Eileen Grimshaw

Infobox soap character
color=#F0E68C
series=Coronation Street
name = Eileen Grimshaw
portrayer = Sue Cleaver


caption = Eileen Grimshaw in 2007
first = 3 May 2000
residence = 11 Coronation Street
born = 7 October 1961
children = Jason Grimshaw
Todd Grimshaw
grandchildren = Billy Platt
occupation = Works at taxi firm
romances = Dennis Stringer
Harry Flagg
Ed Jackson
Pat Stanaway
Jerry Morton

Eileen Grimshaw is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera "Coronation Street". She is portrayed by Sue Cleaver. Her first appearance was on 3 May 2000. [ [http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/castandcharacters/ftol/EileenGrimshaw2/default.html "Coronation Street" website] ]

Development

Personality

Eileen has been described as "a down-to-earth, pragmatic type of character".cite news|url= http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/theres-an-eileen-in-every-street-13434681.html|title= 'There's an Eileen in every street'|publisher="Belfast Telegraph" | date = 2007-04-19| accessdate=2008-10-04] Sue Clever has expressed how much she likes the variation in Eileen's development, with storylines ranging from "comic capers" to "serious": "I lurch between the light-hearted and serious. There's been lots of heavy drama stuff with [Eileen's sons] Todd and Jason. So it's really nice to have the relief of the scenes in the taxi office, [Eileen's workplace] , where it's more upbeat. I get to play the whole spectrum, which is fun [...] As an actor, you don't often get an opportunity to keep building on your character and finding new aspects to them. If you're doing a film or TV series, it's over in three months, whereas in something long-running, I can really understand my character and know them inside out like another human being. The challenge is to delve a little bit deeper into Eileen's psyche, which I really enjoy doing."

Clever has stated that there are similarities between her own personality and Eileen's: "On a soap, you can't come in and create a character that's very far removed from yourself, because it's such a lot of work, so of course there are elements to Eileen that I've brought in. But I think we're very different. She's more generous than I am quite frankly!" She has added, "I think Eileen is happy. She's a very together person [...] She's got a very realistic view [...] I think there are a lot of women who would aspire to be like her, how she holds everything together and juggles her job, the kids and everyone else's problems."

Friends and enemies

The character has been involved in various feud since her introduction in 2000. Eileen's most prominent and long-running feud has been with Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth. The characters have a long history of of catfights and insults between them, animosity that stems back to 2003 and the acrimonious break-up of Eileen's son Todd and Gail's daughter Sarah.cite news|url= http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/newsandgossip/EileenandGailcatfights/default.html|title= Gail and Eileen’s best bits|publisher="ITV" | date = 2007-10-30| accessdate=2008-10-04] Clever has commented, "Eileen's relationship with Gail is horrendous [...] I love all the scraps in the street with Gail. Helen Worth (who plays Gail) and I love doing all that - we have such a laugh with the abusive comments we make for each other. The constant battle is fun. It's a love-hate relationship." Worth has suggested that Gail probably thinks shis "a little better than Eileen" Jenny Platt, who played Violet Wilson between 2004 and 2008 has noted that "Gail's found her nemesis in Eileen, but it's so stupid because actually they are so similar. They are both single mums looking out for their kids."

Media critic Grace Dent has summarised the dislike that exists between the characters in a review in "The Guardian" in 2006: "Like most fine inter-family feuds, no one knows the true beginning, but it's safe to say that "Coronation Street"'s Eileen Grimshaw and Gail Platt have hated each other for ages. Eileen sees Gail's daughter Sarah Lou as a giant, repugnant, mascara-clad Venus flytrap, suckering in baby-daddies for her illegitimate brat Bethany. Gail Platt thinks Eileen's kids Todd and Jason are scummy, duplicitous, gutter-dwellers and their mother a snivelling apologist for their catalogue of spite. When Eileen's son, Todd, dated Sarah Lou, he passed up the chance to study at Oxford University [...] When eventually Eileen stopped fantasising about trapping Sarah Lou's head in Fred Elliott's bacon slicer, Sarah Lou had set her eye on Todd's half-brother Jason. Both Gail and Eileen took this news with deep umbrage. Eileen knew Jason could do much better than this drippy, yo-yo-knickered little strumpet. Meanwhile, Gail knew Sarah Lou was worth more than that slack-jawed, apostolic follower of Charlie Stubbs." [cite news|url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/aug/12/tvandradio.theguide|title= World of lather|publisher="The Guardian" | date = 2006-08-12| accessdate=2008-10-04]

