Ryan Connor has become the latest victim of Coronation Street producer Phil 'cull' Collinson and has been axed from Coronation Street.

Just a day after Vicky Entwistle (Janice Battersby) announced her departure, it's been revealed that Ben Thompson who plays Ryan will quit the street in October.

New boss Collinson is said to have made the cut after deciding that there are too many teenage actors on the show. Viewers will see the 18 year old accept a university place in Scotland, while his mum Michelle remains on the street.

A source told The Sun: "Phil has made no secret of the fact he thinks Coronation Street has too many teenagers.

"He reckons it needs more 'real' characters like Eileen Grimshaw and is worried it's too much like Hollyoaks."

The source added: "By sending Ryan to Scotland, he leaves the door open for him to pop back."

Personally I think it's good the soap has a few teenagers in it in order to balance out the large number of old folks, though I don't think Ryan was the best character around. He did seem a little wooden to me. Nice haircut though.

Via Unreality TV

Vicky Entwistle who plays factory loudmouth Janice Battersby is to leave Coronation Street after fourteen years in the soap.

She will leave December in time for the soap's 50th anniversary, fuelling speculation that her character is one of those set to die in the controversial tram disaster.

Janice's lodger and romantic interest, Trevor, is set to be killed off in the bloodbath as well. Vicky told The Daily Mirror:

"Corrie means so much to me and I could easily have continued to play Janice for the rest of my acting career. But I've been thinking of leaving for some time, and couldn't deny those feelings," she said.
"I've had a fantastic time playing an extremely feisty character," she added.

She's certainly one of the Street's more colourful characters having scammed £25,000 from Underwordl colleagues after a lottery win and setting part of the factory on fire while having a crafty fag.

Coronation Street's Producer, Phil Collinson said Vicky was an "icon" of the show.

"When she first appeared on screen in 1996, Janice Battersby caused a stir and has continued to do so ever since," he said.

"Vicky created a strong and uncompromising battleaxe with a heart of gold lurking underneath - in the true tradition of great Coronation Street women. She'll be missed by us all and we wish her well."

Gallery: Changing faces of Janice Battersby

Via Daily Mirror

Coronation Street stars have been ordered not to tweet about their work for fear they will give away details about the soap's 50th anniversary plot.

Several Corrie stars are prominent on Twitter including Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) who has nearly 40,000 followers and Craig Gazey (Graeme Proctor) who has over 7,000 .

Coronation Street bosses have sent a letter to cast members, saying: "Please consider the set a mobile and tweet-free zone....We realise that many of you use social media and networking sites and may wish to comment on your working lives - but we would prefer it if you didn't. Remember that any images can be accessed by the public."

The letter goes on:
"Disciplinary action may be taken against anyone who posts inappropriate pictures of yourself or any other members of the cast or anything that would portray The Street in a bad light...

"Anyone who is caught out Tweeting anything embarrassing from now on is going to find themselves in very hot water."

Producers of the ITV soap blame a tweet for a leak about the tram disaster due to be screened in December as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

Last month Craig Gazey boasted on the site that his celebrity status may have led to a hotel room upgrade on holiday - but then moaned about the staff.

Via The Mirror.

Last chance to grab yourself a bit of original Coronation Street artwork, courtesy of Action for Children.

Bidding closes on the artwork created and donated by Vicky Binns (Molly Dobbs) on Thursday 15th July at 4pm. It's just one of a number of pieces in the Celebrity Journeys online charity auction.

Talking about her celebrity journey Vicky says: "A turning point in my life was being cast on Coronation Street. Joining The Street was a very exciting and nerve wracking time, one which I look back on fondly."

Others Celebrity Journeys include sketches from Katherine Kelly (Beck McDonald), Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow), Helen Worth (Gail McIntyre) and Steve Huison (Eddie Windass).

You can place your bid here.

For more information on Action for Children go here.

Want to do your bit for 'charidee' and get some original Corrie artwork? Well Action for Children - a charity that reaches out to children and young people in need of help - is holding a Celebrity Journeys online charity auction from 15th June 2010 until the 15th July 2010.

