The Corrie youth of today

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in April 2014.)

Does Coronation Street accurately represent the youth of today? I've commented before that many of Corrie's younger characters seem to be old before their time, while others, like Sophie Webster, never seem to grow up!

Characters like Tyrone, Fiz and Maria are all meant to be in their late twenties/early thirties but all three have had the weight of the world on their shoulders for years! Chesney and Sinead while sweet and kind are also like a couple of young codgers. Do the writers heap too much misery on the young these days?

In years gone by young people were fairly neglected amongst the Weatherfield demographic. In the early years it was all down to Ken, his brother David and Dennis Tanner. The only child was Lucille Hewitt. By the 1990s the production team had caught on to the idea that young people mattered, probably spurred on by the success of youth-oriented hits like Neighbours and the younger casts of rivals Brookside and EastEnders. We saw the arrival of the McDonald twins, more appearances from Tracy-Luv Barlow and later, Fiona Middleton.

In recent times some long time viewers could almost be forgiven for mixing up much of Corrie's present cast with that of Hollyoaks (shudder). Many of the young cast these days seem interchangeable with the other soaps. Katy Armstrong is a good example of this. I just fail to see what value she brings to Coronation Street, although I worry the writers are lining her up to be the next sensation (screen hogger) .

I do really like Eva and Jason. I think they are dreadfully underused at present. I'm glad Eva has been kept on after the departure of Gloria and Stella, she is by far the strongest of the three. Jason has matured and developed a great deal over the years and really does deserve a major storyline, unlike his brother Todd who I'd happily see the back of immediately. Sophie and Maddie need to bog off big time although I do think Steph Britton shows promise. She just needs to get away from Tina before her ways rub off on her.

Ah yes, Tina. Overexposed and over-appreciated. Flavour of the month along the same lines as Michelle, Becky and Sean before her. Why must the writers continue along the same destructive path? 

They gather information from online forums that a particular character is popular or an actress is capable of flogging magazines and they force them front and centre at every given opportunity. None of the above are unwatchable, but it stretches the patience of even the most loyal viewer to see them feature in storylines that dominate endlessly for months on end.

Anyway, which of the younger Corrie cast are your favourites? And which would you happily see the back of?



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