I
started writing this on the day Anne Kirkbride died. When a few of the tabloids
suggested that she was to retire from Coronation Street, I like other Corrie
bloggers, started thinking about her impact on Coronation Street and television
as a whole, and to ponder life without Deirdre.
If
only the big news last week was that she had retired. Still, I've started so
I'll finish. Here's what I cobbled together...with a couple of personal
memories to finish with.
***
They
are a dying breed. That truly legendary type of soap star that comedians
impersonate, fancy dress costumes are based upon, and for whom the nation goes
into mourning after their inevitable TV demise. You know they've made it when
they get a waxwork at Tussaud's and their own tv special: Goodbye Blanche, Goodbye Jack, Rita and Me...a
celebration of both the actor and the character. Indeed Jack and Vera
Duckworth mattered so much to the TV audience of Britain and beyond, that
writers temporarily suspended reality, bringing Liz Dawn out of retirement
and Vera back from the dead to collect her beloved Jack.
The
superheroes of soap become the character they portray and whether on or off
screen, Julie Goodyear is now Bet Lynch, Barbara
Knox is Rita and June Brown from Eastenders is Dot
Cotton - whether they like it or not. Just like to me, Julie Andrews will
always be Mary Poppins - that's the character that stuck in my head, no matter
what other roles she played later. Anne Kirkbride, in the same way, will
forever be Deirdre Barlow.
The
secret to becoming a soap superstar is in part down to the type of longevity
and work ethic you see less and less of in continuing drama. Just when we see
glimmers of a new soap superstar in the making, such as Becky McDonald, played
by Katherine Kelly for example, bigger, brighter opportunities are sent their
way and it must be difficult, however loyal to a soap, to resist new
challenges. We live in a different world, with greater opportunity and
increasing numbers of media outlets shining a spotlight on talent.
This
is the very opposite of why our soap superstars are elevated to almost mythical
status. They tend not to crave limelight outside of work. They are rarely seen
at award ceremonies or on television chat shows. Soap superstars go to work to
earn a living and once the wig is removed and the makeup is washed off, they
are mortal again. Anne Kirkbride once commented in a rare interview that her
work at Coronation Street was just a job, and that she hadn't wanted to be an
actress at all. How ironic that she became one of television's most
recognisable and loved faces.
It
tends to be a woman's thing - this soap superstardom. Think of Pat Butcher,
Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Dot Cotton, Bet Lynch, maybe even Bianca Butcher
and a handful of others. Corrie, probably more so than Eastenders, is based
around and would be lost without strong, troubled and formidable women so it
makes sense that the women become the real stars.
The
future of soap doesn't necessarily depend on the new alumni of actors becoming
superstars, but it certainly helps. Unique characters are Corrie's U.S.P. and
it is funnier and generally more enjoyable when they stretch the boundaries a
little with characters who are slightly cartoonish but with real world
problems. The longevity is the key thing though. If a soap character is as
familiar to you as a member of your family, chances are that you will root for
that character and become invested in their storylines. We were certainly
invested in Deirdre's, and Anne Kirkbride's death has hit us hard as viewers
and fans.
We
who write and read this blog didn't know Anne Kirkbride, but we loved her work
and we will always love Deirdre. I was however lucky enough to meet her when I
worked for Bev Callard, Anne's dear friend and familiar to us all as Liz
McDonald. Anne would sometimes come in for a gossip with Bev. The two friends
would sit in a quiet corner, have a good old laugh about who knows what,
smoking away as if in one of those famous scenes from Corrie or the First Wives Club. Two soap superstars sitting in the corner giggling
away, like any other pals having a laugh. This was one of the first memories
that came into my mind when Anne passed away.
My
only other personal memory of Anne, although she wasn't directly involved, was
when I was in a car with former Corrie writer Daran Little on our way to Blackpool
for a day out (to Tussaud's incidentally). We set off on our way down the motorway. Daran was driving and
his phone rang so he asked me to answer it. I said hello, and a familiar voice
came back: 'Hello Annie?' sounding slightly confused. I know Anne had quite a
deep sounding voice but I'm slightly less raspy shall we say. The person on the
other end of the phone was Bill Roache and god knows how, but he'd called Daran
by mistake expecting to speak to Anne. I had a brief but memorable chat with
Bill, who I'd never met and haven't since, and after making it clear that I
wasn't Anne, and that I didn't look anything like her, I presume he hung up and
went to find his glasses to get the right number. I was then left with the
unusual but amazing right to boast that for a split second, Ken thought I was
Deirdre.
I
of course took it as a compliment...
@steviedawson
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