Hilda Ogden: A character that defined Corrie's golden age

Over the weekend there have been countless moving tributes to Jean Alexander, the woman who gave us Hilda Ogden and portrayed for 23 wonderful years. Be it on TV, radio or the internet, everyone's tributes have been constant - Hilda was a true soap legend.

Now Hilda had left Corrie 4 years before I was born, but as soon as I took an interest in Corrie, Hilda was one of the first faces I got to know from 'old Corrie'. She was easily identifiable - her curlers and headscarf, her singing, her gossiping, her 'muriel' and her flying ducks. And of course, her marriage to 'my Stan'. It is only through YouTube clips and DVDs that I've grown to appreciate Hilda as a soap legend.

The Ogdens were introduced to the show in 1964. This year was a controversial one in the show's history. It had seen the first mass exodus of cast since it began in 1960 under the 'First Axeman' Tim Aspinall. While the likes of Martha Longhurst and Frank Barlow bid goodbye, enter the Ogdens at No.13. You could say they were the Battersbys of their day.

Hilda secured a job as a cleaner at the Rovers and thus began a wonderful partnership between her and landlady Annie Walker that would last for nearly twenty years. Hilda's admiration for Annie and Annie's contempt and annoyance at Hilda were products of Corrie gold. And what was wonderful was the fact they never addressed each other by forename only - they were Mrs Walker and Mrs Ogden.

Her catfights were also legendary. I've watched clips countless times of Hilda's classic scraps with the likes of Elsie Tanner, Mrs Walker and Bet Lynch. She always gave good as she got. My mum always said when watching those clips that she remembers women doing exactly that in her home village.

When Bill Podmore became producer in 1976 he decided more humour was needed in Corrie and thus began Corrie's golden age for many. The Ogdens were pivotal to the success of the programme at the time, starring in memorable storylines like installing the 'muriel' in 1976, the seance and the second honeymoon in 1977, the chimney debacle in 1978, the hens in 1979 and various storylines involving Eddie Yeats between 1980 and 1983. When the golden age ended in 1984, it was no coincidence that it coincided with Stan's death.

It was also an end to Hilda in 'classic Hilda' mode. The character softened as all her contemporaries had either died or left - Stan, Elsie, Annie, Len and Eddie. Nobody was interested in her tidbit gossip and her tut-tutting of Rita Fairclough living over the brush with Alan Bradley or Sally and Kevin having sex before marriage was seen as old-fashioned.

When Hilda eventually left the street in 1987, it seemed a natural thing. It was indeed an end of an era. An end to an innocent time. When Hilda left, it seemed Corrie was allowed to change to mirror EastEnders and Brookside with sensational storylines like the Alan/Rita saga and Brian Tilsley's murder.

Corrie has never tried to have another Hilda on the street. Maybe a character like her wouldn't fit in anymore. She belonged to a classic Corrie era which we can look back fondly and rightly so.

Rest in peace, Jean Alexander. Thank you for creating not only a Corrie legend, but a TV legend. That's no mean feat and for that we are forever grateful.

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Corrie creator Tony Warren passes away aged 79

We regret to announce the passing of Coronation Street creator Tony Warren, aged 79.

Born in Pendlebury in Manchester in 1936, he became a regular on the BBC's Children's Hour where he performed with the likes of Violet Carson and Doris Speed, who would later become household names as Ena Sharples and Annie Walker in Coronation Street.

Warren first thought about creating a drama serial in 1959 and in the autumn of 1960 Granada accepted. Originally to be called Florizel Street, Coronation Street aired its first episode on the 9th of December 1960. Warren wrote the first 13 episodes and introduced us to great characters like Ena, Minnie and Martha; Jack and Annie Walker; Elsie Tanner; the Barlows; and Albert Tatlock. He was a television innovator as no other show had been broadcast on television - "a show about ordinary people on an ordinary street". The show became a hit with viewers and remains so.

Warren continued to write scripts on and off until 1976. In total he wrote 69 episodes for the show. 

We have a lot to thank Tony Warren for. Without him, this Blog wouldn't exist and our lives would've been a lot poorer without Corrie. 

As a tribute, here is Tony Warren appearing on This is Your Life in 1995.

I imagine our bloggers will have their own tributes over the next few days.

by Llifon

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Archive video: Peter Baldwin and Thelma Barlow reunited in 2012

When I heard the sad news of Peter Baldwin's death, I immediately went on YouTube to find some videos of him. I was hoping that his and Thelma Barlow's interview on This Morning back in 2012 was still on there, and so it was.

It's a wonderful interview, which includes a lovely montage of Derek and Mavis' time on the street. Peter and Thelma reminisce about their 20-odd years on the street and Derek's demise is also touched upon. 

