Coronation Street: Feminism, The Gay Creator, Misandry And Rita Fairclough The Liar...

The scriptwriter of a Coronation Street episode in the early 1990s had no qualms in rewriting history to make our Street favourite Rita Fairclough out to be a victim of an insensitive husband, while actually making Rita seem like a downright liar, touting for sympathy, to those of us who knew the plot.

Back in 1981, Rita suddenly discovered a strong maternal instinct. True, she had looked after Harry Bates's kids some years before, but streetwise Rita had always seemed quite happy without kids of her own, telling Mavis there would be no patter of tiny feet at No 9 after she married Len.

In 1980, when Rita walked out on Len, her concerns were for a 'decent' house and a dishwasher - not kids.

But in 1981 Rita babysat Nicky Tilsley, and suddenly went all broody. She told Len she wanted to adopt, and Len, at first stunned and incredulous, very quickly agreed. Then the couple found out they were too old, and fostered instead.

But in the early 1990s, Rita told Sally Webster that by the time Len had agreed on adoption, they were too old.

A huge difference.

Also in the 1990s, Bet Gilroy and Rita had a huge barney in the Kabin. Bet pointed out that it was Len's money that got her started. Rita stated: 'Len left me a tatty little shop!'. Yes. And money in the bank, a brand new house at No 7 Coronation Street, the builder's yard in Mawdsley Street...

We adored Rita, but the Street's scriptwriters and producers sometimes did her no favours at all. The watering down of this fabulous, feisty character in the 1980s and her subsequent victimhood at the behest of Alan Bradley dd not convince us. Rita simply did not suit that storyline. She had far too much pride to fling herself at Alan in the way she did, her tears of horror ('Just like Len!') when Alan punched somebody in the Rovers (she hadn't been averse to walloping people herself, including Len, in the good old days) and so on, partially destroyed one of the show's best ever characters and seemed to be taking chunks out of the Feminist Guide To Misandry rather than presenting real life.

Corrie making victimised heroines out of its female characters is farcical. The women are at their best when being strong, human and frequently awful, seeing the faults of their spouses and partners, not their own. Audrey telling Alma she'd married a 'big baby' in the 1990s was a classic example of this. Our beautiful Aud had been selfish, childish (locking herself in the loo in a sulk after she and Alf had been forced to move into the Corner Shop flat when the chain on the house they were hoping to buy collapsed) and generally a lazy shopaholic for years. And we loved her for it. The fact she could see none of her own faults made us love her more.

I have to say that many of Coronation Street's women are at their best when following the template laid down by the show's creator, Tony Warren, himself a gay man and not averse to a bit of camp.

Let's hear Mr Warren on the subject: 'I'd known all these queens [gay men with a penchant for camp] in the village. Some of their dialogue was too good not to use. I remember giving Elsie lines that they would say. When you think of some of the things she came out with, how many straight women have you heard say that?'

The original template - women talking like camp men. The genius - the late Mr Tony Warren.

The original scripts, with their apparently ordinary but slightly tweaked dialogue (witness Ena in the Corner Shop in 1960!), were very much this man's tribute to northern English femininity. But far more evocative of a witty evening in a gay pub with a number of camp men present than ordinary female conversation. The world was really not ready for a soap about gay men!

Coronation Street has become self consciously feminist - and as that ideology is now being questioned far and wide (men oppressed women - oh, really?!) is straying far from its roots and has been growing progressively worse since the 1970s (the Susi Hush era). Ideologies are not facts.

The Street went from being a lovely matriarchy (as many such streets are) to being the misandry mile. A great difference, relying on warped Feminist dogma to score points and create female victimhood.

So, Rita, love, don't tell lies, eh, chuck? Don't forget your marriage was under the microscope on our TV screens - we were there too - so it really doesn't wash.

For years, Feminism was not questioned. But now it is. Chivalry should not allow riding rough shod over facts and demonising an entire gender, and the facts about the vote - suffragettes bombing and harming working class, vote-less men with acid, the SCUM Manifesto, the Duluth Model and the horrors experienced by Erin Pizzey in the 1970s are being examined at long last. As are the true facts about the gender pay gap and the workplace death gap.

About time too.

So, pack it in, eh, Corrie?

The misandrist nonsense (often created by 'white knight' chivalrous men) still goes on and was one of the things which drove me away from the show many years ago.

Remember your roots.

