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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 22, 2005 8:59:57 GMT
From the Mirror:
CORRIE RITA DEVASTATED BY BURGLARS
Mar 22 2005
By Jan Disley
CORONATION Street star Barbara Knox is in shock after burglars ransacked her apartment.
Barbara, 72, who plays shopkeeper Rita Sullivan, came home to find half of her front door missing where they had forced their way in.
The thieves, who had got into the complex via a communal area, had also wrecked the plush flat.
Barbara was out when they struck and only discovered her home had been burgled when she returned on Sunday. It is not known what was stolen.
Friends fear she has been so shaken up by the crime that she may not be able to face living there again.
A soap insider said yesterday: "She is devastated that this could happen to her.
"She is paranoid that she could have been targeted because of who she is."
He added: "It would not surprise any of her fellow cast members if she was never able to spend another night in her flat. Apart from what the thieves stole they smashed up the flat very badly and that has upset her much more than the loss of her possessions.
"Her daughter has tried to console her but this has hit her really bad and she feels very vulnerable."
Barbara lives an almost reclusive lifestyle when she is not filming, flitting between her country home in Cheshire and the city centre flat, just three minutes walk away from the Manchester studios where the ITV soap is recorded.
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I don't believe Barbara was targeted because of who she is. After all, most people don't give a toss. And with her hardly being in it, she was more likely to be in and most burglars haven't become that stupid yet. It looks more like opportunism. After all, it could have been any they broke into. Security must be pretty lax at those flats to allow them through the communal area in the first place. It's common knowledge the Corrie cast live around there. It could just as easily have been one of them. Sue Nicholls, for instance, since she lives in the same building. It's also a rich area. My thoughts are with Barbara. It's so easy to be broken into. I'm surprised we haven't been. The house on the corner's been done several times. I hope she's strong enough to not let it get to her and get over the paranoia and sues whoever's in charge of security.
Patsy
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Wendy
Cellarman
Posts: 164
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Post by Wendy on Mar 22, 2005 12:07:26 GMT
That is a shame. I hope Barbara gets over her shock and fear and they catch the people that did all the damage.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 22, 2005 17:28:08 GMT
Me too. Rumour has it this will make her quit. Mind you, the account of the break-in changes depending on which newspaper you read. They like to embellish things, don't they? The trouble with the law these days (I don't know if it's the same in Canada) is that they're all too bloody soft. You've got this stupid European Human Rights claptrap and various other laws from them superseding ours. So, if they manage to catch them, not only is it unlikely Barbara will get get of her things back, but they'll probably say it was their human right to smash the place up and steal, get a slap on the wrist and let go. Labour promised 'Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime' yet under them crime (especially gun-related) has shot up. It's a sad world we live in.
Patsy
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Post by Deborah on Mar 22, 2005 18:15:41 GMT
Oh how awful! Of course this would shake anyone up. Hopefully they catch the people that did it.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 22, 2005 18:27:38 GMT
So do I but there's far too many unsolved crimes on the books. I am puzzled about one thing. If she was targeted (as she thinks), wouldn't they have stalked her to find out her movements and gone after her Cheshire home, since that's where most of the valuables are sure to be? The flat is just somewhere to sleep when working. I read ages ago Sue Nicholls and Mark Eden live opposite Barbara in that block (though he spends most of the time in London). It wouldn't surprise me if it was just opportunistic yobs after too much booze.
