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Friday 10 February 2012

The S-Word

Something weird happened in this evening's Corrie.  They mentioned Salford.  Twice.

First Roy said his cafe was on an "ordinary Salford backstreet".  Then Jason said he was just "a Salford boy".

The odd part of all this is that Weatherfield has always presumed to be Salford; in the fictional world of Coronation Street, the city across the Irwell doesn't exist.  Tony Warren based Weatherfield on Salford in the first place so we've always worked on the assumption that it's not there in Corrie world, in the same way that Metropolis or Gotham City are basically New York.  Weatherfield = Salford.

Roy and Jason's statements throw up a load of questions.  Does this mean Weatherfield is just part of Salford?  Has it always been this way?  What about Weatherfield's mayor, Alf Roberts, or Councillor Dierdre Barlow?  Who did they represent?  Does this mean that the Lowry is now under Weatherfield's jurisdiction, so Audrey can nip to the ballet when she gets a spare minute?  Does this mean that Greater Manchester is even bigger than we previously thought, because Salford and Weatherfield are both in there somewhere?  Is there some kind of demilitarized zone, like the one between the two Koreas, where neither side has responsibility?

I think we should be told.

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21 comments:

Billy Niblick said...

Yes, I noticed this, too.

Quite interesting. One presumes that Weatherfield is simply a district within Salford, though how that squares with it having its own Mayor, Council, and even its own Crown Court, is a bit puzzling. I detect a dropped ball, here.

Tvor said...

I wonder if both lines were flubs on the parts of the actors or writers?

Chewy said...

Weatherfield has to be it's own town, it's not possible for it to be just a district since they have their own General Hospital and Crown Court

Adam Rekitt said...

It just shows the decline in the show's quality that has long been evident through numerous errors. Although I have always understood Weatherfield to be Salford,in 50 years there hasn't been a mention of Salford on the show to my knowledge. It's always been Weatherfield Council, Weatherfield Police Station, even Weatherfield County FC.

It should have been a Weatherfield backstreet and a Weatherfield boy. Clearly everyone was too preoccupied with planning the next murder to notice the script.

Greg said...

Yeah i noticed this too very strange as they would usually refer to it as Manchester or weatherfield never heard Salford mentioned before!

Chewy said...

I just hope they don't start saying it's in Salford from now on, it's always been Weatherfield

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they are getting ready for the site move from Manchester to Salford.

Chewy said...

That shouldn't matter within the context of the show. Plus it's moving to Trafford, not Salford :p

Anonymous said...

I always presumed Weatherfield was it's own town; curious.

bbhilda said...

Joe Harvey, who wrote one of tonight's episodes defended the backlash on Twitter by saying Weatherfield has always been part of Salford, not Manchester. That's news to me, I always understood that Weatherfield was the fictional name 'for' Salford.

I think Mr. Harvey is wrong in this instance.

Tvor said...

I think that was a "cover your a$$" tweet, I think he got it wrong and made a mistake but won't admit it.

Tvor said...

Tony Warren always said Weatherfield was based on Salford.

Glenda Young said...

It is bizarre that Jonathan Harvey wrote it and Corrie allowed it to get onto screen. I'm confused now but as the poster above points, it could be something to do with ITV's move from Manchester to Salford.

Dolly Tubb said...

I think that using 'Salford' is right - hurrah! Like several areas these days, the city of Salford is an amalgam of many, once independent, regions. One of the big hospitals in Salford is Hope Hospital, named after the Hope district it is in (although recently renamed). So Weatherfield District Hospital is not 'wrong'.

Weatherfield is a sub-district of Salford. Roy and Jason referring to 'Salford' is not incorrect. It's strange though that there has never been much made of Corrie's Salford roots but then twice in one night is odd. But good :-)!

Tvor said...

If it was *always* a district of Salford as Mr. Harvey claims, they wouldn't have their own town hall, police, courts, etc.

Adam Rekitt said...

What gives today's temporary custodians of Coronation Street the right to decide suddently that Weatherfield is a district of Salford? Has it taken the residents 50 years to realise?

It makes me fear what else this crew might decide to override. Hopefully, the secret revealed at Betty's wake will not be that her hotpot actually wasn't that tasty.

Humpty Dumpty said...

A district might have some institutions with its name as part of the title. Police stations use the district name even though they're not governed by that authority. However, a district definitely wouldn't have its own court.

Dolly Tubb said...

Aww, don't burst my bubble! Weatherfield is based on Archie Street in Ordsall in Salford. I am sure you all know that! And just up the A6 Swinton has its own Town Hall AND it's in Salford AND it's where the wonderful Tony Warren was born. Eccles has its own magistrates court and that's in Salford! We (used to) have Ladywell Hospital and Hope Hospital and Pendlebury Children's Hospital and THEY are all in Salford. AND most people in these areas are proud to be Salfordians.

Salford is a city. It's BIG. Other cities have districts which operate autonomously within the
boundaries of a city. Just like London. Just like places in Canada.

Phew - sorry - I'll put the soap box away now, I'm getting a bit dizzy up here!

Anonymous said...

Utter rubbish from Harvey. The late, great HV Kershaw made it quite clear in his book "The Street Where I Live" that they deliberately came up with the fictional Weatherfield so as to not have to have scripts tie in with local by-laws, etc of a real place. It stood Corrie in good stead for half a century. Does this man not understand Corrie?

Anonymous said...

Who cares really? It is just a TV Show. Some of you need to chill out, get on with time.

Anonymous said...

Says someone bothering to take the time to read and post on a website specifically devoted to one television show.....

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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