Ex-Corrie star Helen Flanagan has revealed her 'mortifying' embarrassment when she walked out of a Boots store with £200 worth of products she hadn't paid for.

Stopped by a security guard as she attempted to leave the Brighton store, Helen claims the incident was a genuine mistake and blames it on her 'ditzy' personality. The star narrowly avoided arrest and says she has been banned from all Boots stores for five years as a result - though a spokesperson for the store has denied this.

In an interview on Alan Carr's Chatty Man, airing tonight, Helen explains:

'I was feeling hot and flustered. I walked out of the shop, I had enough. Security said, "Excuse me". I looked down and there was about £200 worth in my basket.

'I said, "Oh God, I am so sorry. I would not do this kind of thing". The security woman says, "Right, I'm going to have to ring the police". I said, "You are joking?"
'I told her it was an honest mistake and she was like, "That's what they all say".'

Helen subsequently paid for the items, and the Boots spokesperson has added that there was no police involvement or legal repercussions, stating:

'We can confirm that the young lady was not banned from our stores and we have contacted her to clear up any confusion over the matter.'

We'd love to know what was in the shopping basket, Helen - maybe some concealer to hide those red cheeks?

Last seen reducing gullible Gail to heartbreak, Lewis left the Street in spectacular fashion after cleaning out her bank account and fleeing the country.

But speaking on Daybreak this morning, Nigel Havers has revealed that he wouldn't rule out another appearance on the cobbles for the charming conman.

'Never say never'

He said, speaking about the likelihood of Corrie writers bringing the character back.

'It would be tricky. I would be lynched, wouldn't I? I think I'd have to come back having won the lottery and pay everybody back! I'd love to go back, actually. It's just one of those great shows to be part of. I can't tell you how much fun it is.'

Currently writing a sitcom with Julian Clary, Havers won 'Best Exit' at the British Soap Awards last week. Acknowledging the win, he said:

'The scriptwriters on that show are fantastic. To win an award is amazing, really. They don't often come along! I'm chuffed.'

For the sake of his own safety, we hope Lewis doesn't return - we don't think Audrey and Gail would be fooled a second time.

Corrie has been praised for the recent epilepsy storyline starring David Platt.

The Epilepsy Society has commended the soap for raising awareness of the condition, with Amanda Cleaver, Communications and Campaigns Manager for the charity, saying:

'What was really interesting was how some of the other characters reacted to his seizure. They questioned his ability to look after the two young children in his care and David himself voiced concerns about whether his unborn child would inherit the condition.'

'The issues raised in the story highlight the public lack of knowledge about a condition which affects around 1 in 100 people in the UK.'

Viewers saw David lying unconscious the park, having suffered his first fit in two years while out with his stepson. Thankfully quick-thinking Max saved the day, but let's hope he doesn't have to do it again in a hurry.

Corrie scooped a brilliant eight prizes at the British Soap Awards, compared with rival EastEnders which won just one.

Awards included best soap, best storyline for the Kirsty - Tyrone abuse storyline, best actor for Alan Halsall and best dramatic performance and villain for Natalie Gumede. Patti Clare - quirky Mary - stole best comedy performance, while Nigel Havers won best exit after dastardly Lewis swindled £40,000 from Gail and fled to Belize.

Hollyoaks won five trophies, Emmerdale won two and EastEnders' only honour was a lifetime achievement for Adam Woodyatt, who's played miserable Ian Beale for an amazing years. Corrie won three of the five awards to be voted for by the public - including the top prize for best soap - and the other winners were chosen by a panel.

Malcolm Hebden accepted the best soap award surrounded by his co-stars, saying:

'We're all thrilled and the public have voted for us so we must be doing our job properly.
Thank you the public. We love you.'

Well done to everyone at Corrie: here's to another year of drama, laughs and tears, and hopefully more well-deserved awards.

It's forever the preserve of the media to be fascinated by the love lives of celebrities, and further to speculations on Michael Le Vell dating Emma Dodd, the red tops are now reporting on a second romance for the actor.

