful chemotherapy sessions was given the all-clear by doctors last November. But Anne's public joy masked a private heartache. She could not wipe from her mind the fear of the cancer returning. Her private lifestyle meant she shared her problems with just a handful of people. Her devoted husband David Beckett - who Anne married in 1992 - was a solid support. Behind the closed doors of their beautiful detached home opposite a golf course in south Manchester the couple chatted for hours on end about how to overcome her worries. Anne's close friend, neighbour and co-star on the Street Kevin Kennedy had been an in-patient at The Priory clinic in leafy Hale, Cheshire, in a bid to beat his booze addiction. Kevin - Curly ~Watts in the ITV soap - spent more than four weeks having therapy and eventually emerged to say he was on the way to full recovery.

So it was to the same clinic that Anne turned in a bid to banish the demons that would not let her anguished mind rest. She has been attending the clinic as a day patient for the last couple of months. Anne, who has played Deirdre for 26 years, told a friend: "I took the decision that I needed the benefit from the counselling offered by the clinic which is why I am now taking this course of treatment. "I know what people will be thinking when they hear I am at the same place as Kevin - but my need is purely for counselling over my recovery from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It has nothing to do with any addiction. "I had a feeling that the fact I was attending the clinic would somehow slip out. It was just going to be a matter of time. Right now I am having to face up to the counselling programme."

Her admission yesterday to receiving treatment at The Stables, the counselling section of The Priory, came as a bombshell to her Street pals. One set insider said: "We had no idea Anne was needing such treatment. Mind you she has always been one of the most private people on the set and only confides to a handful of pals. "She's a smashing girl and there will be a huge amount of support for her."

The Stables specialises in treating people from all walks of life suffering from all kinds of problems. Day patients mix with residential ones as their personal traumas are openly discussed. Last night details of Anne's counselling sessions were revealed by a source at the private clinic where in-patients can pay £3,000 a week. The insider warned: "The place can make or break a person. The day starts at 9am and those who attend The Stables really know they have been through it by the time 4.30pm arrives.

"Group therapy is the specific way everything is dealt with there and the days are long and intensive. "People in there can be drug addicts, boozers, depressed, shopaholics, chocaholics - in fact those with any kinds of problems. The programme can be quite upsetting for people and often you see them coming out afterwards in tears because they have really been put through the mill. "They can be ripped apart during the counselling sessions when they are quizzed not only by the staff but by the other patients about their problems. If they have been taking drugs they will be questioned about why they reached such a pathetic level to have to turn to them. "The same with any of the problems people are suffering. Kevin Kennedy went through counselling at The Stables - he wasn't treated any differently than any other guy in there. "Kevin would have had his heart ripped open by the sessions. Just because he is famous wouldn't have counted for anything.

"If anything he would have been told he had been a completely useless prat for becoming a drunk. They would say something like: 'Look at you with all your money - you're ruining not only your life but other people's as well. You have been a prat.' "Other people are encouraged to quiz the person on the spot. Then it's their turn to be hammered. The whole essence of the meetings is for people to come out in front of their peers and try to explain how they have managed to get into such a bad state. "The Priory maintain the intense treatment is completely necessary. There is much relief when the session comes to an end. But people know there is always more to come. "Some people are in tears as they come out - it can be that harrowing. But if they want to overcome whatever problems they have they must bat it out". The Stables is furnished with standard tables and chairs - nothing fancy. Staff do not want to create an atmosphere of comfort for patients, said the insider. The source added: "The last thing they want is for people in there to be relaxed - that is definitely off the agenda."

Anne's cancer nightmare began in 1993 when she collapsed at Granada's Manchester studios. Later doctors found a lump in one of her lymph glands. She had emergency treatment and lost her hair after bouts of chemotherapy. Anne successfully fought the cancer and every six months she was screened to check she was still clear.

The heavy-smoker defied pleas from her dad, cartoonist Jack Kirkbride, to give up cigarettes during her fight against the illness. He had seen his wife Enid, 66, die from liver cancer in 1993 - on Anne's 39th birthday - and was praying his daughter would beat her own disease. But despite his pleas she carried on lighting up 20 a day It didn't hamper her battle though and Anne reached the significant five year milestone last November when she received the all clear from doctors at Manchester's Christie Hospital.

TV viewers were moved to tears when she appeared on Michael Aspel's This Is Your Life in December. Her cancer battle figured heavily in the tear-jerker. At one stage a remarkable story of friendship and mutual support was revealed when old friend Annie Giles-Quinn talked about Anne's fight against the disease..and then her own. Annie tenderly nursed the actress through some of her darkest moments. Then she revealed how that kindness was repaid - when Anne helped her in her fight against breast cancer. Annie told her in front of millions of viewers: "You were the wind under my wings. I love you." The Coronation Street cast in the audience wept as Annie was seen hugging the star and crying.

Meanwhile, Granada TV last night issued a statement after bosses held talks with the star. It said: "Anne Kirkbride has been attending The Stables as an out-patient for a couple of months. She has been receiving counselling as she continues to come to terms with the fact she has had non-Hodgkins lymphoma. "They are solely counselling sessions - absolutely nothing to do with any form of addictive treatment. Anne is extremely professional and is continuing to enjoy her work. She has the full support of her husband David, her family and Granada Television."

Fred's Fight For Life
25 January 1999 by John Mahoney

CORRIE legend Fred Feast is in hospital fighting a serious illness . . . just as his telly character has finally been killed off. Screen widow Eunice last night revealed on the soap how cellarman Fred Gee had died the first reference to him since he left the cast 14 years ago. But the 68-year-old actor who became a household name as Annie Walker's barman and chauffeur, heard of his soap end from a hospital bed where he has laid for nearly six months.

A decade ago Fred boasted that he had beaten throat cancer. Now his desperately worried wife Kath won't discuss what is wrong. Last night, at the hospital in Bridlington, North Yorks, Fred gratefully accepted a Good Luck card from the Daily Star. But he didn't want to talk about his illness, which is understood to affect his intestines. A hospital source said: "He's very poorly indeed and is a sick man. But at the moment his condition is not life-threatening."

Fred was switched to Bridlington from hospital in nearby Scarborough, where he lives with Kath in a semi-detached bungalow. One neighbour said: "We have been told that neither she nor Fred want visitors. It is all very distressing and slightly confusing. Fred is blunt and straightforward and might not be everybody's cup of tea. "But we've heard he's in a serious way, so our thoughts are obviously with him." Another chum said: "Fred wanted to come home on Boxing Day, but didn't look as if he was well enough at all. It took him a long time to get out of the car and into his house."

Street fans discovered the screen fate of Fred Gee last night when his former missus Eunice (Meg Johnson) told Gail Platt. "Freddie and I split up early on  he wasn't an easy man to live with. But it knocked me for six when he died," she said.

During his Street stint viewers saw randy Fred try to get his wicked way with both Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) and Audrey (Sue Nicholls). Last year he made an appearance in Heartbeat before his illness worsened.

£8,000-a-week Angela is new Lottery host
31 January 1999

HOLBY City star Angela Griffin is to become the new face of TV's National Lottery - on a salary of £8,000 a week. Angela, 22, will replace Changing Rooms presenter Carol Smillie on the midweek show.

BBC bosses hope that Angela, who made her name as hairdresser Fiona Middleton in Coronation Street, will boost flagging ratings for the Wednesday show. She has already helped Casualty spin-off Holby City win millions of fans with her portrayal of the "happy hippie" nurse Jasmine Hopkins.

Last night a senior BBC source said: "Angela was the one that we wanted from the start, and we've got her. "She's a delightful young woman with no false airs and graces. "She is confident and likeable - and the viewers just love her."

Angela has already been told that BBC and Camelot bosses are depending on her to raise the audience ratings. The BBC source added: "It's a major challenge. The mid-week Lotto is a bit of a Cinderella show. "Ticket sales are often slow, and viewers have never switched on in their droves."

Shower's your soapy bits Tracy
31 January 1999

WATER babe Tracy Shaw strips off for her steamiest ever role - in the shower. The stunning Corrie star pouts seductively as water cascades over her beautiful tanned body. These amazing pictures reveal that Tracy, 25, is definitely the sexiest soap star around. And they prove just what a fool former lover Darren Day was to let her slip through his hands.

Tracy, who plays crimper Maxine Heavey in the Street, really let her hair down for the sensational photos. Looking tantalisingly seductive in a lacy black bra which slips down her shoulders, she stares confidently into the camera - the epitome of cool sophistication. Tracy then switches into a see-through white T-shirt for a raunchier look. The sheer material clings to her body, revealing her perfect curves.

Another change of tempo sees the star turn herself into a man- eating temptress. In a revealing black body stocking with a neckline which plunges almost to her waist, her smouldering look shows a woman of passion. And then, in the most daring shot of all, Tracy turns soap star with a difference as she bares all in the shower and really gets her fans in a lather.

The extraordinary pictures, for men's mag Maxim, are compelling proof that Tracy has won her painful battle against anorexia and regained her voluptuous figure. They also show she is determined to reveal her true passionate nature after dumping ex-fiance Day.

The only diamond ring she sports now is the trendy fashion accessory in her tummy button. And in a thinly veiled attack on Day, now engaged to former Home and Away star Isla Fisher, Tracy said: "I had a boyfriend who used to leave me whenever we went out. "He'd go off and chat up other women. He treated me like dirt and that was a nightmare."

In a fantasy date quiz Tracy gave would-be admirers plenty of tips on how to win her heart. She loves flowers and romantic meals at Chinese and Thai restaurants. And blokes should let her pay half the bill and always call her the next day.

Tracy said: "I like the man to be eager and ring me - I want them to do the chasing as I always end up doing that and I don't like it. "Guys don't often make the effort because they think they don't stand a chance. And even if I really like them I can't do anything because I'm so shy..."

After revealing all in these pictures, it's hard to believe that Tracy has anything left to be shy about.

Ah men! says Rev
1 February 1999 Exclusive by John Mahoney

CORONATION STREET chiefs are braced for a collision with the Church over Roy Cropper's sex-swap wedding plans. Millions of viewers will see cafe owner Roy and girlfriend Hayley Patterson declare their undying love for each other and start moves to get hitched. But neither banks on the reaction from the Church of England vicar who refuses to marry them - because Hayley was born male. Street writers are sticking to the correct British legal requirements for a marriage to take place, which say a vicar, priest or registrar must be certain one partner was male and one female at birth.

But Corrie bosses expect soap fans moved by the gentle love affair of Hayley and Roy will be furious to discover the best the Weatherfield odd couple can hope for is a simple blessing by a clergyman. "We foresee a strong reaction because many viewers will be unaware of the legal rules," said a Granada TV executive. "When Hayley came on the scene and her secret was revealed, the storyline was certainly contentious and managed to offend some viewers at first. "But since then most people would agree we have seen the developing of a love story, no matter how strange. "They run into problems with their wedding plans because that's what would happen in real life."

The Street stars involved - David Neilson as Roy and Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley - are said to be relishing the plot, well aware of the furore it could create. "There is a feeling this is an outdated, very unfair ruling by the Church, which needs modernising," added the source.

Corrie Street strike vote
3 February 1999

Workers on Coronation Street and Emmerdale have voted to strike in a pay dispute. Behind-the-scenes staff on the soaps are furious over 14 per cent rises for bosses at Granada TV while they have been offered 3.6 per cent.

Gerry Morrisey, of technical union Bectu, said: "We've had enough." Local news and Heartbeat may also be hit by action. Granada said the offer was "generous".

Roy goes rover to Casualty
4 February 1999 Exclusive by Polly Graham

CORONATION Street star Roy Barraclough is defecting to the BBC with a starring role in Casualty. The telly favourite, best known as Rovers Return boss Alec Gilroy in the ITV soap, will play a heart attack victim.

BBC chiefs want the 63-year-old actor to become a permanent face around the hospital. An insider said: "Roy's a very talented actor and he would be a welcome addition to the team." His first appearance in Casualty - screened on February 13 - will mark the 250th episode of the long-running BBC series.

Bachelor Roy joined Coronation Street as Alec in 1972. He left 20 years later amid rumours that he didn't get along with actress Julie Goodyear, his screen wife Bet, but returned in 1995. He quit again two months ago after refusing to renew his £120,000-a-year contract. Viewers saw him heading off for a new life in Brighton with granddaughter Vicky.

I'm so fat and frumpy and fed up being pregnant
5 February 1999

TINA Hobley is just two months away from achieving her dream of becoming a mum, but she isn't smiling. The former Coronation Street star feels fat, frumpy and frustrated - and scared of giving birth.

"I've wanted to have a child so much for as long as I can remember, but now I'm terrified in case I'm no good at it," she says, stroking her bump. "I absolutely adore children - they're something I've always known I wanted from an early age. I was one of those little girls who was always talking about having a husband and children. It was all I wanted to do. "But when the pregnancy test turned blue it was pretty scary. Steve and I are the first in our group of friends to do the baby thing, so we don't know what to expect."

