Fiz’s showdown with Alina…
JENNIE McALPINE CELEBRATES A WHOPPING TWO DECADES ON THE COBBLES – AND REVEALS THERE’S NO LET-UP IN THE DRAMA AS FIZ IS HIT WITH AN ALINA-SHAPED BOMBSHELL…
As the fiery teenager fostered by Weatherfield favourites Roy and Hayley in the early noughties, 16-year-old Fiz Brown set the cat among Jack Duckworth’s pigeons with her ballsy attitude to life. From pinching young Tyrone off his cobbles sweetheart Maria, to scaling Mike Baldwin’s factory roof and launching a naked protest, Fiz was the wild child Coronation Street didn’t realise it needed – with actress Jennie McAlpine only initially brought in for five episodes. Yet here she is, 20 years later!
“I was so nervous on my first day with David [Neilson, who plays Roy] and Julie [Hesmondhalgh, aka Hayley] – it makes me emotional just thinking about it,” confesses Jennie, genuinely wiping away a small tear as she joins us over Zoom to celebrate marking two decades on the cobbles. “They were two of the most famous people I’d ever seen, and they were so kind to me. I can’t believe that I’ve been here for that long, and yet I can totally understand how you go from four episodes to 20 years!”
Since then, Jennie and Corrie bosses have crafted one of the Street’s most recognisable characters in Fiz. She and Tyrone have even been dubbed the modern-day Jack and Vera – an honour that modest Jennie insists she’s not worthy of as she chats to us…
Congratulations on marking such a fantastic anniversary, Jennie! What do you love most about playing Fiz?
I’m so glad that I play a kind person, who just wants a normal life. I’m sure it’s fun to play a baddie, but the stick they must get from people! For example, Kate Ford, who plays Tracy, used to have some terrible things happen to her with fans in the street, whereas people are fond of Fiz. Well, not as much as they are of Tyrone or Chesney…
Oh, dear! Are you often upstaged by the Corrie men in your life?
There was a stage when if
I went anywhere to do a personal appearance, people would say, “Oh, have you not got Chesney with you?” I don’t get as much of that now, because he’s not as cute as he used to be! But yes, I’m always living in Chesney’s shadow – and there’s nowhere I would rather be!
What is your most memorable ‘Fiz’ moment from the past two decades?
It’s difficult to pick one moment, although I’d probably say that it’s the live episode we did for the Street’s 50th anniversary. There was the tram crash, while John Stape [Fiz’s husband] was running around murdering people! It was a really special event, and one that none of us working at Coronation Street will forget.
What do you make of the idea that Fiz and Tyrone are the modern-day Jack and Vera?
That’s very sweet, but I don’t buy it! When you hear comparisons like that you think, ‘There is no modern-day Jack and Vera, as Jack and Vera were Jack and Vera – and they were amazing!’ Fiz and Tyrone may live at No 9 now, yet it’s still the Duckworth house. I love being there, with their stone cladding, their bar and the table they had many rows over.
And there’s certainly one of those rows brewing this week, as poor Fiz is in for an almighty shock – when Tyrone confesses to harbouring feelings for Alina! It’s the Coronation Street love triangle that few people will have seen coming, least of all Fiz. Although, what a story to play as Jennie marks two decades…
We’re in shock over this Tyrone and Alina business! What did you think when you first heard about the story? Initially, I was gutted! It’s a big deal to potentially not have scenes with Alan [Halsall, aka Tyrone] again if Ty and Fiz split up. But at the same time, I was really touched and honoured that the writers gave us this story. One of the big scenes we have coming up is one of the longest I’ve ever filmed – 18 pages’ worth! And then Chesney comes in at the end and upstages the both of us!
Where has it all gone wrong for Tyrone and Fiz? Have they lost their spark?
If you mean, do they have a life with two kids, his nan and her dog living with them, and a washing machine that is sometimes on the blink, then yeah, they have that! I don’t think Fiz thinks they’ve lost their spark, but I’m pretty sure he does.
She even suggests that Tyrone is having a mid-life crisis and says, “Why don’t you get a sports car or take up cycling? Isn’t that what middle-aged blokes do?”
Meanwhile, Fiz has taken the bull by the horns and booked for them to get married in Greece, hasn’t she?
Yes! So, the movie Mamma Mia! is never far from Fiz’s thoughts, or her DVD player, and she fancies herself as Meryl Streep. I’m not sure which of the blokes Tyrone is, actually – maybe not Pierce Brosnan! Anyway, she loves the idea and they even talk about going off to a desert island in gorgeous Greece. Fiz just assumes Tyrone will say yes, as why wouldn’t he? But he shuts it down, and fesses up about Alina!
What reaction are you anticipating from the viewers once those scenes air? Oh, I’ll tell you the reaction I expect, it’s the same one we get with every single storyline Alan and I have ever done. Even when Tyrone is in the wrong, he comes up smelling of roses no matter what he does! All the old ladies will say, “Oh, he didn’t mean it, Fiz”! She’ll get some sympathy, but so will he – don’t you worry about it!
Do you hope that Fiz and Tyrone can weather the storm?
I do. I love working with Alan – and I love shouting at him! Quite a lot of the scenes we have coming up are like that, yet even after Fiz finds out about Alina, she still loves Tyrone as much as she ever did. What’s more, though, where will I end up living if they’re not together?