By Martin Gray @MartGray

To those of us of a certain age, Hilda Ogden was a goddess in a pinny. For 23 years she bestrode the Coronation Street cobbles, a Titan of telly. So it's fitting that two months after the death of her earthly avatar, Jean Alexander, ITV compiled a tribute to both women.

And for the most part, it was a treat, alternating between Hilda's soap story, the parallel biography of Alexander, and comments from Corrie actors and writers, past and present. Classic clips included young and stupid Sally Seddon's heartbreaking dismissal of Hilda's home as a 'dump' after she was kind enough to take her in; a classic bust-up with no-better-than-she-ought-to-be Elsie Tanner; the second honeymoon during which idler hubby Stan asks what her lipstick taste of ('Woman, Stanley. Woman').

With every clip, we drew closer to the one longtime fans knew was coming - the heartbreaking scene in which Hilda, alone at number 13 after the death of her Stanley, opens the package from the hospital containing his personal effects, finds his glasses case, takes out the spectacles... and simply sobs. Even today, I can't watch that moment without weeping, it speaks to something primal. The writers knew Alexander needed no dialogue - she was a superb actress, saying goodbye to longtime acting partner and friend Bernard Youens. She could wring every drop of poignancy from the moment.

No, Jean Alexander needed no words. But the programme makers thought 2016 viewers did, interrupting the scene with interviews, running the testimonies of blameless colleagues over it, playing an 'isn't this sad?' guitar throughout... What would have been the emotional climax of the show, as the history of the characters, skill of the writers and understated power of Alexander come together in a moment of consummate truth, was ruined.

The fumble didn't wreck the show. This was a lovely, affectionate tribute to a character who truly deserved the term 'icon' and the woman who brought her to life. But when the work is this good - and isn't that the point? - it should be allowed to speak for itself.