As her pregnancy nears its end, Tina, 27, admits that she'll be glad when it's over. She feels fat and unattractive. "I'm looking forward to seeing and holding the baby and to being a mum," she says. "But it's a bit of a myth that women are at their sexiest during pregnancy. I look at myself in the mirror and go, 'UGH!' "I've found the last few months of the pregnancy very frustrating. I can't find anything to wear and I walk around feeling fat and frumpy the whole time. I've always been told that pregnancy makes you feel blooming. Well, I don't think I've ever looked worse. There's nothing attractive about being pregnant."

Despite the long months of waiting, Tina knows it will be worth it. But she also knows that motherhood could easily have remained just a dream if she had stayed in Coronation Street. Two-and-a-half years playing Rovers barmaid Sam Failsworth nearly broke up her relationship with fiance Steve Wallington. They were separated because of the show. She was working at the Granada studios in Manchester while Steve, 32, stayed at home in Islington, North London.

"It was a terrible strain," says Tina. "We both realised that if we wanted our marriage to work our lives needed to change drastically. It was make-or-break time. We needed to be together. If we'd stayed apart, I don't think it would have worked." By the end of her stint on the soap, she was homesick, lonely and uneasy about their future. But leaving the show did the trick. Three weeks after quitting The Street, she married Steve. The baby was conceived during their Italian honeymoon.

She learnt the news as she filmed her latest TV role alongside Nick Berry in the BBC1 series Harbour Lights, which begins this month. Tina talks candidly about her unhappiness working on The Street. "It got to a point where I'd had enough of trying to keep a relationship happy and commuting between London and Manchester," she says.

"I'd finish on a Friday night, desperate to get the last train, and then go back on a Sunday. There was such a lot of pressure to make everything between Steve and me perfect when we were together. If we had the tiniest row on a Saturday I'd be devastated, because the time we spent together was meant to be so precious. When we decided to get married, we both agreed that we'd had enough of that kind of lifestyle. We'd only been together six months when I got the job on Coronation Street, so we hadn't really spent much time together. The wedding was coming up and we kept saying: 'What are we doing? We hardly know if we can live together'."

Tina admits now that she never really felt at home in Manchester. She says: "I was living in a hotel for the first year and then I got a flat, thinking I could try to make it homely. But at night I'd go back to this flat, put on the TV and I'd still be on my own. Everyone on The Street had their own lives to go home to, and being in a long-running soap is like a nine-to-five job.

"If your life was somewhere else, as mine was, it could be very lonely indeed. I knew that when I married Steve I wouldn't be prepared to go on like that. I'd got to a point with Sam Fails-worth where I no longer understood her, and it was frustrating me. She was meant to be a man-hater, yet she was hopping into bed with the mechanic. Everything happens so fast on Coronation Street that you don't get the chance to ask where the character is going. Mad things were happening to Sam, with no explanation. That's soap, though. You just get on with it and I was starting to find her hard to play."

Just weeks after resigning, Tina was offered the role of policewoman Melanie Rush in Harbour Lights, set in the fictitious seaside village of Bridehaven. "I knew instantly that I wanted to play her," she says. Tina works closely with harbourmaster Mike Nicholls, played by Nick Berry, and sexual chemistry soon starts to crackle between them. Filming took place at West Bay, a tiny seaside town in Dorset.

Again, the actress found herself away from Steve and their London home. "But somehow it just wasn't the same as being in Manchester," she says. Apart from the fact that I was in this gorgeous place by the sea and countryside, there was also a real family feeling about the production. "In the evenings it would be: 'Where are we having dinner tonight?' No one was left out. I felt that I was part of a group of people who really cared for each other. It was a very happy time."

Discovering just three weeks into the project that she was pregnant only added to her joy. "At first, I was terrified that it would interfere with filming and I didn't tell anyone for the first three months," she says. I thought: 'Oh God, what if I spend the entire time throwing up?' "But fortunately I felt incredibly well and when I did break the news everyone was so supportive. "Nick Berry is very much a family man, with two little boys of his own - one of whom was just a tiny baby when we started filming. "Steve Lanning, the producer, was delighted how perfectly my pregnancy fitted in. It meant the series would be finished before I was showing too much. "I'd be able to have the baby and then come back to work if they commission a second series later in the year."

Though Tina's bump is not noticeable in the series, there are tell-tale signs of her condition. "In episode three, for example, which we shot out of sequence, my boobs are absolutely huge. And in other scenes I look a bit tired and peaky," she says. "But, generally speaking, I felt wonderful throughout. "Fortunately, because I knew so early on, I've had a lot of time to adjust and I'm pretty relaxed about the baby now. Steve is the one who's reading all the books and we're both determined that he'll be at the birth. "I've told him I want every kind of painkiller known to man. I'm not an earth-mother type who wants to get in touch with her pain."

Graphic designer Steve, who runs his own company, hopes to spend as much time with Tina and the baby as he can. She says: "We intend to organise it so that when I'm working he can take Friday and Monday off and be with me and the baby in Dorset. That way both his job and mine fit in perfectly."

If Harbour Lights, which starts on BBC1 on February 18, does go to a second series, Tina will be back filming in Dorset by the summer. "The baby will just be a few months old then, but that's fine," she says. "Steve has said that he wants to spend as much time in West Bay with me as he can. This is a fabulous time for me. I can't quite take it all in, to be honest. I've never been happier."

I do, so I do
8 February 1999 byJohn Mahoney

CORONATION Street hardman Charlie Lawson is marrying his live-in girlfriend - and his ex wife didn't even know. Charlie, who plays fiery Jim McDonald in the top soap, hoped to tie the knot in secret last month. But ex Street pal Phil Middlemiss, who was lined up as bestman, was stuck doing panto.

So 38-year-old Charlie delayed the big day until Phil -who played bed hopping bookie Des Barnes - finished starring in Cinderella in Newcastle. Now news has got out Charlie will wed Ellie Bond in front of a few Corrie stars as near to St Valentine's Day as possible. Until yesterday Charlie's ex-wife Susie had no idea he was about to get spliced.

At her house in Stratford, Warks, she admitted last night: "I know nothing about this." The couple, who have a 10-year-old daughter Laura, had a bitter bust-up nearly eight years ago. He moved to a flat in Manchester where Geordie Phil teamed up with him to become boozing mates. Phil quit as Dirty Des after nine years in the show last autumn.

Last night a Street pal said: "Charlie wanted Phil as bestman at all costs: "It would not have been the same to go ahead without him because the pair are so close." Last night a panto colleague of 38-year-old Phil said: "He would have hated to miss it. He is chuffed he can be there." Charlie lives with Ellie in an old coaching house in Wilmslow, Cheshire. He is keeping his real-life wedding a family affair for the McDonald clan. Simon Gregson who plays son Steve, and Nick Cochrane, who is Steve's twin Andy, will be there. Bev Callard, who plays Jim's flirty mini-skirted missus Liz McDonald, is also on the guest list.

City axes Bet
9 February 1999

ROLY-POLY Coronation Street legend Julie Goodyear is to get the boot from her role as a city's cultural ambassador. Officially, the unpaid ceremonial title she's held in Liverpool for the past year is to be scrapped later this week. But privately many scousers were puzzled why the Manchester-born star, who has piled on the pounds since quitting as landlady Bet Gilroy, was hired at all.

Last night Mike Storey, leader of the Lib-Dem council in Liverpool, stormed: "To my knowledge, she's done nothing to promote Liverpool's rich cultural heritage." Last night 56-year-old Julie was said to consider the chop "a great shame".

Street star Bryan dead
10 February 1999

CORONATION Street star Bryan Mosley collapsed and died in the street yesterday, just six weeks after his TV character Alf Roberts was killed off.

Bryan, 67, is thought to have had a heart attack while walking to a bank with his wife to collect money for a holiday in Venice. The actor, who came to the Street in its 18th episode in 1961 and was written out last New Year's Eve, had been plagued by heart trouble for years.

Privately, fellow Street stars believed his axing as shopkeeper Alf had left him devastated. One senior production source said: "The Street was his life, deep-down, and he never ever wanted to leave. We knew he would be left with a huge hole in his life." Bryan told The Mirror later that he was "so disappointed" by the decision.

His collapse happened at lunchtime in the main street of Shipley, West Yorks, where he lived with wife Norma. Paramedics fought to save him and doctors at nearby Bradford Royal Infirmary tried in vain to resuscitate him for up to 25 minutes. His eldest daughter Jacqueline - one of six children - said: "He'd seemed so well and appeared to be over his heart problems. "He was so looking forward to the holiday." Bryan and Norma were flying to Italy on Friday.

Last night Street actor Johnny Briggs, who plays Mike Baldwin, said: "I will remember him to the day I die because he has been a great, great friend of mine. "He was wonderful. A family man and a bloody good actor. He will be desperately missed."

Julie Goodyear, famous as the Street's Bet Gilroy, said: "Bryan was a very special man, a great mate and a fantastic colleague with a great sense of humour."

Bryan had been the Street's third longest-serving cast member behind Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and Eileen Derbyshire (Emily Bishop). And Roache summed up the sadness by saying: "We had hoped that after his retirement, Bryan would have many more years with his family. "I was very fond of Brian and I miss Alf as a character." Kevin Kennedy, back on set as Curly after battling alcohol addiction, said: "Bryan was a great man and a great pal." Betty Driver - Betty Williams of the Rovers - said: "He was a joy to work with, a professional and a true gentleman." Executive producer Caroline Reynolds said Granada was "very saddened.he was loved by us all."

Alf Roberts died in an armchair at a New Year party at the Platt household. The man who made him had survived several brushes with death, including two heart attacks in 1991 and 1997. Despite the pleadings of his family, he always returned to work. He shed four stone after one scare and said: "I can't wait to get back, I'll never quit."

Bryan, a talented artist and former film actor and stunt arranger, was much loved by friends in Shipley. Next-door neighbour Maurice Aske said: "He was respected by all who knew him, a very amusing man, full of stories."  

Being Fired broke Bryan's heart - they may as well have knifed him in the back

1961 - Alf first appears as a fellow GPO worker with Frank Barlow   1969 - Alf shares a pint in the Rovers snug with Ena Sharples and Len Fairclough   1971 - Alf chats with Jerry Booth in No9   May 1973 - Local Government re-organisation means that Weatherfield Urban District Council will disappear forever. Alf proudly serves as the last Mayor, taking Annie Walker as his Mayoress.   1983 - Shop flat resident Bet Lynch offers Alf comfort in his hour of need...   1985 - Alf proudly shops off the redeveloped corner shop - Alf's Mini Market   1985 - Alf makes the first of his proposals of marriage to Rita Fairclough   1991 - Alf comes face-to-face with shop worker Deirdre Barlow in the local council elections   August 1994 - Audrey tries to intervene as Alf and the Mayor of Charleville almost come to blows at the Charleville v Weatherfield black pudding competition.

