Eva Price-less

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog November 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)


How many of us like to be proved wrong? Who takes their humble pie with a splash of gravy? I hang my head in shame at the memory of having maligned the wondrous creation that is Eva Price. True, I once suggested that the character was about as beguiling as a mop head. I stood on the roof of Blog Towers, overlooking Mawdsley Street, and bellowed that the Price was not right.

Have others warmed to the character? While poor old Stella continues to get a ho-hum reception from fan-land, Eva seems to have struck a chord.

What's so good about her then? There is something appealing in her flawed demeanour. Eva is one spoilt brat of a girl, probably cherished as a back street Lancashire princess with her eye on all that glitters. With the right man on her arm, the latest fashions and a Mary Poppins-sized handbag, Eva can totter across the cobbles with he head held high.

Look again though. Eva is the wrong side of 25. She has no man and seems unable to hold down a relationship. Her jealousy slowly poisons friendships. Eva may have the bag, the frock and the lippy but she's sewing knickers in a back street factory. At the end of the day she goes home to her mum. There's no champagne lifestyle, no designer hubby, no kids. You can almost taste her rage as she stands on the sidelines, bag of chips in hand, watching other people get on with life. Will it ever be her turn?

In some ways, Eva is similar to the 'early days' version of Raquel Wolstenhulme - a slightly acidic, stuck-up cow. Raquel eventually thawed and, thanks to the rather impressive performance of Catherine Tyldesley, Eva has become a much fuller character. Her blend of narcissism, comedy and misery is a joy to watch and this particular viewer is intrigued to see where, cue tedious X Factor phrase, 'her journey' take her. And us.


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