‘Coronation Street’ actress Kym Marsh has jumped to the defence of the ITV soap, after some viewers claimed it’s time for the show to ditch darker storylines in favour of returning to its comedic origins.
Since the appointment of Kate Oates as executive producer, the soap has featured a number of heavy issues, from David Platt’s recent male rape storyline to Billy Mayhew’s addiction to heroin.
With Kate announcing earlier this month that she was stepping down from the show, some have questioned whether it’s time for these darker plotlines to leave with her, though Kym has said she doesn’t think the soap needs to change.
Writing for OK! magazine, Kym said: “Following the news of Kate’s departure some people have said that Corrie needs to return to its comedy roots, which is frustrating as there are still lots of comedy moments on the show!
“We’re doing more high drama but that’s true of all soaps. We need to move with the times and target audiences of all ages.”
She added: “You can’t please everyone and the ratings speak for themselves – they’re higher now than they have been for a long time!”
During her tenure as ‘Corrie’ showrunner, Kate has repeatedly said she hoped to bring important issues to the forefront, as she did with David Platt’s current sexual assault storyline.
In the wake of the divisive story arc, charity Survivors Manchester revealed that they’d had seen an increase of 1700% in calls to their helplines, from men and boys seeking support after being victims of sexual abuse.
Read Kym’s column in full in this week’s OK! magazine.
READ MORE:
When Soap Stars Go Pop
Here are 12 of the soap stars who launched pop careers (to varying degrees of success)…
Richard Young/Solent News/Ray Tang/Shutterstock
Martine McCutcheon ('EastEnders')
Martine might be best known for her signature tune ‘Perfect Moment’, but trust us when we say this 80s-inspired ballad is really where it’s at.
Adam Rickitt ('Coronation Street')
Before revealing his ambitions to become a Tory MP, Adam Rickitt made a go of it as a pop singer, releasing this single in 1999.
Listening to it with fresh ears, it’s actually aged surprisingly well, although the gratuitous (but not unwelcome, let’s be honest) nudity in the video smacks of late 90s, early 2000s pop.
YouTube
Holly Valance ('Neighbours')
And speaking of gratuitous music video nudity.
Holly had a smash hit with ‘Kiss Kiss’, her debut single.
Although she’s not exactly the reigning princess of pop, her latter releases ‘Naughty Girl’ and, in particular, ‘State Of Mind’ are definitely still worth a listen.
Jennifer Ellison ('Brookside')
True, she was a bit of a one-hit wonder. But what a hit it was…
Shane Ritchie ('EastEnders')
D’you know what? It was for charity, so let’s just leave it there.
Natalie Imbruglia ('Neighbours')
Undeniably one of the biggest songs of the 1990s, Natalie released ‘Torn’ as the debut single from her first post-‘Neighbours’ album, ‘Left Of The Middle’.
Few people will know that it’s actually a cover of a track by American alternative rockers Ednaswap, who recorded their version two years before Natalie’s.
Tracy Shaw ('Coronation Street')
Tracy was one of the stand-out stars of ‘Coronation Street’ back in the 90s, so it was a big surprise when her debut single only got to number 46 in the UK singles chart.
Never mind, eh, Trace?
Letitia Dean ('EastEnders')
Just… wow.
Sid Owen ('EastEnders')
When we watched Ricky Butcher in Albert Square, our first thoughts weren’t ‘what this guy needs is to release a reggae lite track IMMEDIATELY IF NOT SOONER’.
Know what though? Someone did think that. And here we are.
Kylie Minogue ('Neighbours')
Never heard of her.
(No but seriously, she’s a mega-star. Of course we’ve heard of her. She’s Kylie literal Minogue).
Anita Dobson ('EastEnders')
MORE TV STARS RELEASING LOVE SONG INTERPRETATIONS OF THEIR SHOW’S THEME SONG, PLEASE.
Why this wasn’t wheeled out repeatedly during the 30th anniversary spectacular in 2015, we have no idea.