When Bet first appeared, she was leggy and blonde and gorgeous. She wasn't overly ambitious, was out for a good time, could attract the fellas but she couldn't keep them long. She had opinions and let everyone know it and her temper sometimes got her into trouble. Over time as she became part of the Rovers' fixtures and fittings, it was only logical that she eventually had a shot at being the licensee, which she proceeded to stuff up. Alec Gilroy bailed her out and married her. She pulled herself up a little higher into the respectability cloud with her newfound status but eventually, after Alec left and she ran the pub for a few years on her own, turned on her leopard spotted tail and left. It turned out she wasn't very good at managing the pub and the books showed it. Bet had some street smarts but wasn't at the top of the IQ heap.
These days, most of the younger actors don't stay in one role for a long time, however, so it's probably a moot point. But in my fantasy world of Corrie speculation, I can see it clearly. She's feisty and ballsy, she's a bit brassy and definitely opinionated. She's a bit too impulsive for her own good and that gets her into hot water at times. She then picks herself, dusts off and keeps going. She's got a romantic side, and would love to be married and raising babies with a really nice fella. Maybe if she gets that, she won't be interested in running the pub and probably she really isn't up to the task even with someone by her side, not if that someone is Jason.
And she's one of those characters most of us can identify with even if we're not leggy blondes. She doesn't really like working in the factory but she'll do it anyway because ... it's a job and she'll do the best she can with it even if stitching doesn't really come naturally. I love it when she messes up due to her own impulsive behaviour. I love her favourite expression, 'piggin' which she spits out when she's thoroughly disgusted with something or someone, often herself. I love watching her relationship with Jason growing, clearly she is wearing her heart on her sleeve and secretly "squees" when he shows her how his feelings are growing. It's been interesting to watch her finally find some closeness to Leanne, the sister she didn't know existed. She's got a good heart, she's got a great sense of humour, she's got strength and she's a lot of fun to watch. Follow Coronation Street Blog on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog
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8 comments:
I love Eva too, she is a good actress, but i just hope they don't keep putting her on the back burner like the did to Jason and Marcus and so many others this year.
I've been watching old episodes from the 80s and it's incredible how much Bet Lynch comes across as the DQ avatar of gay male writers. She is given lots of camera time, making long catty poetic monologues. She wants a long-term mate, but all of her relationships are one-night stands... more like Sean than Eva IMHO. Coronation Street has a long history of introducing gay sensibility into working class drama, covertly in the days of Bet Lynch, more overtly later. So far, at least, Eva has mostly been written as a vulnerable woman with big breasts. She's missing the DQ armour, meaning that she doesn't have the life experience of a drag queen, both vulnerable and OTT, feminine and masculine, hardened by the experience of being someone men only see as a sexual novelty, not a conventional partner. Eva could become more like Bet, but not if she settles into a happy hetero nest with Jason.
An afterthought: it's interesting that people largely seem to think of Bet as a legend and Sean as an irritant, when both characters are the voice of a similar camp sensibility. Maybe a mainstream audience finds that DQ style to be more acceptable in female form, whereas it's viewed as a negative stereotype when represented more directly through Sean.
Eva's too pampered by mummy Stella to be like Bet. Bet had to fight her own battles in life. We saw her son briefly when he came into the Rovers, but I don't remember if we knew anything about her parents. Tina is a little bit in the mould of Bet, Joe hardly being much help to his daughter. Tina is more or less an orphan, looking to Rita for support just as Bet did with Annie Walker. There are some Corrie women who could (metaphorically) belt out "I will survive" and you'd know they'd lived the song. Elsie, Bet, Raquel, Liz, Tina (maybe). Eva hasn't shown her best yet and will shine when Stella leaves.
Sometimes the comments of readers are so insightful. Well said Anon 15.50. Personally I feel if Corrie were smart it would have invested in new character moulds. Times have changed. One of the reasons the original Corrie characters resonated was because they reminded people of aunts and uncles, or people on their streets. Does Dev remind you of your neighborhood Asian grocer? Is Kylie like your nephew's wife? I don't think our complaining will do any good. Pacing is different on TV in general and Corrie has to reflect that. There are more episodes as well as more commercial breaks. The old Corrie I love is gone. The new Corrie is not entirely to my taste so I watch only on occasionally now. I come to this website less often as this program means less to me. Corrie is losing audience gradually and one day it will rest in the same graveyard where many American soaps are now buried. But then, as Ena might say, "Nowt lasts for forever."
Bet Lynch was before my time as a viewer, but there is one other thing that makes Eva more likable than the rest of her family. She has a friend in the always interesting Kylie. Not a work mate, not a relation, not a significant other, no ties at all, just a friend. They bring out those little nothings in each other, the stuff we don't see often enough with Street characters. Hope she stays.
I love Eva too, I think she's more Raquel than Bet. I hope she stays with Jason and they set up a little home and live happily ever after with a nice little family. Hell, not going to happen is it!
I like Eva, and asside fron here Nick loonies stage, I think shee is nicer and kinder then Bet.
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