‘I look at them both standing under the lamp. Ingrid… and this plain Jane, with a muddy complexion, a big nose, and a mouth like a crack in a pie.’*
‘… but there’s a lovely view of the gasworks, we share a bathroom with the community, and this wallpaper’s contemporary. What more do you want?’**
Anyone thinking these lines were spoken by one of the sharp-tongued, backstreet battleaxes from an early episode of Coronation Street wouldn’t be far wrong. Here’s why.
The team behind BBC One's Doctors takes us behind the scenes of the Birmingham set of the continuing drama, sharing who does what, how they do it and all the gossip. Followed by a Q&A with the on-screen talent. Panellists include Producer, Mike Hobson, 1st Assistant Director and Scheduler, Rachel Stacy, and Actors, Bharti Patel and Dex Lee.
The four panellists, who are all in the early stages of their careers, discussed their jobs at two of the country’s premier soaps.
Joseph Hart switches between the roles of second and third assistant director (AD) on Emmerdale. “ADs are logistical, organisational roles, but the third AD does have a creative outlet – it’s really good fun,” he explained. “A third AD is based on the floor… and does the background action. You tell the extras when and where to go.”
Unprecedented times demand creative thinking. An RTS webinar heard that shows as different as ITV’s Coronation Street, the BBC’s Top Gear and Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch have all learnt how to adapt their production routines to keep cast and crew safe in the age of Covid-19.
The week begins with an epic clear-out of my extremely messy home office in time for a makeover. Marie Kondo I am not. What does spark joy, though, is a small brass plaque inside one of the fitted cupboards. It reads: “Specially installed for Lynne Perrie.” This is a reminder that soap history is literally in the walls here.
Do you remember waking up to Noel Edmonds on Christmas morning, as you searched for a tangerine in your stocking? The Queen’s Speech, The Sound of Music? Christmas Celebrity Squares and over 20 million people watching Eric and Ernie?
Or what about today, with Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing, The Alternative Queen’s Speech, Coronation Street and EastEnders but also perhaps a box set.
Is the future of Christmas TV a barren land of declining audiences as we all spend Christmas day asking Alexa?
The debate over women working in television has come a long way since 1986 when Coronation Street was an all-male cabal. In those days, all the female characters were written by men. Yet, as recently as 2015, when Red Productions unveiled the latest run of ITV’s trail-blazing cop show Scott and Bailey, the response of male journalists could be relentlessly sexist, revealed actor Lesley Sharp.
June Sarpong chaired a panel of actors and programme makers from the BBC, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks to discuss LGBTQ representation in continuing drama.
But, argued the actors, writers and producers on the panel at an RTS event in mid-July – “LGBTQ in soap: job done?” – the fight against prejudice is not yet won.
“Soaps are incredibly powerful in terms of being able to get a message out and in changing people’s perceptions,” said Daniel Brocklebank, who plays gay vicar Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street.
