5 things I love about Coronation Street right now

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2018, reposted to this blog with permission.)


As the year heads to a close, I'm feeling a bit confused about Coronation Street. I've written a little something to that effect here.

But it's too easy to sit here being a keyboard warrior writing all the things that I think is wrong with the show. All the things that I think are wrong with it are things you might think are right. And if we swapped lists, there'd be things on your list that I couldn't agree with, I'm sure.

What's important is that Corrie still ignites the passion within us fans. We care - a lot - when it's not going well and love it even more when it is.

Trying to brighten my day then before the year ends, here are the five things that I'm loving about Corrie right now.

1. Jenny flaming Bradley

Yes, I know she's Jenny Connor but she'll always be Jenny Bradley to me. Always fun to watch. Bring on the fireworks between her and Carla, please.

2. Gemma Winter

Gemma is a gem. She deserves to be behind the bar at the Rovers instead of drippy Toyah(*) and changed-personality Peter. (*I love Toyah, but she doesn't work with Peter and neither of them deserve to be at the Rovers).

3. Tracy and Steve

I am loving Tracy and Steve back together. It might not last, and it shouldn't, of course. Steve should be with Leanne. But until that happens (if it does), then I'm enjoying every second of these two pretending to play happy families. Tracy's behaviour now reminds me of Deirdre, who's still much missed of course.

4. Michelle Connor

Given the right storyline, Kym Marsh acts everyone else off the screen. The late miscarriage storyline this year had me in pieces and Kym's powerful performance was incredible.  But then.. what? They stuck her with Robo-Robert. Get rid of him, Corrie and give the Bistro to Michelle to run in competition with Liz back at the Rovers. Now that's a fight I'd like to see. And Liz to win, of course.

5. Liz, Sally, Rita, Gail, Audrey

Okay, I know that's five women but please Corrie, let's see more of them. Stop the focus, just briefly on Kate and Rana. Just because there's a noise on Twitter about them, doesn't mean every single one of your viewers is a #Kana fan. It also doesn't mean that every single one of your viewers is on Twitter. Please remember this and don't lose sight of what you are - a television programme - not a social media fad.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Queen of the Street and Future Heiresses

Rita Sullivan is clearly the undisputed queen of the street currently, and has been, in my view, for many years. Even if she forgets her own name, Rita is one of the best women to have landed in Weatherfield and fits closely the type of strong woman who Tony Warren had in mind. But, if she does depart to the cobbles in the sky, who, of the remaining women, has the characteristics and capability to occupy the vacant throne?

Now, much as I like Audrey and Emily – (will she ever return?) I feel that the crown must be passed down to the next generation.

So what characteristics do we need? We need someone who is well-liked and respected. Someone strong and forthright too, who will fight her own and other people’s battles, with passion and fury. She should be someone who hasn’t had an easy life, but has come through, scarred, but wise. And underneath the tough exterior, not a perfect person, but someone with a flawed character and with a good heart, who genuinely loves her friends. A sense of humour wouldn’t go amiss either and we need longevity, too.

So let’s see who we’ve got. Now we know she’s returning, first for consideration has to be, none other than...

1      Carla Connor – A strong candidate for the crown. Independent, takes no prisoners, strong, kind when it really matters (Roy and Hayley). What lets her down is that though she is admired and factory boss, I don’t feel she is very well liked and doesn’t have many friends.

  Liz McDonald – another strong candidate. Since leaving The Rovers, Liz seems to be at a  loose end. After years of fulfilling her role as landlady, she has shown herself to be popular, kind and probably in the know of many people’s business, either from their intentional sharing of their private lives or because of having overheard confidences. She is emotionally intelligent and though I am sure she would appreciate a man in her life, she is not willing to have one at any price – remember the public humiliation of Tony Stewart? And yes, she is tough. She also has a sense of humour.

3      Sally Metcalfe – Although her character is an appealing one in a soap, I doubt that Sally would fulfil the stringent criteria laid down for Queen of the Cobbles. Sally is ambitious, often amusing, though not always deliberately so. She is a social climber, an egomaniac and a snob. She tells people she eats kale and quinoa, but then lets herself down by asserting that a Vienneta is a suitably bourgeois dessert. She reacts to people, according to their station, the posher, the better, and is very swift to judge. Sorry Sally, the crown cannot be yours.

