Coronation Street - Back On The Street

Victor Pendlebury - A Romantic Soul

2011-11-22T23:29:00.004Z

In 1983, when Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) and Victor Pendlebury (Christopher Coll) set out for the Lake District, everything seemed set fair, despite one or two misgivings from Mavis.

Upon return, their views of what had passed were so different. Victor, a true romantic, deemed it a great success; Mavis, a true romantic but only when surrounded by her creature comforts, deemed it a failure.

But what about the owl, THEIR owl, looking down on them one night, Victor asked. Hadn't Mavis felt that the owl wanted them to be together?

"It was raining!" was all Mavis could say.

Sad.

Christopher Coll played Victor Pendlebury, dubbed "The Saddleworth Sage" by Rita Fairclough, in the 1980s.

What If... Coronation Street had 21st Century Style Story-lines In The '60s, '70s and '80s?

2011-11-22T13:31:00.005Z

"That new couple from Mawdsley Street seem nice. She works in't kitchens at Imperial Hotel. He's a dry cleaner by day, serial killer by night."

Imagine if 21st Century-style Corrie story-lines had run rampant in the show's early years, wreaking a trail of explosions, serial killers, dark secrets and ghostly visitations across the first three decades.

Would viewers have switched off in droves, or been desperate for more? Here's how a few TV listing magazine synopsis for our favourite soap may have looked in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s:

1960s:

Myra Booth's marriage is in trouble. She decides to murder Jerry - and the pot dog on the mantelpiece may be the perfect weapon.

Len murders Nellie.

Florrie Lindley has a nervous breakdown and blows up the Corner Shop.

Stan suspects that Alan, Elsie's new boyfriend, is the serial killer.

Evil young builder Ray Langton meets a nasty end when Lucille Hewitt gets on his case.

1970s:

Shock for Emily...

A power cut is the perfect time for a serial killer to strike...

Pulled from the flaming rubble of her maisonette, a dying Valerie Barlow confesses to Emily Bishop that Ernest is the father of the twins.

New arrival Renee Bradshaw admits that Suzie Birchall is her long-lost daughter.

A flying duck ornament becomes a murder weapon.

Where was Ken when the murders took place?

Rita is taken hostage at the Kabin.

1980s:

Eeek - Mavis turns.

Deranged Fred Gee drives Annie Walker into the canal.

As the factory blows up, Mavis murders Derek and Victor, and decides to use the explosion to cover her actions.

Curly buys a gun.

The Claytons beat a hasty retreat before Connie's terrifying secrets can be revealed...

Nasty Alan Bradley comes unstuck when his business is blown up by a deranged ex-girlfriend.

Hilda is comforted by a visit from Stan's ghost.

As Percy tries to find out who sat on his Christmas pudding, he begins to suspect that it might have been a serial killer.

Driven mad by Corner Shop assistant Sally Webster's nasal twang and smug ways, Alf Roberts picks up a tin of pineapple chunks and...

The New Houses - Completed In 1989

2011-11-21T22:08:00.006Z

In Coronation Street, it seemed that the building of the new side of the street began in September 1989 and most of the building work was completed before the end of the decade. We've been exploring that story-line recently, but Ian has recently studied all the relevant episodes and has written to tell us that, in reality, all the building work on that side of the street began and ended in 1989.

I now have all the episodes from August 1989 to January 1990 and have been able to study the building of the new houses, the story-line time frame and the real time frame, bearing in mind that the show was recorded at least three to four weeks in advance. I've read your stuff on here, and would like to add my findings - made whilst studying the episodes concerned this week.

It was a great story because here was the Street undergoing immense change. New Exec Producer David Liddiment had decided to update the show in the summer of 1989 and had travelled around real Coronation Street terrace disticts where he saw modern houses and industrial units springing up beside the old houses. This seemed perfect for Coronation Street, with the show about to go three times a week, allowing much more story-line potential. In the story, the factory and community centre frontages were demolished in September 1989 (in reality, August 1989). That side of the Street was then boarded off and the production team teased us with very occasional glimpses of the new side of the Street going up.

In an episode broadcast on 1 December 1989 (recorded November) we were treated to an aerial view of the site with work in progress. In an episode transmitted on 11 December 1989 (recorded November), we glimpsed the nearly completed salon. In an episode broadcast on 1 January 1990 (recorded November or December 1989) we saw Steve McDonald drive a JCB from what is now the yard in front of the factory unit and garage into the Corner Shop window - and glimpsed part of the frontage of what is now Gail's house. In an episode broadcast on 8 January 1990 (recorded December 1989), Ken Barlow drove up the Street to visit Deirdre and we glimpsed the completed Kabin, waiting to have its windows put in (I think one was already there).

The evidence points to the new side of the Street being built in reality from August to December 1989. In January 1990, teaser shots of the completed houses appeared in various magazines (in the story-line the finishing touches were being made) and in February 1990 Des and Steph Barnes moved in - the first new residents.

Thanks for that, Ian - I've received a few queries about the new houses and all now seems clear. It was a very ambitious project for the Street and I remember enjoying every moment as the girls struggled to get compensation for losing their jobs at the factory, the bulding site lads brawled in the Rovers, Alan Bradley used a job on the site to terrorise Rita and Tina Fowler became involved with labourer Eddie Ramsden. And I love the way we were "teased" with glimpses of what was being built.

A great era for the Street.

1989: The New Side Of The Street

2011-11-20T01:10:00.002Z

Opening shot from 1989 - a wet and misty morning in the street, with building work in full swing.

Chris has written:

When did work start on the new houses in the street? And how did the building work affect the program?

The factory and community centre were demolished in September 1989 in the story-line, Chris. As I wrote elsewhere on this blog recently, the programme was recorded some weeks in advance, so it's safe to assume that the demolition took place in reality at the latest in August and the building work on the new houses, shops and industrial units then began.

Interior daytime scenes in the old terrace then had building site noises as a background, and the site was used to introduce Eddie Ramsden (William Ivory), a worker there who became a love interest for Rovers barmaid Tina Fowler (Michelle Holmes), and as a place for ominous Alan Bradley (Mark Eden) to work and continue to terrorise Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox). On December 1 1989, the police, believing that Alan had killed Rita and buried her body there, dug up the unbuilt-on parts of the site - which may have played host to a shallow grave! These scenes would actually have been recorded in November. In a scene broadcast on 11 December 1989, the salon is glimpsed nearing completion and recognisable as the building it is today. Once again, the episode would have been recorded in November.

Remembering that the show was recorded several weeks in advance, it is interesting to note that the first new residents moved in in February 1990.

The Claytons - Being Boring?

2011-11-19T13:04:00.004Z

Connie Clayton: "Eee, Andrea, don't take on, love. We're not boring. What with Sue and her lack of academic qualifications, me an' me dressmaking, you an' your lovely perm and your dad and his trombone, who could possibly call us boring?"

More About The Pillar Box...

2011-11-17T23:52:00.004Z

Post Office official souvenir cover - introduction of the new style posting box, 31 July, 1980.

We wrote about the poor old Coronation Street pillar box destroyed by a tram in the (then) latest story-line for sensation hungry viewers last year. Replaced with a new style box apparently from Planet Zog, we now discover that it is from Planet 1980s as Postmaster General has written with the details:

The original box from the sixties was a double ring box with the Victorian cipher. I think the box was a replica, possibly fibreglass, I did see a good closeup on youtube. The famous box that was destroyed by the tram was an odds and sods box. It was fitted with a George 5th door on a later Elizabeth 2nd body, made by Carron Company. The present box is known as a K-type, and this particular one is made by Carronade, I just caught a glimpse of the maker's name one day whilst watching. There were five makers through the years of this box, which started in 1980, finished 2000.

Many thanks. So, Coronation Street now has a 1980s-style pillar box, very like the one in Brookside Close way back then.

Lovely.

Betty Driver

2011-10-18T00:42:00.006+01:00

We were deeply saddened to hear of the recent death of Betty Driver - Betty Turpin/Williams in Coronation Street since 1969.

As warm hearted and good natured as the character she played, experienced performer Betty Driver was actually retired from acting and running a pub in Cheshire when Corrie producer HV Kershaw spotted her and asked her to audition for the Street. Betty always recalled with deep gratitude the support given to her by actor Arthur Leslie, the Street's Jack Walker, during her early appearances in the show, and she became firm friends with Jean Alexander - Hilda Ogden. The two ladies would often spend time chatting and making padded coat-hangers for their favourite charity between takes.

My own personal feeling is that Betty could lift a scene simply by bustling into it, and she had that magic quality of seeming to be everyday working class - the sort of person you'd have a giggle with if you accidentally clashed trollies in Tesco's.

The character of Betty Turpin was one of the Street's anchor characters, often just simply around behind the Rovers bar, but she endured her fair share of drama, particularly in the '70s and '80s. She arrived in 1969 as the sister of Corner Shop owner Maggie Clegg. In the early '70s, her husband Cyril was retired from the police force after attacking a criminal (who had been terrorising Betty) with a lead pipe. Cyril died in 1974, and Betty then endured the shame of the revelation that her "nephew", Gordon Clegg, was actually her own son, born out of wedlock during the war. In 1982, Betty was mugged, but her greatest triumph came during that decade when her employer Bet Lynch, recently taken over as Rovers chief, asked Betty to make her hotpot a regular on the Rovers menu. The hotpot, a very occasional feature for some years beforehand, became a legend - and a version actually appeared in real-life supermarkets in recent years.

God bless, Betty - we'll miss you. xx

Richard Hillman, 1982: "You Left The Door Open..."

2011-10-01T05:18:00.004+01:00

Richard Hillman - dead or did he take a Tardis back to 1982 and pretend to be a social worker?

Eeek! That's all we can say having just viewed an episode of Coronation Street from 1982! There were Rita, doin't washing up, when she became aware that somebody was at the front door. Oh no! we thought - Albert Tatlock coming round for a good moan? Annie Walker to tell Reet that Len's drinking was getting beyond a joke and that she really couldn't bear his presence in her establishment any longer? Elsie Tanner ready to have a bitch at her old pal, the woman who had married her long-term romantic interest? Or Mavis Riley, all of a dither after a filling at the dentist? "Ooh, Rita, I shall have to go to bed this afternoon, I can't work in the Kabin, I really can't. My cheek's come out like a golf ball..."

Rita emerged into the hallway, and we flew off the settee in alarm as RICHARD HILLMAN stood there, smiling, and saying something like: "Your door was open..."

ARRGGGHHH!!! Were the far cosier 1980s becoming infiltrated by some of the weirder story-lines of more recent decades? Had Richard Hillman found a Tardis and travelled back to 1982, thus altering the past? What could we expect next? That awful Tony Gordon trying to bump off Phyllis Pearce so that he could have her job in the cafe? Mad Maya seeking to blow Alf's Corner Shop off the face of the planet?

But no, it's OK, the 1980s remain sane (well, at least in Corrie!) the man in Reet's 1982 hallway wasn't Richard Hillman. it was Brian Capron playing social worker Donald Worthington.

Caring social worker Donald Worthington, a role which neatly dovetailed with his role as caring schoolteacher Mr Hopwood in Grange Hill from 1980-1983.

Phew! We'd clean forgotten Mr Worthington. We returned to the settee, all of a tremble, and had to watch four episodes from 1985 featuring the Clayton family to calm our nerves!

So weird to see performers playing bit parts who later went on to play central characters...

Michael Le Vell as Neil Grimshaw, truculent Kabin paperboy of 1981 minus Kev's glamorous 1980s 'tache, was another surprise.

Fags On't Windowsill Quiz - The Answer

2011-09-25T00:21:00.004+01:00

Well, did you guess the correct answer to our "Fags And Matches In't Picture" AKA "Fags On't Windowsill" quiz? Of the e-mails and comments received, nobody did - William Tarmey and Liz Dawn, Julie Goodyear, Michael Le Vell and Jill Summers were the clear winners, but it was actually an unknown member of the group of actors who played the Clayton family in 1985. The United Newspapers photograph was captioned: The Clayton family (L to R) Susan (Jane Hazlegrove), Andrea (Caroline O'Neill), Connie (Susan Brown) and Harry (Johnny Leeze).

1985: Fags & Matches In't Picture...

2011-08-31T01:46:00.006+01:00

Flamin Nora! You're called out on to the Street's exterior set for some publicity photographs, and suddenly find you've nowhere to put your fags and matches (after all, you can't be seen clutching them in't photo). And then you happen upon a handy windowsill.

So, your Silk Cuts and Swan matches are popped down, and there you stand, all fragrant and smoke-free. But, to your chagrin, the fags and matches appear as large as life on't photo anyway - it seems the camera angle was wider than you'd thought...

Can you guess whose windowsill that was, and which 1985 Corrie actor/s are now forever connected with the fags and matches on't windowsill? Was it a single person, duo or group photo? Choose from't followin':

Bill Waddington (Percy Sugden) and Eileen Derbyshire (Emily Bishop).

Julie Goodyear (Bet Lynch).

William Tarmey (Jack Duckworth).

Anne Kirkbride and William Roache (Ken and Deirdre Barlow).

Johnny Leeze (Harry Clayton), Susan Brown (Connie Clayton), Caroline O'Neil (Andrea Clayton) and Jane Hazlegrove (Sue Clayton).

Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin), Helene Palmer (Ida Clough), Lisa Lewis (Shirley Armitage), Liz Dawn (Vera Duckworth) and Lynne Perrie (Ivy Tilsley).

Liz Dawn (Vera Duckworth) and William Tarmey (Jack Duclworth).

Kevin Kennedy (Curly Watts), Nigel Pivaro (Terry Duckworth) and Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster).

Jill Summers (Phyllis Pearce).

We'll let you know the answer next week.

Bill Webster in 1983 BT Ad... He Were Right About That Saddle...

2011-08-21T18:20:00.004+01:00

This much-loved ad from 1983 was part of the "Good Old Yellow Pages" series which also launched JR Hartley of Fly Fishing fame the same year. In this little gem, Peter Armitage, who would make his debut as Bill Webster, father of Kevin (Michael Le Vell) in Coronation Street in 1984, plays a nice Northern Dad who, together with his nice Northern wife, buys his son a bike for his birthday - despite having some reservations about the saddle...

The Shock Of The '80s...

2011-08-10T13:26:00.004+01:00

Deirdre Barlow: "Ooh, Ken, I'm a woman of''t '80s!"

Ken Barlow: "You're a woman of taties, Deirdre? Oh, no! Not sausage and mash again for dinner, is it?!"

Casey takes us to task:

Please, please, please, can't you print warnings and "scroll down if you feel strong enough to see" notices when it comes to pictures featuring 1980's fashions? Rita's humping blue shoulders and Deirdre's terrifying hair have nearly given me heart attacks recently.

Back On The Street replies (sulkily); Well, we LIKE '80s fashion, lovey. It's as good for us today as it's always been. Cheeky cat.

1982: When Annie Walker Met The Queen...

2011-08-06T00:22:00.005+01:00

Flamin' Emma! The Queen? Visiting Coronation Street? Best get your glad rags on, lovey...

I've just been reading Julie Goodyear's fabulous autobiography, Just Julie, and the lady behind our favourite buxom blonde pub barmaid and landlady reveals much about what went on behind the scenes during her years in Coronation Street within its pages.

It's a lovely, lovely read.

My favourite anecdote (it was hard to choose) concerns the wonderful Doris Speed and something that happened in 1982. The new Street exterior set, bigger, better and far more complete than it had ever been before ("At last we had a real street!" said HV Kershaw), was all set for a visit from the Queen...

Julie recalled...

I FIRST met the Queen and Prince Philip in May 1982 when they came to visit the set of Coronation Street. I was wearing Diana and Charles earrings which I'd had made specially. The Duke peered at my earrings and said: "I think I recognise those two."

As the Queen came towards us, Doris Speed turned to me and said in a very loud voice: "Oh dear, isn't her make-up dreadful?" I know the Queen heard and I just wanted to die. At times I wondered whether Doris just forgot herself or did such things on purpose.

Afterwards, I asked her why she had said that. "Don't be silly, dear," she replied. "You must be hearing things!"

Darling Doris - naughty, but nice!

Sadly, Mrs Walker never made it further than Lady Mayoress. But she didn't let that deter her in her endless quest for gracious living.

Coronation Street - 1989: A Pivotal Year...

2011-07-30T12:17:00.000+01:00

Pump Up The Jam...

Flippin' 'eck! 1989! What a year it was! Rita Fairclough was nearly smothered by Alan Bradley, and a tram dominated the end of that saga... but what ELSE happened down Weatherfield way?

Well, one half of the Street disappeared and new buildings rose in its place, courtesy of one Maurice Jones.

Deirdre Barlow (note her squarer framed glasses and nice '80s perm) found out that Ken had been up to naughties with former town hall mole Wendy Crozier. The icy atmosphere at No 1 ruined Tracy's Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Corner Shop suffered a direct hit - from a football, causing the front window to fall out. The McDonald twins, Steve and Andy, were responsible. The Roberts household was already under strain as Alf and Audrey's attempt to buy a new house had fallen through and they'd gone to live in the flat above the shop. Audrey was not pleased. "It's only temporary," wheedled Alf, taking her a nice early morning cuppa. "LIFE'S only temporary!" snapped Audrey.

And for Curly Watts his new job as assistant manager (trainee) at Bettabuys Supermarket was fraught with complications. Manager Reg Holdsworth asked him to write reports on all the staff, and then announced his intention to use them as the basis for making redundancies in January 1990.

Curly was gobsmacked - particularly as his landlady, Vera Duckworth, was on the redundancies list.

There's so much more to write about 1989...

We'll be returning soon.

We've Got Rita's 1980 Dream Kitchen!

2011-07-24T01:16:00.004+01:00

1980 - and Rita tells Len where to get off.

Judging by various publicity photographs I've seen, Coronation Street now has the worst interior decorating schemes it's ever had. Not sure why. A lot of them don't look like anything around my own rather common housing estate. "It's 1970s!" screech various nerdy types, almost peeing themselves with excitement. But, of course, that's not true. Look back at the Street in the 1970s and nowhere was as bad as today, and there are few similarities! And anyway, sorry '70s nerdy types, but "1970s" decor was usually 1960s, all those lovely gaudy wallpapers, etc, were actually a product of - or inspired by - the 1960s (probably designed by hippies on bad "trips" by the look of them) - and tarried on through the '70s and into the early 1980s.

In the photograph above, we see Rita Fairclough telling husband Len where to get off in 1980. No 9 was a shambles, apart from a spot of wallpapering in the back room, Len hadn't touched it since years before they were married, and Rita wanted different.

Well, lovey, there were 'ell to pay. Rita left home, Len clobbered her one, then she fled to Blackpool to work in a laundrette and live with her Uncle Harry. In the end, Harry told Len where she was, and Rita finally returned home.

To please Rita, Len made changes at No 9 - second hand central heating, new wallpaper (probably chosen by Rita and absolutely skank, even though this was 1980) and new kitchen units. Rita was thrilled by the kitchen units, and so were me and my Mrs when we re-watched the episode in which Len and Eddie Yeats fitted them recently. They're exactly the same as ours!

Rita's fake wood effect, self assembly units, with the lovely hard wearing work surface, are precisely the same design as the ones still doing service in our kitchen today! As for the rest of our house, our front room is trapped in the 1980s (lovely pastel blue walls, and lots of black furniture, including a glorious black up-lighter), our hall is trapped in the 1980s (a very pretty pink), our bedroom is a style we call "near derelict" (one day we'll decorate). It's not that we created a mostly 1980s style house on purpose. We just somehow got stuck taste-wise circa 1987 and we're comfortable with the look and feel of the place.

The kitchen has not been touched by us (apart from re-painting it a few times) since we moved in, it's not our choice. The kitchen units are flanked by glorious brown and cream flowery tiles, giving the room more of a late 1960s/1970s/early 1980s effect than the mainstream '80s feel elsewhere, and we didn't like it much. The house was built in 1980, so it's obviously all original.

But now we've witnessed Rita's delight, we're thrilled with it. She always did have style, our Reet.

Me and the Mrs went dancing round the kitchen in a frenzy of merriment as soon as we'd viewed the episode. Even better, we think Rita's units did long service with the Duckworths after they moved into No 9 in 1983.

We're chuffed to little mint balls!

Just imagine, us serving up our cheese and spud pie on our trendy Fairclough/Duckworth style work surface, in our trendy Fairclough/Duckworth style kitchen.

Viewing by appointment only.

Speak Easy - June 2011

2011-06-12T21:54:00.006+01:00

Above: Mrs Connie Clayton, official portrait; text below - Mrs Connie Clayton having a "natter" in the pork butchers, 1985:

"So, we've just moved into this house in Coronation Street. To be honest, I'm not that keen, but Harry likes it. Mind you, he'd settle anywhere. Seems a bit rough to me, this district, and I'm worried about Sue. She's pretty impressionable. I'm glad our Andrea's got her head screwed on - she'll be all right. Mind you, she were saying last night that she'd like a computer to help her with her studies. A computer! How daft can you get? Harry says we must look to't future. Apparently, Ernie Wise made the first mobile phone call in England during January just gone. 'We'll all have them in twenty-five years or so,' says Harry. 'And there'll be serial killers in this street and life round here'll be like a bad soap opera!' I said. He does talk wet - watches too much Tomorrow's World... Anyway, what were I sayin'? Oh aye, No 11. Ooh, you should see the outside cludgie - disgustin' in't word for it..."

And so from the thoughts of Connie Clayton, played by Susan Brown, in 1985, we pass to your questions and opinions in 2011.

Jamie asks:

Why did Philip Lowrie leave Corrie in 1968?

Reports at the time indicate that he was frustrated with the character of Dennis Tanner, who was used a great deal to comic effect in the story-lines. Mr Lowrie felt that Dennis was not being allowed to grow up, but was pleased with Dennis's final story-line in which he finally married, despite some opposition from his mother, Elsie.

Paula asks:

There was a young blonde actress around in the soaps in the early 1980s. I believe she appeared in the Southern TV soap "Together" and in Corrie, very briefly. I can picture her very clearly, but can you give me a name?

Gina Maher, Paula - she played Debbie Nuttall in The Street, daughter of Eunice Nuttall/Gee.

Albert writes:

A friend of mine says that Mavis Riley received anonymous phone calls in one plot, and had a nervous breakdown. Is this true?

Yes, and no, Albert. Mavis suffered a series of strange phone calls in February 1980, but she didn't have a nervous breakdown over them. The story-line was in comic vein and saw Eddie Yeats being mistakenly arrested as the caller. The identity of the true caller was never discovered, but Mavis had other fish to fry at the time and managed to put the incident behind her without resorting to a breakdown.

Coffee asks:

Why is this blog updated so rarely?

Because I'm working elsewhere, Coffee. I do update whenever possible though. Thanks for dropping in.

Elsie Tanner's Ending....

2011-05-17T00:14:00.005+01:00

The e-mails have been coming thick and fast, all asking the same thing: what do we here at Back On The Street make of Philip Lowrie's return to the show as Dennis Tanner? Well, although we don't watch, good luck to him. Dennis is an all-time favourite Coronation Street character, and one of the originals.

We hope the writers are good to the character and that he doesn't encounter any horrid explosions or nasty serial killers.

Be warned, Dennis lad, the Street's changed a lot since your day...

A couple of people have also asked what we make of the ending of Elsie Tanner, related by Dennis to Rita Sullivan.

Love it.

Straight out of an old Hollywood movie, and very Elsie, who mixed melodrama with margarine and crumbs on't table cloth in a way no other character ever did - or has since.

A dramatic accident - Elsie going over the cliff in a red sports car, aged eighty-one, hand in hand with the love of her life, for whom she had searched for many years, lost, found, lost and then finally, in late 1983, found again.

It's infinitely preferable to the ending offered in the VHS release The Life And Loves Of Elsie Tanner, which we are now delighted to lay to rest.

Percy Sugden - A Groundbreaking Character...

2011-04-25T13:41:00.004+01:00

1987 - Percy pokes his nose into Deirdre's business.

It just occurred to me, toying with me rubber duck in the bath this morning, that Percy Sugden, who arrived at the Coronation Street community centre in 1983, was actually quite a groundbreaking character.

Percy, played by Bill Waddington, is often written off as simply being a replacement for the dearly loved Albert Tatlock (although the two characters overlapped) and he definitely continued the "old soldier" role, although he was Second rather than First World War.

But as we've pointed out elsewhere, Percy wasn't Albert. Whilst Albert was chiefly known for moaning and miserliness, Percy was a man of action - he saw himself as a righter of wrongs, and was constantly sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

Percy was, I believe, Corrie's first male "sticky beak" character, forming something of a bridge in older male characterisations between grumpy Albert and nosey Norris.

Can you think of any other habitually nosey male Corrie character before our Mr Sugden?

If not, caps off to Percy!

Back On The Street - On The Tour....

2011-03-07T18:11:00.004Z

Found some more Granada TV Studios Tour pics the other day...

It was the early 1990s, and Bet Gilroy was doing her lone landlady bit at The Rovers,
whilst Alf Roberts had briefly regained control of the Corner Shop...

The new side of the Street was in fine form, and the viaduct was (thankfully) silent...

I was thinking the other day about 1989 and the building of the new houses and the Duckworths' stone cladding. Was it really a good year for the Street's architecture, I wondered?

Mind you, at least 1989 didn't go beggaring about with the (now) late, lamented pillar box! Looking at the newly rebuilt Street, post-tram crash, I cannot see any noticeable differences to the old. Although Producer Phil Collinson said that Weatherfield would never be the same again, the only real difference I can spot is that darned pillar box!

Whose Living Room Is This?

2011-03-07T16:12:00.003Z

Several thousand years ago, we asked you, our readers, to identify a character's dinner as seen in a 1979 episode of The Street. That wasn't beyond you. So, today, we're going to ask you to identify a Street living room from the past. This pic dates back to the early 1990s, when I visited the Street a few times on the Granada Studios Tour, and the room was quite trendy at the time. Many of the trends represented were actually continuing from the 1980s.

The figure with the blanked out face is me - it's for the best, I know you all relish your sleep.

There's an absolutely mega-clue as to the location of this room... take a look, go to the comments, and let me know!

Speak Easy - February...

