Hilda Ogden's mural and flying ducks
Hilda Ogden's mural and flying ducks are part of a set featured in the British soap opera, Coronation Street.
The middle duck of the trio was always askew, in a position suggestive of it nose diving, which helped gain off-screen notoriety for the ceramic props.
"[13] The mural was damaged in a comedic plot in which Suzie Birchall (Cheryl Murray) tries to clean Elsie Tanner's (Pat Phoenix) chimney by dropping a brick down it.
[6] I've come in here more times than I care to remember, cold, wet, bone-tired, not a penny in me purse, seeing them ducks and that muriel... they've kept me hand away from t'gas tap.
[24] She told Tim Randall, author of 50 Years of Coronation Street, that "each time Hilda went past she would try to push it up straight but it always fell down again.
"[27] In 1988, Alexander told a reporter from The Courier that she was not like Hilda and "I can't stand wall murals and flying china ducks.
Alexander left Coronation Street and in Hilda's final scenes she is depicted removing the flying ducks from the mural before leaving.
In 1981, Roy West Liverpool Echo wrote that "muriel" and "flight of plaster ducks" had become "the main item of note" in Hilda's home.
[33] In 1986, Alistair Law from Leamington Spa Courier opined that the ducks were "immortalised" via their placement on Hilda's lounge wall and in 1990, Jim Seddon from Manchester Evening News described them as a "familiar sight" for viewers.
[34][35] In 1994, Nick Fletcher writing for Staines & Ashford News described "three pottery birds usually rather askew on her living room wall" that were "one of the most noticeable items" in Hilda's home.
[36] The following year, John Millar from Daily Record their inclusion in the set helped make number 13 a "part of soap history".
[32] In 2018, Jess Harrold from Estates Gazette said that their company could not "hear the word 'mural' without instantly translating it to 'Muriel' in its head and picturing Hilda Ogden's iconic wall art, hanging ducks and all.
[40] In 1993, an Evening Express summed up Hilda as "the woman who made flying ducks the essential living room wall decoration.
"[41] In 1996, a Coventry Evening Telegraph columnist described Hilda as pretentious because of her "pride and joy" mural and "three plaster ducks" which she thought were "the perfect finishing touch".
[42] In 1997, Robert Homer from Grimsby Telegraph opined that "by the late 1970s it seemed that Hilda Ogden was the only woman in the world to decorate her home with ducks.
[43] A writer from Sandwell Evening Mail described them as respite for downtrodden Hilda, assessing "her flying ducks against a lakeside scene (her 'muriel', as she called it) was the nearest she came to escape.
"[47] In 1988, Jo Davison from Hull Daily Mail branded the ornaments as "Hilda Ogden's famous flying ducks".
[48] In 1992, Manchester Evening News's Mick Middles wrote that Hilda "famously mispronounced" the word mural and branded it "a standing joke" in the show's scripts.
[51] In 2019, Daily Mirror's Ashleigh Rainbird similarly wrote that the ducks "famously hung on" Hilda's "muriel" and had become "three of the most prominent characters" on the show during the 1970s and 1980s.
"[55] In 2001, a journalist from The Argus credited Hilda's askew placement of her flying ducks as making the ornaments a cult collectable item.
[56] In stronger wording, a Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph article published in 2000, hailed them as "a national institution" and in 2016, Ian Hyland from Daily Mirror branded them as "the stuff of legend".
"[49] In 1999, Gabriel Roberts from Wales On Sunday opined that despite Hilda being the "Queen of Kitsch" her decor was "tasteless" and the ducks "were gently mocked at the time as bad taste.
She assessed "murals have moved on from the time of Coronation Street's Hilda Ogden's coastal scene and three flying ducks.
"[60] In 2018, Emma Clayton from Telegraph & Argus assessed "dated" living room trends, noting some were so bad she would rather have Hilda's mural on her wall.
[61] Over the years since Hilda's mural and flying ducks debuted on-screen, they have spawned replica merchandise, been adorned on street art and featured in other media formats.
[62] In 1988, Coronation Street commissioned merchandise featuring replica's of Hilda's flying ducks, which were sold at the World Travel Market in London.
[50] Large scale replica flying ducks were installed at a Blackpool tourist attraction, "The World of Coronation Street", which opened in 1995.
[65][66] In 1996, Alexander in character as Hilda, complete with the trio of flying ducks hanging in the background were featured in a television advert promoting the launch of the digital channel Granada Plus.
[67][68] In 2007, flying ducks aided by the use of computer graphics were featured in Harveys Furniture advert sponsorship of Coronation Street.
[70] In 2018, a British woman, Rebecca Haynes received media attention for covering her legs in Coronation Street themed tattoos.
