Most controversial storylines of Coronation Street
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Coronation Street has covered a number of storylines that proved to be controversial with many viewers.
[edit] The first casting bloodbath
In 1964, ratings for the series had dropped to a disastrous low. In a valiant attempt to scupper the ITV Network's most popular programme, the BBC screened their most popular programmes, most notably Steptoe and Son and 'Till Death Us Do Part directly opposite the programme. With the ratings falling so disastrously for the first time in its history, the new producer of the programme, Tim Aspinall, knew that something drastic had to be done, and failed to renew many cast members' contracts. One of the cast members who was written out was Lynne Carol, who played Martha Longhurst since the early days of the show. The writing-out was so controversial that principal actress Violet Carson threatened to quit, but she was eventually talked round. In May, the show aired Martha's death of a heart attack in the Snug. H.V. Kershaw, writer and producer of the series deplored this storyline, stating that although such a controversy was bound to increase ratings - the death was quite deliberately leaked to the British popular press - it simply meant that, once the furore had died down, they were left without a core character. Frank Barlow (Frank Pemberton), father of Kenneth Barlow (William Roache) was written out when he moved away to a leafy suburb of Manchester. Florrie Lindley was re-united with her estranged husband, Norman and they emigrated to Canada. Harry and Concepta Hewitt were sent off to live in Ireland, and, so it seemed, popular characters were dropping out at the rate of one a week. This proved to be very controversial with viewers; one move that helped keep the ratings steady was the introduction of a new family, the Ogdens, at the same time of Martha's passing.
[edit] The controversial stories that never happened
Some story moves were so taboo that they never even made it to air, although they were very close to being taped. In 1967, a new writing staff was hired, after rumours abounded that Coronation Street was to be cancelled, due to shaky ratings in late 1966. In the new storyline bibles, popular characters Elsie Tanner and Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) were going to give in to their palpable sexual tension, meek Emily Bishop, a devout religious woman, was to finally lose her virginity and have a baby out of wedlock, Lucille Hewitt was to develop a drug problem at age eighteen, and core character Jerry Booth (Graham Haberfield) was to be involved in a storyline which tested his sexuality. The show's writing staff dropped all the storylines mere days before they were to be taped, for fear of upsetting the show's loyal fan base. Instead, they planned on writing in the first black family to be seen on the Street, something else that did not make it to air.
The writers wished to test the limits, so they brought in actors Nigel Humphries and Gillian McCann to play Dickie and Audrey Flemming, a young teenaged couple who eloped and settled in Weatherfield. These two characters were to be the outlet in which new storylines were to be played; however, the show never made good use of the actors, and their stories were never fully developed.
[edit] Susi Hush and her legacy
In 1974, Susi Hush became producer of the programme and had to deal with many unfortunate incidents which eventually raised the collective ire of the viewers, who were already flocking to Crossroads following the departure of Patricia Phoenix the year before. Core cast member Jennifer Moss, who played Lucille Hewitt, had become an alcoholic, and Hush was forced to fire her rather abruptly. Moss was a fan favourite and many viewers were not happy at the turn of events.
At the same time, Irene Sutcliffe had decided to leave the show after six years of playing Corner Shop owner Maggie Clegg. On top of Moss's dramatic departure, Hush had decided to write a controversial storyline turn, in that Maggie's son, Gordon Clegg, was revealed to be not her own son, but the son of her sister, Betty Turpin. Sutcliffe made it known later that she felt very hurt by the storyline turn, especially at the end of her tenure with the show (the original plan was to have an old flame, Ron Cooke, come back from Africa and ask for her hand in marriage, but the maternity revelation happened in conjunction with Maggie's farewell, causing the hard feelings). In an attempt to extend an olive branch in an informal apology, Hush invited Sutcliffe to return for Christmas festivities in a couple of episodes at the end of the year, which she accepted.
In 1975, actor Kenneth Farrington tired of playing Billy Walker and left the show abruptly, having Susi Hush scrambling to tie up his big storyline involving an impending marriage to Deirdre Hunt. In the end, Deirdre was quickly married off to Ray Langton, which was heavily criticized for a lack of logical flow.
[edit] Deirdre's attack
In 1977, the writers of the show wrote a controversial storyline turn for actress Anne Kirkbride and her character, Deirdre Langton. In the story, Deirdre walked home from her exercise class, and was attacked by a man who tried to rape her. He molested her, but she managed to run home. Filled with guilt and shame, she would not tell her husband, Ray, what had happened. Eventually, her thoughts turned to suicide. Deirdre decided to jump off a bridge, but was distracted when a passerby asked for directions. At that time, she had an epiphany and told Ray what had transpired.
