Lucy Fallon wants more fun storylines in Coronation Street
The actress who has been at the centre of misery-based plots is hoping to head onto the sunnier side of the street.
“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 Television.” – Michael Parkinson
The ITV Granada production has come under fire from a number of celebrities and long-term viewers for losing its roots since Tony Warren passed away, with criticism there is no ‘light and shade’ anymore – just endless misery.
Now actress Lucy Fallon, who plays troubled Bethany Platt, has said she’d love to have some happier plots for her character. Speaking to OK magazine the Coronation Street regular said that she’d like for Bethany to ‘have a bit of fun’ on screen.
In the past year her teen character has been the victim of a sex grooming gang, self-harmed and suffered a drug overdose and to top all that off she’s the daughter of the equally troubled Sarah-Louise Platt, with granny Gail also often troubled in dramatic storylines.
“I don’t get to play a lot of comedy scenes. It’s all gritty and emotional. I’d love to film scenes with more of the funny characters.” – Lucy Fallon speaking to OK magazine
Bethany was part of a sex grooming plot last year.
“…the show I was in doesn’t exist anymore,” – actress Sarah Lancashire who played barmaid Raquel Watts
The Daily Star reported on Monday (Jan 15th) how long term fans of Corrie now plan to boycott the show over violent plots. The Christmas episode pulled in only 5 million viewers and TV Watchdog Ofcom is currently assessing if the Salford Quays based production broke telly regulations after the serial recently aired graphic scenes featuring serial killer Pat Phelan’s latest murder which was transmitted before the 9pm watershed. The scenes drew 622 complaints to the regulator.
The fan-boycott follows months of distaste on social media over the loss of the shows roots which mixed scenes of northern humour with scenes of drama, seen currently on ITV3 repeats which are airing classic episodes from 1987.
Famous faces including Fern Britton, Michael Parkinson, Carol Vorderman and former Coronation Street actress Sarah Lancashire have noted the show has changed beyond recognition. In the past late actor Roy Barraclough, landlord Alec Gilroy in the show, also echoed those sentiments, while the late Jean Alexander noted her character of Hilda Ogden would jar with the current format of the programme.
“I’m not entirely sure the executives care that much, its the same old thing of they’re right; the viewers are wrong. The fact the soap did appallingly at Christmas says it all, we’ve had enough of misery at Christmas in Corrie, let’s have an alternative to the depressing EastEnders! Sadly I doubt anything will change, these bosses seek internal praise, soap awards and all that rather than the old school way of giving the best they can for viewers in all forms of comedy and drama within a saga. Maybe then the ratings would do better long term rather than having to rely on stunt-scenes.” – TV Critic Vivian Summers.
