Is Eileen the new Vera?

After reading some of the comments on this post on t'other blog, I got thinking about Eileen a bit more.

Nurse Florence Ganderpoke remarked that Eileen could be both nasty and nice, which is very true. What suddenly struck me was that there are some similarities between her personality and that of Vera Duckworth. You might not think so initially. After all her life has been very different to Vera's.

Eileen has two sons that she would defend to the death but she also isn't blind to their shortcomings. Vera always seemed to be in denial about Terry's bad side most of the time. But like Vera, Eileen has played housemother to various lodgers, generously opening her home to them. Vera took in Curly and also, later on, Tyrone and Sean has been a mainstay in Eileen's house for years. Eileen has also taken in other waifs and strays, usually girlfriends of Jason's and the occasional boyfriend of Sean's.

Eileen has a generous side, too. But she can also be bitter and grumpy, and yes, nasty. Vera was much the same way. She could insult a friend and neighbour as quickly as blink at them, she could turn on someone she'd previously been close to, and she'd quickly lash out in self defence. Yet Vera had a lot of sympathy in her heart for people that deserved it. I recall when she encountered Steve on the street just after Karen had a miscarraige and then went off the deep end at Tracy and she gathered him in her arms for a hug when he told her.

Vera and Eileen are both very loyal to the ones they love even if they criticise them, too. Eileen has been unlucky in love and Vera might say she was too but we all know she loved Jack, really, but he let her down a lot over the years just the same.

Both women are strong and every time they get knocked back, they get back up and keep on at it. Both are/were pessimistic and tended to have more of a negative outlook on life than a positive one.

Of course there are more differences than similarities, I suppose, but the nasty/nice combination struck me as very much like Vera was.

Character Study: Eileen Grimshaw

One of my favourite characters is Eileen Grimshaw. She's sarcastic, senstive, strong, usually sensible (us "voices of reason" have to stick together) and she's the kind of mate many of us women would love to have.

She's the heart and soul of the taxi office and a fiercely loyal friend and mother. We don't know a lot about Eileen Grimshaw's formative years though we do know her father seduced her best schoolmate, Paula Carp and it broke up her parents' marraige. Eileen never knew what happened and her mother's bitterness sent Eileen to the side of her feckless father. It was only when she discovered what happened a couple of years ago and discovered that not only was there a fling, there was a child, that Eileen turned against her father and regretted that she and her mother never really made up before her mother's death.

We do know that she has had a string of bad relationships, resulting in two lads who each had a different father. She brought them up on her own because their dads were feckless and not much good. Jason's dad, Tony, has popped in and out of his life but it didn't seem like Todd's father could ever be bothered. Eileen is a survivor who keeps pulling herself back up when she's been knocked back because that's just what you do.

Eileen Grimshaw was hired by Vikram to work at the taxi company and she was an instant hit. The chemistry between her and her coworkers/bosses was immediately obvious. Eileen is reliable and dependable.

Her most prevalent personality trait is her fiercely protective love for her sons. She'll do anything for her lads to help them along or give them whatever start she can in life. She's even gone into serious financial debt to give them what she could, Jason, a car and Todd, a computer. She nearly went to prison when her ex, Tony, stole money from the cab firm and she was erroneously accused of it. She was in dire financial straits and was the logical suspect though this hurt her deeply. She thought her boss, Steve McDonald, would have more trust in her.

She's going to be in another financial crunch now that she's bought Number 11 and will be caught with her hand in Owen Armstrong's accounts in an impulse of desperation. 

Eileen Vs. Gail Platt

Eileen's ongoing feud with Gail Platt stems from Gail's daughter Sarah's dealings with both of her sons. When it looked like Todd was headed to Oxford or Cambridge, Eileen was bursting at the seams with pride. The higher they rise, the harder they fall and Eileen was horrified when Todd walked out of his exams and decided to move in with girlfriend Sarah Platt. Eileen saw Sarah as a slapper looking for a meal ticket for her and her little girl and definitely not good enough for her Todd. She blamed Sarah for leading Todd away from the path to academia and it all went downhill from there. Eileen's view is that Sarah trapped Todd into a relationship and if that hadn't happened, Todd wouldn't have left town.