TRAGIC Bryan Mosley tried to put a brave face on Alf Roberts' exit from Coronation Street when I spoke to him just a few weeks ago. But I suspected that the man who ranked alongside Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner had not come to terms with the void that the Street had left in his life. He was clearly someone who felt he had been knifed in the back. Most hurtful of all, Bryan explained, was the fact that, despite devoting his life to the show, he was not phased out gently. Instead he was given just a couple of months notice. His usually-warm eyes dropped to the floor as he told me: "It was like 'crash, bang you're going'." As we talked over tea and biscuits as his Manchester flat, he spoke little of his hopes for the future - except for expressing his desire to spend more time with his wife Norma. He tried desperately hard to hide any bitterness. He tried to come to terms with it by saying he was relieved the decision had been made for him. But it had a hollow ring because it was clearly not a decision he would have made for himself. He said: "I feel it was mistake to get rid of Alf so soon. I do happen to feel Alf is a great loss and he will be missed. There was still a lot for him to do as a character." Ironically, Bryan told me that after two serious heart attacks he felt better than ever. He knew all good things must come to an end, but had felt confident that he could stay on until the millennium. I worried as I walked away on the day of our first meeting whether losing the job he loved would take away his will to live. For he told me that the goal of returning to the Street after his two earlier illnesses had pulled him through before and were no doubt the reason he was still with us. Over the weeks that followed, I spent many more hours talking to Bryan on the phone. We both knew that The Mirror's three-part serialisation of his life was the way that both Bryan and Alf would be remembered. When I told him I was getting married, he was delighted, taking a deep interest in every part of the ceremony and the plans. When I offered to send him photographs of my wedding, I knew it was not an empty gesture that I would forget about as soon as the features had appeared. Bryan was the Street's third longest-serving actor, behind Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) and Eileen Derbyshire (Emily Bishop). He joined the soap in 1961 in the 18th episode when Alf Roberts stepped on to the famous cobbles as a postie. An actor's strike at Manchester-based Granada TV interrupted his run, forcing anyone not on a contract off the show. But seven years later Granada called again out of the blue and Alf Roberts was back in town. He stayed with the show as the backbone of the cast that fought off the challenge of BBC rivals EastEnders. Alf's corner shop became a cornerstone of the series, offering dramatic and hilarious storylines like the takeover by Reg Holdsworth (Ken Morley). Alf moved into the corner shop after marrying Renee Bradshaw, who ran it. Renee was killed in 1980 and Alf remained at the shop, marrying Audrey Potter in 1985. During his time in the Street, he was Mayor of Weatherfield, choosing Rovers' landlady Annie Walker as his mayoress. His final storyline involved free-spending wife Audrey being pursued by butcher Fred Elliott. Viewers saw her dancing with Fred at a New Year's Eve party while Alf was resting in an armchair. He died as the clock struck midnight. Bryan was also a big-screen actor, starring alongside Michael Caine in the 1971 gangster classic Get Carter. He was also a well-known stuntman and fight arranger as well as a talented artist. Other TV credits included roles in the pioneering crime series Z Cars, The Saint, Dr Who and The Avengers. I am lucky that I have one living reminder of Bryan Mosley. It is a beautiful potted plant on my desk at The Mirror, which he sent me as a thank you just a few days ago. In an age when most celebrities of his stature treat journalists as if they have done them a favour, Bryan wrote a simple message. It read: "Thank you for everything".   He was a rock... There weren't that many members of the Alf Roberts Fan Club in Weatherfield. But no one accused him to his face of being a tight-fisted stick-in-the-mud with an eye on the main chance. Bryan Mosley made sure of that. Whenever scriptwriters tried to lure Alf off the straight and narrow, he'd put his foot down. "Alf should never be seen cheating someone. It just wouldn't wash," he said. The warmest emotion Rovers regulars felt for Alf was grudging respect. After his death on New Year's Eve, Ken Barlow, Jim McDonald and Fred Elliot leant on the bar and reflected on Alf. "A bit slow at getting his round in," said Fred. Jim agreed: "Short arms, deep pockets." Ken described Alf as strong-willed. "Pig-headed in the extreme" was Fred's assessment. "Still, a very decent bloke" he concluded. Alf was born middle-aged. His ding-dong battle with eco-warrior Spider over the the Red Rec saw him at his most stubborn. But Alf didn't bear grudges for long. He had a heart. Alf showed his soft side when he bought the hairdressing salon for Audrey, to keep it out of Fred Elliott's hands. Audrey missed him. We all do. At a time when soap characters change their personalities at the drop of a position in the ratings, Alf was a rock. He behaved like a bear with a sore head, growling at anyone who crossed his path, but underneath, he was a teddy bear. Fred Elliott was right. A very decent bloke.

Corner shop aphrodisiac
Thursday February 11, 1999 By Philip Purser

The actor Bryan Mosley, who has died aged 67, was a stalwart of Coronation Street for 38 years, playing the cornershop-keeper Alf Roberts - a name picked at random long before anyone in Granada Television could have heard of a real-life Alfred Roberts in whose cornershop the infant Margaret Roberts, later Thatcher, had acquired her free-market politics.

Mosley's debut came in episode 18, only nine weeks into the run of what is still the doyen of our soap operas, but he was already a busy actor, and not until six years later, in 1967, was he persuaded to become a regular denizen of the Street.

Alf's wife at this time never actually appeared, but when she died Mosley won high praise for a scene in which he broke down as he tried to tell a neighbour. Alf married again, was widowed again, had other little affairs of the heart and ventured into local politics. Bryan Mosley settled comfortably into the characterisation of a good man careful with his brass and a bit holier-than-thou. He was himself 'just the sort of bloke', as the then producer Howard Baker put it, 'who would be a Sunday-school teacher'. He was also very popular with the show's writers. According to John Finch, an earlier producer, this was because he was so authentically northern.

In fact he was born in Leeds and made his stage debut at the age of 10, as the rear end of a pantomime cow. His first professional engagement, after National Service and training at the Esme Church Northern Theatre School, continued the bovine connection. It was at the tiny Byre Theatre in St Andrews, Fife, converted from a cow barn. Seasons in Perth, Harrogate, York and, Derby brought him steadily back to his roots. On screen, he won parts in all the gritty North-country movies of the 1960s - Charlie Bubbles, A Kind of Loving, This Sporting Life and, most significantly, the Tyneside thriller Get Carter, in which he was finally hurled to his death from the top of a tower block by Michael Caine. His television work also inclined towards action series such as No Hiding Place, The Saint, Z Cars and The Avengers, all sharpening the subsidiary enthusiasm of his career, the craft of realistic fights and feats of daring. He was a founder member of the British Society of Fight Arrangers. He coached Terence Stamp in his glittering display of swordsmanship as Sergeant Troy in Far From the Madding Crowd. Mosley also endowed a stage-fencing award at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

In later life he began to suffer from cardiac troubles, and early this year was 'written out' of Coronation Street when Alf Roberts died, rather pointedly, from a heart attack. Mosley himself, a Roman Catholic, had been on a pilgrimage to Lourdes and protested that he felt fine. He is survived by his wife Norma, their three sons and three daughters.

Nancy Banks-Smith writes: Bryan Mosley's death is a stern reminder that pipsqueak producers must not, sometimes just for the hell and headlines of it, kill off characters who have appeared in a soap since it began. Soap opera stars are not like other actors. They are famous but hardly known by their own names at all. They are absorbed by soapy osmosis into the character they play and, the better they play it, the less they have any other identity. After a while, the character is their life support system and they cannot breathe without it.

Bryan Mosley first played Alf, the cornershop keeper in Coronation Street, in 1961. He was a living tribute to something of value which still survived, and now can hardly be found at all. He was, for instance, the last man alive to be called Alf. The last to wear a trilby. Indeed, if you saw a hat at all in the Rovers, you knew Alf was under it. He belonged to a time when advertisements, not commercials, said If You Want To Get Ahead Get A Hat and Let Burton Dress You. The same Monty Burton who now means no clothes at all. The starched white overall he wore like a uniform was the pure sign of a blameless life. Alf had such faith in his produce that once, when coarse aspertions were cast on his Christmas pudding, he ate a whole pudding to prove its wholesomeness. It put him in hospital, of course.

Corner shops were so important that Coronation Street began with the first customer. It was Ena Sharples. Having efficiently extracted every drop of relevant information about the new owner, she ordered 'Half a dozen fancies and NO ECLAIRS'. Why no eclairs still puzzles me, unless she thought there was a whiff of impropriety about them.

Alf so loved little shops that he regularly married or tried to marry women who owned them. The three wise monkeys who, leaning on the Rovers bar, spoke his obituary remembered that.

Fred: 'That's how he came by the corner shop, you know. Oh yes. Belonged to his second lady wife. What were her name, Renee.'

Vera: 'I'll tell you summat now. He proposed to the woman that had the shop before Renee.'

Jack: 'Sounds to me like he wanted to marry the shop.'

Fred: 'Oh aye, he did love that shop.'

A shop was an aphrodisiac to Alf. He had the same name, Alderman Alf Roberts, as Mrs Thatcher's father, who was also a grocer and taught her all he knew about self reliance, thrift, industry, pig headedness and believing passionately in your own Christmas pudding. Coronation Street's corner shop has now appropriately passed into the hands of Ravi Desai, an Asian, who owns a chain of small shops. But something solid and dependable has gone with Alf. It seems wholly proper that the sophisticated computer system is down again, and I am writing this on an old typewriter. Which works.

Tears for my Alfie
11 February 1999

THE screen widow of Coronation Street star Bryan Mosley burst into tears yesterday when she was told he had died. Sue Nicholls, who played Alf Robert's wife Audrey for 13 years, was in New Zealand when she heard the news. Sue, 55 - on a promotional tour with actress Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt - said on TV: "It is a shock." She said she believed Bryan's strong religious beliefs and those of his family would help them come to terms with their loss. Sue said: "I am happy he had a true faith, as did his lovely wife Norma. I am sure that faith will carry them through."

Bryan, 67, collapsed and died in Shipley market, West Yorks, from a suspected heart attack on Tuesday, just six weeks after grocer Alf was killed off after almost 2,000 episodes.

Helen Worth said: "We will always remember his joy and his love of life." And former Street star Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton, added: "We will always smile when we remember Bryan." Kevin Kennedy, who returned to work yesterday after winning his seven-month booze battle, also paid tribute to Bryan. Kevin, 37, who plays Curly Watts, said: "Bryan was a great support to me when I was poorly. I will really miss him."

Shop assistant Carolyn Jennings , 36, told how she ran to help the star when he collapsed. She said: "I knew who he was when I saw him. But you don't stop and think that he is anybody different when he's in that situation. "At the end of the day he was a normal, friendly person who will be sadly missed."

Street fan Edgar Gledhill, 74, cradled the actor's head in his lap as he lay in the market. Retired blacksmith Edgar said: "I've watched Bryan all these years in Coronation Street and it is unbelievable that I end up being the last fan to say goodbye to him." He said that as Bryan clung to life, he muttered: "I don't want no ambulance." Wife Norma knelt beside him. With one hand, she reassuringly stroked his hand. With the other, she dabbed blood from his head. Within minutes, paramedics arrived and rushed the desperately-ill actor to hospital. On the way Bryan - plagued by heart trouble for years - lost consciousness and was pronounced dead on arrival. Last night his wife was too upset to talk.

Nightmare ends for Leanne
11 February 1999 By CLARE GRANT
CORONATION Street star Jane Danson washes away her blues on a golden Barbados beach. It's the perfect pick-me-up for Jane - Corrie's Leanne Tilsley - after a nightmare eight months. She nearly lost her only brother Paul in a motorbike smash last June. And only now, as the 20-year-old actress splashes in the surf in a skimpy bikini, is a genuine smile returning.

Forget her role as one of the Battersbys - TV's family from hell. In the world outside Weatherfield she's a devoted family lass. "I didn't think I'd get through last year," recalls Jane, who has always been very close to her big brother. "It was a horrible, horrible time." Paul, 24, was unconscious for three-and-a-half weeks after the accident, which left him with multiple fractures and a collapsed lung. Even as his life hung in the balance, Jane was asked by fans for autographs.

"You've got to put a smile on your face and pretend that everything's all right," Jane tells the latest edition of NOW magazine out today. "Plenty of times I'd sign and even have a photo taken. Afterwards, I'd go round the corner and burst into tears."

Happily, mechanic Paul has made a remarkable recovery and is back at work. And his loving family can finally relax - Jane has brought their 54-year-old dad Jack to the Caribbean to help him get over it, too.

Coronation Street hit by strike threat
14 February 1999

ITV shows including Coronation Street, Blind Date, Heartbeat and Emmerdale could be hit by strike action. It follows the breakdown of peace talks at the conciliation agency ACAS between unions and Granada. The group not only controls the Manchester-based TV station of the same name, but also Yorkshire TV, Tyne Tees and London Weekend.

Members of three unions - the broadcasting workers' BECTU, the engineers' AEEU and the National Union of Journalists - have voted for action to back their call for a 11 per cent pay rise and guaranteed job security. They have rejected an offer of a 3.6 per cent rise.

They say Granada profits soared last year by 21 per cent to £255million, and that five executive directors shared £2.67million in pay and bonuses. Also, some directors cashed in share options, including chief executive Charles Allen who netted £4million. The average staff salary fell last year by 4.3 per cent from £11,795 to £11,287.

BECTU spokesman Gerry Morrissey said: "There's no wage restraint in the boardroom yet the management doesn't want their staff to have job security or a pay level that reflects their contribution to Granada's success."

Soap star Julie ready to quit as city ambassador
14 February 1999

Former soap queen Julie Goodyear is re-considering her position as a cultural ambassador for Liverpool following political wrangling. She is upset by a Liberal-Democrat bid to oust her during calls for a major overhaul of the ambassador scheme. Councillors are said to be concerned that Julie, a Mancunian, represents her home town's greatest rival. But in a last-minute U-turn they decided to keep her.

Now the ex-Coronation Street actress is telling councillors who have publicly criticised her to "get their act together". Miss Goodyear is allowing herself a "cooling off" period while she decides whether she wants to carry on with the unpaid role.

"This in no way affects my love of the people of Liverpool or for the city itself," she said. "But I can see no reason why I should be involved in petty political squabbles within the council."

Candles in tribute to TV Alf
15 February 1999

CORONATION Street star Bryan Mosley was laid to rest yesterday as fans lit candles in his memory. Bryan's funeral was attended by only family and close friends. But his widow, Norma, said: "Although the ceremony is a private event, people can join us in spirit and place a lighted candle for Bryan in their window."

