‘Coronation Street’ Daisy Midgley: Is Charlotte Jordan the ITV soap’s next big villain or an iconic mainstay?
Since her arrival on Coronation Street a year ago, Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) has established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
As the stepdaughter of Rovers Return landlady Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews), Daisy keeps herself busy by meddling in her relative’s life and making her presence felt by any punter who catches her eye.
But is the troublemaker the latest in a long line of bold Corrie women, just waiting for the right time to be tamed; or is she the soap’s next big villain?
Read more: Coronation Street spoilers
The character can be malicious and cold; yet she is also capable of warmth and vulnerability. This is made possible by nuanced performances from actor Charlotte Jordan.
So her alter ego’s future could go either way. But based on her short history in Weatherfield, it has to be said Daisy’s misdemeanours are adding up rather quickly.
Earlier this year, she joined Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) in risky business venture Double Glammy, and had no concerns over recruiting other candidates into the dodgy scheme. At this point her conscience appeared to be non-existent and her behaviour only got worse.
She later pursued Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott), despite his committed relationship with Alya Nazir (Sair Khan).
When Daisy plied Ryan with alcohol and he woke up in her bedroom the next morning, viewers were convinced something sinister was at play and that she had spent the night with him when he was in no fit state to consent.
As it turned out, this wasn’t the case, but Daisy went on to lie that he had made a pass at her which she rejected.
In fact, it was Ryan who turned her down. But by the time the truth came out the young man’s relationship with Alya was already destroyed, and Daisy had grown bored with Ryan.
Despite these awful actions, the fact that Coronation Street chose not to take this story down a more disturbing route suggests the show sees potential to develop Daisy into a more well-rounded character, if she is given a strong arc to lead her there.
The soap did make a start on this by exploring her past. Jenny’s son Tom, who had drowned as a child, was Daisy’s half-brother; and we learned that after the tragic event, she decided to take a first aid course.
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When Daniel Osbourne’s (Rob Mallard) son Bertie was choking in the street, Daisy offered to use her skills to help.
From her mindset, we could see that Tom’s death deeply affected her. Daisy’s mask had well and truly slipped with her outpouring of emotions.
Although this also seemed to be the case when she confessed her loneliness to Jenny, this was only brought up after Daisy was caught out over a blackmailing plot.
The circumstances surrounding her first interactions with Daniel were more organic, with no manipulative tactics involved. These scenes showcased promising evidence of Daisy’s human side being nurtured.
She appears to have taken a liking to Daniel, but it’s already been teased that Daisy’s calculating side will return as she uses babysitting time with Bertie to post selfies and boost her social media popularity.
Will she form a genuine bond with the little boy and show her softer side, or callously dismiss him as an obstacle for her beau’s attention?
Daisy could be on track to follow in the footsteps of Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford). These days, Tracy has mellowed but it’s common knowledge that if her neighbours cross her in a big way, it’s at their own peril.
This could mean Daisy will meet her match if she hurts Tracy’s adoptive brother Daniel.
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Over the years, Tracy has earned redemption; but whether Daisy can do the same depends on the soap’s vision for her journey.
So is Daisy set to become an iconic mainstay, maintaining her fiery persona as well as a place in the community? Or is Coronation Street about to spring a shock twist on us, sending her down an evil path as a dangeous wrong’un?
All we can do is watch this space.
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