Weatherfield: March 18th, 2010
In July 2009 I entered the CBC contest looking for Canada's # 1 fan. On July 30th at 4:51pm there was a message on my answering machine to say I had won! I will never forget that message. My prize was a trip for 2 to Manchester, 6 nights at the Marriott (the hotel Maggie Jones-Blanche lived at when she was filming), spending money and a tour of the studios. We headed to the UK on March 11th. On March 15th we checked into the hotel.....and who walked in, but the lovely Keith Duffy (Ciaran)!!!! It was a co-incidence, but it felt like he was meant to be there to welcome us.
On March 18th at 12:30pm we met in the hotel lobby with the CBC/Quality Street Contest winners Lia, Bernadine and Barbara, plus their guests. From there we walked across the street with our CBC chaperone Anna to Granada Studios where we were given our tour of the street.
As we stood in the Rovers taking photos, we saw them bringing in trays of sandwiches. They were not for us, but for filming that afternoon. They were filming Blanche's wake.
At the end of the tour we were given a special gift. We got the name tags that Ashley and Fred wore on their aprons at the butchers! (see memorabilia page) Later that day the group of us went to The Ox for dinner where we chatted about our tour. The night before we had been there with friends and saw Steve Huison (Eddie Windass) in there. He sat at the table next to us.
It was a great 6 days in Manchester. Besides the tour and meeting 26 Corrie actors, on the Monday I was snapped by the paparazzi. On the day of our tour I was in the Daily Mirror & The Sun. They talked about me on the radio, I was recognized by a reader and posed for a photo and signed an autograph. I'd signed one for Billy the day before. After the tour I checked messages at the hotel and had all sorts from magazines, papers and even a morning talk show! It certainly added excitement to our week. I ended up doing an exclusive interview with Pick Me Up magazine which came out in the May. This May 2011 it will be reprinted in their Best of Pick Me Up. We met up with good friends, including our favourite 'extra' Darran - that week we also made new friends.
To read the Newspaper & magazine articles, click here
Thankyou CBC and Casino Rama!!!
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A year later we bought a new camera and a coupon to make a Kodak photo book was included with it. I decided to make a book about my winning trip. Photos of it are below.
It was a great 6 days in Manchester. Besides the tour and meeting 26 Corrie actors, on the Monday I was snapped by the paparazzi. On the day of our tour I was in the Daily Mirror & The Sun. They talked about me on the radio, I was recognized by a reader and posed for a photo and signed an autograph. I'd signed one for Billy the day before. After the tour I checked messages at the hotel and had all sorts from magazines, papers and even a morning talk show! It certainly added excitement to our week. I ended up doing an exclusive interview with Pick Me Up magazine which came out in the May. This May 2011 it will be reprinted in their Best of Pick Me Up. We met up with good friends, including our favourite 'extra' Darran - that week we also made new friends.
To read the Newspaper & magazine articles, click here
Thankyou CBC and Casino Rama!!!
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A year later we bought a new camera and a coupon to make a Kodak photo book was included with it. I decided to make a book about my winning trip. Photos of it are below.