There's a good interview on Yahoo News by Nermin Oomer who speaks to Martin Sterling, Coronation Street’s senior storyliner about the decision to kill off Hayley Cropper.Martin says: “It’s the first time in my entire career here that I actually did have tears in my eyes."
Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley Cropper, gave the Corrie team a year’s notice about her intention to leave the show.
“We don’t normally have so much notice to do an exit story,” says Martin. “It gave us the luxury of planning a long term story but with Roy and Hayley it presented its own challenges as they are a unique couple. They’re like swans – they mated for life; a couple you could never break up. So in a way it was a very easy decision to kill Hayley off as actually there was no other option.”
Martin has nothing but praise for Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson, who play Hayley and Roy.
“They’re superb. This storyline has just shown how brilliant they are. They take your breath away sometimes. There is a poignancy at Christmas as Roy and Hayley have possibly the best Christmas ever tinged with a knowledge it’s also going to be their last. But after that we do start to get into the end game and it’s done with great sensitivity. It’s absolutely brilliant and once Hayley’s left the show Roy has a new journey to embark on.
That’s the start of a new story – a new chapter for Roy."
Read the full interview here.
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I'm not persuaded that they don't do issues: Alzheimer's, domestic abuse. That's not to say that a decent story can't come out of it, but it's a question of which comes first - issue or character. With both of those storylines, the character with the 'condition' was a newcomer. How could that be character-led? We'd never seen them before. You could argue that it was Eileen's character we were watching but, unfortunately, she and Paul were over-shadowed by Lesley so it became her story. It seems to be a producer's neat way of getting round it. Bring in a new character with an 'issue' and let the existing characters react to the situation. I don't call that character development in the way that Nick and Hayley demonstrate it. I'm disappointed that Roy and Hayley are only getting screen time because JH is leaving. They've been wasted.
ReplyDeleteAnd talking about a character being wasted, what about Dennis?
ReplyDeleteHaley could have gone off to do charity work in Africa - she had left before for a few months and then came back. Then Carla and Peter left for a couple of months and came back. Maybe the producer is just a little tired of actors wanting out of their contracts and then want back in after a bit of time off. The killing off of character is done all the time, but this is one I hoped I'd never see. I really enjoyed Haley. Hopefully the PTB are not stupid enough to try and pair Roy up with anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI totlly agree with anonymous (00.32) when he says she could have gone off and done charity work in Africa again or gone to spend time with her son in London or ... with some imagination, pretty much anything. The senior scriptwriter says they could never split Roy & Hayley up as they like 2 swans mated for life yet after her death, Roy has a new chapter so obviously, I'm pleased to say, David Neilson is NOT leaving the show so either way they are being broken up so that doesn't hold water for me either I'm afraid. I'd always thought it was Julie's idea to be killed off but now I know it's not, I simply fail to understand why they couldn't have left a door open for her in much the same way other actors take time off the show from time to time. How lame and disappointing and yes, I agree about Dennis too. With some creative writing, so much good could have come out of his character. SUCH a great actor. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI'll reserve final judgment until Hayley has left, but for me I have been disappointed at what has happened so far. The Blackpool trip was just about perfect, but for me too much precious time has been wasted on Hayley and Roy bickering about Hayley's decisions regarding her illness and eventual death.
ReplyDeleteAnd am I the only one that could have seen so much more potential had Roy been the one to die and Hayley survived him?
I don't take exception with the final storyline for Hayley, as it was written in an earlier article, that Julie H. definitely wished to pursue other projects.
ReplyDeleteClosing the door is always risky for the actor, but hopefully she knows something we fans don't know, and I wish her all the best.
The writers have squeezed as much activity into Hayley's final months as is possible, given her terminal illness, maybe too much so, but it is a story and Julie H is an actor in it.
Mr. Sterling said they do issues as they arise from characters. "Everything we do is character-led".
ReplyDeleteI've wondered for years why they've never found a way to explore Roy's behaviour (and even have him investigate it himself), leading to the discovery of his Asperger's Syndrome, and autism in general. The writers seem to have deliberately written Roy's character with so many of the characteristic traits of the condition. I kept expecting something to be mentioned when his mother arrived. It's still possible. After Hayley's gone and he's having difficulty coping, it would be the perfect opportunity to look into the reasons for his unusual behaviour.
As I've been saying for a long time, that medical clinic needs a mental health department!