This week, we run down the life story of Simon Barlow, picking up from where we left off when we last profiled him in Episode #70 of the podcast eleven years ago! Ah, what high hopes we had for the little cherub back then, as he was just about to enter his teenage years! In this episode, we chat about his biggest stories from the past decade, reflect on why a member of the Barlow clan was allowed to become so underused and ponder whether now was the right time for his exit from the show.

In our latest podcast, we chat about the episodes of Coronation Street shown between the 3rd and the 7th June 2024 (Episodes #11,281 - 11,286).

After last week's reveal that Joel was responsible for Lauren's disappearance, he was in full-on skulky villain mode this week - and of course, we were loving it! But with Dee-Dee accepting his marriage proposal on Wednesday, will she discover the truth about her new fiancé before he gets her up the aisle? Meanwhile, we said bye bye Si on Monday as the third member of the Barlow clan in six months headed off to the Med to start a new life - and Leanne has a VERY unusual way of coping with the grief of losing another another son! Also this week, things are hotting up between Glenda and Michael, Roy continues to distance himself from his friends, and Kevin and Abi discover just how much it would cost to suppress her A.I. videos online - does anyone want to club together and pay the same so that we never have to see that freaky Oli monstrosity again too...?

Up next on the podcast it's The Kabin, where we talk about Shelley King's recent autism diagnosis, the fab new Women of Weatherfield photoshoot and a bizarre story about Jimmi Harkishin getting into a spot of bother in a B&Q - but of course, the spoilery nature of Corrie's biggest news story of the week means there's also a meaty Kabin Extra segment at the end of the show too after we've read out some listener feedback! 

Street Talk - 00:15:29

In this episode, we chat to Corrie expert Mark Llewellin, who has just this week published his memoirs, entitled With Friends Like These. In the book, he shares stories from over the years about getting to know some of Corrie's biggest names, including Julie Goodyear, Jill Summers and Roy Barraclough, Mark's partner for over 25 years. He really is a fascinating guy, and here, he shares some of the brilliant anecdotes from the book, talking lovingly about many of his Weatherfield pals and sharing some of the many priceless trinkets and treasures from Coronation Street that he's been given over the years. If you're interested in picking up a copy of the book yourself, you can order it from Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D45HSSDL?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_DVN6QNTWXNRF1JEP375X

Britain's Got Talent week is here again! Well, it WAS here. So let's crank up The Lark Ascending, hit that rewind button and recap the week in Weatherfield between the 27th and the 31st May (Episodes #11,276 - 11,280).

Everyone watching this week's Corrie most likely went into Monday's episode with their theories about what was going to happen - and if you were anything like us, you were probably right with a lot of it. The identity of Lauren's so-called killer, the outcome of Roy's confrontation with Griff that was teased when we were shown his makeshift blade last week, the budding romantic tension between Carla and Swain... but despite the week still being relatively low on shocks, we really did quite enjoy it - for the most part. The 'different perspectives' schtick wasn't necessarily needed, but it was fun for the three days it lasted, and the flashbacks on Thursday - especially the one with Joel looking at himself in the mirror - were especially effective. There was a lot to unpack this week and it actually turned out to be one our longest ever Street Talk segments, so after recapping some of the week's big news stories in The Kabin, we decided to end the podcast there. We will get to that feedback eventually, though, we promise!

We know we said we wouldn't be doing Round 2 of this until June, but we just couldn't wait any longer to randomly select our next batch of thirty characters to rank and Corrieliminate... And if you thought we had difficulty deciding which three would make it through to the next round last time, well, this round is even harder! 

You can vote for your own top three characters from this round's selection at the link below, and the three characters with the most votes will be joining the top picked characters from last round in the online grand finale next year! Make your pick here! https://forms.gle/LWSm6QPfjvQKPvLz5

On our latest edition of the podcast, we chat about what went on in Corrie between the 20th and the 24th May 2024 (Episodes #11,270 - 11,275).

