I’m really noticing watching these episodes again just how much the storylines centre around alcohol. Not just as a place where everyone has money to go even though they’re skint, but for the characters too.
There are three actors I know of who had alcohol addiction in real life - Kevin Kennedy (Curly), Denise Welch (Natalie) and Anne Kirkbride - well we’ve only got Ken Roach’s word she was an alcoholic but I think the only thing worse than breaking her confidence would be lying about her being one when she isn’t here to refute it.
I’ve noticed that in the Rovers Curly drinks from bottles of beer - that might be a nod towards him struggling with drinking pints of ‘beer’. Deirdre is on the red wine when she’s in the Rovers and Natalie as a character drank too. I just find it interesting that it’s seemingly implausible for three every day characters not to drink alcohol even at the risk of the wellbeing of the actors.
Article where Denise Welch talks about her alcohol issues:
Denise Welch has spoken of how “incredibly lonely” she was when she joined the cast of Coronation Street.
m.independent.ie