Former Doctor Who series producer Phil Collinson is to join ITV Studios as the new producer of Coronation Street. Collinson, who takes up the post in March, replaces Kim Crowther (pictured), who is leaving after two and a half years on the soap.

Speaking about the opportunity to join ITV he told The Stage: "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Corrie. It goes without saying that it's a tremendous honour to be entrusted with building on Coronation Street's success and creating the must-see storylines for 2012 and beyond."

Molly and Kevin's affair appears to be back on the cards and moving up a gear - with the romantic weekend away going ahead this time. However, it all looks set to end in yet more trouble for them - when Kevin's van breaks down in the hotel car park!

They end up arguing when Kevin can't fix it and help has to be called. Let's just hope Tyrone isn't the one who comes!

What are you making of the controversial Molly and Kevin affair? Comment us below with your thoughts.

Here at Corrieblog, we've been lucky enough to secure an exciting opportunity for our readers. Kate Anthony - better known to viewers as Auntie Pam Hobsworth - is giving us the chance to have a Q&A session with her, to ask her anything we'd like to know!

I'd like to invite you to submit any questions you'd like to ask Kate about her role as Pam, her time on the Street, or anything else about her life and acting career. You can email me your questions, and try to get them in by Tuesday 21 July.

Hope you will make the most of this great opportunity to interact with a star of Corrie, and here's hoping this may be the first of many Q&As!

A growing passion of mine over the last couple of years has been collecting autographed photocards from a variety of famous faces. So, sitting bored one grey afternoon in January, I decided to further my collection by opening up to the possibility of collecting autographs from the cast of Coronation Street.

After some light research as to how to go about this, I found the process relatively simple. To receive a signed cast card of a Corrie actor and actress, you simply had to write to the star you wanted requesting an autograph and pop it in the post, along with a SAE. I thought I would give this a go to see if I had any luck, and so randomly selected Gray O'Brien - Tony Gordon - to be my first shot.

A mere ten days later and - hurrah! - success! A familiar envelope dropped through my letterbox containing a photocard of Gray, personalised for me. And so the pen came out once more, and over the next few weeks and months I began writing to each of the 60+ cast members.

Corrieblog reader Tracyluv has been in touch, and had this to say about Rosie Webster's recent windfall - receiving £150,000 as 'compensation' from John Stape:

"We were hoping that John would rescind it and she would have to pay the money back but I suppose that's too much to hope for. I cannot believe his solicitor did not try and talk him out of this, as his mind is not balanced at present."

So what do we think of this development? Is Miss Webster going to go from bad to worse with this big payout? Or will it ground her and help towards setting her up for the future? Comment us below, or drop an email to Corrieblog HQ!

Ghost of Pat Phoenix stalks the Coronation Street set, says the Sun. "So many people have seen and felt the same things that there has to be something in it," says Sue Cleaver.

They try to make Peter Barlow go to rehab, but he says "no, no, no," according to the Star.

There's an excellent interview with Corrie producer Kim Crowther over at Digital Spy.

Over on ITV.com, there's a video of Jennie McAlpine, Katy Cavanagh and Craig Charles when they appeared on This Morning. They also have the nominations for ther British Soap Awards, and one of them is pocket-sized genius Alex Bain (Simon). Hurrah!

Received wisdom says that murderers always get their comeuppance in soaps. Therefore it follows that Tony Gordon can't get away with murder forever - or can he? Kathy R thinks that, in Tony's case, justice could be postponed indefinitely.

Here is my best guess on what will unfold regarding Tony being the mastermind behind Liam's murder. Tony's henchman will either disappear or refuse to implicate Tony in the murder. Which will leave Tony free to continue to enjoy his freedom, go back to being co-boss of Underworld, and have a torrid affair with Maria. Even if his involvement is suspected, it will be impossible to prove. Gray O'Brien just had his contract extended, ITV loves him to bits, and they have big plans for him, according to the Corrie scuttlebutt. When you develop a character as popular and interesting as Tony has become, you don't send him down. So Liam's murder isn't going to get officially solved for some time. Probably not until or if Gray wants to leave Corrie. Just my opinion of course. What say you all? [Kathy R]

Sandie M is lamenting the departure of the character I'll always think of as "Cousin Tom."

