Jean Alexander A tribute
As we say a fond farewell to the actress, we take a look back at her most iconic role – Corrie’s Hilda Ogden
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With her floral pinny and hair curlers, not to mention her living room “murial” and flying ducks, Hilda Ogden was almost as iconic as the Corrie cobbles themselves!
Jean Alexander, the actress who played Hilda for over two decades, was 90 when she passed away last month and despite not having played the role for over 30 years, she nevertheless was fondly remembered by both fans of the show and cast members.
Bill Roache, who has played Ken Barlow since the first episode of Corrie in 1960, loved the actress’s ability to spark a range of emotions.
“She could make you laugh, particularly with Hilda’s comedy singing, but she could also deliver incredibly moving performances and make you cry.”
She could certainly make us cry – who could forget the moment Hilda picked up and folded her late husband Stan’s specs, one last time?
Actress Julie Goodyear, who played brash barmaid Bet Lynch, also has fond memories of working alongside Jean.
“Jean was an absolute joy to play scenes with. She was a very private person and meticulous in her work. She really was a perfectionist and always word-perfect. Hilda will be remembered forever as one of the best characters in Coronation Street.”
An intensely private person in real life, Jean delighted in the anonymity off-screen once she had cast off her Hilda persona at the end of each working day.
“She was a spunky little soul, a fighter, like one of those lead-bottomed dolls that returns upright when it is knocked down…” Jean said of her character in her autobiography. “There was a lot in her that I admire but she ceased to exist the moment I took out my curlers, folded my pinny, rearranged my hair and stepped into the real world at the end of each recording.”
Following the death of “Bunny”, as she referred to Bernard Youens, the actor who played her on-screen husband, Stan, she decided it was time to say goodbye to Corrie and move on to pastures new. When she left on Christmas Day in 1987, an incredible 27 million viewers tuned in to say farewell – the highest Corrie viewing figures to date.
Her acting career was far from over, though – in 1992 she took on the role of Auntie Wainwright, local bric-a-brac seller, in Last Of The Summer Wine, and also ventured into the world of film when she played Christine Keeler’s mother in the 1989 Profumo Affair film, Scandal.
She’ll never be forgotten – and as one of the finest character actresses ever to grace our TV screens, she’ll be sadly missed.