TEEN MUM STORYLINE ROCKS FANS

CRUEL Bully picks on schoolgirl Sarah Lou

In a highly controversial storyline in 2000, schoolgirl Sarah Lou Platt (Tina O’Brien) was just 13 when she discovered she was five months pregnant, much to the horror of her mum Gail.

When the press and public learned of the forthcoming plot, the soap was accused of glamorising teenage pregnancies as part of its bid to win the ratings war with EastEnders with a series of controversial storylines.

But Corrie fought back, insisting the storyline wasn’t exploitative but reflected real life, with Britain experiencing Western Europe’s highest teen pregnancy figures.

Bethany was born that June and Sarah Lou proved to be a loving mum, juggling her responsibilities at home and school before moving in with her boyfriend Todd Grimshaw in 2003.

“I didn’t understand how big it was because I was just 16, playing a 13-year-old,” Tina said later. “I had only just joined Coronation Street and I assumed that all the storylines were perceived this way.”

Blanche Hunt, the acid-tongued mother of Deirdre Barlow, was sharp as a tack. The great-grandmother was never happier than when she was putting down her despairing son-in-law Ken or gatecrashing a funeral – and we loved her all the more for it.

Played by Maggie Jones, Blanche had returned to the cobbles in 1999, helping to reconcile Deirdre with her ex-husband before foisting herself upon them and moving into their front room.

Brutally honest to a fault, Blanche spent her time attending reading groups, going to the funerals of people she didn’t know and looking for love with men including Archie Shuttleworth and Wally Bannister.

But she reserved her greatest joy for putting people down, leading newsagent Norris Cole to remark in 2007 that no one would miss her if she died. She was hurt and tried to be a bit nicer as a result and Blanche definitely had a softer side, giving granddaughter Tracy No.7 Coronation Street when she got pregnant.

Blanche died from a heart attack when on an extended holiday with her pal May in 2010.

The decade wouldn’t have been the same without her.

SOFTER SIDE She doted on granddaughter Tracy

THREE’S A CROWD Blanche joins Adam and Joanne on date in Rovers

LOVE INTEREST Close to Archie