Maggie could be a Coronation Street legend – but only one vital thing can save her
The Queen of Corrie – nearly! (Picture: Metro/ITV)
Maggie Driscoll is at risk of becoming Coronation Street’s latest murder victim, after a flashforward revealed her as one of five shifty characters who could pay the ultimate price for their actions.
As a confirmed killer, manipulative Maggie is a fair candidate for the dead body set to be discovered by Betsy Swain (Sydney Martin) – but it would be a colossal mistake for the meddling matriarch to meet her maker.
There are far more dispensable residents in child sexual predator Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon), and domestic abuser Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), who is currently the viewers’ top choice to perish. That’s testament to the performances from each actor, ensuring we rightfully despise their alter egos.
By comparison, Maggie, skilfully played by TV veteran Pauline McLynn, is a much more divisive figure.
Yes, she got away with accidentally causing the demise of her husband, Alan, decades earlier, and treats would-be daughter-in-law Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) with relentless contempt. She can be a nasty piece of work, but compared to those listed above, and until we’re told otherwise, Maggie isn’t an out-and-out villain.
And, so long as she doesn’t cross that line into evil for the sake of evil, the show has the power to turn her into a cobbles icon.
Intertwining Maggie’s 65th birthday with the soap’s own milestone was a great start, showcasing how her lively presence has shaken up both The Rovers Return and Coronation Street itself.
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Maggie is fearsome – but she needn’t be out and out evil (Picture: ITV)
This is the woman who, upon arrival, likened Eva’s landlady debut to a wake, and branded staff Glenda (Jodie Prenger) and Sean (Antony Cotton) ‘Keith Harris and Orville’ before barking out orders. In classic Corrie style, Maggie was now in charge and everyone around her simply had to get used to it.
Her quick one-liners like ‘I don’t have time for headaches – I don’t have that luxury’ lighten the mood amid darker storylines, and prove Maggie matches the energy of famous, foul-tempered personas like Weatherfield original Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) and Queen of put-downs Blanche Hunt (Maggie Jones).
Each are known for a love of gossip and speaking their mind without a filter, and sharp-tongued Maggie belongs in this category of strong, fiery women.
If she is killed off, it would be a wasted opportunity to nurture the kind of character that forms the beating heart of Tony Warren’s beloved serial drama.
There’s so much to explore (Picture: ITV)
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With straight-talking Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman) on intermittent screen breaks, and the departures of Gail (Helen Worth), Eileen (Sue Cleaver) and Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews), Maggie is also filling a gap for ‘ladies of a certain age’, as she once labelled herself.
Far from blending in, Maggie has feigned injury with a farcical fall, aimed the Thunderbirds motto at an unfortunately-dressed Chesney (Sam Aston) and savagely blocked Lauren (Cait Fitton) from dating her grandson Ollie (Raphael Akuwudike), judging the young mother for daring to have a life outside of raising her child.
Hers is the sort of outdated view that never quite goes away, making Maggie the latest old-fashioned representative in a genre that must remain true to life.
Yet she is so much more than an overbearing troublemaker. Maggie is flawed but layered, demonstrated by her fierce love for son Ben (Aaron McCusker), along with Ollie and her youngest grandson Will (Lucas Hodgson-Wale).
Maggie does have a softer side (Picture: ITV)
There’s this whopping secret still to explode… (Picture: ITV)
A touching early scene, in which Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey) battled mental health struggles and Maggie used her pearls of wisdom to encourage her to seek help, revealed her natural warmth and must not be dismissed.
Having made a significant difference during her first week on-screen, Maggie could easily form other, solid connections to endear herself to the community and the audience. A genuine friendship could soften her edges without changing the unyielding essence of who she is.
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In the meantime, there’s an elephant in the room – Maggie’s major, as yet unaired link to the fabric of the show. She had an affair with Jim McDonald (Charles Lawson), whose death was recently announced; and it transpires he was Ben’s biological father.
It would be disappointing for Maggie to be taken out of her own plot twist, just as the Driscolls are being put on the map. We need the lowdown on Maggie’s time with Jim, who, according to flashback dialogue, she was once in love with.
And given her younger son Finlay witnessed her fatally pushing his father down the stairs, surely a new cast member and a historic showdown is planned?
Coronation Street has always thrived on camp, domineering characters like Maggie. I only hope she can avoid a truly untimely end and embody the soap’s biggest asset: the unflinching lioness.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk.
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