(This post was originally posted by blogger Yoork on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted with permission.)
Since Blanche's funeral was this week, I thought you might enjoy a proper episode update of the two episodes that it covered here in Canada on Wednesday and Thursday this week, written originally by blogger Yoork.
Written by Damon Rochefort (7:30) and Chris Fewtrell (8:30), directed by Duncan Foster
Deirdre is smoking her brains out in distress over her mother’s funeral. Ken doesn’t understand why Blanche specified Norris to carry her coffin. Deirdre figured
Blanche just wanted to have one last go at him. Deirdre can’t get her head around the fact that her mum is gone and feels as though she’s lost her bearings. Ken reminds her that she’s not on her own today, that everyone she loves will be there and she adds, “not everyone.”
Meanwhile, Peter’s worried with how Simon’s going to cope with all his loss: first his mum, then his rabbit, now Blanche. Leanne reminds him that life is just a big lottery and Simon still has a lot of people that love him. Leanne reminds Peter that Blanche thought they were doing a great job. For an alcoholic and an ex-prostitute.
Becky’s getting Amy ready for Nana Blanche’s funeral, to which Liz doesn’t think she should attend. Steve tries to cheer Amy up by telling her that there will be a new McDonald member of the family soon enough, but Amy reminds him that she’s called Barlow. It looks like Steve has promised Amy that she’d be a McDonald too and Liz warns him that there’s no way Tracy will agree to that.
Deirdre walks out of No.1 to the car and notices everyone out on the street for Blanche’s funeral and says that she thought no one could stand her mum. Rita tells her that she knows better than that, and they were off. At the church, Deirdre spots the One O’Clock Club and May tells Deirdre that the flight would have been too long for Arnold. Audrey approaches Deirdre and tells her she’s brought a valium for her, just in case she needs it but Deirdre says she needs her wits about her to keep things in check. Deirdre watches her mother’s casket go into the church, then sees Tracy and a warden come up behind and runs to embrace her. Others aren’t so happy to see Tracy and Steve asks Audrey about that valium.
The others usher into the church and Janice notices that they’re playing “accentuate the positive” and Hayley says
Blanche chose all the music herself. Eileen notes that she was definitely more cheerful in death, than in life. Oh, she’s one to talk! Everyone notices that Tracy is there and start to salivate at the thought of some possible excitement – Norris especially. Tracy says “hi” to Amy, but Amy just buries her head in Becky’s coat ignoring her mum. What did Tracy expect? Amy asks Becky why her mummy is there and Becky tells her that Tracy loved Nanny Blanche too. They stand for the hymns and Tracy can’t take her eyes off of Amy and Becky.
Deirdre starts her eulogy and delivers a few good lines and quotes Blanche a couple times. She even mentions how Roy and Hayley closed the cafe today as a mark of respect. The camera pans to a guilty looking Hayley and Roy who really closed the cafe due to a lack of staff. Deirdre tells how Blanche lived for her family and was proud that there was four generations of them, but only three generations now. Deirdre says she’s 54, but she feels like an orphan which puts about everyone who wasn’t already in them in tears – including yours truly! Deirdre says that
she doesn’t know how her family would have coped through the bad times without that…mean spirited old witch in the corner to which everyone gets some comic relief from. It’s very true, how would Corrie have gotten through the hard times without the comic relief that great characters like Blanche Hunt brought? Not a dry eye in the place, when Deirdre sums up the two words that described Blanche best: my mother.
As the church lets out, Deirdre asks Archie if he will come to the Rovers and raise a glass with them later and he says that
Blanche would never forgive him if he hadn’t. Tracy sees Audrey and tells her that she’s heard about Gail and Audrey tells her to keep away from her since she doesn’t want her poison anywhere near Gail. Amy comes running out to see Tracy and Steve reckons it must be weird for Tracy to be out after all those years in there. Becky warns Steve to behave since Dawn will be interviewing Tracy about the adoption. Amy tells Tracy that Becky did her hair and Tracy doesn’t like the sound of that. Tracy angrily approaches Steve and accuses him of trying to take her daughter away from her and change her name and rub her out of her life. Erm, you’re in jail for LIFE, your hopes of being a mother are gone. Becky tells Tracy to calm down and it’s the wrong thing to say as Tracy lunges herself at Becky but is held back by her officer. Poor Deirdre witnesses this and sobs up. Oh, that Tracy is one vile trouble-maker!
Her and Steve get into it and poor little Amy is upset and gets consoled by Becky and Tracy yells at her that
she’s not taking her daughter away from her. Becky tells Tracy that she took herself away and it’s the best thing she ever did for Amy. At that, the officers take Tracy away and back to prison screaming and yelling. Deirdre is even more upset now and Liz tries to console her when she’s sat in the church when it’s all empty. Deirdre relives the memory of Tracy’s baptism and how proud Blanche was that day. Deirdre tells Liz that Tracy misses her daughter and it’s killing her – just like it’s killing Deirdre. Deirdre places yellow freesias on her mother’s casket instead of a handful of dirt, since that’s what Blanche wanted.
