ITV.com have released images of the two new hunk actors who are joining the Corrie cast in coming weeks.

They are Sol Heras, who will replace Ben Thomas as Michelle Connor's 'son' Ryan and Marc Baylis, who has been cast as Carla Connor's long-lost brother Rob.

Sol takes the role of Ryan when the character returns unexpectedly from university in Scotland. Ryan, you may remember, isn't Michelle's son at all, he's someone else's child but the whole baby swap storyline that revealed that truth is never mentioned anymore so we'll play along and keep quiet on the matter.

Marc Baylis will enter as Rob when the character is released from prison and comes to Weatherfield to find Carla.

Corrie producer Phil Collinson had this to say about the two new arrivals: "Carla's brother Rob is the latest in a long line of handsome Corrie charmers and is sure to set hearts fluttering in Weatherfield from the minute he arrives. The audience can expect thrills and a few broken hearts when this
handsome bad boy hits town. Ryan returns carrying a dark secret and Michelle is going to have the fight of her life as she battles to get her troubled son back on the straight and narrow. Sol is a brilliant young actor and I'm so excited to welcome him to the cast."

Corrie writers had to change the soap's filming schedule when new Weatherfield star Sue Johnston was taken ill just before some of her first scenes were due to be shot.

Sue is set to appear as Gloria the mum of Michelle Collins' character Stella Price but when she became ill scenes had to be re-scheduled:

A source is quoted by the Sunday Mirror as saying: "It would be a lie to say this hasn't caused a real problem. A significant amount of time was going to be dedicated to her introductory scenes. We had to completely change the filming schedule. And scenes that had been written had to be changed to allow for her absence."

Corrie actress Brook Vincent has been talking about how she misses her pal Sacha Parkinson.

The pair played lesbian lovers Sophie Webster and Sian Powers but Sacha left the soap earlier this year for reasons that were never really clear. Brooke told website MSN: "It's just more like work, it's more like I have to concentrate and when she was there I just kind of had a laugh. It is different but I do still enjoy it."

She also spoke about Sally Dynevor and Michael Le Vell, who play her on-screen parents Sally and Keving, saying: "They're lovely. Obviously we all have a close bond because we all work together so much. It is really nice and I love Michael and Sally, so I'm quite happy at work at the moment."

The fight scenes that occur during this week's 9PM run of Corrie took their toll on Michelle Keegan. She has been talking about how her character Tina McIntyre is attacked by loan sharks seeking Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro) and how physical they got with her.

She told the Daily Star: ''I wanted it to look as convincing as possible so I really went for it. They had a stunt guy and a paramedic on set and the paramedic checked my head, then checked my neck and told me to sit down and give it a few minutes. I ended up with bruises on my upper arms and huge bruises on my thighs. Tina has never had a fight although I've always wanted her to because she's that sort of character. I've never done a stunt before either so it was quite exciting.''

Her on-screen attacker, played by actor Greg Wood, even accidentally ripped out her earring: 'It wasn't that they were too rough but we had to do the scenes again and again and I bruise like a peach. The guy who held me, Greg Wood, who plays Rick, is lovely but he grabbed me really hard and accidentally ripped my earring out. We were filming at the time so I had to carry on and my ear was throbbing.''

Michelle Collins has spoken out to scotch rumours that she is leaving Corrie, despite there not appearing to be any such rumours to begin with.

Instead of the papers running the usual (and predictable) 'Actor signs new contract' piece someone has decided to spin the story into a 'Soap star isn't leaving soap' piece. Why? Who knows, boredom maybe.

Anyhoo, Michelle, who plays the wonkiest-accented Rovers landlady ever is quoted as saying: "I have recently signed a new contract for another 12 months and have not said I'm planning to leave the show after that time. I'm really enjoying playing Stella and have made some firm friends on the cast. There are a lot of exciting storylines in the pipeline for Stella, including the recent casting of Sue Johnston as her mum, and I'm relishing the chance to be part of such an amazing show."

So, to recap - Michelle Collins, not leaving Corrie. Phew, thank god that (non-existent) palaver is over.

