Coronation Street

His last words, were "Be happy, I say, be happy".

Naturally the I say would be his last words, and I do think they were the best last words a character like Fred could have. It summed him up really, always caring about everybody else. I guess that's why I'll miss Fred more than Mike. I always found him quite a sympathetic character. John will be missed, he's a brilliant actor.

Personally I don't agree with the negative comments at all. I think the way it was done was best. It didn't need to be OTT with camera panning, screen fading to black etc. This isn't a film. It retained the drama as well as that sense of realism. I guess we didn't see his death due to it probably being difficult for John to act it out, but I think it was much better for us to 'hear' the death, rather than 'see' it. Added to the drama.

Once again we also got a lot of the humour from the characters in the church, especially the scenes with Norris and Blanche desperately trying to find out what was going on.

"There's been a delay"

"Well I know there's been a delay, I could have worked that out for myself."

I thought his death was done well.

I didnt notice any of those errors so will look out for them if I decide to watch the repeat.

Yes its a bit OTT this being the 3rd wedding that hasnt gone ahead in the last 13 months (and 2nd in only 2 months)

Wasnt it Reet who said there's been a delay? I noticed at the stag/hen party in the Rovers Reet made a toast to the happy couple and repeated herself like Fred always did, although I felt that little joke fell flat.

I agree the episodes were good, it would have been too OTT if he had died at the church in front of everyone.

Why did Fred have to be killed off?

Oh of course - because John Savident dared to criticise the production and the use of inexperienced young actors in the series. When will actors get protection from expressing their views?

A big mistake I think, Fred has been one of the reasons to watch over the last 12 years. If John wanted to go, fine, the door should have been left open.

Has it been mentioned that 11 million viewers tuned in last night to watch Fred's demise. That was a 51% share

Later at 8.30, 10.7m tuned in which was a 44% share

Only 9m watched EastEnders

Considering the first episode last week managed around 10.3 million viewers, it was nice to see huge leap for Fred's death, and to see both episodes beat that. Over 50% of the audience is just incredible, and these days I believe Coronation Street is the only show on television which manages that - although not on a regular basis, it has done it quite a few times recently.

And to see Corrie 2 million ahead of EastEnders, well, who'd expect anything less?



If that's the reason why, then that's sad. Such a great character who has many fans, maybe the door should have been left open. I can't say I disagree with his comments, he commented on the extra episodes, and I agree that they are ridiculous. But that's down to ITV, rather than the producers.

I agree with what he said about there being too many episodes a week, however I am wondering if it was really because of that he left. Bill Roache has also made comments about the amount of episodes but he is still there.

In fact, Bill Roache has criticised the show quite a few times, not just about the number of episodes. Maybe he had a disagreement with the producers. I'd hate it if he left on bad terms with the producers.

It is incredible, but not surprising. Coro is the cream of British TV-- an institution. It has the perfect mix of drama, characters, warmth and humour.

As for EastEnders <spits>.... dire acting, plots, indentikit characters and little in way of humour. Even the pantomime that is E'dale is beating it frequently

I can't believe it got 11m... (Mon, 7.30pm).!!! Great news for ITV, as they need it to boost their ratings! More information here:BBC News