How did salon owner Audrey Roberts end up sitting nervously in a bar with a cross dresser called Marc?
Would Aud, who dines out on being the wife of former Mayor, Alf Roberts, really step out with a blonde bewigged chap who also goes by the name of Marcia? This is the woman – lady, if you please, - who has spent a soap lifetime courting respectability in an attempt to escape her shady past as an unmarried teenage mum who had two kids with two blokes.
Courting transvestites is not in her character’s DNA.
The desire for middle class normality was encapsulated in her joy at moving from the back streets of Weatherfield to a suburban detached house – after relentlessly nagging Alf. Ever since the social climber first wandered onto the cobbles over 30 years ago, she has tried to lever her way up in the world.
Yet now we, the viewers, who are usually quite willing to suspend our disbelief in the best traditions of drama, are supposed to swallow this daft storyline where Aud would risk being subjected to appalled stares by the curtain-twitching brigade.
It was bad enough when she hooked up with a caddish escort played by Nigel Havers, but just about believable because the rogue was devilishly good looking and Audrey was lonely.
And then it turned out Gail’s father – one of her teenage loves - was gay; a bit far-fetched perhaps but not completely beyond the pale.
But the spectacle that greeted my Weatherfied-weary eyes on Monday night of Audrey trying to overcome her embarrassment at Marc – Marcia’s – other life tipped me towards the off button.
And I’m no faint-hearted fan. I’ve continued to watch through all the peaks and troughs, since Ernie Bishop came a cropper in Baldwin’s factory!
Much has been made of claims that the number of gay characters is turning viewers off as reports claimed viewing figures had dipped to as low as 7.4m. Corrie has pointed out that figure came when the show was up against an Andy Murray match at Wimbledon on the other side and in fact their ratings for the first six months of the year have gone up.
There is also a tired theory doing the rounds that gay producer and scriptwriter Phil Collinson and Damon Rochefort are driving some kind of personal agenda. That just smacks of homophobia to me. The fact is that the recent crop of gay characters aren’t interesting and neither are the storylines.
I’m completely fed up of teen lesbians Sian and Sophie whose default mode is the scream or the shout. I never want to hear Sian yell: “Sawpheeee” again but know I will. Thank goodness she’s off at the end of the year – although I suspect her departure will be mourned by the male fraternity.
And camp knicker stitcher Sean Tully's boyfriend, Marcus is just dull. And he’s in danger of making Sean dull too. That would be a crying shame as Sean, played by Antony Cotton, is one of the most watchable characters to come into Corrie in the last decade.
The truth of the matter is Coronation Street’s success stands or falls on great character acting and humour, not sexual orientation, and at the moment there is precious little of either. Britain’s longest running TV soap has looked laboured since the brilliant 50th anniversary tram crash episodes last December.
We are missing the likes of Blanche, played by the late Maggie Jones and Jack and Vera Duckworth. They will always be much missed, but the yawning chasm they have left is becoming more obvious with each so what episode. Time for the axe man...
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I admit that transvestites etc do exist, as you see them mainly in the usual haunts in Manchester centre. Like many people I regard them as part of that scene, and I have no objection whatsoever being a person who lives and lets live. But I will refuse to regard this as normal life in a working class terraced house community, which the writers of this tripe seem to wish us to believe. I'm sure there are many people of that ilk who would wish this to be so, but it will never be. Sex and sexual habits are not the be-all and end-all of all peoples' lives you know. Coronation Street no longer reflects real life and has become just a circus. I stopped watching it about ten years ago when it was competing with Eastenders for the screaming and screeching awards. I don't hear of anything that entices me to be a viewer any more.
ITV has been dumbing down for years.
They should take some time to get their stable in order and get Corrie back to how it should be.
There is no need to bring in known names from otehr shows. They should be looking to bring on local talent rather than looking to London for big name stars.
Less sensationalism and more reality
(That would be a crying shame as Sean, played by Antony Cotton, is one of the most watchable characters to come into Corrie in the last decade)
Are you having a laugh? He's the worst actor in it. You only like him because he's camp.
He's wooden and one dimensional. He makes me cringe every time he's on.
And it's not homophobic to say that there is an agenda going on, because there is!
Get real love.
There us more than "a gender" going on, good on Coronation street for it's burlesque theatrics. Let's remember real Mancunian characters like Frank FooFoo Lammar who invigorated the city, and who was no less of a man for his characterisation. Why mention the sexuality of the writers in an article about a heterosexual man who likes wearing women's clothes? unless you want to stir things up like some second rate Brian Sewell.
Coronation Street has got much worse since it went from twice a week to five times a week along with Emmerdale Farm. It was fine when the character of Hayley was introduced as the genetically born woman who played her was very sensitive to the role and played it largely according to real life. Then when sean came I had misgivings because he was way over the top, but he settled and became another good character. But then when they tried to turn the street into a gay ghetto things really deteriorated. A Lesbian affair for tittilation and a tranny so that they could be the first with something else but without a decent plot. All drama is supposed to be escapist and Corrie is not supposed to be based absolutely on real life, more like a cosy corner. It used to have strong female characters and henpecked male characters and there was a lot of humour in their situations and some wonderful background or in jokes such as the Santa convention a few years ago (in the background) or the daft but often funny culy of Nirab (believed to be an Anagram of Brian (Park), who was director at the time).
