Tangerine Tina has had her fair share of critics over the years. Guilty m'lud. There were justified rants over the barmy 'Xin and Graham' storyline and her 'young fogey' relationship with Tommy Duckworth. She survived dalliances with David, Jason and long-forgotten Doctor Matt. It's fair to say that Tina hasn't been best-served with fun storylines. For her, life was one long rounds of rows and stand-offs. Which is why she had to go.
Tina was never going to be a stay-at-home, dinner on the table housewife. She would have been more likely to have driven a tank through the home and hurled the dinner at the nearest passer by. Tina wasn't a home-maker or the settling down type. Despite being as bright as a button, there was a horrible inevitability that her life would be a constant shuffling between bar work and shop work. Let's face it, the woman thrived on misery.
In spite of all this though, I've always had a regard for our T. Probably this was partly down to Michelle Keegan's spirited portrayal. Tina was always brassy and feisty and yes, this could be wearing. She allowed herself to be dragged into the cloying world of Rita and the dependent world of Peter. The woman deserved a medal for surviving in a world containing these two - Ronald McDonald in a frock and Uriah Heep.
Tina, even in her most difficult moments, has always been easier to watch than the likes of Tracy or Michelle. No gurning or manic arm-folding for T. A stomping madam with brass curtain rings in her ears, a birds nest hairdo, an appalling flat, appalling taste in men, stroppy barmaid, a good mate to Tyrone, a fearsome foe to Kirsty, a match for David, a miracle for Graham, a notch in the bedpost for Jason, more brazen than Leanne, bolder than Liz - Tina McIntyre - the girl who lost her dad and never really recovered. A tour de force from Michelle Keegan and a character that deserves to be remembered.
I wonder if her coffin will be teak?
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