Patsy
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Wendy
Cellarman
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Post by Wendy on Mar 23, 2005 3:08:51 GMT
I agree. Most times thieves that know what they are after tend not to make a huge mess but just take what they know and then get out. Hooligans tend to destroy things just for a quick cash grab or booze. Here in Canada we have the Young Offenders Act. If the brat involved in a crime is under the age of (correct me if I am wrong here) 18 they can't be charged as an adult and their names will not be published in the newspaper. Talk about protecting the wrong people.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 23, 2005 8:22:25 GMT
We have the same, Wendy. There's kids of like 10 raping either young girls or adults (one raped a teacher) . It's getting way out of control and something needs doing. Life never means life so what's the point? Prisons wouldn't be overcrowded if there were stricter controls. I'm with the Arabs on some things. Caught stealing - chop a hand off. Don't know if they chop you know what off for sexual crimes but that sounds a good idea too. Might be harsh but maybe they'll sit up and take notice. There was a piece on the local news yesterday about a German tourist assualted in Portsmouth by a couple of yobs for a measly £2! And today I saw businesses in Alton in Hampshire want CCTV installed on the streets to help cut crime but the council say no because it's too expensive. Money over safety every time, huh?
Patsy
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Post by stix on Mar 23, 2005 9:15:53 GMT
sounds like its the same all over the world
I remeber a kid I taught at 17 murdering some one and getting off
Now he is 21 on P and a criminal I teach his kid ( 5yrs old)
and she is lovely but what chance will she have.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 23, 2005 17:53:19 GMT
It really is time for discipline to be brought back instead of being done for assault if you clip someone round the ear. But civil liberties and human rights groups bang on about freedoms. What about our rights and the victims? There was something on the news about mental patients who are let out and end up killing or attacking people. The government wants them to stay locked up if they're deemed a risk but those people go on about liberties and rights. They would soon change their tune if anything happened to someone they know and I bet they wouldn't have any living with them. Criminals are more likely to be caught with a DNA database. Imagine if forensics found a hair at Barbara's flat. All they had to do was find out who it belonged to and arrest them. But again, these people go on about freedoms. Knickers to them! I'm sick of the minority getting their own way and making the world a more dangerous place. They make me so angry the way they spout.
Rant over. LOL!
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 25, 2005 10:12:26 GMT
Awful News. I hope she gets over it and doesnt decide to quit.
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Post by sootycat on Mar 25, 2005 12:42:47 GMT
Sharon Marshall on " This Morning's " soap section says she isn't leaving.  |
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 25, 2005 13:13:06 GMT
Well what would she know really? Barbara might decide in a few weeks or months time she's had enough. She could suffer delayed shock. I sent a letter to the Mirror on Tuesday offering my support to Barbara and they published it today. Added bits but everything I'd written was the same.
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 25, 2005 16:18:07 GMT
Good to hear your letter was printed. I will have to check today's Daily Mirror.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 25, 2005 17:26:25 GMT
Pity they stopped having them on their site.   Fingers crossed that works. Patsy |
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 25, 2005 18:57:25 GMT
Saw the Mirror, nice letter. What you say is very true about her not letting them win.
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Post by Deborah on Mar 25, 2005 19:04:06 GMT
Great letter Patsy. You said exactly what all the Corrie fans were thinking. Thanks. |
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 25, 2005 20:27:52 GMT
That's exactly why I said it, Jez. They probably get some sort of sick satisfaction knowing people are too scared after they've done whatever, especially older people. I actually said "otherwise they've won" but the paper changed it to "the thieves will have won". Did you see that on the news tonight about that poor girl between 5 and 10 who was raped in her own bed after someone broke in? Chop their bits off!!!!
Thanks, Deborah. It did take a while working out what to put so she would know people care and that didn't descend into a rant about criminals and the government, not to mention human rights and how victims can be sued by the criminals. It all makes me so angry.
