Hilda Ogden
Encyclopedia
Hilda Alice Ogden is a fictional character
from the television series Coronation Street
, one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the soap opera
, whose name became synonymous with a certain type of working-class woman. She was played by Jean Alexander
from 1964 to 1987.
For much of her period as a character in the Street, Hilda worked as cleaner of the Rover's Return Inn. A gossip and busy-body, many of her storylines were used for comedic purposes, though equally the character was used for dramatic effect; a scene in which she wept over the sight of her recently deceased husband's spectacles has been hailed as one of the most moving images in television history.
Actress Jean Alexander quit the role in 1987 after 23 years, but was persuaded to reprise the part in 1990 for a one-off appearance as part of an ITV Telethon
. She has also been seen in a spin-off video in 1998, in which another long-running character, Betty Williams
, visited her at her new home.
Arguably the serial's most popular character of all time, Hilda was voted the greatest TV character in a Radio Times
poll of over 5,000 people. The trademark image of Hilda, wearing hair curlers and a head scarf, has inspired art and catwalk themes. Despite various producers expressing their desire to see the character return, actress Jean Alexander has been openly critical about the direction Coronation Street has taken, vowing never to reprise the role of Hilda again.
A term that has been described as synomymous with Hilda Ogden is "busy body". Critic for The Guardian
, Grace Dent
, has suggested that Hilda "spent the 70s providing an unofficial town-crier service for Corrie scandal. Hilda was known to sleep propped up in bed with one eye open so she could see what time Ken Barlow's female friends left. (Or what time they were carried out in bodybags. Ken's never had much luck with women.)" She added that Hilda was the mold that other popular soap gossips were made from, including Dot Branning
from EastEnders
, Mrs Nell Mangel
from Neighbours
, Lynda Snell from The Archers
and Martha Huber from Desperate Housewives
.
The Ogdens, Hilda and her husband Stan (Bernard Youens
) – or "the Oggies" as they were affectionately dubbed – have been hailed as one of Coronation Street's favourite couples. The bickering pair stayed together through mishap and financial difficulty. A working-class couple, they remained a screen doubleact for 20 years, until actor Bernard Youens died, forcing the writers of the soap to kill off Stan on-screen. A scene following Stan's screen funeral, showing Hilda weeping at the sight of Stan's signature spectacles, has been described as "one of the most moving moments in TV history" and "instrumental in winning [Jean Alexander] the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award for 1984-5". Neil Marland, who worked as Granada TV's stills photographer for 30 years has described the scene as terribly poignant, adding, "Everyone was crying and the camera tracked in – she had to undo his handkerchief, and in it were his glasses. She broke down sobbing. And, of course, I had to do a picture of this. So I left her for a minute or so sobbing. Then, as I got nearer, I just went, `Jean, Jean...' And she sat bolt upright and said, `What picture do you want Neil? I'm only acting'. It was just amazing because everyone on the floor was in floods of tears."
Commenting on the screen partnership, actress Jean Alexander has said, "It was a real pleasure working with Bernard Youens, who played my screen husband, Stan. Any success I have had is really down to Bernard because we worked well as a team and each knew how the other would want to play a scene. It was a happy screen partnership but it was strictly professional. We didn't socialise after work." Alexander has stated that the Ogdens were a brilliant set-up: "They were the only couple in the street who were married – permanently. They were the only ones who owned their own house where everyone else rented, they stayed together and didn't stray or have affairs and, yes, they bickered among themselves but let anyone else criticise either of them and they would be up in arms."
In 2002, Hilda and Stan Ogden were voted Britain's top romantic TV couple, in a poll of more than 5,000 people carried out by NTL:Home. They beat off competition from Friends
couple Monica Gellar and Chandler Bing
and Dot
and Jim Branning
from EastEnders
. In 2005 the couple topped another poll. The Ogdens were voted ITV's favorite TV characters in a survey by Broadcast magazine, which took place to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the network. They beat Minder
's Arthur Daley and Prime Suspect's DCI Jane Tennison, who took second and third place respectively.
to inform him she did not want to renew her contract.
