FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | 29
[thesurvivor]was involvedwith,Ifoundoutjusthow oftenthis
went on. It was unnoticed,peopledidn’tspeakaboutit, men
were embarrassedby itand didn’twant to speakaboutit.” The
charityreportedhugespikesincalls after thestory went out
showinghow thisbeingtackledon mainstreamTVcan change
and save lives.
WhereCoronationStreetreallyexcelsisinitsmeldingof these
explosiveand oftencontroversialstorieswithadry and camp
Lancashiresensibility.The bigstoriesgive ittheheadlinesbut
thesmallerstoriesbetweencharactersgive ititsheartand its
humour.Theseare itsmostenduringingredients.
“That'swhatmakesCoronationStreetsounique,”says Patti
Clare whoplays MaryTaylor.“It isthatinter-relationshipglue
thatholdsitalltogetherand makesithuman.”It isashow,she
feels,thatallowstheawkwardand theoutsider–like Maryor
Roy Cropper–to fitin.Addinginaback story whereMarywas
reunitedwiththeson shegave upfor adoptiongave acharacter
oftenplayedfor humoureven greaterdepth.“It only addedto
herthree-dimensionalcharacter,”suggestsClare,“movingher
away from justbeingthecomicfoil.”
Humouristhenecessarylightinthedarknesshere, shesays.
“It’s nevervicious,it’s nevermaliciousand it’s nevercruel.Mary’s
bigcamp,Iwouldsay!CoronationStreetallowsfor thatcampness,
whichisfantastic.The audienceloves it.”
Halsallalsofeels thisissomethingCoronationStreethasused
to carveoutauniqueplacefor itselfon TV. “Whatitdoesso
well isthatitportraysallthatdramaand allthatemotion,but
intertwinedwithallthatisthiscomedyand humour.”
KingregardsCoronationStreetaspart of along theatrical
traditionwithitsroots stretchingback thousandsof years.
“Like allthegreatdramasof theworld–from ancientGreece
to Shakespeareand comingrightinto themodernworldwith
Joe Ortonor PhoebeWaller-Bridge–whatyou have istragedy
punctuatedby momentsof comedy,observationor irony.
Otherwiseitbecomesunpalatable.”Havingbeentherefromthestart,Roachehasseentheshow
bothreflectand adaptto thetimes,butitshumourhasbeenthe
constant.“We don’t dothingsthatare funny,”hesays. “Whatwe
do–thewritersare very goodatthatand theactorsknowhow to
doit–iswe extractthehumourfrom within.It can beafuneral
or whateverbutthere’salwayshumourto befound.That isa
Lancashiretrait thatcomesoutvery stronglyinCoronationStreet.”
Its othergreateststrengthisthatwomenhave alwaysbeen
theengineof theshow,givingititslightand itsshade.Oftenthebiggeststoriesand thebestinsightsinto thehumancondition
comethroughthem.The roll call of standoutfemalecharactershere is
staggering–Ena Sharples,Elsie Tanner,AnnieWalker,Bet Lynch,Hilda
Ogden,Vera Duckworth,RaquelWatts,BeckyGranger,EvelynPlummer
and, perhapsthegreatestof themall,BlancheHunt.Comedy,tragedy
and humanityallinone, withtheserichlydevelopedand expressive
womenultimatelyincharge.They are thequintessenceof theshowas
well asitsmoralcompass.“TonyWarrenfoundedtheshowon strong
womenand fecklessmen,”says Whiston.“That’sthemainthreadthat
goesthroughit–theresilienceof thefemalecharactersinCorrie.No
matterwhattheworldisthrowingatthem,they’llfindaway eitherto
dealwithitor to poke fun atit. And they’lloftenfindaway throughitby
callingon each otherinacommunalway. That threadha lwaysbeenin
Corrieand itwillsustainit.”@Eamonn_Forde
CoronationStreetepisodesaironITVonMondays
WednesdaysandFridaysanda�terwardsonITVHCovering the big issues
The coercive control storyline
of Geo�f and Yasmeen shows
the fearlessness of the writingImage: AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Image: ITV
Image: ITV
Cobbled together
The Corrie class
of 2020