Farwell Becky, a big player who delivered memorable soap action

It was only supposed to last three months. Six years later she was still firing from the lip, Elsie Tanner style.

And now she's gone. No more Becky McDonald, her exit this week from Coronation Street being a classic moment on the cobbles – revenge and comeuppance in fancy frocks – and, as she swanned off to Barbados, a superb product placement for Virgin Atlantic (other carriers are available).

But of course, that wasn't the end. Well, not quite. Last night in Farewell Becky, ITV1 reflected on the life and times of our Becky, played superbly by actress Katherine Kelly, with a recap of her best bits.

Although I did have to look away when she flashed her boobs outside The Kabin.

But there was shoplifting, a punch on the nose, scraps in the Rovers, tussles with an axe round at the Barlows' house, more fights, love scenes that looked like fights, a generous helping of general drunkenness followed by further general fighting.

But, best of all, some of the best lines delivered by one of the best actresses ever to have lived on Coronation Street.

And that is saying something.

Last night's behind-the-scenes programme featured interviews with the actress herself as well as with some of the thesps who have traded blows with her as arch rivals.

And the brilliance behind the Becky character quickly became clear. It lay in the fact that, just as Julie Goodyear had done with her iconic character Bet Lynch, Katherine Kelly had made Becky her own, sourcing her own outlandish outfits for the part and gaining inspiration for her scenes from characters in real life.

And that's what made her so believable, and ultimately loveable. In the way that we can't help but love a bad 'un, no matter what.

Now a confession. I have to admit I'm not a Corrie fan. Well, it's not that I'm not, it's just that in recent years I've chosen not to watch The Street.

It is one subcultural habit too far and one for which I have simply not got enough time between now and when I die (and it's bound to be when a runaway train careers down a bank and wipes out half of Weatherfield, including silly old moi).

Rolling dramas are addictive. And I know – one episode of Neighbours and that was it; ten years later and my life still revolved around dashing home from real life in order to fulfil an appointment with Harold Bishop in the coffee shop.

But after last night's jaw-dropping display, I am sorely tempted to tune in to Corrie all over again.

Yep, Farewell Becky might well have been my "Hello Coronation Street", and now I'm worried that I might wake up in six years' time, thinking: "It was only supposed to be 30 minutes on a Tuesday night. . ."

And it's all because of brilliant Katherine Kelly's brilliant Becky McDonald.

So what next for such a talent? ITV being ITV, they're bound to have written a bespoke little something for her, just as they did with former Corrie barmaid Sarah Lancashire.

This can be a dangerous game. Let's just hope that whatever it is she does next, the programme-makers let her have a hand in developing the character, just as she did with Becky.

Incidentally, for her role of Becky, Kelly has been nominated for best serial drama performance at the upcoming National Television Awards.

I think she might just be in with a shout. Followed, of course, by an argument and a good old punch-up.

Ben Bentley