TV & Showbiz

Coronation Street to shift schedule and air post-watershed episodes at 9pm next week

The long-running Manchester-based soap will turn a little darker during the Half Term next week.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 26th May 2021

ITV has announced that Coronation Street is set to air a run of darker, post-watershed episodes at the later time of 9pm next week.

The long-running soap – which is set in the fictional Manchester-based suburb of Weatherfield – usually airs its episodes 7.30pm and 8.30pm episodes throughout the year, but during the Half Term week, things are known to turn a little darker.

Typically, the post-watershed episodes coincide with when the hit talent competition show, Britain’s Got Talent, airs its live semi-finals and final – but BGT was cancelled due to execution difficulties amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and so will be replaced by a Masked Singer spin-off, Masked Dancer, which is airing every day apart from Wednesday.

On Wednesday, ITV will air England playing its World Cup Qualifying match against Austria in the same slot.

So, what storylines can Corrie fans expect to get their teeth stuck into next week then?

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According to ITV, the dramatic run of episodes sees a brutal shootout involving Gary Windass, as he manages to uncover the truth behind Sam’s kidnapping.

Jenny is horrified to discover Sharon’s involvement in Sam’s kidnap / Credit: ITV

Jenny is also onto Sharon Bentley – who was involved in organising Sam’s kidnap for her nephew Harvey, played by Will Mellor – but Sharon is aware that Jenny is onto them and realises that she needs to up her game, and so begin to quiz Toyah about Leanne’s latest visit.

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Meanwhile, Natasha ends up confronting Gary as she accuses him of being the one to hire the man with a van who kidnapped Sam, but Jenny is intrigued to find out that it was Sharon who hired it, and when Jenny voices her suspicions to Ronnie, he reveals that he overheard Sharon speaking to Toyah about Leanne.

Things take a turn for the worse when Jenny becomes worried and immediately tells Toyah and Imran that she suspects Sharon was involved in Sam’s kidnap.

Gary tries to hunt down Sharon / Credit: ITV

The events begin to materialise further and come to a head when Gary spots the van used for the kidnap outside the Kabin and forces it open, demanding that Rita phone the police as he goes after Sharon.

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Yet, the driver pulls out a gun and a shot is fired.

You can tune in to find out Gary’s fate next Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9pm on ITV.

Featured Image – ITV

TV & Showbiz

Manchester Remembers Foundation announces its return for a special anniversary charity match

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game back in 2027

The Manchester Remembers Foundation has announced the return of its charity football game in 2027, which will coincide with a special anniversary close to all Mancunians.

For those unaware, the MCR Remembers charity matches were set up in memory of the Manchester Arena victims, helping raise funds for the families of the 22 who sadly died in the attack.

While the fifth iteration of what started out as an annual vision, set for this past summer, was sadly cancelled back in May and the Foundation itself seemingly shut down, the co-founders have decided they’re not ready for it all to end just yet.

Somewhat quietly confirming the return of the fundraising footy match on social media, the next fixture will be returning next year, which marks a full decade since the tragedy.

Writing a slightly lengthier statement on Instagram, MCR Remembers creators Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan said: “No matter how difficult things get and how little support we get from people in positions to help, we have to keep going.

“We take inspiration from the brave and courageous people who were so closely involved with the arena attack. We will continue to remember those affected and celebrate their legacy.

“We are planning a spectacular return for the 10th anniversary in 2027. Plans and talks to begin shortly
We will reassess after that event. As always, thank you to those that stuck by us. We see you, and we appreciate every single one of you. Stay tuned. Aaron / Paul.”

Lee – a local and a former police officer on 22 May 2017 – set up the organisation with his friend and fellow fundraiser (10 marathons in 10 months) with the aim of not only honouring those lost but also to help raise vital funds for their families and native bereavement charities.

They’re two incredibly inspiring individuals who have done a lot to help those in and around Greater Manchester, as well as keep that date in our heads and hearts.

