5 Corrie characters we often take for granted

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog October 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


Last week Andy Whyment celebrated 17 years as Kirk Sutherland on Coronation Street. We wrote a celebratory blog post about the milestone and you can read it here.

And the milestone started me off thinking about Kirk, as you do, and how we often forget he's there, despite him actually being an integral part of the show.  It's because Kirk plays a low-key part. He doesn't get blown up or involved in a drugs storyline that makes headline news. He isn't nasty to anyone, he's not a villain or a thief. He's not feckless either, he's just a bit, well, Kirk.  And we often take him for granted. He's a few more of those Corrie characters just like Kirk, who blend into the background too often.

I'm a huge fan of Izzy Armstrong and would love nothing more than for her and Gary to get back together but with the baby bombshell set to explode, there seems little hope of that.  Izzy is too often overlooked, in my opinion.  Like Kirk, she's not nasty or a villain, she's got a heart of gold. But she does need a storyline before we forget that she's there.

FAY(e) Armstrong joined Coronation Street as a troubled girl and she's turning into a troubled young woman. Well, wouldn't you if you had to live with Anna?  And while Faye has had her share of storylines and drama, it's the fact that as we've watched Ellie Leach, grow up on screen, we forget sometimes just what a cracking young actress she is. Corrie have a great actress on their hands with Ellie Leach in my opinion and just because she plays wayward Faye with a nasty streak, let that never overshadow the fact of how good she can be on screen. And let's never take her for granted.

Ken Barlow. He's been at Corrie since the show started in 1960 but doesn't have a great deal to do at the moment. However, Ken was at the centre of one of Corrie's biggest storylines this year in the case of Who Pushed Ken? It's easy to think of Ken, at times, as not relevant any more to the show. After all, the rest of the Barlow clan have enough going on with their fights and double dealings. But let's remember that Ken is the only Corrie original still in the show and that's worth never forgetting about.

And finally, Roy Cropper, who has become as bland as a decaff teabag left behind the counter at Roy's Rolls. Come on, Corrie, let's NEVER take Roy (and David Neilson's great acting skills) for granted. It's easy to forget Roy's a part of the show at the moment, because, quite frankly, he isn't there very often on screen. And when he is, it's a fleeting moment, handing over a barm cake or a coffee in the cafe. Roy is Corrie gold and as such, should sparkle bright.

So, there you have it, my personal five characters I often take for granted but would really like to see more made of in the show. If you had to pick your own five, who would they be?

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter