Bluenose Corrie Blogger: What's your favourite Hilda Ogden moment?

Saturday, 26 July 2014

What's your favourite Hilda Ogden moment?

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in July 2014, reposted with permission.)

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Hilda Ogden's first appearance on Coronation Street, which was the 8th of July 1964. As well as axing the likes of Martha Longhurst, Frank Barlow, Florrie Lindley and Harry and Concepta Hewitt, the then-producer Tim Aspinall also introduced us to a couple that would become Corrie icons - Stan and Hilda Ogden.

Their daughter Irma had been introduced in January and had secured a job at the Corner Shop and the Ogdens moved in a few months later into 13 Coronation Street, recently vacated after Jerry and Myra Booth moved away. They would become the first street residents to own their own house. Hilda was soon appointed cleaner at the Rovers, succeeding the late Martha Longhurst. Over the next 20 years they would develop into a golden partnership, reaching their peak during the 1970s. We laughed and cried with them.

You can see the episode where Hilda first appeared here, here and here. You can read a comprehensive synopsis of the episode here.

Hilda became an iconic character with her trademark curlers and pinny and her favourite hobby was gossiping. As well as cleaning the Rovers, she later became cleaner to Mike Baldwin and Doctor Lowther. By 1984, Hilda as a character had softened with the death of Stan and the fact that the characters that she was associated with weren't there any more like Annie Walker, Elsie Tanner, Eddie Yeats and Len Fairclough. In 1987, Doctor Lowther offered her a job as his housekeeper in Derbyshire which she accepted and she got a wonderful send-off. Over 25 years later, Hilda, and her portrayer Jean Alexander are still much loved as recent news has shown.

There is also a wonderful character profile of Hilda on Corriepedia, a great source information of all things Corrie!

While I love all Hilda's moments, from her catfights with Elsie Tanner and Bet Lynch; or weeping over Stan, mine has to be when she told the Corrie residents what she thought of them after they falsely accused Stan of being a Peeping Tom. This isn't the Hilda we remember - the funny, gossipy type. This was the Hilda who defended her family. She embodied the classic Corrie woman. Let me take you back to 1972.