I had dinner with him in San Carlo restaurant in the city centre and we chatted for more than four hours and shared a lemon tart for dessert. But, although he looks pretty, he talks tough.

“I hate the futile celebrity hollow trinket bolted onto society quite frankly!” he tells me.

“I hate it when people say they want to be famous, famous for what? WAGs were built on the back of magazines.”

This wasn’t a sudden outburst from Mathew as soon as we sat down, but more a response to why he was in Manchester that day. He had been spending time with his old school friend who has recently developed brain virus encephalitis, which causes memory loss.

For Mathew the only useful thing about having celebrity status is bringing exposure to charities, especially the smaller “less sexy” ones.

“At the moment we are trying to discover what he can remember. He’s lived here for the last 20 years, so I’ve been walking round with him all day.”

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]]> http://stephelmore.com/56/emmerdale-star-mathew-bose-talks-candidly-with-steph-elmore/feed/ 0 http://stephelmore.com/71/steve-frost-discusses-dropping-coronation-street-cast-with-steph-elmore/ http://stephelmore.com/71/steve-frost-discusses-dropping-coronation-street-cast-with-steph-elmore/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:22:32 +0000 Steph Elmore http://stephelmore.com/?p=71 Coronation Street producer Steve Frost was labelled the Iceman when several cast members were axed on his arrival 18 months ago, but he has helped the show secure a clutch of prizes at this year’s British Soap Awards.

Corrie won best soap and six other awards, including best storyline for the explosive plot which saw Tracy take revenge on cheating Charlie.

Steve was also the producer at Emmerdale, where he transformed the once sleepy Yorkshire village by introducing the likes of Patsy Kensit to the show, but he admits he is no soap fan.

“Some people are diehard fans, but I’m not,” he says.

“Having a dispassionate view allows me to stand back and be objective about storylines. Plus, I’ll leave the room if it’s on, because I’ll end up seeing something that I’d wished I’d have done differently.”

We meet at the Lowry Hotel’s River Restaurant, one of Steve’s favourites, where Steve opts for seabass and I for the fish and chips – though I did toy with the idea of ‘hot pot’ in deference to the Rover’s famous dish.

Steve is from the East Midlands, is in his mid-thirties, and studied English Literature at Cambridge University. I ask him how he ended up as one of soap’s top producers.

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