Saturday, 2 June 2012
Lovely Rita
It is indeed a momentous week in the UK and the Commonwealth. There are celebrations up and down the land. People are festooning buildings with bunting and street parties have been organised. All of this to commemorate and give thanks for . . . Rita. Yes, on Monday, Rita Littlewood-Bates(unofficial)-Fairclough-Sullivan is due to waltz down the aisle disguised as a large peach cobbler. The octogenarian shop assistant will be joined in holy matrimony with a bloke she hadn't previously clapped eyes on since 1964.
We've been lucky enough to follow the life and loves of Rita for the past forty years. In her early appearances, Rita occupied some kind of middle ground on the show. While never bring as brassy as Elsie Tanner, she was also some distance from being Emily Bishop. We don't know too much about Rita's backstory. What caused her to reach her forties without so much as an ex-husband or an illegitimate kiddy in tow? By the time we met her in 1972, she was already middle-aged. Unmarried, living in sin and working as a cabaret artist, she could have easily been judged as a slut. Yet throughout, Rita has always retained a certain dignity which has stood her in good stead over the decades.
For many years, Rita always retained a certain image which harkened back to better days. She tended to look smart but in reality, she was a bit tatty with her blousy tops and that nasty fake-fur coat that did the rounds for most of the 1970s. Her marriage to to Len in 1977 gave Rita a bit of status yet in those early post-wedding days, she appeared to be morphing into some backstreet bitch, with her constant carping for a better life. It was a war of attrition but eventually Rita came out on top - briefly. The demise of Len could have reduced her to a life as yet one more Weatherfield Widow. It was not to be. Rita went onwards and upwards. Many years later, when a vicious Bet Gilroy rounded on Rita in the Kabin, she snarled that Rita wouldn't have been anyone without Len's money. That's true but Rita used it wisely, on the whole, although she was fleeced by two of her vile foster children, Sharon 'Kennels' Gaskell and Jenny Bradley.
Rita has 'survivor' stamped all the way through her. A bit like Blackpool rock. She (and indeed we the viewer) surviced the slighlty too long Alan Bradley saga. Reet also buried a second husband, the mild - that is to say dull - Ted. As Rita once recalled "He appeared in t'Kabin one day, we married the next, had a wonderfulhoneymoon, he died, had a lovely funeral and I was back behind the counter in time for Monday morning's papers." Well, maybe she didn't say any of that . . .
Anyway, in the golden autumn of her years, the fragrant Rita prepares to become Mrs Tanner but as this is Rita, there's a little business with a drug dealer to be sorted before she toddles down the aisle. Maybe she is a bit of a bad 'un after all . . .
Follow the Coronation Street Blog on Twitter and Facebook
Labels:
newsnow,
rita sullivan
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You might also like...
-
Wednesday 2 July 2025 LOVE TORN ABI FIGHTS A BATTLE IN HER MIND Abi admits to Kevin that she’s nervous about his results. Kevin quietly seet...
-
Monday 30 June 2025 TODD’S SYMPATHY BACKFIRES Millie panics when Theo reveals that he’s off to see Millie’s teacher about her pregnancy. Tod...
-
Last week's Yay Or Nay asked Is There Too Much Drama On Corrie? The comments agreed with a Yay, with user Adam Reckitt saying " Th...
-
This may be very controversial, but here goes. I really dislike Leanne. I am sick to the back teeth of her whining, moaning, arguing and ha...
-
Are you confused? I am. I promised to return this evening but there was no Friday episode so I thought I would look back to Wednesday. Th...
-
Welcome to Friday night on t'Street. There were some great bits in tonight's episode so let us start with this one. Ronnie armed w...
-
How did Gary’s sudden departure affect Maria? Does she blame herself after what Gary said about her ruining the relationship? I think at fi...
-
As Father Ted once said: "And now, we move onto liars." Exhibit A: Aadi visits Lauren in hospital and offers to lend her some mon...
-
I'm afraid I am back on my soap box again today. Following yesterday's blog where I got a lot off my chest about the current ...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Thursday 10 July and Frida...
3 comments:
Rita has been 'gentrified' in recent years, and now appears as a genteel lady of much wisdom (like Audrey). While Audrey was transformed through marriage to Alf, it might be that Rita was brought up in a refined environment and rebelled. The Rita we see now perhaps is very much like her own mother. I don't recall much being said about her mother so happy to be put me right there.
..."due to waltz down the aisle disguised as a large peach cobbler"...
That's the best thing I've heard all day. Thanks for that.
Rick's character is done this month so that leads me to belive he's going to take the big dirt nap or be gone off to prison...either way it will be a sigh of relief to see this story finally conclude.
Post a Comment