Eileen fought with Todd, Sarah and Sarah's mother Gail to no avail. Todd and Sarah were determined to be together. It was one of Eileen's most bitter disappointments. Even the thought of them having a baby didn't really soothe her feathers. It only meant that Todd would be further tied down. She was still genuinely bereft when the baby was born early and died. It was preceeded by the revelation that Todd was gay but Eileen, though surprised, stoutly defended her son to all and sundry, including Jason who initially rejected his brother. When it all hit the fan, and after the baby died, Todd decided he had to leave Weatherfield and moved to London. Eileen misses him terribly but does visit him on occasion.

Sarah then proceeded to pursue Jason and lure him away from that nice Violet Wilson whom Eileen grew to love as a daughter. Sarah led Jason along a merry path of ups and downs but Jason wasn't completely blameless either, having stood up Sarah at the altar once. More fodder for the feud. Both Gail and Eileen seemed to hold the foibles of their children against each other. Eileen was resigned that Jason and Sarah were getting married on the second try. Jason and Todd eventually made peace with each other even though Jason ended up with Todd's ex, Sarah.

Todd even came home to attend the wedding though that marraige was short lived (Eileen was probably the only one that wasn't surprised). Alas, Sarah let Jason down and showed herself up to be immature and spiteful, just as Eileen always believed. She's more relieved than anyone that Jason is finally free of Sarah's clutches. Eileen and Gail will never be friends, and there seems destined to always been a barbed wire fence between them to argue over.
She liked Jason's subsequent girlfriends, Becky and Tina, a lot more but I think Rosie Webster has Eileen rolling her eyes.

Children and Family

She's usually been supportive of her sons' endeavors when she believes it's going to be the right thing for them. When we first met Jason, he was training to be an Olympic athelete hopeful and Todd was still in school. Jason wasn't as academically adept as Todd so Eileen knew he'd have to find his own way in the world. She's generally been behind him with most of the jobs he's had though gets frustrated when his love life has landed him in hot water, more than once.

Not that long ago, it seemed his love life had come back to haunt him when a young woman handed over a baby girl and said it was Jason's. Eileen latched on to the child and tried to do the right thing. She tried to get Jason to do the right thing too and was very hurt when he really didn't want to have much to do with the baby. Eventually, the mother of the baby realized that builder Charlie Stubbs was actually the father and she took the baby back, breaking Eileen's heart at the loss of what she had assumed was her granddaughter.

Todd now lives in London but Eileen takes regular trips to see him and she's always there to help Jason when possible. She even lent him the cash for a downpayment on the flat that he and Tina restored for sale. now it's rubble at the end of the street, we can only hope it was insured!

She discovered that local factory worker Julie Carp is actually her half sister and though it was a rocky road, she and Julie seem to have come to terms with it and are forging a friendship.

Love Life

One of Eileen's downfalls is her lack of self esteem. This is probably what leads her into more dead end relationships than anything. She is tall and heavy set, she knows that she doesn't have much education and she seems to settle for any man that shows her a bit of attention for all the wrong reasons. She doesn't seem to believe she's good enough for a really decent man. A lovely man that Eileen was involved with was Dennis Stringer. Unfortunately he, like most men in her life, had feet of clay. He fell in love with Janice Battersby but his life was cut tragically short when he tried to stop his mate Les from killing himself and ended up dead himself after a car crash taking Les to hospital.

Even the nice guys end up being the wrong guys, often due to circumstances beyond their control. One such man was Ed Jackson, a quiet church-goer that befriended Emily Bishop. He had a lot of baggage but kept it to himself at first. He had amends to make and couldn't talk about it until he'd done that. Turns out he was the man who (accidentally) killed Ernest Bishop. Eileen was more upset that he kept it from her and her friend, I think, than the actual crime. Emily eventually forgave him though it was difficult and Ed left the Street to start somewhere fresh and new.

