Yate the Entertainer. Eating places in the centre include McDonald's, Boswells and Wetherspoons. During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, the shopping centre hosted Yate’s annual festival. On opening day a celebrity launched the festival by releasing balloons and stayed to sign autographs. Celebrities have included Carole Lee Scott, in character as Grotbags (from Rod Hull and Emu's enemy), Timmy Mallett, Keith Chegwin, Ross Kemp ("EastEnders"<nowiki>'</nowiki> Grant Mitchell), Ken Morley ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Reg Holdsworth), David Neilson ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Roy Cropper), Beverley Callard ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Liz McDonald), Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog, and the Milky Bar Kid. The festival also brought
Frank Barlow (Coronation Street) Frank Barlow (Coronation Street) Frank Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Frank Pemberton (1913-1971) As the head of the show's core Barlow family, Frank was one of the original twenty-one characters at the show's inception in 1960, along with wife Ida (Noel Dyson) and sons Ken (William Roache) and David (Alan Rothwell). In his time on "Coronation Street", Frank survived the death of Ida in 1961 and entered into a controversial relationship with younger woman Christine Appleby (Christine Hargreaves). He remained in a prominent role until May 1964, when the character