UPDATE: |Battle of the Coronation Street battleaxes News

Who is the greatest Corrie battleaxe of all time? It’s time to vote for your favourite.

It is, without a doubt, a badge of honour. To be named a battleaxe means you have gumption, conviction, strength of character.

Of course, overbearing and opinionated are other adjectives linked to the moniker. And being a battleaxe won’t always make you popular. But they can handle it.

We’ve compiled a list of Coronation Street’s greatest battleaxes and we want you to choose your favourite.

They’re known for their sharp tongues, wit and intellect. But who is the greatest of all time?

Ena Sharples

Hands clasped together, coat buttoned up and a hairnet plonked on her head, Ena Sharples always insisted: ‘I speak as I find’.

With a permanently furrowed brow and a tongue so sharp ‘she could shave with it’, Ena certainly ruffled a few feathers during her many years on the street.

A woman of religion and high morals, she was often found gossiping over a milk stout in the snug of the Rovers with her pals Millie Cauldwell and Martha Longhurst. She was the original Coronation Street battleaxe. But is she your favourite?

Elsie Tanner

Street siren Elsie might not be a classic battleaxe. After all, she was one of the sexiest women ever to grace the street. But she gets an honourable mention here because of her many, many slanging matches and her withering putdowns.

“You’re getting a bum on you like the town hall extension,” she once casually proferred to a fellow factory girl.

Just take a look at this clip and tell us Elsie doesn’t have the makings of a future battleaxe.

Hilda Ogden

Broom in hand, rollers in her hair and a voice that could cut through even the loudest of roadworks, Hilda is certainly a contender as the all time greatest Corrie battleaxe.

Known for her volume, as Bet once said: “She was an air raid siren, in’t war.”

And as you can see from this confrontation with Bet over a sideboard back in 1974, she took no prisoners.

Bet Lynch

Like Elsie, it’s possible Bet is a little too glamourous to be classed as a true battleaxe. And we all know she was a softy underneath the leopard print, peroxide, lippy and painted nails.

But she was the queen of the withering putdown. And we think her handling of Tanya Polley alone puts her up there as a woman not to be messed with.

Let’s not forget, she ruled Alec with a rod of iron. And as the formidable landlady of the Rovers Return, Bet was a force to be reckoned with.

Vera Duckworth

With her corkscrew perm and thick Leeds accent, Vera never suffered fools gladly.

Whether she was bossing Jack about or booting off with one of the other factory girls, Vera could give them all hell.

Blanche Hunt

Blanche was initially an on/off presence in Didere’s life, appearing fleetingly on the street over the years. But she moved in with her daughter and Ken permanently in 1999 and never looked back.

She quickly became known for her withering put downs and acerbic humour and became a true Corrie icon. She was known for her killer lines – much like the description of Liz McDonald in his clip below.

Evelyn Plummer

With a withering putdown here and a judgemental glance there, Evelyn was described as a ‘monster’ by Maureen Lipman, who played her.

Nobody was safe from her judgement – least of all her grandson Tyrone, who tried his best to stick up for her in the face of often intolerable cruelty.

She was last seen blaming her friend Roy Cropper for the death of her dog Cerberus and hasn’t returned to the street since.

So who is your favourite? You can vote for the greatest Corrie battleaxe in the poll below, or by clicking here and we’ll crown the winner soon.