2011-02-25T22:59:00.005Z

In one of her despondent moods, Mavis Riley came across a book called 1001 Ways To Fill Your Spare Time in The Kabin library. "None of them work!" she sighed. But that was 1976, and things are very different today. So, Mavis, if you fancy writing to Back On The Street from your home in the glorious Lake District and letting us know how you're getting on, we'd be very glad to hear from you. And it would be a great way for you to fill the odd minute or two!

All comments and ponderings welcome here at the Speak Easy!

And so, here we go...

Jane writes:

Your stuff about the Corrie pillar box was genius - just a pleasure to read. You're very funny, but obviously know your stuff. Watch out, Daran Little!

LOL - Mr L has watched every episode of the show, acted as archivist and written episodes. We just like looking back in our own way and sifting through old episodes and newspaper articles. We do promise accuracy though, in fact we're downright pedantic!!

Sara writes:

Loved your article about the teens in the show. I remember an episode in the '70s when Gail Potter made Mike Baldwin feel old by mentioning Stevie Wonder. "Stevie WHO?!!" said Mike. But Stevie had his first hit in the late 1960s, so you would of thought Mike would of known about him!

I've got that episode, and yes, it was funny. The Street being terribly modern in the late 1970s... never mind the Buzzcocks - let alone the Sex Pistols!

James writes:

Don't you think Phyllis Pearce was a fruitcake?

Eccentric and highly colourful she was! But there was a reality about her. She hadn't aged mentally - very much the oldest swinger in town - but in the back of her mind lurked the knowledge that she was no spring chicken any longer. She was very grateful to Martin Platt when he was nice about the dress she chosen for a dance in the late 1980s, after Gail Tilsley had made a good natured joke about what Phyllis SHOULD be wearing at her age, and she was terribly insecure about her job at the cafe. It gave her something to do, a place out there in the community, but she knew her age was against her, that the job might be taken from her and given to somebody younger, and that she stood zilch chance of getting another.

All flirty and cheerful on the surface, relentless in her pursuit of Percy Sugden, underneath it all Phyllis knew she was far from being sweet sixteen. I admired her courage - and zest for life.

That's it for now, folks - keep 'em coming. I'm off for a little lay down and a spot of Classic FM...

Name That Cliffhanger 2 - The Answer!

2011-02-22T13:54:00.009Z

Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) thought that Fred Gee (Fred Feast) was a very nice man. Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox) was quite unmoved.

Thanks so much to those participated in our latest Name That Cliffhanger challenge. Only one right answer this time - and congratulations to Coronation Street Corner , who wrote:

Am I right in saying that she pretended he was her boyfriend because Fred Gee was pestering her to go out with him - she kissed him when Fred came to the shop to check up on her. What would be interesting if you could evaluate the Fred/Rita relationship in a blog post. Fred was one of many that held a torch for our Rita!

Absolutely correct answer, and an interesting idea for a future blog post. Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Had Rita been drinking? Was she not responsible for her own actions?

Well, knowing how our Reet liked to nip in The Rovers at lunchtimes, she probably had BEEN drinking, but that didn't contribute to her actions in this case!

Greg wrote:

1976 - the year before Rita married Len - so I wonder if she was kissing Derek to make Len jealous? Mavis was probably in on it.

Interesting scenario, Greg, but not the right one!

Cerys wrote:

Mavis was sick of Derek and asked Rita to take him off her hands. However, Rita's overtures made Derek realise that he loved Mavis.

Another interesting scenario - have you ever thought about taking up soap scriptwriting?!

The full, unexpurgated truth, is below.

At that time in 1976, Fred Gee was new to the permanent cast, and the lazy, randy, ogling Fred of the late 1970s and early 1980s had yet to emerge.

This was Fred's first venture into the romantic arena since losing his wife, Edna, in the warehouse fire the previous year.

He was completely smitten by Rita, took her a pot plant ("Keep blooming," he told her), and invited her to a big band concert.

Rita was horrified and took the coward's way out - telling Fred she already had a boyfriend.

Fred, however, did not give up, and called at The Kabin just to make sure Rita's sweetheart turned up for their date, ready to whisk her off to the big band concert if not.

Derek's arrival at that point, with a message for Mavis, was a gift from the gods for Rita. Fred didn't know him, and she swooped on him, giving him a big kiss and greeting him as her boyfriend.

Fred was crestfallen, telling Derek he was a lucky man - and to look after Rita.

Rita couldn't resist teasing Derek after Fred had left the shop, with her "just ask and it shall be yours!" comment.

Of course, it all came out - and Mavis was furious, telling Rita she couldn't keep her hands off any thing in trousers. She also gave Derek his marching orders.

Rita managed to win Mavis round, and engineered a meeting between her and Derek in The Rovers. So, the relationship which would culminate in marriage in 1988 was back on track.

Meanwhile, Fred was hurt to discover the truth about Rita's fella, and told her there had been no need to make a fool of him.

And Rita was left feeling rather shabby.

Renee Bradshaw - Not What She Seemed...

2011-02-21T13:18:00.007Z

Renee Bradshaw (Madge Hindle) breezed into Coronation Street in 1976.

Her arrival was foreshadowed by her brother Terry (Bob Mason), who warned Ray Langton (Neville Buswell) that Renee would eat him on a cream cracker!

Bit of a tyrant, our Reen. Terry was clearly in awe of her.

She was clearly an astute businesswoman, ousting tenants Gail Potter (Helen Worth) and Tricia Hopkins (Kathy Jones) when she took over the Corner Shop, and announcing plans for an off-licence - which brought her into conflict with Rovers landlady Annie Walker (Doris Speed).

Renee was successful in her application for an off-licence, and settled down to run the shop and look after Terry.

She wasn't as bad as she was painted. In fact, quite soon, viewers grew to like Renee, famous for standing behind the Corner Shop counter and saying: "Yer what?!!" on hearing the latest daft spoutings of Eddie Yeats (Geoffrey Hughes) or the latest piece of hot gossip.

Terry left at the end of 1976, rebuffed by Gail Potter, a girl he harboured romantic notions about, and unable to find work in the area having been laid off by Fairclough and Langton.

Renee retained her excellent business sense, refusing to let Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) move into the Corner Shop flat when she couldn't afford the rent Renee was asking, but changing her mind when Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) secretly offered to subsidise Bet.

Having been dropped by her sailor boyfriend, Renee began seeing Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley) and a romance developed which ended in marriage in 1978.

Coronation Street producer Bill Podmore later described the marriage as "rather humdrum" - which it undoubtedly was, and so, in the summer of 1980, Renee and Alf seemed set to go off and run a sub-post office at Grange-Over-Sands.

Unfortunately, Renee was killed by a lorry whilst out on a driving lesson with Alf.

Alf inherited the Corner Shop, and decided to stay on.

Madge Hindle said of the production team's early vision of Renee:

"I think they wanted somebody to be strong and argumentative like Ena Sharples. But unfortunately you can't do that in a shop because people won't come in."

And so Renee lost her fiesty side.

However, Madge Hindle, an accomplished actress, managed to invest the character with a likeable warmth and many viewers (including me) were sorry to see her go in 1980.

For me personally, the character is a favourite Street memory.

Name That Cliffhanger - 2

2011-02-20T16:40:00.009Z

In our second Name That Cliffhanger session, we've headed back to 1976 and The Kabin (then based at 14 Rosamund Street). Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox) and Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) may have got on each other's nerves at times, but they were the best of friends really - neither would ever do anything to hurt the other.

Or would they?

Witness the scene above - Rita greeting Mavis's boyfriend, Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) with a passionate kiss...

Worse still, Mavis was out - having a drink at The Rovers at the time!

At the double doors leading up to her flat, Rita said:

"Derek, just ask and it shall be yours!"

Derek replied nervously: "What?"

Rita smiled, saucily: "Anything!"

And the scene faded to the closing credits.

Was Rita really out to steal the boyfriend of her best pal Mavis?

Does anybody know the answer out there?

1989: Trailer For New Coronation Street Omnibus Edition...

2011-02-18T19:15:00.004Z

Alf Roberts seems really excited about opening the Corner Shop on a Sunday... but he isn't really! It's early 1989 and the pics above are screen grabs from a trailer for the (then) brand new Coronation Street omnibus edition!

By the magic of YouTube, see it below!

The Coronation Street Pillar Box - Another Casualty Of The Tram Crash?

2011-02-18T02:03:00.014Z

Chewy has written:

I reckoned you'd find this of interest, they've got a new postbox in the show now (after they lost the old one) was the old one there since the start or was it knocked over in the train crash?

Here's a pic of the new one

Love the blog though, even though it cuts off the year I was born in :D

Glad you like the blog. Thanks for writing.

Hmmm... interesting question...

Well, of course, Coronation Street had a pillar box outside the Corner Shop since Day One, and I thought it might be rather nice to take this opportunity to look at the highs and lows of its life on that draughty old corner, and indeed ask the question: "Was it always the same box?"

And did the original box survive the train crash of 1967?

The screen grab recently sent to us by Sky Clearbrook of Ida Barlow's funeral in 1961, clearly shows our old pal the pillar box, standing respectfully behind Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge).

The tragic train crash of 1967 - and the pillar box has been knocked over - just follow my clumsy pink arrow! Oh, no! It does not appear to be damaged, however.

Look out for a glimpse of the fallen pillar box on this YouTube footage of the train crash (from about 0.44 in).

Of course, the pillar box was not always present in the Street from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the era of the first outdoor set. Well, even pillar boxes need a break occasionally!

No, seriously, the pillar box was removed whenever filming was completed as the set was often visited by vandals and the box could have been damaged or pinched.

In the excitement at the end of the ITV strike in 1979, the Corrie production team appear to have forgotten to put the pillar box in place before recording Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) and Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) welcoming us back to Weatherfield. The box-less 1981 picture (on the right) was taken on a non-filming day.

"Morning Ma'am!" The pillar box meets the Queen in 1982, and is immortalised on a mug in 1985. Ironically, later that year the shop changed dramatically, retaining its "Corner Shop" title, but also becoming "Alf's Mini Market" - with a drastically modernised frontage.

From the building of the 1982 outdoor set onwards, the pillar box appears to have been a permanent, immovable feature.

A pillar box through the decades - with Ken Barlow (William Roache), Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) and Len Fairclough in the 1970s; with Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy) and Shirley Armitage (Lisa Lewis) in the 1980s; and with me in the 1990s. I posted some postcards to friends and relatives in that box whilst on the Granada TV Studios Tour, and they were received with the postmark: "Posted In Coronation Street"!

Note that the pillar box in the pics above is actually two pillar boxes! The design of the box seen in the 1970s photograph appears to be the same as the one in the 1961 funeral cortege screen grab. The 1980s/1990s/2000s pillar box is slightly different to the earlier model. Take a close look and compare the two!

There may actually have been other models used over the years but, from the evidence available to me, I can say that the box incorporated into the latest Coronation Street exterior set when it was built in 1982, looks the same as the box on duty outside the Corner Shop until the recent disaster.

Note that the box in the 1970s photo is positioned some way from its original early 1960s position just outside the shop and is much closer to the viaduct. This move would appear to have taken place when the new outdoor lot was established in the late 1960s. The box seen in the 1980s and 1990s is back in its original early 1960s position just outside the Corner Shop.

Eek! The Corner Shop, the pillar box and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) are aghast as a tram crashes off the viaduct and heads straight for the shop. Molly, highly sensible as always, heads back into the shop. But, according to the screen grab on the right, the pillar box appears to have left the scene before the tram reaches its location.

Rather than being annihilated by the tram, I, being a whimsical little beggar, like to think that the old faithful pillar box skipped the country for a well-earned retirement and is, even as I write, swigging back the gin and tonics on a lovely beach in Portugal with Elsie Tanner, whilst both reflect on the good old days.

Okay, that's unlikely I know! But then so is a hammer murder, an explosion and a tram crash all in one night - and as for the ghost of Vera Duckworth...

UPDATE

Oh dear, for all my fanciful longings, having just viewed the tram crash scenes and taken some screen caps, I must face facts - the pillar box was destroyed.

Oh well...

Ken And Deirdre - Happier Times...

2011-02-17T02:39:00.005Z

Bill has written:

I've just watched the first on-line Corrie episode in the 'Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories' saga and I thought it was funny and at the same time sad because the couple don't seem close at all and I was thinking about their first wedding in 1981 and how optimistic they were. What do you think? And do you have a photo of Ken and Deirdre in happier times? I feel quite concerned for them!

I saw it, Bill, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There's probably some affection underneath! I loved the scenario because it reminded me of Corrie in the good old days - a lovely, character-led scene, without an explosion or murder in sight!

I've posted a photo of Ken and Deirdre in 1988. This was the "January" pic in the 1989 Coronation Street calendar, and is from my treasured copy, signed by the cast.

Sorry, William Roache's autograph is missing because I couldn't scan the whole pic on my minute scanner! As you can see, Deirdre's beauty regime was different then - a lovely '80s shaggy perm - and note that her glasses had altered from the thick plastic-framed pair she originally wore. The pair in the pic are thinner framed, squarer, and if anything bigger than ever! But then, in the 1980s, everything was bigger!

Of course, in 1989, Deirdre went in for a brillo pad perm, which didn't really suit her.