Action for children approached a number of celebrities and asked them to illustrate their personal and professional transformations to raise awareness of the difficult and complex journeys that thousands of neglected children and young people face every day.

The auction will include some great artwork from our very own Katherine Kelly (Becky McDonald), Vicky Binns (Molly Dobbs), Steve Huison (Eddie Windass) and Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow) as well as many other famous celebrities! All the money raised will be used to aid Action for Children's efforts reaching out to those in need. Check out the artwork here.

There's also an invitation only exhibition of the artwork on 24th June 2010 at The Music Room in Mayfair. To win 2 tickets to this exclusive event you can enter the online competition here.

Coronation Street stars, including some of the four-legged variety, are backing a fundraising appeal to help poorly pets in aid of leading veterinary charity, PDSA.

The Street's salon owner, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) is supporting a campaign to help raise vital funds for the charity's Manchester PetAid hospital, along with Corrie's canine stars - gentle giant Schmeichel (haven't seen him for ages) and lovable black Lab Ozzy.

Nationwide, the recession has led to a massive 20 per cent increase in demand for the charity's help. PDSA has 48 animal hospitals across the UK and it costs more than £50 million to provide this vital service to the pets of owners in need. Treatment costs for the charity's pet patients are funded entirely by donations, as PDSA doesn't receive government or lottery funding for its work.

Long-time PDSA supporter, Sue Nicholls, said: "PDSA does a fantastic job here in Manchester and across the rest of the UK caring for sick and injured pets, so I'm delighted to be backing this vital campaign to raise funds."

She adds: "In these difficult times, more people than ever are turning to PDSA. It's great to know they are here to help, but all this extra work puts the charity under great strain. So if, like me, you truly love animals, why not go online today and support PDSA."

To lend your support to PDSA and make a donation to support its vital work, please go online at www.pdsa.org.uk/manchester or call freephone 0800 019 9166.

Coronation Street's Ken Barlow talks about the decision to pull last week's episodes and about upcoming storylines, including the prospect of working with his real life sons later in the year. He also comments on how small mine is - I think, or rather hope, he was referring to the size of my dinky Sanyo camcorder.

The very lovely Helen Worth (Gail McIntyre) talks about the decision to pull Corrie from the schedules last week and whether she was worried that Corrie producers would allow viewers to vote on the alternative trial endings!

Unfortunately, Corrie lost out on the night to EastEnders for best ongoing TV drama series.

It's a family affair as William Roache is joined by his real life sons Linus and James in a 50th Anniversary Coronation Street storyline kicking off this September.

According to Holy Soap , Ken discovers a dark family secret when a letter from the 1960s is unearthed during building work. But his desire to dredge up the past causes friction with wife Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) and son Peter (Chris Gascoyne).

Roache senior said: "I can think of no better way to celebrate my 50th anniversary on Coronation Street than to be working alongside both of my sons - I am looking forward to it immensely."

Linus Roache, 46, is the Corrie star's eldest son and is well known in the US for his role as Michael Cutter in Law and Order. He also played the role of Peter Barlow as a child in 1975!

James Roache, 24, was actually christened William but changed his name to avoid confusion with his dad. Bill Roache's youngest son, he's appeared in ITV1 drama Cold Blood and the Innocence Project for the BBC.

The brothers will hit screens in September for a three-week stint in the run-up to the show's 50th anniversary.

Via Holy Soap

The character Blanche Hunt and actress Maggie Jones are celebrated in a special documentary at 8pm this evening on ITV1.

Goodbye Blanche is a tribute to Maggie who died last year after over 30 years of playing fans' favourite Blanche Hunt.

The 30-minute documentary, relives all Blanche's greatest moments and includes interviews with Maggie's co-stars including Bill Roache (Ken), Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre), Chris Gascoyne (Peter), Sue Nicholls (Audrey) and others. It also looks back at other roles played by Maggie before her days as Blanche.