Her decision to leave prompted an outcry from fans and a "Save Hilda" campaign was launched, as many did not realise that the actress had made her own decision to depart. Hilda's final scenes in the programme were aired on Christmas Day 1987, when the locals in the Rovers Return joined Hilda in what has been described as a "stirring rendition" of "Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye". On-screen, Hilda departed for Derbyshire, to make a new life for herself as the housekeeper for Doctor Lowther. 27 million viewers watched. It remains the highest-rated episode in Coronation Street's history. It has been described as the most moving scene in Coronation Street that did not involve a death. The writer behind the "memorable" episode depicting Hilda Ogden's departure, which attracted a record soap opera audience, was Leslie Duxbury
.
Since her departure in 1987, various producers have expressed their desire to see Hilda Ogden back on Coronation Street. In 1990, Jean Alexander reprised the role after two-and-a-half years as part of ITV's 27-hour charity telethon
. The episode showed her visiting Stan's grave. In 1998, the character was resurrected again, as part of a special direct to video film.
However, in 2005, actress Jean Alexander ruled out ever returning to the role of Hilda Ogden, due to Coronation Street's overempahsis on sex and "who's sleeping with whom". She also criticised the soap for not being fun enough and she disapproved of the modern storylines, saying some are allowed to "drag on forever". She added:
A spokesperson for the soap responded to Alexander's criticism, saying, "We don't subscribe to Jean's opinions. Every week 12 million people across the country tune in to be entertained by the drama in Coronation Street." Alexander reportedly declined to return as Hilda as part of Coronation Street's 50th anniversary celebrations in December 2010. They allegedly offered her a large sum of money but her agent Joan Reddin stated "She's not interested in getting involved again." When interviewed in 2010, Alexander further discussed her reasons for not wanting to return to the role of Hilda. She said, "It would be impossible for me to recreate Hilda. She would be totally different from the scrubber who left the Street [...] I'm sorry, after 23 years I couldn't recreate that character as she would be now – and I didn't want to play her as she was. Hilda would be about 91 now. She left to be housekeeper for the lovely doctor and be part of a village community. She has status now which is something she always wanted . I have changed so I'm sure she has. And I think the fans would be disappointed. It would have spoiled the memories people had of her."
, cleaning the Rovers Return, Mike Baldwin's factory and private homes, while Stan cleaned windows.
Hilda and Stan had four children. Two children, Sylvia and Tony, were not seen on the series with the explanation that they were taken into care when Stan beat them while drunk. Their other children were seen on the programme and were named Irma and Trevor. Trevor stole money and ran away within the first six months of arriving on the Street, writing back home to ask Hilda to disown him. Hilda's daughter Irma worked at the Corner Shop and eventually married David Barlow. Irma was crushed when David and her child were killed in Australia in 1970. Irma returned home for a few years, but then vanished, with the explanation being she had moved to Wales, and later Canada. She had little contact with her family. Trevor eventually married and gave Hilda and Stan a grandson, but was ashamed of the life his parents led and only made the occasional visit.
Hilda's most remembered attributes were her hair curlers which she almost always wore, her pinny
, and her "muriel
" in her living room, which first showed a scene of Alpine
mountains but was later changed to a coastal scene with three duck ornaments flying over them. She considered herself clairvoyant and offered teacup readings
.
Lodging with the Ogdens from 1980 to 1983 was Eddie Yeats
, their surrogate son, and, after Stan died in late 1984 – just a few years after celebrating their ruby wedding
– Hilda got extra money by allowing Kevin and Sally Webster to live in one of her vacant rooms. Shortly afterwards Hilda's employers, the affluent Doctor Lowther and his wife, made the decision to sell their home and move to Hartington. However, on the night that Hilda helped Mrs Lowther pack away her treasured possessions, burglars broke into the house and violently assaulted them both. Doctor Lowther, who had gone out to get a takeaway meal, was horrified to discover his wife dead and Hilda seriously injured.
Although she made a full recovery physically, mentally she became afraid to be in her own home. When Doctor Lowther asked her to move to Derby and be his housekeeper, she jumped at the chance. When Hilda left the programme on Christmas Day 1987, she sang "Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye", in her trademark trilling voice; it was watched by an aggregated audience of 26.65 million people, one of the highest audiences in British television history.
