The Road to Coronation Street

Daran Little was the Coronation Street archivist for many years and he also wrote a half dozen books about the Street and it's history, it's characters and the show's history in general. He was also a Corrie scriptwriter for awhile and turned out some wonderful stuff. He loves the show and knows it probably better than almost anyone barring Tony Warren, i suppose. He's written a very special drama about how Coronation Street came to be on television back in 1960 and it's called The Road to Coronation Street.

It aired on BBC4 last night. Why ITV didn't take it and run with it, I don't know. They missed the boat on that one but BBC sure did a bang up job with the production and casting. Daran's script was amazing and just so right, so perfect! It told the story of how Tony Warren came to write it and the fight he and Harry Elton gave ITV's owners to get it on the air on December 9, 1960. They showed the auditions for some of the major characters, too.

When the casting was announced months ago, the most controversial part went to Jessie Wallace who would play legendary Pat Phoenix, very big stilettos to fill. Everyone was dubious. How could "Kat Slater", the character from Eastenders that she played, be Elsie Tanner? It must be hard to be an actor who gets so well known for a particular character. How do you shake that off? It's not always easy and not always possible. Very possibly why we haven't really seen Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin) in much since he left Corrie.

Jessie was very well known for gobby chav, Kat, a cockney Eastender. How could she possibly embody the spirit of Northern actress Elsie Tanner? But...over the last few weeks since the media has been reviewing the dvd before it aired, word has been leaking out. Whispers of "Awesome" and "eerie" and "spot on" have been floating about from reviewers (Mirror's review here and one from the Guardian here). Even writer Ian Wylie thought it was great! Could she really be that good? She herself knew there would be a lot of attention on her in particular, more than all the other characters/actors and she worked hard to get it right.

And she did get it right, I'm relieved to say. I'm always a bit skeptical about reviewers but in this they all agree and they're right. Jessie Wallace really did bring Pat Pheonix back to life. She really did bring the essence of the actress back to the screen and was entirely believable. She didn't overegg the pudding and put on too strong an accent. After all, Pat herself was an actor, she wouldn't have had as strong an accent as Elsie, her character, often did. She played it with a light but firm hand and that's why it worked. She didn't go over the top with flash and attitude, she gave it just enough so that it was definably Pat but not a stereotype of her. And as i read in one of the comments here, after all the insistence by Tony Warren that they only use Northern actors, it is rather ironic that it was a London actor that really brought Pat Phoenix back to life!

The other casting was really good, too. Probably the most inspired was casting William Roache's son, James, to play his own father. William, of course, has been playing Ken Barlow for 50 years. James looks very much like his father, too, and since he knows the man so well, and could talk to him at length about what it was like, he had a pretty good chance of getting it nailed and I think he did very well. He actually blogged about his experience on the BBC tv site and said he was quite nervous he might not get it right but he needn't fear. Celia Imrie as Doris Speed was perfect as was Lynda Baron as Ena Sharples, who was cast at the last minute.

David Dawson plays the central character, the pivotal Tony Warren who was a young writer who used to be a child actor. His acting career seems to be at an end but his writing career could just take off. He's certainly confident, cheeky, and even a bit cocky and has the determination to succeed. He's bored writing run of the mill scripts and persuades producer Harry Elton (Canadian content!) to let him write a script about something he knows about, the North, Manchester, and strong women. Tony Warren was openly gay which wasn't something you saw much 50 years ago and Dawson played it with just the right touch so it was obvious but not "in your face obvious". He was perfect and apparently the real Tony approved! I think he deserves more than one award for this performance.

One of my favourite scenes was during Pat Phoenix's audition when she started with the scene where she accuses her son of stealing money from her purse. Tony took Dennis Tanner's lines and the chemistry between the two blossomed and it was clear that Tony did have the acting chops still in him. The immersed themselves in the lines and it was no wonder she passed the audition with flying colours!

The whole cast was so well performed and the look and feel of it was maybe a bit glossier than the real 1960 might have been but it certainly felt the part. They found some great locations and even used the Victoria Street part of the ITV outdoor set in one night shot of "Tony" and "Elsie" dancing on the cobbles. You could just see the bright blue of the kebab shop on one side. The clothes, hair and makeup were also very good.

A few really nice touches: During the show, as they cast another character, someone would pin the publicity head shot up on a bulletin board. You could see all of the cast photos up there by the time the show actually went out live. At the very end, the camara pulled back from Tony Warren who was watching the show in his office to the bulletin board/wall and the photos were now of the real original actors, not the ones from this production. When you could hear the first episode on televisions, or through the production booth, though you didn't see it, it was actually the original soundtrack and actors from the 1960 broadcast, not the ones from this production. And for the end credits, they showed photos of the real actors with the name and name of actor who played them for this production.

