While I'm not a regular Emmerdale viewer, I do have some warm memories of watching it with my Nain when I was a boy in the late 90s/early 00s and so I was and am still fond of characters like Betty, Seth, Alan Turner and Jack Sugden.
So I couldn't let the announcement of Paula's retirement go by without looking back at the various roles she has played in Corrie over the years.
They have all been minor roles, and so here are a brief synopses of each one:
In episode 665 (1 May 1967), she played a Customer.
In episode 1351 (26 December 1973), she played Mrs Cleghorn, who rubbed Rita up the wrong way. See a synopsis of the character here.
She then appeared as Estelle Pimpton, an acquaintance of Annie Walker from the Lady Victuallers Society in episode 1741 (21st September 1977) who is amused that Annie's new carpet is from the old bingo hall!
In episodes 1978 and 1979 (17th and 19th of March 1980), she appeared as Olive Taylor-Brown, another friend of Annie Walker. You can see a synopsis of the character here.
Her final role was as Vivian Barford on a irregular basis between March 1991 and July 1993. Vivian was a member of WARTs and was an old friend of Alf Roberts who rubbed Audrey up the wrong way. She successfully persuaded him to re-stand as a councillor in 1991 against Deirdre. You can read a synopsis about the character here.
Soon after her last appearance on Corrie, she began her long stint on Emmerdale. Happy retirement Paula!
by Llifon
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
8 comments:
Very fond of Paula!!! Gonna miss her
I know she was very early on in Brookside too. She was a friend of Marie Jackson.
She hasnt been in Emmerdale for such a long time, I doubt if anyone will notice she has gone to be honest.
Speaking of flashes from the past, I have been watching for the first time episodes of Corrie from the 1960s.
I've read a lot of posts on this blog about the repetition of storylines on Corrie and I've posted my own fair share.
So imagine my surprise when I tuned in to the past only to discover that the essential character types are still part of today's formula.
Sure the faces, names, jobs and lovers have changed but you can still see the Len Fairclough (Owen, Kevin), Annie Walker (Sally), the Tatlock with a twist (Norris) and many others (Gail morphing into Ivy, anyone?).
Just today I met the Ogdens for the first time, surprised to hear Stan called "spider", while the family rolled up Battersby-style. Later, Emily stood up her groom at the altar while bells tolled in the distance and reference was made to Councillor Potter's daughter having to get married early because she was an a delicate condition.
So while we may all grumble at the frequent repetition of the same storylines today, I've come to discover that Corrie has been little more than a recycled formula since the start - character types, storylines and all.
Let us never forget Mrs. Lindley in the Snug playing dominoes in her pyjamas, having smashed up her shop and lost her marbles... Maria anyone?
Episode 1979 - the single best episode of Coronation Street ever (IMHO).
Annie telling her friend and rival Mrs. Taylor Bradford that the brewery do would be a gay affair, and Bet choosing to deliberately misunderstand.
"Now Bet, I know what you are trying to do, but I refuse to abandon a perfectly legitimate word just because certain raffish elements have seized upon in"
Mrs TB putting Annie in her place by saying that her establishment is a coaching inn, not just a pub.
Annie again to Mrs TB, having trouble with an official at the "do" - "Give them a uniform and the Hitler mentality takes over" (a phrase I've used once or twice since!)
Hilda turning up at the posh do, much to Annie's mortification, to bring Annie her handbag with the invitation in it (Fred had left Annie's handbag on the car roof when he drove off).
Sheer joy from start to finish. I haven't re-watched it in years, but it's an episode I will never forget.
Corrie Formula - repeating character types is fine, as realistically in any street there's always going to be a Len Fairclough or a Norris Cole whether it's the 60s or the 2010s. It's up to the writers and actors to build on the archetype and create something unique.
That being said, I don't see what Albert and Norris have in common, other than their age.
I think that rather than comparing character to character, the point is that Corrie is following a soap formula, much like Hollywood follows movie formulas. We should not be surprised to see story lines repeating, as they've been doing since day one.
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