Hi I was wondering what the proper way to deal with UK tv press offices when in Canada? I am a big fan of Coronation Street and am a big fan of the cast cards. I had received some from a pen pal more than 15 years ago, and always wanted to get more but never knew how, until this Past January.

I was on a Coronation Street blog and saw one of the posters posted a photo of his current collection. I bit the bullet and asked him what the procedure was and if they would send to Canada. He gave me the address, which lead me to the correct address and I e-mailed them. David Nugent responded to me and said to send me my mailing address and he would send me some cards. I didn't know what to respond as I thought I could get only a few, but someone suggested I write that I would like a set of cards thinking I would get the whole cast. That's what I wrote and by the end of January I got an envelope of 26 different cast cards. I was thrilled. I got 1 person who we hadn't seen yet in Canada and 5 people who had just left in the UK.

After a few months, I got the urge to write again, but I was not sure if I could. I did not get some of my favourites so I asked around and people were telling me to definitely try again as sending out cards was the PO's job and they wouldn't remember me so I wrote them another e-mail and I added 39 names from someone who had just left in Canada to the newest card in the UK. About a week later, I received another envelope with a rip on the side. I got 29 cards including 5 repeats from my first package. Unlike the previous package though, I got 1 person who had just left in the UK and alot of the newer people not yet seen in Canada. I didn't get alot of the older characters

In Mid June I decided I would e-mail David at the press office to ask him whether they had certain cast cards still available like Kate Anthony. David didn't answer me back, but I spoke to Abbi, who told me their policy. The next day however Abbi e-mailed me back and told me that they did have Kate Anthony's card. We exchanged e-mails for a bit and she told me that they had certain cards that they could send me that were in limited supply and everything and that the newer cards like the Price Family would be available the following week.

So I sent her a detailed e-mail with a request for 20 cards that I knew they had (newer cards and ones that were in short supply) and I also asked if she had any spare cards featuring people who had left before the Tram Crash that she could slip in. (I had written to her as if we were old friends) I waited a couple of weeks and then in Mid-July, the package arrived. The postage was double the size of the first 2 however there was a rip on the side and the flap was taped. To my shock, there were only 6 cards in there. There were 5 newer cards, all the members of the Price Family and two newer cards of people that I already had. All the rest of the cards had somehow fallen out perhaps at Canadian customs.

I tried to write to Abby at the Press Office e-mail. After a while, I got David again, who told me that Abbi had been let go and that he could send me some cards. I forwarded the request list I had sent to Abbi to him. His tone started to change. He told me that he was not going to be able to send me any cards during the next week as they were going to some conference and they would only be back the following Tuesday which I believe was July 26th. I was a bit shocked but I did ask him about the cards that were in short supply. David told me that I would get what they had available. In all honesty, I think Abbi was let go for being too generous and David probably thought that I was greedy. I also think that when e-mailing the CSPO., It really depends on who you get, because some people are lenient with the cards that they can send out (Abbi) while others just send out the current cast and that's it. (David)


About a week went by and I was a bit upset, but I didn't let it bother me. I tried to think positively. Then on the Saturday after the "conference", I was on Digital Spy and on an Autograph thread in the Soaps section of the Forum, some posters were saying that they had just gotten cast cards from the Corrie Press Office which they had ordered that Monday (Three days after my request). I was a bit taken aback as David had told me that they were not going to send cards that week. I didn't know what was happening with my request and why David seemed to have double crossed me. I wrote him again, which I knew I shouldn't and asked him what was going on, and told him that it was not my fault that Canadian Customs opened my package. He wrote me back telling me that he was deeply saddened that I didn't believe him about the conference and that they don't care about the viewers and my envelope had been sent out.

I received my package the following week. In fact it was two envelopes. One with 13 cards and one with 24 cards in it. When I opened the smaller envelope I found 9 new cards that I had asked for, but no cards that were ones that were in limited supply. The larger package was replete with doubles of cards that I had already including doubles of 6 out of the 9 in the smaller package. Somehow I knew I was duped.

I am seriously upset at David Nugent, as I hate people that mislead you like that. I am sure that my e-mail to him the week previous made him alter the cards that he was going to send me. I wish I had done things differently. I was trying to get certain cards like Claudia Colby, Xin Proctor and Eddie Windass, but because of Canadian Customs and David Nugent at the Press Office, sonme of those cards slipped through my fingers. I was thinking of getting more cards when they come out later in the Year, but I don't know how to react with the Coronation Street Press Office after what happened. I've heard great things about David, but to me, he was a bit of a jerk.

Would anybody have any tips on how I could get certain cards thar I missed like Xin, Eddie or Claudia amongst others, and what I could do with some of the doubles in cast cars that I have (about 30). Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the length of my post. You may edit it if you wish.)