I don't hate Gail. I just like her a lot less than I used to. I put that firmly at the door of the storyliners and the writers. Helen Worth always puts in terrific performances as Gail and as an actress she has been incredibly loyal and positive about the Street for the last 38 years. I think we all enjoyed the culmination of the Lewis Archer plot last week. Gail really did have it coming. However, rather than dwelling on the negative fallout of this story, I make a plea to the powers that be at Coronation Street to mark this out as a turning point for our Gail. After all the failed marriages, murderers, faked deaths and horrible children with different heads, I truly think Gail has hit rock bottom and has only one place to go. And that's up.
I have long been uncomfortable with the decision to portray Gail as pathetic and daft. The woman now always gets it wrong. She makes a living cleaning her son's toilets when she was once an aspiring career woman who had a share in a business and stood up to scary Ivy for the common good. I think post-Lewis we need to see a stronger, smarter, more confident and more likeable Gail.
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So what would I like to see the new, improved Gail do? Well she's never going to stop meddling in the lives of her family so we can't change that. Personally I would love her to ditch the memories of all the awful men in her life and revert back to Gail Potter. It might just put a bit of verve back in her, and help her to move on. McIntyre never really suited her. However, I think the biggest change would be to get her out of Nick's urinals and back running her own show. I have three options on how this could happen:
1. Audrey lends her some money and she invests in a share of Roy's Rolls. Gail and Roy worked together at the Cafe after Alma sold up so it could work again. After Hayley leaves there will also be a big gap to fill at the Croppers. I would love to see Gail back behind the counter, jostling with Roy's mum, Sylvia.
2. Gail's old friend from the 70s, Tricia Hopkins, returns to the area to reconnect with her old pal. In the intervening years Tricia has become a successful business woman and buys the old butcher's shop, converting it into a ladies boutique. Tricia could then install Gail as manager and the pair could run it together.
3. I may be wrong, but I think Gail's closest friend, Sally Webster, still has a load of cash stashed away from Kevin's lottery win. If so, Sally could invest in a shop and run it with old friend Gail. I love Sally and Gail together - they go way back. Remember Gail was pregnant with David while Sally was pregnant with Rosie. Their scene in the Rovers last week reminded me how little we see of them together these days. I would love to see them go into business together - we need more Snooty Sally as well!So those are my suggestions for what Gail should do next. What are yours?
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19 comments:
Anyone else think Audrey is being very spiteful towards Gail? Not so long ago “Gran” was being just as spiteful to David, sacking him from the salon which she had transferred over to him. Turning into a bitter old woman.
Spiteful? Not a bit. It was conniving Gail and Gloria that ruined a perfectly good relationship for Audrey with Lewis. She was a bitch of a daughter and had it coming.
~JB in Canada
I'm ready to punch Audrey in the nose. The 'lady' who's helped out those who have wronged her, including David and Lewis, is being simply vile to the one person who's always had her back. She didn't even listen to Rita. Sorry, Audrey, but you 'said' you were done with him.
Sorry, but I can't have a word said against Audrey! She's the best! :)
I'd give Gail a make-over. She's frumpy and her hairstyle needs up-dating, perhaps more like Sally's. I hope the rift between Gail and Audrey does heal but please take it slowly. Don't let them reconcile next week. In the meantime, Gail has to find friends other than her Mum. She has Sally but it would be good to see her making other friends. Perhaps a professional women's lunch club has a meeting at the Bistro, and Gail starts chatting with some of them. That would give her new contacts and remind her she used to be a businesswoman herself. I've often thought Gail and Sally would be good party planners or wedding organisers. That would certainly bring out Sally's snooty side while Gail might want to be more for the hoipolloi.
I thought the remark Audrey made to Gail about her inability to get a man for herself was spiteful for a mother to make. Considering that in the real world the daughter inherit their looks and poise from their mothers. It would be like a mother calling her son and S.O.B. The insult is upon herself.
I've loved this story line and I hope the writers continue the humour in it (I love that there always seems to be several boxes of olives in the background of every shot of Gail!). But I agree that so much more could be done with the character. I'd like to see Nick recognise the potential in his mother and send her to college - perhaps a day release course in catering management. Has a lot of potential humour in it, and I so much prefer the comedy side of Gail. And FWIW I think the Gail/Audrey interaction is being played just right - Audrey has been devastated by losing the man she loved, but probably knew it would end in tears one day, just not at the hands of her daughter. They'll get over it.
I may be biased, but I vote for option 2. Love that idea.
Didn't Sally have a relationship with Martin Platt?
Once again Graeme, I think you are spot on with your blog. They should make you script editor.
Coronation Street used to be about community - there are too few strong friendships. It's EE that's about family - you have to wonder how many more Brannings, Slaters and Mitchells can crawl out of the woodwork.
Gail used to have something between her ears. Living her life as a dowdy drudge for her son is just ridiculous.
The problem I've had with the Audrey/Lewis/Gail storyline has been that Gail seemed to have such a faulty memory, not to mention the loss of several IQ points. When Audrey 1st became involved with Lewis, Gail was suspicious. When Audrey tried to get her hands on some of her retirement savings, in order to buy the small hotel in Greece, for Lewis to run with her, Gail did everything in her power to stop her mother. When Audrey paid off one of Lewis's previous victims, to keep him from being arrested, Gail once again tried to stop her. Gail and Gloria attempted to trap Lewis, in order to show Audrey that he hadn't changed his mercenary ways. So why, when that fell through, was Gail so easily seduced by what was almost the identical con that she had tried to protect her mother from? It reminded me of Dierdre's fiasco, when the "airline pilot" conned her. Dierdre said at the time "Was I so needy and lonely that I was blinded?" (I may be paraphrasing that in hindsight.) Gail has always been a meddler, but she wasn't always so stupid. Are the writers trying to tell us that older women lose their intelligence, judgement and intuition when men flatter them? How insulting!
Yes, Sally did have a brief affair with Martin. This caused a rift between Gail and Sally but they soon patched things up. However the Sally/Martin relationship was quickly dropped and I've never known why - I rather liked them together!
I told you...it's all those cleaning fumes from having her head down Nick's loo for the past year or so that's done poor Gail in. She went from a career woman to a char-lady in one fell swoop. Once again, the producers have decided to destroy a character and now don't seem to know what to do with her so she's become the village idiot...borderline mentally challenged. Time to resurrect the old Gail!!
Let's just hope Gail won't be displaying her mini-baps in the Rovers next if her character change continues along this line. Surely Sunita's complete character destruction was a one-off?
I've thought for a long time that Gail and Sally should go into business using Sally's (apparently forgotten) dosh, so I'd happily vote for Graeme's No. 3 suggestion.
It's time Gail dropped the Mrs Overall impersonation and went back to being a middle aged woman with a brain.
Write Gail out, she really is the most dumbass annoying silly character and yes she needs a make over, change that daft puddin basin hair style, and those stupid blazers and polo necks she wears. The blinking and whispering or shouting and sucking a lemon face. She irritates the hell outta me.
Thanks Anonymous - I would love the job of Script Editor, I could have a lot of fun there!! Chance would be a fine thing though!!
Ba Ba Black Sheep well said! I am so sick of Gail time she retired!
Why are you making Gail into an imbecile, it is beyond silly now!
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