It's a great interview. Some of you may have seen it, but others may have not. But here it is anyway.

It is my tribute to Peter Baldwin, one half of one of Corrie's great partnerships.

by Llifon

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Deirdre's tribute - Corrie at its best

I haven't been inspired to write a blog post about Corrie for some time, and certainly not one praising an episode. But last night's episode was the best episode I've seen in a very long time.

While the episodes surrounding Deirdre's death and funeral didn't solely concentrate on Deirdre, last night's episode was all about her. This was the sort of episode that I'd been waiting for since the death of Anne Kirkbride. And having resisted the urge to read spoilers, this was a nice surprise. The episode had that unique mix of drama and humour that Corrie is famous for and what it's been lacking in recent months and may I say years.

I know we are soaps are now obsessed with awards, but if last night's episode won't get nominated for 'Best Episode' then soaps are really in a dire situation. Explosions and fights don't necessarily make good episodes. More often than not, it's the aftermath that shows the characters at their best.

While my mum had refused to watch the funeral, stating that she didn't agree with the fact that the show was using Kirkbride's death as dramatic purposes, I put last night's episode on and she watched the whole episode. I sensed that this episode was what she wanted - a chance to reflect and reminisce about a long running and popular character. 

Deirdre was one of a dying breed of Corrie characters. You can count on one hand - two at a push - the characters who we still care about and we know their history. Deirdre had many phases in her Corrie life - the cheeky mouthy girl in the 1970s, the serious and strong woman of the 1980s, the independent lady in the 1990s, the foil to Blanche in the 2000s and then the comedy character in the last 5 years or so.

For nearly 30 years, Deirdre was a serious character. She wasn't known for being a comedy character like Hilda, Mavis or Reg, but it seems many remember her as she was in the last 5 years, completely forgetting the past. Her two most famous storylines are dramatic ones with Deirdre crying in most of them. This was the Deirdre many relate to when thinking of her. But the fact that she wasn't a particularly funny character didn't make her unpopular. On the contrary, she is one of the most famous characters on the show, on the same par as possibly Ken, Rita, Bet Lynch, Elsie Tanner and Hilda Ogden. 

What was wonderful about last night's episode was it was very honest. It showed that Deirdre, as Blanche once said, 'was hardly Snow White'. She, like every classic Corrie character and every human being, had her flaws. While she was never a homewrecker (Wendy flamin' Crozier has that trophy), she didn't have a great track record with men. Mention was duly referenced to Mike Baldwin (who held a torch for Deirdre) and Jon Lindsay, but sadly no reference was made by Rita or Emily about Ray Langton and Billy Walker. And wouldn't it have been great if Billy Walker had returned to pay his respects - Deirdre's first love?

The return of Peter Barlow was very much welcomed and the scenes in the Barlows were electric. And while her love of pottery was mentioned, I did think her choice of huge glasses might have referenced to. And where was Eccles? But I'm picking at straws.

And it was great to have those scenes between Audrey and Bev. History had not been forgotten and it did cement that Bev would be a very welcome return to the street. She still has relevance and she would be a great friend/foe to Audrey.

And like Jordan mentioned in his review, the episode gave Emily and Rita more scope. Rita's reaction when Emily mentioned Ken's old flames was priceless - she's one of them!

What would've been a wonderful ending would be for Deirdre's voice to be heard one last time when Ken switched off the light.

So well done Corrie for last night. You were back on form and it just goes to show that when it pulls out all the stops, it's a clinker of a show!

Goodbye Deirdre. A Corrie legend in the truer sense of the word.

by Llifon

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Anne Kirkbride - a tribute

There are hundreds of tributes to Anne Kirkbride on the internet, telly, radio and newspapers, and I'd like to add my own through this little collage.

Admittedly, Deirdre hadn't been one of my favourite characters, but during the last few years I found myself enjoying her scenes. She seemed to inherit her mum's one-liners and became a classic comic character. And during Ken's absence, she provided a strong matriarch for the Barlow family during their sagas. 

But there is no doubt that Deirdre, and Anne Kirbride, were national icons and when I heard the news, I was in total shock. It was the fact that she was still young that shocked me. She was like a member of the family to many of us and there will be a hole on the cobbles, no doubt about that.

Rest in peace Anne, and thank you for making Deirdre Hunt/Langton/Barlow/Rachid/Barlow such a Corrie legend!

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Eddie Yeats - a tribute

With the recent passing of Geoffrey Hughes, who played Eddie Yeats, I've paid a homage to the character through photos. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words.  

Included in the collage with Eddie are the Ogdens, Bet, Betty, Eddie's wife Marion, Ena and Minnie.

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