Home Top

Having a ball! Stunning Michelle Obama and pregnant Priscilla Chan steal the show - as the titans of Silicon Valley and Hollywood gather for spectacular state dinner in honor of Chinese leader
EXCLUSIVE: Another FOUR women accuse Saudi prince of sex crimes after neighbors saw 'bleeding woman trying to climb out of his $37m Beverly Hills compound'
Go to Mars and back on ONE tank of fuel: Student creates radical ion drive system that he says outperforms Nasa's engines
Now MORE Hillary Clinton emails surface - between her and disgraced general David Petraeus - after she swore she turned over 'all of them'
Michael Sam says he 'would still be in the NFL' if he hadn't come out after stepping away from the Canadian Football League
First women to pass Ranger School were given extra training and lowered benchmarks after general vowed 'at least one of them will pass', report claims
Germany in a state of SIEGE: Merkel was cheered when she opened the floodgates to migrants. Now, with gangs of men roaming the streets and young German women being told to cover up, the mood's changing
Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson backs Trump after tycoon vowed to bring back Christmas and brandished his childhood Bible in an appeal to the conservative right
Religious right crowd erupts in boos when Trump attacks Marco Rubio as a 'clown' and says 'nobody's weaker' on immigration
'Stench of death; around Rand Paul's campaign, warn Republican insiders - but smart money is on two also-rans to quit next
Hypocrisy alert! Trump's Palm Beach resort requests hundreds of foreign-worker visas for cooks, maids, waiters for massive mansion and ballroom
Clinton campaign's faux pas: New Hillary ad boasts 'this is our country'; while showing a video of FRANCE (of all places)
'It's the right time to do it': John Boehner resigns as Speaker and retires as right-wingers plotted to depose him - and breaks into song as he reveals decision
The heavens smile down on Pope Francis: Dozens of 'rainbows' appear above New York as huge crowds flock to see the Pontiff
EXCLUSIVE: Little girl who begged Pope Francis to let her illegal immigrant parents stay in the U.S. is going to Philadelphia to see him AGAIN
The pope honors the 3,000 9/11 victims with interfaith ceremony in the foundations of the fallen Twin Towers
Holy water: Congressman steals Pope Francis' glass after White House address to sip remaining liquid with his wife - and then saves some to sprinkle on his grandchildren
Pope urges the end of nuclear weapons and protection of the unborn as he lectures world leaders about global warming, Christian persecution, drug trafficking and a 'Pandora's Box' in abusing the UN
An 'overwhelming' crowd of 80,000 people gathers to see the Pope in Central Park ahead of his huge mass at Madison Square Garden
Syrian rebel commander who completed a US training program admits to giving military equipment to an al-Qaida affiliate
Revealed: The satellite photos that prove Putin is still arming Assad to shore up his embattled regime in defiance of the West
At least a dozen fake doctors performed botched surgeries on patients in elaborate $150M fraud scheme that spanned a decade
Super blood moon eclipse will not herald the end of the world this weekend, says Mormon Church after apocalyptic warnings from Doomsday pastor
Can YOU spot a love cheat from their face? Scientists say you can - now see if you can identify which six of these 12 people have been unfaithful

Tina O'Brien and Catherine Tyldesley reveal mixed emotions as they arrive along with other castmembers ahead of Coronation Street's live episode

By Lucy Mapstone and Helen Turnbull and Emily Hewett For Mailonline

Published: 11:07 EST, 23 September 2015 | Updated: 12:47 EST, 23 September 2015

115

View
comments

It's one of the biggest moments in their careers, as they prepare for Coronation Street's highly-anticipated live episode on Wednesday evening.

So it's no surprise the stars of the hit ITV soap were showing a display of mixed emotions as they arrived to the set in Manchester in the afternoon, hours before the big moment.

Tina O'Brien, 32, cut a cheerful figure as she was driven to the set of the serial drama, smiling happily ahead of going to have her make-up applied for the broadcast.

Scroll down for video

Feeling happy! Tina O'Brien looked calm and collected as she arrived - bare-faced - ahead of the filming of the live Coronation Street episode on Wednesday afternoon

But looking slightly more nervous was her co-star Catherine Tyldesley, who kept her eyes straight forward as her motor dropped her off.

The blonde beauty, also 32, appeared to be fully-made up in character as Eva Price, perhaps having prepped herself for the forthcoming moment of TV soap history.

Also making their arrivals before the live show were the likes of Michael Le Vell - doing a cheery 'thumbs up' pose to show off his mood, Lisa George, Sue Cleaver, Lucy Fallon, Jennie McAlpine, Debbie Rush and Barbara Knox.

Nerves: Catherine Tyldesley, meanwhile, looked more nervous than excited as she arrived at the Manchester set of Corrie on Wednesday, just hours before the live broadcast

An improvement: Tina, 32, revealed her concerns ahead of the show, admitting she was worried something would go 'terribly wrong'

She's back! It was previously reported that Barbara Knox may have to miss the live episode after falling ill during rehearsals on Tuesday, but on Wednesday she arrived with the other Corrie cast

Tina - who plays Sarah-Louise Platt on the long-running soap - had previously admitted her fears over starring in the live episode, scared that it could all go 'terribly wrong'.

The actress will feature heavily in the hour-long show and, despite intense rehearsals, has said the potential to make a mistake live on air in front of millions of viewers is playing on her mind.

Tina told The Sun newspaper: 'Everyone has warned me my heart will be really pumping. We've been rehearsing for two weeks but things could go terribly wrong.