Now a firefighter and having helped raise more than £200,000 for the six associated charities overall, he was presented with the Chief Fire Officer’s Commendation award in August 2024.

Although information is still scarce in these early stages, The MCR Remembers Foundation has assured that details regarding exactly when and where the game is set to take place will be shared over the coming week and months.

It goes without saying that we here at The Manc are glad to see the moving charity match being confirmed for a comeback, even if it’s only for a one-off, and can’t wait to see which ex-pros and celebrity players get involved.

Then again, who knows? A successful return could signal the start of a fully-fledged revival, and we sincerely hope it does.

Watch this space and see you next year for the anniversary edition of Manchester Remembers 2027.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

TV & Showbiz

The ‘most complained-about’ show in Britain over the last five years has been revealed

Danny Jones Danny Jones Most Ofcom complaints in Britain over the last 5 years

The TV show with the most complaints in Britain over the past half-decade has seemingly been confirmed, and we can’t exactly say it’s given everyone watching a good morning…

Yes, it’s GMB.

Well, that’s according to research by Aura Print, anyway; they dug down into the official Ofcom data to try and discover which British TV programme got the most complaints – an unwanted accolade that was earned quite comfortably by Good Morning Britain.

This might not come as too much of a surprise to many of you, especially regular viewers over the last few years, with GMB often popping up in headlines alongside phrases like ‘viewers complain’ and ‘Ofcom’. Either way, here’s what the study found:

RankProgrammeServiceNumber of complaints (2021-2025)
1Good Morning BritainITV191,890
2Love IslandITV266,252
3Julia Hartley-BrewerTalkTV18,525
4Dan Wootton TonightGB News9,207
5King Charles III: The CoronationITV18,389
6This MorningITV7,387
7Celebrities: What’s Happened to Your Face?Channel 57,082
8Oprah with Meghan and HarryITV6,456
9I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!ITV16,203
10Jeremy VineChannel 54,982
11Big BrotherITV1 / ITV24,678
12LorraineITV4,675
13Breakfast with Kay BurleySky News3,467
14EmmerdaleITV12,405
15Vanessa51,986
16Loose WomenITV1,799
17Married at First Sight UKE41,748
18Coronation StreetITV1,348
19Lee Anderson’s Real WorldGB News1,668
20Friday Night LiveChannel 41,630
21HeadlinersGB News1,498
22Ant PayneCapital FM1,430
23Naked EducationChannel 41,413
24The Brit AwardsITV11,157
25Today with Samantha WashingtonSky News1,270

As you can see, GMB has racked up nearly 92,000 complaints over the past five years, which is well over 25k more than the next most inflammatory.

The rest of the top five is also made up of other mainstream news commentary programmes (four out of five), bar the second runner-up in Love Island, with 66,252.

It’s also worth noting that ITV is the most complained-about broadcaster of any network on the list. GB News came in second with three different shows on the list: Dan Wootton Tonight, Lee Anderson’s Real World and Headliners.

Certainly not surprising whatsoever was the particular episode that received the most complaints of all those in the history of Good Morning Britain, which went out on 8 March 2021.

In case you haven’t guessed which one this is already, it was the infamous Piers Morgan episode discussing Meghan Markle’s mental health, which was reported to Ofcom a whopping 57,973 times.

This feels like a lifetime ago, but we remember it receiving most Ofcom complaints Britain had ever seen at the time.

Yes, more than half of the complaints they have ever received come after ONE viral moment.

In terms of particularly divisive presenters, second only to Piers Morgan, Julia Hartley-Brewer was the next most complained-about presenter, racking up a total of 18,500 complaints.

GB News’ Dan Wootton came in at number three with 9,207 complaints, but also worth noting that plenty of what most would consider popular mainstream entertainment IPs like I’m A Celeb and Big Brother racked up over 10k collectively during this period.

You can find the full breakdown of Ofcom data from 2021-2025 right HERE.

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Featured image: Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

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