Here we go with the eighth 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 eighth of nine. The remaining gem will be blogged tomorrow morning.
Farewell Mission (#742, 24/1/68)
"You know Mrs Ogden, likening me to your Stanley could really be considered slander."
"Oh don't worry Mrs Walker, Stan wouldn't mind."
Technically this was repeated back in 1983 after the death of Violet Carson but I'm including it anyway as it doesn't appear to have survived to the present day like the Granada Plus repeats have.
This is the episode where the Mission Hall is flattened - an important one for Ena and my favourite performance of Carson's. Here Ena is at her most vulnerable but refuses to show her despair at losing her home publicly. We see her have some fun by getting the council to load a van with all of her belongings before declaring that she's only moving across the street into Minnie's - it's all a front of course, and we're never in any doubt about that. When she has her last look around the vestry, we hear her thinking back on the years she's spent there. She is downbeat throughout the episode and it's a touching moment at the end when Minnie presents her with her own key to No.5.
The demolition was the first piece of filming conducted on Corrie's first outdoor set at Grape Street - months before the terraces were erected in the yard - and the episode really benefits by having it be carried out for real. Street scenes had always had a claustrophobic feel to them which was fine when the programme was more or less entirely studiobound in the early 1960s but by 1968 location filming was commonplace and a proper outdoor set was at least three years overdue.
There's a memorable guest turn by Anthony Dutton as Mr Ironfield, the man from the council who has the thankless task of getting Ena and her harmonium moved out of the vestry. Ironfield remained Ena's point of contact with the council popping up several more times in 1968 and 1969, being more terrified of her with each appearance.
Hidden Gem 9 will be blogged tomorrow. And don't forget to check out Corriepedia and follow them on Twitter too.
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