I'm still basking in the afterglow. I'm definitely going to be watching it again and again. Unfortunately, living outside the U.K. i have to resort to downloading since i can't even access the BBC iPlayer easily. I don't know if the show will be shown elsewhere but i hope for all the Corrie fans outside the U.K. that it does. I also hope the BBC has the sense to release it on DVD.

Keeping a list of other reviews when i see them...
New Statesman
End of Show (about David Dawson)
A Post Modernist view of The Road with links to other reviews in this context

Adding this... Road to Coronation Street is available on DVD. In Canada, you can get it online at Amazon  or Chapters Indigo. I'm pretty sure you can get it in retail stores as well, though I haven't actually gone looking.

State of the Street: August 2010

Fiz ... Stape... Fiz.... Stape.... Man, did it ever hit the fan, didn't it? Colin's dead, John and Charlotte covered it up and poor old Colin got covered up permanently. By the laws of soaps, it has to come out and even if he didn't kill Colin, covering it all up has to be worth a stint in the nick. Please? Please get him out of Fiz's life? Unfortunately, she was just on the verge of leaving him when she discovered she's pregnant. One last chance? I don't know how she could even consider it. He's done nothing but lie to her and about really big stuff, too. He's done what he wanted with complete disregard to her. Some role model he's going to make for a kid! And he was all ready to tell her the whole truth and what happens? She tells him about the baby and he clams up, promising never to lie to her again. Except not telling isn't the same as a lie is it? Idiot!!!!

Dev is being officious and sanctimonious as always. He agreed to have Claire nanny the kids but doesn't like it when she looks after other kids, too, in his house. He expects her to do all the housework. He doesn't understand he's a prize wally, does he? At the end of the month he's castigating Claire's reputation after his little Aadi was hurt and it certainly wasn't her fault! It wouldn't even have mattered if she'd been there instead of Sophie and Sian, the little boys were tumbling and Aadi got hurt. Would have happened anyway!

Underworld was rebuilt lickety split in record time. Owen is the new builder on the street and really, Bill is getting a bit past it and should be enjoying his retirement. Rita said Owen reminds her of Len Fairclough and he does a bit. Rough and ready but not a bad sort, really. He's bought the builder's yard too. I really think it's about time Bill retired anyway and it seems to mean that Owen is here to stay for awhile. He's flirting and dating Eileen but his eye is really on Liz and i think he's got a bit of that edgy air about him, like Jim had. This might actually be the way that Liz can finally get over Jim because you know, she never really has, has she?



I do feel sorry for Audrey. Yes, she was a foolish woman trusting Slick Sam but she didn't have any reason not to trust him. Well aside from the fact that he was a male escort! Did she really expect him to be faithful to her? I don't know what he did with all the money he should have made, even just escorting should have been good business and add on to that scamming the occasional rich widow? Humiliating as it was, Audrey was right, better find out now than be stuck in a foreign country.

I'm a bit surprised that Lewis didn't take Audrey's 100 grand in the end though she still found out the hard truth the hard way. At least she can pay back the loan against the house but she's going to have a few wounds to lick. I really enjoyed this storyline, and it's always so great to have the senior members of the cast in love stories even if they do sometimes end badly! It's too bad the actor that plays Ted has been unavailable because Ted would have seen right through Lewis and been Audrey's voice of reason!

And there he was using even more foolish Deirdre to scam the betting shop! That was quite funny really. Poor old Diddery! I think she and Ken are just as bad as each other, really. Both longing for excitement but neither quite brave enough to really take the bull by the horns and go get it. The Barlows have a few hart truths to face too. Ken thinks it's a different situation than his with Martha but really, it's not. He was ready to run off and so was Deirdre if the opportunity came up, both with someone that made them feel special and exciting.

Natasha pushed and pushed, she rented the flat and that pushed Nick right over the edge. She's dumped. She's pregnant. Oh no, not anymore, she's not. But Wait! He wants her back! Doh! She thought they're a brilliant fit, only he couldn't see it. I think he's supposed to see it, too, not date you for weeks and months and still not seeing it. He admitted to Leanne he doesn't love Natasha but maybe he thinks he can right the wrong he did Leanne when he made her get an abortion by being a dad this time around. He will end up saying he loves her but he doesn't, really.

