My Seven Corrie Wonders

(This post was originally posted by Emma Hynes on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

A very interesting discussion emerged on Twitter this week, which the lovely Graeme has already dedicated a brilliant blog to in Picking Your Favourites. We were asked to do just that, and narrow it down to seven.

A couple of names immediately sprung to mind, and I wondered if I should go with my gut, or give it some thought; after all there are a lot of characters to choose from, and just because they don’t instantly come to mind, might not mean they aren’t a favourite. My seven, as it turned out, arose from a mixture of thought and instinct, and here they are:

Peter Barlow

Todd Grimshaw

Liz McDonald

David Platt

Roy Cropper

Ken Barlow

Pat Phelan

As Graeme says, the exercise did reveal more about ourselves than we might have thought it could, and I managed to surprise not only him with my choices, but myself as well.

The first thing of note was that six out of my seven were men, while most people tweeting on #7favcorriecharacters were choosing women, and almost exclusively at that, including our Graeme. In my case, even the ones I had laboured over, but who didn’t make the list, were mainly male.

As I picked them purely because they are my favourites, I wondered what my choices said about me, and how they might reveal what I enjoy best in a Corrie character. Here's what I learned: 

• My six men all have one thing in common; they’re not afraid to stand up for themselves. My sole lady, Liz, is the same.
• With the exception of Phelan, there is a vulnerability to them.
• I love Phelan regardless.
• My male choices don’t fit the strong women and mithered men trope. Okay, most men on Corrie find themselves henpecked at some point, but these are more likely to resist it, answer back or reach a point where they’ve had enough, and are not afraid to say so. I admire this in them.

So, Graeme has asked you to try and pick your seven favourite characters. What I want you to tell me is, what do you think your selection says about you and what you enjoy in a character?

By Emma Hynes
www.emmahynes.net
Twitter: @ELHynes
Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites
Instagram: emmalouhynes

Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook