A wannabe Bear Grylls comes to the rescue when Tyrone and pals try life outdoors, says Coronation Street guest star Paddy McGuiness!
Kirk and Beth Sutherland, Craig Tinker, Sinead Tinker, Chesney Brown, Fiz Stape and Tyrone Dobbs have never struck anyone as outdoor types, so they’re forced to call on Corrie newcomer and fellow camper Dougie for help when they leave the cobbles for a camping holiday.
“Dougie’s obsessed with camping and regards himself as an expert,” says Paddy. “He’s got all the kit and promptly takes over, making the Corrie campers, especially Tyrone, feel useless.”
So Dougie just takes over?
“Pretty much. He puts up all the tents, sorts the barbecues and catches the food as well. They’re all getting sausages and burgers out, and he’s like, ‘What is that? We catch what we eat here!’ Then he returns with a tray of bunny burgers! When they try for half an hour to light a fire, he strides in with a flint and does it immediately. You know the type.”
He sounds a bit annoying!
“The Corrie gang think so because he takes control, but the scripts are really funny. Fiz [Jennie McAlpine], Beth [Lisa George] and Sinead [Katie McGlynn] think he’s quite fit, too, and that annoys their blokes even more.”
Is Dougie on holiday, too?
“Yes. He’s away on one of the three or four camping trips he takes a year. His 16-year-old daughter, Caitlin [Eve Gordon], is with him, too, but she’s getting to the stage when she’s sick of going with her dad.”
How does Dougie react when Caitlin and Craig (Colson Smith) take a shine to each other?
“He’s not happy. He’s very protective and he has a bit of a show-down with Beth, Craig’s mum. That’s in addition to the flare-ups he has with Tyrone [Alan Halsall] and Chesney [Sam Aston]. In fact, he falls out with everyone, but there’s lots of comedy involved.”
How did you get role?
“I’ve had calls over the years asking me if I’d be interested into coming into Corrie for a few episodes – like a special guest slot. I had some time to do it this year and, when they told me about Dougie and I read the scripts, I said ‘Yes’.”
When’s the next series of Take Me Out?
“In November. In the first week of the last series, we had 35,000 girls apply to come on. It’s just kind of mad that it has that kind of effect.”
Coronation Street, ITV.