Corrie veteran William Roache has told The Guardian that he doesn't like the programme he's starred in for over 50 years to be called a 'soap'.

He told the paper: "I'm in the Guinness Book Of Records, but I don't like the word soap. Thankfully, it says I'm the longest serving actor in the world in an ongoing drama. That is my classification."

He went on to claim Corrie as social realism: "When it started there was a whole new realism sweeping through cinema. We were part of that surge: method acting, Marlon Brando, James Dean, John Osborne, Look Back In Anger. We were the cutting-edge drama of the day."

And he also discusses the key to the show's success: "It's about underdogs struggling against adversity. Everyone identifies with that. And then it's their loves and all the problems they have. They are not in a high social strata with lots of money."

It's all quite tame stuff compared to the recent interviews he's given where he talks about his sex life. Maybe he's finally calming down in his old age.

Corrie stars Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) and Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw) are set to fly to Kenya for a new ITV show entitled Corrie Goes To Kenya.

The pair will visit families in the country affected by AIDS for the documentary, which will be shown in early July.

A source said: "This trip will be a real eye-¬opener. The cast will come face to face with people whose lives could not be more different from their own for the documentary, When you talk to people affected by these problems, the impact is huge. And the Corrie stars are desperate to help in any way that they can."

Corrie bosses have cast the actor who will play knocker factory boss Carla Connor's long-lost brother, Rob.

He will be played by Marc Baylis and will be seen on screen in early summer. Rob arrives in Weatherfield after a spell in prison and immediately makes a play for Eva Price.

Marc Baylis said: "I feel incredibly honoured to be joining the very talented cast of Coronation Street. Rob is an exciting character to play and I am hoping he is going to ruffle a few Weatherfield feathers."

And Corrie producer added: "I'm very pleased to welcome Marc to the cast - the latest in a long line of handsome Corrie charmers. Carla's brother Rob is sure to set hearts fluttering in Weatherfield from the minute he arrives. The audience can expect thrills and a few broken hearts when this handsome bad boy hits town."

According to the ever-reliable Sun, Nigel Havers may be leaving Corrie to appear in panto.

The actor is currently playing is-he-isn't-he conman Lewis Archer in the show but has supposedly been offered a '6-figure sum' to star in Jack and the Beanstalk at Xmas.

The Sun says that Corrie bosses don't know if this means they will have to accommodate this by writing episodes around his schedule or if Lewis will be written out again.

Our bet is that he will either stay or he won't. You heard it here first.

The longest serving soap character anywhere in the world turns 80 today. William Roache, who plays the Street's slightly dull Ken Barlow, has been at Corrie since the beginning in 1960 and has been the only surviving member of the original cast member since Elise Tanner left in the 1980s!

Back in the 60s, Ken was the fiery socialist son of the Barlow clan, though these days his character is much more laid back - mellow even (most of the time). Best known for his relationship with onscreen wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), Ken has in fact had 27 relationships during his time on the cobbles!

However, that's nothing compared to the actor who plays Ken. In real life it seems Bill is slightly more interesting than his character, confessing in an interview with Piers Morgan that he has bedded 1000 women (though his former onscreen nemesis Johnny Briggs - who played Mike Baldwin - later said that he had bedded more than Bill.)

And despite a recent bout of pneumonia which he contracted while on a speaking tour of Canada, Bill seems to be in fine form, showing no signs of hanging up his pens just yet. You can say what you like about Bill Roache but you can't deny that he looks pretty good for his age. We pay tribute to the Peter Pan of the soap world in this picture gallery below:

Images: Press Association, ITV

Corrie star Sue Nicholls has mirrored the thoughts of the entire viewing nation by saying she wouldn't like her character Audrey to start snogging onscreen.

Audrey has been seen getting a bit smoochy with conman/ lothario/ maitre d Lewis Archer (Nigel Havers) but Sue told Yours magazine that her screen antics shouldn't get any steamier: "Subtle screen kissing is fine, but I wouldn't like to do bed scenes any more, thank you. I think the kissing is best if it's just nice, gentle kisses and hugs. I'll leave the snogging to the youngsters."

