Irene Sutcliffe was an excellent actress who always gave an understated but nuanced performance. In many ways she was in the wrong programme, but equally I can't imagine Corrie in the early 70s without her. Maggie needed other characters around to play off so the Corner Shop was the best place for her.

My first corrie crush was Des Barnes
I thought he was so sexy.

The actor's mam is my gran's best friend. He used to babysit my mam

Anyone else wish to see the Rovers redecorated?

More than anything. The whole pub needs a massive renovation that goes further than just redecoration. There needs to be some sort of extension to introduce a new, separate bar area (like they had in the past with the snug and select) as well as a complete overhaul of the interior.

Cool story KK

I'm super jealous although your mum must be so young

Oh it was the other way round ... hahaha she used to babysit him!!

Ok, am i the only one that thought "Camp Callum" wasn't camp at all?

Wasn't the way he used to walk about him showing off his "swag"?

And i thought the way he said things was just his accent

I never once got a gay vibe from him, yet ppl on here said he used to mince about? He walked like ten men, like he had swag, cos he was cocky, that was part of the character

I think Sean Ward played a wannabe gangster well but didn't think he was threatening or menacing at all. He didn't suit badass villain, but i think he would of been OK as a Mr nice guy character

Norma Ford, I think, was a case of the writers trying too hard to mould a specific type of character and, as is often the case when they do that, it failed. Diana Davies went on to give a lovely, understated performance as the long-suffering Mrs Bates for many years on Emmerdale (Farm) so I don't think it was to do with the actress. However, Norma was a complete wet lettuce of a character and I found her highly irritating. I think it was a casting/characterisation issue - on one hand, she seemed a little too old for the unrequited love scenario which was essentially her main plot, and on the other (as has already been said), the character was portrayed as rather savvy and no-nonsense - this didn't fit with the idea of her pining around after Ken. I also think that there was no chemistry between the actors, and it became painfully obvious that Ken and Norma would have made an uncomfortable pairing.

Does anyone know if the character was axed or if Diana chose to leave?

(I think that some of the mistakes with Norma were repeated with Reenee Bradshaw a few years down the line - they tried too hard to mould Reenee into an Elsie/Rita type of a character - right down to the red hair - and, despite a lot of potential in her early performances, her romantic storylines didn't catch on, and pairing her with Alf sucked all the life out of the character).

In contrast to Norma, Janet Reid/Barlow turned out to be quite an interesting character, and the perfect foil to Ken. On paper, this intelligent, upwardly mobile woman should have been Ken's perfect match - and yet in reality she showed him up as complacent and with limited ambitions. I suppose that type of character was always due to have a limited shelf-life, but I found Janet's performances very memorable and thought that this was one of the more interesting times for the Ken character. I also liked the fact that she wasn't portrayed as an out-and-out bitch - she had good relationships with Albert and Emily, for example. Janet wasn't made to fit any mould and as a result she developed into a rather layered character who we didn't perhaps see enough of.

They missed a great opportunity with the 2013 fire. Sadly it seems sets are sacred and change isn't exactly welcomed.

Wasn't that the point?


I have to disagree here. Renee wasn't like Elsie at all. She was married to the shop and never had much time for men (and with respect to Madge Hindle, just not attractive enough to lead that sort of life!) She did have a fiancee when she arrived - a sailor, Harry McLean - but otherwise Alf was the only man in her life.

It worked out for the best - Renee came in to serve a purpose which she did with aplomb, married Alf, had a memorable death, and left us with many excellent years of Alf in the shop.


Agree with every word. A character you loved to hate.

I think 'wannabe gangster' is exactly what Callum was, and that was evident when Tony showed him in the ginnel what a real thug was I never thought he was camp, either. Funny how some characters get labelled, like Phelan and his *cough* alleged massive attributes

Cant say I do but it sounds a right sight!

My earliest memory of CS is a woman being electrocuted with a hairdryer

Yeah, mine too!! Val Barlow, Ken's first wife & Peter's Mum!! January 1971

Well it'd be easier to discuss the past if we could actually access the past.

#brokenrecord #whynoclassic #giveusthearchiveschuck #corriefanmoansagain #56yearsandonlyamonthtowatch #iwannaseeenainherglory #sodcopyriightclaims #thatfraudsteroniofferstooexpensive #theresacannybitofpastEEreleasedguys #imabittipsy #thestreetshouldbeseennotdecayinginsomearchive #judgingbythefirstmemoriesoftheoldbiddiesabovemethisisgoingtoseemlikeaweirdposttothemdefinitely.

Yeah, I have never been sure where the Phelan thing started, or why he is portrayed on here as some sort of sex God?? It didn't bode well that he had to blackmail a middle aged housewife in order to get his leg over!!
I think you are both pretty much right about Callum!! All front but very little substance!! It spoke volumes for me when Chesney 'stared him down' that time & he sloped off muttering "whatever" or something!! His 'gang' were hardly terrifying either!!
I honesly think they wated us to see him like Jez Quigley but it didn't work in any way for me & i was glad to see the back of him & that crazy story! Shame the Platts had to be desecrated as a part of it!!

Stands up & applauds!!!!!!!!

You are speaking my language!!!!!!!

Omg! Who said that?!

Surely they didn't mean it?!

This forum a couple of years ago & again when Phelan returned was filled with thread after thread about it!!
Anyone daring to criticise was castigated as not having a sense of humour, but it got so bloody tedious and I swear there was a good many contributors to those threads who were absolutely serious & not joking at all!!

****ing hell! As if!

Where's the vomit smiley?

What was ur fave decade/year for coronation street, everyone?

i enjoyed it in 2015, and can't understand why so many ppl thought it was shit last yr, but my fave yr for the show is 2013. end of 2012 was when i started watching as a regular and i thought it was hit and miss, and 2014 was ok

have never seen 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s corrie episodes, and tbh i wouldn't wanna!

I think mine was Terry Duckworth back in the day. He was a bit rough and ready and a good few years older than me. Further down the line it was good old Steve McDonald as I was a teenage girl with raging hormones when the twins hit the street.

Nowadays I only have eyes for one Street resident and that's the beautiful Aiden Conner. Long may he be a presence on the cobbles!

I think if you saw one you'd want to see more, they're far superior in quality to the stuff we had today (well, most of it.)

Favourite year: 2004 - the storylines in it had the most significance to me and it was the last time Corrie was truly great. I wish it could go back to it now.

There are so many years of Corrie that you would love if you went back.

You ever meet Becky, Kylie's sister? You'd have loved her. Going back further Karen McDonald would have probably been a character you liked.

2004 was fantastic and the latter part of 2002 was superb too with Richard SL and him making Audrey think she was mad, trying to get Gail to put her in a home etc. Was so dark.

The murder week was bloody nailbiting as well - at the time people weren't sure who would be killed off and when he clobbered Emily I could barely breathe! Then Maxine coming in... it was amazing stuff. Not to mention the confession two-hander and the finale with the canal smash and 'You and Me'.

Todd's coming out SL was amazing too, all the stuff with Karen McDonald & Tracy was epic (Roy and Hayley's "Patience", the christening reveal etc), Mad Maya's rampage and the crazy 8-episode week with 3 episodes a night on Monday (and Friday?), all the explosions at his shops and the finale on the street; moving on to Killer Katy plot which was harrowing as hell for Corrie...

SO many good plots back then and fab characters. late 2002-2005(ish) was vintage.