4      Eileen Phelan – Witty, kind, especially to Summer, very generous in allowing people to stay in her house, but she can be cold and unpleasant. Her feud with Gail is ridiculous and both women should end it now. A good friend, but lacks interest in goings-on outside her small domestic sphere to have any chance of wearing the crown.

Michelle Connor – she has suffered recently, but falls into men’s arms too easily and indiscriminately.  She shows little ambition, for her own sake, only insofar as it involves a man. A little naïve but she was an excellent friend to Carla, though I understand that that friendship will struggle to survive on Carla’s return. But, she has forgotten that she has a son called Ryan! Sorry Michelle.

Other possibilities include, Gail and Yasmeen, but I’ve ruled them out. Gail doesn’t have the gravitas and Yasmeen has not been around long enough. If she sticks around, she will be considered.

Of the younger ones, we have Jenny, Eva, Maria, Fiz, Toyah, Leanne, Sally, Mary, Sarah, Eva, Izzy, Alya, Rana, Kate, Shona and even Gemma (!) who, under the influence of the current queen could make the grade given time. Gemma has shown herself to be devoted to Rita and is a loyal friend to Chesney, and of course, we should never say never. In some cases access to the throne will take time - a heck of a lot of time.

By Ruth Owen.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

When Weatherfield gets weird

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog in October 2017.)


Nothing will ever, totally diminish my love of all things Corrie. Like any fine relationship though, it has its ups and downs. I staggered through the woefully dull mid-80s storylines when the height of excitement was Alf Roberts plonking his backside on Sam Tindall's Christmas pud. I endured the tedium of late 1990s Zoe Tattersall, her 'bay-beh' and the dull cult. I even ploughed manfully through Graeme Proctor and his marriage of convenience to a woman so bland that I don't even recall her name.

This week though brought about one of those moments when I would have gladly sewn my eyelids together with fish wire. Or happily have spooned out my brain with a soup ladle in order not to remember Friday night.

It's the culmination of several weeks of cobbles-based weirdness which has left-me somewhat slack-jawed and dead-eyed. Six episodes per week may be a bonus for some but to find yourself squinting at catch-up at 5.30 a.m. drains the series of much of its joy. Plus there is the ever-changing cast. It ebbs and flows like the parting of the Red Sea. Characters enter and then exit stage left at such a pace that they may as well be on roller skates. When  they do stick around, at times they seem unrecognisable.

Mary, bless her, seems to be galloping through personality changes like a decades worth of Doctor Whos. Mad Mary became Caring Mary and has recently morphed into Kidnap Mary and Hellish Mother-in-Law Mary. It's off-putting and a tad bizarre. Of course, she's now coupled with Norris who we could at least rely on to be sour and camp. Nowadays he sits in the Rovers mumbling and looking forlorn. Maybe he's trying to work out what Vic Reeves' character is supposed to be, much like the rest of us.

Then we we were served up that oddity of a storyline where, apropos of nothing whatsoever, Liz decided to be nasty to Peter and Toyah. They gave her a job for crying out loud but being Liz there's no gratitude whatsoever, only some stagnant non-event of a story involving beer and a gay director from the brewery. Ho-hum.

There are inconsistencies all over the place. Bravo to Rita for surviving major brain surgery with her wig intact. Brace yourselves for a long goodbye which, given the current propensity for odd storylines, will end with her singing So long, farewell at her own funeral.

The whole Anna Windass farce is playing out nicely. In a decade she travelled the distance from dollop-in-a-track suit to Mother Earth to shrieking sandwich filler to smug wannabe social worker. Enough already. The woman is being trashed in a similar manner to the hapless Sunita a few years ago. Thankfully though, Anna's not heaving her baps into every scene. Well, only the ones she's slicing and buttering for Roy, a character who seems to now exist on the periphery of Street life.

Still, we should take some pleasure in the renewed chumminess of Steve and Dev. Steve's currently working his 'perennial loser' persona, aided and abetted by Comedy Dev. Yep, we're into another round of bog-eyed bellowing from all concerned. Give it a couple of weeks and the pair of them will be hurtling down the cobbles in clown suits on a comedy car. Add to this the lovely Moira. To some of us though she is and will always be Helen from The Archers. I keep expecting her to start banging on about milk yields, fermented foods or that silly old time when she tried to stab her husband to death. Instead she trundles in and out of the medical centre office like an out-of-control flymo.

