Nora Batty Treated Poorly!!

[cciaffone]

Just re-watched the first Hobbo episode (Primrose Dairies).

I had forgotten just how badly they treated the memory
of Nora Batty. When Compo died we got three whole
episodes mourning his death. When Kathy Staff passed,
"she went off to Australia," and we are told that several
times.

Really poor treatment for one of the longest running stars
of the show.

Nora deserved much better.

 

[Sarkus]

It's a bit more complicated then that. Kathy Staff last appeared in series 29 but was unable to appear in series 30 due to poor health. Although it aired after her death, series 30 was filmed before her death and they used the "off to Australia" explanation for why she wasn't around. So she wasn't really even an active cast member at the time of her death, and in that sense a lack of mention or closure for the character is consistent with how the show handled the deaths of actors of other inactive characters. Nobody ever mentioned Blamire, Seymour, or Foggy when the actor playing them passed away.

The Bill Owen situation was very unique given he was an active member of the core trio and they were in the midst of filming a series when he died.

So, while it would have been nice to have some sort of reference to Nora at some point, the earliest that could have occurred would have been series 31 and by then we all know what they were focusing on since there very nearly wasn't a series 31.