Previously said to be 'inseparable,' Dodds has now been left 'inconsolable' by the news that Le Vell has now been linked to another woman, Blanca Fouche. According to friends, Emma - who is an avid Manchester United like Le Vell - dated the Corrie actor after he split from his wife and before he got together with Blanca.

Blanca, 31, who is originally from Chile, confirmed to the Mirror last week that she and Le Vell - who has been written out of the ITV soap until the conclusion of his trial - are indeed an item.

Thankfully both women have thus far declined to comment on the tangle - and I'm sure Le Vell currently has much more sobering things on his mind.

It's changed a bit since the days of Jack and Annie Walker, but The New Rovers Return has been unveiled....and despite a £100, 000 makeover, it bears more than a passing resemblance to the pre-blaze interior.

New pictures of the iconic pub show a definite facelift, but it's still a million miles away from fears the Rovers might be redesigned as a trendy wine bar.

Rosie Mullin-Hoyle, the Art Director in charge of the difficult job of getting the new look right said:

'The redesign was a massive challenge because it was the first time in 25 years the set had come out. It is an iconic set - perhaps the most famous in the country - so there is a lot of pressure to get it right and do it justice.'

With a brief to ensure the pub still looks and feels like the old Rovers Return, she continued:

'The changes needed to be subtle. It had to appear as if Stella had made an effort to make it feel like the same pub.'

It may have taken a lot of thought, but not all the Corrie actors approve of the finished design. Michelle Collins has apparently complained 'the seats are too pale,' while nosy Norris actor Michael Hebden commented, 'it hasn't exactly been overhauled, has it?'

It may have caused some consternation amongst the cast regulars, but I reckon it's good to see the Rovers back on its feet again. And with all the drama to come, who cares if the seat covers aren't quite the right shade?

A FORMER Commonwealth Games judo competitor decided to grow cannabis after watching Sylvia eat hash cakes on Corrie.

John Ashley Griffiths, 50, of Llanelli, decided to try growing the plants as self-medication to relieve the pain of his chronic arthritis.

Officers attending the address in South Wales found nine 12-inch tall cannabis plants under an electric grow lamp, and Mr Griffiths later voluntarily visited Llanelli Police Station to be interviewed in relation to the offence.

After his court hearing, Griffiths told the Star: 'It was a genuine thing for the relief of pain. I saw the storyline of Roy's mother in the cafe and thought it might help.'

Magistrates fined Griffiths £75, ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge, and also made an order for the forfeiture and destruction of the cannabis.

But despite his court appearance, the judo expert still backed the Corrie plot, saying:

'I think the story was a good idea, it gives people an insight into cannabis.'

'I have got chronic arthritis at the top of my spine and it is purely for pain relief, it does give you pain relief.'

A spokeswoman for Coronation Street stated: 'We did make very clear via various characters throughout the short time this storyline was on screen that taking drugs is illegal and also has serious health implications.'

Bill Roache appeared in court yesterday accused of twice raping a 15-year old girl.

Arriving in a black Mercedes, Roache was escorted past reporters and photographers for his first court appearance since the much-publicised arrest on May 1st. District Judge Jane Goodwin granted bail on condition he lives at either his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, or a relative's address in London, and does not have unsupervised contact with anyone under 16 or contact two specifically named witnesses.

Some fans had queued from the early hours outside the courthouse to meet the Corrie star. Roache smiled as he signed autographs for the supporters, though declined to comment as he was driven away. ITV executives have said he will not be appearing in Corrie until legal proceedings have been completed.

A preliminary hearing - heard by Judge Anthony Russell QC - will be held at Preston Crown Court on June 10th.

Coronation actress Georgia May Foote has signed a new 12-month deal that will seal her place in the soap until May 2014. Show bosses were reportedly eager to keep Georgia in the cast, especially after the announcement that Michelle Keegan will be leaving the cobbles.

Following the departure of some of the soaps more glamorous actresses - including Katherine Kelly and Helen Flanagan - a 'source' said to The Sun:

'It is really brilliant news for everyone at Corrie that Georgia has agreed to stay on. She's a brilliant actress who has impressed everyone with the way she has taken to playing Katy.'