But never mind. 1989 also brought us Sky TV, and, although it took some time for it to take off, Deirdre's 21st Century nights in front of the "soothing" shopping channel were assured.

I never thought the marriage would work - academic Ken and down-to-earth Corner Shop assistant Deirdre seemed a very unlikely combination to me back in 1981.

And, of course, it hasn't really worked.

But, although mismatched, they're still together.

I know several real life couples like that!

Norma Ford - Looking Retro In The 1970s...

2011-02-17T01:14:00.005Z

Maggie Clegg (Irene Sutcliffe) and Norma Ford (Diana Davies) share a smile at the Corner Shop - probably over Norma's out-dated fashion sense. Norma went even more retro at Christmas 1972 for the Rovers 1940s Show, teaming up with Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) and Betty Turpin (Betty Driver) to sing Apple Blossom Time.

Actress Diana Davies revealed how her dress sense as the Street's Norma Ford in the early 1970s was actually out-of-date at that time in a 1987 interview - and earned her the nickname "Di the Thigh":

"I used to play shop assistant Norma Ford in Coronation Street. Norma was a bit behind the times so she used to wear mini skirts and hot pants, even though they were out of fashion.

"And I've got long legs - hence the name."

Diana inherited Paula Wilcox's wardrobe from the 1970 to 1971 comedy series The Lovers - so Norma, who made her debut in The Street in 1972, looked rather late 1960s. Mind you, with flared trousers and quite a lot of '60s hippie chic overshadowing the fashions of the 1970s, she didn't look too bad!

Norma wasn't alone. I mean, take a peep at Gail in the late 1970s: she sometimes looked as if Punk (and indeed at times the whole of the 1970s) hadn't happened. That dreadful coat she used to wear - so 1968, darling!

Gail Potter (Helen Worth) sees the Faircloughs off on their honeymoon in 1977. Ever heard of Punk, darlin'?! Study old magazine fashion articles from 1968 to 1973 and spot the Gails!

Terry Duckworth, supposedly street wise bloke-about-town in the 1980s, was often so out of date he looked like a right wally!

A related point is that nobody could call most of the Street's youngsters' tastes in music exactly cutting edge in the 1970s or 1980s either.

Dragged round various fashion shops by my older cousin, Sue, in the 1970s, I can vouch for the fact that the music played was current chart toppers. In The Western Front, Mike Baldwin's shop, staffed by Gail and Suzie, the music was horrendously out of date - late 1960s or early Roxy Music - and the music Gail and Suzie played at parties when Elsie was away was either yonks old or '70s '50s retro.

When Sally Webster, throwing a party at No 13 at the end of 1987, came up the hall warbling away to Shakin' Stevens' Lipstick, Powder and Paint, I nearly choked on me savoury rice and turkey sausages. Manchester was the city of Madchester at the time! Surely we could have at least had Pump Up The Volume?

All was explained in 1989, when Percy Sugden, ranting about late 1980s dance venues and "Acid Drops" (Acid House), described it as sounding like a ship's boiler house.

Kevin said he didn't know - he'd never been anywhere like that.

Good grief! Percy knew more about it than Kev!

Maybe Jenny Bradley listened? She kept her musical tastes to herself, with her trendy personal stereo, so it was hard to know just what she was listening to, but she did tell Rita that although her taste in music was eclectic, she didn't like 1970s!

I seem to remember that Sharon Gaskell was quite "with it" for fashion and music trends in the early 1980s, and when Curly Watts looked after Shirley Armitage's little sister in the flat over the Corner Shop, later in the decade, her friend turned up and brought her "blaster" (ghetto blaster) with her, and we actually heard some Hip Hop and saw some body popping!

My flabber was well and truly gasted!!

So, back to the main theme, clothes fashion-sense. Who scores honours as up-to-date young and trendy geezers and geezettes in our grotty backstreet of the 1970s and 1980s?

Well, for the 1970s it must be Suzie Birchall - beautifully cynical - she actually looked like a hard-faced '70s baggage - and managed to progress fashion-wise into the 1980s upon her return in 1983, actually looking like a hard-faced '80s baggage.

Of course, there was more to her than that. She was a gloriously complex character for one so young.

We love ya, Suz!

For the 1980s, it has to be Kevin and Sally Webster. I had a bouffant mullet and 'tache just like Kev's from around 1983 to around 1986, so it has to be deemed wonderful, and Sally's grasp of '80s female fashions - bulldog clips, shoulder pads, Minnie Mouse hair ribbons and crinkly perms - was second to none. TV critic Hilary Kingsley described her in 1988 as always looking: "young, fresh and fashionable."

Good on ya, Sal!

Hard to suppress a snigger with the benefit of hindsight, isn't it?

Mind you, seeing so many 1980s fashions back on the streets over the last five years or so, I do feel an occasional urge to adopt my old Miami Vice style...

I've still got that neon blue shoulder-padded jacket and cerise mesh vest stashed away...

1988 - Emily Bishop - Nosy Parker?!

2011-02-16T00:49:00.015Z

A chance remark by Emily Bishop set this story rolling. Trying to sleep in the front bedroom of No 3, Coronation Street, she was sometimes disturbed by next door neighbour Don Brennan, arriving home in his taxi in the early hours of the morning. The sound of the car engine and the slamming of the car door often drew her from her slumbers.

It was never a good idea to say anything much at all about anything to Percy Sugden, Emily's new lodger at No 3. Especially when it came to problems. But when Emily let slip her night time difficulties in passing, he immediately set out to remedy the situation.

Percy had often noticed that Don's parked taxi overlapped from the space outside his own house into Emily's parking space, and so he immediately painted "NO PARKING" on the pavement, with two lines to mark out No 3's parking space.

On hearing of the problem he was causing, Don was sympathetic, and promised Emily he'd be quieter.

He and Ivy were, however, both annoyed and amused to see Percy's pavement etching, and Don said he'd get his own back...

The next morning, Emily emerged from No 3 to find a gaggle of factory girls outside, all laughing at the pavement! Percy's "NO PARKING" had been crudely altered to "NOSY PARKER". Emily was furious. She hadn't even been aware that Percy had daubed the pavement in the first place. She called him outside. "We've been vandalised!" squawked Percy.

Emily insisted that Percy removed the offensive lettering from her pavement immediately. Percy was, as always, sympathetic - and, in fact, quite outraged on Emily's behalf: "I can understand you being upset. There's no truth in this at all. You're no nosy parker, not in my book - and if anybody ever said you were..."

Emily could hardly believe her ears: "This is not aimed at me, Mr Sugden - it's aimed at you!"

Percy was deeply saddened. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered the bizarre female tendency to delude themselves when it came to any unpleasantness, but still, he'd thought better of Mrs Bishop.

However, he remained gallant: "I wouldn't think so, no, but if that's the way you want to think about it, Mrs Bishop, so be it."

Emily told Percy that she was going to work, that she wanted to see the pavement clean when she returned, and that she wanted no reprisals carried out against Don Brennan or anybody else Percy suspected of committing the deed. She would brook no argument!

As it happened, Don wasn't involved in the pavement daubing exercise. And if Percy had glanced down the street as Mrs Bishop stalked off across the road to Baldwin's factory, he might have gained more than a small clue as to who the miscreant actually was.

As Jack Duckworth later confessed to Gloria Todd, it was him.

He'd nipped out in his "jim jams" early that morning.

It had been too good to resist.

Percy never did catch the culprit.

And he was greatly disappointed to discover the attitude taken by Mavis Riley, apparently Mrs Bishop's best friend, who seemed completely unruffled and deluded regarding this outrageous slur against her.

Like Emily, Mavis told Percy that she believed the "NOSY PARKER" slogan referred to him!

Women!

You wouldn't credit it, would you?

Helene Palmer

2011-01-17T20:42:00.003Z

Helene Palmer as Ida Clough in 1985.

I was saddened to hear of the recent death of Helene Palmer, Baldwin's factory machinist Ida Clough from 1978 to 1988, and for a brief stint in the 1990s. Ida was a great favourite of mine - she said things like "pound to a pig puddin'" and was very believable. Below, I've reposted a Back On The Street article about Ida from last year.

My sympathy to all Helene Palmer's family and friends.

From Back On The Street, 3/10/2010

Ida Clough - Unsung Heroine Of The Street

Looking through my newspaper collection this morning, I was very happy to find the above photograph of Helene Palmer - the Street's Ida Clough from 1978 to 1988 - and for several years in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Ida was one of my favourite Street characters "back in the day". She didn't follow the route of her two colleagues at Baldwin's sweat shop, Ivy Tilsley (Lynne Perrie) and Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) by eventually moving into the Street, which I thought was a shame, but nevertheless Ida was excellent.

And so real. I could just imagine her in the queue at my local pork butcher's, or popping into my local to meet her pals before going on to bingo.

Ida was the mother of Bernard (Jeffrey Longmore) - something of a gormless puddin' - and the beautifully cartoonish Muriel (Angela Catherall), I'm sure the Cloughs would have made their mark as Street residents.

Ida/Helene newspaper and magazine articles are few and far between, so I was especially pleased to find the one featured here, in the Sunday People, September 4, 1983.

Helene Palmer had been successfully dieting, and so the People decided to give her a glam makeover to celebrate.

"Even Mike Baldwin wouldn't recognise me now!" said Helene.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T00:22:00.005Z

Here's Curly Watts, Terry Duckworth and Kevin Webster (with '80s 'tache and bouffant mullet) having a ripping Rovers Christmas in 1985.

I'm signing off for the Christmas period (some of us are working, sadly!), but I'll be back very soon with all I've promised in previous posts and more about bay windows, Phyllis's love for Percy, Bobby the cat, Annie's glorious pretensions, Alf's completely un-destroyed Corner Shop and anything else that might be of interest to fans of old Corrie.

Thanks to everybody who drops in here and for all the e-mails and comments. To all those celebrating, I wish you a very happy Christmas!

Ida Barlow, Ena Sharples, Elsie Tanner And More About The Bay Windows...

2010-12-23T22:28:00.008Z

Sky Clearbrook has been in touch again about the issue of bay windows in early Corrie. Were they joined in pairs (apart from Albert's) or single? We know that originally they were joined - see here. But Sky has sent the screen cap of Ida Barlow's 1961 funeral to illustrate the point he is making.

I know it doesn't conclusively prove my point (I'll have to trawl through some of those old episodes to source some screen grabs), but I just know there some examples to support my argument. I believe this funeral scene is indoors - the cobbles and pavement are painted on the studio floor by the looks of it. Having said that, the fact they've got it raining in this scene is a harder one to explain away, but either they're pouring water indoors or they're super-imposing another piece of film with rain!

Fascinating, Sky! And the pillar box looks wet, doesn't it? I suppose the set was joggled around at times in the early days, but at the time of Ena and Elsie's classic poison pen confrontation in 1961, the bay windows were still joined, as they were on 9 December 1960 for the very first episode (although establishing shots, in reality Archie Street, showed single bays). Albert's disappearing bay window I think occurred at some point during the first thirteen episodes, in a scene involving Harry Hewitt and Concepta Riley. There suddenly seemed to be an alley beside the Rovers!

See Ena, Elsie and the 1961 joined bay windows below in a classic clip from YouTube.

Coronation Street - Joined Up Bay Windows In 1960...

2010-12-22T23:14:00.005Z

Recently we featured this lovely drawing by the Street's original designer, Denis Parkin, which featured on the Street cast's Christmas card in 1961. The pic shows the Street, complete with Corner Shop, the Glad Tidings Mission Hall and Elliston's Raincoat Factory. In the original blog post I wrote:

Note that the bay windows in this early sketch are not joined together in pairs, and echo the architecture of Archie Street, which provided the rough template for the Street's terrace. The reason that the windows were joined in the show was because of lack of space on the original exterior set, which was built in the studio.

Sky Clearbrook, an old and valued friend of this blog, has written:

Andy, this is a superb find. Nice to get a glimpse of both sides of the street - especially the walls of the factory.

Full bay windows were a feature of the early version of the indoor set (eg as seen at Ida Barlow's funeral cortege). I think this version of the set was condensed to form joined windows some time in 1962.

Great to hear from you, Sky - I've missed ya! Actually, photographs of the original Street set before the first scene was shot in 1960 show that the windows were joined from the very first. There's one of these in HV Kershaw's book, "The Street Where I Live", taken whilst the little girls in the very first scene outside the Corner Shop were receiving last minute instructions (see below). I think that Ida's funeral scene was a piece of location filming - perhaps in Archie Street. All the best for Christmas and 2011, matey, keep in touch!

Caption from HV Kershaw's book, "The Street Where I Live" (1981): A historic photograph: three little girls receive their last instructions from the floor manager before Coronation Street's very first shot.

Hilda Ogden And Eddie Yeats - Painful Carols In 1981...

2010-12-20T16:44:00.003Z

Much-loved Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander) had TV reviewer Hilary Kingsley pleading for mercy in December 1981:

I know Jean Alexander's Hilda Ogden is one of TV's great institutions. But please, Coronation Street scriptwriters, don't let her sing. My eardrums are only just recovering from her carol duet with Eddie on Wednesday.

Personally, we thought it were lovely, chuck.