Goodbye Blanche will be available on the ITV player for 30 days after transmission. You can see Blanche Hunt's funeral on Coronation Street tonight (May 10th), 7.30pm/8.30pm

You may know her best as Corrie's killer Tracy Barlow but actress Kate Ford shows, her, er softer side in this ad for PETA with the slogan 'Bare Skin, not Bear Skin' which has been designed to highlight the way that bears in Canada suffer to make the Queen's Guards bearskin caps.

Kate Ford, who makes her return to Weatherfield tonight at grandmother Blanche's funeral, says: "I would never have dreamed of posing nude, but when PETA showed me the footage of the bears being shot and skinned just for the sake of these ornamental Guards' caps, I decided to be brave and show some of my skin in the hope that the MoD will let the bears keep theirs.

"The cowardly hunters even bait the bears with food before ambushing them. When mother bears are killed, their cubs are left to slowly starve to death. This breaks my heart. I think it is despicable of the MoD to use taxpayers' money to fund this cruelty overseas when there are synthetic faux furs available."

The ad is part of PETA's campaign to persuade the Ministry of Defence to stop killing bears for the Buckingham Palace Guards' ceremonial headwear. The ad was shot by ace photographer Karl Grant, and follows a recent campaign for PETA featuring former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson.

For more information visit PETA website.

Not a great night for Coronation Street at this year's British Soap Awards. Corrie scooped just three gongs (compared to EastEnders' 10 gongs) including one for Michelle Keegan who plays Tina McIntyre. She was voted Sexiest Female.

Other awards went to Craig Gazey who scooped Best Comedy Performance for his role as Graeme Procter and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Betty Driver who plays Betty Williams. Tweeted Craig Gazey: "Chuffed for my win but gutted that corrie won very little! Nevermind, heads held high! Up the corrie!"

For more British Soap Awards coverage go to Shiny Style

New Corrie producer Phil Collinson, nick-named Phil Cull-inson, has axed another two characters from the Street, making a total of five in just two weeks.

Latest characters to be binned are Molly Dobbs and dustman Trevor Dean. Vicky Binns, who plays Molly, will leave Weatherfield later this year after the love triangle involving her character, hubby Tyrone Dobbs and Kevin Webster takes a dramatic twist.

And Trevor (Steve Jackson), who has been having an affair with factory boss Carla Connor (Alison King), has been given the heave-ho after bosses decided not to renew his contract.

Natasha Blakeman (played by Rachel Leskovac) will commit suicide after her relationship with Nick Tilsley hits the rocks and her plans to take over Audrey Roberts' hair salon backfires. The character was axed by Phil Collinson a couple of weeks ago.

Must admit when I saw pictures of Sally Whittaker in yesterday's Daily Mail with a bald head from her cancer treatment I was really upset. I mean as if it's not bad enough to play a character with cancer, to find out that you have the disease in real life must be doubly cruel.

But at least the storyline has had a positive effect because it led Sally Whittaker to check her own breasts. The 46-year-old says says her Coronation Street role may even have saved her life - with the early diagnosis meaning she has a good chance of recovery.

"If I had not been researching this storyline, I may not have discovered the lump in my breast and had it looked at so quickly," she told Hello magazine. "I had never properly checked my breast before because I thought this wasn't going to happen to me."

"It's a stupid thing to think, but I think a lot of women are like that. Then one day, while filming the scenes about Sally having cancer, I had an hour off."

Sally was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, days after filming scenes in which her character Sally Webster was told she had the disease. Let's hope it has had a positive effect on some of the viewers of Coronation Street by encouraging them to get any lumps checked out.

You can read the full story in Hello magazine.

Seems new Coronation Street producer Phil Collinson is determined to make his mark on the cobbles. First he gets rid of The Peacocks, much to the alleged annoyance of Steven Arnold who plays the squeaky voiced butcher Ashley Peacock.