The 'source' continued:

'Losing Michelle will be a huge blow. The fact she's won Sexiest Female at the Soap Awards four years running shows just how popular she is. But Georgia has got a real chance of taking her crown this year, which would cement her place as a rising star.'

Georgia joined the soap in 2010, and recent storylines have seen her character Katy break up with Chesney Brown after having a fling with Ryan Connor.

Let's hope Katy and Chesney use the time to make up some of their recent differences!

Tory MP Nigel Evans is being helped through his ordeal by none other than Coronation Street's Janice Battersby. 

Apparently, Evans who faces allegations of rape and sexual assault of two men, has turned to actress Vicky Entwistle for support during this tough time.

While in the soap Janice Battersby was more often helping herself than helping others, the real life Vicky Entwistle is very different. Apparently Evans and a group of friends spent the two nights after his release at Entwistle's home in nearby Bolton-by-Bowland.

Entwistle is apparently a long-standing friend who helped the Conservative MP to make the decision to come out as gay three years ago. 

Dubbed the "family from hell", the Battersbys were Janice and her husband Les, daughter Leanne and a daughter of her own, Toyah. Entwistle quit Corrie in 2011 after 14 years in the soap.

Following his arrest at home this morning, the 81-YO star of Corrie William Roache has been charged with two counts of rape.

He is accused of offences in the 1960's against a girl who was then 15 years old. He will appear before Preston magistrates on May 14th.

The Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West Nazir Afzal, said: "We have been reviewing evidence and providing early investigative advice to Lancashire Police since 1 March.

"Having completed our review, we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Roache to be charged with two offences of rape relating to a girl, aged 15, in 1967."

ITV have yet to make a statement.

Corrie stalwart William Roache has been arrested and questioned following an allegation of rape.

The actor, who has played Ken Barlow since the start of the soap, was arrested at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire this morning after claims that he raped an underage girl in Lancashire between April and May in 1967.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "An 81-year-old man from Wilmslow in Cheshire has this morning, Wednesday May 1 2013, been arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on suspicion of rape. The man will be interviewed at a police station in Lancashire during the course of the day.

"We take all allegations of sexual abuse extremely seriously and would encourage people with any information about sexual abuse, or anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse, to come forward and report their concerns confident in the knowledge they will be investigated appropriately and with sensitivity."

It had to happen. HAD to. As soon as Corrie bad boy Karl Munro set light to the Rovers we knew that he would be on his way, and it's now being reported that John Michie (who plays Karl) will be leaving the soap later in the year.

It's an accepted truth that any soap character that does something bad has to be caught and so with Karl committing arson (the Rovers), murder (Sunita) and threatening to kill (Leanne) it was inevitable that he would be getting his comeuppance at some point.

The unexpected thing is that Corrie bosses have chosen Karl to be the new Weatherfield monster as he's been a good character and very well played by Michie. If reports in the Daily Star are correct, however, it seems that Karl will be on his way after Dev becomes suspicious of him and realises that Sunita has been framed as the Rovers fire starter.

So Karl will be going from hapless rogue to pitiless murderer in just a few months and leaving the street in high dudgeon? Shame, he was a fun character.

Charlie Condou is the latest high profile Corrie star to publicly back cast mate Michael Le Vell with his attempts to clear his name.

Le Vell (who plays grease monkey Kevin Webster) is awaiting trial on sex abuse charges and is not currently appearing in the soap. Condou (midwife Marcus Dent in the show) outlined his thoughts while attending an awards ceremony. He said: "I think Mike's great and I personally am looking forward to him coming back to work. I'm looking forward to seeing him and we've been in text contact. I can't even begin to imagine what he's going through, but he seems to be doing good."

Other Corrie stars who have backed Le Vell include Kym Lomas and Bill Roache (well, sort of) and former Weatherfield resident Helen Flanagan.

After a shaky start (Specifically Michelle Collins' well dodgy accent) it seems that Corrie's Price family are to stay with the soap for the foreseeable future.