Questioning Feminism? Heresy, eh? Misogynistic or not? Not. Read what Karen Straughan has to say on the subject and just how this hate ideology has infested every nook and cranny of our lives: 
https://antifeministpraxis.com/2017/03/31/feminism-was-never-not-rotten/

Alf Roberts Voted Favourite Corner Shop Owner

Alf Roberts was wedded to the Corner Shop in Coronation Street from 1980 when he inherited it from his wife, Renee, until the early 1990s. In 1985, Alf dragged the Corner Shop out of the mid-1960s and into the mid-1980s by converting it into "Alf's Mini-Market", but the words "CORNER SHOP" appeared for the very first time on the main sign above the door - and remained there. When he retired, he took the bacon slicer with him as a souvenir. So devoted was he, that he bought the shop back again after the untimely death of its new owner in 1993!

Well, this news is slightly out-of-date, in fact it happened in May, but we're finally doing some updates here and, as you know, being a retro Coronation Street blog, our updates usually concern the past, and this one is no different!

We were delighted to discover that Alf Roberts was voted by Coronation Street Blog readers as their favourite Corner Shop owner (read all about it here). Alf, played by Bryan Mosley, had ploughed money from his house sale into the Corner Shop when he married Renee Bradshaw in 1978. She was tragically killed in a road accident in the summer of 1980, and from then on he was wedded to it - even after he married Audrey Potter in 1985! 

We didn't like the way Audrey treated Alf, by the way. We love Audrey and we love Sue Nicholls and we wouldn't be without them in the show, but if a man had been shown treating his wife like that there would have been uproar. The marriage was uncomfortable viewing for us, evidence of the casual misandry and double standards which still plague us to this day.

We sang Alf's praises in 2010 on this blog (here) and we're so happy that his time as owner of the Corner Shop is so fondly remembered by Coronation Street Blog fans too.

Here's to the memory of Alf, and Bryan Mosley - the actor who brought him to life on-screen.

Coronation Street - 1989: A Pivotal Year...

Pump Up The Jam...

Flippin' 'eck! 1989! What a year it was! Rita Fairclough was nearly smothered by Alan Bradley, and a tram dominated the end of that saga... but what ELSE happened down Weatherfield way?

Well, one half of the Street disappeared and new buildings rose in its place, courtesy of one Maurice Jones.

Deirdre Barlow (note her squarer framed glasses and nice '80s perm) found out that Ken had been up to naughties with former town hall mole Wendy Crozier. The icy atmosphere at No 1 ruined Tracy's Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Corner Shop suffered a direct hit - from a football, causing the front window to fall out. The McDonald twins, Steve and Andy, were responsible. The Roberts household was already under strain as Alf and Audrey's attempt to buy a new house had fallen through and they'd gone to live in the flat above the shop. Audrey was not pleased. "It's only temporary," wheedled Alf, taking her a nice early morning cuppa. "LIFE'S only temporary!" snapped Audrey.

And for Curly Watts his new job as assistant manager (trainee) at Bettabuys Supermarket was fraught with complications. Manager Reg Holdsworth asked him to write reports on all the staff, and then announced his intention to use them as the basis for making redundancies in January 1990.

Curly was gobsmacked - particularly as his landlady, Vera Duckworth, was on the redundancies list.

There's so much more to write about 1989...

We'll be returning soon.

1987 - Part One!

1987! This was the climactic year when the 1980s sealed their fate as being a one Prime Minister decade by electing Margaret Thatcher for a third term, and in Coronation Street the subject of women in politics was also on the agenda...

Ken Barlow (William Roache) had hoped to stand for the local council, but his position on The Weatherfield Recorder put paid to that when his boss raised objections. Ken contemplated chucking the job in and going ahead anyway, but decided he must back down, being a man with responsibilities.

Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) had already fallen out with Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley), the existing local Independent councillor, and her boss at the Corner Shop, over matters political. This had resulted in her walking out on the job as Alf's assistant at the shop, which she had held since 1980.

And the idea was then born... if Ken couldn't stand for the local council, why shouldn't Deirdre?

And so she did.

Enlisting the help of Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire), Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) and Susan Baldwin (Wendy Jane Walker), Deirdre sallied boldly forth.

Sally dropped out when she stepped into Deirdre's shoes at the Corner Shop. She couldn't very well campaign against her new boss. Deirdre totally approved.

Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) complimented Sally on her approach to work at the shop, and Sally was thrilled.

Having heard there was a flat above the shop, Sally asked Alf if she and Kevin (Michael Le Vell) could rent it, but Alf said no - it was being used as a store room.