Next to go will be Rachel Leskovac who plays hairdresser Natasha Blakeman. Apparently she is set to leave a trail of devastation in her wake when she leaves the show later this year. Since joining the show in 2008, Natasha has had an affair with evil Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) and is now dating Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).

Says producer Phil Collinson: "Rachel is a really talented actress who has been an asset to the show. Her character will be involved in an exciting and dramatic storyline which will be an integral part of the build up to the 5Oth anniversary."

"She will leave behind a trail of devastation - a real testament to the impact Rachel as Natasha has had on many lives in our community. We wish her much success for the future."

However, it's not all bad news for the Corrie actors. While Phil 'Cull-inson' may have got rid of some of the cast and put the fear of God into a load more, Helen Flanagan has been handed a new 12 month contract - perhaps a reward for turning her character into a vampish WAG.

Craig Gazey who plays Graeme Proctor in Coronation Street is the latest Corrie celebrity to sign up to Twitter. Craig who got a Twitter account a little while ago has not used the micro blogging platform much, but spurred on by the support of co-stars including Antony Cotton (Sean) and Katherine Kelly (Becky) and former Corrie stars like Angela Griffin (hairdresser Fiona) he managed to reach over 1500 followers yesterday when he tweeted: "Just been on GMTV. Six hours travel and a night in a hotel for all of four minutes. Very lovely folks though."

Still Craig Gazey has a long way to go before he gets as many followers as Antony (@antonycotton). The Weatherfield knicker stitcher is currently the leading Corrie Twitterer with nearly 33,000 followers and has sent out over 1500 tweets. Katherine Kelly (@katherine_kelly) has nearly 15,000 followers but is less prolific having tweeted only 134 times.

You can read Craig's tweets at www.twitter.com/craigazey. Twitter users can follow him @craigazey.

Corrie legend Betty Driver, who plays barmaid Betty Williams, is in hospital receiving treatment for a chest infection. According to The Sun, the 89 year old checked in for care at a private facility a few days ago.

A source told the newspaper: "She is probably the most popular person in the cast. Everyone wants her to get well and get back on set."

Driver has apparently said that she is keen to return to Coronation Street filming as soon as she is well enough. Here at Corrieblog we wish her well a speedy recovery.

While some of the Coronation Street actors are used to getting chatted up when they're out in public, it seems Alan Halsall is more likely to get taken home for tea by some sweet old biddy.

For instead of his girl groupies, 27 year old Alan - who plays nice but simple Tyrone Dobbs - has a legion of old grannies who just want to cook for him. In an interview with The Mirror he says:

"I get old grandmas who just want to mother me and take me home. And because Tyrone is always eating, they all say: 'Come to my house, I'll cook for you.'

"Tyrone's a very sweet person and I think people see his good side. He might not be the cleverest lad, but he wears his heart on his sleeve. What you see is what you get and I think people appreciate that."

On the rare occasions when Alan is out and a girl does approach him, he says she's most likely to be after the phone number of his co-star Ryan Thomas, who plays hunky builder Jason Grimshaw.

"Girls generally come up and say: 'Is Jason coming?'" Alan laughs. "I think most girls would like to have Tyrone as a friend rather than a husband or boyfriend.

Still Alan is hoping his image might change when he's involved in tonight's car crash. Apparently he was so excited about getting a dramatic storyline for a change that he even offered to do his own stunts!

You can read the full interview here.

What is it about Coronation Street stars and booze? Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver who plays cab controller Eileen is the latest to have got on the wrong side of the law after being charged with drink-driving.

She was allegedly nearly twice over the legal limit when she was arrested. The 44 year old allegedly had 63 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath - the legal limit is 35 micrograms. She was stopped just a mile from her home in her Land Rover Freelander after hitting the kerb at about 12.40am.

She is one of a number of Corrie soap stars that have been involved in drink related incidents recently. Bruce Jones who played Les Battersby grabbed the wheel of his wife's car when drunk and Ryan Thomas who plays Jason Grimshaw could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident after his friend Wayne Pheasey admitted he had lied about being at the wheel of Thomas' Chrysler 300.