According to the Sun, Michelle Collins, Catherine Tyldesley, Jane Danson and Sue Johnston have all been offered a one-year contract extension. The paper is quoting an 'insider' as saying: "Leanne has been on the show for years but the rest of the Prices are all pretty new and, after some early teething problems, have become a real success story. Gloria's meddling behaviour is hugely popular with viewers. Eva's great and Catherine has turned into one of the biggest stars on the Street now. Michelle got a lot of stick over her Northern accent when she first arrived. But she's come into her own and everyone is delighted she's staying."

No word in any of this about John Mitchie and whether his character Karl Munro is included in any future plans. Are we about to see the back of him?

It's been quite an exciting few days for Michelle Keegan; first she went off work sick, then she went to an amusement park, then she resigned from her job and now she's been voted the sexiest woman on Earth.

She topped the poll for 101 sexiest women on the planet in lad's mad Zoo beating....erm...100 other named women and every other female there is. Not bad going when you consider how big the planet is and how many women there are on it. We reckon she'll be dead chuffed when she finds out.

Realistically, it was only a matter of time before Michelle Keegan kicked Corrie into touch so the news that she will leave the soap next year is only surprising in that her goodbye will be so protracted.

News came over the weekend that Michelle is to leave the soap, with a her releasing a statement saying: "It was such a difficult decision to leave, but I felt it was the right time for me to make the next step in my career. I will miss Tina and will always be grateful to ITV and Coronation Street for giving me such an amazing role to play for my first ever acting job.

"Most of all I will miss the amazing people who work on the show, my acting colleagues, cast, crew, producers and writing team. I have met people who I know will be friends for life. I am very excited about what the coming months hold for Tina and what the future has in store for me."

Tina will be onscreen until well into 2014.

Michelle joined the soap at the age of 20 in 2007 after only her second ever acting audition. Since then she has been repeatedly voted the sexiest female in soap and become a red top and lads mag target. That she would leave Corrie at some point was never in doubt, but it is refreshing to see that she has asked to be allowed a window to return, saying: "I'd love them to leave the role open for me. It's time to move on but I love the character and definitely wouldn't rule out coming back."

This is an unusually shrewd move for someone with such a high profile leaving a soap. Usually, the departee is very unrepentant in vowing to take their career onward and upward and show little regard for returning to the show. With such a small CV behind her, though, and no evidence that she can actually cut it in another genre, Michelle is being much more pragmatic than other young actresses we could name who have left Corrie in recent years.

Part of her decision to leave may be down to the direction her character Tina McIntyre has gone in the past couple of years. We've regularly pointed out that Tina has been very given very little of interest to do beyond appearing a bit of an over-sensible misery and her current surrogacy plot is proving to be as protracted and dull expected. Maybe better thought-through plots for Tina may have convinced Michelle to stay (something the producers clearly wanted, as they repeatedly made her attractive contract proposals) or maybe she genuinely just wants to move on and try new things.

Either way, we hope she will return at some point as Tina was a breath of fresh air when she joined the soap and, given the right storylines, she could prove to be a great character in the future.

This week's Michelle Keegan news can be summed up in 4 words - She's off work sick.

That doesn't stop all the red tops and gossip sites from filling whole pages by telling us all how Corrie has been 'thrown into chaos' by one of their actors having a minor virus which will keep her off work for a day or two. Nor are they shy about accompanying this non-story with several pictures of Michelle in various states of undress (just like us!)

Next week's Michelle Keegan news forecast - Michelle Keegan buys shoes.

The ITV website has released an aerial photo showing the new Corrie set under construction at MediaCityUK.

The picture clearly shows all the houses on the street are nearing completion, along with the Kabin and the Rovers. Apparently the site covers 7.7 acres and 19 different types of brick and 7 different types of mortar have been used to give the build as much authenticity as possible.

Corrie star Kym Marsh/ Ryder/ Lomas (delete as appropriate) has come out in support of her co-star Michael Le Vell, one of the few cast members to do so.

Le Vell is accused of several child sex charges and will face trial in September. So far, very few Corrie cast mates have spoken up in his defense (only Helen Flanagan and an oblique comment from William Roache) but Kym - who plays knicker factory almost-boss Michelle Connor - was more fulsome with her support.