, Queen Elizabeth II
, and Diana, Princess of Wales
in a poll of the most recognizable women in Britain. Hilda Ogden has been branded as the "greatest-ever soap character" and "loved by millions the world over". In 2004 she was voted the greatest soap character in a Radio Times
survey of 5,000 viewers, despite the character not physically appearing on screen for 17 years at the time. Actress Jean Alexander commented on the accolade: "I'm very flattered. It came totally out of the blue. I knew nothing about it. Friends rang to tell me and I was completely taken aback. I am surprised that so many people remembered Hilda, considering it was so long ago that I played her." She added in 2005 that she is amazed by the nation's enduring affection for Hilda. She said: "I've no idea why. I'm totally flummoxed. If they remember Hilda with such affection, then I'm happy and very flattered," says Jean. She adds: "It means that I did a good job and that's what I set out to do. I had 23 wonderful years playing Hilda. I worked with some of the Street's legends – Pat Phoenix
(Elsie Tanner
), Violet Carson
(Ena Sharples
), one of TV's greatest characters, Jack Howarth (Albert Tatlock
), Arthur Leslie
and Doris Speed
(Jack and Annie Walker), all now sadly gone."
The character can count various celebrities among her fans, including Michael Parkinson
, writer Willis Hall
, the former Poet Laureate
John Betjeman
and the late Russell Harty
, who formed themselves into the British League for Hilda Ogden.
A storyline involving Hilda and her husband Stan once resulted in monetary claims to the council of an increase of 200%. Off-screen, actor Bernard Youens had become ill, so the writers at Coronation Street excused his screen absence by making Stan have an injury – he hurt his toe on a pavement and was bed-ridden. In the storyline, Hilda discovered that if a paving stone is sticking up over a certain measurement, a claim can be made against the council. Hilda sued Weatherfield council and won a payout. Councils all across the UK were reportedly "up in arms against Coronation Street", because subsequently, claims against them for people tripping up over paving stones that were three-quarters of an inch high, increased by 200 percent.
, Coronation Street spin-off film was released. It was entitled The Women Of Coronation Street and featured clips of the show's most famous females. The video hailed the brief return of Hilda Ogden, who had not been seen in the soap since 1987; Betty Williams
travelled to meet her at her new home. A spokesperson for Granada Television
commented, "It shows what happens when Betty goes up to visit Hilda Ogden at her home in Derbyshire. She used to do cleaning work for a doctor and when he died he left her the house in gratitude. It'll be a souvenir fans want to keep."
, Bill Nighy
and Elvis Costello
are among the famous names who have bought a Hilda.
Hilda Ogden was cited as one of the characters to influence New York's elite fashion scene in 2004. The straightlaced tweed and hair rollers "granny chic" style of Sixties Britain, much of the look was derived from early episodes of Coronation Street. Fashion stylist Katie Grand said: "There's something very interesting about working class Britain in the early Sixties. Coronation Street was black-and-white and so grimy. They just looked so cool. Hilda Ogden has her hair in curlers but is also in a fabulous tweed jacket and a really nice blouse."
The video for one of the rock band Queen
's music videos, "I Want to Break Free
", was based on characters from Coronation Street. Lead singer, Freddie Mercury
, was said not to be a fan of any soap opera; however, when he was at home, he would watch Coronation Street. So, in the song's video, the members of the band dressed in drag as some of the soap's most famous female characters. Mercury's style was based loosely on the character Bet Lynch
, while Brian May
's style was modeled loosely on Hilda Ogden. The song peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart
, and remained in the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks from its release in April 1984.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the television series Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, one of the best-known of all the regular characters in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, whose name became synonymous with a certain type of working-class woman. She was played by Jean Alexander
Jean Alexander
Jean Alexander is a BAFTA Nominated English television actress. She is best known to British television viewers as Hilda Ogden on the soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from 1964–1987 and also as Auntie Wainwright on the longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine from 1988 to 2010...
from 1964 to 1987.
For much of her period as a character in the Street, Hilda worked as cleaner of the Rover's Return Inn. A gossip and busy-body, many of her storylines were used for comedic purposes, though equally the character was used for dramatic effect; a scene in which she wept over the sight of her recently deceased husband's spectacles has been hailed as one of the most moving images in television history.
Actress Jean Alexander quit the role in 1987 after 23 years, but was persuaded to reprise the part in 1990 for a one-off appearance as part of an ITV Telethon
ITV Telethon
The ITV Telethons were three charity telethons organised and televised in the UK by the ITV network. They took place in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Each lasted for 27 hours and all were hosted by Michael Aspel.- Thames Telethon :...
