CORO’S EVIL PAT PLOTS NZ VISIT
Coronation Street’s resident bad-boy Pat Phelan — played by Connor McIntyre — could be lured to New Zealand.
The Herald Premium Content editor Miriyana Alexander laid the groundwork when she visited the famed cobbles in Manchester ahead of TVNZ 1’s two-year leap into the future.
“Connor told me he has always wanted to visit New Zealand,” Alexander told Spy. “I’ve invited him down, and he says he’ll take me up on my offer to be tour guide. Fingers crossed. And Tristan Gemmill, who plays Robert Preston, told me his grandmother used to have a restaurant in Paihia.”
In an unprecedented move, Coronation
Street is leaping ahead 18 months and will screen in New Zealand only a week after it goes to air in Britain.
Catch-up episodes will screen at 1pm Monday to Friday for viewers who want to follow the existing 2016 storylines.
The changes come into effect on Monday, June 11, with the soap screening nightly at 9.30pm for the first week before reverting to a regular Wednesday through Friday timeslot.
Alexander, a firm fan of the show for more than 30 years, took plenty of selfies when she met 10 key cast members.
“It was a buzz to talk to them all, they were super funny and entertaining. When Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen, was asked how she dealt with the intensity of filming, she said: ‘We go to the pub’. Love it.”
For viewers wanting to be brought up to date, a two-hour special will screen on Sunday, June 10, recapping key storylines across the 18-month lag.