Sally sought the aid of her current landlady, Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander), asking her to tell Alf that she and Kevin would shortly be moving away from the district. Alf, dreading finding a replacement during his busy campaigning period, gave in - and Kev and Sal moved into the shop flat.

When a local youngster was run over at a local accident black spot, where Deirdre was campaigning for a pedestrian crossing, her election campaign really took off. Ken used The Recorder to report the story, complete with a photograph of Deirdre and the unlucky youngster.

Deirdre won the election.

She celebrated her victory with a party at The Rovers, where she was hoisted by Ken and Pete Jackson (Ian Mercer) and paraded around the pub, whilst her supporters sang She's A Lassie From Lancashire around the piano.

Alf and Audrey (Sue Nicholls) had attended the party, at Audrey's insistence - she didn't want the neighbours thinking they were hiding away, crushed by defeat.

Alf, feeling unwell, left early.

And, alone at No 11, he collapsed with a heart attack.

Audrey found him on the floor when she returned from the party.

She was terrified. As Alf was stretchered into the ambulance, she said: "Please God let him be all right... just let him be all right..."

A crowd of onlookers had gathered in the dark street. Hilda was there, of course.

"What's happened?" asked Sally Webster.

"It's Alf Roberts," Hilda sucked in her breath. "It doesn't look good to me!"

"That's it, 'ilda, let's all look on the bright side, eh?!" said Betty Turpin (Betty Driver), scathingly.

Deidre was devastated - blaming herself for Alf's condition. If only she hadn't stood against him in the election.

With some changes to his diet and a decrease in stress levels, Alf was expected to make a full recovery, but Audrey still let Deirdre have it, both barrels, when she called at the Corner Shop to see if there was anything she could do to help:

"Getting 'im out so you could go in! Well, all I can say, lovey, is enjoy it while you can, because do you know life has a very funny way of comin' round - and one of these days somebody might just come along and do the same to you!"

When Audrey returned to the Street with Alf in a taxi, Deirdre was just leaving on her first official council function.

She greeted Alf warmly, and Alf returned the warmth, telling her he felt fine.

"You want to get 'im inside, he looks worn out!" said Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) to Audrey.

Nobody could be more insensitive than well-meaning Percy, who then said of Deirdre and Ken:

"They're off to the mayor making, you know, where they elect the new mayor, then they decide who's going to be on various committees. Then they 'ave a slap-up lunch."

Talk about rubbing Alf's nose in it!

Alf's smile faded: "Yeah, well, I do know what a mayor making is. I've been to one or two in me time, Percy!"

Being at home at No 11, recuperating, got on Alf's nerves, particularly as Percy elected himself chief visitor. Deirdre also visited, and although Audrey was still frosty, Alf gave her advice about her position on the council and seemed to have accepted the situation.

But he wanted to get back to the Corner Shop. How he longed to get back to the Corner Shop! Audrey told him to stop worrying about the place, he'd be back there soon enough and anyway it would be there long after they'd both departed this mortal coil.

More From 1989

"Well Pleased" has written to say that he/she is ... er ... well pleased with our 1989 visit. "More please!" says he/she!

My pleasure! Above, you'll see the building works in progress, Reg Holdsworth alarming Curly Watts, Jack and Vera Duckworth exulting over their swanky new stone cladding, Audrey Roberts sulking because she's been forced to move into the Corner Shop flat, Andy and Steve McDonald in the shop, the 1989 shop staff, Kevin and Sally Webster being told by Alf Roberts the news of Brian Tilsley's tragic and untimely death, Liz and Jim McDonald sussing out their new neighbours, and Mavis Riley and Emily Bishop enjoying a drink in The Rovers.

In Praise Of Alf Roberts

From the TV Times, 27 September - 3 October 1986:

Alf's got it right

Grumbling may be one of the characteristics of Coronation Street's Alf Roberts, played by Bryan Mosley, but his corner store is top-of-the-shops for service according to a recent national survey.

A shopfitting group's study says Alf has got it just right with his sense of service, and many other grocers in the North of England follow his example.

These days, Coronation Street seems to harbour lots of villains - even serial killers are not unknown - and buildings explode and people die horribly and there's generally a lot of aggro.

One building which exploded in quite recent years was the Street's Corner Shop, blown-up by a mad woman.

Back in the 1980s, such a story-line would have seemed absurd.

For almost the entire decade - from mid-1980 onwards - the shop was solely owned by one Alfred Sidney Roberts (Bryan Mosley).

