Jean Alexander, who played Coronation Street's Hilda Ogden, is interviewed in today's Express. She's officially retired now, at 85 years old. She says: "I’m tired. That’s why I am announcing I am officially retired. All my
life I have rushed around to fit in with other people’s schedules. Now I
can suit myself.”
She talks about current storylines on Coronation Street and says: "Everyone in the Street seems to be having an affair. Some of them have been round the Street four times already. I cannot comment on East- Enders because I never watch it but I am so disappointed in Coronation Street. In the relentless battle for ratings it has sold its soul to sex, scandal and downright nastiness.
"Things have to move on, I know, but in the days of Hilda Ogden, Annie Walker and Co, the Street was gentle, funny and human. The humour has all but gone out of it these days. We had a lot of fun making Coronation Street and the fans let us know they had fun watching it. There were heartbreaking moments but we also tried to make people laugh.Today it’s all sex, doom and gloom and it’s all taken far too seriously. The Street always tried to be relevant to the way people lived, especially in a northern working-class district."
However, Jean does have good words to say about Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz Stape. Jean says Jennie would have fitted nicely into the Street in the days of Hilda Ogden. “She has that northern grit and the original elbows out, hands-on-hip attitude. She’s a tough cookie. She is a real character and very noticeable. The characters are missing from Coronation Street these days,” she says.
It's a good interview and well worth reading here.
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13 comments:
Totally agree! Nail on the head, Miss Alexander! Have you read the interview, Mr Collinson? Dip into the programme's archive and you'll see how Coronation Street SHOULD be made.
Whilst Corrie is top of the tree in ratings all of this will fall on deaf ears. Corrie is the cash cow for ITV and while it's raking in the viewers (aka advertising pennies) then Mr Collinson and the all new corrioaks show will be here to stay.
The history, culture, family aspect of the show means nothing.
Jean Alexander's been saying this since about three minutes after she left. This is nothing new.
This week we have seen Tina, a bar maid who we are told is strong and witty but is really just a depressing moany young girl, get left for dead in a lapdamncing club, Eileen get battered, Lesley electrocuted, Nick punch Davids lights out and Sunita whip off her spray on jeans for a jump in the family flat. There has not been one thing that has made me smile with the exception of St=Ella YET AGAIN getting in on the act and 'being there' for Eileen.
The street is now a habit for me. Just like smoking, I knew for a long time I wasnt getting anything out of it anymore except the very occassional bit of light relief, but it was hard to give up. I no longer look forward to the street. I just watch it.
I fear Jean Alexander is right and it makes me feel sad.- Micky
While Corrie isnt at its best at the moment, at other times it is very good (Becky's exit to the Murder reveal)
Jean Alexander seems to like to bring this up all the time, I don't think she realises the country we live in has changed so the street has changed with it. You cant always have storylines like you did back then. But Corrie still does them (Diamond Jubilee, Roy and Hayley's wedding)
There's no point in giving up on Corrie if you've been watching it for years, sure it might be going through a bad patch, but it's not the first time.
I disagree with Miss Alexander's more illiberal views, but she is right that the Street has sold its soul. Like Micky, for me watching it is a hard to break habit, but I rarely enjoy it. The only laughs are unintentional ones.
Unfortunately I think many of us still watch the Street in the hopes that it will get back to its roots so that accounts for its good ratings.
The sad thing is that it hasn't and we are still watching and hoping for improvement that will never come.
So Collinson looks at the ratings and breaks his arm patting himself on the back for the fantastic job he is doing instead of admitting that he is destroying the Street.
I agree with Miss Alexander. There is no need for tawdry, nasty stuff if you have good writing with good characters...something the Street used to have in abundance..good producers wouldn't hurt either..where is HV Kershaw when you need him!
I haven't been watching the show for long..about a dozen years or so but it really has gone downhill. I don't know if it's the age of the writers or they've just run out of ideas but it's becoming more EE with every passing week.
Who's idea was it for Sunita to become a hose-bag overnight? Dev, we are now supposed to feel sorry for I guess but I don't...he's an idiot and a waste of air time.Tommy/Tina/Terry/Tyone...send in the clowns.
But, as long as the ratings are up there who cares hmmm?
I remember when they went all haywire with "Dallas" back in the day..a whole year of idiotic storylines was explained away by one of the characters having a dream. The lost viewers and never got them back..people just stopped watching.
Thanks for allowing me to post on this blog.
Not being funny but she thinks Fiz/Jennie McApline is good? WHAT?
The street used to be brilliant due to the lines the chracters said. There were fights yes, but verbal fights where the writers went all out to show the characters at their very best wit. Look at Ena and Elsie, the lines of an argument were what made it not Ena smashing Elsie on the nozzer!
In reply to Scott Willison:
Jean Alexander hasn't been saying this sort of thing since about three minutes after she left, her 1989 autobiography is full of praise for the Street, including its (then) young stars. She first criticized it in the Brian Park era.
Lots of people have switched off. Some watch it now and again. The storylines are just repetitive boredom. They drag on much to long to uphold its competitive edge. Where are the happy stories the fun of living in the Street..No wonder there are so many deaths. Murders kidnapping etc.. They are all just too miserable to enjoyenjoy themsel es. One good moment followed by half a dozen upsetting s enes. It makes for depressing viewi.g. IT'S ALL DOOM AND GLOOM!!!!
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