Although the subject matter was very controversial, the storyline's execution taught many other women who had been in the same situation to tell the police, a loved one, or both, about their respective ordeals.
[edit] Ken, Deirdre, and Mike
In late 1982, writer Adele Rose came up with the idea that Deirdre, quickly bored in new marriage to Ken Barlow, would have an affair with Mike Baldwin. In Rose's line of reasoning, Deirdre would strongly believe that Ken was neglecting her, and that being with Mike made her feel alive. In the widely-viewed episode in which Deirdre confessed all to Ken, she told him that she felt like "the wallpaper, or a piece of furniture that's been around forever...it's like [they've] been married for twenty years". In an unscripted move, Ken, blinded by anger, grabbed Deirdre by the throat and started to strangle her. Anne Kirkbride, who did not know of the sudden change in direction, reacted with more conviction, she admitted later, than had she known of the action beforehand. Eventually, Deirdre began to have doubts about staying with Mike Baldwin. The writers of the series scheduled the episode in which Deirdre reconciled with Ken, effectively ending her relationship with Mike Baldwin, on the night that popular football teams Manchester United and Arsenal F.C. played at Old Trafford. At the end of the episode, which aired on February 23, 1983, Deirdre slammed the door of No. 1 in Mike's face. Dejected and with a shattered hubris, Mike drove away from the Street. As soon as the credits finished rolling, the scoreboard at the stadium read "Deirdre and Ken United Again!" and "Ken 1 Mike 0" in big letters, to the excitement of cheering fans. The episode was one of the highest-rated in Corrie's history.
[edit] Rovers Return fire
The programme moved to modernise its sets in 1986. One way the producers and writers chose to do this was to have the Rovers Return set ablaze. Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) was on the upper storey of the pub at the time, and failed to fully execute her escape. Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) remarked sarcastically that she was "probably smokin' in bed again," when in reality, Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey) had attempted to repair a fuse and, in failing to do so, accidentally sparked a fire in the fusebox which spread to the rest of the establishment.
Kevin and Sally Webster, coming home from a late-night rock concert, happened to walk past at the time, noticed the fire, and alerted the neighbours. The fire brigade eventually rescued Bet when Kevin could not, and she recovered from a case of smoke inhalation. Afterwards, she decided to knock the main area, the Select, and the Snug into one bar.
[edit] First transsexual person in a British soap
In 1998, the Street introduced the first transsexual person in British soap history. Its handling of the story, and Hayley Patterson (Julie Hesmondhalgh) ultimately "marrying" bookish nerd Roy Cropper, proved immensely popular, and was praised by transgendered groups, not least in how it highlighted transgender issues, such as how she remained registered for tax purposes as a man called "Harold", leading to ridicule from her boss, Mike Baldwin.
Curiously, though launched by an openly gay man who still gets listed on the credits, and with a massive gay following, Coronation Street avoided featuring a gay resident, unlike EastEnders which has had a number, and Emmerdale which has a lesbian vet and a number of other gay characters, both male and female. Only recently, in 2003, has the soap featured any kind of homosexual activity.
[edit] Deirdre Rachid jailed
On the 29th March 1998, the nation waited with bated breath as the verdict was read..and much to everyone's horror, it was "guilty". Deirdre Rachid was sent to prison after a former lover implicated her in a bank fraud scheme. A campaign led by tabloid newspapers and the occasional graffiti artist, with the slogan of "Free the Weatherfield One!", petitioned the Home Secretary to become involved on Deirdre's behalf. Even Tony Blair called for Deirdre to be freed. After three weeks, Deirdre was released from prison and four different newspapers claimed victory for themselves and their readers. However, the producers of the programme had planned Deirdre to stay in prison for three weeks the entire time.
[edit] The serial killer: Richard Hillman
In 2002–3, Coronation Street featured a particularly controversial story of a serial killer, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron), who entered the storyline as a relative of the late Alma Sedgewick. Initially the character was seen offering financial advice to street residents and buying the house of Emily Bishop, in an arrangement where she would have a right to live in it for her lifetime. He then married twice-divorced Gail Platt (Helen Worth). Over the months, questions were raised about his trustworthiness, with suggestions of some irregularities in his dealings with old people elsewhere. He left a business partner, Duggie Ferguson to die after falling over a balcony. Viewers then witnessed his murder of his second wife (and her burial under concrete at a housing development he owned) while hearing of the strange death of his first wife.
In late 2002, viewers saw him subtly (and with typical Corrie humour) give his wealthy mother-in-law, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), grounds of questioning whether she was experiencing the onset of dementia, though such things as unlocking doors she had locked, hanging out washing that she (of course) could not remember hanging out, putting on lights she had switched off, taking a dress in to be dry-cleaned, to her surprise as she could not remember taking it in. Finally, he tried to kill her in a house fire, made to look like the result of her dementia, with the battery removed from the fire alarm. She was saved by taxi driver Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson).