Another nice man was neighbour Jerry Morton who developed feelings for Eileen while she was glowing under the brazen chat up lines of married taxi cab punter, Pat. yes, again...married man, unavailable. She knew he was, but went with him anyway. She soon realized her error and they finished. After a break in Malta, she started to see Jerry in a new light but Jerry's life was filled with children and obligations and they never had time for themselves. It seemed a no-win situation and she and Jerry decided that platonic was the only relationship that was going to work for them.

Yet another nice guy was Jesse. Jesse was an electrician by day and a children's entertainer by night. He made Eileen laugh but has had issues with mother's apron strings and his attachement to John the Parrot seemed to take priority as well. He seemed to make everything and everyone else a priority over her. He had to go, too.

Housemother

Years ago, Emily Bishop was the landlady and substitute mum for many a young lodger. Eileen has taken over that role. She's seen quite a few young folks take refuge under her roof especially over the last few years. Violet Wilson was one of the first of Jason's girlfriends to share his room in Number 11 but not the last. Becky Granger has been in residence as has Tina McIntyre and most recently, Rosie Webster.

Sean Tully came along and has turned into a long time lodger on a bed in the front rarely-seen room. Vi's sister Lauren stayed for a short while as well and Sean's former boyfriend, Marcus, resided under the Grimshaw roof as well. Other short term guests included Steve McDonald on a temporary break from his now ex-wife Karen. Eileen has a lot of love to give and since her own lads have needed her less, it spills over to her lodgers whom she takes under her wing.

Friendships

For the longest time, Eileen didn't really seem to have that many women as friends. She was friendly with the ladies on the street but the girly nights out or advice sessions over a pot of tea or bottle of wine were few and far between. Her friends seemed to be mainly men or the various lodgers who have been more like adopted children. Now, however, we see her getting a bit closer to Deirdre and Liz and before that, Frankie Baldwin. It's always enjoyable to see the women in fits of laughter over the foibles of one man or another, passing the wine bottle back and forth and enjoying the supportive company of like minded females.

Eileen's friendship with her bosses, Steve and Lloyd, is just as solid and I think Steve is quite possibly her best friend. They support each other and care for each other (and take the pi$$ out of each other too which is always fun to watch).

Eileen was hugely fond of Ashley and Claire as well, more in a motherly way than in a peer way. She and Jerry helped redecorate their house after a fire and she's often taken the boys under her wing to help out. She and Claire both work at Streetcars and have bonded over the switchboard. 

I really think Eileen deserves a truly nice man that can instill confidence in her, who doesn't drag her down with his baggage, and who treats her like a queen. Jesse wasn't that man and her crush on builder Owen was unrequited and in fact, working for him is going to get her in a lot of hot water. I love Eileen and Sue Cleaver, who plays her. Long may she reign!

The State of the Street - June

I really fail to see what Molly sees in Kevin! I've been dreading this thing between Kevin and Molly, I really have. If they had to do it, couldn't they just have Kevin with a one-sided crush and Molly firmly kicking him into touch? A crush, I can understand that happening. It can happen to anyone. Molly is loyal and she loves Tyrone and even him having trouble accepting Jack's friendship with Connie shouldn't be enough to push her into his best friend's coveralls, not even on a soap! But the more I think of it, you know... Molly does have form being the "other woman". She chased Kirk trying to take him off Fiz and she chased Tyrone as well, when he was still keen on Maria so maybe it's not so out of character after all! And Tyrone... Well I understand that he thinks the world of Jack and he misses Vera terribly but he has to understand that life moves on and he should be glad Jack is happy.

David set up Gary over the burglary and the Windasses try to band together with fake alibis, as per usual, until there's more serious charges then Len cuts and runs. You know, Gary as a character is settling in a bit and i do like Anna but the other two, Eddie and Len, can go pound sand and I don't think the family has gelled at all. Maybe that's why Len has already been chucked out of the house by his brother. I don't foresee them lasting the year out. Ted of course is ever the Voice of Reason, willing to forgive anyone (easy for him to say knowing it was David that set it all up and he wasn't about to turn David in, was he?)

