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Wednesday 6 March 2013

Vote for Corrie's best mum - Stella & Audrey

As you will hopefully have seen, on Monday I launched my first poll on the Coronation Street Blog. I hope you've all been voting! So far we've had an amazing 300 votes, but there's still time to make your mind up. In order to help you make up your minds on your favourite Corrie mum, I've been posting blogs on the contenders this week, highlighting some of their strengths and weaknesses! I shall try to take an even handed approach (not easy!) 

So moving on from Michelle and Gail, we come to our next two contenders:  Stella Price and Audrey Roberts! 


The benefits of having a landlady as a mother
Let's begin with Stella Price, current landlady of the Rovers Return and mother to Eva and Leanne. Stella has had a mixed reception from fans, and certainly a chequered history in motherhood. When she first arrived in Weatherfield we thought Stella only had one daughter, Princess Eva. A rather spoilt, vacuous girl, Eva was quite clearly the apple of her mother's eye. However, Stella's real reason for moving to Weatherfield was soon revealed - she was Leanne's real mother.

While viewers struggled to comprehend how Stella could ever be charmed by Les Battersby, Leanne struggled to imagine anyone else as her mother when she had grown used to gobby Janice. Since the big reveal, Leanne and Stella have become close. Stella is very good at providing Leanne with advice, mind you she's good at giving everyone advice, whether they ask for it or not. There have been teething troubles as Eva and Leanne don't always see eye to eye - step forward Mr Nick Tilsley! So is Stella a worthy winner? Let's look at her strengths and weaknesses:


The day she was mistaken for that woman from EastEnders
Strengths:
1. Her daughters always come first (unless she's bagging herself a toyboy). 2. She made the ultimate sacrifice in moving to Weatherfield to find long-lost daughter Leanne. 3. She owns a pub - free liquor! 

Weaknesses:
1. She once slept with Les Battersby. 2. She gives out advice like most mums give out smarties. 3. She wears a lot of beige.



Family reunited, but who are the daddies, Aud?

So that's Stella dealt with. Let's turn our attentions now to glamorous gran Audrey Roberts. Poor old Audrey holds the enviable position as head of the Platt/McIntyre family and she certainly has her work cut out! Mother to Gail and the absent Stephen, wife of the late Alf, grandmother to Nick, Sarah-Lou and David, and great-grandmother to Bethany. But don't hold all that lot against her! As hairdresser in residence, she is single-handedly responsible for Rita's flamin' barnet!

Audrey has come a long way since she first arrived in 1979. Originally a flighty piece, relations between mother and daughter were somewhat strained when she turned up for Gail's 21st birthday party and wedding to Brian Tilsley. Having chased the wrong kind of men all her life, she eventually became respectable when she married greengrocer Alf Roberts in 1985. However, Audrey had neglected to mention she also had a son called Stephen, born to a different father. As you can imagine, Ivy Tilsley pounced on this news. As Audrey matured she became a shoulder to cry on not just for her own family but for other youngsters in the street, such as Maxine and Maria. These days Audrey, while still demonstrating poor taste in men, has graduated to something of a Corrie matriarch - often being the voice of reason in her family. Well, someone's got to be. So what are Audrey's strengths and weaknesses as a mother?
Love is like a butterfly...
Strengths:
1. She copes with everything the Platts can throw at her and still looks glamorous. 2. If you're family, she'll either give you a job, a house or a free blow-wave. 3. She was the only member of the family to spot Richard Hillman was actually a serial killer.

Weaknesses:
1. Neglect of Gail in the early years may explain why she is the way she is today. 2. She runs a hairdressers where people emerge looking no different from when they went in. 3. She once dated a transvestite who used to be Wendy Craig's son in Butterflies.


Gail isn't amused by Audrey's cell-warming gift

So there we go. Let me know what you think about Stella and Audrey by leaving a comment below. 


And don't forget to vote for your favourite Coronation Street Mum before the winner is revealed on Sunday 10 March. Next up will be our final two contenders: Sally Webster and Anna Windass! I can't wait!






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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Audrey + Gail as mother + daughter must be the longest-running on-screen 'relationship' in Corrie history (unless u count Deirdre + multiple Traceys)

Carry On Blogging! said...


I think you are right there - I make it 34 years since Sue Nicholls first appeared as Audrey, so that must be a record! I do think they are the real mainstays of the programme these days:)

Anonymous said...

U could also include Blanche + Deirdre...or even Rita + Dennis (!), but there were obviously many years where the 'relationship' wasn't on screen (or existed in Rita + Dennis' case!!)

Humpty Dumpty said...

Both Audrey and Stella were fly-by-night mums when they were younger. Stella later over-compensated with Eva and made her a brat (fun to watch, though!). Her character has been written as a wonderful, long-suffering mother. What a shame I can't stand the woman! Audrey is probably a better gran than she is mother; there's too much guilt between her and Gail.

David Parsons said...

I am finding these "best mum" blogs rather bizarre: Stella left her daughter Leanne whilst still a young child and I think Audrey did the same, having our Gail and the older Stephen out of wedlock.

Carry On Blogging! said...


That's the whole point - like most things on this blog, it's meant to be a bit of fun!

Janice said...

Wouldn't it be more fun if we imagined mother-daughter swaps? How would Stella counsel Tracy if she were her daughter? If Eva had Audrey for a gran, would she spend time getting free hair treatments? If Leanne were Sally's daughter, how would she react to the whole prostitute thing?

Carry On Blogging! said...


You are giving me ideas for a future blog!

Anonymous said...

I've always liked the character of Audrey, but this darker side to her is grating on my nerves. She needs to step in and help her daughter (again)...that's what Mum's do.
Stella...I am warming to her I'll admit. They've toned her down a bit..not sticking her face in every scene so that's a good thing. The Jason fling has to end soon IMO.

Anonymous said...

What difference does it make that Audrey had her children out of wedlock? Some of the best Mums going are single parents/unwed. What year is this again?

Anonymous said...

Ooh.. Audrey would be my choice. Or maybe just most fabulous gran? She has spoken sense to her insane family and yet forgives them over and over.. and she employs them all, despite their lack of training (would you get your hair cut by someone who looked like David? No, neither would I...)
Rebecca in TO

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