Such unbearable sadness for a woman much loved – ‘a friend,
a neighbour, a mother, a grandmother, the lynchpin of the community, as Ken
states in his eulogy. In addition, the fact that the woman, Anne Kirkbride
herself has died, adds extra grief and poignancy for viewers an cast. What a
brilliant actor she was too! Convincing in all she did, with a rare ability to
convey powerful emotions, Anne Kirkbride was a household name. She certainly
put paid to the old (and offensive) adage, ‘Men don’t make passes at girls who
wear glasses.’ Men were falling over themselves for Deirdre in her younger
years. Deirdre was up there with the most iconic of the cobbles’
characters.
Amy is up early and comes downstairs to ask her granddad if
he is ok. Ken tells her that she is a ‘thoughtful young lady’ to which Amy
replies, ‘I certainly don’t get that from my mum.’
Tracy is trying hard to be a comfort to her dad, but after
Bev told him the reason why Deirdre didn’t come home, that she was too ashamed
of Tracy to face people, Ken has harboured a fury against his adopted daughter.
This fury escapes from time to time in various scathing, biting comments. Tracy
asks why he isn’t saying it’s alright. Ken replies that he’s ‘not sure that it
is.’ She offers to make him breakfast but he tells her he’s already eaten.
Peter was supposed to have turned up a good while ago. Of
his absence Tracy says, ‘There’s only one person in Peter’s life and that’s
Peter.’ Immediately Ken bats back, with a vicious comment to her. ‘If
selfishness was an Olympic sport, you’d be stood on a podium, waving your gold
medal at the crowd.’
As neighbours line the street to see the cars off, Tracy
sees her ex-husband, Robert, who is standing alone watching the scene. That he
should turn up is a measure of respect and affection for his ex-mother-in-law.
This reappearance could be interesting. Sally tells Tim off for calling Ken
‘mate’ but as Rita points out, it is immaterial to Ken what anyone calls him
today.
The service begins with Deirdre’s coffin being brought to
the front of the church – pallbearers are Liz, Kevin, Ken, Kirk, Dev and Steve.
The music is Feelin’ Good by the one and only Nina Simone and a photo of
Deirdre’s smiling face is propped up against the coffin.
The congregation sings Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon
and Garfunkel and perhaps the implication is that Deirdre is that bridge.
Ken has another swipe at Tracy, this time telling her that she,
‘caused more pain and worry than anything else in her life.’ Also Ken feels
that he would have had more time with Deirdre if it hadn’t been for Tracy
having the affair with Tony and trying to push Liz, Deirdre’s best friend out
of The Rovers. Tracy dashes out, and Robert dashes out after her.
Ken steps up to give his eulogy to Deirdre. Outside, Tracy
and Robert are talking at Blanche’s grave, when Steve turns up, telling a
little white lie that Ken wants her back in the church. Tracy introduces the
two men. ‘Steve, this is my ex-husband Robert and Robert this is my ex-husband,
Steve.’ They acknowledge that it’s a small world but Steve points out that he
wouldn’t want to hoover it.’
Ken speaks of how different he and Deirdre were. ‘As I
drifted away to Chopin, she washed up to the Spice Girls.’ He speaks of
Deirdre’s laugh, her ‘throaty joyous roar of happiness.’ They met in 1974 at a
drama group, Ken reminds the congregation.
He talks of the early days of their marriage living with
Uncle Albert and then Blanche. He also refers to Amy and Simon, who Deirdre
adored and doesn’t shy away from stating the inadequacies of Tracy and Peter as
parents. Ken talks of how DEirre gave them a foundation and guidance.
Ken wishes he’d been a better husband and that he could
‘hear that booming, life-affirming laugh once more.’ And don’t we all?
He ends with something Blanche used to say. ‘If wishes were
horses, beggars would ride. Goodbye my love.’ He receives and deserves a round
of applause.
Standing alone at Deirdre’s grave, Ken, now visibly grief-stricken
and sobbing, says to Deirdre, ‘Despite everything, it was only ever really you.
I hope you knew that.’
Tracy can’t face the wake and goes home. Robert arrives and
after a bit of cooking, he tells Tracy that he thinks about her every day.
Tracy moves in for a kiss. Ken returns home and orders Robert out. ‘Just when I
thought you couldn’t sink any lower!’
In addition to Deirdre’s funeral which is beautifully and brilliantly
written by Damon Rochefort, there are
some hangers on who Amy reminds of the
existence of supermarkets, Bethany wags school, gets drunk, is helped to sober
up by Callum, who takes her home. Bethany suggests he pays for the French trip.
Sarah tells her she is in trouble. Carla is in demand, but is gambling and we
hear her asking for a transfer of £2,000
to her current account.
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
4 comments:
Although I know that the reason Deirdre stayed away was to fit 'real life' circumstances, I don't buy the reason that she stayed away because she couldn't face the shame of what Tracey did.
Tracey has done far worse than this (murder, for example!). Deirdre didn't go running away then, or any other time Traceyluv messed up. It doesn't fit.
C in Canada, Remembering that the reason Deirdre left wasdue to the stress of Peter's trial,I agree that her reason for staying away because of Tracy's affair with Tony doesn't make sense as that was only revealed a few weeks ago and Deirdre has been gone for months.It would've made sense if she stayed away because she believed Rob over Peter and was ashamed to face Ken.
It was a dignified funeral, perhaps in keeping with what Anne Kirkbride's family had requested. In other circumstances, Ken and Tracy would have been screaming at each other during the service. It was right that the drama happened away from the church. I didn't buy Robert turning up at the funeral. I get that he's been obsessed with Tracy and has been following her life, but much more likely that he would visit in the days following. I'm guessing that Robert will soon move on to Leanne when he starts working at the Bistro once he realises that Tracy has changed for the worse. I hope this storyline is just a way-in for a new male character because it's really time for Tracy to move to London for good.
Sadly, for all the Tracy haters, it doesn't seem likely she'll be leaving for London or anywhere else anytime soon. Why? Because the Barlow dynasty depends on her. Otherwise, it's just Ken and the grandkids. Watching the funeral episode, I was somewhat surprised to realise, despite the recent blow-up between Liz and Tracy, that Tracy IS the link between the Barlows and McDonalds. With a dwindling Barlow clan, that connection is more important than ever to hold the fort against a headed-for-world-domination Platt Universe. So I say more power to Tracy if she can provide relevance and a reason for these two otherwised diminished families to blend and form a McBarlow presence on the Street.
Post a Comment