. She has also been seen in a spin-off video in 1998, in which another long-running character, Betty Williams
Betty Williams (Coronation Street)
Elizabeth "Betty" Williams is a long-standing fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by former music hall star Betty Driver. Driver was cast as Betty in 1969, after first auditioning for the role of Hilda Ogden...
, visited her at her new home.
Arguably the serial's most popular character of all time, Hilda was voted the greatest TV character in a Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
poll of over 5,000 people. The trademark image of Hilda, wearing hair curlers and a head scarf, has inspired art and catwalk themes. Despite various producers expressing their desire to see the character return, actress Jean Alexander has been openly critical about the direction Coronation Street has taken, vowing never to reprise the role of Hilda again.
Characterisation
Hilda Ogden, with her trademark hair curlers and pinny, has been described as "the classic hard-working class Northern woman. With a voice like breaking glass and a temper to match". Actress Jean Alexander has explained her interpretation of Hilda's head scarf and curler look: "Like Hilda, my roots were in Liverpool and that’s where I first noticed the curlers and headscarf look. The curlers were put under the headscarf by the factory girls [...] They had their hair tied up and scarves like that to stop their fashionable long hair getting caught up in the machinery at work. They had the curlers in place in case they got asked out on a date, so they’d be ready for a night out after the shift. They could just take off the headscarf, remove the curlers and shake down their hair. Hilda’s background was just like mine and her recollection would have been the same so the headscarf look was born on-screen." Alexander stated in 2010 that she based Hilda bits of differing, eccentric people she had seen in her youth in Liverpool.A term that has been described as synomymous with Hilda Ogden is "busy body". Critic for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Grace Dent
Grace Dent
Grace Dent is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster. Dent writes mainly for The Guardian, where she has a weekly column on television, 'Grace Dent's TV-OD'. She also writes for magazines such as Tatler and Marie Claire. She writes a restaurant review column for the London Evening...
, has suggested that Hilda "spent the 70s providing an unofficial town-crier service for Corrie scandal. Hilda was known to sleep propped up in bed with one eye open so she could see what time Ken Barlow's female friends left. (Or what time they were carried out in bodybags. Ken's never had much luck with women.)" She added that Hilda was the mold that other popular soap gossips were made from, including Dot Branning
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
from EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, Mrs Nell Mangel
Nell Mangel
Eleanor "Nell" Worthington is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Vivean Gray. She made her first on-screen appearance on 29 April 1986. She was known almost exclusively to others as "Mrs Mangel". The character caused controversy among some of the...
from Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, Lynda Snell from The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
and Martha Huber from Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
.
The Ogdens
Bernard Youens
Bernard Arthur Youens was a British character actor, best remembered for his portrayal of the workshy, beer-swilling Stan Ogden in Coronation Street from 1964 until his death in 1984....
) – or "the Oggies" as they were affectionately dubbed – have been hailed as one of Coronation Street's favourite couples. The bickering pair stayed together through mishap and financial difficulty. A working-class couple, they remained a screen doubleact for 20 years, until actor Bernard Youens died, forcing the writers of the soap to kill off Stan on-screen. A scene following Stan's screen funeral, showing Hilda weeping at the sight of Stan's signature spectacles, has been described as "one of the most moving moments in TV history" and "instrumental in winning [Jean Alexander] the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award for 1984-5". Neil Marland, who worked as Granada TV's stills photographer for 30 years has described the scene as terribly poignant, adding, "Everyone was crying and the camera tracked in – she had to undo his handkerchief, and in it were his glasses. She broke down sobbing. And, of course, I had to do a picture of this. So I left her for a minute or so sobbing. Then, as I got nearer, I just went, `Jean, Jean...' And she sat bolt upright and said, `What picture do you want Neil? I'm only acting'. It was just amazing because everyone on the floor was in floods of tears."
Commenting on the screen partnership, actress Jean Alexander has said, "It was a real pleasure working with Bernard Youens, who played my screen husband, Stan. Any success I have had is really down to Bernard because we worked well as a team and each knew how the other would want to play a scene. It was a happy screen partnership but it was strictly professional. We didn't socialise after work." Alexander has stated that the Ogdens were a brilliant set-up: "They were the only couple in the street who were married – permanently. They were the only ones who owned their own house where everyone else rented, they stayed together and didn't stray or have affairs and, yes, they bickered among themselves but let anyone else criticise either of them and they would be up in arms."