And i really like that they've shown Leanne still finding that hurt spot leftover from when she was married to Nick. It doesn't mean she still loves him because i'm sure she doesn't but you just don't always get over that pain. It hides and then rears it's ugly head when you least expect it. I really hope they keep Peter and Leanne together though i do expect it will be a bumpy ride. Leanne knows the truth and Fiz is going to figure it out too and it's going to come out sooner than later. Poor obsessed Natasha is going to get very hurt and I have a feeling the traditional woman scorned is going to lash out and lash out big.

Steve and Becky got turned down for adoption, not because they'd be crap parents but because they haven't been in a stable relationship long enough and it was too soon after her miscarraiges. Becky of course, is going to blame herself no matter what Steve or anyone else says and threatening the panel on the way out probably didn't help matters, but it turned out to be her half sister that castigated her reputation to the Social that did the most damage, someone she hasn't seen in years. There has been no mention whatsoever of a sister until now but then Becky didn't tell the panel about her either. They found her and it turned out badly.

I was skeptical of yet another mardy baby sister, having been burned with the Violet-Lauren disaster but the actress playing Kylie, Paula Lane, is really good so it seems the character might not be quite so annoying as Lauren was. Time will tell and I reckon her little boy, Max, is going to end up under Steve and Becky's care at some point.

And we end with the wedding of the year, nearly scuppered by Mad Mary who threw herself into the wedding planning, in lieu of her own dashed hopes and dreams. She was so pushy and so overwhelming that even Hayley managed to stand up to her and reject her. Hayley did try, though, she invited Mary to the hen night but her heart wasn't in it and Mary could tell. (Wasn't the hen night fab??) Mary took her revenge by uncoupling the train car but the efforts of Fiz and Becky got Hayley to the venue only a little late and the Croppers are Croppers for real now!

Roy and Hayley's Wedding Day

Oh I just have to do this! There are too many photos to post it on t'other blog so i'm going to do my own screen caps and photos from the wonderful Roy and Hayley wedding!

We start off on the Street where Mary, having shot herself in the foot with her over-enthusiasm, has kept herself from the wedding. She walks off in a snit and later follows the wedding guest bus like Jaws stalking prey.

The bus, of course, filled with well wishes. Except for Norris! What was his problem? He groused and complained all day long! Why he bothered going, I don't know!

Roy's surprise was the fulfillment of a boyhood dream! He got to drive the East Lancashire steam train and all the guests traveled in the train to the venue.

The Bride was in the last car with her bridesmaids. 

But alas, Mary hauled  coupling out of the last car and stranded them in the countryside. Roy waited and worried at the altar.

Never fear though, Fiz and Becky to the rescue (should Fiz be doing that while pregnant? Hope she's ok!) 

Meanwhile, on the train, the tension between Sally and Claire erupted! There can never be a wedding without drama on Coronation Street!

They managed to get her to the "church" just a bit late. Hayley came down the aisle lined with the choir serenading her procession to a waiting Roy. 

And they are pronounced Man and Wife!

Let the reception begin! First, Roy's speech to the bridesmaids...and later had everyone in tears with his speech of devotion to his Hayley

"The World can change it's rules, it's laws and it's opinions as frequently as it chooses. But I will remain standing beside you. That will not change."

The bridesmaids...That would be Stinky and Blotchy to you and me!

Aw bless em! And Hayley, too, made a speech. She said she felt very lucky and very special!

The guests applauded! Everyone is so very happy for Roy and Hayley!

Their first dance was also to the dulcet tones of the choir!
(Some of you may spot a familiar face sitting at the table beside the bloke in blue! She's a talented friend of mine called Annie!)

Traditional confetti accompanies them out the door.

It says it all! 

The photos are, of course, all copyright ITV.

Remember the past but forget some of it

A blog post over here asks the readers how they think the new producer of Coronation Street is doing so far. Each new producer brings their own flavour to Coronation Street. Most producers seem to do some really good things and a few plonkers in their term in charge. I have no doubt current boss Phil Collinson will do the same. He's starting off well but really, he's mainly continuing on storylines that were started before he was on board even though his name is now on the screen as producer. The rest of the year will start to see his ideas and creations and that will start telling the tale. One thing he has to do, though, is make sure the rich history is not forgotten. I realize he wants to look forward but you can't just ignore the past, either.

Coronation Street has always been good with references to the past. An old character such as Annie Walker or Hilda Ogden gets a mention now and then. Just the other day, Kevin Webster came out with something that Hilda was famous for but i don't know how many people caught it. He said "The world's your lobster"! I enjoy historical references. That's how people talk, they talk about their pasts and people they knew and things that happened.

