Corrie’s violent plots are making me recoil, says Parky
MICHAEL Parkinson has hit out at the modern day violent storylines in Coronation Street, which he says are increasingly making him recoil from the long-running soap.
The veteran TV interviewer said he has been “affronted” by the gruesome plots involving kidnaps, murders and tortures.
Parkinson, 82, worries about the direction taken by the nation’s “gem” of a soap and he remembers the early days at the time when he started his career with Granada Television, which makes the show in the fictional Weatherfield.
Gentle
He said: “I never imagined I would recoil from watching Coronation Street, but the storyline of the kidnapping and torture of Andy and Vinny and their brutal murder by Pat Phelan had little to do with that gentle, funny reminder of life in the North Country I discovered and so admired in the early 1960s when I joined Granada.”
He told Radio Times: “In those days, Ena, Minnie and Martha dominated the snug, Elsie Tanner was everyone’s idea of the good-time girl with a heart of gold and, later, Hilda Ogden made three pot ducks flying up a wall a fashion statement.
“In the 60s, Hilda and Stan formed an unforgettable comedy couple. Who can forget Hilda experimenting with a new perfume. ‘What’s that smell, love?’ asked Stan. ‘Woman, Stan, Woman,’ said Hilda.
“Jack and Vera [Duckworth] arrived in the 70s. Yet more comedy gold and a vivid and warm reminder of the people I once shared a life with.”
But he said the increasingly violent storylines were seeing the show move away from its natural charm and identity.
He explained: “I am affronted by what I see as a gem like Coronation Street in danger of becoming just another formulaic soap. Those I offend by my opinions must understand how I feel and why.
“At Granada, I worked with a young production trainee called Michael Apted whose distinguished career as a director of Hollywood movies was yet to happen.
“Summing up his career, he wrote: ‘Those pieces of Granada I carry with me through my daily life are invaluable signposts when I need to remind myself who I am and where I came from.’ I know exactly what he means.” In recent months, Coronation Street fans have witnessed a number of disturbing episodes, culminating in the death of characters Andy Carver and Vinny Ashford courtesy of sinister villain Pat Phelan.
But ITV bosses explained that they were careful to limit the explicit violence due to the time slot.
The dark scenes saw Andy forced to shoot Vinny dead before Phelan then turned the gun on him and finished him off before dumping both bodies in a lake. In response, some fans took to social media and lashed out at the nature of the scenes, branding them too violent.
ITV issued warnings of violent scenes before the episodes aired and Coronation Street has now clarified its stance further, adding that Phelan’s actions are very much in character and that a comeuppance was nigh for him.
An ITV spokesman last night declined to comment on Michael Parkinson’s interview.