Have I missed something, or was Tom taking Kelly Crabtree up the alley (giggle) his last scene, and he's really gone? If so, I think that's really disappointing. But in fact, the thing I'm most disappointed about, and think is most important concerning Tom leaving, is that he won't be around for the Tony reveal. Tom played such a big part in Liam's final months and, besides Carla and Maria, was the main character he interracted with. Who is going to care about what Tony did to Liam now other than Carla? Maria will be more concerned about how she fell in love with her husband's killer and feeling sorry for herself - right before she's whisked off screen when Samia has maternity leave. Me-Shell, who acts like she never even had two brothers die young, will care for all of five minutes before getting back to her love life (please PLEASE writers, do not put her with Luke Strong!). And Ryan, well, it's like he and Tom were never related anyway. So after a year of this story slow-burning we'll have Tony himself, who I assume will be leaving after the story is over anyway (sadly) and Carla reacting from this story. I'm sure that'll be well worth it though as Gray and Alison never disappoint.

It just would have been better if Tom was around for it too. Despite his recent mopings, he was a well-written character. The way he never got over Liam dying like the rest of the Connor's (bar Carla) was nice to see, judging by how fast the grieving process takes place in soaps. The whole outcome of him leaving at this point reminds me of Maxine's mother, Doreen a few years back, and how she berrated Audrey for accusing Richard Hillman of her daughter's murder, but by the time the reveal in that story happened, Doreen had already moved on and never apologised to Audrey for the way she'd been with her.

I know Tom's last two months haven't been great character wise (we weren't even told where he was living, and his main story time involved him walking Ozzy), and his popularity dropped but he was a character that started off so well, and probably won't ever be seen on the cobbles again, as from reading his Twitter page I assume P McG has moved to London. Anyway I wish him the best in his career and hope it isn't the last we see of him on TV. There is clearly something about him from seeing the interest he's had on here. [Sandie M]

This month ended with the big reveal that Colin seduced Paula when she was just a schoolgirl, producing Julie as a result. It seemed ok when it was Sarah getting pregnant so young because it was Sarah and another young lad. It feels really creepy knowing it was the father of Paula's best mate, Eileen. (But it's been done before, in That Other Soap's very early days so it's nothing new!) It seems clear he must have taken advantage and it's bound to be the last nail in the coffin between the already rocky relationship between Eileen and her dad (and yes, pun intended, since the spoilers have already said Colin is going to die!). And poor Julie! Julie's really had a roller coaster April! It started off badly. She was going to break up with Kirk but he finally realized she was going off him and finished with her first. Then she starts flirting with Jason and finds out he's her nephew! Still, it gives some of our favourite characters a good workout of the acting chops.

Here's a little sample from our recent email postbag.

On last night's episode: "Firstly, really well written Lucy Cannon is a good talented writer. And It was great to see more of Emily and Betty - its high time they had more to do and more screen time. The celebrations of Colin's birthday were great viewing, and it was brilliant to see Rita take to the spotlight, Barbara Knox is a corrie legend, and I really liked the scene between her and Norris that was really well written and acted and showed great emotion. It was also nice to see Julie turn to drama, she was excellent as well as Paula and I'm looking forward to the fall out from it. Plus, and I don't say this very often, it'll be nice to see How Eileen copes with all, I'm sure Sue Clever will give a great performance true the latest dramas! Great episode with a mixture of comedy and drama, plus its high time we saw more of Ashley and Claire, it was good the way Lucy wrote in so many characters." [Chris H]

On the return of Carla: "I am glad to hear Alison is in discussions again about the characters return later this year. I imagine her return will have a big part in Samia Smith's temporary departure as Maria for her own maternity leave! I imagine Carla will force Maria out in some way. I can't wait to see it all play out." [Peter]

There's a mishmash of Coronation Street ups and downs this week. Straight off the mark, the performer of the week, at least for me, was Gray O'Brien as Tony. He's done manipulation (Maria, Luke), mean (Tom), defensive (Luke sacked him), cocky (threatening to take his business away from Underworld) to the midst of another panic attack (at Maria's scan).