Then there's the faktry  - or lack of it. Still no explanation as to how someone could nick a roof in broad daylight. Never mind eh? Instead we can revel in the machinations of the fashion industry, as played out by Alya from the comfort of her own living room. Sadly, she's about as interesting as a piece of old flannel hanging off a bush. Her moral compass is pretty much knackered as one minute she's 'with the girls' and the next, it's 'up yours ladies'. There has often been a feeling that the storyliners  don't know what to do with Alya and currently, it shows.

To Pat Phelan then and a tour de force of a performance from Connor McIntyre. He's undoubtedly Corrie's most watchable baddie and in a different league to pantomime killer Tony Gordon or the slightly camp drugs lord, Jez Quigley. Nope, Pat is up there looking down on the lot of them. As joyous as his portrayal is though (murder one minute, prayers the next), the second episode of October 27th will, for me, go down as one of the most uncomfortable and unnerving half hours of soap ever. Superb though the acting was (Oliver Farnworth - take a bow), the entire programme felt wrong. As a stand alone, late night drama it would have been perfect or maybe as some Corrie spin-off. However, as part of regular Corrie it felt wrong. The story has taken the show to a different place. It inhabits a world of wonky camera work, uneasy relationships, fear, hatred and cruelty. Had this taken place during Corrie's golden era then no doubt we would have enjoyed Annie Walker keeping Fred Gee hostage in the Rovers cellar, Maggie Clegg cleaving off Jerry Booth's hands in the Corner Shop meat slicer and a heroin-addled Bet Lynch suffocating on her own beehive.

Corrie has always been a bastion of light and shade when it comes to storytelling. While no one wants to be fed a diet of overweight grocers flattening plum puddings, neither does this particular viewer want to spend half an hour in a pit of despair. That's EastEnders' job.

By Clinkers to Riddle

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Barbara Knox speaks out on Rita's brain tumour story

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


Barbara Knox, who plays Rita Tanner in Coronation Street, has spoken out about the brain tumour storyline she's currently playing in the soap.

She said: “When our producer Kate Oates talked to me about the brain tumour storyline for Rita, I was truly honoured to be tasked with taking on such an important story.

"I was immediately determined to ensure that we got every aspect of the portrayal of such a devastating illness correct. The work the team did with Brain Tumour Research has been invaluable. As an actress playing the role I am mindful that there are people going through this in real life and it is vital that we do their stories justice.”

She also tells this week's Inside Soap magazine: "There's a long way to go yet in this storyline for Rita. As we follow her journey from the diagnosis to how she comes to terms with the uncertainty of what the future holds, she has some big decisions to make in the coming weeks."

Coronation Street has been working with Brain Tumour Research on the storyline since the spring. Consultant clinical oncologist, Dr Matt Williams, from the Centre of Excellence at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, has been working closely with Corrie producers to ensure that Rita’s experience is as accurate as possible.

Barbara says: "Until I started working on this story I had no idea that a brain tumour could cause someone to act in the way Rita has been. It can't be just me who was surprised by how it affected Rita, so clearly not enough is known about brain tumours and their symptoms. It's a frightening disease and my thoughts are with everyone affected by a brain tumour.

You can support the work of Brain Tumour Research and find out more here.

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Five reasons why Rita dying would make great drama

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


Guest blog post by Glenn Meads who is on Twitter and LinkedIn
You can read all of Glenn's guest blog posts here.
Fancy writing a guest blog post for us? All details here!  

Poor Rita Tanner! She is one of the Street's most enduring characters. The things she has seen over the years, the comings and goings, the way she has cheated death by tram and her durability have made her one of Corrie's best loved characters. 

For me, the way Rita 'adopts' waifs and strays makes her so loveable and likeable, that I feel like I know her. 

But, all good things come to an end, and Rita's health has begun to deteriorate, leading to speculation that the character will join the likes of Deidre, Blanche and Jack and Vera in Corrie Heaven. This has led to a campaign to Save Rita. 

But, won't this storyline provide fans with great drama? 

Here's five reasons why Rita shutting shop might be good for viewers;

1) Barbara Knox may have chosen to leave. And who can blame her? The long hours.and the fact that the character has had some amazing story lines may mean Barbara wants to retire and get some well earned rest. 

