Former Corrie guest star Anthony Valentine dies at 76

Former Corrie star Anthony Valentine has passed away at the age of 76. He had been battling Parkinson's disease for some time.

While best known for his roles in Colditz and Raffles, Corrie viewers might remember him as Simon Barlow's maternal grandfather George Wilson between 2009 and 2010.

He appeared in 36 episodes. George had been estranged from his daughter Lucy and didn't know of Simon's existence and was keen to make up for those lost years.

I enjoyed this storyline as it put a twist to Peter's alcoholism when George gave him and Leanne a loan to open a bar, much to Ken's protests. It also introduced a new rival for Ken as they battled to be the best granddad to Simon. Ken dressing up as Santa was another highlight as he tried to get closer to Simon.

His last appearance was in March 2010 when Simon did a runner as he realised that George and his wife Eve were attempting to take Simon with them to Berkshire and away from the Barlows. Peter banished him from any contact with Simon.

On a side note, I believe there was a plot to have George and Blanche romantically involved but unfortunately Maggie Jones' death prevented this. It would have been a great dynamic!

For the BBC's obituary on Anthony Valentine, click here.

And to read a character synopsis of George Wilson on Corriepedia, click here.

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

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Why I'm a big fan of Zeedan

I freely admit it, one member of the Nazir family has grown on me more than all the rest. I have developed a massive soft spot for Zeedan. Before I go on any further, I do admit that this is in part down to the fact he's a fine looking, strapping young man but it goes far beyond that.

At first I really disliked the character. He was sullen, difficult and annoying. Of course that was what the writers were going for and both they and Qasim Akhtar succeeded. He was the last member of the Nazirs to arrive on screen and Corrie has a history of family units arriving en masse and not fitting in. Although the Nazir family have a long way to go before they become part of the Corrie furniture, I hope they do stay around for the foreseeable.

Zeedan was obviously a troubled young man, mainly due to his father's choice of career in the army and the death of his mother. This caused most of the conflict with Kal's new girlfriend Leanne, who's shady past really didn't help matters. I admit I became a bit bored of all the hate flying around in this storyline as sadly we never had the time to drill down into the dynamics of the father son relationship. I did wonder about the longterm future of Zeedan if that was how he was going to be however things have fortunately changed for the better.

I know soap characters frequently have personality transplants and the whole thing is completely unbelievable but in Zeedan's case I think it has been a gradual, sympathetic process that has worked well. The death of his father has obviously affected him profoundly and this has made him a much more palatable character. I've started to really enjoy his appearances and hope we see a lot more of him. He has taken on his father's job at the gym out of respect and is obviously really loyal to his family.

What I really like though, is the thawing of the relationship with Leanne. He has promised to look out for her and the scenes with both Leanne and Simon have been very natural and well played. We knew Zeedan would be the first to discover Leanne's abuse at the hands of Simon and the scenes in Friday's episodes were terrific. I hope Zeedan and Leanne continue to bond, but please writers do not put them together romantically! Let's have a platonic friendship between a man and a woman for a change. It does happen!

Qasim Akhtar is proving himself to be a great addition to the Coronation Street cast. He is doing an excellent job as Zeedan and I hope we see him in many more storylines in the months and years ahead. 

You can follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82 


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