Ida Barlow
| Ida Barlow | |||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Noel Dyson | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1960–61 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance |
9 December 1960 Episode 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance |
6 September 1961 Episode 77 | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Warren | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Stuart Latham | ||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances |
Coronation Street: The Complete Saga Coronation Street: The War Years | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
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Ida Barlow (née Leathers) is a fictional character from the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street, she was played by actress Noel Dyson between 1960 and 1961.[1]
Creation
Casting
Creator Tony Warren originally had Betty Alberge in mind for the part of Ida when writing the first scripts, but when Alberge auditioned everyone agreed she was more suited to the role of shopkeeper Florrie Lindley,[2] leaving auditions for Ida wide open until Noel Dyson was found.
Dyson decided to quit her role less than a year later when she got tired of playing Ida, and the character was killed off on 11 September 1961. It has been reported that following the character's death, the public outburst of grief saw viewers phone Granada Television in protest, and scores of wreaths and cards of sympathy arrived at the production company's offices.[3]
Background
Ida Leathers was born in 1916 to Nancy Leathers. Ida grew up to be a soft, caring, almost saintly woman and married the love of her life Frank Barlow in 1938. They went on to have two sons - Ken (1939) and David (1942), and thus Ida found her new place in life as housewife and relished it. She spent most of her time looking after her family and keeping the house running, rarely socialising in the Rovers at all.[4]
Storylines
Ida was the perfect housewife, and doted on Frank and her boys. Ida had a special friendship with the Barlows' next-door neighbour Albert Tatlock, and visited him on a regular basis, far more than his own daughter Beattie, which sometimes caused friction between the two women, or at least some sly bitchy comments from Beattie, despite Ida's calm nature.
Ida's mother Nancy moved into No.3 in 1961 due to her failing health, and no-one expected her to outlive her daughter. One day when Ida was visiting Beattie, concern grew when Ida never arrived. Later that day, Frank learned that Ida had been hit by the bus she was intending to catch and had died.
Ida's funeral episode saw a new peak in viewing figures for Coronation Street, with 15.6 million viewers tuning in.
References
- ↑ Little, Daran (1995). The Coronation Street Story. Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-464-1.
- ↑ Nown, Graham (1985). Coronation Street 25 Years. Ward Lock. ISBN 0-7063-6405-8.
- ↑ Cullen, Tom A (16 March 1962). "Millions of British Viewers Live Life on 'Coronation St.'". The Buckingham Post. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- ↑ Little, Daran (1992). Weatherfield Life: A Portrait of the Street 1902-1992. Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-186-3.
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