Father-of-six Brian - who played dour shopkeeper Alf Roberts - was buried in Nab Wood cemetery close to his West Yorks home. The funeral service was held at nearby St Mary and St Walburga Church. Among mourners was co-star and close friend Eileen Derbyshire, the Street's Emily Bishop. Bryan, 67, died of a heart attack last week, six weeks after his fictional character died on screen.

I'm Struggling With Legal Bill, Says Street Star
19 February 1999

Coronation Street actor William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, is struggling to pay the massive legal fees he ran up with two court actions. But the soap star denied that he faced bankruptcy and said he hoped to come to an agreement with his creditors. "The reason I am in this situation is that I have some big bills to pay as a result of two court cases," the actor said. "Granada Television has been very supportive and I have the opportunity to pay my creditors due to my work on Coronation Street. "I am confident that the matter can be resolved to everybody's satisfaction."

A Granada Television spokeswoman confirmed that Roache, who is believed to earn £166,000 a year, was being represented by business advisers KPMG, and said the debts had arisen from legal actions he had brought and "other financial liabilities". The 66-year-old actor's troubles began in 1990 when he sued The Sun newspaper for libel over an allegation that he was boring.

He won the case and was awarded £50,000 in damages - but the Court of Appeal then ordered him to pay a substantial part of the legal fees of the case because of technicalities over the amount of damages he had won.

Then last year he sued his solicitors, Peter Carter-Ruck and Partners, claiming he was given the wrong advice on the libel case - but lost.

Two-hour strike set to hit Cilla and The Street
21 February 1999

PRODUCTION of Cilla Black's Blind Date and Coronation Street will both be hit by strike action this week. Emmerdale and some news bulletins will also be affected by the action by broadcast staff at Granada TV as they step up their demand for an 11 per cent rise.

Friday's two-hour walkout from noon to 2 pm will be followed on Monday March 1 by staff taking 12-hour breaks between work period until further notice. The broadcasting workers union BECTU, journalists in the NUJ and engineers with the AEEU have so far rejected a 3.6 per cent pay offer. BECTU's assistant general secretary Gerry Morrissey said: "Staff are very angry about the company's double standards. "Granada's fat cat directors show no restraint when lining their pockets, but they are not prepared to grant their staff decent pay levels or job security."

Street's newest barmaid to bow out
22 February 1999
Coronation Street's most recent recruit behind the bar of the Rover's Return is to pull her last pint and leave the show after less than a year. Holly Newman, 24, who plays Lorraine Brownlow, will bow out of the soap after a climactic bust-up with Natalie Barnes, played by Denise Welch. A spokeswoman for the show said that the actress had come to the end of her short-term contract but the door was open for a return.

Newman was first seen as Lorraine - the Rovers' 39th barmaid - in July last year and will have been with the show 10 months by the time she leaves. She said: "I've been really happy on Coronation Street. I'm glad the decision has been made for me because I was at the stage in my career when I was wondering whether to stay or whether to go. "Coronation Street has been a great learning experience for me but I'm ambitious and was wanting to explore other roles in theatre, film and television. "I'm excited about the future. Every actress likes change - that's why I came into the profession - and I'm looking forward to changing direction."

A spokeswoman for the show said: "The doors will be left open for Lorraine to return as Holly. "There's some good stuff still to come between Lorraine and her aunt Natalie. They're working in the bar together and they're building up for a bit of a fall-out. "She's finished with Spider, and Ashley thinks he could be in with a chance with her - but she leads him a merry dance."

Sally wins kids fight
23 February 1999

CHEATING mum Sally Webster will shock soap fans by winning Coronation Street's battle for the kids. Amid hysterical scenes a judge hands over daughters Rosie and Sophie to blonde Sal. And she even gets back her home, putting grease-monkey husband Kevin out on his ear.

For weeks millions of viewers have seen marriage-wrecker Sally fight mechanic Kevin for custody of the children. The case had looked like going in Kevin's favour, but in a dramatic twist tomorrow Sally wins the battle. The bombshell verdict leaves Kevin, played by Michael Le Vell, beside himself with rage. But in the weeks to come he will become inconsolable as he stuggles to cope with the verdict. For the odds had seem heavily stacked on his side - he has his own solid garage business, the children were already happily living with him and they had all been deserted by Sally, played by actress Sally Whittaker. But Granada bosses knew the outcome had to be the same as in a real-life case.

Producer David Hanson felt it only right that eight-year old Rosie and four-year old Sophie were reunited full-time with their mum, even though she skipped off for an affair with conman Greg Kelly. Last night a Corrie source said: "Kevin might have looked the most stable of the two, but if Ladbrokes had taken bets, Sally would have been odds on to win the case."

Man-eating Jackie Dobbs is quitting Coronation Street
23 February 1999

Ex-jailbird Jackie, played by Margi Clarke, is leaving at the end of her six-month contract in April. But the Liverpool lass, currently squatting in Curly's house, could be back. A spokeswoman from the soap said: "Characters like Jackie Dobbs are transient. They don't stay around for long. Jackie popped up in prison as Deirdre's cell-mate and then again in the street. There's no saying she won't be back again. "Her son Tyrone is also staying in the street so there will still be a connection."

Coronation Street fans were first introduced to Jackie in prison where she was serving time for GBH after finding her husband with another woman. She shared a cell with Deirdre and on her release tracked her down, much to Deirdre's horror. But after outstaying her welcome at Deirdre's and getting sacked from Mike Baldwin's factory, she is leaving so that Curly can have his house back.

Margi is also known for her role in the film Letter To Brezhnev and for presenting the Good Sex Guide on television. Her departure comes the day after Holly Newman bowed out as the 39th barmaid of the Rovers. Holly, 24, who played Lorraine Barlow, will pull her last pint after a bust-up with landlady Natalie Barnes, played by Denise Welch. Bosses at Granada Television said Miss Newman had come to the end of her short term contract but the door would be left open for her to return.

Do the Barlow bop
24 February 1999 by John Mahoney

WE'VE boogied to John Travolta and danced dirty like Patrick Swayze . . . now grab your partners for the Ken Barlow! The 67-year-old Corrie veteran has launched Britain's newest dance craze.

It all started when an old pal of actor Bill Roache saw him smooching with Deirdre at the Coronation Street 70's disco. Mohammed Naviede asked Bill if he'd pioneer the new lambada-tango moves which he'd just dreamed up . . . and was swept off his feet when the star said yes. Bill even agreed to debut the action in front of a packed house at Gold Diggers nightclub in Chippenham, Wilts, arriving on stage at midnight to riotous cheers. Then picking out two babes from the crowd he began bopping to the dance routine he had been privately rehearsing.

Back on the set of TV's top soap yesterday, Bill said he was "thrilled" that his club gig was so hot with young revellers. "I really enjoyed it, I have to say. I'm sure it will take off."

I'm a love rat on the Street, but in real life there is only one woman for me
25 February 1999

He is, by his own admission, the world's proudest and most doting father. On screen, Jonathan Guy Lewis may specialise in playing tough guys, but with his son Abraham it's a different story. For the London's Burning star - now smouldering his way into Coronation Street as love rat Ian Bentley - knows how precious his three-year-old toddler really is. He is the baby Jonathan and his actress wife Miranda Foster thought they could never have. The child who could have been harmed after a Harley Street gynaecologist told Miranda she wasn't pregnant when she was.

"The day Abraham was born was the happiest in my life," says 35-year-old Jonathan, who found fame as Sgt Chris McCleod in Soldier, Soldier. "I couldn't believe I was finally a dad and Miranda a mum after all the anguish we'd been though. "We were on edge the whole time she was pregnant, terrified she would lose him or that he had come to harm because of what that doctor told us. "Miranda had fallen during a rehearsal for a play, and, thinking she wasn't pregnant, had had an X-ray. Then she went out and drowned her sorrows. "When she found out she really was pregnant, our joy was mixed with absolute terror at how it might have affected our baby. "But, despite everything, we were blessed with this lovely little boy. He is the light of my life."

Jonathan, who plays station commander Chris Hammond in London's Burning, is now breaking hearts in Weatherfield after rolling up as salesman Ian. Engaged to Rita Fairclough's foster daughter Sharon Gaskell, he has fallen for Natalie Horrocks and is still smitten, with only a fortnight to go before the wedding - to be shown as an hour-long special on March 7. In one of the Street's most dramatic storylines, he is torn between his love for one and his duty to the other, until the situation explodes in his face.

But in real life there has only been one woman for Jonathan. He fell in love with Miranda, 36 - daughter of Van Der Valk star Barry Foster - the minute he saw her eight years ago. They were touring with different theatre companies, and their paths crossed in Leicester. "As soon as I saw Miranda I knew she was the one," he says. "It was like a bolt from the blue. "She was sitting there reading the paper and didn't even notice me. I had to work very hard to get her attention. We'd have a chat over a cup of tea, or go cycling in our spare time. By the end of the week I knew I wanted to be with her." When the relationship Jonathan was in came to an end, he contacted Miranda and confessed his deep feelings. Luckily for him, she felt the same way. He proposed on holiday in Italy, and 15 months after that first cup of tea they married.

Right from the start, they knew that she might not be able to have children. When they met she was recovering from extensive surgery after suffering peritonitis. Doctors feared that scar tissue could have affected her fertility. "We both desperately wanted children, but whether we could have them was an unknown factor," says Jonathan. "When Miranda fell pregnant very quickly after we got together, we were caught completely by surprise. We were overjoyed. There is no way to describe the grief we felt when Miranda lost the baby at 12 weeks. When that happens, you go into a different place. It affected us very badly."

After a second miscarriage, the couple went to see a Harley Street gynaecologist. Miranda was convinced she was expecting again. Jonathan says: "He told us she wasn't pregnant. Then he said that we might have a chromosomal abnormality which could explain the miscarriages. We were absolutely devastated. You can't imagine the distress we felt. We thought that our only chance of having children would be through IVF or adoption." The couple left the smart consulting rooms in despair. Miranda set off to Bath to join a tour of the play Noises Off and Jonathan went to Derby, where he was directing his play Our Boys.

A week or so later, she rang him one night and said: "Johnny, I feel pregnant again." He says: "She was really worried because during rehearsals she'd had a fall and had to go for an X-ray, and that night she'd been out for a few drinks. "She'd been told she wasn't pregnant, so she hadn't asked for a pelvic protector for the X-ray and was terrified. I told her to go the hospital and ask for a scan, just to make sure. The next day, she phoned me and said: 'They found a heartbeat, I'm pregnant!' "But we were very worried that the X-ray might have damaged the baby, and that the drinks she'd had while pregnant could have made things worse." At the hospital, they reassured her that the risk to the baby was very small. But Jonathan says: "Neither of us could relax until our son was finally born. We'd mark off each landmark on the calendar: 28 weeks, 34, 38. "There were many complications, and each time it crossed our minds: 'Maybe it's because of the X-ray'. "One weekend I went to see her in Blackpool and was told she had been taken to hospital. She was terrified she was going to have a miscarriage because she was bleeding. "The next day, she had a scan and everything was fine. I said: 'Right - you are out of the show. You are coming to Derby with me and I am locking you in the bedroom'." Fortunately, producer Peter Wilson was sympathetic.

Jonathan continues: "I was just desperate for the baby to be born. It was a very anxious time." As they waited, the couple would do anything to take their minds off the worry. "We even did a Demi Moore-style photo," says Jonathan. "I put a sheet up in the lounge as a backdrop and Miranda posed naked and heavily pregnant. She looked absolutely beautiful. That night, she woke me and said: 'I think it's happening.'" In hospital, Miranda endured a 36-hour labour. She had wanted to have a birthing pool to aid pain relief, but it was Jonathan who ended up in it during the long wait. "I put the pool up to give me something to do, but by the time it was ready she wasn't," he says. I thought: 'Sod this', stripped down to my trunks and climbed in. Suddenly, the doctor walked past, saw my feet sticking out and rushed in, thinking it was Miranda. "He must have wondered what was going on. In the end Miranda didn't get a chance to use the pool. "Holding my son for the first time was the most wonderful moment of my life," says Jonathan. "I get tearful just thinking about it. You have no idea what it's like to be a father until it happens to you. We would love to have more children." With the family home in London, filming in Manchester means long stretches away from his family. "It is very hard, but my contract with Coronation Street is for three months initially," says Jonathan, who starts on a new series of London's Burning when he finishes in Manchester. "I'm living out of a suitcase and jumping on the train whenever I can to see them both. I hate leaving him. But Miranda is such a wonderful mother. How she juggles work with being a devoted full-time mum I don't know. "Abraham is so special to us because of everything we went through to have him. "People say: 'It's only a miscarriage', and there's the feeling blokes aren't supposed to get upset, but I found it very distressing. We went through some very sad times. "But we were blessed with a lovely boy, and for that we will always be thankful."