1982: "At Last We Had A Real Street"

2010-12-14T22:07:00.000Z

Daily Mirror, 22/2/1982 - Hilda (Jean Alexander) takes a look at Number 13 as work on the new exterior set progresses.

The 5th of May 1982 saw the Queen visiting the new exterior set of Coronation Street with the Duke of Edinburgh. Work had begun on the set in the November of 1981, and the new set was an impressive sight to behold - making the old exterior facade look positively ridiculous.

An invitation to the 1982 Royal tour of the new Coronation Street exterior set for Peter Tonkinson, story-line writer.

Here's how HV Kershaw, the man who oversaw the building of the old exterior brick facade in late 1969, wrote about the 1982 innovation in his book, The Street Where I Live (1985 edition):

Construction took 49,000 old bricks and 6,500 roof slates, reclaimed from demolition sites in South East Lancashire. The viaduct needed a further 29,000 bricks and to provide an authentic finish special black mortar had been used, mixed to the original Victorian specification using an ash ingredient. TV aerials and chimneys sprouted where none had been before. At last we had a real street.

The Queen and Prince Phillip stroll the famous cobbles.

Speak Easy - December

2010-12-11T02:22:00.003Z

Bright and breezy, free and easy - that's Speak Easy - here your voice can be heard!

Kamil writes:

Although you say you don't watch Corrie these days, you must have seen the tram crash scenes. This is definitely the least sycophantic of Corrie sites, but what was your very favorite 50th anniversary moment?

I'm afraid I don't really have one, Kamil! I have seen the tram crash and it's not my cup of tea at all, it's all down to personal taste, and I was frankly startled by reading some of the comments on an on-line forum about the episode. "Hammer time!" (remember the song?) wrote one avid viewer as the episode progressed and came to violent scenes at Number 5 involving a hammer.

My very favourite recent Corrie-related scene was in East Street, the Children In Need Coronation Street Meets EastEnders special, in which Gail indulged in an unusual "keeping up with the Joneses" scenario with an EastEnders character, basically trying to outdo her with various OTT events from her life. Helen Worth was simply brilliant in that!

Tara asks:

Why did Maurice Jones decide to rebuild the other side of the Street in 1989? The Street looked like a gloomy hole back then, and surely nobody would want to buy smart new houses there? Imagine sitting looking at the Duckies' stone cladding as you supped your Earl Grey!

The idea came about because new Executive Producer David Liddiment had seen that such developments were happening in reality in the late 1980s - new houses, shops and industrial units being built alongside older developments.

The character Maurice Jones was a builder, a businessman, and he saw an excellent opportunity to redevelop a site occupied by a small factory and ailing community centre.

Behind the scenes, the new development also fitted in well with the serial increasing its output to three episodes per week, bringing new locations and characters to the show, and drawing in other featured characters who did not actually live in the Street.

Fond Farewell To The Corner Shop

2010-12-10T00:35:00.007Z

So, the Corner Shop is no more. Destroyed by a tram in the Coronation Street 50th anniversary week episodes.

It all seems rather sad to me - after all, it was at the Corner Shop that the show's first scenes were set in 1960, with Elsie Lappin (Maudie Edwards) handing over the establishment to Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge).

And I've sat through many enjoyable episodes featuring the shop.

When I was a kid, I actually wanted to run the place myself!

The Corner Shop used to be on a par with The Rovers Return, you thought of Coronation Street, and those two locations immediately sprang to mind. But over the years, more businesses have become a regular part of the story-lines, and the Corner Shop has been sidelined.

Still a shame to see its end, though.

My favourite Corner Shop era was the 1980s. Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley) inherited the shop when his wife, Renee (Madge Hindle) died in a road accident in 1980. Poor Alf was utterly bereft, but over a year later a certain Miss Audrey Potter (Sue Nicholls) turned his head slightly. And so it was in late 1981 that Alf finally had Renee's name painted out on the shop sign and replaced with his own.

In 1980, Alf had taken on Dierdre Langton (Anne Kirkbride) as his assistant at the shop, and she lived in the shop flat with her daughter, Tracy, until her marriage to Ken Barlow (William Roache) in 1981.

In 1985, Alf wed Audrey, and the scene was set for many years of fun - Alf being a cautious stick-in-the-mud, Audrey a flighty money-waster.

Alf's reign as Corner Shop proprietor, beginning in the summer of 1980, gave the show some stability during what turned out to be a turbulent decade. And he was completely dedicated to the place. In 1985, he proudly presided over its expansion and modernisation into Alf's Mini Market - a trendy new name, although, emblazioned across the main sign, were, of course, the words CORNER SHOP.

Audrey never really understood Alf's addiction to the shop. But Alf declared that shops had souls. He was well stirred-up in 1988, when Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth) started a sandwich round at Jim's Cafe in Rosamund Street and threatened his barm cake trade.

Audrey told Alf that barm cakes were really not in keeping with a modern mini market, but Alf declared that Tommy Foyle had first produced them there during the First World War, and they were part of the soul of the place!

The barm cake trade continued.

When Alf suffered a heart attack in 1987, he couldn't wait to get back to the Shop afterwards. Audrey told him to rest and wait - the Corner Shop would still be there long after they'd both shaken off their mortal coils.

Bryan Mosley - dependable Alf Roberts of the Corner Shop.

Praise for Alf - from the TV Times, 27 September - 3 October 1986:

Alf's got it right

Grumbling may be one of the characteristics of Coronation Street's Alf Roberts, played by Bryan Mosley, but his corner store is top-of-the-shops for service according to a recent national survey.

A shopfitting group's study says Alf has got it just right with his sense of service, and many other grocers in the North of England follow his example.

With Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) rampant and Audrey at her height, Alf found much to peturb him at the Corner Shop in the '80s, but it all made for great entertainment, and fond memories of one of Corrie's original main locations.

Times change...

Coronation Street - 25th Anniversary

2010-12-08T00:19:00.004Z

Different days - 1985: Bet Lynch and Betty Turpin were barmaids at The Rovers, Phyllis Pearce was after Percy Sugden, and Alf Roberts was in sole charge of the Corner Shop - until he married awful Aud!
With the 50th anniversary of Coronation Street now the talk of the town, we thought it would be nice to delve into past anniversaries - like the 25th, in 1985.

The card pictured above was a limited edition, produced to celebrate the anniversary, sent only to a very fortunate few, and contained an invitation:

Denis Forman and David Plowright invite

-------------------------------------------

To Drink A Toast To Coronation Street on the occasion of their 25th birthday.

Friday 6 December
Stage One
5.30 pm to 7.30 pm

Fireworks 7.15 pm

The occasion was also celebrated with an anniversary dinner at the Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London, on Saturday 14 December.

Eee, it were right posh. Did you know that the booze included Sancerre, Caves de la Boule Blanche 1984?

Mind you, I prefer a nice pint of Newton and Ridley's meself...

1961: Early Denis Parkin Coronation Street Sketch

2010-12-07T21:16:00.006Z

This wonderful sketch by Denis Parkin, Coronation Street's original designer, featured on the show's 1961 Christmas card, which was also designed by Mr Parkin.

Note that the bay windows in this early sketch are not joined together in pairs, and echo the architecture of Archie Street, which provided the rough template for the Street's terrace. The reason that the windows were joined in the show was because of lack of space on the original exterior set, which was built in the studio.

Here we see No's 11 and 13, the Corner Shop, the viaduct, part of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall (including Ena Sharples' vestry), and Elliston's Raincoat Factory.

Alfred Roberts Corner Shop Mug - Date?

2010-12-06T19:51:00.004Z

Drake asks:

Can you date the Coronation Street mug I recently bought on-line? It's at least twenty-years-old I believe and shows the Corner Shop, the sign over it reading "ALFRED ROBERTS".

I had one of those mugs, Drake - they dated from the mid-1980s and I believe were sold into the early 1990s. I seem to recollect seeing them on the Granada Studios Tour. There were two mugs, The Rovers Return and The Corner Shop. I had both circa 1985.

The image of the Corner Shop depicts the establishment in the early-to-mid 1980s: Alf Roberts had his deceased wife Renee's name painted out on the shop sign, replacing it with his own, in late 1981 - over a year after her death in 1980. The shop looked like the image carried on the mug from late 1981 until 1985, when a grand transformation took place and the shop became a mini market.

Woe to the Corner Shop - destroyed in 2010 by a tumbling tram to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Sheesh!

But there were many happy days there in more gentle soap times and the mug is a charming piece of '80s Corrie nostalgia, dating from the days that Alf Roberts revelled in being Mr Green the Grocer.

And, as he stated in 1988, he actually believed that the Corner Shop had a soul!

If so, perhaps it will make it to Corrie heaven?

Coronation Street Corner Shop Tram Horror And The Famous 1988 Collision...

2010-12-01T23:11:00.003Z

Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers), clutching her Tate & Lyle, gives Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) a right roasting outside the Corner Shop!

Lucy writes:

I've been well stirred-up by the photographs of Corrie's 50th anniversary viaduct catastrophe... admit - it the Corner Shop never saw such drama in the 1980s!

Well, perhaps not. But it did see drama - the terrible confrontation between Phyllis Pearce and Emily Bishop just outside it for instance. With kind-hearted Emily giving a home to Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington), Phyllis went to war - accusing Emily of being after Percy's body!

This was intense - and in fact absolutely searing - drama, which, of course, had many of us on the edge of our seats.

As for seeing more drama during the 50th anniversary shows, I don't think the Corner Shop will see that much. Isn't it quickly wiped out by a tram?

When Was Mark Eden Wally Randle? Answer: 1981 - And No, You're Not Going Bonkers!

2010-11-26T23:43:00.006Z

Wally Randle in 1981? No, you crate egg, it's Alan Bradley in 1988!

Speaking as somebody who can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning, I was set in a spin by an e-mail today:

Claire writes:

When exactly was Mark Eden Wally Randle in Coronation Street? A Manchester Evening News article states he was Elsie's love interest in 1974, and Mark himself indicates 1979 in his autobiography, yet I have all the Granada Plus repeats and it's 1981! Elsie was not even in the Street in 1974 - Pat Phoenix took a break from 1973-1976. Am I going bonkers?!!!!

No, you're not, Claire - Mark Eden was Wally Randle in 1981. He appeared from February to April of that year. I believe he landed the role in late 1980. Elsie saw Wally in a romantic light, Wally didn't see Elsie in the same way at all, and away he went.

The Grape Street Set - Why Was It Re-Built In Brick?

2010-11-24T23:53:00.006Z

The old brick-built facade in the early 1980s. How can I date this? Because the new front door at No 3, fitted in 1980, is in place!

Andrew writes:

I've just read on Corriepedia that the original wood and lath exterior set which was erected on the Grape Street lot in 1968 was rebuilt in brick in 1969 possibly because of the advent of colour TV showing up the fake bricks. Is this merely supposition? I always thought that HV Kershaw wanted it rebuilt in brick so that it would be more hardy?

You are probably better off contacting the "Corriepedia" people, Andrew, but according to all the resources I have at my disposal (including Mr Kershaw's 1981 book, The Street Where I Live), HV Kershaw was worried by the effects of a single winter on the original structure and asked for money to rebuild it in brick.

The original outdoor Street terrace set made its final appearance on-screen around early November 1969 - in an episode that would have been recorded in the October. The building of the new set then took place, in time to avoid the worst of the winter weather.

I have never read that the impact of colour on the Street set had any bearing on the decision to rebuild the terrace facade. Mr Kershaw's concern seemed to be simply that it would withstand the elements. As he was in charge at the time, and left records of his concerns, I go with them.

In fact, I can heartily recommend The Street Where I Live (1981 - updated edition published 1985). It's a fabulous insight into the first twenty-five years of The Street by a man who was there from the start.

A totally engrossing read!

Did Tony Warren Plan To Blow Up Coronation Street?

2010-11-23T01:17:00.011Z

Percy Sugden: "This street is nothing but an eyesore, Councillor Roberts - it should've been blown up in 1960!"

Alf Roberts: "Nay, Mr Sugden, there's more bulldozers than explosions round 'ere. Now, if we were to hire a Tardis and go forward twenty-three years, well, I wouldn't want to be standing here..."

Katie writes:

Just read in the Sun that Tony Warren wanted Coronation Street blown up after 13 episodes. As Daran Little, he of the fevered imagination, said this, and I don't trust him - although he's hailed at the ultimate Corrie expert - I thought I'd ask for second, third and fourth opinions!

I've certainly read, several times in the '70s and '80s, that the Street had a demolition story-line built in as a possible early ending, but never that Tony Warren wanted it blown up or to only run to thirteen episodes!

In 1985, Tony Warren wrote in the book Coronation Street 25 Years:

"I was to go on writing to episode twelve, and plan a possible bulldozing of the Street for what might prove to be a final thirteenth episode."

I took it from that that the demolition story-line would simply have reflected the trend to pull down old terraces and build high rise blocks, and that Granada was providing itself with a get-out route should the show prove to be a disaster.

Do note that what Daran Little actually said (according to the Sun) was:

"His [Tony Warren's] vision was that, on the 13th episode, the Street would blow up, or something like that, and it would end."

What Tony Warren now has to say on the subject, I've no idea!

Only he knows what only he knows...