I'll be very disappointed if, after the upcoming tram crash, there is no mention of the one in the 1960s. Ken and Emily would certainly remember it. Peter would have only been small but he may remember, too, and any of the other older characters, though not living on Coronation Street should certainly remember reading about a disaster of that proportion in the newspaper (Jack Duckworth, Rita Sullivan, Audrey Roberts, Gail Platt, Deirdre Barlow to name a few long time Weatherfield residents).

One storyline i thought was forgotten was the one where Violet Wilson had Sean's son but they have revived that recently and it was nice to see Sean showing pictures of him with Dylan on a weekend trip to London. Hayley and Roy recently went to Romania to the wedding of former friend and employee Frankie Baldwin (though they missed the wedding). Graeme Proctor pretending to channel the ghost of Fred Elliot was brilliant!

Sometimes, however, there are storylines that are just better off forgotten. Every now and then I hear someone say that it's odd that Michelle's biological son, Alex, is never, ever mentioned. But when that storyline was on, there was nothing but complaints about how badly devised it was, how full of plot holes and people were glad to see the back of it, me included. As much as it's not logical for her never to send a text or mention Alex's birthday in conjunction with Ryan's or for Ryan never to mention he'd seen his biological dad, Nick, it's probably a storyline best forgotten.

Another storyline best forgotten was Hayley's son, Christian. while i thought the storyline, though copied from a Hollywood movie, could have been good and was, in fact, fairly well done at the time, it rewrote history. Hayley told Roy *everything* about her past. It made no sense that she wouldn't have told him that as well at some point. I don't care how they wrote it that the longer she didn't tell him that she'd had sex with her (Harold's) best friend, the harder it would be. It wasn't that big a deal, and even Hayley herself didn't know about the child. But the actress took a year off right at the end of that storyline so it, too, was dropped quickly and permanently. If she hadn't left for awhile, it might have gone on a bit more, with perhaps, an eventual reconciliation even if Christian wasn't to be a regular character. Then Christian would have been a guest at Hayley and Roy's upcoming wedding! Rewriting history annoys me and the end result isn't usually all that successful.

There's going to be another long lost son storyline coming up soon, too. This one involves Ken Barlow and while it does rely on a "Standard Soap Opera Plot", this time around, it kind of makes sense. Consider that Ken Barlow has been putting it around for all of his adult life. There's bound to be an illegitimate child or two, isn't there? Still, did we not see Ken lose his virginity to a librarian? Susan Cunningham, the mother of the new son was his university girlfriend, not a librarian, whose name was Marion Lund according to Corrie.net. Only very, very long time fans may remember that. I only know because i've read it in one of the Daran Little books. So they're rewriting history again. *sigh* But still, it does make sense and seeing William Roach play father and grandfather to his two real life sons might be a bit of a gimmick but i think it is brilliant casting as they do both look like he did in the early 60s. They may not stay as regular characters, most of Ken's children don't after all (Daniel Osborne, anyone? he's as absent as Ferris Bueller!) but chances are good we may get the occasional reference to them. One can only hope.

The worst storyline ever, though (in my not-so-humble opinion), is the infamous "Molvin" affair. Kevin Webster seemed to have a mid-life crisis and flirted with and crushed on cute young Molly, the new wife of Kev's business partner, affable puppy, Tyrone. That part i could understand. Crushes happen and Kevin's wife Sally would test the patience of a saint and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her husband to have flights of fancy. That's where it should have stayed. Molly, barely out of her wedding dress, seemed flattered and seemed to decide to milk it for all it was worth, for the excitement. But it was so out of character for Kevin to persue a woman almost young enough to be his daughter, especially after his daughter was so recently involved with a man not that much younger than Kevin himself. Kevin even went to jail for assaulting said man yet here he is lusting after 20-something Molly? I didn't buy it. The pair of them all loved up and lying to their respective spouses was stomach turning.

Then the classic soap opera plot emerged, Molly's pregnant and doesn't know who the father is. Yes, it has far reaching consequences and will take that storyline into the future but why??? Could we not rely on an old cliche like that? Next thing you know, someone will dredge up that other hoary old soap plot device, amnesia (well they did, when Rita had a breakdown during the Alan Bradley thing but it wasn't true amnesia, not really.) How is that story going to end? Will that story ever end? It will to some degree because the actress playing Molly is leaving the show. That leaves Tyrone with a baby that may or may not be his. Soap opera rules dictate that the affair has to come out sometime. What happens when it does is anyone's guess but I can't see how Tyrone and Kevin can continue to work together after that. Maybe both Molly and Tyrone will die in the tram crash. We'll know in a few months.

This is one storyline that i don't think is ever going to end or when it does, isn't going to be dropped and forgotten like the baby switch one. Unfortunately.

Out of sight often means out of mind on a soap but at least Corrie does manage the occasional reference and that's good. But a few suggestions...