Debt crisis battle of TV star
28 February 1999

CORONATION Street star William Roache is facing bankruptcy over crippling £300,000 debts. The veteran actor, who plays the Street's Ken Barlow, held crisis talks with his creditors yesterday. He hoped to persuade them he could pay off the huge legal bills that followed a libel action. But he failed to satisfy them. The star admitted last night: "The voluntary arrangement has not been accepted and I am looking at other options." He could now be made bankrupt unless he can settle his bills quickly.

Roache, 66, earns £166,000 a year from the Street, where he has starred for 38 years. He lives with his second wife Sara in a £295,000 home in Wilmslow, Cheshire. His cash crisis began when he took The Sun to court for calling him "boring" and claiming he was hated by colleagues. He won but was awarded only £50,000 damages and had to pay £120,000 costs. He then took his lawyers to court claiming he'd had bad advice. But the claim was dismissed leaving another huge bill.

Deirdre go again !
1 March 1999 by John Mahoney
CORONATION Street fans are finally going to get their way ... as Ken Barlow gets his way with ex-wife Deirdre AGAIN. Bosses on the soap have long been swamped with requests to put the on-off romance back in the bedroom. Now new producer David Hanson is to make veteran Ken and sexy-specs Deirdre the centre of a spring plot.

They've already become closer in recent weeks, with Deirdre's mum Blanche doing her best to get them back together. But the flames of passion are ignited properly after a kitchen fire at Deirdre's flat forces her to move out because of smoke damage. For guess who invites her to stay with him! And after a few nights of lust Ken (Bill Roache) and Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) realise they've lost none of the affection they once shared for each other. They move in properly together - though sources are keeping tight-lipped on whether their renewed love leads to the altar. An insider said: "Ken and Deirdre are overdue for happiness. But whether they'll find it together is another story."

It was 1981 when Deirdre Langton and Ken tied the knot - pulling more viewers than Prince Charles's wedding to Lady Diana Spencer the same week. Since then her flings have included Mike Baldwin and Jon Lindsay and a marriage to Moroccan Samir Rachid that ended in his murder.

Ex-teacher Ken's affairs have also been many. And even when he had "for old time's sake" nookie with Deirdre, she caught him with his headmistress!

Leanne's abortion set to trigger new Corrie storm
1 March 1999
A teenage abortion is poised to become Coronation Street's most controversial storyline ever. In the sensational new plot line, 17-year-old Leanne Tilsley, played by Jane Danson, 20, is pressured into ending her pregnancy by husband Nick - actor Adam Rickitt. The ITV soap's executives say the story mirrors the real world where abortion rates are highest among teenage women.

The plot begins next week when Leanne discovers she is pregnant. It's being introduced as a way of writing actor Adam out of the series as he launches a new career as a pop star. The 20-year-old heart-throb has signed a £100,000 record deal with music giant Polydor.

A Coronation Street spokeswoman said: 'We would urge viewers not to make judgments about the story line straight away. 'Let the story unfold. It is portrayed brilliantly by the actors.' Anti-abortion pressure group Life cautiously commended the drama for tackling the issue.

Angela Corless, Life's national PR and education officer, said: 'I would suggest that they do the young girls and women of this country a real service by extending the storyline to cover post-abortion trauma. 'I think that they should show, graphically, the depression, guilt, grief and anger that so often follow abortion.'

Jane Roe, campaign manager for the Abortion Law Reform Association, which supports a woman's right to choose, said the story could provide a platform for discussion of the issues surrounding abortion. 'Abortion has been a woman's choice for the last 30 years. It could be an excellent way of considering the problems,' she said.

Curly Kev sez ta
4 March 1999 by Nigel Pauley

CORRIE star Kevin Kennedy sent a 'delighted to be back' message to his millions of his fans yesterday. But Kevin, who plays likeable loser Curly Watts, admitted that he was still in the process of recovering from alcoholism. And he told how he recently spent another week in a re-hab clinic on a voluntary basis so he could cope with the pressures of resuming work on Britain's top soap opera.

Actor Kevin revealed: " I am feeling as well as I can now. I was very poorly and did what was required of me by the physicians, and if I just keep on doing what they they tell me to then there shouldn't be a problem. "I don't look too far forwards, and I don't look backwards, which is probably more important. I just take it easy and try to enjoy each day."

Later the star, whose supermarket manager character was temporarily written out while he fought his real life battle against the booze, praised the top North Western clinic - the Priory - where he was treated. Kevin told his show's official fan magazine 'The Street': " They were absolutely amazing. When you go in you are obviously poorly, but as you are getting better you see other people coming in who are as bad or sometimes worse than you were, and it's am azing to see the progress in people. "We all help each other out, and there is a real family feeling." And he added: "I have kept in touch with the people I met. You can't go through something like that and not keep in touch. You get quite close because you've been through the mill together."

Kevin, who spent four weeks in the clinic receiving de-toxification treatment, also decided to admit himself for a seven day stay before resuming his acting work. He revealed: "Just before I came back to work, I went in again voluntarily for a week just to re-inforce the things that I'd learnt, so I'd be more than ready to come back and if work got pressured, I'd be OK. I also go to aftercare and support groups ."

In the interview, the actor also made a special point of thanking his employers at Granada TV , who had left his job open for him, and given him valuable behind-the-scenes support. He said: ìI am very happy and grateful to be back, and Granada have been absolutely excellent. I can't speak highly enough of them. They really understood and helped , not only me but my family as well."

Fictional character Curly will have a fight on his hands when he surfaces in the show after an absence of months. First he will need to evict jailbird squatter Jackie Dobbs, and her son Tyrone from his home. Then he will need to come to terms with the death of his pal Des Barnes, and the fact that Des's widow Natalie is now the landlady of the Rover's Return.

In the storyline, Curly, who was under suspicion for being a supermarket extortionist, took off for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, in an ill-fated bid to find his estranged wife Raquel, who had asked him for a divorce. In the event, he did not find her. Kevin revealed: "I don't think he actually saw Raquel on his travels, so maybe there will be a romance for him in the future."

Love-rat weds
5 March 1999

THE BRIDE looks sensational in her slinky white gown as she steps up the aisle . . . to marry the biggest love rat on the box. It's Coronation Street's wedding of the year, but Rita's fraught face reveals the secret heartache behind her foster-daughter Sharon's big day. Like the rest of the nation, Rita knows that sex-mad salesman Ian Bentley is keeping his two-timing a secret from the girl he is to marry on Sunday.

Cheating Bentley, played by actor Jonathan Guy Lewis, has been enjoying after-hours nookie with naughty Natalie Barnes from the Rovers. Tonight, viewers will see unsuspecting Sharon Gaskell, played by Tracie Bennett, dance her hen night away with pals in a room at the Rovers. Meanwhile, Sharon's foster mum Rita has a showdown with widow Natalie (Denise Welch) over Bentley's bedhopping ways. Rita agonises over whether to ruin Sharon's big day - or keep mum and let her marry the rat.

But, as our exclusive pictures reveal, the church wedding DOES goes ahead. And the 18 million viewers expected to tune in for the hour-long special on Sunday know that Natalie is herself a victim of the heartless creep.

An insider said: "If Sharon finds out that her husband-to-be has been sleeping with Natalie, it will destroy her world."

I was so near to suicide says Street's Curly
7 March 1999
Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy has talked for the first time about how alcoholism took him to the brink of suicide. The 38-year-old actor, who plays Curly Watts in the ITV soap, said: "I could see my life, my job and marriage going down the pan, and suicide seemed like the only way out. "But I didn't think about it for too long because the idea frightened me - I haven't got the guts to kill myself."

Tonight sees the return of Curly to the Street after a six-month absence. While the errant supermarket boss has been chasing lost love Raquel around the world, Kevin has been chasing his own demons. His battle with the bottle became public last May, when he collapsed in a Manchester street. At the time it was put down to a bug he had caught on holiday. It was in fact the effects of "detox" - stopping drinking without any preparation.

Kevin had decided to kick the habit a few days earlier. "I was a human time bomb, waiting to go off," he said. "I'd stash bottles in my dressing room, in my car, at home." The Street star said he didn't want to answer the phone, or open the door, or open letters. He added: "It was a paranoia, a madness...it's something only another alcoholic could understand."

In July, Kevin was checked into a re-habilitation centre. On leaving he announced to a Press conference that he was an alcoholic and vowed to never touch another drop. Within a week he was in another clinic, and his wife Clare, 29, had threatened to walk out.

The star now says in an interview with OK! magazine that what finally saved him from his alcoholic abyss was the realisation that he was alive and that was all that mattered. Then it was time to repair his damaged marriage with Clare - a job he is still working on. Even now he can't be sure when she kisses him if it's a kiss - or a sniff to check for alcohol.

He still attends alcohol support groups, but says his biggest regret is that good friend Bryan Moseley - who played Alf Roberts in the soap - is not alive to see his return.

Corrie by keyhole
7 March 1999

TELEVISION nosy parker Loyd Grossman has been looking Through The Keyhole of Britain's most famous homes.in Coronation Street. In a special video to be released later this month, he will snoop into everywhere from Casanova Ken Barlow's bedroom to Les Battersby's palace of Seventies naff.

"It's very much a spoof of his series, and a trip down memory lane as far as the Street is concerned," a Street source said last night. "Loyd loved making it. He's a great Corrie fan. "The video will also give fans the chance to revisit some of the key events that happened in each house since the Sixties in a selection of clips. That should bring back lots of memories."

19 Million see Street bridegroom get dumped
8 March 1999

Around 19 million Coronation Street fans tuned in to see two-timing Ian Bentley get dumped at the altar on Sunday night, according to provisional viewing figures released. Ratings peaked at 22 million when bride-to-be Sharron Gaskell slapped her fiance, played by Jonathan Guy Lewis, in front of the packed church after discovering his affair with landlady Natalie Barnes (Denise Welch). Tracie Bennett, who plays Sharron, has returned to the soap after 14 years to continue her role as Rita's foster daughter.

The Sunday night programme normally attracts 17 million viewers, including fans who video the show. The figures are the highest the soap has achieved for three years

Curly's drink hell
9 March 1999 by John Mahoney

CORRIE star Kevin Kennedy revealed yesterday how his wife left him as his booze-sodden life hit rock bottom. Clare stood by the Street's Curly Watts as he started treatment to kick his two-bottles-of-vodka-a-day habit. But when she found him drunk at home after his first bout of therapy in a de-tox clinic, Clare, 29, packed her bags.

 "That was the turning point," said 38-year old Kevin yesterday, 24 hours after millions had watched popular Curly return to Britain's top telly soap. "A great deal of damage was done to our marriage. "It's not the kind of thing you can make better with flowers and holidays. "She was a star throughout. She told me if I drank again she would leave. "This is the worst thing because deep down you know you're going to do it again. "I could see my job going down the pan, my wife and my life. "Actually I had other problems - I was so full of myself. "I had this ego 'I am an actor' which I held on to with both hands, which was wrong because I was hiding behind that." Blonde Clare is now back at their home in Didsbury, Manchester.

Kevin told ITV's This Morning: "She still sniffs me to see if I have been drinking. She's heard it all before." His lowest ebb came when he was decked at a wine bar. The actor realised he needed help, and checked himself into Manchester's £117-a night Smithfield Project for 12 days. "I've always been a heavy drinker. I drank at first because I enjoyed it," he told Caron Keating, who is sitting in for Judy Finnigan. "Towards the end I drank because I needed to function as a human being. "At the very worst I was drinking one to two bottles of vodka per day, plus beer, for a period of 10 to 12 months." Asked if he ever drank in the mornings, he replied: "Oh yeah. I needed a drink to level me out. "I kept one bottle in my dressing room and one in the house."

Kevin said he needed a swig at work "before I went on because being in TV is not the ideal situation for an alcoholic with the sweats and shakes". It was the death of pal and fellow alcoholic Kevin Lloyd - Tosh Lines in The Bill - along with Clare's threats of a walk-out which made him seek help. "When I saw what was happening to Kevin, that brought it home to me. "It's a killer. I was going to die. I could see myself dying."

His second stint of treatment at the £3,000-a-week Priory clinic in Altrincham, Cheshire, came after he was found slumped in a pub near Granada studios. "I was beaten. I didn't care. I would have gone anywhere," he said.

Curly, who has just bought himself a new Mazda MX5, added: "People say 'You've beaten the bottle'. But I haven't beaten anything. You don't beat it - it's incurable. "I'm not drinking, today but I can't say what will happen tomorrow." This Morning host Richard Madeley told viewers: "What a brave and frank interview." Last night an insider on the show said: "It was one of our most moving interviews ever screened. "Kevin simply said it from the soul."

