The end is nigh? This Corrie fan certainly hopes not

The very recent news that actress Julie Hesmondhalgh will sadly be leaving Coronation Street has upset the vast majority of Corrie fans. Hayley Cropper seems to represent a great deal of what is good about traditional Coronation Street, what it stands for and what it tries to represent. Not only that, Julie is also a terrific actress whenever she is given a chance to shine.

The news was a shock to me, although in retrospect the actress has taken quite a bit of time out lately so I guess the writing was maybe on the wall. Fair play to her for making this decision as I could see her longterm future on Corrie being safely assured. I have noticed a few comments in recent days where viewers have said they will stop watching the Street once Hayley leaves. This made me think back to times past when other popular, well-established names had announced they were leaving the cobbles for pastures new. 

Who can forget when Julie Goodyear announced she was leaving the role of Bet Lynch/Gilroy after a quarter of a century? I was similarly upset when Sarah Lancashire quit as dippy but loveable Raquel. I was a huge fan of Amanda Barrie's performances as Alma Halliwell and felt her departure in 2001 left a huge hole for a time. And while we miss characters like Jack and Vera Duckworth, Curly Watts and Betty Williams, the show does go on without them. It has often been said that Coronation Street is the real star, that the brand itself is so powerful that it will go on indefinitely regardless of who comes and goes. 

I do believe this to be true, but probably less so than say ten or twenty years ago. As someone said there are just fewer characters I care about or feel like investing time in these days. Many of the current Corrie cast could be fairly interchangeable with any in the other prime time British soap operas and to me, that's a huge shame. Looking back at some of the original Coronation Street characters created by Tony Warren you can see they really were originals. However as Coronation Street was a trailblazer, leading the way in this medium, it was always going to be the case that other drama serials would come along and copied the formula. 

In the early 1980s many commentators predicted the end of the Street as so many integral figures left. In a short space of time we lost the characters of Annie Walker, Len Fairclough, Albert Tatlock, Eddie Yeats, Stan Ogden, Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner. In a cast half the size of todays that's quite a blow. While initial attempts at new characters failed miserably (the Clayton family anybody?) things did eventually settle down. So while the loss of Hayley is terrible news, I still think there are enough vibrant, worthwhile characters to keep us engaged. Not as many as I'd like, but just enough!

So who would have to leave before I considered switching off? (Just so it's known, I would never switch over to one of the poorer imitations). Well, it will be a sad day when my favourite trio of ladies finally leave Weatherfield - Emily, Rita and Audrey really do keep me watching today. I also have a great deal of affection for Gail, Sally, Roy, Steve and Tyrone. And the reintroduction of Dennis has been superb. If several of these characters were to depart within a short space of time, I really would be concerned. 

As always I have questions to put to you: Who among the current Coronation Street cast would you struggle to do without? Would there ever come a time when you see yourself switching off as a result of a particular character departing? Do you think Corrie still has the nack of recruiting actors who can create classic Corrie characters? 

Follow the Coronation Street Blog on Twitter and Facebook




All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License