One of Eileen's most enduring screen relationships has been her friendship with her boss Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). Clever has said that she enjoys Eileen's "constant bickering with Steve". She has revealed that she and Gregson play jokes with the bookings diary on Eileen's desk during filming of the cab office, where both characters work: "We write comments about each other in it. When you see me scribbling in the book, think of the rudest things possible and they're in there".cite news|url= http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/film_and_tv/s/230/230872_christmas_day_coronation_street.html|title= Christmas Day: Coronation Street|publisher="Manchester Evening News" | date = 2006-12-14| accessdate=2008-10-04] In 2007, both characters were featured in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed on location in Malta. The friends decide to take a trip together amid Steve's relationship problems with Michelle Connor. A "Coronation Street" spokesperson said: "We're excited about going out to film this storyline in Malta. Both Steve and Eileen's love lives are looking pretty bleak, so they decide to escape to the sunshine. It'll be great fun." [cite news|url= http://www.rte.ie/arts/2007/0514/coronationstreet.html|title= Romance for Corrie's Steve & Eileen?|publisher="RTE" | date = 2007-05-14| accessdate=2008-10-04] Press rumours began to circulate about a possible romantic pairing between the characters; however, this proved to be a red herring, Eileen just spends the night in bed with a drunken Steve to avoid sleeping in discomfort on the floor. [cite news|url= http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a67390/eileen-and-steve-arrive-in-malta.html|title= Eileen and Steve arrive in Malta|publisher="Digital Spy" | date = 2007-08-01| accessdate=2008-10-04] During the episodes, some of Malta's historic streets and churches, landscapes and Gozo's red sand beach Ramla Bay were featured. [cite news|url=http://www.maltamedia.com/artman2/publish/travel/article_3062.shtml|title= Behind the scenes in Malta with Coronation Street|publisher="Malta Media" | date = 2007-08-14| accessdate=2008-10-04] It was predicted in the media that British tourism trade to Malta would significantly increase due to the screening of the episodes. When discussions about filming on the island began, UK-based site YourMalta.com commented, "it could be a major boost [...] A half hour episode on Malta will reach more people over a longer period of time than a tourist authority could hope to with a series of twenty or thirty second advertisements, it would be worth millions in equivalent advertising." [cite news|url=http://news.holidayhypermarket.co.uk/Malta-Boosted-By-Coronation-Street-18196040.html|title=Malta Boosted By Coronation Street|publisher="holidayhypermarket" | date = 2007-06-29| accessdate=2008-10-04] Property website easier.com stated that "viewers have been captivated by the sun-soaked honey-coloured buildings, the charming historic streets and churches and beautiful landscapes not to mention the glorious red sand beach of Ramla Bay. It was hard not to be envious as Eileen and Steve sipped cocktails next to the pool in the gleaming sunshine and this life-style was all the more alluring when the camera’s panned back to the dreary streets of Weatherfield." [cite news|url=http://www.easier.com/view/International_Property_News/Malta/article-132604.html|title=Coronation Street tipped to increase property sales in Malta|publisher="easier.com" | date = 2007-08-08| accessdate=2008-10-04]

Romances

The character's history includes numerous failed romances. Eileen's first known screen partner was Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale), who was shown to leave her in 2001 following an affair with her best friend at the time, Janice Battersby. Next, Eileen fell for Ed Jackson (Chris Walker) in 2006, before discovering he had served time in prison for killing Emily Bishop's husband Ernest in a storyline that originally screen in 1978. Commenting on Eileen's relationship with Ed, Sue Clever has said, "She'd have loved it to work with Ed but she knew it wouldn't while he was on a mission to absolve himself of his sins. It would be great if Chris came back. I loved working with him, and he really would like to come back."

It was announced in 2007 that comedian Sean Hughes would be joining "Coronation Street" as Pat, a love interest for Eileen. A source told "The Mirror", "They meet in the [Rovers Return] and get on like a house on fire. It's not very long before they are enjoying steamy sessions. It's a great coup to have Sean play the role. It's a mixture of serious and comical. He and Sue have a good chemistry to make the story work really well". However, the relationship soured when Eileen discovered he was a serial womanizer. [cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/arts/2007/0517/coronationstreet.html|title=Comedian Sean Hughes joining Corrie|publisher="The Mirror" | date = 2007-05-17| accessdate=2008-10-04] A romance with Jerry Morton fizzled out on-screen in 2008, when Eileen dumped him. Actor Michael Starke, who was axed from his role as Jerry Morton in 2008, has been critical about the way Eileen and Jerry's romance "died such an early death". In an interview he commented, "There was even talk of babies! But it fizzled out – it went absolutely nowhere. It was never explained to me". [cite news|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-entertainment/echo-entertainment/2008/08/29/michael-starke-i-m-so-sad-my-time-in-coronation-street-is-finished-100252-21632880/|title=Michael Starke: I’m so sad my time in Coronation Street is finished|publisher="Liverpool Echo" | date = 2008-08-29| accessdate=2008-10-04]

