As it's my second anniversary today I wanted to bring you a very special blog interview. Glenda Young has been at the helm of the wonderful Coronation Street Blog for the past nine years and is probably the internet's most passionate Corrie fan. She is also a big Carry On fan. I first started contributing to the Coronation Street Blog back in 2012 and without Glenda's wise words and constant encouragement I probably wouldn't have carried on blogging (see what I did there?)
I caught up with Glenda to find out more about her blogging life, her love of Corrie and all things Carry On...
- First of all I'd love to know how you came to start blogging in the first place?
Being
such a fan of Coronation Street I avidly followed everything online that I
could find out about the show. And while the official ITV Coronation Street website
(and now their other social media) do a good job of promoting current
storylines, there wasn’t anything online which took a fun, fan-based,
irreverent look at the show. I love writing and I love Coronation Street so
blogging about the show seemed a natural combination of both my passions.
- Coronation
Street is obviously one of your passions. Can you remember the first time you
watched the programme?My first memory is of watching Elsie Tanner on screen and thinking she was just so glamorous! I was watching it with my mum and grandma, who I was very close to. Mum never thought much of Elsie but me and grandma loved her and when I watch Corrie now, it brings back much of the warmth of watching the show with my grandma and my family. I don’t think I could ever love anyone who didn’t love Coronation Street!
- The Coronation Street Blog has been running for over 9 years now. Why do you think it is so popular with fans of the show?
It continues to be the only Corrie fan site that offers a fan-based view of the show. Yes, we offer current storyline promotion and press releases, but we also offer opinion pieces, and give fans a voice. We run competitions, we have exclusive interviews with celebrity Corrie fans and people behind the scenes. We are unique in what we do and we do it with quality too, it’s a winning combination.
- If you had to pick just one Coronation Street Blog achievement from the past 9 years, which has made you most proud and why?
I have to admit that I had a “bit of a moment” a couple of years ago when our team was invited in to the new set at ITV for a VIP tour. We had the set to ourselves, and as all of us were taking photos and looking around the set, being in awe at what we saw, I really felt so proud of all of us as a team.
- Corrie has had quite a few Carry On connections over the years. Do you have a favourite Carry On actor who has appeared in The Street?
Oh it’s got to be Amanda Barrie, of course! Her autobiography remains one of the best I’ve read about her time on the show. I cried when I read it, her words were just lovely. There’s a bit at the end when she talks about walking the cobbles arm in arm with Tony Warren. If you haven’t read it, do, it’s wonderful.
- When you think of Carry On films, what memories do they evoke for you?
Happiness! Family get togethers around the television, sniggering at the rude bits, waiting for the funny bits, really having a good giggle with my two brothers when we were growing up.
- We are both big fans of the fantastic Amanda Barrie who of course made Carry Ons before going on to play Alma in Corrie. Why do you think she was so popular in Coronation Street?
She
came to Corrie later in her acting career and as a fan I always got the feeling
that she never brought her ego with her, it was just another acting job to her.
She seems such a really nice person and that came across when she played Alma
in Corrie. I was on work placement at ITV as a mature student when I was
studying journalism and they gave me the previews for a couple of months ahead
in the show so I knew Alma was going to die of cancer. I remember reading this
on placement, trying to be so professional in the Corrie press office and I had
to do my best to disguise my shock at her being killed off. All I wanted to do
was burst into tears!
- If you had
to pick your favourite Carry On actor, who would it be and why?
It
has to be Kenneth Connor. I love the way he played the
bumbling, love-struck doctor in Cruising and think he handled it with comedy
genius.
- You have now written several books, most with a Coronation Street theme. Which has been your favourite and why?
- You have now written several books, most with a Coronation Street theme. Which has been your favourite and why?
After Anne Kirkbride sadly passed away, ITV asked me to write the official tribute book to Deirdre Barlow. Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street. It was an honour and a privilege to be asked and to write it. I will cherish that book until my dying day.
- Last year the Coronation Street Blog published a book. What was that process like and what can readers expect?
Coronation
Street Blog: The Book is a collection of each blog member’s favourite pieces of
work over the years. It was an easy process via CreateSpace and the fun part
was pulling everyone else’s work together. The hard part was trying to figure
out what to leave out, for instance, about four of us had submitted our
favourite pieces on the same character so I had to choose which ones went in
the book otherwise we’d have had a book full of Deirdre, or Hilda. It
just shows how enduring those characters are and how well loved they remain.
Readers can expect a unique book written by Coronation Street fans, there’s
been nothing like it before and I doubt there will be again – unless we do
Volume 2 of course…
- What do you
think about attempts to revive the Carry On films in 2017?No! Please No!
- Why do you think the Carry Ons are still so popular so many years after they were made?
Like
Coronation Street, they gave us great characters, great lines, a sense of
community and a television-watching opportunity for the family. It’s like
slipping on a pair of lovely comfy slippers, isn’t it?
-
Finally, what's your favourite Carry On film and why?
Convenience.
Oh, how anyone not love it? The pathos, the humour, the toilet jokes.
It's all there. A beautiful film.
Many
thanks to Glenda for answering my questions. You can check out the
Coronation Street Blog here
You
can follow Glenda on Twitter here
and you can follow the Corrie Blog here 
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