All we can say is - Phew!

Corrie's Paula Lane, who plays licentious beautician Kylie Platt, has taken to Twitter to announce her contract has been renewed.

She told her followers: "Hi lovelies! Yes I can confirm I'll be staying on the cobbles for another year."

And in an interview with OK Extra she confirmed: "I've just signed for another year which takes me to next summer, so then we'll see. I would have done three years by then. Suranne Jones did about four years and Katherine Kelly did six, so it depends what feels right. If there are good storylines, then why not stay?"

Why not indeed? Kylie has proved to be a very popular character and another year of her antics sounds good to us.

It's not something I really want to think too much about, but Mike Baldwin actor Johnny Briggs is claiming he has had more lovers than his former onscreen nemesis Ken Barlow, played by William Roache.

Talking about Bill's decision to admit to Piers Morgan he'd slept with more than a 1000 women, Johnny, 76, told The Daily Record: "I'm amazed Bill has said that he's slept with that many. What goes on in the bedroom stays in the bedroom.

"I was a bit of a ladies' man myself. I don't know if I can say how many I've bedded but it's probably more than him."

The actor appeared in the ITV soap as knicker factory boss Mike Baldwin for 30 years and was regularly involved in feuds with Ken.

Bill, who turns 80 next month, also revealed a one-night stand with 
Weatherfield legend Pat Phoenix and how his insatiable appetite earned him the 
nickname "C**k Roache" on the set.

He initially admitted he had slept with "more than 100" women.

But when pushed about whether the real figure was nearer 1000, he said: "Well, I'm not denying it."

Johnny also hit out at EastEnders, saying it was little surprise the soap wasn't beating Corrie in the ratings.

He said: "Soaps like EastEnders lose viewers because these young characters that come in for two minutes alienate older viewers."

with-an-ill-wife Paul Kershaw has been talking to Inside Soap about how his role as a Weatherfield fireman was mirrored by a real life experience.

He said that he tried to deal with a burning building on holiday: "When I was away on holiday in Sicily last year I actually helped put out a fire in the farm next to us. We were in the back of beyond, so me and the farmer put it out while we waited for the fire service to arrive. It was mad! I'd like to think I'd be all right as a fireman. I'm very practical and I'd love to drive a fire engine!"

As well as dealing with fire's, Tony's character Paul has to deal with a wife, Leslie, who has early onset Alzheimer's. He is also living with lover Eileen (Sue Cleaver) and they both take turns caring for her. This demands that Paul displays three emotions - happiness, concern, relief - in strict rotation, let's hope they give him some more to do before the whole storyline is dropped for being to boring.

Molly Dobbs' Auntie Pam makes a return to Weatherfield for 4 episodes in the next couple of weeks. Why Corrie bosses keep bringing Pointless Pam back occasionally is something of a mystery, but they do.

Last time she reappeared was to announce her engagement to Kevin Webster's dad Bill. Bill then ad a heart attack and they both vanished again. This time she's back to glower at Kevin a bit and then no doubt she'll be gone again.

Who knows when she'll be back again but it will probably happen as she appears to be stuck on an elastic band tied to the set.

Well, well. It looks like Corrie star Jimmi 'Dev Alahan' Harkishin has a new 'friend'. He's been spotted out on the town with Sunderland's best known porn star Kat Lee.

The pair were spotted by The Sun canoodling at a theatre premiere in Manchester and then eating chips in a car. Not surprisingly The Sun make even sharing a bag of chips sound salacious but, to be fair, if you turn up somewhere with a porn star it's hard to make anything you subsequently get up to sound un-salacious.

If it turns out Jimmi and Kat are a couple and Sunita begins her reported affair with Karl then it looks set to be a saucy summer in Weatherfield. Hang on....sorry....getting confused again. Must remember only half of that equation is real. Time for a lie down.

It may sound unbelievable, but Coronation Street star Bill Roache - who plays the frankly dull Ken Barlow - says he has slept with up to one thousand women.

