ANOTHER fine mess!

TONY MAUDSLEY and GARETH PIERCE on paying tribute to Laurel and Hardy and what's ahead for their Corrie characters...

- JOHNATHON HUGHES

CORONATION STREET 
MON, WED & FRI, 8PM, ITV1 SOAP 

They might be an unlikely pairing on paper, but kindly undertaker George Shuttleworth and his cheeky apprentice Todd Grimshaw have become one of Coronation Street’s most entertaining double acts in recent years.

So what better way to celebrate their partnership than with an exclusive photo shoot paying homage to another legendary comedy duo?

Here, actors Gareth Pierce, 42, who took over the role of Todd in October 2020, and Tony Maudsley, 55, who joined the cast as George in September 2020, chat to TV Times about being compared to classic Hollywood cinema stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the future for their Weatherfield alter egos and what could be the best soap wedding of all time…

This isn’t the first time you’ve been likened to Laurel and Hardy. How did the comparisons start?

TONY Our characters are in funeral-parlour gear all the time, which is not dissimilar to what Laurel and Hardy wore, so when people see us in costume, that’s what they call us!

GARETH At The British Soap Awards, we were in our tuxes and someone mentioned it then, too. There is a double-act edge to Todd and George that has crept up on us, so there were enough parallels for us to dress up like them for the day. It was great fun!

Are you fans of Laurel and Hardy?

TONY I love them. Back in the 1970s, I used to watch their films on TV every Saturday.

GARETH They’re iconic. Some of the famous moments we recreated for the photo shoot transported you right back.