We must start off with a fashion faux pas...
Hairdo of the week: Becky's pouffy do with a braided tiara. And the hunk of cake in her gob didn't help!

Brilliant move, bringing back a Tony mask! Those masks creeped me out on the night of the stag and they still do and they seem to unsettle Tony nearly as much!

Lines of the week:
Gold star: After sacking Tony, Luke hands him the mask and says "Here, take both of your faces with you!"

Silver star: Norris "I'm the duck on the lake. I might seem calm on the surface but below I'm paddling like billy-o to keep afloat."

Bronze Star "Has Minnie chucked in her pinnie?"

I seem to have inadvertently sparked off a bit of a heated debate about the merits or otherwise of Gail Platt, by publishing a critical comment from Kathy R, which was objected to by Chris H, and now Kathy R is objecting to the objection. It's times like this when I really miss having a proper comments facility (are you listening over there at Shiny Towers? We want our comments link back!), so that people could pitch in and have their say.

Anyway, this is what Kathy R thinks, and then we'll have a quick poll to see if you agree [then click the continue reading link for comments that have been emailed in].

"I wasn't directing my comments at the actress who plays her, but the FICTIONAL character. And yes, Gail is majorly annoying and quite stupid in her insistence on never thinking David capable of wrong doing. She has had to face the consequences of his monstrous actions quite a few times where he has deliberately hurt others, yet she still won't hear a word against him. Well, people are rightly suspicious and mistrustful of him now, apart from Saint Gail. He has earned every bit of their scorn and dislike. I know motherly love is strong, but she does David no good by her incessant blindness and tolerance to his evil ways. Quite the opposite; he knows he can always get around Gail with a few more lies and a fake smile, and she's so eager to believe him."

Please keep emailing your comments to us. We love to hear from you and will try to put as many as we can on the blog.

Gail Platt's biggest fan, Chris H, wasn't happy about recent comments from Kathy R, who described Gail as "pathetic and idiotic": "I think she was very rude," he says. But he's also been noticing a possible brewing romance: "the rumor a few months back about Kevin and Molly - there's signs or hints that could be true - in scenes they're in lately they seem to be getting along greatly." I've noticed that, too. Could the unthinkable be about to be thinkable?

Meanwhile, Mags is getting annoyed at the way no-one can keep their mouths shut. "I agree with Old Ena, I too am getting annoyed at the mindless way that they are opening their mouths and blurting out. OK , may be you can understand Audrey having a go at Ken and trying to get him back on the right tracks but as for Poppy...

Recent emails to us have revealed that Luke Strong has quickly won a place in our hearts. Even people who haven't seen him yet love him already - Pearl emailed to say, "Have just read Babe's description of Luke Strong on the last comments post. We have yet to meet him in Canada and now I'm looking forward more than ever to his arrival." On the other hand, Kathy R is hoping that justice won't come too soon for Tony Gordon: "I know that all the evidence we have points at Tony being responsible for Liam's murder, but I hope the writers can find some way to keep him on Corrie. He is my favorite character! Gray O'Brien is a marvellous actor, and he plays Tony with so many nuances. He's ruthless, yet can be gentle; cold but capable of warmth and tenderness, and he can be very funny in a snarky way. Plus I LOVE his accent! I could listen to him all day. I can't imagine Corrie without him any more."

So let's have a little poll!

Thanks to everyone who has emailed us with comments, and continuing apologies (and teeth-gnashing frustration) about the comments link still not working.

