Coronation Street legends past and present reunited to celebrate the marriage of Charlie Lawson and his long-time partner Debbie Stanley, but it was a certain familiar face presiding over proceedings who almost stole the show.
Charlie and Debbie’s officiator was none other than daytime TV royalty Eamonn Holmes, a close pal of the groom for more than 30 years. And Charlie – who played Corrie’s Jim McDonald from 1989 until 2000 – couldn’t have been more thrilled by Eamonn’s attendance.
“We actually legally got married at Macclesfield Registration Office two weeks before the proper wedding, with just three witnesses, so Eamonn could do the service,” he told OK!.
Charlie, 64, and Essex-born Debbie, 59, who works for a domestic violence organisation, have been together for 22 years and tied the knot at Shrigley Hall Hotel & Spa in Cheshire, a Georgian stately home near Macclesfield. Set in 262 acres of immaculate grounds, it provided the perfect backdrop to their star-studded proceedings.
The wedding was a veritable who’s who of soap legends, with 68 guests at the ceremony – including Debbie’s daughter Sophia and grandsons Reuben and Noah – and a further 200 showing up for the post-wedding party.
Simon Gregson, who plays Charlie’s on-screen son Steve McDonald, was best man, while Alison King (the Street ’s Carla Connor) was one of Debbie’s eight bridesmaids.
Former Corrie stars Kym Marsh (Michelle Connor) and Vicky Entwhistle (Janice Battersby), plus Emmerdale ’s Claire King (Kim Tate) were also there to support their longtime pals.
Not even the torrential rain could dampen spirits as Charlie, who has been married twice before, and has a daughter, Laura, from his first marriage, made a grand entrance, arriving by helicopter with best man Simon at his side. The actor looked every inch the dapper groom-to-be in a navy suit and blue silk scarf as he wielded an umbrella and greeted guests.
The bride looked stunning in a white beaded strapless bodice and wide-legged trousers teamed with a long, flowing coat and strappy gold sandals. Much to our surprise, Debbie told us her look was inspired by a certain soap wedding – more of which later!
During the ceremony, officiator Eamonn had guests in fits of laughter during his tongue-in-cheek ceremonial duties, which included a quip suggesting Debbie “could have married him” instead – a cheeky nod to the fact he used to be Debbie’s TV crush.
Once the not-so-formal formalities were complete, guests mingled in the bar before heading up to a huge, dome-ceilinged room decked out with twinkling fairy lights and white drapes. Here, celebrity pals including former Corrie actress Eva Pope, Slade frontman Noddy Holder, ex-footballer Willie Morgan and This Morning therapists Nik and Eva Speakman enjoyed a mouthwatering buffet.
The highlight of the reception? Best man Simon’s hilarious yet emotional speech, which included a rather saucy anecdote about Charlie’s days in theatre.
Later, Kym thrilled guests when she took to the mic to perform her former band Hear’Say’s chart-topping hit Pure & Simple during a round of celebrity karaoke.
Three days after their magical day, we caught up with the couple during their honeymoon in Portugal, where Charlie and Debbie revealed which big name stars sadly couldn’t make it to their big day, how it was Debbie’s dream to be “married in OK ! magazine” and why her wedding outfit really was a dream come true…
Congratulations on your fabulous wedding! Were either of you nervous on the big day?
Debbie: One minute I was nervous, then the next I was fine. But everyone made me feel so at home. I’ve never felt so loved in all of my life.
Charlie: I just wanted to get on with it. Getting actors together is like herding cats. We could have done the wedding two weeks ago, but we had to see who could make it. On the day of the wedding, when we were preparing to fly in the helicopter, I was fed up with waiting – it couldn’t happen quick enough for me.
Charlie, how did you feel when you saw Debbie walking down the aisle?
Charlie: When you’ve been in love with someone for so long – 22 years – there’s still that excitement of waiting to see her, and Debbie looked extraordinary and very beautiful. It was a wonderful moment when she walked down the aisle. I shed a tear.
Debbie: I had a wobble when my daughter, Sophia, broke down before we walked into the room. But I knew that very soon the tears would be gone and everyone would just listen to Eamonn and he would make it fun – which he did.
Charlie: We didn’t want our wedding to be solemn – we wanted it to be exciting and a celebration. It was so much fun. I would do it again.
Why was it so important to you to have Eamonn conducting your ceremony?
Charlie: Eamonn and I have been in TV a long time and we’ve become really good friends – we’re very similar human beings. Over the years, Eamonn has participated in lots of ceremonies – including George Best’s funeral – and I couldn’t think of anyone better to oversee our wedding. I’m also terribly aware that Eamonn has had a tough time with his health over the past couple of years, and I felt this would give him a bit of a lift. It transpired he was quite nervous about the whole thing, but he’s messaged us since and said it was one of the best days he’s ever had because everyone was very kind to him.
Simon Gregson was a wonderful best man. Did you enjoy his speech?