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 27, 2005 10:24:00 GMT
That's exactly why I said it, Jez. They probably get some sort of sick satisfaction knowing people are too scared after they've done whatever, especially older people. I actually said "otherwise they've won" but the paper changed it to "the thieves will have won". Did you see that on the news tonight about that poor girl between 5 and 10 who was raped in her own bed after someone broke in? Chop their bits off!!!! Thanks, Deborah. It did take a while working out what to put so she would know people care and that didn't descend into a rant about criminals and the government, not to mention human rights and how victims can be sued by the criminals. It all makes me so angry. Patsy The papers/mags always reword letters dont they, but well done for getting it printed. |
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 27, 2005 14:23:06 GMT
Yes they do. You've seen the other 3 I did to the Mirror. I've only had one hardly changed at all which was the last I think when they added or took out 1 word. The TV Times rather annoyingly chopped off the important bit about reducing eps! They rewrote the worst. I never called her a 'First class actress'. I don't use vocabulary like that because I'm far too common. LOL! They completely removed all mention of her awards and put that line instead. But the Mirror seem to like Barbara which makes a change these days.
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 27, 2005 16:27:25 GMT
Ive never tried the Mirror but have written to Whats on TV, TV Choice, TV Times and All About Soap and never got anything printed. Do they pay you if you get something in the Mirror? In AAS they pay £10 for each letter and £25 for the "star" letter.
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 27, 2005 19:28:35 GMT
It's hit and miss with everything, even Ceefax. Yes, the Mirror pays. No idea how much for ordinary letters because they don't say any more, but TV ones on Friday's are a fiver. However, this time, when the cheque comes, I'll donate the money to charity because it's not right to profit from Barbara's misfortune.
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 27, 2005 19:37:08 GMT
It's hit and miss with everything, even Ceefax. Yes, the Mirror pays. No idea how much for ordinary letters because they don't say any more, but TV ones on Friday's are a fiver. However, this time, when the cheque comes, I'll donate the money to charity because it's not right to profit from Barbara's misfortune. Patsy Thats a good idea Patsy, good on you. Oh ive had one on ceefax, when Crossroads was axed for the last time in 2003 I wrote in to say Shortland Street should replace it |
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 27, 2005 19:56:31 GMT
Well, I'd happily take the cash any other time since I need it! LOL! I just wanted her to know people are thinking of her and give her some support even though she probably thinks I'm an obsessive loony! LOL! I just don't feel right taking it this time and would have done it for free if they didn't pay.
I probably read that then. Though I didn't know you until a few months later. I've been on all sorts - even the local paper about P&O's behaviour over the Canberra cruise liner. They don't pay. Neither do text. I think I've had equal Barbara and Yootha Joyce now. Though got no money for Yootha since it was various texts over the past 12 years.
Patsy
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Post by sallywebster on Mar 27, 2005 20:18:49 GMT
Well, I'd happily take the cash any other time since I need it! LOL! I just wanted her to know people are thinking of her and give her some support even though she probably thinks I'm an obsessive loony! LOL! I just don't feel right taking it this time and would have done it for free if they didn't pay. I probably read that then. Though I didn't know you until a few months later. I've been on all sorts - even the local paper about P&O's behaviour over the Canberra cruise liner. They don't pay. Neither do text. I think I've had equal Barbara and Yootha Joyce now. Though got no money for Yootha since it was various texts over the past 12 years. Patsy Yes it was May 2003 so we didnt know each other until about October on the Plus forums did we. Actually I think I read your letter in the TV Times about Rita saying she needs storylines when it was published, obviously at the time I didnt know you so wouldnt have recognised the name, but the letter rings a bell. |
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Post by RitaLittlewood on Mar 27, 2005 20:50:20 GMT
That's about right. Blimey, so long ago! And Plus has gone now.  You probably read mine on Ceefax around 2000 about there being no 'Unforgettable Yootha Joyce' programme - then there was one the following year! ;D Most before then was the likes of Goldtext, Bravotext, MTV text, Paramount Text. Though I did finally manage Oracle just before it ended in 1992 in the music comments. Patsy |
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You probably read mine on Ceefax around 2000 about there being no 'Unforgettable Yootha Joyce' programme - then there was one the following year! ;D Most before then was the likes of Goldtext, Bravotext, MTV text, Paramount Text. Though I did finally manage Oracle just before it ended in 1992 in the music comments.