Going five times a week is lazy TV just designed to grab premium advertisers without much work but the problem with that is that storylines become scarce and too thin, and plots become more far fetched or repeated too soon. And big stories such as the tram crash are also remembered by people in their fifties and over as the train crash in the 60's.
In the past, when ITV was many regional companies, they worked for viewers and advertisers flocked in. This was just with Corrie, and no other soaps, on twice a week and we had a good rounded entertainment channel. Corrie and Granada/ITv need to pull their fingers out or continue to lose viewers.
Like many people in Manchester, have met Sue, who is a lovely lady, but the tranny bloke ...please? Poor actor ! What he has to do in the name of his art ?!
Given up on The Street. Fine, if it is on, and at a loose end, but otherwise do not bother now!
Don't like this story. How do you explain to youngsters why a man they have just been watching is now dressed as a woman? This was on the 7.30pm slot the other night. We don't want this stuff on the telly, if we wanted to see this we could go down to the gay village. Get rid Corrie, your'e ruining what was once a good soap
Wat Tylers Sister, Olde England.
A very good and intellegent post. Where has the fun and origanality gone from "Corrie"?
The nights of looking forward to storylines that were funny and sad and just slightly OTT
have gone. Now it is in competion for screaming and depressive storylines that tend to treat us as clones, who cannot tell what soap we are watching, because the storys are no different from the rest. This problem will continue until we get a producer and writers who look back at how the street used to be and bring that fun up to date with these times,without looking at what other soaps are doing and making the street "The Street" once more.
Laughter,sadness and a huge dose of origanality.
Isn't that Camilla ...... the one on the right I'm talking about. BTW if I get a visit from MI6 Ill know my account has been hacked, you've been warned MEN
It's great having diversity, but this is like when Eastenders went all 'Gangsta'. My nine year old son asked me in one evening-'Why are those men kissing ?' and then 'why is that man dressed up as a woman ?'. I explained a bit to him, but then he asked 'Why do the girls kiss aswell sometimes?'. Please let kids have a childhood and stop pushing it down families throats ! We live and let live(hopefully) in the UK, but someone has an agenda here and it doesn't reflect my experience of life. I am very accepting and open minded, but I turn Corry off now when my kids are awake.
Stupid story line to be honest. Why would Audrey fall for this chap/woman! Not plausable at all and yes the scripts have gone down hill since going the 5 nights which was inevitable to be honest. I like the character of Sean if he is given funny scripts. The majority of the actors are to be honest panto at best but they do think they are super stars and when they leave are going onto bigger and better things! Mmmm like who, with the exception of Surrane Jones and Sarah Lancashire (although she has gone to ground now). Its merely background TV in my house.
You are typical of this society Frankie, are you a bloke then or a woman, or maybe a bit of both ? Your just a very sad pathetic individual.
I won't turn it off, I'll watch it and then throw up in my sick bucket at how the world has been turned on it's head by people like you
By the way, I aint old in case you thought so, I am quite young and entitled to my opinion, and if you don't like it, do one
Before the live episode at the end of last year, the producer Phil Collinson was interviewed along with a few other cast members and stated that as a gay man himself he was keen to introduce more gay characters and build storylines around them to reflect modern day society. If it is his intention to reflect modern day Manchester/Salford - why are there no Black families, Polish families, Asian Muslim families, Chinese etc? He should just walk through Manchester and study the crowds of people to see that we now live in a truly Cosmopolitan city. Even the Chinese family who ran the chippy when Cilla Battersby worked there are never seen. The doctor is English etc, etc. If he truly wants to reflect Manchester life then just bringing in gay characters and transvestites is not the way forward.
Bet Lynch was really called Kevin, and was a welder from Ardwick.
Maybe roy Barraclough could be persuaded to appear as his Cissie Braithwaite character, to turn this soap into a comedy half-hour.
Which one is the transvestite?
I don't think it's that far-fetched. Audrey certainly could pass for a tranny. The new producer HAS ruined the show but this time he is not too far off reality!
The bottom line is that whatever it is Corrie is trying to portray or do at the moment they have got it totally wrong, they deny that viewing figures are falling and yet Joe public know that people are leaving the soap they once loved and switching off.
It isnt just about the storylines it's also about some of the appaling actors currently employed.
Corrie used to be the best, sadly it is fast becoming a Joke opera, and the producer and script writers need to take heed of some of the comments that have been posted on here, because they are mostly from corrie fans that are turning their backs on the rubbish that is being produced at the moment.
Its certainly got me thinking about wearing a dress down the pub this weekend. Its all about feeling liberated and free for me. Can't decide on make-up though...
Sorry, Corrie, I think it's time to shut up shop if you can't get back to reality and stop this stupidity, the story lines have been very weak and do not have any direction.
Bringing in "Stella" was a big mistake, the accent is dire, Gail should have chucked David and his "wife" out a long time ago. Dev is a muppet, need I go on.
Time to get a DAB radio, me thinks.
Let Gimboid do what he needs to do and say what he needs to say.He's safe enough on here. Just glad he doesn't live next door to me. Makes me feel much better about myself.
Tpe your comment here...
Gimboid eh - Think it should be Gimp, get back in the closet and lock the door on your way in. If everyone in the world was gay there would be no world, simple as !
Doesn't take much for the pretence at acceptance to fall away does it. Still I suppose while those accused of having "not normal" lifestyles are being told they should not be seen on soap operas they are better off then when they were being thrown in jail or beaten in streets.