“You make friends for life here because you’re interested in the same thing. You have a shared interest and you put the world to rights.”
Coronation street fans.
It’s midday on a grey and rather chilly August afternoon and Brian Altman has wheeled his Corrie themed suitcase over from a budget hotel to the gates of the Coronation Street set.
He is one of six fans pitched up here in Trafford today, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite cast members – but there are often far more.
“There were about 37 people here last week,” Brian tells me.
He’s probably the best known Corrie superfan, featured in the pages of the Manchester Evening News and known for his many tributes to the cast in photo montages.
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He is wearing a fabulous M&Ms shirt draped casually over an enviable ‘Free the Weatherfield One’ top, which features a doe-eyed image of the wrongly convicted Deirdre Rachid behind bars.
Brian Altman(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
It was a storyline so big back in 1998 that a newspaper campaign to free Deirdre was even mentioned in Parliament by then Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“They gave these t-shirts out in The Sun at the time. They’re quite rare now,” Brian says.
He’s right. A cursory glance on eBay reveals just one such garment available for sale.
Brian, 63, is also wearing wonderful blue-rimmed glasses much like the kind sported by Bettabuy boss Reg Holdsworth.
Ken Morely, aka Reg Holdsworth, was one of the first cast member’s Brian Altman met
Ken Morley, who played Reg, was one of the first stars Brian met back at the old Granada Studios on Quay Street. He has been an avid collector of pictures, autographs and memorabilia ever since.
In fact, his Glasgow flat has become a shrine to the soap with items such as Becky McDonald’s wedding dress and a letter from Doris Speed among Brian’s most treasured possessions.
His regular pilgrimages to Manchester to meet the stars of the show see him waking at the ungodly hour of 2.45am to catch the first train from Glasgow Central so he can be at the studio gates as early as possible. Then, he waits patiently.
(Image: MEN)
“It’s great when they stop. There are some who don’t want to so it makes it all the more worthwhile when they give up their time,” he says.
“I will never forget how hard they work. I’ve seen them go in at 7am and come back out at 7pm. To do all that and still say ‘hello’ is wonderful.”
Brian with Tina O’Brien
Brian is not the only one with a long history of autograph hunting here.
Janet has set up her turquoise camping chair directly next to the automatic barrier which lets cast and crew past the security lodge and into the studios.
She doesn’t have a camera with her – just a little autograph book reserved for Corrie and Emmerdale cast members.
“I’ve been coming donkey’s years,” she says. “I started when it was Granada on Quay Street. It was great back then, you could get loads of people there.”
Janet has been collection autographs from cast members for years(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Janet was also here yesterday and “sat around all day” before Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey, and Cait Fitton who plays Lauren, eventually came out.
“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.”
“I’ve got autographs too,” says 18-year-old Chloe Roylance – a superfan whose ultimate aim is to become an actor on the show.
Corrie fan Chloe Roylance outside the studio gates(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
She’s only been coming down to the gates from Walkden for a few months, but she loves it and has made friends here.
“I’ve been watching it for ages,” she says. “My favourite man on the show is David Platt. And Betsy – I like her.”
Suddenly, a big black SUV rolls around the corner and up to the gates. Brian and the girls 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) on the soap since 1986.
Coronation street fans.
I find myself going: “Oooh” and offering up a little wave – even though I haven’t watched Corrie since the Bet Lynch days.
“See,” says Chloe. “You’ll be coming back yourself now.”
I laugh but tell them I understand, as a dedicated Neighbours fan myself, what it is to meet one of your soap heroes. After all, I once followed Alan Fletcher – aka Dr Karl Kennedy – down a good length of Oxford Road in the hope of catching his attention before it was eventually pointed out I might be arrested.
So what is it that inspires these particular fans to give up so much of their free time to come to the gates of the studio and wait, sometimes for 12 hours at a time?
“I find it relaxing,” says 42 year-old Clare. “I like the area. Coming from a very busy place, I think it’s calm here.
The fans wave as cast members pass by
“I’ve made some friends here. It’s about socialising with people who have the same interests.
“I’ve been watching forever. It has a special place in my heart because I watched it with my parents. It’s a memory thing.
“You make friends for life here because you’re interested in the same thing. You have a shared interest and you put the world to rights.”
As we’re talking, a large black minivan drives up to the gates and the fans wave and shout out.
“It’s Molly, the little girl,” they tell me.
They’re talking about Molly Kilduff, a child actor currently playing Shanice. Her mum waves back and politely explains that she’s not allowed to stop for pictures. Not long after Savanna Pennington, who plays Joanie, is also driven past.
