The recent news of the death of Anne Kirkbride, who played Deidre Barlow in Coronation Street for over forty years, got me thinking about our relationship with soap opera characters. Deidre was a realistic portrayal of a more mature woman, but what of the other older people we see on our screens every week?
As an avid watcher of TV soaps, and as a pensioner, I am intrigued by the portrayal of older characters in the programmes. Dot Cotton still reigns supreme in Albert Square and is as much a figure of respect as one of fun. In 1982 Hilda Ogden was the fourth most recognised character in Britain behind the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales. It seems that the older cast members are very popular, well-rounded characters that add immensely to the storylines and the reality of the plots.
We now have a person with Alzheimer’s in Eastenders for the first time – as far as I recall – which I am following with interest. We have had to watch the death of cancer patients and the story of the stroke victim, Jim Branning in Eastenders, was very sensitively handled.
Mostly the older generation is treated with respect and given wisdom and sympathy. On the whole there is little mockery, although Norris in Coronation Street is something of a figure of fun. But this has nothing to do with his age, just the nature of his character. Dot Cotton remains a figure of amusement, but also respect, affection and empathy.
The coterie of pensioners in Emmerdale, Edna, Pearl, Betty and Sandy are an entertaining group and the antics of Sandy on his mobility scooter are really amusing. Sandy proves that not all old people are sad and miserable, or well behaved!
The latest senior to come into Eastender is respected actor Timothy West who has signed up to play patriarch Stan Carter. Asked whether there are enough older people in soaps Timothy told Radio Times: “From what I hear, there hasn’t been enough interest in older characters. Or enough older characters to be interested in. I find they’re not valued so much and I suspect that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been brought in.”
In 2012 a BBC report revealed TV viewers feel that the elderly get less air-time than other age groups, and older women in particular are ‘invisible’. There was a perceived habit of treating the elderly as ‘peripheral’ or ‘token figures’ in drama, comedy and entertainment shows.
They said the elderly were treated as ‘props’ for other stories, and regularly portrayed in a ‘humorous’, ‘mocking’ or ‘insulting’ manner.
Pensioners were often said to be portrayed as stubborn with a ‘tendency to moan about things’, or in some cases as an ‘adorable idiot’.
But in what are also known as continuing dramas, recent plots and strong older characters such as Cora Cross, who is a grandmother as well as Stan’s love interest, indicate that they are beginning to be treated with more respect, and allocated more interesting storylines.
We’ve grown older alongside so many familiar characters, such as Ken Barlow who started in Coronation Street as a young hot head and is now portrayed as the wise patriarch of the neighbourhood.
Getting older is a fact of life and I am glad that the current soaps now contain plenty of strong, more realistic and interesting older people.
Please do let us know your views on the portrayal of older people on television.
