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Tuesday 24 April 2018

Listen: Our blogger Michael chats about Kate Oates' departure

I was quite shocked to hear Kate Oates had left Coronation Street. Throughout the ups and downs of the past few years, one thing that I have always admired is that she hasn't been afraid to tackle difficult subjects. These big moves have paid off, and although we've seen a much darker Weatherfield it has most definitely been worth it. She will be a real miss, but I can't wait to see what Iain MacLeod brings to the programme.

Anyway, I was invited over to MediaCity this afternoon to chat with the lovely people at BBC Radio 5 Live. I've spoken about Corrie on their programmes before so it's always nice to be back.

I'm not really sure why it was implied that Kate had been forced out of her position - she's certainly no Stuart Blackburn and the show definitely isn't in jeopardy like it was two years ago. It'll be very sad to see her go, but I'm sure she'll of made a brilliant decision. Onwards and upwards with undoubtedly many successful years of producing to come for Kate.

But you can listen to my interview at 1:39 here, or via the embedded video below. Thanks again to the team at 5 Live for having me back - I hope to see you all again soon.


You can follow me on Twitter, @MichaelAdamsUk if you want. I try to be funny.



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7 comments:

njblas said...

I think people are wondering if she was forced out because only recently she publicly stated she would be staying on until at least 2019.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Finally, the bosses at ITV paid attention to their loyal viewers. Too many issues shoved down our throats. She has packed about 3 years worth of Issues in a year of television. No time to come up for air.

Humpty Dumpty said...

I'm confused about the timescale of KO's departure. Has she gone/is leaving very soon or is this an early announcement to defuse yet more criticism? I remember announcements about previous producers and it seemed like a year before they finally left.

Anonymous said...

This is really disappointing news. Corrie felt unwatchable most of the time from 2011 - 2016 with its obsession with wrongly accusing people for murder.

There was the Windass/Armstrong snoozefest, the Tina McIntyre show, the dreadful Callum saga that made the 55th Anniversary a sorry excuse of a live episode when compared with the 50th, that silly Caz business, the cringing Karl/Sunita affair, the out of nowhere feud between Tracy and Carla. The so overhyped Peter and Carla relationship where Peter was miserable and Carla was a control freak, people still seems to think would such a fantastic thing to revisit. I don't know what Kate's plans for Carla were but I liked where it was going.

So much boring stuff. In particular from 2014 to 2016 all continuity was forgotten, I'm pretty sure Nick and Carla went their whole relationship without once mentioning the fact that they ran the factory together. Then there was Kevin forgetting about baby Jake's death (even Michael Le Vell himself got annoyed with this).

To me, Kate really gets the show. The dramatic is done well but the day to day is now fun and watchable again too. The Brian Packham stuff, the Rosemary debacle etc. Kate seemed to recognise the connection Peter and Leanne had when Collinson and Blackburn seemed to drop it/ eventually forget it completely. I was delighted to see that a producer recognised this relationship as I didn't think another one would.

I think Kate had planned to put Peter and Leanne back together which I really wanted to see, which was why she started off the whole Peter/Toyah thing and put Leanne in the Rovers with the hope that Toyah and Eva's lies brings them closer together. But I don't see that happening now as most of the fans want Peter/Carla and I imagine the next producer will opt for that too. Who knows there may still be time for my preferred storyline to materialise, but I doubt it.

The brief return of Martin Platt and the planned returns for Lewis Archer and Claudia are all great Corrie ideas too. For the first time in ages Corrie felt like it did from 2006 - early 2011 again and I looked forward to watching it each night. I can't be the only one to feel this way as the ratings have recovered too.

Abercrombie said...

Martin Platt's return - albeit short and sweet - was really cool. What a good actor. there were many referrals to Corrie's past characters under the reign of Kate Oates. It is easy to forget the nice touches when one gets irked by too much drama.

Unknown said...

Terrible news that kate oates is leaving after the state corrie was in from 2013-2015 and I’m really not a fan of Iain’s work on emmerdale

Anonymous said...

I'm concerned too. Previously watched 3 soaps and now only watch Corrie. It was when Iain took over Hollyoaks that it became silly and unwatchable and I stopped, when he took over Emmerdale it took a nosedive too and has too many episodes. Corrie fans should be celebrating the high ratings Kate got. I think the celebrations following her departure are more than a little premature. I hope someone from the Corrie blog researches Iain's soap history and looks at the big stories good and bad from his times at Hollyoaks and Emmerdale so fans can prepare themselves etc

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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