Coronation Street fans have the chance to buy an original cobble given to soap legend Amanda Barrie.
The actress, 87, portrayed Alma Halliwell in the ITV show from 1988 to 2001, following an initial stint in the early 80s, and she is seeking a “loving home” for the iconic Weatherfield memorabilia.
She wrote on social media: “Now, who might want my Corrie Cobble? Or my other memorabilia, for which as I approach 90, I am now seeking a loving home.”
Amanda was gifted the cobble in 1991 after it was removed from the original set to fit a disability ramp on the Street, and the stone wasn’t able to fit back in.
In a statement about the item’s provenance, Amanda said: “A rare Corrie cobble, the only one I know ever to have escaped from the original Street. Given to me in 1991 by Vinnie the prop man, when an accessibility ramp was built and they couldn’t fit it back in. Been in my possession ever since.”
A photograph of Amanda as Alma on the Coronation Street set is also included in the cobble package. With an estimate of £100, the cobble is being sold tomorrow at Ryedale Auctioneers in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorks.
The actress left the soap in 2001 when Alma was killed off in a controversial cervical cancer storyline, which Amanda admitted shortly afterwards she didn’t like the plot “one bit” and felt “extremely anxious” about it.
The exterior Coronation Street set was initially based at Granada Studios in Manchester city centre, and later moved to MediaCityUK in Trafford,where it was officially unveiled in November 2013.
Amanda has several other items up for sale in her collection, including an MG MGB roadster 1972 car she has owned for 41 years which has an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000.
She is also selling a Martinware green gourd shaped vase, which has an estimate of up to £200, a Milners patent double chambered fire resistant safe, and a Victorian cast fire surround, among other items.