A new romance gives Sue Cleaver some good storylines and this has been a good year for her. Nice to see Eileen having a bit of a romance for a change. It's probably not going to be a long term thing, Eileen is one of Corrie's love losers but wouldn't it be nice if this turned into the love of her life? It's also nice to see Jack finding some companionship as well. It's been a good year for all the senior cast members, really. Ken and Deirdre, Rita, Norris, Jack, Bill, and even Emily though she's mostly been the Greek chorus to everyone else's storyline but at least we've seen more of her. The only one that hasn't had a lot of storyline of that generation is Audrey who's been peripheral to things since she and Bill broke up, for the most part.

Pity we have to balance it out with a ludicrously contrived storyline about Stape giving Rosie the procedes from the sale of his granny's house just as Luke came up with an investment scheme for the staff! And by the way, Helen Flanagan's habit of delivering her lines in what she thinks is "uppity" and "snippy" is just speed-speaking and you can't understand half of what she's saying. You can still portray snotty and speak a little bit slower. In fact, it would make the condescension stand out more.

I think Fiz really has hit bottom, proposing to John. What have they done to this once-sparky redhead? I know i've said it before but it bears repeating. What are they doing to this character!!!

Further to the question about why Hayley hasn't had a storyline,Why did it take Hayley months to rip Pam an new one over selling sandwiches to the whole neighbourhood? Even Roy hadn't made any mention of it though the only reaction Hayley's had was a bit of a sneer once up until the last of June. Well leave it to Hayley to compromise instead of bringing the wrath of Health and Safety on Pam's head.

I'm continuing to enjoy Peter's struggle with alchohol. Um, let me put that another way. I'm enjoying the storylines and the performances. At the same time that Peter is struggling with recovery, Joe is sinking into the depths of prescription pain killer addiction. Another good performance here too. Doesn't Joe have a nasty mouth on him sometimes, though? But neither of them has been seen struggling later in June. I expect Joe's story will be ramping up now that Peter is coming to terms with his problem.

A refeshing change. Michelle had two fellas after her and didn't pick either one. Sensibly, she knew Peter still had a thing for Leanne and she wasn't over Steve. (But you know the best way to get over a fella is to get under one or two new ones! I guess that didn't work so well for her!) She's gone for awhile (while the actress gets new knockers and I guess we'll not see too much of Ryan either. But as I blogged over here, I'm guessing she'll be back early, pregnant and won't know who the father is.

It's so awesome watching Tony, the control freak, losing his marbles little by little though he's been pretty stable lately. We know that exposing his misdeeds are going to be at the end of it all. Is he really falling for Maria, or is it another move in his master plan to win her away from her suspicions? Natasha was just a diversion. I maintain that Tony didn't feel guilty about killing Liam but he felt horribly guilty when he realized Maria was pregnant and that might be his one glimmer of redemption. HE'll still have to pay for his misdeeds at some point. Murderers cannot be seen to get away with their crime. Once Carla comes back, she'll make sure Tony pays.

Poppy all of a sudden can't get along with Betty who takes advantage who probably has been doing that for the last 15 years, I suppose, but firing Betty?!!! She can't get away with that. Betty comes with the pub, everyone knows that! When it comes down to an ultimatum, and without Liz there to back up her mate, Betty rules the roost because heaven knows Steve hasn't got the gumption to smack Betty down and he knows that though the younger punters might not appreciate her, all the regulars certainly do and you don't drive your regulars away, do you? What gets me is that Poppy was a perfectly reasonable person until the last few weeks. The Personality Transplant Fairies whacked her on the head because they have to have a reason for her to never darken the Rovers' door again.