Brian explains to me that the girls must be filming a scene with Sally Dynevor – as they’re all part of the same storyline.
The number of cast who stop totally depends on the day, Chloe tells me. And last week was a particularly good one as the sun shone and lots of heroes were met.
Some fans bring picnics with them. Others bring balls and frisbees.
Brian shows me five very small bottles of water in a ziplock bag. He explains that he drinks these so he doesn’t need the loo during long stints at the studio gate.
Brian and Bill Roache
He starts telling me about William Roache – the longest serving cast member who, at 93, is still portraying Ken Barlow.
“He plays classical music from the car very loudly,” says Brian. “He regularly stops and always makes sure everyone has got all the pictures and videos they want.
“He’s been doing it for 65 years. You have never met such a gentleman in your life. He’s faultless.
“And Helen Worth is sorely missed. She was lovely.
“You just don’t know who you are going to get. That’s what’s nice.
“Jack P Shepherd said recently: “Brian I heard you were back. (Producer) Iain MacLeod has just been in the green room to tell us all Brian’s back”.”
Fans hope to catch a glimpse of Weatherfield’s finest
As for the girls, they have all got one person in mind that they would love to meet – Alison King.
She has been portraying Carla Connor on the soap for years and her character recently found love with relative newcomer Lisa Swain, played by Vicky Myers.
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.
“I like anyone really but we all like Ali King,” says Chloe. “I’d cry if I met her”
“It’s just nice to see someone you admire,” explains Clare, who travels up from Greater London to try and catch a glimpse of the cast.
“Corrie is that comfort zone. You might skip some episodes but you always come back to it,” she says.
The girls show off thier ‘Swarla’ bracelets(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Chloe Kay, 20, agrees. She is also here in the hope of seeing Ali King and Vicky Myers.
She’s part of a growing number of Swarla fans who have visited the studios in recent months.
“Ali King is just really empowering,” she explains. “She’s been through so much, she’s so well loved.”
Kate, 30, has come down with some handmade Swarla bracelets which she has handed out to her friends here.
“I love the family dynamics of Swarla.” she says. “We come here to show appreciation really. “They work really long hours. What’s the likelihood of them stopping after a 12 hour shift? So it’s great when they do.”
The fans tell me that some people have been known to rush in front of cast member’s cars and take things ‘too far’.
“There are certain fans that are more obsessed than others,” says Brian.
Another says: “And when they say they’re not stopping, they still shove the camera in their faces.”
Janet says meeting the cast gives you a ‘buzz'(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
But it’s a rarity among a group of people who predominantly just want to show their love for the show.
As Janet explains, the autographs would mean very little to anyone else, but there is a special buzz that comes with collecting them in person.
She remembers Beverley Callard, who played the perpetually put-upon Liz McDonald, as one of the first autographs she collected.
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“I bought her exercise video and I used to do that,” Janet says. “It’s a keepsake.
“I just love meeting them. I have got lots of autographs at home.
“The girl who played Ria – she got to know me. I wrote to her and she wrote me a letter back and every time she saw me she stopped and spoke to me and I keep this note she wrote to me. She was lovely.”
Brian laughs as Cait Fitton tells him the pickled onion crisps he’s been sending for the cast are stinking out the green room
Brian on the other hand has met most of the cast members numerous times. And he gives just as much love to the crew.
“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.”
Brian – who watched the soap with his family as a child – shows me pictures of his Corrie-themed kitchen adorned with rare memorabilia collected over the years.
“Corrie was part of the furniture, like Ken Barlow. It was just part of our family life,” he explains.
“I love the storylines. How realistic it is. The writers have always kept up-to-date.
Brian shows off his Mr Men and Little Miss themed Corrie cast artwork(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“Tony Warren created a show where he wanted the women to be the stronger characters and to keep that Northern humour.
“They’ve always had three storylines running at the same time and since he died that’s been kept on the go.”
Brian has been collecting autographs and pictures for decades and has met more than 150 cast members – even David Neilson’s dog. Many know him thanks to the letters he sends and sweets he hands out.
Brian’s Corrie-themed wheelie case
But there is one person he is yet to meet. His unicorn – Barbara Knox.
The 91-year-old actress has portrayed Rita Tanner on the cobbles since 1972 but has proved elusive, despite Brian sending her several gifts over the years.
Brian shows off his coveted ‘Free the Weatherfield One’ t-shirt(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
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.
“She would be the cherry on top,” he says.
Whether or not Brian will meet his white whale remains to be seen. But one thing’s for certain – he’ll keep on trying.