'The last live episode was flawless and I don't think people realised it was live. I know they will have loved that but I know they will be watching in the hope something isn't going right.'

Thumbs up! Michael Le Vell cut a cheery figure as he rocked up to perform live on TV in front of millions

Hi there: Jennie McAlpine masked any nerves with a happy wave as she drove herself to the set

All's good! Looking positively glowing was castmember Lucy Fallon

Happy to be here: Lisa George (left) and Sue Cleaver (right) didn't reveal any nerves as they rocked up to the set

And the actress - who first appeared in Weatherfield in 1999 - is praying she won't be the one to trip up.

She continued: 'As long as it's not me falling on my face, which would be very embarrassing, then I think we will be fine.'

Earlier on Wednesday, Catherine appeared more excited than nervous as she shared a message on her Twitter page.

Clearly ecstatic, she wrote: '#CorrieLive time!!! Wahoooo!!!! Break a leg my lovely Corrie family.'

But a glimmer of her state of mind was revealed as she retweeted a post from a fan, hinting that she may be feeling a bit nauseous.

The tweet read: 'Wishing everyone at @itvcorrie lots of luck for tonight's #LiveEp It will be amazing! I feel sick and I'm not even in it!#NowhereLeftToRun.'

Coming up: Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina) will take centre stage in the live special as Callum (Sean Ward) head to the Platts' house after the mother-of-one tells him she has the £20,000 he's been demanding

And it seems that all is well with Barbara Knox, after it was previously reported that she was forced to withdraw from rehearsals due to illness.

It was claimed in The Mirror that the 81-year-old, who plays Corrie stalwart Rita Sullivan, had fallen unwell during a practice run on Tuesday, but she was seen arriving with the rest of them on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a group shot of all those taking part in the episode has been released.

The cast were given the option of starring in the live show, which is broadcasting as part of ITV's 60th anniversary celebrations, and it looks as though the most of the show favourites will star.

It's almost time! A group shot of all the Coronation Street stars taking part in Wednesday night's hotly-anticipated live episode has been released

Kym Marsh, Michael Le Vell, Brooke Vincent and Les Dennis can be seen in the official photograph as well as Jack P. Shepherd, and Sean Ward who will take centre stage in the hour-long episode.

The 47-strong cast pose on the iconic cobbles in front of the Rovers Return with Paula Lane standing in the middle holding on to a 'Coronation Street Live 2015' clapper board.

Following two weeks of rehearsals, the cast and crew will have a fourth and final dress run on Wednesday before the show airs at 7.30pm.

It's also been revealed that a staggering 260 crew members have put the show together while 112 scheduled crew hours have gone in to the production.

There will be close to 600 camera shots over the course of the 60-minute episode and 15 miles of cabling has been used on set to ensure everything runs smoothly.

But as the group prepare for the mammoth episode and all possible worst case scenarios, it's emerged that the live show could be thrown into jeopardy by Manchester United's home game against Ipswich, which kicks off nearby at 8pm - 30 minutes into the show.

Not a good sign: Barbara Knox (right) - who plays Rita Sullivan - was reportedly forced to pull out of rehearsals due to an unspecified illness on Sunday but is still set to star in the live show

Top secret: Some of the cast will be driven the quarter of a mile away from the Media City studios to an industrial unit where the stunt has been rehearsed several times

Old Trafford is within earshot of the soap's Salford set and so the sound team will be desperately trying to ensure any noisy goal celebrations or chanting do not drown out the drama unfolding in Weatherfield.

But Coronation Street fans shouldn’t panic just yet as the Corrie team are quietly confident that there won’t be an issue.

A spokeswoman for Corrie told the Daily Star: 'There have been matches on many times when we have been filming over the two years we have been here.

'Terrified': Sophie Webster actress Brooke Vincent has revealed her nerves ahead of the live special

'Noise from Old Trafford has never been an issue before.'

The news comes as it emerged Barbara Knox - who plays Rita Sullivan in the long-running ITV soap - was forced to pull out of a crucial rehearsal on Sunday.

According to the Daily Mirror, Barbara, 81, arrived on set for a practice run-through of a scene involving Tina and Sean Ward (Callum Logan) but was allegedly unable to take part due to an unspecified illness.

Tense: Sarah-Lou is left fearing for her life after a dramatic showdown with drug dealer Callum as Coronation Street stars rehearse live episode fight scene

However, assistant producer Ella Kelly told BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday that she had spoken to the actress and that she would be taking part.

Kelly explained that the cast and crew were all in 'fine form' and that they were all poised for a third run-through on Tuesday night.

The last-minute dramas come as soap fans were promised that the one-off episode will climax with a dramatic live stunt scene on an industrial estate near to the set.

Nerves are running high among the Corrie cast ahead of the special airing with Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) also revealing she's terrified about making a mistake live on air.

Although the storyline is being kept largely under wraps, viewers were given an idea of what to expect in rehearsal pictures released last week.

Lovebirds no more: Sarah tries to foil Callum's blackmail, her ex who is on a mission to ruin the Platt family

The main drama appears to involve the unlucky Platt family.

In the images, Sarah is left fearing for her life after a dramatic showdown with drug dealer Callum.

In the live special, viewers will see Callum – who is out on police bail – head to the house but is angered when he discovers he was set up.

The mother-of-one attempts to sabotage the blackmail by setting out to record their conversation but things take a violent turn when Callum tries to stop her.

Coronation Street's live episode will air on Wednesday on ITV at 7.30pm