Coronation Street is a British soap opera that depicts life in a working class town through complex storylines and dramatic events involving the residents. It keeps viewers engaged through tragic plots that have led to character deaths and highly dramatized conflicts between neighbors. Common themes include relationship issues, mental health struggles, and alcoholism. The show features a diverse cast of characters of various ages, ethnicities, and abilities in an effort to portray realistic community dynamics.

1. TV Drama Research –
Coronation Street
By Danielle Duffy

2. Narrative
 Coronation Street is a British soap
opera-themed TV drama featuring a
complex multi-strand narrative that
shows us the events that occur in a
small town
 The conflicts between people and
events are dramatized greatly
 It keeps the viewer watching by
conjuring up dramatic events and
tragic plots have resulted in the death
of many characters throughout the
series

3. Example
 Events are often so highly dramatized that the
viewers feel agitated towards the character’s
choice of actions! Extreme events in 2015 lead
to the accidental murder of character Callum
Logan (a criminal drug dealer) by young couple
David and Kylie – who instead of notifying the
police (which would have been the sensible
option if such situation occurred in real life), hid
the body under their floorboards in their house
 The narrative continues, and we are left only to
wonder just how much time it will be before
they are discovered and their lives are turned
upside down once again (the couple have
already experienced problems involving drugs
etc.)

4. Setting
 The events often occur in the homes
of the characters, on the streets and
shops where characters work and in
the famous ‘Rovers Return’ pub
(relates to iconography)
 This somewhat reflects realism as it is
typical of people these ages
(Coronation Street features mostly
adults-seniors’ affairs) to socialise in
the pub and work at restaurants, hair
salons and cafes etc.

5. Themes/Issues
 The issues featured within this soap drama are
real-life issues that some viewers may have
experienced – this makes it somewhat relatable
for the viewer
 Often more dramatic plots are used to engage
the viewer’s attention, for example there have
been several house fires that have resulted in the
 It also features more common relationship issues
such as affairs and cheating, exploring the
character’s mental breakdowns
 Alcoholism is a reoccurring theme that we
witness as a characters drown their sorrows –
this could have an influence on the audience and
promote excessive drinking as acceptable, and
therefore it is evident that this soap opera is for
more mature audiences

6. Characters
 Coronation Street features a rather broad range of
characters in terms of age (including children who are
affected by the actions of their unstable parents),
ethnicity, and sexuality (often exploring homosexual
relationships in an equal way to heterosexuals)
 For example Tracy Barlow, a ludicrously manipulative
woman who connives to spoil others’ happiness – I
would say that her character is rather exaggerated,
however she is a great addition to the entertainment
provided by this soap opera
 As a long running character like others featured in this
extremely long series, her character has lots of
development and has been involved in numerous
scandalous events and so viewers can almost get to
know her
 It features real life issues such as the underage
pregnancy of young teenager Faye. Aged 13, I find
this story to be highly controversial, and rather
exploits this stereotype – although as among the
viewers of the program there are many parents, this
could be a warning to parents to make watch over
their children more carefully

7. Characters pt. 2
 Features different characters with
disabilities e.g. Izzy; a wheelchair user,
and Alex who has Down’s Syndrome
 Despite being quite minor characters, Izzy
has been involved in big drama on the
streets
 Liam’s appearance particularly was
considered a break through for those like
him as he was able to feature on a large
scale, highly popular program
 People aren’t used to seeing those like
Izzy and Liam as they may be seen as
incapable or inferior within society, but
these two characters prove that they are
just like others and therefore healthily
promotes the involvement of those who
are less fortunate

8. Target Audience
 Due to the characters and mature themes (that are
more relatable to adults), I would say that the target
audience for Coronation Street is mostly adults and
women who typically enjoy drama more than men,
aged around 35-55 years
 However as the show is usually aired from 7-9pm,
swearing or overtly inappropriate content is
avoided as there are likely to be some younger
children watching with their parents

9. Camerawork
 The use of a POV shot is effective in
portraying the “burial” scene of character
Callum
The camera looks
up from in the ditch
that Kylie and David
(as pictured) are to
hide the body in
The low angle represents them as having some amount of
malicious power, and their bold actions would indicate so,
however we can see through their worried facial expressions that
they are unsure of their decision – this causes them mental
troubles

10. Mise En Scene
 The use of mise en scene is used often and
effectively to enhance the realism of accident
victims
 The use of make-up here to provide visual proof
of character Todd’s injuries really makes the
scene look realistic

11. Sound
 Coronation Street’s theme tune is a
simple, traditional tune that is
memorable for viewers and portrays
the atmosphere of every day life on
the cobbles
 It is used between advertisement
breaks, often when a dramatic scene
is in the midst so that the audience is
made to wait and must continue
watching next time to find out what
happens

12. Editing
 Fade transitions are used to switch
between shots (of different areas of
Coronation Street) in the short clip that is
always shown before and after the
break; to remind us of the setting and
draw us in
 These soft transitions are used to
represent normality (and almost create a
calm atmosphere that contrasts against
the drama that we are then usually
brought into) to create realism