On Friday's episode: "I am so glad now that their is a real family unit around Dev. The Alahans have established themselves as a strong family unit now and as much as Tara is a spoilt brat I like her. Because she is spoilt she gets what she wants and she knows how to get it. When she doesn't, her perspective on life is shattered just like that of a 10 year old child. I am glad Poppy told her because it shows a sign of trust in her growing friendship with Tara and is also developing her on screen character. I am glad she is being brought into the show more and I really look forward to seeing her character evolve and us as a viewer discovering more about her. I like her. Back to Tara and I can't see her ever being happy long term with Dev. She jumps in quickly and is in a need to be in a relationship. As a result she places trust in someone easily and it is no surprise that this is shattered in an instant. Though in this case she has a right to be devastated! Dev should have known better but we know that a leopard never changes its spots." [Peter]

"I really enjoyed Friday's episode, mainly because of the comedy - firstly Dev rushing around like a headless chicken making sure Tara doesn't find out about his fling. Then we have Teresa and Umed - the slap was hilarious and so unexpected, laughed out loud! Then we have Ashley and Claire...

In addition to Thumbs Up and Down, this week we're giving out award medals.

Visuals of the week!
Gold: Blanche in an aviator's hat and goggles! "I stayed on the coach with me sudoku"
Silver: Teresa lounging on Maxine's bench with tatty boxboard over her, looking as pathetic as she can muster.
Bronze: Simon in marigolds after cleaning Blanche's room!

Line of the week!
Gold: Peter "Oh well we can't all live up to the high standards of Saint Ken of Weatherfield"
Silver: Darryl about Dev "Who? Grocery Man? Faster than a carton of milk and stronger than a week old cheese?"

Chuckles of the week!
Gold: Molly winding up Tyrone when he thought she'd baked Jack's pigeons in a pie.
Silver: Teresa slapping Umed's face when he was trying to chat her up! About time someone did!
Bronze: Dev scurrying aross to the shop as fast as his little legs would carry him so as not to leave Lisa alone too long with Tara. But Tara already knew about his indiscretions!
Click through to see another round of "Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down"

Old Ena has been noticing some strange friendship combinations in Wednesday's episode. "Can anyone keep their mouth shut in Weatherfield? Firstly we have that very contrived 'haircut' with Peter Barlow. Would he really go to a salon like Audrey's? And why on earth is she taking it upon herself to tell on Ken, she doesn't have any relationship with Deirdre that I have seen, and has hardly led a blameless life herself. Then Maria blurted out to Luke's 'friend' Tom (Eh? when did they suddenly become best buddies?) that Tony was having him investigated - dah! Then we have Poppy telling her 'friend' (another friend, who she hardly knows), Tara , about Dev and Accounts Lady. A prerequisite of a barmaid is to be discreet; she hasn't been there five minutes. I hope Liz fires her."

Meanwhile, Chris H was pleased to hear about Betty. "I'm thrilled that Betty is getting a storyline in Corrie, even though it might be small, it would be nice if the writers gave her a bit of the drama, she's a Corrie legend, and not just for her hot pot!"

Comments? Email us!

Once again, thanks to all who've been in touch via email. Here are a few of your comments.

On Ken Barlow's Easter rant: "I live in the USA and I watch Corrie via YouTube. My first thought on the Easter show was Hurray! This show has got it right! I even showed my non Corrie watching boyfriend the episode and I told him how our American TV shows would NEVER have the guts to show anything that criticized Christianity and religion in general, and he agreed. Religion is usually treated with kid gloves in the media, and so it was refreshing indeed to see another point of view expressed by an intelligent, educated character. I say keep it up, Corrie! And yay for Ken for speaking sense!" [Kathy R]

On Tony and Maria: "At first the Tony and Maria thing did seem a bit far fetched, but it is being quite cleverly written, especially as Leanne has moved to Leeds rather conveniently what with Jane Danson being on maternity leave also, therefore there is no one in contact with Carla to tell her what is happening on the Street regarding Tony and Maria when that eventually comes out. So it will surely be a big surprise for Carla when she returns in he Autumn! Will be well worth watching I'm sure." [Scottskis]

On yesterday's news about Samia Smith and Mikey North: "Firstly, so sorry to hear about Samia's sad news. Thoughts and prayers are with her and family. I was also sorry to hear about Mickey North, hope he has a speedy recovery." [Chris H]

"Controversial" is not usually Ken Barlow's middle name, but apparently his Easter Sunday criticism of Simon being taught creationism as a fact haven't gone down too well in some quarters. "Dozens" of people have apparently complained to the media watchdog Ofcom about the scenes in which he said that religious pictures on the walls at Simon's school were indoctrination, and he made a ham-fisted attempt to explain that Christianity was just one particular way of interpreting the world. This ended in failure when he was unable to contradict little Simon's view that his dead mummy was in heaven with the angels.