She told the a Dublin radio station: "Michael has the full support of the cast, we're very much behind him and we're looking forward to having him back at work
.
"We're a team and we're a team no matter what and obviously when things happen, no matter who it happens to, we're always there to back each other up.

"It sounds really cliched but we are like a family. You have to be there for each other. You do have to take good care of each other."

OK. Every now and then there is no Corrie news - just anti-news. Now is one of those times. Here's a quick round-up of what isn't happening. Or not, as the case may be.

Helen Worth isn't leaving Corrie. No-one said she was, and she isn't.

Michael Le Vell has not been sacked. If he wins his trial he'll be back on the soap. As you'd expect, really.

Charlie Condou and Antony Cotton have not fallen out. They had a bit of Twitter malarkey going on but it was just bit of banter, apparently.

Sunita is not going to die. Alright, we made that one up.

As she has now filmed her final scenes on Corrie, Natalie 'Kirsty Soames' Gumede will be looking around for her next gig and it seems that she has set her heart on it being Strictly Come Dancing.

The Mirror is quoting Natalie as saying: "I'm a huge fan and would love to get the sequins out and be partnered with Brendan Cole. I know he's a hard taskmaster but I like a challenge." Though where they got that quote, it doesn't say.

So there's the first contestant in place, for a show that doesn't start till Autumn!

So, the previous best guess as to how Corrie producers would explain the absence of Kevin Webster from the show was that he would be jailed for his part in the Tyrone Dobbs/ baby snatch affair. Now it appears that actor Michael 'up on several sex abuse charges' Le Vell's character will actually leave the street to tend to his father Bill, who is ill. The Daily Star says that Sally will start breaking the news to the neighbours.

If it's true then it would leave the door open for Le Vell to return to the soap in the future, should he be found innocent. A 'source' is quoted as saying: "Hopefully this will end speculation that Michael is not part of the Corrie family. Sending Kevin to look after his dad is an easy thing to do because it means he can come back whenever he likes. With this storyline it won't look odd if Kevin is away for a few months and it gives Michael the time to clear his name and then get back to work."

Get this - the real life actor Tony Hirst, who plays the fictional fireman Paul Kershaw in Corrie, has revealed that some real life firemen had to turn up on the fictional Corrie set when a pretend fire at the Rovers turned into a real fire on the set.

While you pick the bones out of that, we'll explain that while the crew were demonstrating how the fire would behave during the filming of the fire at the Rovers, managed to set light to part of the set for real.

Tony explains: "On the first night of filming the roof of the Rovers caught fire and the real fire fighters - who were standing by on-set - had to step in. At one point there is an explosion and a 30ft fireball flies through the Rovers window. The crew wanted to show us what it would look like before the cameras started rolling - and set fire to a tree on the other side of the street. Luckily the fire service dealt with it."

Elsewhere, outgoing Corrie producer Phil Collinson has admitted 'squirreling away' production money for the past year or so to ensure that the Rovers fire looks as convincing as possible. He says: "It cost us a lot of money but it's fantastic and brilliant and vivid. The thing they do really well on Corrie is the colliding of lots of storylines. It's not just the pub going up. I'm excited about it.

"It was arduous to film - it took us four weeks. We had an incredible team who also worked on the tram crash. We squirrelled bits of money away all year because I sort of knew I was leaving and wanted to go out with a bang - that's an awful admission. It cost a lot. You can imagine... rebuilding the set, the special effects, the stunt people. Every penny is on screen. I wanted to sign off properly."

Corrie star Antony Cotton (knicker stitcher Sean Tully in the show) has won this year's Let's Dance For Comic Relief after receiving the most public votes for his performance of 'Anything Goes'.

Antony beat Jodie Prenger, Tim Vine, The Soapstars, Katherine Ryan and Lee Nelson in the final of the charity competition. The series, which has raised over £1 million for Comic Relief, was judged by Frank Skinner, Jo Brand and Greg Davies and Antony is only the second soap star to win the show after Emmerdale's James Thornton took the crown two years ago dancing with comedian Charlie Baker.