Alf's wife, Renee (Madge Hindle), died in a road accident in the summer of 1980, and Alf decided to keep the shop.

He took on Deirdre Langton (Anne Kirkbride) as shop flat tenant and shop assistant later in 1980, and so began Deirdre's long, on-off association with the place.

Alf was never afraid to move with the times when it came to the items he stocked, even though his attempt to sell courgettes in 1981 failed miserably because his customers had no idea what they were and were not impressed with them when they were explained, but he brought tremendous change to the shop in 1985, when he masterminded its conversion into a mini market. "Alf's Mini-Market" was emblazoned on the front window, but the main sign above the door read "CORNER SHOP", in big red capital letters, on a white background. This was a first, as the shop sign had just carried the name of the current owner and occasionally such phrases as "Provisions" before. So, the mini-market was first and foremost the Corner Shop!

Twice widowed Alf was never happy alone, and 1985 also saw him marrying the brilliantly squawky Audrey Roberts, marking actress Sue Nicholls' graduation from intermittent to full time regular Corrie character.

And Audrey led Alf a merry dance - turning his life upside down with her spend, spend, spend attitude and a ready-made step-family.

Audrey was most unhappy living in the flat above the Corner Shop, and wanted to move somewhere more befitting her new station in life. She was not at all pleased when Alf bought No 11 Coronation Street, but decided to make the best of things.

In 1987, local councillor Alf faced a challenge for the ward from Deirdre Barlow, who campaigned with a faintly feminist agenda and a concern for local kids and road safety issues.

Deirdre won, and Alf suffered a heart attack.

Also in 1987 Alf employed Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) as his assistant at the shop.

"I don't care what you say - boot polish isn't as good as it was in the old days - nowhere near!" Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) gets on Alf's wick.

In 1989, Audrey made a determined attempt to get away from Coronation Street, persuading Alf to buy a posh house in another part of Weatherfield.

But the chain collapsed, and the couple were forced to move back into the Corner Shop flat as No 11 had been sold to the McDonald family.

But as the 1990s arrived, Audrey finally got her wish to be upwardly mobile, and she and Alf relocated to Grasmere Drive. Alf soon sold the shop, briefly bought it again, and then finally retired.

Alf and his years at the Corner Shop are now distant memories, but there's no doubt that they are remembered fondly by many Corrie fans.

Was Alf a mean man? Well, maybe a little, but it must said that after he died Audrey was dismayed to discover that there was rather less money than she had thought. It seemed that his caution had been justified and perhaps he'd let her have her way with the dosh rather too much.

Could Alf get wound up? Ooh, yes - he definitely had a slightly short fuse.

But most of all, Alf was a kind and decent man, a good friend and neighbour to many and a respected part of the Weatherfield community.

After the character died, I suddenly realised just how much I liked Alf, and just what a necessary role he had fulfilled in the show - as an everyday man in an area noted for its beautifully OTT characters.

Alf was everyday, none of his traits were terribly colourful or outstanding, he never set the screen alight with his exploits.

And yet I never found him boring - thoroughly enjoying the warmth, stability and sense of reality he brought to the show.

Definitely one of the unsung heroes of Weatherfield history!

The way it was - Alf, Audrey and Sally in 1989 - service with a smile!

Uttered In The '80s - Part 6...

Audrey Potter (Sue Nicholls) had never had it so good! Having secured her desired status in life by marrying Mr Alfred Roberts (Bryan Mosley) in 1985, she soon found herself mistress of her own castle at No 11 Coronation Street.

And mistress of her own hair salon, too, as the front room became Weatherfield's answer to Teasy-Weasy.

The idea of moving into No 11 hadn't appealed at first, but Audrey had finally found some security and status in life and was blissfully happy.

The front room at No 11 became a centre for fun and gossip, as well as 1980s shaggy perms, and one day Audrey managed to get prickly Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) to try on a wig she was selling.

Of course, he was not impressed. Even less so when Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander) and Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) arrived.

Mavis was there for an appointment, but told Mr Sugden that she didn't want to interrupt his wig fitting.

Percy was outraged! "You want your bumps feeling - all of you!"

Audrey, to whom most things had a naughty connotation, intervened: "Now, keep the party clean!"

Percy exited, in high dudgeon.

Mavis, slightly embarrassed, moved to put Audrey right:

"I think he means the bumps on your head. It's called phrenology!"

"Well, either that or he needs arresting!" said Hilda, highly amused.

Audrey got back to business.

