Tony Maudsley has admitted appearing on \'Coronation Street\' hasn\'t been quite as "nerve-wracking" as he thought, because the show isn\'t running at "full throttle" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The former \'Benidorm\' actor\'s cobbles character George Shuttleworth will finally hit screens tonight (16.09.20) following a delay due to the pandemic, and despite being a part of the cast for months, the 52-year-old star still feels "very much like the new boy" because there are fewer actors on set nowadays due to Covid-19 health and safety guidelines.
He said: "It was a strange start. I guess if I\'d have started when the show was at full throttle it would\'ve been a lot more nerve-wracking, but as it was it\'s all slowed down and very diluted.
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"A lot of the actors I haven\'t even met yet, and I\'ve been there for two months.
"But that\'s just the nature of the beast at the moment.
"It\'s just the way we\'re having to film, so I still very much feel like the new boy.
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"Every time I go in I\'m meeting a lot of new people, so I feel like every day is a new day at the moment. "
But one \'Corrie\' star who Tony - who previously had a short role in the soap in 1995 - has met before is Sue Cleaver, after the pair played a married couple in late 90s police procedural drama \'City Central\', and he was delighted to see there was still a "spark" between them.
He said: "We\'re old flames, me and Sue.
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"When I met for the part, Sue very kindly came in and read with me. We did have an instant connection.
"When we worked together 20 years ago we got on so, so well. That spark was absolutely still there.
"I felt it, and I think Sue felt it, and the producer and the casting director obviously felt it.
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"The one thing about George is, I know he\'s not a murderer, so she\'s safe on that front."
His character George is the son of undertaker Archie Shuttleworth, who was played by the late Roy Hudd from 2002 to 2010.
While Tony is enjoying the role, he joked he misses donning his \'Benidorm\' character Kenneth Du Beke\'s brightly-coloured hot pants at times when he has to film in the searing heat while wearing his mourning suit.
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Speaking on \'Lorraine\', he added: "I was doing a scene with Sue on the street last week, when we had that really, really hot weather and I was stood there in a full, funeral mourning suit in 30-degree heat.
"And I was thinking, \'Maybe I do miss those hot pants after all.\' "
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