An ITV person countered the criticism by saying, "At the moment we have a very positive story involving Sophie Webster and her new found interest in religion, Emily Bishop has also always been seen as a very positive representation of Christianity. Likewise Ken Barlow's different views on religion have always been a strong aspect of his character".

Comments? Email Corrieblog!

I wasn't going to do this. I swore I wasn't. But one line in particular made me laugh... "And I've got to get back to The Priory". What am I talking about? Red Dwarf, of course. Let me start by saying I was never a fan, and I never really "got" Red Dwarf but I had to watch it for the Coronation Street bits. Anyway, as we know, the new Red Dwarf three part special, Back To Earth, featured a Coronation Street segment in Part three, where the four RD characters came looking for the person that created them, either the producer or actors, to find out their fate. I won't get into details, either you've watched it already or you probably won't bother.

Thank you to all who have emailed us recently - keep the comments coming! Here are some of those we've received:

On Blanche and Peter moving in together: "Perfect! I love these two together they just rub off one another perfectly and the comedy/banter is fantastic. If anyone can give Peter the kick up the backside he needs it is Blanche, at the end of the day they have mutual respect for one another and really care. Also it will give Blanche lots more screening time! Yippee! The Barlows are definitely my favourite Corrie family without a doubt, I never fall asleep when they have their air time, well maybe sometimes when Deirdre goes into one!!" [julsemb]

On Friday's episode: "It's funny but I still miss Alf Roberts. One of my favourite ever characters. I long to hear him say in his exasperated voice "Audrey!". But alas, those days are gone. Something on tonight's episode annoyed me a touch. Why did the writers not have Peter at least thank Luke and Tony for their rescue? Instead he assumes Michelle and Luke are getting cosy in the Rovers and has a go at both of them! Never mind." [Darren]

On Thumbs up/Thumbs down: "Alright, agreed with THUMBS DOWN on John Stape. I don't see why Fiz does not deserve to find a better guy. At least someone new! With Mary? Yes, SHE is THUMBS UP, but I really have a hard time with her "romantic" story line with Norris, as it seems as though the two of NOTHING in common, except for the joy of entering contests out of mutual boredom. I just don't see them together. She's a sweet, hapless dreamer. Norris is the opposite. How 'bout THUMBS DOWN for Gail Platt? She is SO pathetic! Just begging Joe to stay there with her. Why can't the writers have a character actually love and admire Gail? She's always so pathetic. It's hard to watch." [Blue Dog]

Here are some comments we received via email about last night's episode:

"Perhaps the writers should read Clarissa Dickson-Wright's biography if they want to portray someone "recovering" from alcoholism. The one thing you can never ever do is go into a pub, or restaurant. When she was filming Two Fat Ladies Clarissa couldn't stay in the hotel with the rest of the cast and crew because of the bar. Instead she would look for a quiet B&B. What a depressing episode! Where have those comedy moments gone? Ken's mind was on Martha, Dreary was angry with Ken; Sally was cross with Sophie as was Norris, Michelle was fed up with Peter, and Peter was fed up with Peter. I think the whole Sophie confessing her sins from the past issue was rather silly, and...

A selection of your recent emails to us (so sorry that the comments still aren't working).

