Q HOW DOES PLAYING GREG IN CORONATION STREET COMPARE TO YOUR PREVIOUS ROLES?
Shirley Higginbottom, Tonge FoldA Well, I've got a lot more work to do for one thing. I have played a lead on TV before in The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, but on Coronation Street I am working all the time. I've been in virtually every day, every week, and the workload is more constant. There is a lot more to get my teeth into, but Greg is a really good character and I get to play against type. Also the speed at which we work here is really fast, having to shoot four episodes a week. It is a real challenge and I'm getting a tremendous amount of camera experience. That is fantastic because to me this job is all about learning more and getting better. This is the ideal environment to do that.
Q IS IT INEVITABLE THAT ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE IN WEATHERFIELD WILL BE UNFAITHFUL TO THEIR PARTNERS?
Yvonne Simpson, StratfordA I can't speak for anyone else, but Greg behaves the way he does because he's just an opportunist. He's a wheeler and dealer and only interested in looking after number one, and if that involves sleeping around and being unfaithful to people then that is what he will do.
Q WHICH OF THE CAST HAS MOST IMPRESSED YOU?
Melanie Bowers, MacclesfieldA That's really difficult to say. I wasn't a regular viewer of Coronation Street beforehand so I didn't really know what to expect, but I'm generally just impressed with the standard of acting, the writing, and how friendly and supportive everyone is. I couldn't choose one person who impresses me more than everyone else because all the cast have been brilliant and I'm just dead chuffed to be here.
Q DO YOU THINK GREG HAS ANY DARK SECRETS?
Mrs. D. Graham, KnutsfordA Oh, definitely. I'm not quite sure what they are yet, but I'm sure he has them. I think there is a lot more to come out about Greg. He is the kind of person who puts on a front which is nice, charming and sincere but he definitely isn't all he makes himself out to be.
Q WHO HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCE?
J. Masters, BradfordA My teachers at drama school. I went to the Drama Centre in North London, and the two guys who run it, Yat Malmgren and Christopher Fettes, have been a great influence on me. I learned so much from them, and they have really helped with my acting--and with other parts of my life too, because they made me more aware of myself as a person. They are my mentors really, and I feel bad that I haven't kept in touch. I think I'll make a resolution to go and see them soon.
Q IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PARENTS BETTER THAN GREG'S RELATIONSHIP WITH LES?
Hilda Hall, StamfordA Oh yes, definitely. We are a very close family, my parents, my sister and I. The only thing is, I think my parents worry about me too much. They don't realise I'm an adult and I can look after myself and that makes me feel bad because they are worried so much. I wish they could relax a bit. But we get on really well, and they bring me down to earth. They are my bit of reality and if I have something stressful happen I can just pick up the phone and they are there for me because they love me unequivocally and always will. They are my security.
Q WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR AND WHY?
Gary Young, MiddletonA Green, because it is a very serene, peaceful colour. It also suggests nature, which I love the idea of, although I'm a city person first and foremost because I like to be near my friends and enjoy going out. I do need to get away from it all sometimes though, and green reminds me of lying in the grass watching sunlight come through the leaves of the trees.
Q WOULD MAXINE OR SALLY BE YOUR TYPE IN REAL LIFE?
Geoff Greer, AyrA Yes, both of them, but I'm not willing to choose between them because they are very different and both lovely. I socialise with and get on very well with the actresses, Tracy and Sally, and both of their characters are really sweet.
Q IS CORONATION STREET'S PRODUCTION SCHEDULE VERY STRESSFUL?
Jane Sharples, BuxtonA I haven't found it too stressful, although three weeks after I'd started here, we did a split week when we have to shoot eight episodes instead of four, and that was very heavy. I was in seven of the eight episodes, and I wasn't used to working at the Coronation Street pace anyway, so it seemed really hectic to me. But you just do the job and usually it is fun. Everyone pulls together and has a good time and that takes the stress out of it. The hardest thing really is the amount of lines I have to learn. I've thought in the past that if ever I earn enough money I'd like to employ a personal assistant just to help me learn my lines because I find it difficult to do it on my own.
Q WHAT DOES GREG REALLY WANT WITH LES?
Betty Kilner, BlackpoolA Greg just needed to know where he had come from after not knowing his father for years. He obviously doesn't need anything from Les in terms of financial back-up because Les doesn't have it, but he wants to know that he belongs somewhere. He's lived with his mum and he's used to always having her around but, because he didn't know his real dad, he felt he had to make the contact with Les. Now that he's in Coronation Street, though, he does find Les a bit irritating but I think he likes him deep down.
Q WHAT ARE THE BEST THREE REASONS FOR WATCHING THE STREET?
Beryl Potter, GwentA 1) It reflects life with a kind of lighter feel to it. Other soaps are really gritty and can be downbeat, with everyone always arguing and having problems, and although Coronation Street does deal with problematic issues it has a more light-hearted approach.
2) There are a lot of talented people involved in it--the writers, directors, cameramen, actors and everyone else who contributes to the show. Everyone involved with Coronation Street works very hard to keep up the high standards and I think that shows on the screen.
3) People who watch the Street and have done for years find the characters become almost like friends. They can sit down and watch and they know immediately what everyone is about. It's like having people you know in the living room. It is true to life that you find familiar things in it and it is comfortable to watch.
Q WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU AND GREG SHARE?
Ian Lunt, SouthportA That's a good one. Not many--we are very different. I think that Greg has a certain joy in life which I also have, although in Greg it is very deeply buried. I love my life and love my friends and I think Greg is like that deep down although he has covered it up so far. He's had quite a hard life. He and his mother were poor when he was young, and later when she remarried he felt ostracised by his stepdad and stepbrothers, so he feels he needs to be guarded and protect himself but I think he has a great love of life in there somewhere.
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