I am getting very peed off with certain posters on the Main Forum saying Samia is wooden, can't act for toffee, etc, etc , etc!!

The 'Dreary ' Maria comments I can take as they are largely delivered in fun on the episode threads and in any case are only having a pop at the character, but to say an actress who has been on the show for 16 years & taken on board some of the most harrowing & emotional, along with some of the most banal & 'everyday' scenes & has without exception always played them true to her character & with a lovely sense of realism can't act is quite frankly as ludicrous as it is offensive!!

Sorry rant over!!
Someone is pushing my buttons over there & I'm not very good at ignoring it!!

Long may the Corrie powers that be realise what an absolute gem they have in Samia!!

Thank you for identifying with my Samia milestone NDD!

Yes, I have subsequently noticed that next Monday should be the day of The Big Kiss.

I reckon the producers do think favourably of Samia to have kept her in for 16 years so far, even after both her maternity leave stints.

I praised Samia and a clip I saw of her with shoulder-length hair from a 2002 recording on today's Hollyoaks thread.

Since reading your post here I have been trying on & off to find a really good website for pics of Maria around that time but it seems to have completely disappeared!! It was called 'There's only one Samia Smith' & featured lots of Corrie stills between 2001 - 2006!!
What with that vanishing & all the YouTube episodes from 00s being taken down both footage and pics of Maria from that time are now few & far between online, though there are still quite a lot about of Samia herself!!
This little video has a couple of 2002 or early 2003 scenes of Maria working in the Rover's & a brief glimpse with Nick from 02!!

https://youtu.be/R2x4XYKbIvM

She certainly looked a lot different with the shorter hairstyle, but still very pretty!!

I saw a few older pictures of her by googling Samia Ghadie 2002 and clicking on the entry for pictures.

Thank you for loading that Youtube clip. It is a pity that some earlier episodes are being removed from Youtube. At least she seems really committed to Corrie for the foreseeable future.

Purely out of interest does anyone actually know where Samia is or what she's doing at the moment??
She hasn't posted on twitter since sept 1st unless my tablet is lying to me!!

Noticed she's changed her name on there to Samia Longchambon but no new tweets & no new Maria news for ages either?

Is she still on honeymoon?

http://metro.co.uk/2016/09/22/corona...ealed-6145996/

Looks like Maria/Samia is still heavily involved right uo to the end of the year at least then!!
So happy she's gerting a proper meaty, long running Storyline at last!!
Actually Maria being involved in anything at Christmas is quite a rarity throughout Samia's time on the show, 2008 being the obvious exception!!

It will indeed make a change for Maria to have a big storyline over Christmas. It is hinted that

It was touching to see Maria & Tyrone share a scene tonight, especially as despite no longer being together they were still willing to matchmake Freddie & Audrey.

Yes I always love scenes with those two!!
There's a lovely, easy chemistry between the two characters, probably down to the fact Samia & Alan have been best mates for over 20 years, 16 of those on Corrie & they both know exactly how to play their characters by now!!

I remember staying in a B&B in Bolton in 2002, a few weeks before I liked the way Samia looked upon her return from Canada. They admitted to knowing Alan Halsall's family in real life, and I think they mentioned him or his family being friends with Samia. Intriguingly, she spent my Saturday there at an event in my then home town.

Oh, that's rotten luck!!
I know they say you should never meet your heroes but I would love to meet Samia!!

On the subject of Samia at events I unearthed this little 'gem' again on YouTube earlier which in it's own way sums up much of what I love about the girl!!

https://youtu.be/XIdvcD-YIrs

Ok I realise she was getting paid for doing it but how many other celebs could have taken that event on & given the impression they were really genuinely enjoying it?
Loved the bit where Kirky (Andy) 'pays a visit!!'

Maybe you will still meet her one day.

The flip side to that coin is that it is a claim to fame of sorts that we both spent that day in eachother's home towns.

It does seem to be just us 2 keeping the flag flying on her appreciation thread at this stage.

I have recorded Corrie tonight and shall watch it back tomorrow.

Yes Avon 's gone quiet on us again for the moment!!

I live in hope that others will evebntually pick up on it , though there are appreciation threads for Corrie characters semingly far more popular who aren't gettingmany contributers either!!

Maybe it's not a Corrie thing!!

My absolute favourite Maria is when she went completely berserk after finding out about Carla and Liam's affair. That moment she decided to stop being a victim and became a fighter inside. Who can forgot that mini rampage she went on in trying to find Carla? The ending of the episode where she broke down looking at the video behind closed doors was unbelievably sad but superbly acted.

That whole episode of Tony & Carla's wedding is one of my favourites ever!!

I absolutely love the scene you describe, where she rips off Liam's necklace, her eyes go wild & she starts going crazy yelling "CARLA" slamming doors & running through the hotel, only to find when she gets out that Carla has just left!!
Those next few weeks where she pieces it all together but no one will listen to her are absolutely heartbreaking viewing & to me, coupled with the stillbirth scenes & the scenes after Liam's death should have seen Samia walk away with every acting award going for that year!! Sadly she was robbed by Kath Kelly purely on the 'strength' of that cringeworthy first wedding!!

Oh sorry, gets me into rant mode every time!!
Welcome along KFF, great to have a new face here!!