Those returning villains just keep on coming, with both Dean and Griff making a reappearance this week, and Corey, though admittedly not on screen, being a big focus of Monday's episode. Were any of them behind Lauren's murder? Is Lauren actually even dead? Like most viewers, we definitely have our doubts, but we guess it won't be too long until we find out now... It's been a tough old week for Abi too - not only does she discover a documentary has been made about Seb's 'rising star' killer, but then she finds out a sex tape is doing the rounds online that seems to contain footage of her! Meanwhile, Bernie tries in vain to convince Kit to be part of the family, Bethany makes a surprise new BFF and Simon prepares to head out to sea with his dad - but will Leanne be back from the retreat in time before he ups anchor and sets sail?

Not a whole lot of Corrie related news this week, but we do at least get the NTA nominations to chat about in The Kabin, and we finish things off with more of your feedback, including some great suggestions for Corrie/Simpsons crossover characters following this week's Listener Questions episode!

Street Talk - 00:09:36

For this week's bonus podcast, it's time for some Listener Questions! First off, we answer Breaunte's question, who wants to know how we'd make the Community Centre a bigger part of the show. Considering that this is a place that you're lucky to see the inside of more than ten times a year, there's certainly scope for it to be used a heck of a lot more, but what exactly would we do with it? We hope you're listening, Kate Brooks, cos we've got plenty of ideas! Next up, the chance to be a bit sillier and more imaginative as Frankie asks us which Simpsons characters would play which Weatherfield residents if the long-running animated sitcom were to do a crossover with the even longer-running soap. Would Homer play Steve or Tim? Which classic Corrie villain would Sideshow Bob suit best? Are there any couples of families who can be directly transposed? Hopefully if you're a Simpsons fan you like some of our ideas, and we'd love to hear yours too!

In our latest podcast, we share our thoughts on what went on in Corrie between the 13th and the 17th May 2024 (Episodes #11,264 - 11,269).

There were a few nice little mysteries this week that keep us guessing, with the question of the identity of Nathan's attacker on Wednesday being the most intriguing - even if we didn't think Corrie quite stuck the landing once the mystery assailant was revealed. Bernie's search for her long-lost son also proved quite interesting, and with Christopher / Kit / Zodiac / Zac now working under the iron-fisted DS Swain, it looks like we may be seeing a whole lot more of him in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the always entertaining Sally provided the laughs on Friday as she sucked up to Demi, the garage takes one step closer to coming out of the dark ages thanks to a new website and Leanne heads off on an Institute retreat - but just how brainwashed will she be on her return?

After a brief news section we delve into the mailbag with some of your feedback, including one listener's ponderings on modern Corrie lacking main characters like Les Battersby with clearly bigoted views - and how he thought the Max story should have ended differently.

Street Talk - 00:11:31

For this week's bonus podcast, we chat about the Crusher himself, Duggie Ferguson. Despite coming into the show as the intolerant father of salon stylist Tom and spending pretty much all his time on the show trying to get one over his business rivals by fair means or (more usually) foul, we reckon Duggie's generally looked back on with fondness from those who watched Corrie back at the turn of the millennium, and in this episode, we try to figure out why. From his disastrous year at the helm of the Rovers to his demise at the hands of Richard Hillman, we cover all of Duggie's best bits here - enjoy!

On our latest episode of the podcast, we have a natter about what went on in Corrie between the 6th and the 10th May 2024 (Episodes #11,258 - 11,263).

A mixed bag of opinions on this week's episodes, to be honest. Though we were both in agreement that the return of Nathan Curtis to the show left us feeling slightly underwhelmed - but still hopeful that be getting a bit more sinister in the coming weeks - while Gemma's still very much engaged in the Lauren story, Michael's patience for how long it's dragging out is wearing a little thin... A lot of characters getting angry at each other this week too - while Maria's annoyance at Gary after catching him with Sarah is somewhat understandable, George and Glenda at war just doesn't sit right with us! Also this week, Bernie organises a 24-hour karaokethon (that we only got to see snippets of two songs of), Alya heads off to Ireland and Liam becomes the third character in a week to be found collapsed on the floor - honestly, we just think everyone's trying to get in on Summer's bit while she's off in the US...

In The Kabin, we discuss the new details on the Radio Times Soap Awards, which we now have a date and a location for - will they be a fitting replacement for the BSAs? We round things off with more of your feedback.

Street Talk - 00:12:46