Baldwin is rat is again
11 March 1999 by John Mahoney

CORONATION Street cheat Mike Baldwin is back to his bed-hopping best with his 12th fling in 22 years. Wheeler-dealer Mike seemed to have been tamed by bubbly wife Alma but has suddenly got the seven-year itch. Street fans will see him seduce 37-year-old fashion rep Julia Stone, actress Fiona Allen, who slowly catches his eye during regular visits to his factory.

It's a dream storyline for Corrie veteran Johnny Briggs, 61, who's thrilled that his character is about to become the rotter of the Rovers all over again. An insider said: "Johnny knows it's a plot that will really catch public feelings. "Everyone out there will feel for Alma because she's probably the most sensitive character in the show. "And Baldwin has become transformed since he's been married. "He's become the loyal, strait-laced sort of husband who arrives home on time and sees his wife at lunchtime for a drink. "Johnny's excited that his lines are going to be spiced up, even though he knows some viewers will be furious that he's cheating on Alma. "When Mike had a fling with Deirdre behind Ken Barlow's back, a woman confronted Johnny in a supermarket and bashed him with her brolly!"

New girl Fiona, who has appeared in The Bill, Waiting For God, Chef and Emergency, is a Corrie fan. Her pal said: "She can't wait to get stuck in. Mind you, she's no idea yet if poor Alma susses her game and rumbles the affair."

MIKE Baldwin has always been the love 'em and leave 'em rat of the Rovers. First to fall for his charms in 1976 was busty Bet Lynch. Then he wooed sexy Suzie Birchall.. Flings followed with factory supervisor Pauline Stringer and beautician Sonia Price. In 1981 viewers were hooked as Mike had a passionate romance with florist Maggie Dunlop which resulted in his lovechild Mark. Baldwin earned a punch on the nose from Ken Barlow in 1983 after seducing his two-timing wife Deirdre. Two years later he wed Ken's daughter Susan. That lasted four years until affairs with Linda Farrell and Dawn Prescott. In 1991 he loved then lost second wife Jackie Ingram. A year later he tied the knot with cafe boss Alma Sedgewick.

Street's Rita quits her shop
12 March 1999

Coronation Street's Rita Sullivan is quitting The Kabin after 25 years. Rita - actress Barbara Knox - decides to give the paper shop to foster-daughter Sharon as a birthday present. But the new storyline is set to blow apart Rita's relationship with Sally Webster. Last night, a Street insider revealed: "Sally is furious. She has always believed herself to be Rita's favourite but has had a rude awakening since Sharon's return."

Rita started The Kabin with then- husband Len Fairclough in May 1973. Her double act with Mavis Wilton behind the counter provided some of the Street's best comic moments.

Beard Goat To Go Steve
12 March 1999

CORRIE star Simon Greg-son was a laughing stock when he showed off his new goatee beard in a glitzy nightspot. Simon, who plays debt-ridden Steve McDonald in the top soap, had VIP guests bristling with giggles. He had just been saying how much he liked his new look - soon to be seen on screen - when one punter strode up and told him: "It doesn't work, mate, shave it off." Another reveller at the opening of Brannigans in Manchester added: "Simon is lanky and gaunt. The beard's too big for his face."

Simon was on a night out with colleagues from the Street. But while his new image got the thumbs-down, two of his screen pals won over the crowd. Booze-battling Kevin Kennedy, 38, now back in the show as Curly Watts, didn't go within 10 yards of the bar. He was handed a glass of coke when he arrived with 29-year-old blonde wife Clare - sipped it for 10 minutes, then went home. A guest said: "Kevin is taking one day at a time and had no wish to go near temptation."

Earlier this week Kevin revealed in a brutally frank interview how his alcoholism - for which he was twice treated in clinics - nearly cost him his marriage after Clare walked out. At his worst he was guzzling two bottles of vodka a day - but admitted he cannot say he is cured. A friend said: "I've never seen Kev look so healthy or talk so realistically in positive terms about his life."

Corrie Eco-warrior Spider - actor Martin Hancock - showed off his new girlfriend, a 20-year-old computer engineer, but kept the lid on how close they are. He laughed: "Her name is Alice and that's all I'm saying. Any more and you'll have us down the aisle!"

Loony lover blackmails Corrie Mike
14 March 1999

CORONATION Street's Mike Baldwin will fall victim to a blackmail plot from a lunatic lover he beds in a Fatal Attraction-style affair.

Mike, played by Johnny Briggs, has been faithful to long-suffering wife Alma since marrying her in 1992. But the wheeler-dealer is seduced by stunning fashion sales rep Julia Stone in a one-night stand. He is then hit with a string of blackmail threats from scheming Julia to stop her telling Alma.

An insider said: "Mike is driven to the brink of bankruptcy. He risks losing his wife, his home and his business as he tries to pay this bunny boiler off. This one moment of passion threatens to ruin his life."

Businessman Mike, who runs the Underworld knicker factory in Weatherfield, has to dip into company funds to pay Julia off. And in April he is forced to lay off staff, including mouthy Janice Battersby.

The sensational new storyline has not been filmed yet. But it is bound to delight 61-year old actor Briggs, who has played romeo Mike for 23 years. A source said: "He will be delighted that he will have a plot he can really get his teeth into. It's the best and spiciest storyline he's had in years. "It's straight out of Fatal Attraction. Fans will be kept on the edge of their seats. "It also shows there's life in the old dog yet."

This week Street fans saw Mike and Julia - played by actress Fiona Allen - dining at a swanky restaurant.

Ken's pad on show
15 March 1999

CORRIE superstud Ken Barlow has bedded 22 women in the show's 38-year history, yet his bedroom has been strictly off limits to the cameras . . . until now. Today your soaptastic Daily Star goes Through The Keyhole for a unique look at where the Street's serial womaniser does the business. It's the scene of Casanova Ken's greatest conquests, and bears all the trademarks of a man who has been a huge hit with the ladies for almost four decades.

Telly favourite Loyd Grossman couldn't resist having a nose around after Street bosses built Ken's passion parlour for the first time, especially for a new video. And Weatherfield veteran Bill Roache, 66, who plays Ken, is thrilled that the scene of his ratings-busting sexploits is about to be laid bare to the nation.

But do Ken's bedroom foibles instantly identify the bloke who's been in the soap since the very first episode? Let's examine the evidence. There's a double bed in which clearly only one person has slept for some time. Half of the bed has not been disturbed at all. There's a crossword puzzle, a pen and a half-finished jigsaw at the bedside perhaps a sign that he's lonely and needs to fill in his time with hobbies. An old typewriter, with paper all lined up nearby, means he might be ready to write his memoirs. There's a desk and lots of school concert posters hanging up. This man is clearly an academic. It's a very blue room - conservative with a small "c" and very boyish. It even has a blue checked bedspread and matching pillows.

Now let's take a peek downstairs. Clearly a very well educated man lives here. The bookcase is full of classics such as Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and a selection of Dickens novels. There's a black vinyl Frank Sinatra album, part of an extensive record collection. But there are no CDs on show in this house.

Ken's home set was specially built for a Through The Coronation Street Keyhole video to be released on March 22, priced £12.99. Viewers will see top telly host Loyd wandering around the rooms of Weatherfield locals, including the bigmouth Battersbys - who accuse him of being a burglar!

A Street insider said: "Despite all his sleeping partners, and there have been more than any other character in Weatherfield, nobody has ever seen Ken's bedroom on screen. "It was created for this video and, although it won't remain as a set, all the specifications have been logged in case it needs to be re-built. It's a bit of a coup for the Daily Star to exclusively show the bedroom where so much action has gone on."

After shooting the video, life-long Corrie fan Loyd said: "I fully expected the rooms used in the show to be a bit samey. "Yet they are incredibly individual. "My personal favourite in Coronation Street is Emily, because of the tragedy and heartbreak she has been through. "But Ken's room says so much about him. Everything has been really cleverly captured. His personality runs through the entire house."

Adam's pop bid slips disc
15 March 1999
CORONATION Street star Adam Rickitt's pop career has run into trouble before it has even started. Record giant Polydor has insisted Adam - hunky student Nick Tilsley in the soap - re-records his debut single. "Bosses are convinced Adam's heart-throb status will ensure he is an instant teen hit," a record insider said. "But at the moment the single isn't good enough and the launch has been put back a month to mid-June.

Blond Adam, 20, best known for his bulging biceps and six-pack stomach, shocked fans by quitting the Street after landing the £100,000 record deal last year. He leaves next month. His pop career is being masterminded by his manager Nigel Martin-Smith, the man behind Take That.

Coronation cheats
16 March 1999
THE KING and queen of daytime telly returned to their roots yesterday - and unlocked the secrets of Coronation Street. Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan discovered that the fag packets are empty in Rita's Kabin, her sweets are yuk because they're so old . . . and the Rovers beer is just shandy.

The husband and wife duo had travelled north to present their hit This Morning show live from the top soap's Manchester set. It was the first time they had done the ITV programme outside London since moving from Liverpool two years ago. Top chef Brian Turner, a resident on This Morning, donned his apron in Roy's Cafe to rustle up some Corrie culinary delights - and revealed that the secret of Betty's hit hotpot is fried onions. And while it has long been rumoured that the contents of the Rovers' pint glasses is cold tea, Richard and Judy learned that Newton & Ridley ale is shandy. Rovers landlady Natalie (Denise Welch) proved the beer pumps worked by pouring Richard a glass.

Tracey Bennett, who plays betrayed bride Sharon Gaskell, lifted the lid on the Kabin, telling all about the empty cig packets and "revolting" sweets. And Barbara Knox, alias Rita Sullivan, gave a rare interview and told how she was about to give up acting when she was offered a role in the soap. She loved the character - but it took the producers 10 years to ask her back and turn her into one of the most familiar faces on TV.

Finally Corrie's stars showed off their talents as singers. Love rivals Natalie and Sharon put aside their differences to join other female cast members as backing singers to veteran crooner Andy Williams. "The whole thing was a great success and great fun," said a Coronation Street spokesman.

Reg's Stocky Horror
18 March 1999

RANDY Reg Holdsworth is turning heads in the street again - as a gender bender. But actor Ken Morley is not making a camp comeback in the soap.

He donned stockings and suspenders to shock unsuspecting shoppers in Newcastle upon Tyne. The roly-poly star blew kisses at bemused Geordies.

But Reg hasn't gone round the bender - he is only practising for his part as narrator in the New Rocky Horror Show.

Soap stars to get their own Oscars
21 March 1999
BRITAIN'S soap stars are to get their own TV Oscars ceremony. Fans of shows like Coronation Street and EastEnders will get the chance to vote for the Best Soap, Best Actor, and other categories - just like the real Academy Awards. Network chiefs have commissioned Carlton TV to produce the annual soap awards show, which will be filmed at a London venue this May. An ITV spokesman said: "It's a long overdue development. Soaps bring pleasure to countless millions of fans. Yet the performers are often overlooked in awards terms in favour of drama stars."

Meanwhile, legendary Coronation Street stars are to live on again - as household ornaments. Icon Collectibles have clinched a deal with Granada TV to produce a series of hand-painted metal figures. The first six ornaments, costing £19.99 each, feature the great names from the Street's early days, including battleaxe Ena Sharples, charlady Hilda Ogden and acid-tongued landlady Annie Walker. A Granada insider said: "The figures will be full of nostalgic appeal for older fans. It's their opportunity to own a piece of soap opera history."

I'm a flirt and I love to party - but I've never been as naughty as Nat
21 March 1999
DEBBIE FRANK was Princess Diana's friend and trusted personal astrologer. In a fascinating series of interviews she has been revealing the innermost secrets of the rich and famous. Today she turns the astral spotlight on Coronation Street favourite Denise Welch.

SHE'S blonde, bubbly, admits being a born flirt - and she just LOVES to party. But that's where the similarities end between soap star Denise Welch and naughty Natalie, the bed-hopping pub landlady she plays in Coronation Street. And Denise wants the world to know there is one very big difference. "I have NEVER been a mistress," she declares.

From the moment we meet, I can tell Denise is a typical Gemini - full of fun, impulsive, hard working.and deeply loyal. Her huge blue eyes are smiling and I catch a glimpse of the stardust that has shot her to fame in shows like Spender, Soldier, Soldier and, of course, the Street. She tells me how happy she is to be a loving wife to actor hubby Tim and "huggy" mum to young son Matthew.

But it hasn't always been a bed of roses - Denise has also had dark days of illness and self-doubt. As we go through her star chart, she begins to reveal some of her innermost secrets.

DEBBIE: The signs show you are impulsive in relationships.

DENISE: Oh yes, I've never been backward in coming forward. Since I was very young I'd always make it obvious if I was interested in somebody.