While his Corrie character Ken Barlow has managed to have 28 girlfriends in his 50 years on the show, in real-life Roache has achieved a string of conquests including a one-night stand with Weatherfield legend Pat Phoenix (pictured below).

Speaking on Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Bill at first admitted that he had slept with "more than 100" women but when pushed about whether it was nearer 1,000, he said: "Well, I'm not denying it."

He added: "Looking back, I didn't know any better. But what I did find out is it does not bring you happiness and it is not the way to be.

"I had the opportunity, I indulged it and I can tell you this: it's not worth it. The pain that it caused, and there's all sorts of dangers.

"To love somebody, and to make love to somebody that you love is the most beautiful thing in the world."

Chatting about his brief fling with co-star Phoenix, he added: "It was just a one-off."

He recalled: "It was just something that happened one night when we were together. We weren't right for each other.

"She invited me round to her flat and we had a few drinks, then one thing led to another.

"At that time, she had a reputation and I had a reputation, and she felt we should meet, as it were. It just happened."

A 60 a day smoker, Phoenix - who played Corrie legend Elsie Tanner - died of lung cancer in 1986 aged 62.

Via STV

Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley has signed a fresh contract which will see her stay in Weatherfield until at least 2013. The former Emmerdale actress play Eva Price and has settled in well on the street, with her character finding on-screen romance with Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).

She told the Daily Star on Sunday: 'I'm having an incredible time. I've had my contract extended until next year and I've been told that Eva has got some very big things coming up. I've got a meeting next week where I will find out what they've got planned for her and I can't wait.'

'It's all very exciting and I'm really looking forward to getting the next batch of scripts just so I can find out what happens to her. When Eva first turned up in the street she'd just discovered that her fiancé had been cheating on her so she was a bit of a grumpy soul for a while.'

'She was a little bit catty and definitely a woman scorned. But since she's got with Nick Tilsley we've seen her softer side develop. She's fallen for him in a big way and it's been nice to show that side of her.'

So John Stape first stole teaching colleague Colin Fishwick's identity, then Colin tried to blackmail John when he found out, then John murdered Colin (or didn't, or manslaughtered him, or something. Let's not get into this again). Then John hid Colin's body under the floor of the knicker factory, then John had to dig Colin up and Fiz helped him dumped the body in the canal. Then John died. The end. (There was all that disappearing to Ireland and Fiz's trial stuff as well but we'll skip that.)

Now the actors that played John and Colin are to be reunited on stage in Manchester. Graeme Hawley and David Crellin are appearing in a new production of the Alan Sillitoe classic Saturday Night and Sunday Morning at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

As the play has nothing to do with Corrie, this is either a) an amazing coincidence or b) a canny casting move designed to attract Coronation Street fans to the play.

We're not saying which, we'll let you decide.

It's b) though, isn't it?

As well as starring former Corrie stars such as Julie Goodyear and Kevin Kennedy, the upcoming musical Street Of Dreams will feature current Weatherfield residents William Roache and Kym Marsh.

Kym will play Corrie legend Elsie Tanner for two nights at the beginning of the show's run at the Manchester MEN in March.

The Sunday Mirror quotes a source as saying: 'It's a big ask, especially as her fiance Jamie Lomas is in LA at the moment, but Kym is looking forward to getting back to her first love, which was always singing, and has decided she will put in the extra hours. Elsie is one of the main characters so it was vital to get someone really strong. We are over the moon.'

Not sure who the 'we' is mentioned in the quote, presumably it's either the producers of the musical or the Queen.

Well it's not Coronation Street but this caught my eye for a number of reasons!

Not only does it feature Corrie greats such as Craig Gazey - the hapless Graeme Proctor - and Vicky Entwistle (Janice Battersby) it's also coming to Lowestoft's Marina Theatre, where I spend a lot of my time (admittedly mostly watching pantomimes or old-ish movies).

Directed by Mike Stott, Funny Peculiar is definitely for adults only featuring full frontal nudity, stripping down to sexy underwear and a simulated sex act. It's the tale of Trevor Tinley, a small time grocer with a devoted wife and new baby - but with the desire to taste the forbidden fruit of free love which leads him astray and into the welcoming arms of his neighbour's wife!