Speak Easy 5

2010-11-17T00:11:00.004Z

Bright and breezy, free and easy - that's Speak Easy - here your voice can be heard!

Gary writes:

What do you make of the North/South rivalry between Coronation Street fans and EastEnders fans? Also, I read in a Coronation Street book that the London-based Press immediately got behind EastEnders in 1985, predicting that it would sweep Corrie under the carpet!

Hmmm... well, there's certainly no evidence of that in the newspapers I have from 1985, Gary!
In fact, Sun newspaper TV writer Charles Catchpole actually took a swipe at Midlands-based soap Crossroads when he wrote his review of the first EastEnders episode!

Coronation Street was, and is, very much of the North of England, very much of Lancashire, but the characters were, and I suppose are, universal. We working class folk all had Elsie Tanners, Len Faircloughs and Mrs Sharples living in our localities, and that was why it succeded. That's what made it complete and utter magic way beyond county borders.

The North/South rivalry "thing" was not something I ever encountered in my Street fan days, and as there's so much claptrap written on the internet, so much juvenile baiting, it's not something I can take seriously. Certain recent books on Street history also puzzle me when it comes to that point. England is a tiny country on a tiny island. The fact that Coronation Street was - and is - a hit across that country - and also in the neighbouring countries of the UK - and abroad, is something to be celebrated.

I'm from the East of England and I adored the show, wrote to Producer Bill Podmore and members of the cast many times in the mid-to-late 1970s, and it helped me through some pretty bad times when I was a child and into my early teens.

From the old lady from Kent who lives next door to me and has watched The Street from the beginning, only ever missing about twelve episodes in all that time, to my Glaswegian uncle-in-law, who was so dedicated to Bet Lynch/Gilroy it became a family joke, The Street is a hit. A young Polish man I work with, who only arrived here a few years ago, is absolutely hooked, and in fact I know people of many different origins who like the show.

As I said, Coronation Street is very much of the North of England. But its characters are recognisable to many different people, simply because they are people - and that's why its appeal is so wide!

And building up petty rivalry and bitchery based on location is not something I am familiar with, nor can have any truck with.

Life's too short.

Lorraine asks:

Could you update this blog more often? I'd like to see more regular stuff. I'm particularly looking forward to the continuation of your screen grab partition cubes, dealing with individual years in the Street's history.

I'm really glad you like the blog, Lorraine - and thanks for saying so!

I don't have a huge amount of time, and I'm a one-man-show here, so that's why updates are irregular. I am trying to update as frequently as possible, though.

In the pipeline, I have more of the "cubes" you mention, a look at early Street architecture as drawn by the original designer, Denis Parkin, a peep at an architectural quirk at the Ogdens', more Sadistic '60s, Savage '70s and Evil '80s, more cliffhanger quizzes, and a look at how the Daily Mirror celebrated the Street's 20th anniversary in 1980.

Please keep popping in.

31 Years Minus 1 - Why Didn't Jack Duckworth Appear In 1980?

2010-11-16T03:45:00.006Z

Jack and Vera Duckworth brought a touch of glamour to the Street with their stone cladding in 1989. Well, Vera thought so.

Lilian writes:

I've read so many tributes to Jack Duckworth and William Tarmey lately - all richly deserved because he truly was a Street legend. But some of the tributes say things like: "He's been a massive part of the Street for 31 years..." - and so on. Of course, those of us who do our research (often accused of being "pedantic" by those who don't and then get caught out) know that Jack first appeared in two episodes in late 1979, then disappeared until 1981, when he became a semi-regular. So, what happened to him in 1980?

He was mentioned occasionally, Lilian, but the production team simply hadn't decided to make Jack a full-blown character. Vera was the Duckworth in Coronation Street, had been for years - and she didn't even live there! The idea of bringing Jack in for occasional story-lines in 1981 was inspired, and the idea of making him a regular in 1983, by moving the Duckworths into the Street, was even more so.

Norris Cole, But Not Norris Cole Quiz Question...

2010-11-16T00:43:00.004Z

Flaming Nora! It looks like Norris Cole has stumbled into a highly dramatic situation here!

But, of course, although the man on the right is Malcolm Hebden, now the lovely Norris, he wasn't Norris then. It was a different show and Mr Hebden was playing a very different character.

Can you name the show and the character Mr Hebden played?

1987 - Part One!

2010-11-11T00:19:00.008Z

1987! This was the climactic year when the 1980s sealed their fate as being a one Prime Minister decade by electing Margaret Thatcher for a third term, and in Coronation Street the subject of women in politics was also on the agenda...

Ken Barlow (William Roache) had hoped to stand for the local council, but his position on The Weatherfield Recorder put paid to that when his boss raised objections. Ken contemplated chucking the job in and going ahead anyway, but decided he must back down, being a man with responsibilities.

Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) had already fallen out with Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley), the existing local Independent councillor, and her boss at the Corner Shop, over matters political. This had resulted in her walking out on the job as Alf's assistant at the shop, which she had held since 1980.

And the idea was then born... if Ken couldn't stand for the local council, why shouldn't Deirdre?

And so she did.

Enlisting the help of Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire), Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) and Susan Baldwin (Wendy Jane Walker), Deirdre sallied boldly forth.

Sally dropped out when she stepped into Deirdre's shoes at the Corner Shop. She couldn't very well campaign against her new boss. Deirdre totally approved.

Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) complimented Sally on her approach to work at the shop, and Sally was thrilled.

Having heard there was a flat above the shop, Sally asked Alf if she and Kevin (Michael Le Vell) could rent it, but Alf said no - it was being used as a store room.

Sally sought the aid of her current landlady, Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander), asking her to tell Alf that she and Kevin would shortly be moving away from the district. Alf, dreading finding a replacement during his busy campaigning period, gave in - and Kev and Sal moved into the shop flat.

When a local youngster was run over at a local accident black spot, where Deirdre was campaigning for a pedestrian crossing, her election campaign really took off. Ken used The Recorder to report the story, complete with a photograph of Deirdre and the unlucky youngster.

Deirdre won the election.

She celebrated her victory with a party at The Rovers, where she was hoisted by Ken and Pete Jackson (Ian Mercer) and paraded around the pub, whilst her supporters sang She's A Lassie From Lancashire around the piano.

Alf and Audrey (Sue Nicholls) had attended the party, at Audrey's insistence - she didn't want the neighbours thinking they were hiding away, crushed by defeat.

Alf, feeling unwell, left early.

And, alone at No 11, he collapsed with a heart attack.

Audrey found him on the floor when she returned from the party.

She was terrified. As Alf was stretchered into the ambulance, she said: "Please God let him be all right... just let him be all right..."

A crowd of onlookers had gathered in the dark street. Hilda was there, of course.

"What's happened?" asked Sally Webster.

"It's Alf Roberts," Hilda sucked in her breath. "It doesn't look good to me!"

"That's it, 'ilda, let's all look on the bright side, eh?!" said Betty Turpin (Betty Driver), scathingly.

Deidre was devastated - blaming herself for Alf's condition. If only she hadn't stood against him in the election.

With some changes to his diet and a decrease in stress levels, Alf was expected to make a full recovery, but Audrey still let Deirdre have it, both barrels, when she called at the Corner Shop to see if there was anything she could do to help:

"Getting 'im out so you could go in! Well, all I can say, lovey, is enjoy it while you can, because do you know life has a very funny way of comin' round - and one of these days somebody might just come along and do the same to you!"

When Audrey returned to the Street with Alf in a taxi, Deirdre was just leaving on her first official council function.

She greeted Alf warmly, and Alf returned the warmth, telling her he felt fine.

"You want to get 'im inside, he looks worn out!" said Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) to Audrey.

Nobody could be more insensitive than well-meaning Percy, who then said of Deirdre and Ken:

"They're off to the mayor making, you know, where they elect the new mayor, then they decide who's going to be on various committees. Then they 'ave a slap-up lunch."

Talk about rubbing Alf's nose in it!

Alf's smile faded: "Yeah, well, I do know what a mayor making is. I've been to one or two in me time, Percy!"

Being at home at No 11, recuperating, got on Alf's nerves, particularly as Percy elected himself chief visitor. Deirdre also visited, and although Audrey was still frosty, Alf gave her advice about her position on the council and seemed to have accepted the situation.

But he wanted to get back to the Corner Shop. How he longed to get back to the Corner Shop! Audrey told him to stop worrying about the place, he'd be back there soon enough and anyway it would be there long after they'd both departed this mortal coil.

Rita And The Duckworths - Everybody Needs Good Neighbours...

2010-11-09T00:10:00.005Z

Florin asks:

How did Rita get on with the Duckworths? She must have been so disappointed when they moved in next door to her posh new house at number 7!

I think a groan ran through the entire street when Jack and Vera Duckworth (Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn) moved into No 9 in 1983, Florin.

They weren't anybody's idea of ideal neighbours.

Add to them shifty Terry (Nigel Pivaro), and you can appreciate that nobody was welcoming the Duckworths with open arms - apart from us viewers!

But Rita (Barbara Knox) seemed to get on with them fine, considering they were living in such close proximity. Well, as you can see above, she got on with them fine most of the time!

Why Only Three Decades?

2010-11-06T03:28:00.006Z

After Alan Bradley walks out on her, an emotional Rita Fairclough pours her heart out to Bet Gilroy about how lonely and empty her life feels without him. Bet comments: "And there's norra lot on telly, is there?" Meanwhile, Vera Duckworth gets fruity with her Jack. Poor Jack is not happy!

An e-mail from Mrs Campbell:

I'm a recent convert to this site, and I enjoy it. But I wonder why you confine it to the first three decades? I'm not complaining, because I started watching Corrie in the early 1960s and I've never stopped, so this site brings back memories and provides great insights, but I'd love to see the events of the 1990s and 0's given your very distinctive treatment!

Thanks for writing, Mrs Campbell. I write about the first three decades because they interest me most, and also because I no longer watch soaps! The "big time strife" story-lines of today's soaps don't appeal to me. My favourite era of The Street originally was 1976-1984, but I've since discovered the '60s through various DVD releases and love that decade in the show! I stopped watching the show on a regular basis in 1983, simply because I was busy and with the original characters departing, apart from Ken Barlow, felt it would no longer greatly appeal to me.

Recently I've been watching hundreds of mid-to-late 1980s episodes, and the likes of Curly Watts, Phyllis Pearce, Terry Duckworth, Percy Sugden and Alec Gilroy - alongside Mavis, Rita and co - have absolutely delighted me. I'm astonished at how well the production team coped with the departure of so many of the old favourites.

This blog has been a little 1980s-centred recently simply because I am studying those episodes.

I didn't view the 1990s and 2000s episodes, and from what I've seen of them, after about 1992, they weren't really to my taste, so that's one reason I don't include them. The other is that thirty years is quite a wide time span to cover and keeps me very busy!

As I say, I don't watch soaps now, but I'm thrilled that The Street is about to make it to its 50th anniversary. It has always reflected viewers' tastes, always updated itself, and I daresay there'll come a time when the blockbuster explosions, murders, etc, are no longer in vogue and I'll return to watching it. It's like an old friend, and I hope it continues for at least another fifty years!

1988 - Part Two!

2010-11-05T01:29:00.008Z

Some Corrie moments of 1988... click on the image to enlarge, then read the text below for the full story...

Back we go, back down the time tunnel to the decade of big hair, big shoulders and big trouble. Yep, we're talking 1980s, and as we land in The Street this time, we discover more events of 1988 via screen captures.

The wedding of Mavis Riley and Derek Wilton (Thelma Barlow and Peter Baldwin) had not happened in 1984. Both had had second thoughts on the day. But after Derek had proposed to Mavis through the Kabin letter box in 1988, a second try was on the cards. Derek decided to spend his stag night at The Rovers, where his "pals" decided to have some fun: Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) phoned the pub's private number from the payphone and Jack Duckworth (William Tarmey) called Derek to the phone, saying it was somebody called Victor.

Victor?!!

Derek went to the phone and Martin, who had no idea what Victor Pendlebury sounded like, told Derek that Mavis had decided to marry him instead!

But Derek was not fooled. Returning to the bar, he said so:

"Victor Pendlebury has a voice once heard never forgotten. You find that with opinionated people. For another thing, Mavis would never desert me for him, never in a million years."

One thing was troubling Derek: Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) was paying him close attention. Was he...? Derek asked Jack, making a limp wristed gesture. Jack pointed out that Percy was always saying that his happiest days had been in the Army...

Derek was worried.

And after two pints and a brandy he was also extremely drunk.

Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) told Mavis about Derek's sorry state when she arrived at her hen night party, and Mavis sped round to The Rovers, tremendously concerned. But Derek was safely concealed in the back and Alec and Bet Gilroy (Roy Barraclough and Julie Goodyear) told Mavis that he'd gone home for an early night before the Big Day arrived.

Mavis's hen night went well, apart from a sozzled Vera unwittingly introducing the spectre of 1984 to the revels by singing There Was I Waiting At The Church.

Percy took Derek home in a taxi. "PLEASE DON'T LET HIM TAKE ME HOME!" wailed Derek, terrified of Percy's intentions. But if he had but known it, Percy was his guardian angel.

Our Mr Sugden had elected himself as the man who would make sure that Mavis was not let down a second time.

