Danger At The Corner Shop - Maya 2004 And Phyllis 1987

"When you've made gravy under shell fire, you can do anything!" says Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) to Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley).

Josh has written:

Much as I like this blog, don't you think it's missing out by not including the full 50 year span of the Street? After all, a lot of the best dramas and special effects have been in the last 20 years. Do you remember Maya blowing up the Corner Shop in 2004? Just how gripping was that? And it's one of hundreds of great stories in the program. The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are fine, but they were never as gripping as the last 20 years. The dramatic content has grown tremendously, and the sense of danger keeps me on the edge of my seat like never before.

Hi, Josh!

You may have a point there, but I stick to the first three decades because I have most enthusiasm for them and want to pay tribute to the actors, writers and production teams of those times.

And hey, the Corner Shop had its fair share of dangerous scenarios in the past! Remember Sheila Birtles trying to commit suicide in the 1960s? Gail and the suspect telephone engineer in the 1970s? And as for the 1980s, well with Audrey striding about squawking with her dreadful perm, and unspeakable horrors lurking amongst the shelves, you could hardly call it safe.

Unspeakable horrors lurking amongst the shelves?

Well, yes, if your name was Percy Sugden. Often he'd go in for a purchase and a nag and a moan at Alf Roberts, only to find Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers) scuttling towards him, having lain in wait for him behind the Super Noodles, Gipsy Creams, Hobnobs and Heinz Big Soups.

She'd suddenly poke her head up, spot the capped man with the over-active gob at the counter, and then there she'd be, stood there large as life beside her intended.

Poor old Phyllis. She never won Percy's heart, but personally I think that was a blessing in disguise.

All right, you may ask, but how does such trivia rank alongside the dramas of the explosive Maya? Well, the Percy and Phyllis scenario actually attracted Royal attention, with Diana, Princess of Wales, asking Bill Waddington at a Help The Aged charity event: "Does that woman ever catch you?"

So it couldn't have been that unremarkable!

Nay, lovey, those days were just my cup of tea...

As for Maya, I liked the character - she was different, unpredictable, kind of fun. I thought it was a shame they turned her into a bunny boiler and dispatched her.

"Does that woman ever catch you?"