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Monday 12 January 2015

Robbie Coltrane recreates famous Ena Sharples image

The iconic image of Ena Shaples is doing the rounds on twitter at the moment, and rightly so, it's a great picture.
Ian Wylie, on twitter @ianwylie reminds us that actor Robbie Coltrane once recreated the famous balcony scene, back in 2006 for the Manchester Evening News.

In the original image from 1968, actress Violet Carson - Ena Sharples in Coronation Street - stands against a grimy backdrop of a smoking chimney stack and back-to-back houses.

The second picture, taken in a break in filming for Cracker, finds Robbie Coltrane in a much-changed city. The full story from 2006 is here.
 
Mind you, @CorrieArt on twitter also recreated the scene in the North East. Have a giggle at it here.

Post-blog note from Corriepedia:
We think we've traced the reason behind the taking of the Ena picture and its true date: April 1966.Please see here: http://www.rexfeatures.com/
If you search under "Ena Sharples 1966" you'll see two more pictures taken at the same shoot, including one were she is looking with some disdain at a key. They are dated April 1966 and we think that they were taken at the location filming for Episode 565 transmitted on 11th May 1966. In that episode, Ena refuses to live in the vestry any more while social worker Ruth Winter runs her various activities in the Mission of Glad Tidings. The council offers her a flat on the 11th floor of a block on Navigation Street and Ruth and Jerry Booth take her to see it. She hates it and says she would rather sleep in a bus shelter. The photos tie in with the dates and the storyline.

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5 comments:

Tvor said...

There was a discussion on Flickr a few years back on the exact location of the original shot. Read through the comments here https://www.flickr.com/photos/julianbovis/547202714/ Probably not the same POV as the Coltrane shot, the old article doesn't say where he was when the newer photo was taken (though I may be wrong) but that's the One Deansgate tower being built in the city centre. I'm sure Ena's photo POV would show many changes just the same.

John from Corriepedia said...

We think we've traced the reason behind the taking of the Ena picture and its true date: April 1966.

Please see here: http://www.rexfeatures.com/

If you search under "Ena Sharples 1966" you'll see two more pictures taken at the same shoot, including one were she is looking with some disdain at a key. They are dated April 1966 and we think that they were taken at the location filming for Episode 565 transmitted on 11th May 1966. In that episode, Ena refuses to live in the vestry any more while social worker Ruth Winter runs her various activities in the Mission of Glad Tidings. The council offers her a flat on the 11th floor of a block on Navigation Street and Ruth and Jerry Booth take her to see it. She hates it and says she would rather sleep in a bus shelter. The photos tie in with the dates and the storyline.

Anonymous said...

A number of years ago I met a man who said that the Ena shot was taken somewhere off Chorlton Rd/ Stretford Rd. I only had his word for it and as there's been a lot of clearance around there since I'm not able to check it out.

John from Corriepedia said...

See here for the best explanation of "where" it was taken:

http://backonstreet.blogspot.de/2009/09/ena-sharples-and-high-rise-photograph.html

Anonymous said...

Thank you John. Interesting area then - I know they filmed quite a few outdoor scenes around there on Shrewsbury St and Northumberland St in particular back in the early 60s.

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