Eileen, Loser in Love

It doesn't usually behoove soaps to have happy couples. There's no drama in that. Even Coronation Street's happiest couple, Roy and Hayley, have had their trouble and strife and the newlyweds, Tyrone and Molly, are about to have an upset too which I personally think is a terrible thing to do to them!. Some characters seem to be perennially losers in love. Curly Watts was one, and so was Fred "Serial Proposer" Elliot. The irony was, when Fred finally seemed to find the right one, he died on his wedding day!

That brings me to Eileen. Eileen has always been portrayed as a Love Loser. She always talked about how she could never keep a man in her back history. We've seen her have several romances over the years and they all ended badly. Dennis Stringer left her for Janice Battersby, Phil the Foot Doctor preferred Gail, Jerry Morton had too much family to take care of and Pat was a love rat from the get go (said he was married but he wasn't, just pretended so that all of the women he was after wouldn't get to close!). Now, we hear that the fella that played the cowboy to Eileen's Indian maiden is coming back. That was Jesse, if you will recall. His wife had just left him and the act in the lurch.

There was a spark between them but Jesse had other professional committments. He's going to come back and into Eileen's life. Only, he's being played by a well known actor, John Thompson which pretty much guarantees he's not going to be joining the cast as a permanent fixture. That means Eileen is going to lose out again and that makes me very sad.

Why can't they let her have a fella for at least more than a few months? Have someone want to marry her (and isn't looking for a "green card" to stay in the country). Have someone sweep her off her feet (and not have a wife in Leeds and another one in Prestwich). Even her rival, Gail Platt, gets to have real romances even if they are serial killers or prescription drug addicts!

Maybe they'll have this romance go a little distance. Maybe Eileen could have a relationship with Jesse even though he's off doing his children's act all over the country. She could go visit him where he's working. He could be a recurring character and visit her and he wouldn't even have to be on screen. They could just write her away for a "dirty weekend" in a nice hotel in town or at his flat. We could see her getting to terms with a computer and chatting to him online with a webcam. Why not?

I have always loved the character and Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen, is really brilliant. whether she's being sarcastic, or covering up a deep hurt, whether she's defending her chicks or berating them for another stupid move (usually Jason), whether she's dealing with her whole world turned upside down or she's lending a shoulder to a friend, Eileen has been one of Coronation Street's real strengths. Long may she rule the roost!

The State of the Street - May

May's been quite a month for Norris, hasn't it? All along, Mary's been giving him the glad eye and it's been clear to everyone that she fancied the pants off him. It ended badly when she finally tried the ultimate seduction, in a motor home of all places, and it didn't go well at all. Off she drove into the adventure of her life, alone. Norris really doesn't have a traveler's heart, you know? Change and spontenaity, thy names are not "Norris". He has a soft spot for Rita and I think he only wanted to leave because she was involved with Colin which put Norris' nose out of joint. I'll miss Mary. She was absolutely, brilliantly off the wall, especially after her unseen mother died. At one point, she told Emily there were times she could have cheerfully strangled her mother. I wonder.....

And now he probably *really* wishes he'd gone off with Mary since his long lost older half-brother has shown up. Did I hear correctly? Was Ramsay adopted out? Norris said that when Ramsay appeared in his mother's life, that's what sent Mrs. Cole into a tizzy, so much so that she died..... a year later! I think it's not about Norris resenting Ramsay for the death of their mother, I think it's about Norris resenting Ramsay for taking her attention away from him! It's also about that thing about Norris not taking change very well. And it's about to happen all over again as Ramsay becomes friends with Emily and Rita, whom Norris regards as *his* friends and he is not about to take a usurpation lying down.

The fallout from the reveal that Colin fathered Julie and took advantage of a 14 year old Paula took up most of May. On one level, this had a definite "ick" factor, even more than Stape and Rosie's romps. These things happen and don't come out for years, if ever, in a lot of cases. I can picture how it happened, can't you? A young girl, full of hormones, trying out her kitten claws and being flattered by the attentions of a handsome older man. But that older man should have known better. When it call came out, Colin still didn't *really* seem to think he did anything all that wrong because, in his view, Paula was leading him on, his vanity and ego being as large as it ever was. Paula, though it looked to be out of spite, decided to go to the police. But that's exactly what she should do though the stress of it caused Colin to have another stroke and die. I felt sorry that he died but I didn't feel one bit sorry for his situation. I did feel sorry for Eileen having to cope with it all, not just the shock and revelation but the gossip and jokes at her father's expense. They'll all dine out on that one for a long time, I should imagine.

