Originally Posted by
millipede
Umm this is interesting
Coronation Street: A potted history
Lawrence Poole
26/ 8/2005
UNBELIEVABLY, Britain’s most popular soap opera will be 45 years old in December – thankfully though, it is showing no signs of a mid-life crisis just yet.
The brainchild of Swinton-raised Tony Warren, the writer penned the first episode of the Street during a 24-hour spell after being given a mission statement by Granada Television producer Harry Elton to ‘produce something that was going to take Britain by storm’.
Drawing on his childhood experiences, the potential of his first two scripts was said to be immediately obvious and, coupled with the following impassioned memo to the Granada board, explaining Florizel Street (its working title), meant production was soon guaranteed:
"A fascinating freemasonary, a volume of unwritten rules. These are the driving forces behind life in a working class street in the north of England. The purpose of Florizel Street is to examine a community of this nature, and to entertain."
Twelve episodes were originally commissioned, with the first airing from the fictional Manchester district of Weatherfield on December 9, 1960.
It scored so highly with the general public that further episodes were requested and by May of the following year the show had gone national and to the top of the TV ratings, where it has hovered ever since.
The cobbled street itself, indicative of the times and working-class Manchester, has since gone to become one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks and, despite no longer being open to the public, the great and the good still clamour for a photo opportunity of them walking down it.
Rovers Return
In recent years some of the country’s best-known actors have fulfilled long-held ambitions to enjoy a pint in the Rovers Return or share some gossip in Rita’s Kabin, including Peter Kay, Honor Blackman and Sir Ian McKellen.
But while celebrity cameos all make for great scripts and good PR, continuity has also been a huge part of the show’s success, with a number of longstanding Street residents.
From Jack and Vera Duckworth to Rita Sullivan and Emily Bishop, all have shared their trials and triumphs for decades now with the nation.
No actor or actress has given more to the Coronation Street cause than Bill Roache, though.
Now in his 70s, Roache has played Ken Barlow since episode one, guiding him through four marriages, numerous affairs and some of the show’s most dramatic ever scenes.
While other soaps have come and gone (Brookside, Crossroads, Eldorado), Coronation Street continues to stand tall, move with the times and make its audience laugh and cry as it always has – to the extent where 2010’s 50th anniversary looks a formality.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote