Soaps

Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow says it’s a shame the soap has lost its comedy

Mavis left Weatherfield nearly 23 years ago

Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton, says the soap has lost its humour over the years.

The actress, who appeared in the show on and off from 1971 until 1997, recently spoke about the storyline.

She revealed she fears the soap has lost its warmth and gentle comedy that it had during her day, as storylines have become darker.

Thelma recalled the conversations characters had (Credit: ITV)

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Speaking on the Distinct Nostalgia podcast, Thelma said: “I think the Street when I was in it had this wonderful thing of comedy, the comedy characters.

“I don’t watch it regularly now. I occasionally have a look but I don’t see much to laugh at now. I think it’s a shame.”

Over the years, Coronation Street has done more storylines surrounding murders (Credit: ITV)

She added: “We used to get scripts where you’d talk about nothing important at all, nothing to do with the plot, but they would be so real and so funny.

“It was great conversation without having great meaning and drama to it.”

Coronation Street: What happened to Mavis?

Mavis and Rita were best friends (Credit: ITV)

Thelma appeared in nearly 2000 episodes of Corrie over her 26 years on the show.

I occasionally have a look but I don’t see much to laugh at now.

Mavis worked in the Kabin alongside Rita Sullivan and the two soon became best friends.

She married Derek Wilton in 1988 but he died in 1997 after a heart attack. Devastated, Mavis decided to move to the Lake District to run a B&B.

Derek died in 1997 (Credit: ITV)

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She was mentioned in 2018 when Rita paid her a visit.

What did Thelma act in after Coronation Street?

After leaving the ITV soap, Thelma landed the role of Dolly Bellfield in Victoria Wood’s sitcom Dinnerladies. The show ran for two series until 2000.

She then went on to make appearance in numerous popular TV shows including Doctors, Fat Friends, Doc Martin, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Doctor Who.

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Coronation Street is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7.30pm on ITV.

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.

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