Coronation Street At Christmas
STARS INCLUDING THELMA BARLOW (MAVIS WILTON) LOOK BACK AT THE STREET’S FESTIVE FUN IN A ONE-OFF SPECIAL...
Coronation Street heads down memory lane this week, in a celebration of the show’s seasonal storylines.
We’ll see its current and former stars look back at some of the biggest Christmas dramas, as well as the lighter moments that help make a Corrie Christmas so special. One of those taking part is 90-year-old Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton for 16 years.
“It’s wonderful that these episodes have left impressions and memories – people will be watching this show remembering where they were and who they were with when they first saw those episodes,” grins the cobbles icon. “It’s a great idea.”
Thelma joined the Street in 1971, when it was a gentler place and, rather than today’s blockbuster plots, Christmas tended to concentrate on family drama and light humour.
“It was always interesting to see what the writers had come up with,” enthuses the actress. “You could rely on them to think of something good.”
So what made for a perfect Christmas instalment for Thelma?
“For me, it was working with Barbara Knox [Rita] and Peter Baldwin [Derek Wilton] – we always loved our scenes together,” she says. “And I preferred a happy Christmas. I’d much rather have a really good laugh!”
Christmas filming for Corrie starts in the autumn, so the sets are given a festive makeover by the design team.
“It was so nice seeing what the set designers had done with dressing everybody’s houses – they were all decorated differently,” recalls Thelma. “Mavis’ place was very simple. She had a few of those concertina paper things across the room like garlands, and certainly a Christmas tree. They could imagine each setting for each family, deciding what Vera or the others would have done.”
But was starting the festivities two months early tiring when the big day came around for real?
“I don’t think it spoils your own Christmas – it more or less sparks it off,” claims the star. “If you’re somebody who doesn’t think about it early enough, then it gives you that little push.”
Thelma celebrated more than 20 Christmases on the Street, leaving Weatherfield in 1997, and has only fond memories of her stint.
“It was a truly wonderful experience,” she beams. “I never thought I could stay for that many years, but it was perfect for me at that time.
“I have good friends in the cast and the crew, too,” adds Thelma. “I’m still in touch with the make-up artists.
Good friends and great work – it was divine.”