I love the idea of Jenny coming back to see Rita, with one or two reservations. I hope the writers come up with something fresh this time around, while still referencing the past (accurately). After messing up Rita's character and ruining Dennis Tanner's, I hope the next blast from Rita's past is handled better. I also hope it isn't just another opportunity for our Reet to open up her cheque book and raid her increasingly bizarre bank balance. Exactly how much money did Len and Ted have between them? All they did was fix the Rovers toilets and flog boiled sweets.
Jenny will notice quite a difference in the Coronation Street of 2014, compared to when she last appeared (briefly) in 1993. She will still recognise several residents though, thankfully. Ken, Deirdre, Emily, Gail, Audrey, Sally, Kevin, Steve and Liz will all remember her and her infamous father. Tracy and Nick were both children at the time but they must have memories of it all. And I'm sure Norris will have a few sharp comments for her when she turns up in the Kabin.
The Alan Bradley saga really was Barbara Knox's finest hour. It gave her the best storyline of her Corrie career. For three years the tension slowly built with the viewing public uncovering more and more about the shady character who had entered Rita's life. Mark Eden was superb in the part, smooth, menacing and all too believable. The storyline was probably constructed as a ratings winner to combat the soaring popularity of the BBC's Corrie rival, EastEnders. And it worked. Millions of viewers tuned in throughout the saga, peaking with Alan's demise thanks to a combination of Rita's frightful gold mac and a passing Blackpool tram. The storyline even won Barbara Knox the Oracle Teletext Best Actress award. Them were the days!
Jenny was, of course, one of several kids Rita fostered over the years. And bizarrely, we have Brian Capron to thank for this, in a roundabout way. Years before he turned up as Weatherfield's black glove wearing serial killer Richard Hillman, he played Don Worthington, a friendly social worker who brought Jenny Bradley to Rita's door in 1986. Just when you thought the man couldn't wreck any more havoc on the good folks of Weatherfield...So what will Jenny get up to this time around, and what exactly will bring her back into Rita's life? Whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what's become of her over the past 21 years. She may not have been the most pleasant of characters, but she was part of one Coronation Street's most famous storylines. Revisiting that one will be interesting.
Is it too much to hope for a cameo from Mark Eden as the ghost of Alan Bradley? Anything is possible these days...
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10 comments:
Alan Bradley died before the McDonalds came to the Street but there won't be too many others Jenny will remember, that's for sure. She wouldn't be a lot younger than Sally and Kevin, would she? Maybe 5 or 6 years?
Jenny would certainly know the older characters I mentioned and as she dated Martin Platt for a while she'd have spent time with Sally and Kevin. The three of them were the only ones to attend Alan's funeral with Jenny so a lot of history there.
The McDonalds moved in on 6 December 1989 and Alan died on 8 December but Jenny continued to appear until 1991 so she would have been aware of the McDonald family.
I agree, the Alan Bradley storyline was a triumph. He was the first of the 'Gaslight' villains, Richard Hillman doing the same to Audrey years later. It will be either health or money problems that brings Jenny back. Cilla will have just returned in ill health perhaps to bury the hatchet so it shouldn't be the same with Jenny. Maybe it's Rita who's ill and she wants to 'have closure' before it's too late.
I am looking forward to Sally-Ann Matthews returning. I follow her on twitter and I think she's been waiting for this moment for a long time, so I pleased for her. Corrie is a train wreck at the moment with so many disjointed things happening thanks to Stuart Blackburn (Pratt in a hat). I hope they make good use of Jenny and not ruin her or worse ruin Rita. If they were going to use another old character why not just keep Dennis and give him something to do.
Ah, I didn't realize that Jenny and the McDonalds' appearances overlapped. For some reason I thought Bradley died a couple of months earlier.
I believe Jenny is going to strike up a relationship with Kevin through online dating...
Jenny can be the only "thing" Kevin has going on at the mo', so I agree that she's returning to hook up with him. It will be a convenience to have Rita's purse and heart strings to play with as well.
Love the ghost idea! Shame Hallow e'en is too close to get it sorted for then.
Haha yes it would be a bit of fun. Perhaps even just hearing his voice as a flashback would work too
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