Albion Market

Albion Market is a short-lived British soap opera, set in a covered market in Salford, in the northwest of England. It was intended as a companion to fellow ITV soap Coronation Street, filling the 7:00pm timeslot on Fridays and Sundays previously dubbed by the network as the "graveyard" slot. However, due to continued troubles and ratings competition from the BBC's newly broadcast EastEnders, the series only broadcast for one year, before being replaced with additional episodes of Coronation Street.^[1]

History

Albion Market launched in August 1985, four months before Coronation Street celebrated its 25th anniversary. Granada Studios dubbed it a "continuing drama series", considering the term "soap opera" derogatory. The show ran twice weekly on Friday and Sunday night; at the time, 7.00pm on Fridays and Sundays were considered "graveyard slots", usually broadcasting game shows or American imports.^[2] Very quickly, the Sunday episodes were moved back to around 6.00pm, and LWT later dropped the Friday episode and instead broadcast a double bill of the series at 5.00pm on Sundays. At the series launch, the chairman of Granada Television claimed that "When Coronation Street celebrates its Golden anniversary, Albion Market will be celebrating its silver anniversary". Despite this, the show lasted for only one year.^[3]

The show received negative reviews from critics and did not do well in the ratings. Many noted that the actual storyline rarely strayed from the confines of the market itself. The long-suffering market superintendent Derek Owen (David Hargeaves) was the primary focus; his day usually began with the difficult task of assigning the few unowned stalls to the large number of casual traders. Prominent among these were Lynn Harrison (Noreen Kershaw) and her ex-jailbird husband Roy (Jonathan Barlow); while the regular traders included the gossiping ceramics dealer Morris Ransome (Bernard Spear) and handsome ladykiller and cake seller Tony Fraser (John Michie).

Despite opening with an arson attack on the market, the series struggled to capture an audience. Although it had some hard-hitting storylines involving its notably multiracial cast, the market setting rapidly became a problem. Characters were bogged down by the business of running their stalls, and the sheer drabness of the set compounded the monotony. After this faltering start, compounded by Michael Grade's success with his newly rearranged schedules for the BBC, Granada attempted to change direction and bring in both glamour and familiar faces. Despite attempts to encourage viewing figures by bringing in Coronation Street actor Antony Booth and singer Helen Shapiro, the ratings did not improve, and some ITV regions dropped the series from their peak-time schedules altogether. Eventually, the show ended after just 100 episodes. For many years, the outdoor with its distinctive arch-shaped Albion Market sign above the River Irwell remained intact. When the Granada Tours Experience was closed in 1999, the sign was removed, and the building which was once Albion Market was sold. It now forms part of the Victoria and Albert Hotel.^[4]

Cast

Episodes

References

External links

• Albion Market at the Internet Movie Database