We understand that actors aren't usually available to revive characters to attend weddings and funerals that the character would probably normally attend but a card or reference would be nice.

Let's keep the rewriting of history to a minimum, please and at least keep the storylines logical for the characters.

Keep the little everyday scenes about nothing in particular. Life's like that, innit? Keep the throwaway lines and that humour that Corrie is famous for. Keep the great drama as well, because Corrie is good at that too.

Use the older, more experienced actors, don't just focus on the young and beautiful ones. Corrie's been getting better at this as well, after a period of leaving them on the back burner.

Keep bringing us those weird, wonderful and off the wall characters like Graeme Proctor, Mary Turner, and Charlotte. A little mania is good for the soul! Keep other off beat characters and eccentrics such as Roy and Julie and Teresa and Kirk around awhile and use them or you'll lose them!

Keep giving us characters we love to hate, characters that make us wonder what they're going to do next.

Give us pathos, and then a good dose of daft 'ap'orths.

There's a reason Coronation Street has lasted for 50 years. Don't mess with the formula too much or it won't last a whole lot longer! And that would be a real shame!

Speculation runs rampant

Most of us do realize that the tabloid papers such as the Mirror and the News of the World love to sensationalize things. When it comes to soap spoilers, we also know, down deep, that they make a lot of it up or it's all a lot of pure speculation though they print it as the truth. Sometimes, just sometimes, there are cast or crew members that might feed tips to the tabs for cash so people think, well you know it *could* be true, what they say! It's usually not.




Coming up to Corrie's 50th anniversary, there's been loads and loads of press coverage. You mention a tram crash and people dying and the horses are out of the gate. Actors that we know are leaving are already being mangled under the wreckage in the newspapers' scenarios and others are being lined up for the crush, too. The tram is going to come tumbling off the viaduct where a new bar will have just opened. (I think Nick Tilsley, the new owner, probably has a little black cloud of bad luck over his head like those comic characters always did!)

A new producer generally does have a look at the current cast and inevitably, there are some let go and replaced with fresh new characters. Some actors see the writing on the wall and get out before they can be thrown out but are said to be leaving by their own decision. This is sometimes actually the case when a character really hasn't been involved in storylines for a long time, and the actor gets bored and fed up, like Tupele Dorgu as Kelly whos talent was shamelessly underused. Most of the ones that leave of their own accord think they can make it big doing other things when in reality, most of them don't. Of course, some do go on to a lot of success but it's also true that if you've been playing the same part for a decade or more, people have a hard time seeing you as anything else.

I think Johnny Briggs found that out. I'm afraid Vicky Entwhistle may too. I like her, and i think she's a good actress that could really sink her teeth into a part and i hope she gets the chance to prove she's more than just gobby Janice Battersby.

Anyway. I've been reading story after story about who will die in the crash. Having a big disaster like this still needs to have far reaching implications and push the storylines. It has to end some and start new ones with the fallout and that's exactly what Collinson will do with this. Thus, just wiping out characters because the actors are leaving isn't good enough.

Actors that are leaving are obviously the odds on but it doesn't always go that way. Jack Duckworth is apparently going to be diagnosed with terminal cancer so currently presumed to be one of the victims. But would Jack really be comfortable drinking in a posh hip new wine bar? Claire and Ashley are heading out of Weatherfield but though i've seen reference to them dying, i have also read that they will leave after a scandal implicating Claire of harming one of the Alahan children. It's untrue, but they'll use that as the excuse to leave.

Molly's going, too, and she's due to give birth in September. We don't know if the baby is going to be Kevin's or Tyrone's. More speculation that she'll be a victim and i think that one is likely. She works in the corner shop and the shop is next to the viaduct and likely to come in for some damage. That leaves Tyrone alone with the baby and there's a lot of storyline potential there for the truth to come out, which it has to eventually because it always does. Will the baby be Kevin's? If so, what happens? Will Sally agree to raise a child that her husband fathered in an affair? If Kevin gets the baby, i really can't see Tyrone staying around. My original thought was the affair coming out and Tyrone making Molly leave and keeping the baby himself. But even that scenario would seem to end with Tyrone taking the baby and leaving the Street too. I just can't see how Tyrone, Kevin and Sally can occupy the same place after the truth comes out.

But it's all speculation, eh?

Who do you love?

Standard issue question, I know, "which characters do you love" but my take on it, out of current summer 2010 cast members is this:

Characters I love to hate: These are the ones that are not likeable characters but are not supposed to be and are still enjoyable to watch. The actors are great, and you just can't wait for their comeuppance!
For me, these include Nick, David, Stape, Eddie (started off just awful but he's grown on me and now I think he's just a brilliant character). Some would say Sally and Gail but though they tend to be stubborn, bitchy, moaning nellies, I don't class them in this category, personally. They go in the Characters I Love category.

