More 'Coronation Street' casting gossip

If you haven't seen the main news article about Tony Gordon's brother, then click here. So there we go, we'll finally be delving into Tony's (Gray O'Brien) past a little more at the beginning of December when we meet his sibling, Pat, played by Jamie Lee.

Earlier this week, I caught up with Alison King - who plays the fantastic Carla Connor - to chat about wedding week and she only had praise for him. I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to learning a little more about Tony and I'm hoping that Pat will stay beyond the wedding. Check back at the end of next month for the fruits of my chat with Alison.

Also, I hear that following her successful comeback in August, Margi Clarke's returning as Jackie Dobbs for Molly (Vicky Binns) and her son Tyrone's (Alan Halsall) wedding. She'll apparently return to Weatherfield at the beginning of next year, a week or two prior to their nuptials. Here's hoping that she'll have a longer, more permanent stint this time. Click here to read my interview with her from earlier this year.

Staying on the topic of Molly and Tyrone's wedding, I'm quite disappointed to hear that we won't be seeing Molly's father, Diggory Compton (Eric Potts). Although he wasn't much cop as a character, I'd have liked to have seen him return for his daughter's wedding, even if only for a couple of episodes before returning to the scrap heap.

We'll also be meeting Dev's (Jimmi Harkishin) Uncle Omar early in the New Year as his storyline with Tara (Ayesha Dharker) steps up a gear. Uncle Omar, however, has yet to be cast. More on that as and when.

Briefly a word on the Connor family. We've not seen the last of the parents Helen (Sorcha Cusack) and Barry (Frank Grimes). We last saw them returning to Ireland in a taxi following Liam's (Rob James-Collier) funeral. However, they'll be back for another appearance in the middle of November.

After all, they still have another grandchild on the way by Maria (Samia Smith) along with their daughter Michelle (Kim Marsh) and grandson Ryan (Ben Thompson) on the Street. Oh, and let's not do what the Corrie producers seem to have done and forget their biological grandson Alex (Dario Coates). Mind you, it's probably a good thing that he's been wiped off the storyboard.

And finally, to clear up the situation regarding Johnny Dixon, who plays the only remaining Morton in Weatherfield, Darryl. I can confirm that he's been given a total reprieve. Earlier this year, I reported that the character would be sticking around for what was then a couple of months.

However, it appears the producers have sufficient material for him in the coming months as he's now staying for the 'foreseeable future'. He has a good thing going on with Amber (Nikki Patel) and he's obviously staying put to keep the Morton name alive ready for the planned return of some of the Mortons in the early part of next year.

> Click here for my recent interview with Corrie's leading lady Kim Crowther

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