Betty Driver - Street icon

CORONATION Street icon Betty Driver passed away in hospital after an prolonged illness last Saturday.  She was 91 years old.  The ITV soap dedicated its episodes on Monday evening to the actress, who graced our TV screens for 42 years, appearing in over 2,000 episodes.

Betty Driver - 20 May 1920 - 15 October 2011

     Driver played Betty Williams in the show, with her main role being a long-serving barmaid in the Rovers Return.  She will always be remembered for Betty’s Hotpot; quite possibly the most famous dish in soap opera history.  She was awarded an MBE for her services to the show in 2000.  Betty had been admitted to hospital in May after suffering from pneumonia.  She had hoped to return to work after her 91^st birthday in the summer, but sadly, it wouldn’t happen.  Current Corrie producer Phil Collinson told ITV’s This Morning programme on Monday ‘that he would give Betty a proper and well-deserved send-off on the show.’

     Here is a selection of tributes from Coronation Street cast and crew members, both past and present;

Kieran Roberts (Executive producer); “Betty was a wonderful actress and remarkable woman.  It is humbling to think that the 42 years she spent on Coronation Street was just half of her extraordinary career, but Coronation Street certainly benefited when she decided to join our show in 1969.  Betty was always a delight to work with and whilst there is a great sadness at her passing away, Betty will be remembered by everyone on Coronation Street with tremendous admiration and affection.”  

Katherine Kelly (plays Becky McDonald); “Our Betty – the true and constant Queen of the Rovers.  The most famous street in the kingdom will never be the same now you are gone, but those sparkling eyes and cheeky laugh will live with me forever.”

Julie Goodyear (played Bet Lynch); “It was an honour and a privilege to work with Betty Driver for 25 years.  We laughed together; we cried together and never once had a crossword.  She was a totally professional actress.  A true icon and legend and a very dear friend, she will be missed and remembered by millions.”

William Roache (plays Ken Barlow); “I loved Betty dearly, she was not only a colleague, she was a friend and godmother to my son James.  She will be missed in the Street, but she will be missed more so as a warm and loving person.”

The Street will never be the same without Betty Driver and her hotpot, one of the original ladies of Weatherfield will always be remembered and never forgotten by any fan of Coronation Street.

RIP Betty Driver (20 May 1920 – 15 October 2011)

Brucie gets his knighthood

DESERVED: Arise Sir Bruce Forsyth!

STRICTLY Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth has finally received a thoroughly deserved knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.  Forsyth, 83, who has graced the world of showbiz entertainment for over half a century has what many will well, a knighthood that should have happened ages ago.  He told Sky News of his feelings as he shall be better known now as Arise Sir Brucie;

     “It is a great accolade and one you always work for.  There has been a great amount of talk since I received the CBE (in 2006), maybe too much talk and hype.  However, I’m grateful to those people who campaigned on my behalf and to get it now is such a joyful occasion.”

     Bruce has been around in the entertainment industry for the best part of 60 years and is often referred to as ‘The King of Saturday Nights.’  He starred in The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and Bruce’s Price is Right, before landing the co-host gig alongside Tess Daly for the BBC Saturday night hit Strictly Come Dancing in 2004.  Since then, he has simply gone from strength to strength. 

     Away from Bruce’s success, there is also a deserved CBE for actor Colin Firth.  It completes an incredible year for Firth, who has won all the main acting gongs for his epic role in the film of the year, The King’s Speech.  In sport, golfer Lee Westwood gets an OBE for an incredibly consistent year on the European tour, which saw him be part of Europe’s Ryder Cup success last October and knock Tiger Woods off his perch as no.1 in the world.  England opening cricket batsman Alistair Cook, who hit century after century in the Ashes Down Under last winter, is made an MBE.  MBE’s also go out to world and European triple jump champion Phillips Idowu, heptathlon sensation Jessica Ennis and Mark Cavendish, who won several stages on last year’s Tour de France.  For their leading roles in the Ashes annihilation of the Aussies, captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower earn OBE’s.  Singer Bryan Ferry gets a CBE for his services to film.  There is also an MBE for Brooke Kinsella.  Kinsella, the former EastEnders actress has been successfully fighting a campaign against knife crime, since her brother Ben, was murdered in 2008.     

     However, it is the national treasure Bruce Forsyth himself, who takes the shining role in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and I’m sure he has plenty of thrills and spills left in him yet.  Arise Sir Brucie!

Zeta-Jones and Knox Are The Main Winners In Honours List

   

Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and Coronation Street icon, Barbara Knox were the most recognised faces, to earn recognition from the Queen on Saturday, in her traditional birthday honours list. 

Zeta-Jones has risen to fame for her high-profile marriage to Hollywood actor Michael Douglas, win a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.  She starred in the Darling Buds of May in the early 90’s, and has become a major hit over in Hollywood, featuring in gritty films such as Traffic and The Mask of Zorro.  Her award also recognises the charity work she does, as a patron of the Longfield Day Centre in Swansea, which works with young adults with disabilities.

Knox, 76 has been a regular in ITV’s Coronation Street since 1964.  She has always been a popular member of the Weatherfield cast, owning the Kabin store on the show, and taking part in one of Corrie’s most iconic storylines, which saw evil Alan Bradley hit by a tram in Blackpool in 1989.  Knox wins an MBE, as does fellow cast member, Eileen Derbyshire, who plays Emily Bishop on the show and is the second longest serving cast member, behind William Roache (Ken Barlow).  Coronation Street producer Kieran Roberts said of the recognition; “The honours are great news – and thoroughly deserved.” 

In the acting world, John Nettles, better known for his role in the grim ITV drama, Midsummer Murders collects an OBE, and there are also OBE’s amongst others for Allo Allo actress Vicky Michelle and chief of Shed Productions, Eileen Gallagher, who was the spearhead behind sexy drama Footballers Wives. 

Others honoured in the list of recognition are popular poet Simon Armitage, who receives a CBE.  Champion jockey Tony McCoy, who succeeded in winning the Grand National back in April, at the 15^th attempt of asking wins an OBE.  MBE’s go out to the longest-serving Premiership footballer, Gary Speed, now a coach at Championship outfit Sheffield United, former McLaren and Red Bull Racing driver David Coulthard, who now is a pundit for BBC’s Formula 1 coverage and Amy Williams, our first solo Winter Olympics gold medallist in 30 years.  She triumphed in the Women’s Skeleton event in Vancouver.

Congratulations to all the other people who have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, all well deserved for their contributions to their certain fields of expertise and the amount of charity work they do in spare time.  Well done!