Overexposure Street

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2013.)

Why must the powers that be at Coronation Street make the same mistakes over and over again? I'm afraid the recent news that the Price family are set to take centre stage in a whole host of new plots has sent me scurrying for the remote control. Yes, I'm looming over the off button.

Before I go any further, I'm not going to use this blog to moan on about Stella and her family. I've said plenty on that subject before and sadly my views have not changed. Regardless of the character(s) involved I just cannot abide overexposure on Coronation Street!

All we have to do is look back to see that moving forward with the same characters dominating screen time can only lead to disaster. Recent history has given us various flavours of the month, whether it be Becky, Tina, Michelle, Sean or Tracy. Each of these characters, whether you love them or loathe them, has been force fed to us time and time again until both the character and most probably the actor too has suffered from burn out.

The whole point of Corrie is that it's one big repertory company. Variety is the spice of life. We like to see a community in action, not just episode upon episode focussing on one particular family. There is no point in having a cast of 65 actors if only a fraction are treated to  storylines. 

Corrie is also about longevity. We care more about characters that stick around. That's why we love Roy and Hayley, Ken and Deirdre, Audrey, Rita and the rest. We feel like we've known them for years so we continue to tune in to the ups and downs of their lives. When characters dominate over a short space of time, they burn out or leave. Where else is there to take a character when they've faced a fire, a siege, a kidnap and a cancer scare in six months? Ok, that's an exaggeration but really the Corrie of 2013 is stretching believability at the best of times as it is.

So whatever we think of Stella, Gloria and Eva, it looks like they are staying put. My plea to the powers that be is this: Stop forcing them down our throats please! Rest the characters for a while - we don't need to see them at the centre of the drama all the time. Give someone else a shot. Give these actors a holiday, I'm sure they need it. Watching Corrie at the moment, I know I do!


Follow the Bluenose CorrieBlog on Twitter and Facebook