I've never been particularly fond of Deirdre, but damn, this is a massive blow to the show's legacy. It really makes me sad.

There were reports a few days ago that she was considering not returning to Corrie because of the workload. Some used this to claim she thought the show was terrible now, and so on, but obviously there was more to it.

Deirdre was such an iconic part of Corrie. "Iconic" is overused now, but it fits her almost as well as those trademark huge glasses of Deirdre's best years did. I will always remember the shot of her in court, those glasses and that voice, weeping, "I didn't do it."

Deirdre was such a terrific character for such a long time - that voice cracking when she got upset or when she laughed too hard. The tears flooding her eyes at the latest drama in her life. "Oh, Ken." "Tracy luv." Her exasperation but adoration for her mother.

I always loved Deirdre most with Ray Langton - to me he was her soulmate, and the memories of her working as a secretary and trying her best to snap back and forth with Len, Ray and Jerry are among my favorites of any soap.

I'm so sorry for her loved ones and for the Corrie cast. I hope the industry will pay her the respect she deserves.

A beautiful tribute, Carl. I fell out of watching the 70s episodes a few months ago because of work, but I think I'll get back into it. Deirdre and Ray were a highlight of those years.

Daily Mail put up a nice piece on her. This includes video of her in the early Deirdre days (with Jerry, which is nice - I really liked their relationship).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2917307/Coronation-Street-s-Anne-Kirkbride-dead-60-short-illness.html

I don't have a lot of British soap magazine stuff, but did have this.

I am so frigging sad about Anne Kirkbride I can't see straight. So, so awful. I adored her.

Edited January 20, 201510 yr by TimWil

Really tough to watch the Bill Roache parts of this

NTA tribute.

I've found myself on Corrie-pedia reading the biographies of the book characters never before seen. I find them so fascinating and even shocking. Daran Little did not let up on these people.

LOL re Daran Little, Bright Eyes. I wonder what happened for him to leave his beloved Coronation Street never to return. And then to end up writing for its primary rival EastEnders. I really did love his work on the BBC's Road To Coronation Street.

Edited January 25, 201510 yr by TimWil

I've found myself on Corrie-pedia reading the biographies of the book characters never before seen. I find them so fascinating and even shocking. Daran Little did not let up on these people.

I read those books cover to cover (unfortunately I don't have them anymore). You can tell he gave them a harder time since he could do whatever he wanted with them, but they were very vivid creations, some of them with only a few brief descriptions. I especially like Ken's aunt, the showgirl.

I read them not long before that smiley hack Phil Collinson did the tram crash that some self-appointed Corrie purity brigades considered to be the ideal (they kept quiet when the whole thing amounted to nothing in less than a month). There was a section in the WWII book where a bomb attack did real damage to the Street. The women were just as involved as the men in trying to help. What were the women doing on Collinson's Corrie? Screaming and yelling and hissing.

The tram crash is when I first tried to get into Corrie on a regular basis. I did not last very long.

Ivy Makepiece was a real witch. Killing her own mother, disowning her daughter and calling her a whore. So vile. Ralph the rapist son.

The thing is, with only the brief descriptions I imagine the plots hit a lot harder and tougher for me. Reading Jack Leeming's bio had my jaw on the floor in one line. "Jack returned to his old house in Victoria Street and resumed his sexual relationship with his younger sister Vicky." The end.

I had to re-read it to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

From what I remember, the incest part is just a brief mention, which probably makes it even worse.

Yes, Ivy was terrible, although I guess she got paid back in the end, as she died alone and unhappy.

You can read both books as they sort of go together, but they aren't closely linked. Overall I'd say the WWII one is better, as you get great characterizations for vital Corrie stars like Elsie - laughter and tears (like the best years of Corrie). I still remember the part where she goes to get an abortion.

Edited January 25, 201510 yr by DRW50

So what is Leanne doing? Collinson's obvious disdain for the character is one of the reasons I gave up on Corrie. I rarely hear about her now, just that she's with Jimi Mistry and no one seems to like him. And she works at the Bistro.

That's basically it.

Just re-watching the Deirdre and Me special that originally aired in in 2012 when Anne celebrated her 40th anniversary on the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TfTb2kwfbU

I think the Jon Lindsay stuff and subsequent prison sentence for Deirdre was the first Corrie storyline I remember reading about online and keeping up with in the late 90's.

The Ken/Deirdre/Mike triangle seems very inspired by American soaps. I know triangles had been done before on British soaps and they're certainly not unique to just soap operas, but something about the way that storyline was told from what I've seen of it feels more akin to American soap storytelling.

Edited February 1, 201510 yr by BetterForgotten