Coronation Street shock as star reveals he’s exposing cast feuds and on set rivalries in new book about soap career
FORMER Corrie star Charlie Lawson is set to lift the lid on the deep, dark secrets of Weatherfield.
Jim McDonald actor Charlie is marking over 40 years on stage and screen with an eye-opening, jaw-dropping memoir.
The iconic actor is due to unveil his own soap-worthy personal life which will delve into his encounters with fellow famous actors and anecdotes.
The synopsis reads: “But he is not afraid to settle scores and call out cases of injustice and abuse in the industry. And he is equally unflinching in his portrayal of his private life, with details of his marriages and personal tragedies.”
Britain’s beloved soap star will share ‘behind-the-scenes pranks, cast disputes and the chaos of celebrity culture’ while ‘providing compelling accounts of the many high-profile theatre, TV and film productions’, he’s been in.
His autobiography, which honours his Corrie catchphrase — That’s Life, So It Is — is full of explosive stories.
In one story he recalls how he fell out with late actress Liz Dawn, over an advertisement offer made to her and Bill Tarmey when the two were on-screen husband and wife Jack and Vera Duckworth.
Charlie says his friend, Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey, had just done a telly campaign for Pedigree Chum dog food, so they asked how much a TV ad paid.
But he recalls: “The proposal was that Bill and Liz would be on cardboard cut-outs in every outlet in Britain that sold Cadbury’s.
“They made a stupid offer of pocket money. So I said, ‘You should be getting — I think it was £88,000 — for this campaign, and if you accept their original offer, all you’re doing is selling everybody short’.
In an exclusive interview in June, Charlie told The Sun on Sunday about his worries for the ITV soap following the death of former writer John Stephenson.
He said: “I fear that Corrie might not be here in ten years’ time. Sarah [Lancashire] and I were talking. We both agreed John wouldn’t recognise the show.
“We felt it was a completely different animal, so fundamentally different from our day — and the viewing figures have plummeted.”
He said actors including Alison King, who plays Carla Connor, are exhausted with the pressure put on them.
Charlie remarked: “The workload is huge. The cast is huge, there’s less time for enjoyment, for fun, to get to know the vast quantity of people there.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the stable of elderly actors leave too. I know they are not happy, it’s not the happy ship it used to be.”
Back in June this year, the Northern Irish actor faced a ban from running any more companies after failing to pay debts.
He missed the deadlines to repay £37,000 from the 2018 failure of their Cheshire-based deli.
The former Weatherfield star set the firm up in 2010 with partner Debbie Stanley and was often seen behind the counter serving artisan cheese, meat and game.
The 64-year-old, who last seen in the soap in 2018, was threatened with legal action.