Time for some mature Corrie casting decisions?

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in September 2013.)

The older characters in Coronation Street have become a bit of a disparate bunch in recent times. There have always been older residents in our favourite soap, from the originals of Ena, Albert, Minnie and Martha to today's Rita, Emily and Norris. However the older group today seem well, less of a group.

We still see lots of Rita, however Emily appears less frequently these days - fair play to her. Audrey is a pensioner although she is something of a stand-alone character, apart from her dealings with the Platt brood. Rita herself spends most of her time these days embroiled in Tina's dramatic happenings, something I'll never understand. Both Deirdre and Gail are too young to be involved heavily with the oldies. Ken is absent indefinitely, Dennis barely gets a look in and Norris is pretty unpleasant at the best of times.

I think there is a very real need for some fresh talent amongst Corrie's senior citizens. We need to return to something akin to the fairly recent glories of the book group and Mel Hutchwright's Hard Grindings. I'd love a community-focused storyline with the older characters coming to the fore. 

While Sylvia was great and I'm really sad she has departed indefinitely, the powers that be have never found characters to rival or match the much-missed Blanche, Vera or Betty. And to be honest, I don't think they ever will. That needn't be a bad thing either. All three characters and the actresses who played them were unique, wonderful and irreplaceable. I think Stuart Blackburn needs to cast a fresh eye on our Corrie OAPs. 

So who could be drafted in? Would you like to see the return of an old favourite or something completely new? Personally, I'd love to see Rula Lenska reprise her role as the fabulous Claudia Colby. Claude and Aud were a great double act and I think a return visit to Perm Suspect would inject some much needed fun in Audrey's post-Lewis life. 

What about seeing Rita May back as Jack Duckworth's lady friend Connie Rathbone? She still has a link to the Street through Tyrone after all. And then there was that wonderful appearance by Helen Fraser as Doris Babbage earlier this year. Doris provided us with the most entertaining scenes involving the Price family since their arrival. Helen's character was sharp, bitchy and very, very funny. The viewers were left wanting more and I for one would love to see Doris make a return to Weatherfield.

If not a returning character, which actor or actress of a certain age would you like to see in Corrie? Top of my list would be the superb Lynda Baron. She was sublime playing both Violet Carson and her character Ena Sharples in The Road to Coronation Street back in 2010. 

Lynda also appeared in Coronation Street back in 1997 when she played Renee Turnbull, a lady who become involved with Alec Gilroy's Dating Agency. I think she would make a great addition to the regular cast.


So what do you make of the current crop of older Coronation Street characters? Would you like to see them more involved in the local community? Should there be new additions? 


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