I now feel really bad as I am one of the chief critics of Tracy on the MF but absolutely nothing to do with Kate who plays the part very well!!

Edit: For the record I do still love watching the Tracy/Maria catfight on YouTube especially the hilarious bit where she's pulling on Maria's hair so hard she practically has her head on the floor & Ashley pipes up "Are you alright Maria??"
Not quite sure what he would have dared do about it anyway!!

Thanks NDD. I actually just got back into Corrie after a three year absence due to the overuse of Carla (talk about an extreme fall from grace). I decided to start watching again when I heard from that article from Samia a few months back that Maria was getting a big storyline. Although it isn't anywhere in the same league as the untouchable Tony/Carla/Maria/Liam (not that I was expecting it to be by any means) I am just happy to see my favourite character getting a big storyline.

Although I do like Kate Ford, I actually hate my username now as it was created when Tracy was even more despised on here than she is now. Stuck with it now so can'you do anything about that. Coincidentally I began watching Corrie in 2000 which probably explains why I have such a connection to Maria.

They can just never successfully make Maria look anyway dowdy. She just looks even more beautiful than usual. It was the same in the aftermath of Liam's death and the birth of their son.

Extremely sad episode though. First time in a while that a Corrie episode didn't leave me feeling completely cold.

Felt so sorry for her tonight, bless her!! That was proper emotion from Samia, not just acting, she's such a dog lover!!

Carla's fall from grace is probably the single biggest cock up Corrie have ever made, certainly in recent years!!
Don't get me wrong I was firmly 'team Maria' throughout the Tony/Liam/Carla/Maria saga but Carla was such a compelling character back then that even hating her was a pleasure if you get me & the contrast in characters between her & Maria was what made it so special!!
That said I loved it later in 2010/2011 when, by various brilliantly written plotlines they gradually gained a grudging respect for each other which finally turned into an always rather uneasy friendship after the Frank Foster incidents & Maria supporting Carla through her traumas!!
The sudden abrupt end to all that when Michelle returned ( not that I have anything against Michelle as many on here seem to have) was the beginning of a very permanent & very painful ruination of Carla into the hideous self pitying wreck that left the Street this spring in my opinion!! So sad!!
I really COULD NOT believe it when they didn't even give Carla & Maria a final scene together when she left after all the history they had & instead had her surrounded by 'family' who she'd known all of five minutes & had no history whatsoever with!!
Awful, awful exit!!

Sorry I'm ranting again!!

Samia will be switching on the Christmas lights in Hartlepool on Friday 2nd December.

https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/info/2...istmas_lottery

Hi, yeah thanks for that heads up!!
If I could rig that lottery so that I was one of the ones who got to meet her I would be straight there & when I was younger I would have just gone up on the off chance but don't think I could justify driving 50 odd miles these days just to catch a glimpse of her through a crowd!!
Admit I was tempted though!!

You could still go! Allowing for the size of the country you are nearer than you think. Sometimes, it can be nicer to admire someone from a distance rather than meet them.

Samia gave an interview in the Saturday Daily Express magazine. She expressed frustration at Maria trusting anyone even when other people warn her against someone.

For me though that is one thing I love about the character, that no matter how many times she gets sh*t on her first instinct is still always to look for the best in people, even though it hasn't served her well in the past!!
It's traits like that that define a character & make them human!!
Ironically the one person she wasn't like that with was Luke, probably the most decent, reliable bloke she's been with yet, but that was good writing as that relationship came straight after that horrible betrayal by Marcus, a guy she thought she could trust 100%!!

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coro...eally-jealous/

This is interesting and definitely think it will make Aiden Jealous. I'm loving that Maria is finally getting so much storylines!!

This one is confusing me as Samia herself has quite clearly stated it isn't going to be a happy Christmas for Maria!!

I'm just hoping they aren't wrapping up the Caz storyline early because it doesn't seem to be going down well on social media, that would be a real shame if it were true as I'm actually loving it despite the fact it is a bit thin in places regarding the police investigation!!
There's an interesting line in the spoilers on Dj's page for the end of November, think it was which to me is a lot
sooner than I was expecting given what we have been led to believe so far!!

That said, I agree it's lovely & long overdue to se Maria back in the storyline action & if what you post here leads to Aidan being jealous & him & Maria getting together, with all that entails I will be happy to go with that as I think they are a great pairing!!

I'm seriously loving Aiden and Maria and it has been a long time since I was invested in a potential Corrie romance. However I do like Maria/Eva's friendship and Samia/Catherine have a great rapport together. Shame that will be ruined for yet another predictable catfight between two women.

Unfortunately Corrie don't even do them well these days compared to some of those from the past & Eva v Maria is hardly going to be a fair fight anyway given the difference in size!!
That said characters good actors can still have a great rapport even as enemies, as Samia/Jane Danson had in the 00s!!
Aidan & Maria really does need to happen though, as I think this could be Maria's best pairing since her doomed pairing with Tony (though I, unlike most on here, really loved her pairing with Marcus & still haven't forgiven Phil Collinson for not taking that s/l further!!)
Just one of the many things I love about Maria/Samia is how she nearly always manages to have great chemistry with the men they put her with, Luke being the exception!! That never really worked for me!!