2) Rita has been replaced any way. Poor Reet has been sidelined by the equally wonderful Mary. What used to be Rita and Norris is now Mary and Norris. So, at least Norris now has a significant other, if Rita did die?

3) The drama would be great for the actress and viewers. Often Rita is a conduit for other people's drama. This brilliant plot development means Barbara could leave on top, showing us all why she is such a great actress. 

4) The aftermath. Rita has taken in many strays in her time. Her death would leave them and us with a huge gap in their lives. Will they fight for her cash? Or will the loss of this 'mother' figure mean that they hit self destruct?

5) Births, Deaths and Marriages. Soaps need all three of these to keep going. The loss of such an iconic character will be a huge blow, but it will give many actors meaty drama, and bring them back from brink. And viewers? The unending success of Long Lost Family proves we all love a good cry. 

I love Rita Tanner and will miss her. But, I also think that Corrie needs this poignant storyline in order to move forward. What do you think?

By Glenn Meads who is on Twitter and LinkedIn

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Why Corrie would be correct to kill off Rita

(This post was originally posted by Scott Willison on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Yesterday Graeme wrote an excellent, impassioned piece calling for Our Rita to be saved from the Grim Reaper.  He made a lot of good points, but I didn't entirely agree with his premise.  To me, if you're going to write out Rita Littlewood-Fairclough-Sullivan-Tanner, there's only one way to do it: kill her.

I should start with the usual caveats.  The article we're all talking about was printed in one of the most disreputable tabloids, and has been neither confirmed or denied by anyone at ITV.  This could all be a fuss about nothing.  Remember, the tabloids were confidently telling us that Sarah Harding was so good she'd been signed up for further appearances.  The red tops are also keen to predict the axing of much-loved Street stars whenever a new producer comes in - if you believe the papers, Bill Roache must be on a knife edge following a shift in personnel, because every single producer has a secret desire to kill him off.  And yet, it's never happened.

Which brings me to Barbara Knox.  If the story is true - and I'll write the rest of this piece assuming it is, and Rita is soon to die - then she must be on board with it.  La Knox is the grand dame of the Street, an icon and a legend and a fearsome personality.  It's highly unlikely that she was handed her cards without any notice.  If she wasn't the one to ask to leave, then at the very least she was extensively consulted, especially about her final storyline.  Much as I'd love to have Ms Knox holding a tearful press conference to protest her axing a la Mrs Overall, her silence makes me think this was a mutual decision.

Does a faithful dog expect to be kicked? That show was my life.

And if Barbara Knox wants to go, let's send her out with a bang.  Some of the greatest characters in the Street's history have had iconic farewells - Alma, Mike Baldwin, Jack and Vera.  Actors love a good deathbed scene.  You're the absolute centre of attention, surrounded by well-wishers, acting your little socks off.  It's the kind of scene that looks great on your showreel, or in your Lifetime Achievement montage at the Soap Awards.  A brain tumour is frequently used to kill people in continuing dramas because it gives you plenty of warning.  A terminal diagnosis means a big build up to the end as she tidies up her affairs and gathers her loved ones around her. Imagine Rita tearfully slipping away after weeks of preparing for the sad event, surrounded by her friends and family.  There wouldn't be a dry eye in Weatherfield.

It'd give closure to us, the viewers, too.  The problem with characters going away is they're always missed.  We always want them back.  Emily went to Peru, and we're all still hoping she'll come back for a proper goodbye.  Becky flew off to the Caribbean, and we were all disappointed she couldn't make it back for Kylie's funeral.  Martin's ignoring his grandchildren, Andy refuses to get on a plane to visit Weatherfield no matter what traumas Liz and Steve suffer, and Ken only remembers he has kids when they are literally stood in front of him.  If Rita went off to retire in the country, we'd all be waiting for her to return for, say, Sophie's wedding.  After all, weren't we all just a little bit disappointed Mavis didn't return when Rita wed Dennis?  (Killing a character also stops the actor from returning years later for a disappointing follow up that trashes the goodwill from their first goodbye cough Bet cough).