It has been noted that Eileen has "not had much luck in love", although Sue Clever maintains that viewers should not feel sorry for her character, adding that Eileen is "very happy" and "together". She adds, "People forget that she's had proposals of marriage and turned them down."

torylines

Eileen first appeared in 2000 when she successfully applied for a vacancy at Street Cars, the new cab company opened by Steve McDonald and Vikram Desai. A feisty single mum, she came from a family of eight. She later moved into Steve's house as a tenant with her two sons, Jason and Todd, who were conceived by different fathers. In the early days she didn't approve of Jason's aspirations to be a runner. Some years later, her son Todd came out as being gay. She now shares her house with Jason and gay lodger Sean Tully.

Eileen has had many failed relationships since the character's introduction. Her promising relationship with Dennis Stringer failed when he left her for Janice Battersby. Following Jason and Candice Stowe placing her ad in a lonely hearts column she dated cleaner Harry Flagg for a while but they eventually decided to remain friends. She dated Ernest Bishop's killer, Ed Jackson, despite the disapproval of most of the street. It was during this relationship with Ed, a Christian, that Eileen came to the conclusion that she is agnostic. In 2007 she met Pat who she assumed was married and had an "affair". Pat in fact turned out not to be married but dating six other women at the time. She dated kebab shop owner Jerry Morton, but dumped him in 2008 after he began taking more of an interest in his children rather than her.

Eileen's sworn enemy is Gail Platt and their infamous feud has peaked in several brawls in the street. The pair constantly spar whenever they cross paths in Weatherfield. The feud began when her son Todd moved in with Gail's daughter Sarah, Eileen believed that she was holding her son back. Todd's revelation that he was gay caused a cat fight in the street. The two women were at loggerheads again when they both became attracted to reflexologist Phil Nail when he started working at the medical centre, Gail was the one who eventually won his affections. Their rivalry resulted in Eileen being the prime suspect when Gail was stalked by someone claiming to be serial killer Richard Hillman in 2006. Eileen was eventually revealed to be an innocent party, with David Platt being revealed as the hoaxer. Gail and Eileen are now related after Sarah and Jason married in October 2007.

On Christmas Day 2006, Eileen got a surprise when an unknown woman dropped a baby off, claiming Jason was the father. Eileen took responsibility to look after the baby, whom they called Holly because she arrived during the Christmas period.

Jason initially didn't approve of the child and tried to convince Eileen that the baby wasn't his, but Eileen disagreed and Jason eventually called Children's Services in desperation. He later admitted to calling them, but admitted he had grown fond of baby Holly.

However, Eileen was due for yet another shock on 9 April 2007 when Holly's mother returned, claiming that Jason's deceased employer, Charlie Stubbs, was in fact the father, after she found his picture in the paper. She claimed that when she met Charlie, he told her that his name was Jason Grimshaw. Holly's mother, Emma, asked Eileen for the baby back but Eileen refused and threw her out of the house, threatening to call the police. Social Services became involved in the situation, and a desperate Eileen decided the best thing to do was to "run away" with the baby. Eileen's arch-nemesis Gail Platt discovered her plan and talked to her, finally getting her to realise that the best place for Holly was with her real mother. A tearful Eileen handed Holly over on 25 April 2007.

Reception

Eileen Grimshaw has been described as "a firm favourite with fans". Actress Sue Clever has commented on her character's popularity to the "Belfast Telegraph" in 2007: "Everyone seems to love Eileen. I've never had anybody come up and say they don't like her, so I suppose that's a good thing. She's an accessible character and I think everybody knows an Eileen. There's an Eileen in every street." Actress Sue Clever has won an award for 'Favourite Female Soap Star' for her role as Eileen. [ [http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/news-gossip/soap-stars-clean-up-at-tv-awards-46321.html Soap stars clean up at TV awards - News & Gossip, Entertainment - Independent.ie ] ]

Sue Clever has revealed that she received letters of complaint from viewers when Eileen was shown to have a one-night stand with a boilerman: "I had so many letters of complaint about the one night stand she had with the boiler man. People said she wouldn't do that. She bloody well would! She's got two kids, she's been around the block a bit."

References

External links

* [http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronationstreet/castandcharacters/ftol/EileenGrimshaw2/default.html Eileen Grimshaw at ITV Soaps]
* [http://www.whatsontv.co.uk/soaps/coronation_street/whos_who/eileen_grimshaw Eileen Grimshaw at What's on TV]