In 2003, in severe financial trouble (and failing in his attempt to get his hands on Audrey's considerable wealth) viewers witnessed him try to murder Emily Bishop while all the other Street residents were at a function in the Rovers Return, only to be discovered by the woman she was babysitting for, Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw), whom he then brutally murdered, framing Aidan Critchley — his step-daughter Sarah-Louise's ostracised former boyfriend, who was sleeping rough nearby.
The storyline in February 2003 saw a number of normally conspiracy-orientated street residents, urged on by his mother-in-law who survived the fire, suspect him of Maxine's murder, with Audrey challenging him at Maxine's funeral. Audrey had realised he had made two slip ups with her; knowing there was no battery in a smoke alarm before the fire brigade had checked it (he had removed it), and leaving in the dress to be cleaned on a day when she had independent witnesses to confirm that she had been with them all that day. Emily's lodger Norris had also suspected that Richard was less-than honest in his financial dealings with his elderly clients, a belief he had held since Richard processed Emily's house conversion some time earlier. Meanwhile Ken Barlow, having seen the drunken state of Aidan — a former student of his — doubted his ability to carry out the crime. However Audrey, Norris and Ken were boycotted by other street regulars, especially Richard's wife, Gail (who became estranged from her mother after Audrey accused him of lighting the fire in her house), Maxine's family and Emily (who survived with no memory of the attack on her) all of whom saw him as a perfect husband, neighbour and friend.
Hillman himself was racked by guilt at his actions, all the more so when it turned out that someone else whose house he owned had died the previous week, meaning that his financial problems were already solved before he tried to murder Emily and murdered Maxine. In a cruel twist of fate, he was only contacted by the daughter of the dead person after he has done his own killing, and is distraught with guilt, all the more so when he is asked out of the blue to do a reading from the Bible about judgment day at the funeral service.
One of Coronation Street's most controversial yet widely watched storylines, played out grippingly yet slowly over two years, it received critical and viewer acclaim and was one of British TV's most shocking, horrifying and moving storylines, tinged with typical Corrie black humour; many of Richard's comments (constantly asking Emily about her health, his 'concern' at Audrey's forgetfulness, etc) having macabre double meanings which the viewer got but which the characters, oblivious to his true nature and plans, don't grasp. Such was the strength of the storyline than the actor playing Hillman had his contract extended, with the original scheduled date for his exposure (Christmas 2002) being put back February 2003, when his trusting wife, Gail, finally twigged and challenged him, leading to his full and frank admission, in the belief that she would stand by him and not reveal his sordid and brutal actions. She however refused to protect him. Pursued by the police, who eventually found the remains of his second wife, he returned to kidnap his family and try to gas them in the family car, before being discovered, driving off and crashing the car into a canal. The underwater scenes that followed, staged with the help of stunt people who have worked on James Bond films, saw the death of Hillman in the car, but the survival of the rest of the family. In the aftermath, Hillman's financial dealings saw his wife and family facing the possible loss of their home, as did Emily Bishop, while the Duckworths lost their entire life savings, reducing them once again to the breadline, allowing the reintroduction of the famed 'Corrie' humour with the street's resident comic/tragic couple, Jack and Vera Duckworth.
[edit] The Hillman Hoaxer
Friday 3rd February 2006 saw the start of one of the most talked about stories so far this year. It began when Sarah Platt, on her 19th birthday, received a birthday card which said, "To Sarah, I still think of you as my daughter. Weren't we a wonderful family until your mother insisted on spoiling everything? Happy birthday. Love, Richard." Since then, Gail has received other cards from the hoaxer: one a Valentine's day card, and one a condolence card (the anniversary of Hillman's death); and Audrey recived a Mother's Day card from the hoaxer. On Easter Sunday 2006, the Hoaxer's campaign heated up when Gail received a birthday card which said the hoaxer was looking forward to seeing them very soon. Then Les picked a person up in his cab who appeared to be the hoaxer. When the street's gossips found out, it led to Gail having a showdown with Eileen in the Rovers on 24th April. It also led to Gail calling in the Police. However, things went from bad to worse when she saw a man that looked liked Hillman get out of a taxi; after which she resorted to sleeping pills to help her sleep. Possible suspects have been Phil Nail (Gail's boyfriend), Gail's son David, her enemy Eileen Grimshaw, undertaker Archie Shuttleworth and an evil twin/son. However, past characters have also been suspected by the soap forums, such as Aidan Critchley, who was framed for Maxine's murder by Hillman wanting to conceal the true identity of her attacker, and an internet pervert who stalked Sarah in July 2001. The hoaxer was revealed to be David Platt on 21st May 2006.
