At the studio gates with the Corrie superfans
Hello,
A big black SUV rolls around the corner and up to the gates of the Coronation Street studios. A group of fans wave wildly and there’s a wave back from the driver’s seat.
It’s Sally Dynevor, who has played Sally Metcalfe (nee Webster, nee Seddon) since 1986.
I find myself going: “Oooh” and offering up a little wave – even though I haven’t watched Corrie since the Bet Lynch days.
“You’ll be coming back yourself now,” one of the fans tells me, jokingly. But she might be right.
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I spent an afternoon with the Corrie superfans dedicated enough to spend hours – sometimes 12 at a time – sitting outside the gates of the studio waiting to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
Coronation street fans.
I wanted to understand what it is about this long-running soap that inspires such devotion from its fans. They sit there, come rain or shine, and wait.
Some days, several stars will stop as they leave the studio, posing up for photographs and selfies and writing autographs. Other days, nobody stops.
Not that Brian Altman minds. Well known as Corrie’s biggest superfan, he shows just as much love to the crew and anyone who helps make the show tick.
“I wave to every car and everyone knows me. They say ‘bye Brian’. And I can’t always see who they are but I wave anyway.”
The thing that struck me most about this very keen group of fans, is that they are a community.
Brian Altman(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“You make friends for life here because you’re interested in the same thing,” said 42-year-old Clare, who travels up from Greater London. “You have a shared interest and you put the world to rights.”
More recently, a new group of uber fans have been turning up to the studio gates.
They are all devotees of Alison King and Vicky Myers – who play Carla Connor and Lisa Swain. It’s a relationship – dubbed ‘Swarla’ – that has captured the imagination of a lot of fans and has ignited flurries of online speculation about their future together.
For 18-year-old Chloe Roylance, a meeting with Ali King would be enough to prompt tears.
The girls show off thier ‘Swarla’ bracelets(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
While Kate, 30 – who has come down with handmade Swarla bracelets – says it’s all about showing appreciation.
“They work really long hours,” she says. “What’s the likelihood of them stopping after a 12 hour shift? So it’s great when they do.”
Though most of the people who pursue this hobby are photograph and video hunters, Janet is old school.
She doesn’t have a smartphone and brings only a little autograph book reserved for Corrie and Emmerdale cast members.
“I’ve not got a camera phone and I wouldn’t know how to use it anyway so I just get the autographs,” she says.
“It’s just a buzz. I’m not bothered about taking photographs but I have got loads of autographs at home and they mean something to me.”
Janet has been collection autographs from cast members for years(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
For Brian – who has met more than 150 cast members – there is a white whale. Even after decades of autograph hunting, he is yet to meet Barbara Knox, who plays Rita.
He hopes he will one day get the chance to thank her for the hours of entertainment she has provided him and millions of others. And really, that’s what this is all about.
The picnics, the autograph books, the money spent on train tickets and hotels, the gifts and the letters – it’s all about showing appreciation.
You can read about my afternoon with the Corrie superfans here.
“It’s okay”
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Almost every single lamp-post on Briscoe Lane, in Newton Heath, has a Union Jack or St George’s flag cable-tied to it.
It’s thought they’ve been erected as part of the controversial ‘Operation Raise The Colours’.
And when Ethan Davies asked locals for their thoughts on the new additions, there was a positive response.
Lucienne Akouatcha, a Frenchwoman who owns the Kalisha African shop, said: “I find it normal, to me, to see in your country your flag. It’s okay.”
While Paul Beresford described it as a “great idea”.
“We are sick of people telling us we cannot. I’m personally not bothered, but if someone says you cannot, then you want to,” he said.
You can read more thoughts from the Newton Heath residents here.
Less than a week
Bereaved mum, Danielle Almond, at the graveside of her baby girl, Isla, who passed away eighteen years ago(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Danielle Almond’s stillborn daughter Isla was laid to rest at St Barnabas Church in 2007.
But she’s just been told she has less than a week to collect items from her daughter’s grave before they’re removed from the graveyard at Shore, Littleborough.
The Diocese is imposing new rules on items placed on graves that has caused great upset to Danielle.
You can read about the changes here.
Cash boost
Stockport Station
An upgraded train station and green travel solutions are among a raft of changes set for Stockport town centre.
It’s getting a £10m boost from the government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement.
Declan Carey has the details here.
Roll with it
Paul and Amber from the Definitely Maybe Bar (Image: MEN)
With Oasis currently breaking America (they did try once before, if you recall), Paul Gallagher has joined them.
He’s transported his Definitely Maybe bar to the States with pre-show parties, festival afternoons before the gigs, afterparties and an exhibition of rare Oasis memorabilia.
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Weather
Thursday: Yellow weather warning of thunderstorms. 18C.
Roads: A5067 Chester Rd westbound, Old Trafford, closed for roadworks between Talbot Rd and Bridgewater Way between 9.30am and 3.30pm until October 31.
A6 Chapel St westbound, Salford, closed for long-term roadworks between Blackfriars Rd and New Bailey St until January 19.
A6104 Hollinwood Avenue, Moston, eastbound closed for roadworks between Lightbowne Road and Broadway. Until September 14.
Manc trivia: In December 2010, what disaster caused devastation on Coronation Street?
Trivia answer: A tram crash.