Debbie: Simon’s speech was unbelievable. He spends a lot of time at home with us so he knows us really well. He joked about some of the things he was going to say, and I told him, “No, please don’t say things like that.” But he’s a comedian, so it was really funny. But everyone was crying at the emotional parts, too.
Charlie: My great friend Neil Morrissey couldn’t make the wedding as he’s starring in a West End show, so Simon stepped in to fill the best man position – and I wasn’t remotely disappointed. I’ve known Simon since he was 14, he’s a great friend and did a fantastic job.
Why did you decide to finally get married after 22 years together?
Charlie: The truth is, we’ve been in each other’s pockets since the day we met at a club in Wilmslow. We were virtually married anyway and it never really came up in conversation. But then we got engaged at a hotel owned by a friend of mine. I surprised Debbie by getting down on one knee at the bottom of a staircase.
That was more than a decade ago – what made you delay the wedding so long?
Charlie: As strange as it sounds, we kind of forgot about actually tying the knot. But then we met up with a friend – Gaynor Morgan, the daughter of football legend Willie Morgan – and she asked us, “Why don’t you actually get married?” It was a long afternoon of wine and discussion, and we just thought, “You know what? Let’s do it!” So we met with the manager of the wedding venue – recommended to us by Gaynor – and the rest is history. Gaynor coordinated our whole wedding for us. She was fabulous.
Debbie: It has always been my dream to be married in OK! magazine, so when we decided to get married, I thought, “This is it, this is my big chance.”
Debbie, talk us through your wedding outfit…
Debbie: So, it’s actually a funny story. I met Claire King a few months ago and I said, “You know that outfit that you wore as Kim Tate on the horse for her wedding in Emmerdale [in 2022]? That’s exactly what I want.” She gave me the number of the dressmaker, who runs a small business in Rotherham, we had three meetings and she designed the outfit the exact way I wanted it.
That’s incredible. Why was Kim Tate’s outfit such an inspiration?
Debbie: I used to do a lot of horse riding myself when I was younger and, believe it or not, at six years old I drew a picture of myself on a horse wearing the outfit I wore to my wedding. So it really was a dream come true!
How did you choose who to invite to your wedding?
Charlie: It was brilliant to have those people there that came. We’ve known Alison King forever – she’s been fiercely loyal to us. And Claire King we’ve known for a long time, the same with Simon Gregson. I’ve also known Eamonn Holmes for such a while. You can’t invite everybody. Also, you have to be careful about who you pick because – I’m not going to name names – but not everyone I know from that world gets along. So you know, it was really difficult to pick who to invite.
Are there any celebrity pals you wished were there, but couldn’t make it?
Charlie: Yes, plenty. Beverley Callard [Charlie’s on-screen wife, Liz McDonald] couldn’t make it, nor could Sarah Lancashire [barmaid Raquel Watts] or Bill Roache [Ken Barlow]. It’s regrettable that they couldn’t come, but everyone has their commitments, work or otherwise.
Debbie, how did it come about that Alison King was your bridesmaid?
Debbie: I asked her a month ago when we’d both had a few drinks, and she said “absolutely”. But the next day, I had the fear, thinking, “Oh my God.” So I phoned her and said, “You really don’t need to do this,” but she told me, “I will be so upset, don’t say that!” So she was there by my side. We are very, very close.
Did you have fun at the wedding reception?
Charlie: It was a great night – we were going until 4am. We ended up having an after-party with Vicky Entwhistle and a couple of bottles of champagne, and we sat there and chatted until half past four.
Debbie: There wasn’t a divide of celebrities and guests, everyone just mingled together perfectly. It was such a special day.
Tell us how you’re spending your honeymoon?
Debbie: We don’t have any solid plans, except to relax and enjoy our time together. I love going on walks, but Charlie isn’t always keen as he often gets recognised. But he came for a walk along the beach with me this morning, and that was honestly just so special to me.
After more than two decades together, what would you say is the key to a successful relationship?
Charlie: Marriage and relationships that are successful have an awful lot to do with luck. We consider ourselves very lucky. After 22 years, we’re just starting married life, but to be brutally honest, I think we’ve probably been “married” since the day we met. I’ve been married twice before and never thought I’d meet anyone else. But with Debbie, we have a foundation of deep-seated love and attraction. I think you’ve got to fancy your other half. If you do that after 22 years, you’ve got a very, very good recipe for the future – based on the solid foundation of being absolutely nuts about each other.
Debbie: And you should never try to change anyone. Charlie has never told me what to do, where to go, or tried to change me – and I’ve never tried to change Charlie.
Speaking of the future, do you see yourself returning to Coronation Street, Charlie?
Charlie: When it comes to the character of Jim McDonald, in the current socio-political way we live at the moment, I’m not sure that Jim would fit in at this particular moment. However, Steve McDonald is still there and, honestly, I would bite their arm off if Coronation Street asked me to come back, because they write terribly well for me.
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