Melanie Hill: Coronation Street's Cathy swipes at soap as she likes tweet about storylines

Council chiefs in South Ayrshire insist they won't levy extra parking charges on workplaces.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentUndeterred by the pandemic, the wheels of Switzerland’s film production machine kept on spinning in 2021, churning out the meticulously made multicultural co-productions the country is known for that scored slots at top festivals.Works by young directors such as Elie Grappe, whose coming-of-age drama “Olga” launched at Cannes; Niccolò Castelli’s terrorism-themed “Atlas,” which bowed at Locarno; and also the VR project “Caves” by Carlos Isabel Garcìa, which premiered at Venice; provided a preamble to the exceptionally strong Swiss presence at this year’s Berlinale.Berlin sees a record-breaking two competition slots filled by new works from established Swiss directors, Ursula Meier’s “The Line” and Michael Koch’s “A Piece of Sky,” plus several more Swiss titles in other sections. “In the worst year ever we shot three productions back-to-back during the pandemic; somehow we got used to it,” says Oscar-nominated Max Karli (“My Life as a Zucchini”), who is among the producers of “The Line” via his Geneva-based Bandita Productions, in tandem with Pauline Gygax.In Switzerland, the film and TV industry held firm last year as one of the few sectors where camera crews and actors continued to work, unlike advertising, which shuttered completely for many months.“It was quite hard because we were shooting without insurance pertaining to anything linked to the pandemic,” Karli says, though some government subsidies were made available for physical productions struck by COVID infections.But, as Karli and other Swiss producers point out, Switzerland is a confederation.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLola Arabia, the United Arab Emirates label of Oscar-winning Spanish producer Andrés Vicente Gómez (“Belle Epoque”), has struck a 12-movie co-production deal with Dubai-based Charisma Group.The alliance will take in a range of titles, from $2 million-budgeted contemporary comedies to banner productions budgeted at $40 million, revolving around contemporary and historic stories of West Asia.The partners aim to produce an average of four films a year, said Charisma Group co-president Ayham Al Ziyoud.Development has begun on the whole slate. “Although in principle we plan projects with modest budgets, these will be increased in the following year once we find the rights partners outside the Gulf States,” Gómez said.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAt 81, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento is busier than ever.The director of a string of cult chiller classics starting in the 1970s, including “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage,” “Suspiria” and “Deep Red,” was at Cannes last July with his acting debut in Gaspar Noe’s “Vortex,” about a pair of old lovers. Argento was also celebrated last year with a new book by Italian critic Steve Della Casa and a retro at New York’s Lincoln Center.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz was so good on his Premier League debut against Leicester that he had the BT Sport pundits “drooling” over him, according to Michael Owen.There is a lot of excitement around Diaz, who joined Liverpool in the January transfer window from Porto for an initial fee of £37.5million, which could increase by a further £12.5m.Liverpool fans got a chance to see him for the first time in the 3-1 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup on the weekend, but the Colombian international made his full debut at Anfield on Thursday night. He didn’t disappoint, putting in an exciting performance on the left side of Jurgen Klopp ’s front three as the hosts ran out 2-0 winners over Leicester.

CORRIE viewers were left baffled when street regular Chesney Brown was replaced in the kebab shop by a character simply known as “Matt”. Many fans feared the new dad-of-four had been usurped from his role as manager with no explanation.

Café owner Roy Cropper could become Yasmeen Nazir's unlikely saviour as he turns detective on Coronation Street.

Coronation Street’s much-loved duos are being resurrected on Royal Mail stamps.

Coronation Street viewers were open-mouthed as mild-mannered Roy Cropper acted out of character in Monday night's episode.

Plucky Nina Lucas won hearts by defending Asha Alahan against bullies, and Corrie fans are wondering if a romance might blossom from this burgeoning new friendship in the future.

Coronation Street star Melanie Hill appeared to agree with one fan's point of view this week when they passed comment on the nature of her Corrie storylines.

CORONATION Street star Melanie Hill has hinted she's unhappy with her soap storylines, agreeing with a fan on Twitter who claimed the actress was "underused". The 58-year-old joined the soap in 2015 with over 30 years of industry experience, and she first walked the cobbles as a potential love interest for Roy Cropper.

Geoff Metcalfe went to rape helpless Yasmeen Nazir in another sickening twist at the end of Friday night's Coronation Street.

Actress Melanie Hill has spoken out, claiming that her Coronation Street co-stars are scared to return to the famous cobbles as the UK is still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Corrie's Melanie Hill has told of how the soap's cast are frightened of coming back to work amid the coronavirus outbreak.

CORONATION Street's Melanie Hill says the cast are “too scared to work” after filming stopped over coronavirus fears. The British actress said that when they do go back to the cobbles it is most likely to be in small groups.

CORONATION Street's Melanie Hill says the cast will be back at work "soon" after filming stopped over coronavirus fears. Production on both Corrie and Emmerdale has been halted from today amid fears about the pandemic.

Sue Cleaver, 56, sent fans into a frenzy when she shared a photo from the set of Coronation Street in a Twitter post yesterday.The star posted a photo of herself in view of her 67,000 followers alongside co-star Melanie Hill, who plays Cathy Matthews, in what appeared to be a courtroom.Some fans then took to the comments section to predict that evil character Geoff is set to be put behind bars in the soap after Sue’s character Eileen tells Yasmeen’s granddaughter Alya Nazir about him locking the pensioner in a magic box last month.Actresses Sue and Melanie were pictured sitting together reading a magazine which was entitled “How to stay awake during sex” in-between takes in the snap.Sue jokingly captioned the photo: "Busy filming with

Coronation Street fans have been left infuriated by the evil Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) as he continues to terrorise his wife Yasmeen (Shelley King).

CORONATION Street fans think Sue Cleaver has accidentally leaked a HUGE plot spoiler that evil Geoff will be locked up for abusing Yasmeen. The actress, who plays Eileen Grimshaw in Corrie, revealed on Twitter last night that she had been filming for the ITV soap in what appeared to be a courtroom.

the cobbles Sally Metcalfe is appalled to learn from Cathy Matthews how her father-in-law Geoff locked his wife Yasmeen in his magic box, and when Alya Nazir asks her to be a witness for the defence she decides to go an d visit Yasmeen.