You've overcome tricky times. Does art mirror life with Natalie?

My life hasn't been the same as Natalie's but there are parallels. I was married before but I've never been a mistress. I could see when Natalie pursued the Kevin character she'd had this very similar relationship that I'd had with my first husband. So when that was all over she just thought, "Right I'm going to pick myself up have some fun". I could see that she would have to look after Number One.

Are you a flirtatious Gemini?

It's not just with men, it's flirtatious generally. It's with young, old, male, female. It's a buzz. I like people.

The charts indicate that the age of 30 was a special time for you.

That's when I started to break into TV and my career really began to take off. But I had 10 years of struggling and enjoying the struggle.

I was 38 before I came into Corrie and I'm pleased that it didn't happen until then - I don't think I could have dealt with the outside pressure if I'd been 19. I don't like change very much.

Your stars reveal a strong sense of family.

I nearly left Coronation Street because of it in the early stages. After a couple of months I didn't feel I'd cracked it and hadn't infiltrated the inner sanctum of the show.

I'd have insecurities when I came in the morning and hate that "first day at school" feeling - but all that changed and now it's my home.

The stars show an emotional black hole around 1989.

I was plunged into having a baby and I had clinical depression. Unless you've had it you don't know what it's like. Tim and my mother never once said to me, "Pull yourself together" - they treated it as an illness and if I hadn't had that I wouldn't be here now.

Somehow I found an inner strength. I knew the life I had was great - a loving husband, a much-wanted child, money in the bank and a lovely home so I thought, "I've got to get out of this". It comes back occasionally but I know how to get through it.

What makes life fun for the Gemini part of you?

A child, a cracking little boy. I also love my friends and need new friends all the time. I love partying, but I tend not to be able to find my limit very easily. It's all or nothing. I'd rather stay in than just have two drinks.

The protective sign of Cancer in your chart shows a parental quality.

I'm not a mother in the marriage. I don't cook very much. I want to spend time with Matthew so I'm not a great nurturer, but I'm huggy. If friends or family come round they know they'll have lots of love and lots of fun but they'll probably have to go and get a take-away. It's a different kind of nurturing, a soul nurturing. Father-figure wise, yeah, Tim is a caring, supportive man. I depend on him for emotional support.

If you were here for a reason what would it be?

To organise lots of parties. I like people to have a good time. We can all believe there's something else there and let's hope there is, but this is the only life we know about.

Let's make the most of it.

---

 

IT'S all set to happen for Denise. According to her stars, 1999 is going to be positive from both a financial and work point of view - possibly some juicy new storyline.

The months of May and December are particularly well-starred.

In the immediate future, even within days, an opportunity will crop up to enable her to move forward - possibly into the dream house she has been looking for.

The main indication is that she will be learning something new. Denise tells me she's keen to master the computer and cure her techno-phobia. Legal documents and contracts could be a bit of a headache and she thinks this could be connected to her plans for a move.

Next year heralds major changes for Denise, especially in her family life. In general, her stars make her a perfect candidate to be a TV star.

Her chart includes the moon in the emotional sign of Cancer, which means she can be super-sensitive and sometimes even depressed despite her overall happy-go-lucky nature as a typical Gemini.

Corrie is Rebecca's screen dream
25 March 1999
THESE days she seems to stack baked beans for Britain in the nation's favourite corner shop. But actress Rebecca Sarker, who plays Nita in Coronation Street, had her first taste of shop work in rather plusher surroundings. Her real-life retail experience involved serving the rich and famous at posh London store Liberty, where there wasn't a beef and onion pastie in sight. "There is a million miles between Liberty and this," giggles the 23-year-old. "I worked in the lighting department and we'd often get celebrities and very rich people in looking for chandeliers. "Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit came in once, so did Vanessa Feltz. And David Schwimmer from Friends caused a bit of a stir. "But my favourite was the actor John Hannah. I always thought he was wonderful, and there he was in front of me! "You certainly don't get clientele like that in Weatherfield."

But Corrie's latest star, who arrived just before Christmas in a blaze of publicity as part of the Street's first Asian family, had little time for some of her real-life customers. "Most of them were lovely, but every so often you'd get a really pompous person who treated you like dirt just because they were rich. "I can't stand this attitude that you are better than others just because you have a privileged background and pots of money."

But despite her down-to-earth attitude, the cobbled streets of Weatherfield were the last place Rebecca's school friends expected her to end up. The doctor's daughter left school with a string of qualifications, took up a university place and seemed destined for a professional career. She speaks Spanish, French and Russian, and was working as a translator when she heard the news that she'd got the role of Nita. "Because I had a languages background I could keep busy while looking for acting work - which was always my dream," she says. "And there was the shop work, too. It all helped pay the rent."

Rebecca was born in Halifax into a family of medics. Her father was the local GP, who is now retired but still does locum work; her mother worked as his nurse. Older brother Rashid, 27, became a dentist. "I suppose it would have been natural for me to follow their example," says Rebecca, "but it never appealed." "My university friends are all professionals: doctors, lawyers, marketing managers - things like that. "When we have reunions they talk about offices and career plans - then I turn up, fresh from the set of Coronation Street. They think it's hilarious, but they are really proud of me. They know this is exactly what I've always wanted to do."

At the age of four Rebecca started music and ballet lessons, followed by tap, modern dance and acting. "My first ever time on stage was at a panto in Leeds - my mother volunteered me up there. When we were little, my brother was learning the guitar and I would sing along. We would do turns in church, or at nativity plays. We were mortified, because you are at that age. "Later I realised how much I enjoyed being on the stage. I was always in amateur productions, or school things. So I suppose it's no surprise I ended up an actress."

But first Rebecca had to complete her schooling - and she was a dedicated student. "Well I couldn't skive off, could I? My parents would always say 'no, you don't have a temperature. Get off to school'. "But I enjoyed school. I even enjoyed studying. There is a certain satisfaction in handing in a completed piece of work." Rebecca left Bradford Girl's Grammar School with 10 GCSEs and 4 A-levels and went on to take a degree in modern languages from Leeds university. "Although I always wanted to be a performer, I knew how important education was. I still did little bits and pieces during university, but I was too intent on getting a degree to take it further."

But student life wasn't all about books and lectures. Because she was studying languages, Rebecca got to spend a year in Spain and six months in France.

"Spain was fantastic. I was teaching at a teacher-training college which meant my pupils were about my age. It was wonderful - a ready-made social life." She was already a seasoned traveller, though, having acquired a passport full of stamps during her childhood. "Dad is a very keen traveller and he was determined to take the family on regular holidays abroad, so that we would see a bit of the world. "We went to Egypt, America, India, Spain. And I remember a Mediterranean cruise. That's where I got my travelling bug from."

After university, while her friends bought briefcases and moved into the graduate recruitment scene, Rebecca went to Mountview Drama School in north London. It didn't take long to discover what a slog the actor's life could be. "When I finished drama school, I was mainly working in theatre, doing regional tours, Christmas shows and anything I could get my hands on really. But it was all minor productions. "I did try for a couple of commercials, but didn't have any luck. These things are like cattle markets. You go in, say one line, and they have a look at you and say 'no thanks'. "It was a conveyor belt, and very demoralising. But it's no fun being broke in London. You have to make your way." Hence the weekend stints in Liberty. And a spell stacking shelves in M&S on the 7pm-11pm shift. "Oh yes, I knew how to put together a display of crinkle-cut crisps. It was almost a work of art," she jokes.

Then, out of the blue, came the chance to audition for Coronation Street. "My agent heard that there were going to be auditions for a new role and thought I should give it a go. "I went and did a read-through but was trying not to get my hopes up. When I got it I was over the moon. I couldn't believe it. Coronation Street is such an institution - I just couldn't imagine being part of that. "Coronation Street has always been a part of my life. Whenever I went round to visit my Nana and Grandad it would be on. "I never really considered myself a big fan - but when I started here I realised I knew all the characters and the storylines. Everything was just so familiar. "On my first day I had to keep pinching myself - I couldn't believe I was here, talking to people I'd seen on TV for years. And now they were colleagues. And they've all made me feel so at home."

As the first Asian family since the soap started 38 years ago, the Desais are already assured of their place in history. But programme makers did come in for criticism and were accused of reinforcing racist stereotypes with the corner shop storyline. "At the time I was so happy to get the role that my only concern was doing a good job, but the importance of the Desai family has gradually hit home," says Rebecca. "I suppose I had been conscious that there were no Asian faces in Coronation Street, but it's the sort of thing you notice fleetingly, and don't attach too much importance to. You get used to not seeing ethnic minorities on television. "But now I can see that having a permanent Asian family is a good thing, it challenges perceptions. "There have been criticisms about Coronation Street re-inforcing stereotypes about Asian people but I don't think that's fair. It's a fact of life that there are a lot of Asian shop owners, just as there are a lot of Asian doctors. I looked carefully at the scripts before I decided to take the part. Had it been derogatory, then I might have had to say no. "But it isn't offensive. I think it's been very sensitively handled. And Nita is such a strong, gutsy character - that must be a good thing. She's also a university graduate, which again makes people think about their preconceptions."

On a personal level, Rebecca has "never ever experienced racism". "I know not many Asian people can say that, but I truly haven't. I grew up in a multi-ethnic society and only ever came into contact with people who were well-informed. "But I know a lot of people aren't that lucky. "In many ways my situation was made easier because I don't look particularly Asian - in Spain, for instance, many people thought I was Spanish."

So does she believe Britain is a racist society, especially in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry? "For many people, yes, it is. But I am very optimistic that things are changing. I do feel strongly that the next generation holds the key to real change. And little factors - like the first Asian family in Coronation Street - can make a difference. "It may not seem like much now, but every little helps."

Corrie shop war fix
25 March 1999
CORONATION Street shopkeepers Rita Sullivan and Ravi Desai have upset the Office of Fair Trading. The Government body doesn't like the peace pact struck by the newsagent and the corner shop owner. They say the deal - Rita would stop selling cheap bread if Ravi didn't stock newspapers - should have been referred to them. And they even confirmed yesterday that the rivals could end up behind bars!

An OFT spokesman said: "In a real-life case, we would have to look at it. "It could be seen as a market-sharing agreement because it is restricting competition between shops as defined under the Restrictive Practices Act. "We would instruct them to stop. But if they persist, they could end up in jail for contempt of court."

Rita (Barbara Knox) and Ravi (Saeed Jaffrey) struck the deal after her foster daughter Sharon Gaskill (Tracie Bennett) went to war with his daughter Nita (Rebecca Sarker). But the OFT insists any market-fixing is anti-competitive. A Corrie source replied: "It's a harmless story."

Why my Bryan's death was perfect timing
26 March 1999

On a freezing day last month, Bryan Mosley collapsed and died, the day before he was due to go on holiday to the place he loved most, Venice. Tragically, the actor who had played Coronation Street's Alf Roberts for 38 years, lived for only six weeks after his much-loved character was killed off. Bryan, 67, had barely had time to put his feet up after leaving the role he had fought hard to keep, despite suffering two major heart attacks.

Today the spring sunshine is streaming through the windows of the Mosley family home, overlooking the Yorkshire moors. The white upholstered armchair which was Bryan's favourite is vacant. Where his feet would have rested lies a box of condolence cards. But each day there is still a moment when Norma Mosley forgets that her husband is no longer with her. "Bryan always rang me if he was working to tell me he was on his way home," she says. "I would tell him not to bother, but he'd say: 'I just thought you would like to know.' "Then he'd ring again, and say: 'We're just doing another scene, I'll be another 20 minutes' - and then again when he'd finally finished, and again when the taxi arrived. "So when the phone rings at round sixish at home, that's when I jump the most. For that split second, I think it's Bryan telling me he's on his way back - and then I remember."

Norma cuts a dignified, composed figure. The last thing she wants is to be painted as a grieving widow. Her recollections capture Bryan's bluff way of saying things so closely that her anecdotes are both funny and heart-breaking. Many saw the timing of his death as cruel, but because of Bryan's chronic ill health she had lived for years knowing that every day could be his last. "He had been living on borrowed time for two years," she says. "It was perfect timing, really. He had just finished The Street, he was still fresh in people's memory and people still loved him. "In a few years, they might have forgotten him, and he was not really well enough to do much except a few small bits and pieces. "Every actor's ideal is to work to the last minute, and Bryan wanted to die acting. And, in his way, he did - he came off stage and died." After a long pause, she adds: "You are always prepared, when someone's ill, for each day to be the last day. But then when it happens, you are always surprised you don't get an extra day. "I think Bryan was prepared for death, but you would not be human if you were not a little bit afraid."

