Doing a Talk on Corrie

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

Sheffield, my hometown, is having a bit of a festival moment. As a result, I’ve been asked to do a talk. The only trouble is I don’t know when, but have been told to be ‘ready to roll’ from about 19^th September.

There are several things that I could talk about but only one that I would really like to talk about –Coronation Street, of course, and our wonderful blog in particular, with  much gratitude to Glenda for starting the whole thing off.

My plan for the talk is essentially this -:

·      Beginnings - Tony Warren - his vision

·      Facts and figures – audience viewings, number of hotpots sold etc.

·      Issues raised in Corrie

·      The women  - in general

·      Characters – Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Hilda Ogden, Emily Bishop, Bet Lynch, Rita Tanner, Deirdre, Carla Connor, Mary Taylor – detailed character analysis and their individual speech styles

·      The men – holding back the women – general theme.

·      Details of men and their secondary role – as envisaged by Tony Warren

·      How the show has changed or not, through the decades.

·      Snobbery surrounding soaps, lighthearted comparison to the great dramatists

·      And then finally, some clips – including-: death of Stan Ogden - Hilda and the glasses, Death of Martha Longhurst, rows between Ena and Elsie. And some modern stuff.  There is SO much, it is difficult to be sure that you have the best bits.

I would be very grateful for your assistance here, my fellow bloggers and our much valued and loyal readers. Is there anything that you think is CRUCIAL in a talk about Corrie that I have not touched on?

Btw did you know that in 1990 Hilda Ogden was the 4^th most recognizable woman in Britain, after the Queen, the Queen Mother and Princess Di?

And this – Blanche Hunt – ‘Good looks are a curse Deirdre. You and Kenneth have been very lucky.’

Very much looking forward to your comments. Thank you.

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