Lourdes miracle puts Alf back in the Street!

Coronation Street star Bryan Mosely revealed last night how a miracle has given him a new lease of life, after suffering serious heart problems for years.

The actor, who has just made a pilgrimage to the holy shrine at Lourdes, said: "Something special happened to me there. It's nothing short of a miracle. I feel blessed.

"It has nothing to do with medicine. I found a peace at Lourdes among the hundreds of sick and handicapped people."

Bryan - the Street's Alf Roberts for 28 years - went on: "It has changed my life completely. I felt desperately ill on the journey, while I was there and even on the way back.

"Then, after a good night's sleep I woke next morning feeling really well, better than I've been for years."

Roman Catholic Bryan, speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mirror, added: "My faith is stronger. My health has rapidly improved, so much so that, God willing, I hope to be back in Coronation Street."

Bryan, 65, has been out of the soap for seven months following his second major heart attack in five years. His wife Norma and their six children have begged him to retire for the sake of his health, and rumours have swept Granada TV's Street set in Manchester that his character was to get the chop.

The gossips got it wrong. Last week Street producer Brian Park, known on the set as The Axeman after a series of sackings, visited the star's West Yorkshire home to ask him to return.

Fans should see him reunited with screen wife Audrey, played by Sue Roberts, in October. Bryan said of Park: "He has been kind and considerate. I've been paid all the time I've been off sick.

"I told him that I hope to be fit and well to do the job but if I feel I'm not up to it I'll quit.

"Granada looks after its Street stars well. It doesn't make good sense to grind actors into the ground."

Bryan admitted he was having doubts about a comeback when he set off with Norma for a holiday in the South of France, taking in Lourdes.

So the couple could relax, a male friend drove their car on the 3,300- mile round trip. "Norma suggested we go to Lourdes," said Bryan. "She thought it would help me feel better and come to terms with whatever the future might hold for us.

"I wasn't too keen to travel because I'd just had an operation to widen my arteries. Norma said I must go while I was ill. I'm glad she convinced me.

"She's been a treasure, looking after me for so long. Street fans sent me loads of get well cards and letters and prayed for me. Lourdes has given me a greater peace of mind."

He added: "Lourdes is not just for Catholics. I saw people from every race and religion, united in their faith. It was wonderful."

Bryan has been enjoying the sun on his patio. "I just sit there with my straw hat on, a glass of beer and a newspaper, thinking it's good to be alive," he said.

"But I can't wait to get back into the Street, back with my missus Audrey.

"Norma doesn't nag me at home so it will make a nice change to get back to the ear-bashing.

"I get a buzz from being nagged by Audrey and fighting back, even though she always has the last word."

Copyright 1997 MGN LTD
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