[edit] Other storylines
- In 1961, Ida Barlow was struck by a bus and killed.
- In 1967, Elsie Tanner wed former GI Steve Tanner (his surname was almost changed at the last minute; no one would have changed Elsie's, since she was such a popular character) in the Street's first lavish wedding shoot. Steve Tanner was played by Canadian actor Paul Maxwell.
- In 1968 Valerie Barlow was raped by a ex-convict.
- In 1969, in time to usher in colour television transmissions, the show planned an outing to the Lake District, so the viewers could see the autumn foliage in all its glory. However, there was no colour film available for the episode (leading the videotaped studio footage in colour, and the filmed exterior footage in black & white), and the first full colour episode aired was after the core cast members had been involved in a car accident on the way back from the Lake, while they were all in hospital.
- On January 27, 1971, Valerie Barlow was killed in a house fire.
- In late 1977, after vocal dissent in the press from actor Stephen Hancock, the writing staff decided to write out his character, Ernest Bishop, by having him die in a robbery attempt at Baldwin's Factory. The episode was aired in January 1978.
- In 1980, bespectacled Corner Shop owner Renee Bradshaw Roberts (Madge Hindle) was killed off after public opinion polls showed the character (as well as her marriage to Alf Roberts, played by actor Bryan Mosley) to be very unpopular. She died when a lorry driver hit her head-on while Alf was giving her driving lessons.
- In 1983, Len Fairclough died in a car accident off-camera; this was in response to the sudden sacking of Peter Adamson, who told his life story to a newspaper and breaking his contract in the process.
- In 1984, Bernard Youens's character, Stan Ogden, died in hospital (in conjunction with Youens's real-life death). The episode featuring his funeral (filmed only months following Youens's funeral) ended with his grief-stricken widow, Hilda, crying over his glasses case.
- In 1991, in an innovation the first of its kind, the Queen's Speech was broadcast by ITV in the middle of the festive episode of Coronation Street. The episode transferred to the speech by making mayor Alf Roberts announce he was going to watch it, then sit down in front of his television. When the speech was broadcast, Alf was seen getting out of his chair again.
- In 2001, it featured a controversial story on the rape of Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor), Les Battersby's teenage step-daughter.
- In 2001, it featured the death through cancer of Alma Sedgewick (Amanda Barrie), the ex-wife of Mike Baldwin.
- In 2000–2, it featured the pregnancy of thirteen year old Sarah Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien), daughter of Gail Platt, dealing with such issues as community reaction, the reaction of parents and the experience of a thirteen year old girl in having and rearing a baby. Sarah-Louise initially couldn't cope with having a child at such a young age but eventually came to view her child as the most important thing in her life.
- In 2003–4, the soap featured its first homosexual kiss when Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) kissed Nick Tilsley (played by Adam Rickitt). In the story, Nick is Gail Platt's son, with devastating results for Todd because he happened to be going out with Nick's sister Sarah-Louise Platt at the time. The storyline continued as Todd could no longer deny his sexuality and fell into a relationship with Karl Foster, a co-worker, even though he and Sarah-Louise were engaged and expecting a child.
- In 2004 Maya Sharma the spurned ex-fiancée of Dev Alahan first framed Dev's new bride Sunita Parekh, getting Sunita arrested on her wedding day. After Sunita's release, Maya firebombed all six of his shops, before holding Dev and his new bride Sunita hostage and trying to burn them to death when she set alight Dev's seventh shop.
- In 2005 Katy Harris (Lucy-Jo Hudson) beat her father, Tommy Harris, to death with a wrench. Katy and her mother Angela Harris decided it was best if they denied all knowledge of the murder. The police arrested Angela on suspicion of the murder of her husband. When in court Angela believes Katy wouldn't survive in jail so she takes the blame. Angela is sentenced to prison. Katy, who is diabetic, is feeling overwhelmed with the guilt of killing her father and sending her mother to jail, she commits suicide by drinking a bag of sugar mixed with cola and not taking her insulin. Katy's brother Craig has now lost his mother, father and sister in just one month. Katy had fallen out with her father after she commenced a relationship with Martin Platt who was at least 20 years older than her.
- In 2006 Archie Shuttleworth (Roy Hudd) embarked on a relationship with shopkeeper Rita, much to the chagrin of former love interest Blanche.
- In 2006 Fred Elliot died of a heart attack at Audrey Robert's house when he was supposed to be getting married to Bev Unwin. Audrey was one cause of the heart attack because she had confessed to him she still had feelings for him even though he had proposed to her twice and both times she had rejected.
