And lazy Les will even net himself a new woman. My Weatherfield source reveals: "Janice (VICKY ENTWISTLE) wants a divorce and rather than hit the bottle as he did when she left him for Dennis Stringer, Les agrees to it and becomes a New Man. "He'll be a born-again romantic and an all-round Mr Nice Guy." Corrie fans had been hoping the comic couple would renew their stormy relationship ever since their drunken night of love last month. But soap bosses have decided to keep Janice with cop boyfriend Mike Hopwood (IAN GAIN).

All is not lost for Les, though. His new image works a treat and he's soon involved in a new romance. Bruce Jones tells me: "I can't give too much away, but we'll be seeing a different side of Les next year. "I'm looking forward to showing another side of his character. Fans have always wanted Les and Janice to get back together but it's not to be in 2003. But you can never say never."

Now onto the Main gossip which is of course all to do with the evil Richard. (From BBC soap)

Corrie killer Richard Hillman is to read the service at his victim Maxine Peacock's funeral, according to newspaper reports. Richard, played by Brian Capron, bludgeons Maxine (Tracy Shaw) to death at the New Year, but attends the funeral in a bid to cover his tracks by showing fake concern. But when the emotions get too much for Maxine's grieving dad and he can't continue with a eulogy during the service, father-in-law Fred Elliott (John Savident) asks Richard to step up to the pulpit and to take over, according to the News of the World.

Much to the horror of Audrey Roberts - the only Corrie character who knows that Richard is the murderer - he waxes lyrical about Maxine's life and times, the paper reports. Audrey (Sue Nicholls) is unable to stand by and watch the killer's hypocrisy any longer and, in an episode to be screened in January, confronts him in front of the mourners.

Little is she believed though, as Richard reminds The Street's regulars that his mother-in-law's mind is playing tricks on her and Gail (Helen Worth) tells her mum that if she were a decent human being she would leave Richard alone. "This will be one of the most compelling episodes ever," an insider tells the paper. "In some ways even more dramatic than the murder because his actions are so sinister."

Little bits of news...

Julie's Countdown target
CORRIE star JULIE HESMONDHALGH (Hayley Cropper) wants to go on Countdown because host Richard Whiteley "is so sexy". She adds: "I'd love to get him alone in dictionary corner"!"

Also...

It's a case of double trouble for Julie Hesmondhaigh, who plays sex swap Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, and Manchester United star David Beckham. Julie's fellow cast members and Beckham's team mates reckon the pair look like each other - and have started calling them by the other's name.

In the Street, Julie wears a short black bob. But in real life her chosen style is punky blonde spikes - exactly how Beckham likes to wear his hair. According to the Daily Star, Chris Bisson, who plays Vik Desai in the soap, revealed the nickname taunts. He said Manchester United players had seen Julie off screen and noticed how her hair resembled the England captain's latest style.

Samia Ghadie
SEXY SAMIA GHADIE insists she's nothing like her character Maria: "She's a man-eater, so it's all high-heels, short skirts and plunging necklines. But I'm not a get-it-all-out girl at all."

Alan Halsall
ALAN HALSALL, Tyrone Dobbs in Corrie, says he gets stacks of saucy fan-mail from female admirers. "Sometimes they give me an address and ask me to pop round. But I just blush and send them a photo."

Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones, who plays The Street's Karen McDonald, has been named as woman of the year by a national newspaper. Karen, who joined the soap in 2000, has an ongoing feud with Geena (Jennifer James) and lives with Steve above Streetcars, but has her eyes on moving upmarket. Known for taking risks - she married Steve (Simon Gregson) when they both refused to back out of a bet - she's recently met her match in Joe Carter (Jonathan Wrather), who fired her from Underworld.

Brian Capron

Corrie's Richard Hillman was named villain of the year because he is "so fiendish he managed to start an electric fire on a gas stove with spilt milk".