The Other Side of the Street: The Autobiography of Jean Alexander

by Jean Alexander

"The Other Side Of The Street" is Jean Alexander's irresistible, unforgettable memoir, telling not only of her years as Hilda Ogden, and of her fellow actors on Coronation Street but also of her career before Corrie Strret

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 1989

Reviews

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean tells her story to you in the manner of having a chat over a cup of tea. I'm not generally one for the early life of celebrities but this was told in a way that kept me interested. Her stories of life in the theatre in repertory were funny especially everyone watching a big spider advance towards their arachnophobic colleague during a scene. He must've been such a professional, the poor man, as he stayed there and did the scene but I would've been running screaming from the building or climbing the curtains! Her description of the terrible bedsits and rented rooms that actors had to stay in is pretty shocking, plus the daily grind of the rehearsals, stress to learn your lines, sudden rewrites...it gives me a real appreciation for the sheer hard work they do.

The Corrie part talks about being hired to play Hilda and her working relationship with Bernard being a lot of fun. She bonded with the actress who played Minnie over their love of cats, and lays to rest the rumour that she hated Pat Phoenix, saying she was so shy around a star like Pat that she could never think of anything to say. She talks about Peter Adamson betraying his friends by selling stories to the media about them and how Lynne Perrie and Helen Worth having to knock the arrogance out of Chris Quentin. I love this kind of gossip behind the scenes. Jean also talks about her thoughts on her fellow cast members, her best friend being Betty Driver. It was a short, enjoyable read, perfect for one night of reading.

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly predictable recounting of her life by former Coronation Street star Jean Alexander. Essentially a book with two distinct sections - the first dealing with her impoverished Liverpool childhood and how she learned her craft as an actor by doing 20+ years in Northern rep., followed by some forgettable TV in London until the mid-1960s. This section could be subtitled "Rep theatre anecdotes and other mildly amusing stories".

The other section deals with Alexander landing her most famous role, that of Hilda Ogden in Granada's Coronation Street. She doesn't give much 'insider' detail away - just the standard few paragraphs for each of the other famous Street names. Surprisingly little detail about how she approached, developed and evolved her character over the years.

It all felt as though Alexander never really had any intention of writing about her life and her work as an actress - limited self-reflection and no surprises or deeper insights. It's a 'thin' book and ultimately a frustrating one.

© Koplowitz 2021

[Tegan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read! I really enjoyed some of the anecdotes about Jean Alexander’s early days in theatre and her experiences growing up during WW2. Equally the insight into the woman behind the wonderful Hilda Ogden was really fascinating. Not an explosive, tell all memoir, because that was never her style, just a really nice book.