What a sad start to the week it was when we learned
of the shocking news that Anne Kirkbride had passed away. The intervening days
have been filled with well deserved and fitting tributes and outpourings of
respect, admiration and love for the actress who, for over 40 years, touched so many lives
both as Anne, and in the form of Deirdre Barlow.
Much has already been beautifully articulated by
others who lament her passing, but I would like to add my own humble
contribution to remembering her. I didn't know Anne, but I knew Deirdre Barlow well.
As viewers and media alike looked back on her character this week, recurring highlights have included Deirdre's relationship with Blanche, her marriages
to Ray Langton, Ken Barlow and Samir Rachid, her affair with Mike Baldwin, her incarceration
at the hands of Jon Lindsay and the public campaign to “Free the
Weatherfield One”. All are examples of great Coronation Street
Deirdre began 2014 in the absence of Ken, and having
her house deliberately trashed by Tracy and Rob to make her fear living alone, and
agree to Rob moving in. She was canny enough to realise who the culprits were
straight away, and despite being furious, allowed Rob to move in anyway, but on
her terms. This act would set the tone for a year which saw her put those she
loved before herself while at the same time taking action and making decisions as
she saw fit.
Deirdre Barlow took centre stage last year, and to
my mind embodied the best qualities of the Coronation Street
What made Deirdre the everywoman who was so
easy to identify with was the normalcy she maintained against the soapland backdrop
of murder, deception and false imprisonment. She was an ordinary woman reacting
ordinarily in extraordinary circumstances, and this is where the realism in any good soap must be found.
Alongside her sacrifices and
hardships, her grounded nature and representation permitted the motherliness at
her core to shine through like a beacon. Allowing Rob to get some ‘posh crisps’
from the cupboard after recovering Uncle Albert’s medal, and preparing a parcel
for rehab-bound Peter containing his
Easter egg and a threaded needle are small but beautiful and very important
details which brought her to life, conveyed who she was, and were central to why so many could relate to her, loved her, and
felt they knew her, as she was representative of many beloved women in our own
lives who we know would do the very same.
To these lovely details we can add
her marrow, her belts, her sneaky ciggies, her pottery, her glasses and her special trifle, for
after all, no matter what happens to us, these are the details that make up who
we are, that constitute a life. Across her 42 years on Coronation Street, that life played out alongside
ours, and this is a remarkable and very special thing.
Deirdre’s
visits to Liz in The Rovers were another endless source of joy for me. I can see her with a glass
of red in front of her at the side of the bar, pondering how wine is not
quite the same without pork scratchings, and confiding, sharing, laughing and
chatting about life with her best friend. This was one of Deirdre’s pleasures, and consequently ours.
It's hard to imagine Coronation Street without Deirdre Barlow, but she leaves a very special legacy in that it is not just made up of memories, but the sense of what it was to know her. For a fictional character to leave not just recollections but feelings is a testament to Anne, and we have her to thank for the gift of Deirdre, a woman who illuminated both our televisions and our lives.
May she rest in peace.
By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes
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