On New Year's Eve, 20 million viewers saw his character, one of the longest-serving and most popular in the show's history, slip peacefully away in his chair. It was a closing scene, says Norma, that Bryan had never wanted for himself. "He used to sit in that chair and say: 'I would hate to sit here and just pop me clogs.' He thought to die in his sleep like Alf would be awful. He really dreaded that. I would tell him: 'Well, you're not likely to, Bryan'."

They had been planning the trip to Venice for months. It was also going to be a chance for Bryan to play the one role he always wanted, Falstaff. Although he was not fit enough to play it on stage, he lived long enough to wear the costume his daughter Jacqueline had made for him to wear to the carnival. "Venice was Bryan's very, very favourite place," Norma says. "He loved it. And he just thought Falstaff was a wonderful part and one he could play very well. "The night before he died, he sat up until 2am, waiting for me to get home with the costume. It was based on a sketch he had drawn. He struggled to get out of his chair to put it on. But once he had fitted it over his clothes, he stuck his chest out and peacocked round the room in it."

The day of his death was so ordinary that the pedestrian details only serve to make its description more painful. "He was dashing out of the door to get some holiday money from Barclays because there was a film he wanted to watch that afternoon," says Norma. "He was always one for a bargain, Bryan, and Barclays weren't charging any interest on travellers' cheques. "I said: 'Where are you going? Wait for me!' I threw on my coat and rushed after him. Bryan had said he wanted some teacakes for his dinner. He absolutely loved them. It would have been a long walk for him to buy those, too. "So I said: 'You go to the bank, and I will go and buy the teacakes and I'll meet you back at the car'." "He was quite worried about spoiling other people's holidays in case he wasn't well enough," says Norma. "He had refused to have a chair, even though we'd offered to dress it up as a throne for the carnival, because he said you can't have Falstaff in a wheelchair. "But he was still worried about holding the rest of us back. So before we set off to town, he asked me to say a little prayer with him." It was to be their last moment of togetherness.

"We drove to the town centre, but when I got back to the car, he should have been there waiting for me and he wasn't," Norma remembers. "It was a very cold morning and a very sharp hill, so I thought: 'The poor old bugger must be still trying to make it up here. "I'll go and give him a pull'. Then I saw a crowd, and it was Bryan. Everyone around him was being wonderful. They were holding his head and running backwards and forwards to find out what they should be doing. "He was told they were getting him to hospital, but Bryan managed to say he didn't want to go. He was a jammy bugger, because in the end he never had to."

In the ambulance, there was little Norma could do but stand back and watch her husband's life ebb away. "I think Bryan knew what was going on around him, because he was semi-conscious," she says. "I think he knew I was there with him. "They did everything they possibly could, but he died on the way - poor Bryan - with people still working on him."

They had met as 12-year-olds at a local church hall and stayed friends through their teens until Bryan realised Norma was the only woman he'd ever wanted. She smiles when she says she lost count of the number of times he asked her to marry him. Together they had six children. During the hardest times, she pawned her engagement ring and worked as a supply teacher while he struggled to make a living.

But success on The Street and the celebrity that came with it brought its own hardships. Norma quickly got used to fans pushing past her to speak to her husband or assuming he was really married to Audrey, his screen wife. "What was constant was our friendship," she says. "The bond between us was the fact we liked each other. That has to be the strongest bond you have. The romantic bit comes and goes. You would not be human if the other person didn't annoy you occasionally and you really went off them. "But Bryan was always a great romantic - not just with me but with the children. He was always buying them presents, books with their names written into the story. Very personal gifts."

When he had his first big heart attack in 1990, Norma hoped he would give up acting. But when heart problems struck again six year later, she changed her mind. "I really feared that I might lose him," she says. "I decided he needed to have an aim, an incentive to get well. "He wanted to keep working, so I thought the best thing was to to continue in The Street. It was a lesser strain than going into a new production. But then it became a struggle."

Bryan hid how ill he was and insisted he was getting stronger every day. But then, says Norma, he was a consummate actor. "He was always going to be better tomorrow, no matter how ill he was today," she recalls. "When the scripts came, he would insist he would still be able to do the scenes because he would be all right on the day. "He would have gone on in The Street until the year 2000. He would have crawled there if necessary, but that is not always fair to the rest of the cast. "In the end, it was taken out of our hands."

She must have played it a hundred times in her head, but Norma did not shed a tear when she watched his TV death scene. "How could I find it hard when Bryan was sitting next to me?" she says. "But the children watched it in their own homes and found it a little bit hard." Bryan tried not to dwell on his Street departure. "He would laughingly say: 'Well, they've given me the sack,'" she says. "Maybe there was an edge of hurt it in it, because I think he would have liked to have continued doing little bits until the millennium, which was his plan. "But I don't think he had lost his will to live. He was just going on to the next thing. It took him some time, but I think he came to terms with it. "I knew we were not going to get on with the rest of our lives when Alf was killed off. Bryan wasn't suddenly going to become a different person. "He wasn't going to become someone who sat at home, peeled the potatoes and helped me with the vacuuming. "He was always going to be answering his letters and looking for work. Bryan was never going to wind down. He had to be wound down. "He was thrilled to bits that his book was coming out. He had written to Call My Bluff and they had said Yes. "He had also written to various directors. He was not really well enough to take on another big job, but he would have tried and would have put himself out to do it."

After his death, the family found solace in one another. Their three daughters worked in relays to answer calls from shattered friends and colleagues. "I am reading all the letters for the second time now," says Norma. "They were from people from every walk of life, from MPs and civic dignitaries and university people, from everywhere from South Africa to Australia. "Some were from people who just met him fleetingly or passed his bed in hospital. Others were from sweet old ladies who said they would really miss him."

For his funeral, Norma chose his favourite hymn, Lord Of The Dance, and a brass band rendition of When The Saints Go Marching In. "My son asked if people would put a candle in their window," she says. "I said: 'You can't ask people to do that'. "Amazingly, people did. I was very, very touched, because people did it as far away as Leeds. "I don't think he had any idea how much he was loved. He knew he played a popular character, but I don't think he realised how much his own personality shone through the character."

Family came first with Bryan, but professionally he was just as proud of his Coronation Street scenes as he was of his appearances in films such as Far From The Madding Crowd and Get Carter. "We only watched The Street occasionally," Norma says, looking over at the chair where he would sit to review his TV performances. "If he hadn't got a scene right, he would say: 'I want to watch this tonight because I don't know how that came out'. "So he would sit. If he thought he had done a good job, he would say: 'Bloody awful'. "If he was satisfied, he would say: 'Yeah, that did not turn out too badly, that.'"

Street Life - The Bryan Mosley Story by Chris Gidney is published by Harper Collins on April 6.

 

Street's odd couple say "I Will"
29 March 1999
Controversial Coronation Street couple Roy Cropper and transexual Hayley Patterson are at last set to exchange vows - but not without a hitch. Street insiders say that in true soap-style the big day does not run smoothly but the couple, played by David Neilson and Julie Hesmondhalgh, do get to pledge their love for each other. A Granada spokeswoman said: "Things go swimmingly on the day and there is a hiccup. But they do get to exchange vows and to all intents and purposes are declared man and wife." After recent controversy about a transsexual being blessed in a Church of England-style ceremony, she added: "All we're doing is telling a simple love story. "The viewers will definitely enjoy it, everybody sees Roy and Hayley as their favourite couple. "We had more complaints when Mike and Linda at the factory were being horrible to Hayley than when she was first introduced to the Street."

Street residents turn up for the happy day to see factory worker Hayley in a cream satin dress with lace trim and veil say 'I will'. The couple are blessed by curate Jessica Lundi, played by Olwen May. Nurse Martin Platt, played by Sean Wilson, is cafe-owner Roy's best man and Hayley is attended by Toyah Battersby and Sarah Louise Platt, played by Georgia Taylor and Lindsay King.

TV lovebirds wed
30 March 1999 by John Mahoney
CORONATION Street's odd couple celebrate their big day despite vicars refusing to marry them. No clergyman will officially wed Hayley Patterson and Roy Cropper because sex-swap Hayley was born a fella. But the lovebirds bent on sealing their relationship find a caring cleric in Jessica Lundi, who is prepared to give them a proper church blessing. And yesterday at a real-life chapel, actress Olwen May performed the honours in TV's most peculiar "wedding ceremony" of the year.

Despite the unusual service there was nothing but smiles from happy Hayley - actress Julie Hesmondhalgh - and cafe owner Roy, played by David Neilson. Weatherfield residents who have slowly warmed to the unusual romance packed the church pews in Duckinfield, Manchester, yesterday to record the scenes cementing Hayley and Roy's love. Viewers were led to believe they would never enjoy their big day because of the standard legal requirement stating that a wedding must be between two people, one born male and one born female. With Hayley nine-tenths of the way to being transformed into a girl, staging any ceremony proved TV's biggest headache. But Corrie neighbours rallied round with good old Curly Watts even using the Internet to trace a willing clergyman.

As the Daily Star revealed last month, a service blessing their relationship will now go ahead, although both Hayley and Roy are left praying it goes off without a hitch. Hayley even gets her wish to wear white for the occasion, having seen the girls from Mike Baldwin's factory all chip in to help sew a wedding outfit.

A Street insider said: "It's not exactly your conventional wedding, but Roy and Hayley were so delighted the ceremony even took place." MegaStar can reveal that not everything runs smoothly as viewers will see on April 21 and 23.

Story sticks to law

CORRIE bosses stayed true to British law which says a proper marriage is impossible. A transsexual remains officially a man because that was the gender at birth. Last night York Archdeacon George Austin stormed: "This is bizarre - a bishop nowadays would carpet a vicar for giving a blessing like this."

But Angela Mason, director of gay equality group Stonewall, praised the Street for highlighting the "unfairness" of the present law. She said: "If a couple is involved in a long-term relationship, it's absolutely fair that they should have that recognised in church."

And the bride wore... trainers
30 March 1999 By Paul Byrne

SHE'S TV's oddest bride - and the sight of actress Julie Hesmondhalgh arriving on the rain-soaked Coronation Street set in trainers and with an anorak over her ivory dress made it look even wackier.

Julie plays trans-sexual Hayley Patterson, who finally gets a church blessing for her "wedding" to cafe owner Roy Cropper, alias actor David Neilson. The controversial ceremony in Weatherfield was filmed yesterday but viewers will have to wait three weeks to see it. A Granada spokeswoman said: "On the day there is a hiccup. But they do get to exchange vows and to all intents and purposes are declared man and wife."

A spokesman for the Church of England said: "There would be serious consequences if this was for real. But this is not real life and we would not object to a fictional cleric who broke the rules."

Beverley lands a 'Principle' role
31 March 1999

Beverley Callard is to make her post-Coronation Street debut with a role in a BBC1 sitcom. The actress, who played the Street's tarty Liz McDonald, will be the new secretary Barbara in a second series of The Peter Principle. It stars Jim Broadbent, who won acclaim for his role as Mr Boo in the British movie Little Voice, as incompetent and pompous bank manager Peter Duffley.

Callard appeared in Coronation Street for nine years. Since leaving she has ditched her character's blonde hair for a darker shade. She also has a sideline appearing in a best-selling fitness video.

Corrie's Chris is back
31 March 1999 by Ben Todd

BEDHOPPING Chris Collins could make a sensational return to Coronation Street. Matthew Marsden, who plays him, is going back to acting after being dumped by record firm Columbia, 17 DAYS before his new single Walk My Way was due for release. His agent says: "Who knows if he'll go back to Corrie?" Coronation Street said: "The door is always open for quality actors like Matthew."

Columbia pulled the plug on him when he wanted a long contract extension. The record will NOT go out despite the video alone costing £70,000 and his album has been scrapped. Matthew had signed to Columbia a year ago and released two singles. His debut title The Heart's Lone Desire hit No13 in the charts but follow-up She's Gone peaked at No 22.

TV bosses blasted ovet too much sex
31 March 1999

TV bosses have been blasted for sneaking sex scenes into family viewing times. Watchdogs have also rapped Coronation Street for too many storylines about drugs and violence. And they've slammed Channel 5 for its "tacky" porn movies.

The attack, by the Independent Television Commission, followed parents' complaints about the growing number of sex scenes before or just after the 9pm watershed. The ITC said two shows that started at 9pm, the documentary series Vice: The Sex Trade and drama Trial And Retribution II, were so explicit they shouldn't have been screened until 10pm or later. A prostitute whose trade was suckling male adults featured in the first show. And Trial And Retribution breached taste and decency rules for shots of severed breasts in bottles.

The ITC had 150 letters from Street fans upset by the increasingly "adult" nature of the soap. Some older viewers couldn't understand why an ordinary northern town had to have a transexual. A Granada spokesman said yesterday: "One of our main concerns is to produce entertaining and thought-provoking drama while maintaining very high standards." ITC programme director Sarah Thane said the Street had a right to explore tough social issues. But many older viewers had a "cosy" view of the soap.

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