In 2002, Hilda and Stan Ogden were voted Britain's top romantic TV couple, in a poll of more than 5,000 people carried out by NTL:Home. They beat off competition from Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
couple Monica Gellar and Chandler Bing
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry.-Background:Chandler Muriel Bing was born on April 8, 1968, the son of an erotic novelist mother and a cross-dressing Las Vegas star and is of Scottish ancestry. Chandler was Ross...
and Dot
Dot Branning
Dorothy "Dot" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, played by June Brown since 1985. In a special episode entitled EastEnders: Dot's Story a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in flashbacks. Dot first appeared in EastEnders in July 1985 as the mother of...
and Jim Branning
Jim Branning
James Archibald "Jim" Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by John Bardon, first appearing on 29 April 1996 and becoming a regular character in 1999 and has remained in the series right up to 2011....
from EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. In 2005 the couple topped another poll. The Ogdens were voted ITV's favorite TV characters in a survey by Broadcast magazine, which took place to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the network. They beat Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
's Arthur Daley and Prime Suspect's DCI Jane Tennison, who took second and third place respectively.
Departure
After 23 years playing Hilda, Jean Alexander decided to leave Coronation Street in 1987. According to Alexander in 2010, it was the right time to leave as the writers had run out of ideas for Hilda and as a character, Hilda had run out of steam. She added, "Her other half had gone and she would have just scraped along. I didn't want that." Alexander went to see the show's producer Bill PodmoreBill Podmore
Edgar William "Bill" Podmore was a British television producer. Born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, he was best known for his long association with the soap opera Coronation Street, a series he produced for twelve years...
to inform him she did not want to renew her contract.
Her decision to leave prompted an outcry from fans and a "Save Hilda" campaign was launched, as many did not realise that the actress had made her own decision to depart. Hilda's final scenes in the programme were aired on Christmas Day 1987, when the locals in the Rovers Return joined Hilda in what has been described as a "stirring rendition" of "Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye". On-screen, Hilda departed for Derbyshire, to make a new life for herself as the housekeeper for Doctor Lowther. 27 million viewers watched. It remains the highest-rated episode in Coronation Street's history. It has been described as the most moving scene in Coronation Street that did not involve a death. The writer behind the "memorable" episode depicting Hilda Ogden's departure, which attracted a record soap opera audience, was Leslie Duxbury
Leslie Duxbury
Leslie Duxbury was a British newspaper sports writer and columnist born in Great Harwood, Lancashire. He turned his attention to television and became a prolific writer on the top rated ITV1 soap opera, Coronation Street, finally retiring from the series in 1990....
.
Since her departure in 1987, various producers have expressed their desire to see Hilda Ogden back on Coronation Street. In 1990, Jean Alexander reprised the role after two-and-a-half years as part of ITV's 27-hour charity telethon
ITV Telethon
The ITV Telethons were three charity telethons organised and televised in the UK by the ITV network. They took place in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Each lasted for 27 hours and all were hosted by Michael Aspel.- Thames Telethon :...
. The episode showed her visiting Stan's grave. In 1998, the character was resurrected again, as part of a special direct to video film.
However, in 2005, actress Jean Alexander ruled out ever returning to the role of Hilda Ogden, due to Coronation Street's overempahsis on sex and "who's sleeping with whom". She also criticised the soap for not being fun enough and she disapproved of the modern storylines, saying some are allowed to "drag on forever". She added:
A spokesperson for the soap responded to Alexander's criticism, saying, "We don't subscribe to Jean's opinions. Every week 12 million people across the country tune in to be entertained by the drama in Coronation Street." Alexander reportedly declined to return as Hilda as part of Coronation Street's 50th anniversary celebrations in December 2010. They allegedly offered her a large sum of money but her agent Joan Reddin stated "She's not interested in getting involved again." When interviewed in 2010, Alexander further discussed her reasons for not wanting to return to the role of Hilda. She said, "It would be impossible for me to recreate Hilda. She would be totally different from the scrubber who left the Street [...] I'm sorry, after 23 years I couldn't recreate that character as she would be now – and I didn't want to play her as she was. Hilda would be about 91 now. She left to be housekeeper for the lovely doctor and be part of a village community. She has status now which is something she always wanted . I have changed so I'm sure she has. And I think the fans would be disappointed. It would have spoiled the memories people had of her."