What it's going to do is give us a lot of good storyline between Eileen and Julie. I don't think Paula is going to be a long term character but she and Julie have a lot of stuff to deal with and work through. Julie has always been overly emotional and impulsive, the exact opposite of Eileen. Julie is going to want the storybook family and Eileen is going to put her walls up firmly. On the surface they have nothing in common and each is going to irritate the other to the eye teeth. At least, Julie is irritating Eileen. ("Eidelweiss"! Can't you just see Julie in leiderhosen leaping around a mountain meadow singing Do Re Mi?) Eventually, I'm sure they'll find a way to be sisters but it's going to be a bumpy road. I've really enjoyed the performances, though. Eileen only shows her feelings when alone or with trusted friends. Julie is over the top, to be a strong contrast to Eileen, and she wears her heart on her sleeve, her collar and waves it overhead on a big, bold flag.

Ken bottled it, just like I knew he would. He didn't have the nerve to tell Deirdre to her face and he didn't have the nerve to tell Martha to her face either. He did exactly what Peter said he'd do and run with his tail between his legs. Martha was supposedly his soulmate but he still couldn't bring himself to leave the familiar, just like every other time he'd had an affair.

He tried to justify his actions to Peter by saying his marraige was one of convenience, (but only when it's been convenient for him!). He gave Deirdre the letter and she wasn't really surprised. He didn't think she should know, he just wanted to feel less guilty. Oh, but it's ok, because he chose her over his soul mate. Yeah. *that's* really going to make her feel better! I really enjoyed his confrontations with Peter, I really did. Peter's got his measure and he was right. This whole storyline was absolute top stuff! Now he and Deirdre are at verbal war. I am *so* enjoying seeing Deirdre finally fight back! Best line ever? Ken "and yes.... I need you" Deirdre "But do *I* need you?" I cheered. I really did!

Peter and Luke both fancy Michelle who seems set to run off for a temporary absence. Peter's drinking problem is lurking in the background and what is it about bad boys anyway? Luke Strong is a hero, he's handsome, he's up front and seems honest and upright. Peter has more baggage than Piccadilly Station's Left Luggage. From what I know, Peter's drinking problems aren't over and he's going to realize he can't do it on his own. I'm glad of that, it's far more realistic. Corrie never really has explored alcoholism before. Sometimes people would have a very short term drink problem but then got over it and were able to have booze when they liked thereafter. Ivy Tilsley comes to mind. Leanne was an instant cocaine addict and though successfully kicked it, still finds she's able to have alcohol and not worry about being tempted to drink to excess. Anyway, I look forward to seeing the rest of this play out for Peter but I wish Michelle would fancy Luke instead of Peter. Wait, no I don't. He deserves better! ;o)

Tara really wreaked havoc on poor old Dev, didn't she? And I really think she went way too far, too. Yes Dev should have come clean but he didn't and Poppy, breaking the barmaid code (off with her head!), spilled the beans and Tara started plotting. Her elaborate revenge scheme ended up with little Simon pointing out that the retail Emperor had no clothes on! And if I lived in any of those posh flats, I'd be a bit miffed that this soft-core wall hanging was covering my windows. Dev's not the only resident, Tony lives there and I think Luke does too. There must be a few others. Tara is her mother's daughter, though, and no doubt she got her vindictiveness from Nina. Glad to see the back of her.

Dastardly David's back again. You didn't think his psycho days were over do you? He's nicking Joe's pain pills, probably a good thing considering Joe's growing addiction to them. He's slowly setting up Gary for another round with the cops but David isn't as smart as he thinks he is. It's a soap rule, bad guys always get caught. Eventually.

So when is Tony Gordon going to pay for killing the lovely Liam?