Stan Ogden

Stan Ogden is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Bernard Youens. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 29 June 1964 and remained for twenty years until his death on 21 November 1984. Stan was introduced by executive producer H. V. Kershaw. He has been portrayed as a well-loved layabout, and many of his storylines centred on his marriage to Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander).

The Ogdens, Stan and his wife Hilda (Jean Alexander), have been hailed as one of Coronation Street's favourite couples. The bickering pair stayed together through mishap and financial difficulty. A working-class couple, they remained a screen double act for 20 years until actor Bernard Youens died on 27 August 1984, forcing the writers of the soap to kill off Stan on-screen. A scene following Stan's screen funeral, showing Hilda weeping at the sight of Stan's signature spectacles, has been described as "one of the most moving moments in TV history" and "instrumental in winning [Jean Alexander] the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award for 1984–1985". Neil Marland, who worked as Granada Television's stills photographer for 30 years, has described the scene as terribly poignant, adding, "Everyone was crying and the camera tracked in – she had to undo his handkerchief, and in it were his glasses. She broke down sobbing. And, of course, I had to do a picture of this. So I left her for a minute or so sobbing. Then, as I got nearer, I just went, 'Jean, Jean...' And she sat bolt upright and said, 'What picture do you want Neil? I'm only acting'. It was just amazing because everyone on the floor was in floods of tears."

Commenting on the screen partnership, actress Jean Alexander has said, "It was a real pleasure working with Bernard Youens, who played my screen husband, Stan. Any success I have had is really down to Bernard because we worked well as a team and each knew how the other would want to play a scene. It was a happy screen partnership but it was strictly professional. We didn't socialise after work." Alexander has stated that the Ogdens were a brilliant set-up: "They were the only couple in the street who were married – permanently. They were the only ones who owned their own house where everyone else rented, they stayed together and didn't stray or have affairs and, yes, they bickered among themselves but let anyone else criticise either of them and they would be up in arms."

Hilda and Stan Ogden were voted Britain's top romantic TV couple in 2002, in a poll of more than 5,000 people carried out by NTL:Home. They beat off competition from Friends' couple Monica Geller and Chandler Bing (Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry) and Dot and Jim Branning from EastEnders (June Brown and John Bardon). In 2005 the couple topped another poll. The Ogdens were voted ITV's favourite TV characters in a survey by Broadcast magazine, which took place to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the network. They beat Minder's Arthur Daley and Prime Suspect's DCI Jane Tennison, who took second and third place respectively.

Hilda and Stan met in 1943, when Hilda fell over an inebriated Stan in the blackout. Six days later, they married. The morning after they were married, Stan was arrested by the Military Police for overstaying his leave. Their bad luck carried on throughout their marriage.

Stan Ogden first appeared in the Street in 1964, looking for his eighteen-year-old daughter Freda (Sandra Gough), who had run away from the family. Freda had changed her name to Irma and was working as Florrie Lindley's (Betty Alberge) assistant in the corner shop. Stan worked as a long-distance lorry-driver, and was away from home much of the time, leaving his wife Hilda (Jean Alexander) to look after their four children. When he was home, he was given to drinking bouts and terrible rages, which had caused their two younger children to be taken into council care.

Stan managed to convince Irma that he had changed his ways, giving up lorry driving and trying to control his temper. He promised Irma anything if she would return to the family. At the time, No.13 Coronation Street was for sale – Jerry (Graham Haberfield) and Myra Booth (Susan Jameson) had been forced out by financial troubles – and Irma made it a condition of her return that Stan buy the house to provide the family with a permanent home. Stan surprised her by finding a deposit and buying the house for £565. In June 1964 Stan moved his family; wife Hilda, son Dudley (Jonathan Collins) (who followed his sister's lead and changed his name to Trevor) and Irma, into No13 Coronation Street.

Hilda quickly found work as a cleaner in the Rovers, and Irma also worked there for a while as a barmaid. Trevor proved more troublesome, however. He ran away with money stolen from the neighbours when he was fourteen and wrote to his parents telling them to disown him. Stan complied with the letter and Trevor was unmentioned for years. Irma quickly fell for footballer David Barlow (Alan Rothwell), and they were married in late 1965. After that, Stan and Hilda were left on their own.