Corrie star adds to Square woe

As EastEnders struggles to recapture the hearts of the nation, one of Coronation Street's biggest stars has condemned them to obscurity.

13:00 17 March 2005

As EastEnders struggles to recapture the hearts of the nation, one of Coronation Street's biggest stars has condemned them to obscurity.

Johnny Briggs, who has appeared on our screens as Mike Baldwin for almost 30 years, believes that Emmerdale is now the biggest rival to the goings-on in Weatherfield in times of ratings.

Emmerdale has enjoyed a sensational return to form in recent months, with gripping storylines and big-name actors such as Patsy Kensit pulling in the viewers.

EastEnders meanwhile has gone from bad to worse as viewing figures have dipped to around six million as audiences lose interest in plodding plotlines and personality-challenged characters.

And 69-year-old Briggs is in no doubt about where Corrie bosses need to look when they are searching for rivals.

"I flicked on to Emmerdale and it was excellent," the actor told the Daily Mirror.

"I see it as a rival to Coronation Street - bigger than EastEnders. For quality, the Street and Emmerdale are on one level - then there's EastEnders."

Emmerdale will tonight celebrate its 4,000th episode, with a culmination of the long-running feud between Shelley and psycho Steph expected to pull in another bumper audience for the hour-long special.