I've always enjoyed Liz McDonald. She is firey, she's fierce, she's strong, she's tough. She's a classic Corrie woman who can snap the lid of a smile over a scream and carry on serving. She's got a terrible sense of fashion but she can pull it off with the confidence of a runway model.
I think she's probably the best landlady of the Rovers Return that we've seen since Bet-Lynch-Gilroy. They're very much cut from the same cloth though I think Liz is probably a bit stronger in that Bet always seemed like, underneath it all, she expected everything to be taken away from her, like she didn't really deserve to own and run the pub, not really.
Liz believes she's meant to be the landlady and nobody's going to get the better of her. Well, they didn't until Tony managed to wear her down - but that was just a blip.
Her tenure at the pub has been rocky, to say the least. Liz has had several lengthy retreats to Spain causing a bit of upheaval behind the bar at times. I've written more about Liz and the interim landladies / managers over here on State of the Street.
Liz, at the moment, may or may not be one of the owners of the pub, but I have confidence that she will be once again and it won't be long coming.
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I love Liz. She's got better as the years have passed and she's the classic strong woman of Corrie. You need to be over 50 and have the life experience of the character to really pull it off - so that would rule out Leanne, Anna or Carla. Bev Callard has done a lot of theatre, too, and I'm sure that gives her presence on the screen.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing Bet has over Liz is her sharp wit. Her dry caustic humour could cut a person down as much as any verbal onslaught. She was a brilliant comedy double act with Alec Gilroy. Bet could do comedy and drama, and you need both behind the Rover's bar. But, yes I agree, the best landlady - official or otherwise - since Bet Gilroy. We shouldn't forget that Bet trained Liz and probably serves as her role model.
Liz is wonderful. I remember (vaguely) the many harrowing scenes of the 80s and 90s and as much as I love the double act of her and Steve, and her lighter side, nothing pleases me more than watching Bev play sad, angry, tortured Liz. She does it so well. I hope she stays at the Rovers for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think she's not the strongest actress of the current cast (Alison King and Jane Danson bring a lot more depth and realism to their performances in my opinion), I do enjoy Bev as Liz, and I think she's a very suitable landlady for the Rovers. Loved it when Ken compared her to that Manet painting a while back!
ReplyDeleteHumpty, you've got a very good point, Bet did have the edge in the humour side of things. We have Steve behind the bar for that, however.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Manet conversation was an ad lib that got kept in. I really dont think it could have been scripted and then the costume & hairdo obliged with the appropriate look. I bet she turned up for the scene like that then someone, maybe Bill Roache, made the comment.
ReplyDeleteI have likened Liz to Bet recently, especially the Tony/Tracy triangle a reminder of Tanya/Charlie Whelan.
ReplyDeleteThe Liz/Steve dynamic could be like Bet with Fred Gee or Jack.
I love Liz! I hope she's behind the bar for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, I've missed something with the sale of Steve's half of the pub. I though Carla bought it and saved the day?
Runway model? Showing your roots TVOR (catwalk model over here) - not to be too рedantic
ReplyDeleteYes Liz together with Steve are the Rovers and should stay that way for a long while yet - let's face it, the Price's era shows that parachuting in new people just doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteYes Liz together with Steve are the Rovers and should stay that way for a long while yet - let's face it, the Price's era shows that parachuting in new people just doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteWho even remembers the mistake that was the Prices anyway?
ReplyDeleteI do like Liz but she didnt show herself very well bellowing at Dan in front of the whole pub including his boss and young daughter without even asking his side of the story first!
Loving Dan by the way, another great simmering villan that knocks Camp Callum into a cocked hat.
Lol with you on the Price's!
DeleteLol with you on the Price's!
DeleteLol with you on the Price's!
DeleteI like her yes but my dream team behind the bar would be Sally and Tim - the modern day Annie and Jack. In addition, get rid of Dev from the shop and install Julie and Brian ASAP.
ReplyDeleteI don't even thing "runway" shows my roots, it shows my age!!! But yeah, I'm Canadian so I use Canadian words and phrases. If it's still clear what I mean, I hope it's not a problem since we have readers from all over the world anyway.
ReplyDelete