On last night's episode: "I liked the Joe and Gail stuff - but I really think it's high time Helen Worth had a happier storyline, some fun and comedy - like getting drunk with Claire and Sally, remember the fence scene at Darryl's party last year? I enjoyed the episode, and the Norris and Mary story, they're a great double act, and imagine a spin off DVD with them travelling around the world - classic Corrie!" [Chris H]

On Sophie Webster possibly being Corrie's first lesbian character: "I think that'd be really great actually. That'll bring just all the more drama that the street needs. It gives more diversity, and interesting sub-plots. Plus, it'll put a knot in Sally's knickers over her 'perfect' family." [Blue dog]

On Friday's episode: "What a remarkable moment of self-knowledge we were treated to last night from Me-Me-Me-Michelle: 'I may be smug and judgemental, but I'm not cruel,' she informed us! Could this be the glimmering of a new direction for the character? I do hope so. Instead of trying to back pedal...

First a comment on the lack of comments: "Do you think this problem of not being able to post things on your website is permanent? Surely it can't be that difficult a thing to fix by Shiny Media if that's who is responsible. I'm sure this is very hard for you, but it is also frustrating for those of us who enjoy checking everyone's views each day for fun and information (and contact with each other)." [Margaret B]

Yes, it is very frustrating, and all we can do is apologise. We have all our fingers and toes crossed that, by this time next week, all will be back to normal. In the meantime, please keep emailing us with your comments.

On Michael Le Vell: "I wasn't able to make the event Tuesday night in Halifax, but had the best surprise Wednesday morning! I had just come off the harbour ferry after reading The Metro newspaper article about Michael being here in Halifax with his wife and 2 children. I cut through the Marriott hotel on my way to work and saw 2 children standing outside. My immediate thought was, kids not in school, no holiday breaks right now, might be Michael's children, so as I walked up the stairs I tried to listen to see if I heard an accent from them. Lo and behold a few feet away ... there was "Kevin Webster". Typical stunned response when I saw him was "There is Kevin Webster ... Hi ... did you enjoy your stay in Halifax?!?". Made my day!" [Christine B]

On Uncle Umed: "O boy do we agree with you. This guy is revolting and totally pointless. He is an archetypical caricature of an Indian/Pakistani and we cannot bear to watch him. Did you notice when he first appeared on the set how Dev copied his stupid lilt-y voice and suddenly became like him? Thank goodness he has dropped this now and talks normally again but why he allows his uncle to criticize everything I just do not know. Please, please let him disappear into the ether from which he came - there is nothing to love about him - even the dreadful people next door to Gail (cant remember their name) are preferable and I never thought I would say that!" [PeeDee]

Here are a few of your recent emails to us. Many thanks to all those who've been in touch, and sorry that the comments link still isn't working on Corrieblog - it's out of our hands, unfortunately.

On the (re)return of John Stape: "I think the return of John Stape is a bad mistake, the story of his 'exit' was spot on and it felt right that Fiz should move on, I think its a bad move, but, we'll see what happens!." [Chris H

On Michael Le Vell's visit to Canada: "Thanks Tvor for this write up and the links. Any news to come will be much appreciated. Kevin is a favourite." [Pearl]

On Uncle Umed: "I have no idea as to why he's there. But I do have to say that I find him incredibly funny. I watch episodes online, and during the last episode he was in where Tara's photographs had been delivered to D&S Alahan, he was hilarious. The way he stuck his tongue out and pushed them away. I re-watched that and laughed about 100 times. I have no idea why he's there, but he's funny. Currently, the only person on the street with a sense of humour these days is Blanche Hunt. It was nice to see another funny character. I like that he's a stupid old bubbling boob too. Everyone knows someone like that." [Blue Dog]

"He's foreign, awkward and benign, and I'm sure he has a purpose we haven't seen yet. It's nice to have a new character without his agenda thrown in our faces right away. For now, the more screen time Umed gets, the less there is for Michelle and the Windasses. That's a big plus." [abbyk]

"He is the most annoying person. Get rid of him he is spoiling Corrie, I hate watching it since he came and all my friends agree." [stage hand]

"I enjoy Uncle Umed, he is quite hilarious in a sense and I hope there's more comedy with him and we'll be exploring him further." [Chris H]

On Ashley and Claire: "Hoping they get a bigger storyline before too long, they're probably my favourite couple on the Street. I read about Josh's football storyline, but don't see that going very far somehow!" [Craig]