"Well come on, Mavis my petal, follow me!"

"Where to?"

"Upstairs to wash your silken locks. I'm not equipped for it down 'ere, yer see!"

Mavis was slightly taken aback - she hadn't expected to have her hair washed in Audrey's private bathroom. "Oh, right!"

And Audrey continued: "If you 'appen to see Alf's spare dentures, just shut yer eyes - even Vidal Sassoon 'ad to start somewhere!"

The Arrival Of Audrey - Gail's Changing Family Background...

Their first scene together on-screen: a despondent Gail (Helen Worth) greets her newly invented mother, Audrey (Sue Nicholls).

In 1976, Gail Potter told randy Roy Thornley that her father always called her his "dizzy blonde". When Mrs Thornley decided to cite Gail as co-respondent in the divorce case she was bringing against her husband, Gail wept horrified tears. What would her Dad think? And, worst of all, what would her Mam think? We got the impression that Gail's Mam would be shocked. Very shocked indeed. In fact, we got the impression that Gail's Mam was an easily shocked homebody.

We were able to piece together Gail's family background from various things she said over the years: Mam. Dad. Not well off. But comfortable enough. A happy and secure family unit.

Of course, Gail was not cited as co-respondent in the Thornleys' divorce proceedings in the end, so an appearance by her distressed and outraged parents at Number 11, where Gail lodged with Suzie Birchall, under the watchful eyes of Elsie Tanner, was unnecessary.

Nothing more happened to upset Gail's idyllic family set-up until 1979, when the Coronation Street script writers suddenly ripped up the cosy scenario and invented Audrey Potter. She was squawky, flighty, and no better than she should be. And she was the unwed mother of Gail.

Suzie Birchall invited Audrey to Gail's 21st birthday party and Gail was very distressed.

She didn't want her (newly invented), tarty, flashy mother on the scene.

But the birthday party turned out well, and Audrey would return to the Street several times before becoming a permanent regular character in the show in 1985.

The character of Audrey developed - her desire to be upwardly mobile after her wedding to Alf Roberts in the 1980s aroused many smiles.

And she suddenly sprouted a never-before-mentioned grown-up son called Stephen.

Our Aud is always good for a laugh - and a story-line.

Right up to the current day.

It's now thirty years since Gail's re-invented mother first put in an appearance in the Street, and twenty-four years since she became a permanent regular cast member.

Good old Audrey - far more interesting than a Dad who called Gail his "dizzy blonde" and a Mam who would have been shocked by her daughter being cited as co-respondent in a divorce case.

1981 - Real-Life Crimpers Say: "Give Aud's Back Room Salon The Snip!"

Good old Audrey Potter was always dipping in and out of daughter Gail Tilsley's life in the early-to-mid 1980s. Here's the Daily Mirror reporting on the start of one of her visits, September 23, 1981:

Sue Nicholls, who returns to CORONATION STREET (ITV 7.30) as Audrey Potter, reckons she's the only unmarried gran on TV at the moment.

She said: "I'm unmarried in the script and unmarried in real life. Not that I'm complaining either way. And I'm glad I'm in for a good chunk of the action in The Street for the next few weeks."

Tonight Audrey leaves her boy friend and moves in with daughter Gail Tilsley and family, with no sign of her stay being a short one.

"Sleeping on someone's couch wouldn't bother me," said Sue. "My sister once rented a room big enough for one with a bed that folded into the wall. I stayed with her for months without any problems."

Within a few weeks, our Aud was attracting unwelcome attention. From the Sun, 11/11/1981:

Coronation Street's Audrey Potter should hang up her hairdressing scissors, real-life crimpers said yesterday.

Audrey's back street "shop" in the series is exactly the kind of salon the Hairdressing Federation has been trying to close for years.

Blackburn Chamber of Trade in Lancashire have backed the crimpers' cause and asked Granada TV to tell Audrey - played by actress Sue Nicholls - to shut up shop.

Chamber of Trade Secretary, Albert Green, said: "The back street salons don't pay tax, rates, and are often a serious health risk."

Happy Aud in 1985 - facing the prospect of marriage to Corner Shop keeper Alf Roberts - and security at last!

Suddenly... It's 1985!

Eee, chuck, do you remember 1985? Curly Watts, Terry Duckworth and Kevin Webster spent loads of time yacking and moaning in the Rovers, Audrey Potter got her man - local grocer and councillor Alfred Roberts, and somebody sat on Percy Sugden's Christmas pudding (remember who?).

What a year!