Characters I just don't like at all: There are various reasons why I don't like these ones. Some of them aren't necessarily characters we're supposed to dislike, but they rub me the wrong way anyway. These include Norris, Ken, Molly (they're ruined her), Tina (ruined her, too!), Michelle, Ryan and Rosie. I am very, very glad to see the back of Joe! I would include Tracy Barlow as well since she'll be back on our screens and was recently with us as well.

Then there's the characters that I love! I enjoy these characters a lot and enjoy the actors playing them. I love seeing what happens to them, what they'll do or say next, and I look forward to storylines involving them.
These include: Gail, Sally, Audrey, Liz, Steve, Becky, Roy, Hayley, Mary, Julie, Eileen, Leanne, Peter, Kirk, Graeme. I'm putting Simon in here because he's such a cracking little child actor.

There's always characters I like: These are a bit further down the scale. I like them, sometimes a lot.
Give me Deirdre, Emily, Sophie, Anna, Lloyd, Sean, Rita, Sunita, Fiz (though they're ruining her character, she needs to be our Fiz Bomb again and blow up Stape!), Carla. We also need Ted back, so let's hope the actor will become available again, soon!

The rest of the characters are neither hate nor love nor like. I go from ambivalence to "They're ok". A few of the newer ones we don't really know well enough yet but have potential.

A few thoughts:

Natasha is one of these that had potential but I can't decide what I think about her. She was vastly underused for the first year she was on the show and seemed to be a bit of a daft blonde. Do I dislike her character, now, or do I pity her? We know she's clingy and pushing herself on Nick who really isn't into her and she's spiralling into a downward plunge. I expect it's more pity, I suppose.

Dev is another one I have waffled on for ages. Sometimes I really don't like him and other times I think he's fun and goofy and a character that's there specifically to take the mick out of for his old fashioned attitudes and self importance. I am really glad they have Sunita back, though, as she always seemed to be Dev's anchor.

Tyrone has come a long way really. He's still daft and not too bright but he's kind hearted and loyal and way too good for Molly. I really dread the fallout of the Molvin affair. That storyline was one of the most ill-fitting ones ever. Kudos to the actors, though, that did their best with it, but the viewer fallout for me is that I won't be sad to see Molly go and if Tyrone leaves as a result of it all hitting the fan, I probably won't miss him either. There will be nothing left for him really. Shame.

I won't rattle on about Fiz. I've done enough of that! I expect John will wriggle out if the latest mess he's got them all into and I hear rumours that Fiz will fall pregnant, a further cement to the man that has totally put out her sparky personality. The only possible bright spot is that John *has* to pay for his crime of identity theft and hiding a dead body eventually. Doesn't he?



Families:
As much as I'm not a Ken Barlow fan, you really can't do without the Barlow clan on the whole. They are a great family though really missing Blanche, sadly. And I would very much miss the Websters and Platts as well as two other long-time families that really add to the canvas. The McDonalds are also a great clan. I do wish we'd see more of Big Jim. I always loved the chemistry between him and Liz though new man, Owen, just might have that edge of danger that Liz likes and it could be the new roller coaster relationship she's been needing.

State of the Street: July 2010

Carla's back and Nick didn't want her involved. Surely there's some legal issues there and then they were stealing each other's business. Sean was the first one to back Carla but then he's also got another job. You just knew Carla would come out on top! Nick is so sleazy and he's sucking up to the workers and he's sucking up to Leanne and Natasha is trying very hard to get her hooks into him deeper and deeper. She even rumbled Leanne's past to Nick but you know, wouldn't Gail have already gossiped that little fact to Nick years ago? Or Audrey. And how DARE he ask her what it would have been like if they'd stayed together and had a baby when he was the one that insisted she terminate their child!!!

Sean is so anxious to connect with Violet and his little boy, Dylan, and made up a pretend Facebook page (yes i know, it's Facescene and the colour scheme is green instead of blue but you know what it really is!) as Liz McDonald. That should have been the first suspicious clue to Vi! As if Liz would! Sean said he didn't know if any of Violet's mates were on the site but he and Violet go back a long way, surely he'd know if her mates were on Facebook or could at least look them up and then see if Violet was on their contact lists. Of course Sean is going to get caught out, and soon!

