The real deal
QUEENS OF THE STREET ITV, 9pm
FROM the cutting remarks of Ena Sharples, through to Liz McDonald’s brassy barmaid and Carla Connor’s bold businesswoman, Corrie has always put tough-as-boots women front and centre.
“The writers have always loved hard-hitting women characters,” says Helen Worth, who has played Gail Platt since 1974.
In the 60th anniversary week of the soap, this funny and nostalgic film looks back at six decades of feisty females. Bev Callard, who plays Liz, says: “Corrie’s not about gorgeous, glamorous women. It’s about real women.”
From the brawls, to the face-slaps, hugs and man-handling, we’re reminded of some of the best moments.
A wonderful scene with Hilda and Stanley Ogden shows them kissing and Stan asking: “What does that lipstick taste of?” She replies: “Woman, Stanley! Woman!”
Throughout the programme, the first ladies of Corrie talk us through what it’s like to work on the show, revealing that it’s a fast-paced, frantic training for any actor.
“If you can do Coronation Street and hold a big story, you can do anything,” says Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe.
There’s a reminder of all the successful Coronation Street alumni, such as Katherine Kelly and Suranne Jones, who cut their teeth on the cobbles. And one insider reveals that creator Tony Warren based the soap on everything he heard while hiding under the table in his mum’s kitchen when his gossiping aunties visited.
Says Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper for 16 years: “Women have always been at the heart of this show.”