If there was any double act that made a national impact, it would be these two: Stan and Hilda Ogden. As a couple, they were a part of our lives for twenty years, and through those two decades we witnessed their highs and lows. They didn’t quite hit it off as a comedy duo until they were well-established, with the past history of Stan’s neglect and abuse towards his children being mentioned. As the 1970s dawned, the Ogdens were more or less the key to comedy on the cobbles with the instalment of the flying ducks and mural. What made them a hit was, like the Walkers before them, their personality clash. Stan was a layabout and was mostly redundant, always in the Rovers or in the bookies while Hilda was the street’s busybody and the breadwinner. Although they bickered a lot, Stan and Hilda loved each other and were married for forty years. Looked down by their neighbours, Stan and Hilda didn’t care and enjoyed mingling with the folk of the street. By 1983, the limelight was fading on the Ogdens as Stan’s health deteriorated and he died in 1984. Staying strong for the funeral, Hilda finally broke down alone when she opened the package from the hospital that had all of Stan’s belongings in it, clearing showing her loss. Hilda stayed in the street until 1987.
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