There's another big reason for Rita not to simply wander off in a black cab, and her name is Jenny Bradley.  The return of Jenny - and especially Sally Ann Matthews' performance - has been an absolute triumph, and part of its glory is her reunion with Rita.  They've bonded again, both realising that they are the closest they have to a real family.  Jenny is calling Rita the mother of the bride, and Rita is adoring the role.  Given how close they are again, would Rita really up sticks and move away?  Especially after all she did to put Jenny back on her feet?  No chance.  She'd want to be with Jenny now to watch her live a happy life with Johnny.  A quiet retirement in her flat above the Kabin with her just down the road would be absolutely ideal.  If she simply left, it'd mean the end of this relationship, and that would be awful.

It makes sense from a character point of view too.  Rita is eighty-four, and yet, if the programme is to be believed, she's still up at five to do the papers, then on her feet for the rest of the day behind the counter in the Kabin.  That's not a woman who is ever going to retire, no matter what happens.  She's had plenty of opportunities over the years but it's never happened.  The only logical end point for that kind of person is to die with your boots on.  Having her suddenly say "oh, I've had enough, I'm off to live with Mavis" would seem forced and unrealistic.

If Rita died, it'd also stop her from drifting away.  Graeme was right when he said that older characters have receded into the background, but that's what happens when you have cast members in their eighties.  They simply can't keep up the relentless pace required to produce two and half (soon to be three) hours of television a week, and need time off and rest.  It means fewer, quieter storylines to keep them ticking over, while the younger ones take over the heavy lifting.  Much as I loved Betty, her last decade on the show consisted of her sitting behind the bar saying "luvvy" a lot and pulling faces.  She did it brilliantly, but it meant she became peripheral.

Betty's real-life death also deprived us of a proper farewell.  She vanished from the show, and then, a few months later, the characters were allowed to say goodbye.  The same happened with Blanche and Deirdre.  It robs the show of its drama because it's done out of necessity, rather than desire.  The writers are having to make good on a bad situation, and no-one's very enthusiastic about it because it's tinged with the real-life sadness.  Barbara Knox is a woman in her mid-eighties; I hate to sound ghoulish, but nobody lives forever.  If you kill Rita now, you get a final goodbye that will make sense for the show and the public, and allow us all to close the book on her.

Kill Rita and you score a number of slam dunks.  You allow a much loved character to say her final goodbyes onscreen.  You get a good, dramatic storyline that will affect every character on the Street and create smaller storylines (how will Sally and Jenny react to losing their surrogate mothers?  How will Norris cope in the Kabin on his own?  Will Gemma go off the rails without a calming influence?).  You get boffo ratings - you can bet that ITV will be all over it; they're probably preparing the Farewell Rita documentary even as we speak.  And Rita can go out with a bang.  That's what the showgirls always want - a hell of a curtain call.

If you want to tell me just how wrong I am and why I should be drummed out of Weatherfield you can do so at my Twitter account: @merseytart. 

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

Why Corrie would be crazy to kill off Rita

 

(This post was originally posted by GraemeN on the Coronation Street Blog in August 2017, reposted to this blog with permission.)


I'm flipping furious and that's a fact. There has been a great deal of publicity surrounding Coronation Street legend Rita Tanner over the past few days. Yes folks, her future is in doubt. Well, according to the tabloid press it is at any rate. I'm usually one to take these things with a huge pinch of salt as this kind of story sells newspapers and while Coronation Street are neither confirming nor denying the news, no news is good news as it suits the show to have Twitter a-flame about the famous Weatherfield redhead and #SaveRita trending away merrily. 

I'm torn on the whole issue. One the one hand I don't want anything rotten to happen to our Reet but on the other, at least it gives the Queen of the Kabin something to do other than raise an eyebrow heaven-ward at Mary and make camp asides at Norris Cole's campy side. The brilliant Barbara Knox has demonstrated time and time again what a cracking actor and asset she is to the Street showcasing her talents for both high drama and sparkling comedy since she joined the show on a permanent basis back in 1972. Being part of a double act in Corrie is normally a sign of legendary status however being part of several is taking the whole thing into a different cobbled stratosphere. Over the years we've seen Rita enjoy and endure a fiery, tempestuous marriage with Len; a sequined shoulder padded mare-fest with Bet Lynch; a chalk and cheese joyous pairing with dithery Mavis and most recently the Rita and Norris show. Legendary doesn't do it justice.