Storylines
Hilda and her husband Stan were first featured in Coronation Street in 1964. A working class couple, beset with financial woes and few friends, many of the more established characters looked down on the Ogdens. Hilda worked as a charMaid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
, cleaning the Rovers Return, Mike Baldwin's factory and private homes, while Stan cleaned windows.
Hilda and Stan had four children. Two children, Sylvia and Tony, were not seen on the series with the explanation that they were taken into care when Stan beat them while drunk. Their other children were seen on the programme and were named Irma and Trevor. Trevor stole money and ran away within the first six months of arriving on the Street, writing back home to ask Hilda to disown him. Hilda's daughter Irma worked at the Corner Shop and eventually married David Barlow. Irma was crushed when David and her child were killed in Australia in 1970. Irma returned home for a few years, but then vanished, with the explanation being she had moved to Wales, and later Canada. She had little contact with her family. Trevor eventually married and gave Hilda and Stan a grandson, but was ashamed of the life his parents led and only made the occasional visit.
Hilda's most remembered attributes were her hair curlers which she almost always wore, her pinny
Pinafore
A pinafore is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron.Pinafores may be worn by girls as a decorative garment and by both girls and women as a protective apron. A related term is pinafore dress, which is British English for what in American English is known as a jumper dress, i.e...
, and her "muriel
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
" in her living room, which first showed a scene of Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
mountains but was later changed to a coastal scene with three duck ornaments flying over them. She considered herself clairvoyant and offered teacup readings
Tasseography
Tasseography is a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds, or wine sediments....
.
Lodging with the Ogdens from 1980 to 1983 was Eddie Yeats
Eddie Yeats
Edward Jeremy Timothy "Eddie" Yeats was a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-1974–1987:Eddie Yeats was born in Liverpool on 22 August 1941. In adulthood, Eddie held low-paid jobs and made extra cash by helping out his disreputable friends with carrying out...
, their surrogate son, and, after Stan died in late 1984 – just a few years after celebrating their ruby wedding
Wedding anniversary
-Official recognition:In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that...
– Hilda got extra money by allowing Kevin and Sally Webster to live in one of her vacant rooms. Shortly afterwards Hilda's employers, the affluent Doctor Lowther and his wife, made the decision to sell their home and move to Hartington. However, on the night that Hilda helped Mrs Lowther pack away her treasured possessions, burglars broke into the house and violently assaulted them both. Doctor Lowther, who had gone out to get a takeaway meal, was horrified to discover his wife dead and Hilda seriously injured.
Although she made a full recovery physically, mentally she became afraid to be in her own home. When Doctor Lowther asked her to move to Derby and be his housekeeper, she jumped at the chance. When Hilda left the programme on Christmas Day 1987, she sang "Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye", in her trademark trilling voice; it was watched by an aggregated audience of 26.65 million people, one of the highest audiences in British television history.
Reception
The character of Hilda Ogden was very popular with the British public — in 1982 she came fourth behind the Queen MotherElizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, and Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
in a poll of the most recognizable women in Britain. Hilda Ogden has been branded as the "greatest-ever soap character" and "loved by millions the world over". In 2004 she was voted the greatest soap character in a Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
survey of 5,000 viewers, despite the character not physically appearing on screen for 17 years at the time. Actress Jean Alexander commented on the accolade: "I'm very flattered. It came totally out of the blue. I knew nothing about it. Friends rang to tell me and I was completely taken aback. I am surprised that so many people remembered Hilda, considering it was so long ago that I played her." She added in 2005 that she is amazed by the nation's enduring affection for Hilda. She said: "I've no idea why. I'm totally flummoxed. If they remember Hilda with such affection, then I'm happy and very flattered," says Jean. She adds: "It means that I did a good job and that's what I set out to do. I had 23 wonderful years playing Hilda. I worked with some of the Street's legends – Pat Phoenix
Pat Phoenix
Patricia "Pat" Frederica Phoenix was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:Born in Ireland to Anna Maria Josephine Noonan and Tom Manfield, but moved to Manchester before...
(Elsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Patricia Phoenix from 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original core characters on Coronation Street and appeared in the very first episode...
