Down The Street

As English as fish and chips and a summer holiday in Spain, Coronation Street just goes on and on. And how, but maybe it is in the past some of the most memorable characters reside. Killer Cilla for example, was an anti hero or even heroine we just loved to hate, though she never actually killed anyone if I remember rightly. Unlike Richard of Richard and Gail fame, a much more sinister character. Richard was masterfully played by actor Brian Capron.

Maybe now the boundaries of plausability are being pushed too far. When the Street started it was all so much more realistic and down to earth. They could make a storyline out of a mouse in Gail's cafe. Ken and Uncle Albert were gentle sparring partners while Elsie and Len could really get to grips.

Legends have been born in the Street and who more so than the earthy, smouldering Elsie Tanner. Were we more interested in her life than our own? The answer is probably yes. Ena Sharples, played by Violet Carson, together with her sidekicks Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst, was definitely legend material. Who can forget them all sat together in the snug swigging down their Milk Stouts? Betty Driver was the stalwart barmaid Betty Turpin for decades; she promulgated a style all her own.

And then there was Bet Lynch, later Gilroy, who was a woman and a half, a really big character. Played by Julie Goodyear, there was so much in Bet; she could be sexy, voluptuous, domineering, angry, vulnerable, up-for-a-laugh, and even speculative and a bit of a chancer. But always she had a heart and she knew she was one of life's losers too much of the time. It was great when she married Alec. We at last felt somebody cared.

Men could be rotten to Bet however, as they have been to countless Rovers Return barmaids. Shelley for instance, really lost out to that cad Peter. But the writers kept the suspense going wonderfully and all of us were kept on the edge of our seats wondering just when Peter would get his come-uppance.

Hilda Ogden and Stan were a lovely couple, playing very convincing parts. The actors involved were Jean Alexander and Bernard Youens. How many cleaners have their own cleaner or even their very own 'muriel'. Years ago when Annie Walker was the very prim and proper licensee of the Rovers things were different. She would in a very ladylike way lie down with one of her heads. Annie was played by Doris Speed. Years later Shelley's mother beds her daughter's love interest in the very same pub.

Rita, a one time professional singer and now Kabin proprietor is an old hand. I think she must have been going nearly as long as Ken Barlow, played by William Roache. Their lives have never been boring. I think Rita (Barbara Knox) must have been cheated by men almost as much as Bet, and as for Ken, he's had an awful lot of women for a rather staid and respectable teacher.

Deirdre too, played by Anne Kirkbride, has had her moments and as the Weatherfield One even made prime time news. Nobody wanted to see their comfortable and virtuous Deirdre behind bars and I think everyone was surprised when there was love interest with Mike Baldwin. Emily Bishop seems to have been in the soap a long time too. She has never moved into sheltered accommodation and maybe her adventures with Spider were some of her happiest times long after her stint as assistant at Gammer Garments for Mr. Nugent. Emily was played by Eileen Derbyshire.

Vera and her husband Jack Duckworth, played by Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey, were another special pairing. How many times have we laughed at that odd couple, a manifestation of the sparkling jewel that is comedy itself. Curly always had a conscience and Sally just turned out to be a snob while both her and her husband had affairs galore. Fizz got into all sorts of trouble around the time of her trial, but this again shows the Street's timely preoccupation with murder.

Maybe all of these characters are simply mirrors of our very selves and in watching them on screen we come to know more about our inner psyches. Todd, Sarah, Ashley, Claire, Hayley and Roy, Audrey and Fred, Liz and Steve MacDonald, all hold a special place in our hearts and all the rest that are too numerous to mention. The Street is an institution and let's face it we have all walked those streets in Britain and maybe even met some of those very same people.