 

So why am I flipping furious? I loathe all the wild speculation at the imminent demise of such a strong character as Rita. She's weathered more storms than I've had gin and tonics. Let's look at the evidence: 

Rita's been the resident artiste at the Crossroads-esque Gatsby. She's woken up next to Len Fairclough after a night on the ale during the very brown 1970s (just what did they get up to during the ITV strike of 1979? She's brought up a teenage ginger-winge in Jenny Flamin' Bradley. She's tussled with a Blackpool tram (wearing a horrendous gold lame mac) to get away from evil Jenny's evil father. She married a sweet salesman with a BRAIN TUMOUR - been here already dear!. She endured the ups and downs <shudders> of the Wiltons' bedroom pursuits (it's all about the parsnips). She crawled through that awful storyline which saw a love hatch created between her flat and that of Bet's leftovers, Alec Gilroy. She inhaled a nasty dose of carbon monoxide poisoning, piped in by Mad Axe Man Brian Park. She was nearly flattened by a flying tram, coiffeure remaining intact throughout - "What is it with me and trams?" And for the past 40 years, she's been made to sing at will, sometimes while dressed as a pearly queen.

 

Those reasons alone are enough for Rita to hug a deadly illness and say "take me now!" but for me, Coronation Street just would not be the same without Rita Tanner and the brilliant Barbara Knox who plays her. I believe some online journos would call Rita a "legacy character". I'd call that a load of balls. Rita is quite simply class. She links the old with the new, bridges the gap between so many classic stories and characters with the generation which will hopefully keep the Corrie flag flying proudly. She has moved with the times, still has the wow factor and is one of the few surviving Corrie people who we fans would speak of in hushed tones if we ever had the stupendous fortune to curtsy before her. Rita and Barbara are Street royalty, part of the very fabric of the show and in the days when real bona fide Corrie legends are so thin on the ground, we surely cannot bid farewell to Rio Rita so soon. As a character and an actress she has much more to give.

I have moaned on before about how I feel Corrie's focus has switched away from portraying the lives of older people. It used to be such a strength. These days it's much more like Hollyoaks with added barm cakes. There are loads of younger characters I relish seeing but that trusted community of older characters has long since diminished and as of yet, they have not been replaced. Ten years ago we had Ken and Deirdre, Betty, Blanche, Jack and Vera, Emily and Audrey. Now we're down to Ken, Rita and Audrey (who has somewhat disappeared this year). The backbone of Corrie was always the older characters and the older audience who watched them, empathised with them and followed their ups and downs loyally for decades. 

 

Of course I'm not ignoring the possibility that Barbara Knox has decided to switch out the lights in the Kabin for one last time. She has been dedicated to Coronation Street longer than I've been on this earth and no matter what happens, we have decades of glorious moments to savour again and again. If Barbara has indicated she wants to retire or just move on, fair play and we should all respect her for that. Six episodes a week is looming and I've ordered my bulking up powders in preparation for watching it all, never mind learning the lines and being in it. If this is goodbye, I'd much rather see Rita go out with a fond farewell akin to Jean Alexander's exit back on Christmas Day 1987. The fondness the audience felt for that character and the years we'd collectively watched her struggle meant that a sweet finale that left a warm glow was all it could ever possibly be. I feel the same about Rita. So if she must endure this nasty brain tumour rubbish, please let's see that tough old broad Reet fight it tooth and nail and win. Then perhaps she can reassess her golden years, Mavis can make a brief reappearance and the pair can exit stage right together, Cartmel-bound. 

Nothing has been confirmed by ITV. We don't know how it will pan out, how long the story will last and how it will end. I will be bloody annoyed if it ends with credits rolling over a black screen and silence. I'd find that decision hard to stomach, so I hope you are reading Kate Oates.

To finish, a few reasons why Rita is simply the best, and therefore demands the very best from us and those who steer the show in 2017. First up, a joyous bit of gentle comedy from the 1990s. Remember when Corrie did comedy instead of locking people in cellars?

Here's a classic ding dong between Rita and Bet back in 1995:

And to show just what Barbara Knox (and Eileen Derbyshire) are capable of, have a look at this from 1983:

And I couldn't end without Rita's rendition of A Winter's Tale post-Tram Crash apocalypse:

And don't forget Rita's come back from the brink once before:

So please, Coronation Street, don't let this be the end of RIta. She deserves a whole lot better than a brain tumour and some silent credits.

You can follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82

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Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter