Coronation Street Blog: Goodbye, Claire Peacock

Saturday, 15 January 2011

Goodbye, Claire Peacock

And so then, the feisty Claire Peacock has taken her leave of Weatherfield. It's been a bumpy seven years for the tiny tyrant. Despite working her own kind of magic on the hapless Ashley, Claire was often portrayed as a bit of a harridan. She seemingly carped on about bettering both herself and her family in a way that perhaps only Sally Webster could appreciate. Arguably Claire was one of t'Street's most irritating characters but for those traits we applaud the performances of Julia Haworth. Her portayal of a bereft widow has been mesmerising and Haworth has fittingly been given a good send-off from the Street.

Will Claire Peacock be remembered warmly by fans in years to come? Or are we glad to see the back of her?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...: I will really miss her. I always liked Claire (and Ashley) as they were one of the nicest families on the Street. I was disappointed that they were axed, although I think they both got good exits. Julia has proven herself to be a brilliant actress over the past month, so good luck to her.; 15 January 2011 at 16:02
Anonymous said...: I'm torn. I always saw her as a very anal-retentive kinda gal, who bitched wayyyy too much at her husband. The last bit of nagging she did about France realllly got on my nerves.

HOWEVER, her recent role as grieving widow was superbly done and I truly empathized with Claire.

Still have my doubts about absconding to France though. Surely the UK/France have an extradition deal of some kind?

And running away only allows Tracey to spew even more lies, with no one there to contradict her. And that means we'll be stuck with her for a good while longer. UGH!!!!

~JB in Canada; 15 January 2011 at 16:05
Tvor said...: I liked Claire, though she could be irritating at times. The character always had a feisty spark underneath it all; 15 January 2011 at 16:08
Anonymous said...: Was disappointed with the whole "absconding to France" storyline. I know it's soap but - as has already been pointed out - the fact that there IS an extradition treaty blew a huge hole in the script from the start. It was also totally out of character for Claire who would have stuck by the truth that she just pushed Tracy and taken her chances before a jury - also knowing that Tracy had been proved to be an unreliable witness. Plus going on the run also means giving up any control / income over the sale of Ashley's butcher's shop, quite apart from insurance compensation or whatever from the post-tram fire etc at her home. So as well as becoming a fugitive for the rest of her natural, she's also run away from her finances / future security for her children. Would she really do that?; 15 January 2011 at 16:20
Frosty the Snowman said...: Claire started off as a sweet mousey nanny to Ashley's kids then suddenly when she got the ring on her finger she turned into a harpie. I didnt enjoy the way she shreaked at him all the time.

But you call that a "good exit". I would call it totally far fetched OTT nonsense. Firstly Josh is not her child and she could not take him withotu dr Matt's consent, where are Maxime's family, she had a mother Doreen? Her whole house and contents were supposed to be destroyed by the tram yet she meekly handed in their passports. All this "drama" over her leaving was daft and OTT when she just could have left more credibly to go and live with her mother who mysteriously never contacted her or come across the channel in her grief.; 15 January 2011 at 16:37
Anonymous said...: You run = you look guilty. Tracey wins. NOT a good storyline.

~JB in Canada; 15 January 2011 at 16:47
John M said...: I must admit, I agree with Frosty - very poorly done all round really. They should have extended her contract a little and gone through with a trial. The jury would never have believed Tracy as she has proved unreliable before and even said Becky had punched her before changing her story! Julia's acting during the tram crash was superb though.

I don't think really that both she and Steven Arnold were given very good stories. She was always saddled with either the 1) slightly neurotic storylines or 2) the nagging housewife storylines, both of which never did anything for me.; 15 January 2011 at 17:41
Sea Penguin said...: I really liked Claire and thought she was under-used. Mixed feelings about her exit - nice to see Graeme, Steve and Becky rallying round, and glad she didn't get nicked by those smarmy coppers, but fake passports to France? not sure - maybe just a wee bit far-fetched.; 15 January 2011 at 18:05
maggie muggins said...: Surreal exit. I was hoping we'd get a few minutes next week to see her at the airport where he mother's waiting. They could have a conversation about the gaping holes in the plan, i.e. Joshua's not hers and France isn't safe from the plodding plods (very Rocky & Bullwinkle). Choose any far-flung French-speaking country where she can use her new language skills. The Rovers plot was fun, but dumb.

I won't miss her that much for all the reasons already stated. Julia Haworth was poorly used, since we now know she can act here socks off. Hated especially the convoluted Casey Carswell abduction/affair/fire nonsense and even more the post natal depression story. Hope she finds better roles elsewhere! She's had the worst luck with storylines at Corrie.; 15 January 2011 at 21:41
Kylie O'Reilly said...: All these plotholes are on purpose - Claire will be extradited back to face trial (possibly next Christmas) - Mark my words xx; 16 January 2011 at 00:53
Anonymous said...: I liked Claire, she was hilarious sometimes. I loved the house swap storyline :D; 16 January 2011 at 01:18
Anonymous said...: Just watched the "escape" on ITV catch-up; really poor storyline. Very disappointing considering how TPTB promised great drama in the new year. Completely unbelievable, even the actors involved seemed wishy-washy. I agree, the character Claire really never got any decent plots, and the actress Julia Haworth also never got any decent opportunities until the tram crash. I wish Julia well and look forward to seeing her in future productions character roles.; 16 January 2011 at 08:01
The Garden Pixie said...: To be perfectly honest in this day and age of identity theft and fraud and terrorism, I dont think it should be shown to be "acceptable" to flee the Country on a forged passport. As another poster put, Clurr should have stood trial, been found not guilty and then moved away to start a new life. Too much emphasis is put on "sensationalism2 rather than good writing and attention to details lately I am sorry to say.; 16 January 2011 at 09:16
Anonymous said...: The plot far fetched? No father than letting a nutter out of prison on some scheme like "the expert witness was a fraud" and nobody heard about it? It wasn't in the news?

Claire is a widow and desperate to protect her boys, so with a bit of convincing that she'd lose them makes it plausible, not a perfect plan for an honest person just plausible. Money hasn't even hit her mind it would seem. It is, as has been said, a soap after all.

Too bad Julia didn't have all that power shown in her grieving role in earlier work!

Thanks,
Hayli; 16 January 2011 at 12:37
Mags said...: Is it just me, or was the whole escape thing supposed to be a parody on the Von Trapps fleeing from the Nazis, when they had to hide in the shadows in the convent cemetery??!; 17 January 2011 at 13:04
Anonymous said...: Glad another irritating person has left just the rest need to go now; 11 July 2011 at 05:14