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Ten years ago today since Karen McDonald's exit in Corrie |
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#1 |
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Ten years ago today since Karen McDonald's exit in Corrie
On Boxing Day, 2004 the nation witnessed the emotional departure of one of the show's most legendary female characters. Her scenes in the snow as she looked back mournfully at the Rovers before getting into the black cab are now iconic. It's hard to believe that it's been a full decade since those scenes aired.
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#2 |
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She was bloody brilliant.
Can't believe it's ten years!Tracy was actually interesting then too and Suranne was great at the snotty crying! |
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#3 |
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That is mad to think she has been gone a whole decade! What a character she was, Suranne Jones was absolutely fantastic as Karen, she definitely made her mark on the Street! There is still plenty of scope for her to return, with Steve, Tracy and Amy all still on the show, but Suranne has done so well since leaving Corrie so its doubtful
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#4 |
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It feels longer than that. I would have said she left around 2002.
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#5 |
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Tracy was definitely at her best during the feud with Karen. It spanned they majority of 2004 but never felt boring. Suranne Jones has done incredibly well on both stage and screen since her departure.
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#6 |
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The scene where she walked up the street in the snow was fantastic. Contrast that episode with last night's diabolical offering, the difference is stark. As for Suranne she's done well for herself, so I'm sure she isn't pining for a return to Corrie. Besides I wouldn't want to see Karen back under the current regime, they would only ruin her.
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#7 |
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They've spent the decade trying to re-create the magic chemistry of Steve and Karen, but never manged it. They came fairly close with Becky due to the quality of the actress.
I agree about her coming back into the show as it is now. It would be a waste of such a wonderful actress and character. |
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#8 |
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Did she once have naked sex in the factory office with Joe Carter?.. I was just a kid at the time and thought it was xrated.. Was it that raunchy?
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#9 |
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One of my favourite soap memories ever was Karen threatening to lamp Tracy with a stiletto heel on her and Steve's (second) wedding day. Oh how we cheered - and then sighed wistfully when she didn't
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#10 |
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Quote:
Did she once have naked sex in the factory office with Joe Carter?.. I was just a kid at the time and thought it was xrated.. Was it that raunchy?
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#11 |
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Barren Karen was a deliciously wicked line.
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#12 |
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I remember it being bandied about for the majority of 2004 by Toxic Tracy.
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#13 |
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I must admit that when she left I thought, like Sarah Lancashire, that she would never be heard of again. Although she was good I thought what else could she play.
![]() Now wrong I was and have been thrilled by both of them in so many things since. Suranne is wonderful and was especially magnificent in The Crimson Tide.
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#14 |
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One of the best episodes of Corrie in my opinion, that. Afterwards, the show seemed to sink a bit and it's never really recovered in my view. The Harris murder story was good but Corrie's only gone on to decrease in quality since then with the occasional brilliant storyline (early parts of Peter/Carla affair etc.) and a slow decimation of the well-rounded characters .
That final scene where she walks down the street is brilliant and I love the way Tracy came out the house and gave her a subtle nod as she left. Kate Ford and Tracy as a character have never been better than that storyline for me. Loved the way that Steve finally realised he had to get Karen to leave by witnessing Jack and Vera fighting over a Christmas card as well. There was an episode shortly before she left where Karen thought she'd get back at Tracy by having sex with Steve in the car won on the game show in order to get pregnant. Only the car was littered with Amy's stuff from when Tracy last used it and in their movements, Karen ended up setting one of Amy's toys off laughing and then dragging a dirty nappy across Steve's face. Brilliant, natural, well acted comedy that is far too occasional in the show's current state. Really miss Suranne and Steve/Karen's relationship but glad she's gone on to have success elsewhere. I dread to think what the character would be like now if she was still around.
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#15 |
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Awww yes Karen she was awesome, Suranne Jones has done so well outside of Corrie, it's strange to think it's ten years.
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#16 |
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One of my first ever soap memories was Karen & Tracy at Amy's Christening, absolutely brilliant stuff. And also when it was Karen vs Tracy at Underworld too.
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#17 |
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2003 and 2004 were vintage years for Corrie.
I agree with other FMs - Karen's departure in 2004 really was the end of an era, one which Corrie has been trying to reignite ever since. |
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#18 |
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Quote:
Awww yes Karen she was awesome, Suranne Jones has done so well outside of Corrie, it's strange to think it's ten years.
Whatever Suranne Jones has done since, Fields of Blood, Scott and Bailey, to me she is always Karen MacDonald |
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#19 |
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why was Karen so iconic after just 4 years?
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#20 |
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Field of Blood was a drama that had Katherine Kelly in it, not Suranne Jones- Jones appeared in The Crimson Field earlier this year. I think that 2010 was the closest that Corrie has come to repeating the quality of 2003 and 2004 and it has really lost sense of the series it should be over the last couple of years.
Karen's exit was incredibly moving and was the perfect conclusion to her turbulent times on the cobbles. For years I lived in hope that she would make a triumphant return but the time has now passed. Under the current writing team the character would be ruined as they would undoubtedly just try to recreate her feud with Tracy and have her fall back into Steve's arms. |
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#21 |
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Quote:
Field of Blood was a drama that had Katherine Kelly in it, not Suranne Jones- Jones appeared in The Crimson Field earlier this year. I think that 2010 was the closest that Corrie has come to repeating the quality of 2003 and 2004 and it has really lost sense of the series it should be over the last couple of years.
Karen's exit was incredibly moving and was the perfect conclusion to her turbulent times on the cobbles. For years I lived in hope that she would make a triumphant return but the time has now passed. Under the current writing team the character would be ruined as they would undoubtedly just try to recreate her feud with Tracy and have her fall back into Steve's arms.
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#22 |
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Quote:
why was Karen so iconic after just 4 years?
Karen also had a very 'traditional' arrival on the show. In fact, she is arguably one of the last leading female characters to have done so. She first appeared as a factory worker in 2000 and quietly (though with a few mouthy incidents) settled into life on the street. Gradually the character rose in prominence with her very much 'accidental' pairing with Steve bringing Karen to centre stage. From there she just blossomed. For many years this was the way that characters developed on the show. They weren't brought in as headline castings, they were given time to grow and settle into the programme. |
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#23 |
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Thank you for the kind words, KornerKabin.
The only female characters in recent years who join the ranks of legend with Karen are Becky, Carla and Leanne (although the writing for her over the past year has not done her justice in any shape, way or form). |
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#24 |
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Thank you for the kind words, KornerKabin.
The only female characters in recent years who join the ranks of legend with Karen are Becky, Carla and Leanne (although the writing for her over the past year has not done her justice in any shape, way or form). ![]() Defintely agree with Carla, she's popped straight out of the Elsie Tanner mould. Becky I could take or leave and Leanne is a character who confuses me a lot. |
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#25 |
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For me, she was something Corrie had been lacking for a good number of years. The show had been ambling along without a young, brassy female lead since Elsie Tanner locked her front door for the last time back in 1984. Old stalwarts were there in force, but that bolshy, northern sexiness tinged with vulnerability and naivety had been missing from the show for a number of years.
Karen also had a very 'traditional' arrival on the show. In fact, she is arguably one of the last leading female characters to have done so. She first appeared as a factory worker in 2000 and quietly (though with a few mouthy incidents) settled into life on the street. Gradually the character rose in prominence with her very much 'accidental' pairing with Steve bringing Karen to centre stage. From there she just blossomed. For many years this was the way that characters developed on the show. They weren't brought in as headline castings, they were given time to grow and settle into the programme. |
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Can't believe it's ten years!
