Here we go with the seventh of nine guest blog posts from David at Corriepedia as their site celebrates 10 years online!
Hello! Flaming Nora has kindly agreed to host a blog post from me relating to the tenth anniversary of Corriepedia, the Coronation Street Wiki. After some thinking, I've decided to expand on something my friend and fellow admin John brought up in his interview with the wonderful Conversation Street podcast last week.
To help readers understand why these episodes are so special, and why David from Corriepedia rates them as hidden gems, you might want to read his original blog post here which explains all.
Here we go with the seventh of nine. The remaining two gems will be blogged each morning over the next two days.
Best Kept Street Competition (#684, 5/7/67)
"Ladies, onto Burgundy!"
The search is on for Weatherfield's best kept street and today the judges are due to inspect Coronation Street. It's never looked better - lined with Union flags, potted plants, hanging baskets (or an upside down air raid warden's helmet in the case of No.1), and a striped canopy over the Rovers. This is when the gap where No.7 used to be gained a bench. The only question is, can the residents make it through the day without embarrassing themselves?
This is the sort of storyline that Corrie has always done well where everyone has a part to play - the neighbours meeting to agree on a colour scheme, Annie and Ena fighting for supremacy as hostess, each resident proudly showing off their home, and Hilda being kept as far away from the judges as possible.
The storyline cleverly dovetails with a more dramatic one about a family of squatters at No.3, Betty Lawson and her sons Clifford and Ronnie. They've fallen on hard times and the residents are divided on whether to report them or help them out financially. Of course, it all comes to a head right before the judges arrive when the welfare people come to remove the family by force after receiving a tip-off from Len. Annie, Ena and Hilda mistake them for the judges and are wrongfooted when the real judges appear in their wake. The occasion is doubly important for Annie as one of the judges is a bigwig in the Lady Victuallers and there are laughs to be had as she's continually shown up by the neighbours. The fate of the Lawsons makes this a gloomier episode than I'd maybe have wanted but it's still a very funny story that suits Corrie's strengths to a tee.
As a sidenote, this is a storyline I'd argue is worth a revisit in the present day. Yes, it's been done before, but the limitations of the time held it back. The street set was still indoors in 1967 and only half of it was built in studio for this episode, plus a few faces such as Albert Tatlock are missing due to the way the cast was spread out in the 1960s. I'd love to see Sally battling the other homeowners to be project leader!
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