Later, back at the Rover’s Steve kicks back a stiff drink and Becky’s worried about what Tracy’s word is going to do to their
adoption plans. At the wake in the Rovers, Becky tells the Croppers how their adoption plans are going and how much work it all is so Hayley offers to help her with the paperwork. Deirdre arrives telling Ken and Peter that Tracy wants them to arrange a meeting with her solicitor and that there might be war. Audrey says she’d like to go the way Blanche did: quietly in her sleep after a few months in the sun and with a new fella and all. It does sound ideal as it can be. Rita reckons that a funeral, a fight and free food would have been Blanche’s ideal day out and they toast “to Blanche.” Norris’s frown goes further down as Scary Mary shows up to show her respect to Mrs. Blanche Hunt. Norris gives her his seat as he’s going back to re-open the Kabin as Blanche would have been the first to complain. Mary tells Rita that despite her best intentions every relationship she’s had has gone sour, and it’s all down to her, “
there’s something about Mary.”
Peter tells Leanne outside that he ducked out of the wake since there were two elephants in the room in there: death, and the one in the glass. Peter says from the moment he opened his eyes this morning he wanted a drink but he can’t have Blanche spinning in her grave on day one. Peter tells Leanne he doesn’t want to wait to marry her – as soon as.
At the end of the wake, Ken gives a nice speech thanking everyone for being there and for their kind words. Ken says he
apologizes if his tribute isn’t very good but Blanche never was a fan of his prose anyhow. He tells how Blanche always had people’s best interests at heart, even if it didn’t quite appear that way. He’ll miss her tall stories, foibles, and that fearless honesty that kept them all on their toes. He requests that everyone raise a glass to someone who was a truly unique and irreplaceable presence in their lives. Later, Deirdre places some more freesias in Blanche’s room in a vase so that the smell that reminded her of her youth and mother growing up would permeate the walls of her home.
Archie Shuttleworth said it right at the beginning of the episode: we’ll do her proud, and indeed they did.
Elsewhere, Anna gets Eddie to clean up for their social worker meeting but Eddie thinks all he has to do is make a chocolate cheesecake to impress any bird. Eddie’s got his good red turtleneck on, and his hair pulled back and cleans up bearably enough. Anna is so nervous and starts giggling like an idiot when the social worker arrives. Anna can feel some tension from the social worker and thinks some reinforcements are necessary so asks Eddie to go and get the cake. Hillary, their social worker, declines the cake since she’s diabetic. Eddie tells her he’ll make a special diabetic cake for her next time and she starts to warm to them. Well, I suppose Eddie Windass can be quite charming when need be, he does after all have a woman in his life – somehow.
Sophie and Sian are hanging out at Dev’s where Sophie’s working and Sian tells Sophie the good news: her dad says she can stay with him until she’s done her exams. Goodbye Southport, hello relationship! Sophie and Sian are studying for exams when Dev walks in and notices them chatting and Sian sitting up on the counter and doesn’t look happy to see it. Sunita tells them about the funeral, but Dev says they can talk about it after her shift. Sunita wants him to ring Maria about renting her house until the sale goes through. Dev doesn’t want to pay the extra rent since he has to pay the mortgage on the flat until it’s sold. Nevermind that big house that Sunita was in.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Isn’t Eccles the cutest pet on the street?
- All the residents of Coronation Street coming out when Blanche’s funeral procession starts.
- Roy being honest and saying that he found Blanche to be a difficult unpleasant woman on the whole and often unnecessarily cruel. Well, you might say that too about a woman who thinks you look like you should be “crayonin’ summit.”
- Steve asking Audrey about that valium upon seeing Tracy.
- Peter asking Tracy who her “mate” was and the officer responding back “who’s yours?” Haha, that was unexpectedly funny.
- Deirdre being able to get through the eulogy at her mum’s funeral. Good on her.
- Simon so sweetly waving at Deirdre from the pews. Don’t children just make tough times that much less unpleasant?
- Poor traumatized little Amy! And Peter was worried about Simon. Maybe Becky and Steve should just concentrate on the child they do have, before adopting because that child will have a lot of issues.
- Nice touch adding the yellow freesias on the casket as opposed to the traditional handful of dirt.
- It was nice to see Jack Duckworth there at Blanche’s wake in the Rovers. Good classic Corrie touch!
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The tribute to Blanche “Goodbye Blanche” was also very touching and wonderful, especially the last bit. If you’d like to watch it again, I’ve got the video links and a transcription of it on WWBS here.
LOWLIGHTS
- Only Becky McDonald would wear a leopard coat to a funeral. If only I could hear what Blanche had to say about that.
- The elusive “love of her life” Arnold not showing up to the funeral because the flight would have been too long from Portugal? Oh, that’s not good enough for me.
- Is it just me, or did they use an outdated photo of Blanche for the funeral service?
Overall Episode Review: 8/10
Drama: 10/10, Humour: 7/10, Classic Corrie: 9/10, Wow Factor: 6/10