Tina and Graeme are all loved up. A lot of people, including me, think that the character of Tina has been ruined. I really don't think this pairing is going to last. Between David's interference and the fact that i'm sure Graeme was a rebound thing for Tina, latching on to him after her dad died. Well, Tina is lodging with Rita and Emily's house seems to have grown another room as well, the same one Ramsay stayed in but those houses on that side of the street only have two bedrooms upstairs and the third that used to be the "box" room, everyone had turned into bathrooms. Number 7 has the loft conversion but let's face it, most of those houses always did have elastic walls, especially the Rovers! After their initial coming together, they've disappeared. Just as well. I really don't like the way Tina seems to go out of her way to rub David's face in it.

Lloyd has got himself involved in a very messy domestic scene. It gives me chills seeing a woman in a situation like that, and accepting it and excusing it. I think it's being portrayed very realistically, actually. This happens. And Craig Charles is a very underrated actor, he's doing a really good job with this. It'll all end badly, but i think it's a good storyline and one that needs telling.

And Lewis is still around... out of the escort business but he just can't seem to help himself flirting and it's with Deirdre this time. Do you not think this has given Deirdre quite a lift as a character? She's flirty and fun and thoroughly enjoying herself. We know she loves Ken but he's never been very exciting and Lewis is there for the asking if you can make the payment. Or he was. Will he be able to break the habit? Audrey's nemesis, Claudia let all the cats out of the bag and very publically! Lewis talks about retiring to Greece...and running a hotel. That's not much of a retirement but it's probably all talk until Audrey starts to think it's a good idea. She'll just sell up and high tail it away to paradise. Suddenly Lewis looks a bit green around the gills.

But now that Gail knows his past, we get to see her disapproving face hovering in the corner all over the place. It's too funny! But i do wonder, why does Lewis need to defraud the bookies? Surely he made a good bit of money being a gigalo? He's *supposedly* got a job in a casino now. What has he spent all that cash on?

Then of course, there's Natasha continuing on her quest to trap Nick into a life of domesticity. She's determined to buy the salon and Maria comes back and slips in with first refusal, right under her nose. Natasha is jealous of Leanne and now finds out her rival in the Salon Wars is a Nick-ex too. I'm actually glad to see Maria. I wonder what they have in store for her?

Stape's lies are now back to haunt him big time. I'm really loving that Chesney found out and really, really loving that he keeps digging the sarcastic knife in. I could rant on and on about how much i hate Stape and all his selfish lies and manipulations but you're all probably pretty bored of that by now. Gotta say though, as much as i hate the character and what he's done to Fiz, the whole storyline with Colin returning and that nutter Charlotte getting *her* claws into Stape further and further is a good laugh. She makes the whole storyline! There's a big hole in this storyline though. How on earth would the husband of the woman that the real Colin was shagging know that John is Colin and how would he know where "Colin" lives to come around shouting the odds and thumping him? Poor Fiz is going to have no nerves left at this rate.

Mary is being a wedding Nazi, she's really being forceful and aggressive and obviously living her fantasies out in Hayley's life. Hayley needs to stand up to her. That might be tricky. But in the meantime, fun to watch Mary steam ahead, get her face in a knot when Hayley stands up to her and see what she does when that eventually happens?

Sunita is not juggling job and children and house well. What did she do when she had a house three times the size? And why would she want to do it all? She didn't worry about having a job when she was single. It makes no sense. Typical misongynistic Dev, wants the little woman at home raising the kiddies. Is it too much for her to ask for a little help from him now they're supposed to be raising the children together?

Sian and Sophie are an item but Sophie is jealous of Sian's friendship with her former boyfriend, Ryan. It seems pretty clear to me that, for Sian, this really is just an experiment, confusion for her, but it isn't for Sophie. It'll all end in tears! Nice to see Sally back though. Molly is pushing Tyrone to sell Kevin his share and move away before that baby shows it's little face. She's obviously afraid it's going to be Kevin's. I'd love for it to be Tyrone's. So it looks like Eileen might buy their house. We'll see.

Such was the State of the Street in July!

Character Study: Sally Seddon Webster

In honour of Sally's birthday this week, I'm reproducing an updated character study i wrote about Sally and what makes her tick. Sally's always been a favourite character of mine even when Sally Webster has been at her most obnoxious.

Let's examine the evolution of the Coronation Street character, Sally Webster who arrived on our screens in January 1986. She was a young firecracker, gobby and brash, some might say "common". She came from a struggling family with a violent father and her family were no better than they should be, according to Hilda Ogden. She debuted with a splash, literally! She was on the street waiting for a bus when Kevin John Webster drove by and through a puddle and splashed muddy water all over her. She was furious as she was on her way to a job interview. Thus began Love's Young Dream of the 1980s.