Pheasey was originally charged with drink-driving and having no insurance but will now face charges for perverting the course of justice.

Amy Barlow is to be replaced for the fifth time, according toThe Sun. Amber Chadwick (pictured) who has played the youngster for four years, will be replaced by Elle Mulvaney. "Amber was lovely but Elle is a very natural little actress," a 'source' told The Sun.

The move coincides with the return to the cobbles of Amy's mother, Tracy Barlow, who is currently serving a prison sentence for the murder of Charlie Stubbs. Tracy will be seen back on TV screens in May for the funeral of her grandmother, Blanche.

Coronation Street star Beverley Callard who plays Rovers Returns landlady Liz McDonald has revealed that she has been receiving treatment for a nervous breakdown and depression.

Callard was absent from the soap for five months last year. Viewers were told Liz had jetted to Spain to stay with her son Andy.

But Callard's disappearance from Weatherfield was today revealed to be the result of a "serious breakdown" for which she received treatment in the Priory Clinic.

She said: "I have been speaking to the mental health charity Mind about lending my support to the work they do - I feel it is really important to try and help lift the stigma that makes life so difficult for the one in four people who experience mental health problems."

We wish her all the best with her recovery.

Well that's the view of John Partridge who plays gay muscle man Christian Clarke in EastEnders. In an interview in gay mag, Attitude, out today, he says of Sean's character, played by 34 year old Antony Cotton: "What I didn't want as a stereotype was what I call a tea-time gay. The Sean Tully type of character is the reason my character is here."

He goes on to say: "I've worked in theatre for 20 years and there are lots of queens in The West End that look and act like that. I'm not going to diss his performance or his style, or say 'Who does he think he is representing?' because he is representing one of those shades of gay."

It may not be your taste, but if that character hadn't happened and been so successful, I don't think the BBC would have gone, 'Right we need a gay character."

Well fair point John but if Sean is a gay stereotype, then surely a 'Muscle Mary' who wears a tight vest all the time in EastEnders is just as much as of a gay stereotype! Tell us what you think

As pics go it's not very exciting. But over on the official ITV website there's the first shot of Kate Ford back as Tracy Barlow.

In the picture she's asking the prison governor if she can attend her grandma Blanche's funeral. Judging by the smile it seems she's got her own way.

Tracy is currently in prison for murdering her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs. She'll be back on our screens in May.

You can see the picture here.

Norris thinks he's in line for a fortune when Blanche's will is read out in Coronation Street, only to find out that she has cancelled her copy of Crossword Monthly! And Betty is snubbed when Blanche insists on Elliot's pies at her wake and "definitely none of those terrible Betty's Hotpots".

These are just some of the japes that Blanche plays on her 'friends' and family from beyond the grave. According to the Daily Mirror, she also describes Ken as a "serial cheat" and demands her wake be held at an expensive hotel even though "he'll try to bury me on the cheap".

The reading of Blanche's will and her funeral will be seen in Coronation Street in May. Actress Maggie Jones who played battleaxe Blanche died in December, aged 75.

William Roache (Ken Barlow) led the tributes at Maggie Jones' memorial service today at Salford Cathedral describing her as "our on-screen, live-in, scene-stealing battle-axe," played by a "unique and truly wonderful" actress.

To laughter he recited some of Blanche Hunt's most caustic one-liners, describing the Rovers Return's brassy barmaid Liz McDonald with: "Skirt no bigger than a belt, too much eyeliner and roots as dark as her soul."

Blanche also branded Roy Cropper as "someone who should be crayoning summat".

"In lesser hands some of these lines could seem cruel, vicious even," Roache said, "I think only Maggie could have turned them into pure comedy gold."

Roache said her character, a straight-talking Northern mother-in-law, had a habit of putting people in their place which "rang a chord with the nation". He added: "We will miss Maggie deeply. We shall miss her as a friend and as a colleague."

"She grabbed the role of Blanche with both hands and turned it into something truly unique, which will become a legendary part of Coronation Street and British TV history."