The crowning glories of those on the cobbles

(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2015, reposted with permission.)

A favourite saying of my paternal grandmother, with whom I lived for a while as a teenager, was -'Ooh, now hasn't he/she got a fine head of hair.'

From a young age, I have been very interested in people's hair and now I intend to apply my interest to the hair of the cast of Coronation Street. Audrey's, of course, is where most of the cast go for a trim, a perm or a wash and blow-dry. It's unisex so most have at some point enjoyed Audrey's, David's or Maria's ministrations to their hair. As the owner of a hair salon, Audrey herself must always have her barnet in  tip-top form. She succeeds in this completely. When have any of us ever seen Audrey looking anything but chic and well coiffed? The received wisdom is that as you grow older you should lighten your hair as lighter hair apparently flatters the older skin tone more. So a couple of shades lighter for Audrey, perhaps? Maria, may be a little dull, but she has undoubtedly glorious hair. It's mix of browns and blonds and I think it is the making of her. Short hair on Maria? Never!

Now Liz is undoubtedly an attractive woman who looks after herself. However, her hair could do with some attention to make it look less menopausal. A deep conditioning could be just the thing that Audrey could help her with. If anyone remembers Liz when she first appeared, you will recall a very curly, frizzy perm. Fashionable at the time, but hopefully it will not make a comeback.   It seems that finally she has dispensed with the hair tinsel that she was adorning herself with lately. It was never mentioned, as far as I know, it was just there, in her hair, as if she'd been decorating the Christmas tree and a piece of tinsel had found its way into her hair. She had looked in the mirror, liked what she saw and decided to keep it.

Alya has divine air. Long, black shiny and sleek. Move over Cheryl Cole and Jennifer Lopez and give Alya your advertising slot. Michelle has good hair too but it doesn't match up to Alya's standards.

Gail has good hair, but it was even nicer when she was young - thick, bouncy and the picture of health. Maybe grow it a little Gail? There is no rule that says a woman in her fifties or sixties can't have longer hair. It was the way of women in the 1950s and 1960s to have their had chopped off come marriage and motherhood, as if scorning girlhood and preparing to take on serious matters such as ensuring the husband's tea is on the table for the moment he returns home. Yep, sadly, a perm and a pair of court shoes was the convention.

She may be neurotic, she may have been unkind to Rita, she may be leading Kevin on, she may be a liar, but what she most definitely does have is the best hair on the cobbles. Jenny Bradley's hair is long, thick, bouncy and glowing with health. It is a pale red with as much shine as we all would wish for our windows. It deserves a dressing room and a place on the cast list of its own. Some mighty fine follicles featuring there. Yes - Jenny Bradley wins hands down on the hair credits.

Despite having appointed Jenny, cast member with best head of hair, I must take a moment to praise the hair of a certain man, and that man is none other than Ken Barlow. Reputedly born in 1939, making his screen age 76, the real person, Bill Roache is actually 83 years old, having been born on 25 April 1932. What a fine, lustrous, head of hair for a man of his seniority. Must be all those Russia novels he's reading.




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