Sally was full of spirit, tended to the bossy side and always wanted Kevin to better himself which would elevate her own status as well. Several times, she tried to get him to buy the garage, urging her lackluster husband to become his own boss. Kevin was never that keen on running the place which frustrated Sally to no end. Even then, she had aspirations above her station. Motherhood in the 1990s made the character of Sally a bit boring, immersed in motherhood and sweetness, but when Kevin was seduced by the predatory Natalie Horrocks, her claws came back out with a vengeance. Kevin was out on his ear and Natalie felt the force of Sally's wrath on the side of her face (not to mention the repairs that were necessary when Sally flooded Natalie's bathroom and printed "SLUT" in the mist on the bathroom mirror).

Sally found being a single mum was very difficult. She took Kevin back temporarily, for the sake of the girls and for security which had always been lacking in her own childhood but that didn't last long when she was drawn to the devilish and violent Greg Kelly. That affair blew up her marriage again. It took Sally awhile, and several men, to find her way inevitably back to Kevin. In my opinion, she didn't really love Kevin and I always thought she was settling for security for the children's sake though she did care about Kevin. I think the love has grown back over the years again.

So there she was, back in a marriage that really didn't mean that much to her at the time but which kept her family together. She sees herself stuck in a back street, working in a factory, husband running a small business which could have been so much more, with her own ambitions well and truly thwarted. Her fling with rich Ian Davenport was little more than prostitution to gain financial security for her family and help pay for Rosie's private school fees. Ian uses her as one in a long succession of women. When he's done with her, she's bitter and resentful, she comes crashing back to earth, having risked her family for a callous fling and it stings even more because Kevin knows down deep his wife was unfaithful but was willing to overlook it anyway.




Sally turns her ambitions to her oldest daughter, Rosie. When Rosie expressed a passing interest in being a pop star, Sally pushed her onto the stage where she was miserable. She then pushed Rosie into a posh private school and railed against Rosie dating a neighbourhood lad from a family with a somewhat shady and violent past (too much like her own). The final straw was discovering that Rosie and Craig were having sex even though they were approaching it sensibly. Sally's emotions and nerves crumbled and she took Rosie on a wild drive across the M62 en route to a boarding school. Kevin caught up and cradled his broken wife, who *still* moaned about *her* broken dreams and life in a back street, wanting more for her children than she had.

In the last few years, Sally has been working in the factory and watching her daughter make bad choice after bad choice and *still* making excuses for her! She was proud when Rosie became part owner of the factory because it meant she was making something of her life, but was crushed to find out Rosie was taken for a mug and lost all her cash. But it's not that Rosie has not given her other worries. Because of Rosie's affair with Stape, Kevin went to jail and I think that Sally became just a little more realistic where her oldest daughter's failings are concerned. Still, she'll defend her chicks to the death, even stooping to childishly paint over Fiz and John's windows when John got out of prison and moved in with Fiz.

Sally has just survived a struggle with breast cancer, cut short on screen by the real-life all too similar crisis for the actress herself! Sally Dyvenor (she's taken her husband's name professionally) is doing well and it seems Sally Webster has made a recovery as well.

She didn't know that Kevin had an affair with his best friend's wife, someone that Sally seems to take great relish in looking down on. Molly seemed to be encroaching on Sally's territory (more than she knows!) with the business and bookkeeping. Molly was pregnant and couldn't know if the baby was Tyrone's or Kevin's. Kevin finally stole the baby's dummy and had an instant DNA test that proved baby Jack was his son but he still didn't want to be with Molly and the baby.

Molly decided to leave Tyrone and on the day she was going, the tram crashed into the corner shop, trapping Molly under the rubble. Sally, who had bonded with Molly because she'd delivered baby Jack in the Dobbs' living room, crawled into the rubble and sat with Molly while the rescue workers tried to get her out. Molly's dying words to Sally revealed the affair and paternity and, believing it, Sally confronted Kevin. He admited it and she threw him out on his ear.

In spite of initial shock and objections, Sally was also able to accept her daugher Sophie's declaration that she is gay. It's still a bit of a struggle but Sally supports Sophie. Will she still do when things finally get physical between Sophie and Sian?

I've heard a lot over the years about how Sally has changed but I don't think she really has. I think her personality has progressed very logically considering where she came from and what's happened to her over her life to this point. I think Sally has always been a great character to watch evolve, even if she hasn't been a likeable person at times. Everything they have created with both Sally and Kevin has really been in line and consistent with their history. That's Coronation Street at it's best.

What's been your favourite Sally moment? Was it when she drove Rosie across the moors? Was it when she walloped Natalie on the cobbles (one of my personal favourite moments)?