Coronation Street viewers will know that recently, one of the show’s storylines featured Roy Cropper’s mum Sylvia Goodwin – who’s played by veteran actress Stephanie Cole – unwittingly eating marijuana brownies…

However, once she discovered that the ‘secret ingredient’ was helping her with the pain of arthritis and joint inflammation, she actively sought out the hash cakes, as did her friend, Dennis Tanner, who’s played by Phillip Lowrie.

And it seems the plotline struck a chord with fan John Griffiths, who was reportedly “inspired” to grow marijuana to similarly ease the pain of his arthritis. But unluckily for him, the police cottoned on to what he was doing and arrested him! Read more & comment »

As fans of Coronation Street will know, we rarely hear anything about Roy Cropper’s dad, unlike his mum Sylvia (Stephanie Cole) who is of course a big presence in the café owner’s life…

However, in episodes that will air next week, Sylvia is set to bring Roy (David Neilson) news of his father, but it seems that Roy’s not overly keen to hear it!

The drama begins on Monday, May 6 when Sylvia goes to visit her old friend Dottie. Within minutes of her arrival, Dottie hands Sylvia a letter and apologises for not giving her the missive before. Read more & comment »

Ever since Downton Abbey first arrived onto our screens it appears that we are in the middle of a costume drama resurgence. In the past few months we’ve had Mr Selfridge, Ripper Street, The Paradise as well as Downton Abbey’s staggeringly successful third series. Now we add to this BBC1′s The Lady Vanishes an adaptation of The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lena White however this isn’t the first time the story has been bought to the screen. In fact most people will know The Lady Vanishes best as a 1938 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was later remade in 1979. This latest adaptation claims to modernise the story however I personally feel that nothing new was really offered here.

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When new Coronation Street boss, Stuart Blackburn, revealed that there were exciting storylines coming up for the Cropper family, he wasn’t kidding!

And we are happy to report that, amidst all the doom and gloom all the other Weatherfield storylines are offering (apart from Flash the tortoise of course) this one is set to have you laughing so hard that tea will come out of your nose!

Sylvia Goodwin (Stephanie Cole), the ever-so-slightly eccentric and former gambling addict senile-delinquent mother of cafe owner, Roy Cropper (David Neilson), is about to embark on a new mission to cure all her friends’ ailments, by serving them cakes baked with cannabis!
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In what is quite a coup for the show, legendary The Man From UNCLE actor Robert Vaughn is to join the cast of Coronation Street.

He will apparently appear early in 2012, and though his stay is expected to be for just three weeks, he’s set to cause a stir while he’s there.

He’s been cast in the role of Milton, who’s a rich American who wins the steely heart of Roy Cropper’s mum Sylvia Goodwin on the cruise she won for writing a slogan for a cough mixture.

But as viewers will know, she nicked the slogan from batty Mary, but has no hesitation in enjoying her cruise prize… Read more & comment »

During a recent interview with TV Times about how much she’s loving playing battleaxe Sylvia Goodwin – Roy Cropper’s mum – actress Stephanie Cole revealed that in forthcoming episodes, busybody Norris Cole will find himself locked in the loo at the café overnight!

In the run up to the comical storyline, we’ll see Sylvia taking charge at the café while Roy and Hayley are off on a well earned brief holiday, and as part of the new regime, Sylvia will insist customers pay for all “extras”, such as condiments and of course, the use of the loo…

This will not sit well with the café’s regulars, and Norris – who’s played by Malcolm Hebden – will take particular exception to being asked to pay 20p to use the toilet. So, he sneaks in when Sylvia’s not looking, but finds he’s locked in with no means of escape after she locks the café up for the night. Read more & comment »