), Violet Carson
Violet Carson
Violet Helen Carson OBE was an English actress, best known for playing Ena Sharples, one of the original characters in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
(Ena Sharples
Ena Sharples
Ena Sharples is one of the original characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street, and was played by Violet Carson.-Development:...
), one of TV's greatest characters, Jack Howarth (Albert Tatlock
Albert Tatlock
Albert Tatlock is a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street. Albert was played by actor Jack Howarth from 1960 to 1984...
), Arthur Leslie
Arthur Leslie
Arthur Leslie was a British actor who was born in Newark, Nottinghamshire but moved to Lancashire at an early age...
and Doris Speed
Doris Speed
Doris Speed, MBE was an English actress, best known for her role as snooty Rovers Return landlady Annie Walker on Coronation Street, a role she played from 1960 to 1983.-Early life and career:...
(Jack and Annie Walker), all now sadly gone."
The character can count various celebrities among her fans, including Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, writer Willis Hall
Willis Hall
Willis Hall was an English playwright and radio and television writer who drew on his working class roots in Leeds for much of his writings....
, the former Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
and the late Russell Harty
Russell Harty
Russell Harty was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows.-Early life:Born Frederick Russell Harty in Blackburn, Lancashire, he was the son of a fruit and vegetable stallholder on the local market...
, who formed themselves into the British League for Hilda Ogden.
A storyline involving Hilda and her husband Stan once resulted in monetary claims to the council of an increase of 200%. Off-screen, actor Bernard Youens had become ill, so the writers at Coronation Street excused his screen absence by making Stan have an injury – he hurt his toe on a pavement and was bed-ridden. In the storyline, Hilda discovered that if a paving stone is sticking up over a certain measurement, a claim can be made against the council. Hilda sued Weatherfield council and won a payout. Councils all across the UK were reportedly "up in arms against Coronation Street", because subsequently, claims against them for people tripping up over paving stones that were three-quarters of an inch high, increased by 200 percent.
In other media
In 1998, a straight to videoVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, Coronation Street spin-off film was released. It was entitled The Women Of Coronation Street and featured clips of the show's most famous females. The video hailed the brief return of Hilda Ogden, who had not been seen in the soap since 1987; Betty Williams
Betty Williams (Coronation Street)
Elizabeth "Betty" Williams is a long-standing fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by former music hall star Betty Driver. Driver was cast as Betty in 1969, after first auditioning for the role of Hilda Ogden...
travelled to meet her at her new home. A spokesperson for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
commented, "It shows what happens when Betty goes up to visit Hilda Ogden at her home in Derbyshire. She used to do cleaning work for a doctor and when he died he left her the house in gratitude. It'll be a souvenir fans want to keep."
In popular culture
An image of Hilda Ogden in her signature hair rollers and head scarf has been used in artist David Knopov’s series of silk prints. The artist says Lenny HenryLenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
, Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
and Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
are among the famous names who have bought a Hilda.
Hilda Ogden was cited as one of the characters to influence New York's elite fashion scene in 2004. The straightlaced tweed and hair rollers "granny chic" style of Sixties Britain, much of the look was derived from early episodes of Coronation Street. Fashion stylist Katie Grand said: "There's something very interesting about working class Britain in the early Sixties. Coronation Street was black-and-white and so grimy. They just looked so cool. Hilda Ogden has her hair in curlers but is also in a fabulous tweed jacket and a really nice blouse."
The video for one of the rock band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's music videos, "I Want to Break Free
I Want to Break Free
"I Want to Break Free" is a song by the British rock band Queen, which was written by its bassist John Deacon. The song was featured on the Queen's 1984 album The Works and distributed as a single on 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl records and 3-inch and 5-inch CDs. The song had three versions: album,...
", was based on characters from Coronation Street. Lead singer, Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, was said not to be a fan of any soap opera; however, when he was at home, he would watch Coronation Street. So, in the song's video, the members of the band dressed in drag as some of the soap's most famous female characters. Mercury's style was based loosely on the character Bet Lynch
Bet Lynch
Elizabeth Theresa "Bet" Lynch is a fictional character from the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character is no longer part of current storylines. Portrayed by actress Julie Goodyear the character first appears onscreen during the episode airing on 23 May 1966. The character...
, while Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
's style was modeled loosely on Hilda Ogden. The song peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and remained in the chart for fifteen consecutive weeks from its release in April 1984.