Originally starring Richard Bekinsale, Julie Walters, Matthew Kelly and Bill Nighy, this latest version also stars Gemma Bissix (pictured), two-time British Soap award winner for her role in Hollyoaks, as well as Emmerdale's Suzanne Shaw.

It comes to the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft from Monday 19 to Saturday 24th March.

Corrie actress Sally Dynevor has said that she would like to see her character Sally Webster reunited with estranged husband Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell). She told the Worksop Guardian: 'There's been big changes for Sally in the past few months. Of course, Rosie is [going] now and Sophie's at home and she's single again. And Kevin is living round the corner with baby Jack. So who knows what's going to happen with Sally and Kevin?'

She added: 'I always thought they'd get back together again, and I'm hoping that might happen. But it's certainly not on the cards at the moment. We'll just have to see.'

Sally and Kevin have been separated since the news broke of his affair with Molly Dobbs that saw her give birth to love child Jack.

Real Sally also thinks that Pretend Sally might become closer to daughter Sophie not there are just two of them on the house: 'I hope Sophie and Sally are going to be closer than they've ever been. With Rosie going - Rosie was always Sally's favourite, which is terrible to say, but she was! But I think now Rosie's not around and Sophie's quite vulnerable, Sally and Sophie will become very close.'

So Hollywood legend, Man from U.N.C.L.E and former member of the Magnificent Seven Robert Vaughn joins the cast of Corrie this week. He's playing Sylvia Cropper's cruise-buddy Milton and is to be thrown in at the deep end when he has to judge a music-off between Sylvia (on uke-banjo) and Norris (on organ) as soon as he arrives in Weatherfield.

But who is Robert Vaughn? And why is his arrival such a big deal? Here, for the uninitiated and unsure alike is a quick guide to the man himself.

Robert Francis Vaughn was born in 1932 in New York City.

After his performer parents (both were actors) divorced he moved to Minneapolis and started studying journalism.

A year later he quit, moved to LA and studied theatre instead.

At the age of 23 he made his first appearance on US TV and a year later had a minor role in The Ten Commandments.

The roles increased in size until he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in The Young Philadelphians in 1959.

This led to his most famous role, as Lee in the 1960 classic The Magnificent Seven and then onto the title role in the hugely popular TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

After 6 years in U.N.C.L.E. he had 30 years appearing in lesser known movies and various TV shows before turning up in British TV hit Hustle in 2004.

Vaughn is married with 2 adopted children and lives in Connecticut.

Corrie star Michael Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster, has been talking to The Sun about the rape allegation recently made about him and his relief that they have now been dropped.

He said that he had undergone 'three months of hell' and added: "It's been a struggle to stay sane. At times, I felt like throwing myself under a bus. I was in a bad way."

Additionally her fears that the stigma of the allegations may stick with him: 'People will always think, "there's no smoke without fire" even though it was a complete lie.'

Sally Dynevor was "shocked" when she learned her Coronation Street alter-ego would fall into the clutches of evil Frank Foster.

The 48-year-old actress - who plays Sally Webster in the ITV1 soap - thinks viewers will become increasingly worried about her trusting character, as she refuses to believe the violent factory boss raped his former fiancee Carla Connor (Alison King) and instead, falls for his charms.

She said: "I think the viewers are going to be very worried about Sally. I thought and the viewers thought that I was getting back with Kevin!

"So I think we'll all be a bit shocked with this storyline, actually. I was certainly shocked by it, but I'm really, really loving it - it's great."

However, Sally doesn't think her estranged husband Kevin (Michael Le Vell) will take the news his wife is being romanced by the slimy factory owner lying down, and revealed a confrontation between the pair will result in the mechanic lamping Frank (Andrew Lancel) with a punch.

She added in an interview with ITV.com: "Kevin is going to be livid. I can't wait to see that first punch that Kevin gives Frank. He's not going to be happy about it, because he's been waiting in the wings now for quite a while.

"It's going to be a very explosive New Year for the Websters - yet again!"