As Percy told Ken (William Roache), he'd been in charge of seeing that men went to the firing squad, and they'd gone to that wall smiling!

"Probably with relief!" Ken muttered to Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), rather uncharitably.

Despite last minute doubts on Derek's part, Percy got him to the registry office. And at long last, Miss Mavis Riley became Mrs Mavis Wilton.

At Jim's Cafe, Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth) had employed Gina Seddon (Julie Foy) to help out as a waitress and to operate her new sandwich round. Gail had bought a butcher's bike for the enterprise. Gina was excited, seeing great promise in the venture if they expanded it: "We'll be a couple of yuppies in no time!" she told Gail.

When Alma Sedgewick (Amanda Barrie) called a halt to the venture, saying that she'd rather Gail concentrated solely on the cafe, Gail was not pleased and gave in her notice. She would operate the sandwich round independently with Gina. Brian (Christopher Quinten) was horrified, deciding that the venture was doomed to failure. Upwardly mobile Gail had a dream in which she could fly. And Sarah Louise could fly. And Nicky. But Brian would never be able to fly, never in a million years, she bitterly told her baby daughter.

Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers) was horrified, fearing that Gail was making a bad decision which might leave her jobless, and also that changes at the cafe might affect her own little job.

Having played at being the big boss, Alma was severely shaken by Gail's decision to leave. She'd have to employ somebody else. How long would it take? Would she be stuck working at the cafe herself for a while?

She announced that the sandwich round could continue and gave into Gail's final demand that she should have a share of the profits.

So, it all ended happily.

Or did it?

Brian's failure to support Gail with her plans to set up on her own rankled with Gail.

And certainly did nothing for the Tilsleys' marriage.

Speak Easy 4

2010-11-04T18:16:00.003Z

Back to The Speak Easy, where your views can be heard... Free and easy, bright and breezy, that's Speak Easy.

Janine writes:

I've been reading William Roache's book on 50 years of Coronation Street and he states that Ken and Mike disliked each other before the start of the Great Feud over Deirdre in 1983. Can you tell me about previous fall-outs between them?

Sorry, Janine, no. I have ALL the episodes from 1976 (before and including Mike's debut) until mid-1979 and there weren't any then. I've studied the episodes extensively, many times, and Mike and Ken did not exchange a single cross word. Perhaps they did in the early 1980s, pre-Deirdre drama? Certainly in 1983, at the time of the crisis, Ken made some very disparaging remarks about Mike! They were very different people. I've been reading William Roache's book, too - and I'm loving it!

It's so good to have Ken there - a character who spans ALL the years!

Debs writes:

I have received the Mark Eden book I won in your competition. Thank you so much. It's a smashing read and he has a lovely sense of humour!

Glad you're enjoying it - Alan Bradley is another Street legend! We remember Mark's first appearance in the show as Wally Randle in 1981. A brilliant actor. Viewing Alan's 1987 and 1988 "doings" recently has chilled us all over again and, of course, the worst is yet to come. We're looking forward to tucking into 1989!

1988 - Trouble All Round...

2010-11-03T01:51:00.007Z

Eee, 1988 on't Street... Do you remember, chuck? Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) and Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) made it to the altar - oops, I mean registry office - second time lucky - though Mavis wasn't impressed by a couple of smutty comments from Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) at the Corner Shop when she and Derek returned from honeymoon. Marriage was not just about that sort of thing, she lectured Sally.

Quite right too...

Meanwhile, Rovers barmaid Gloria Todd (Sue Jenkins) had been feeling her biological clock ticking for some time. So, when she fell for a fella, perhaps marriage - maybe even kids - lay around the corner? Trouble was, the fella belonged to Rovers cleaner Sandra Stubbs (Sally Watts). Gloria couldn't help herself, although she felt terrible. She began seeing Sandra's fella and they really seemed to "click". Gloria was horrified when Sandra turned up for a natter at her flat one evening when she was entertaining Mr Wonderful.

Finally, she confessed all to Sandra and got a pint of beer in her face for her trouble. Gloria left the Rovers after the incident.

Alan Bradley (Mark Eden) had left Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox) and was living in a bedsit away from the Street. Rita was completely besotted with the man, and begged him to return to No 7. Alan refused, but changed his mind when the bank refused to finance his business's move to new premises. Alan returned to Rita and daughter Jenny (Sally Anne Matthews) for his own benefit - with a plan in mind. He also secretly continued to see Carole Burns (Irene Skillington).

Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro) made Vera (Liz Dawn) so proud when he began work for Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs). His work was mainly chauffeuring (Mike had been banned from driving), but there were prospects. When Terry took a married girlfriend out in Mike's Jag and her husband sprayed "STAY AWAY FROM MY WIFE" down one side, the writing was on the wall as far as Terry's career at Baldwin's Casuals was concerned. Vera was distraught. Terry left the Street just before Christmas, feeling that he no longer had much in common with old pals like Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) and that it was time to move on again.

Connie Clayton - Could She Make Perfect Pastry?

2010-11-02T11:12:00.004Z

Clayton vs Duckworth: Vera (Liz Dawn), Jack (William Tarmey), Connie (Susan Brown) and Harry (Johnny Leeze) air their views in public. Flamin' Nora! What was that street comin' to?!

First it was Victor Pendlebury, now it's Connie Clayton - another obscure character from Coronation Street's past that has aroused great interest (well, ten e-mails!) here at Back On The Street.

Here's a few snippets from those e-mails...

Jane writes:

I remember Connie Clayton actually made it on to the legendary Black Type letters pages in Smash Hits in 1985! A reader expressed interest in the character, and Black Type pooh-poohed it, asking how much we actually KNEW about her? Was she qualified to look after Nicky Tilsley? Could she make perfect pastry?

LOL, Jane! Black Type is an '80s legend. I'm not surprised he covered the crucial topic of Mrs Clayton on his pages.

The MC Dent writes:

The Claytons struck a chord with me because they WERE so mundane and, as you wrote, all the conflict came from outside. Connie was very mumsy. I would of loved it if they had stayed.

Yes, it would have been fun, I think!

Keith asks:

Have you any more Clayton piccies? I was 9 in 1985 and they're one of my early TV memories. I liked Connie and Sue in particular.

The only other Clayton pics I have are featured in this post, Keith.

And finally, Sally says:

I know poor old Connie was miserable at Number 11, especially after the Duckworths kicked off. I think she had a particularly bad time, with Andrea letting the family down by getting pregnant like that and then Vera's dress. I think Connie felt it most of all. Do you know where the Claytons went when they flitted from the Street?

They went to live with Connie's mother for a while, Sally.

We've been watching episodes from 1988, featuring Alan Bradley's affair with Mrs Burns, played by Irene Skillington, and we can't help thinking about Ms Skillington becoming Mrs Clayton later.

And on that note, we'll close the book on the Claytons for a while.

But I'm sure we'll be featuring them again!

Vera thought that her new dress would make "Joan Collins look like a lollipop lady!"

Alan Bradley - The Cold, Dark Centre...

2010-11-01T14:58:00.001Z

We've been watching episodes of Corrie from 1987 and 1988 and we must say we're bowled over by Mark Eden's performance as Alan Bradley. On the surface, Alan seemed like your average everyday bloke - a bit of a hot temper, but OK.

But there was a cold, dark void where Mr Bradley's heart should have been.

We found ourselves shuddering, watching him gently manipulating Rita into helping him financially with his plan to buy Brian Tilsley's garage in 1987, and his affair with Mrs Burns in 1988, resulting in his walking out on Rita and his daughter, Jenny.

He only returned to No 7 when finance for his business venture was not forthcoming from the bank, and then he put a new plan into action...

This was a slow build-up story-line, echoing real life. It lacked the occasional pantomime feel and outlandishness of the "Killer Corrie" Richard Hillman era. Corrie was more rooted in reality back then.

Alan Bradley was simply frightening.

He had his own logic.

And, at the end of the day, no heart at all.

Mark Eden's life story - Who's Going To Look At You? - is published today and we'll certainly be having a read. Insights into the life of the actor who brought Mr Bradley to life should be absolutely fascinating!

Coronation Street 25th Anniversary Celebration...

2010-10-31T17:18:00.003Z

Eee, with Corrie's 50th anniversary coming up, I've been thinking back. And it doesn't seem possible. Was the photograph shown above really taken twenty-five years ago?

1985... seems more like ten years ago to me!

In those days, the Street didn't celebrate major anniversaries with bloodbath tram crashes, we'd have thought it ghoulish and odd.

The 25th anniversary photograph above seems to have been specially posed rather earlier in the year than December - probably for Jack Tinker's Coronation Street book.

Note that the Claytons are present - and they left the Street in August!

I love the cutting and pasting of various people in the photo above - and in those days it was literally cut and paste, a cut-out from a photograph and a dab of Pritt Stick!

So, who were the Corrie movers and shakers of twenty-five years ago?

Back row - from left to right: Ida Clough (Helene Palmer) was a machinist at Baldwin's factory and a good pal of Vera and Ivy's. She appeared from 1978 to 1988, and later re-emerged for another spell working for Baldwin. A glutton for punishment.

Next to Ida is Shirley Armitage (Lisa Lewis), the Street's first regular black character. Shirley arrived in 1983, another worker at Baldwin's Casuals. She later lived with Curly Watts in the flat above the Corner Shop, and left the Street in 1989.

Up next is Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers). Originally seen in 1982, visiting her grandson, Craig, and nagging Chalkie Whiteley, Phyllis developed into a rather more sympathetic character. She was, as she said, a "hot blooded woman", and desired nothing more than marriage to Percy Sugden. Phyllis was last seen in 1996.

Sue Clayton (Jane Hazlegrove) is next. One of the short-lived Clayton family, Sue arrived in 1985, left school, and started work in a bakery. The family then left the Street.

Sue's sister, Andrea (Caroline O'Neill), was studying for her A Levels and seeing naughty Terry Duckworth behind her parents' backs. Soon she was up the duff.

Connie Clayton (Susan Brown), mother of Andrea and Sue, was a dressmaker and the front room at No 11 was converted into a workroom for her. Connie never really liked No 11, and liked it even less when she fell out with her gobby neighbours, the Duckworths. Having discovered that Andrea was expecting a little Duckworth, Connie beat a hasty retreat from the district with the rest of her family.

Harry Clayton (Johnny Leeze), daddy of the Clayton brood, was a milkman and played trombone with a local band called Gregg Gordon And The Bluetones.

Middle row: Betty Turpin (Betty Driver) first worked at The Rovers Return in 1969. Widowed in the 1970s, Betty became the hotpot queen of The Rovers in the 1980s when her speciality dish became a regular on the menu as the pub grub on offer was expanded. Betty's still in the Street today.

Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) first appeared in the Street as a warehouse worker in 1974. She became a resident in 1983, and horrified the neighbours with her great big gob. But dead common Vera, who could be oh so crafty in her on-going war with husband Jack, had a heart of gold. She died in 2008.

Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey) first appeared very briefly in late November 1979, then disappeared until 1981, when he began popping into story-lines now and then. In 1983, Jack moved into No 9 with Vera and son Terry.

Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro) arrived on the scene in 1983 and soon made his mark on the Street, running a business called Cheap & Cheerful with Curly Watts, running off with his best mate's wife, and romancing a married woman in Mike Baldwin's Jag. Bad lad Terry first left the Street in 1987, but he's turned up since, several times.

Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell), the dependable young lad who worked as a garage mechanic for Brian Tilsley, first appeared in 1983. He married Sally Seddon in 1986. Poor Kev. He's still in the show today, having endured many traumas - some of the 1990s and 2000s stuff seeming so unlikely as to be completely daft. But then that's modern soap!

Norman "Curly" Watts (Kevin Kennedy) - a lovely, geeky, offbeat youth character, Curly first turned up in 1983 as a binman. He graduated to a position as assistant manager (trainee) at Bettabuys Supermarket in October 1989.

Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow), first appeared in 1971. In 1973, she became assistant to Rita at The Kabin. Mavis initially lived with her Auntie Edie. Her cousin, Ethel, who popped in now and then, was a right cow. When Auntie died, adorably twittery Mavis moved into the Kabin flat. She met Derek Wilton in 1976, almost married him in 1984, and finally did so in 1988. She also dallied briefly with one Victor Pendlebury in 1982/83 - and he declared his desire to marry her just before her wedding-that-wasn't to Derek in 1984. Mavis left after the death of Derek in 1997.

Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) was the crafty Londoner who livened up the Street no end from 1976 to 2006. Mike developed a long running feud with Ken Barlow in the 1980s.

Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) first appeared in the Street in 1966, a worker at Ellistons Raincoat Factory. She returned in 1970, and became a barmaid at The Rovers - although Annie Walker did think her rather common. In 1985, Bet took over The Rovers as manager. She married seedy Alec Gilroy in 1987, but that didn't last. Bet left the Street in 1994, but has since visited.

Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander) arrived in 1964 with husband Stan and spent the next twenty-three years gossiping for England. She left in 1987.

Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) was the bossy, interfering know-it-all who arrived in the Street as Community Centre caretaker in 1983. Fighting off the advances of Phyllis Pearce and sticking his nose in everywhere, Percy was a bit of a nightmare neighbour. But he meant well. He left the Street in 1997.

Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) first appeared in 1961. A genteel spinister, Emily finally found happiness and marriage to Ernest Bishop in 1972. But happiness was not to last. Ernest was shot dead in a wages snatch at Baldwin's Casuals in early 1978. Emily lived on at No 3, enduring a bigamous marriage to Armold Swain, and, from 1988 onwards, Percy Sugden as a lodger. Emily is still in the programme today.

Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley) first appeared in Corrie in 1961, a pal of Frank Barlow's at the sorting office. Alf graduated to local councillor. His first wife died of cancer in the early 1970s, and he married Renee Bradshaw of the Street's Corner Shop in 1978. Alf inherited the shop in 1980, when Renee was killed in a road accident. He employed Deirdre Langton as his assistant and ran the shop happily until 1985, when he expanded it into a mini market and Audrey Potter became his lawful, awful wife. Alf died at the start of 1999.

Ken Barlow (William Roache) was there when Corrie first aired on 9 December 1960 - and he's still there today. His history is long and varied - including marriage to Valerie Tatlock and twins, marriage to Janet and her suicide, and marriage to Deirdre Langton. Ken was very close to his uncle-in-law, Albert Tatlock. Albert regarded Ken as true family, far more than his own daughter, Beattie Pearson, although he never said so!

Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) first appeared in 1972. She married Ray Langton in 1975 and the marriage broke up in 1978. Deirdre lived with Emily Bishop from 1979 to 1980, before becoming Alf's assistant at the Corner Shop and moving into the shop flat. In 1981, she married Ken Barlow. Deirdre, older but not much wiser, still lives in the Street today.

Gail Tilsley (Helen Worth) first appeared in 1974 and still appears today. Young Gail Potter met Brian Tilsley in 1978, married him in 1979, was divorced by him in 1986, and re-married him in 1988. Their second union was ended by rumblings of discontent and then his murder in 1989.

Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten) was a bit of beefcake in the Street from 1978 to 1989. It seemed a little odd as he turned up before gym workouts were popular with working class men, and Brian certainly never mentioned going to a gym in his early years. So we were left wondering where Brian got his muscles from. His job as a garage mechanic? Actor Chris Quinten, of course, worked out all the time, so that was the reason behind Brian's bulging biceps.

Ivy Tilsley (Lynne Perrie) had it very rough. The character first appeared in 1971 and moved into The Street in 1979. From then on, it was misery on a buttie as the 1980s devastated her family - making Ivy's husband Bert unemployed and then killing him off, making Ivy's son Brian's marriage to Gail as rocky as could be, and finally killing Brian off in a stabbing incident outside a nightclub. The '80s did bring Ivy two grandchildren - Nicky and Sarah Louise - and a new husband, one Don Brennan. But as the early '90s proved, he was no blessing either. Ivy left the Street in 1994.

Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox) was an exotic dancer who first popped into the Street in 1964. Back on the scene in 1972, Rita was memorably romanced and married by Len Fairclough. She continued her career as nightclub singer Rita Littlewood on an occasional basis. In the early 1980s, Rita and Len became foster parents. Rita was devastated when Len was killed in a road accident in December 1983, and distraught to discover he'd been in the midst of an affair at the time. Surely romance with Alan Bradley, blossoming in 1986, would bring her some happiness?

"Cheers!"

The Tram Crashes Into 1980s Coronation Street...

2010-10-31T00:04:00.005+01:00

"Mr Wobble" writes:

There's a pic of a tram crashing into Corrie Street that's quite rampant on the web. It's a cheap pic, but the street doesn't look like it does now. The tram is just superimposed. But do you know when the Corrie Street photo dates from?

I think this is the photograph you refer to, Mr Wobble.

It's easy to pinpoint the era: the mid-to-late 1980s. It could be any time from late 1986 to September 1989 when the factory was demolished in the story-line. Look at the clues!

The Corner Shop is Alf's Mini Market, so it's after 1985. The Rovers has its posh new sign lettering and "Rovers Return" windows, so its post-fire and rebuilding in 1986.

This ties in beautifully with an e-mail from Sue:

When were Baldwin's Factory and the Community Centre demolished in Coronation Street? I know it was 1989, but can you be more specific?

Well, there's the story-line and then there's the reality, Sue.

With filming taking place well in advance of episode screenings at the time, it seems that the factory and community centre would have bitten the dust in reality in August 1989, and work then commenced on the new exterior set buildings. In the story-line, the factory and community centre met their end in the episode transmitted on 20th September 1989.

1983: Pat Phoenix

2010-10-30T16:13:00.006+01:00

Sunday People, December, 1983: partying with Pat - spot the famous faces!

Elsie Tanner left Coronation Street very quietly on 4 January 1984. As she took a last stroll up the Street, her mind lurched back to the 1960s and confrontations with Ena Sharples, Annie Walker and son Dennis. Then she was whisked away in a taxi.

In reality, Pat Phoenix's decision to leave Coronation Street was anything but quiet, the whole nation was saddened, and behind the scenes Pat invited many of her Street cast pals to a big party to celebrate her sixtieth birthday and engagement to actor Anthony Booth.

Pat was looking forward to the Phoenix spreading its wings again and had even more reason to celebrate, as the Sunday People, December 4, 1983, revealed:

There's a special expression of happiness on the face of Pat Phoenix as she whoops it up at her joint sixtieth birthday and engagement party.

It's the look that says clearly, it's just great to be alive!

For six tormenting weeks Britain's most enduring sex symbol has lived in fear... of having cancer of the breast.

And it was only days before the star-spangled party thrown by her fiancé Anthony Booth that the Coronation Street legend learned she had been worrying needlessly.

Her doctor told her that the troublesome lump was only a fibroid.

"I've never been more relieved," said Pat, showing off her specially-designed ten-diamond engagement ring.

"When I found the lump I kept quiet and I didn't tell the doctor. I couldn't bear the thought of anybody messing about with me. At the same time I wanted to know what was wrong."

Eventually Pat, who is coming to the end of her 23-year career as the Street's colourful Elsie Tanner [Andy's note: less than 23 years in reality. Pat had also left the Street once previously and was absent from 1973 to 1976], confided in fiancé Tony. He helped convince her to go to her G.P.

"I asked the doctor for a straight answer and he said: 'Don't worry, it's not what you think.'

"All I needed was a course of tablets to dispel the lump. As he handed me the pills, the doctor added, 'And don't go and flush them down the toilet.'

"But I've been very good. It's wonderful to know I've nothing to worry about."

As the champagne corks popped at the party, in a Cheshire hotel, Pat told of her plans as a pensioner.

"Although I've collected my first perk, a concessionary bus pass - I deserve it after all the tax I've paid! - I'm not planning to slow down," she said.

"Tony and I will go on working and enjoying every minute of it until we drop.

"Life really begins at 60 - and I'm going to prove it."

Pat has theatre, TV and radio work lined up. She and live-in lover Tony are co-starring in a mystery-thriller at Eastbourne next summer.

"I still love life and enjoy being an actress," said Pat. "OK, I can't go to parties every night of the week then go into work, like I used to, but life is better in many other ways.

"It's taken Tony and me a long, long time to grow up and I'm not even sure we have done now.

"There's none of the daftness or silly pride between us that you have when you're younger.

"If we're having a row, one of us will say, 'Is this serious?' And usually we end up laughing."

Pat puts her youthful looks down to a zest for life. And she has been taking a yeast-based tonic three times daily for 16 years.

"Half the rest of the cast are on it now," she said.

"I don't diet, but I try to eat sensibly, and I swim."

Pat will be sad to leave her friends in the Street.

"But I haven't been too happy recently. Elsie is played out. She hasn't been getting the story lines and I've been feeling tired of her.

"I've had hundreds of letters from fans begging me to stay. One old dear even said she felt her own life was over. That saddened me."

Pat has also received a "come back" offer from Granada chairman Sir Denis Forman.

Shortly after she told the company she did not wish to renew her contract he invited her to tea.

"Sir Denis said the door was wide open for me to pop back from time to time," said Pat.

"He is a lovely person and it was a very nice thing for him to say. I suppose I could take up the offer if I wasn't working on something else.

"But for the present... I'm a bit of a gypsy and I've got to move on.

"The security of the Street is fine - but my happiness is more important."

In 1985, Pat said:

"Not bad for a pensioner, am I? And why not, I've got the best relationship I've ever had in my life, I'm doing all the work I want, earning all the money I'll ever need, and I'm enjoying everything I do."

We all know that tragedy was just around the corner, with a genuine diagnosis of cancer - lung cancer - in March 1986 and Pat's death in the September of that year, but I draw some crumbs of comfort from reading interviews with Pat before then, and the fact that she seemed to be enjoying life. I also draw comfort from the fact that her decision to leave the Street because she was dissatisfied with Elsie Tanner - the second time she had done so - had this time given her some happiness.

1985: The Claytons - A Week In The Life Of...

2010-10-29T12:46:00.002+01:00

Connie Clayton: "Let's get this photo took, 'arry, I've got to get to't Co-op..."

Samantha has written:

I rated your post on't Claytons very highly. I was 5 in 1985 and I remember them and I loved them. How about writing some Corrie fan fiction, expanding on the Clayton theme?

Thanks for writing, Samantha. We don't do fan fiction here, mainly because I'm lousy at it, and the Claytons... well... I have very fond memories of them, but they weren't exactly thrilling were they?

Can you imagine a fan fic about them?

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE CLAYTON FAMILY

Dateline February 1985

Monday: Connie decided it was definitely a bacon-and-eggs-followed-by-hot-cereal morning that morning. There'd been a heavy frost and there were icicles hanging from the cludgie roof.

"I don't know," she said to Harry as he came in, "our Andrea were up till all hours studying last night. We'll 'ave to talk to 'er, 'arry."

"She's got a good brain in 'er 'ead," said Harry. "She'll be all right, love."

"Mmm," said Connie, doubtfully. "I've got to get on with Mrs Arbuckle's dress this morning. She wants it ready for her fortieth wedding anniversary do next week."

"Mrs Arbuckle? Do I know 'er?" asked Harry, sitting down to a plate of high cholesterol and tucking in with relish.

" 'Er out of Balaclava Terrace," said Connie. "You know 'er, 'arry - always on about her in-growing toe nails..."

I'd better stop writing this. I'm starting to enjoy it. I loved the Claytons, too, Samantha!

Mark Eden Book Competition - Our Lucky Winners!

2010-10-25T20:13:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Mr Greg Robertson and Ms D Preston, winners of our Mark Eden competition. Both will receive a copy of Mark's book, Who's Going To Look At You?, shortly after the publication date on 1 November.

The correct answers to the competition questions were:

1) Wally Randle

2) 1989

Many thanks to Troubador Publishing Ltd, for making the competition possible!

We've been watching Corrie episodes from 1988 featuring Mark Eden's brilliant portrayal of Alan Bradley, an apparently good man slowly turning out to be a thoroughly bad one, and will be looking at the character in-depth on 1 November, the book's publication date.

Why No McDonalds In The Blog Header Pics?

2010-10-21T23:11:00.000+01:00

The terrible twosome - Andy and Steve McDonald (Nicholas Cochrane and Simon Gregson).

Steven writes:

I'm surprised that you have no pics of Steve and Andy on your blog header. The arrival of the McDonalds was one of the biggest events of the 1980s and led to lots of great things in the plot.

Sorry, Steven - I had limited space! Here's a screen grab of Andy and Steve in the Corner Shop in 1989 for you!

Albert Tatlock And Percy Sugden - How Alike Were They Really?

2010-10-21T22:05:00.004+01:00

Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) interferes in 1987, Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth) enjoys a grumble in 1976.

I was having a good retro Street natter with a mate of mine a couple of weeks back, and he stated his opinion that Percy Sugden had simply been a replacement for Albert Tatlock and cut from exactly the same cloth. Furthermore, he believed that Eddie Yeats was simply a replacement for Jed Stone, Mavis Riley a copycat replacement for Miss Nugent upon her marriage to Ernest - and quite a lengthy list began to emerge of characters that he believed followed templates as originally laid down by the Street's early residents.

It's true to a degree, and this business of archetypal Coronation Street characters has been much discussed over the years. Also, people tend to be "types" in real life too, don't they?

But I think the notion of archetypal characters is sometimes overdone when discussing Corrie, and I'd like to use Albert Tatlock and Percy Sugden to illustrate my point.

How alike were they really?

Looked at broadly, very. Both were old soldiers, war veterans (Albert, First World War, Percy, Second). Both wore flat caps. Both could be difficult.

But Albert was miserable, slow moving - his manner morose. Percy was often horrifyingly cheerful, fast moving, bossy and dynamic.

Albert could be sensitive at times - some of the scenes he appeared in moved me to tears (remember the Monty Shawcross tribute and Albert's distress over Ken and Deirdre's matrimonial discord?). Percy was completely insensitive. He always meant well, but he had all the sensitivity of a bulldozer. Here was the man who regaled Alf Roberts with tales of men who had died of heart attacks shortly after Alf himself had suffered one!

Albert was not an inquisitive man. Percy jabbed his nose into other folks' business at each and every opportunity.

Albert kept quiet about his own brave acts during World War One. Percy's most famous line was: "When you've made gravy under shell fire, you can do anything!" Percy loved a bit of a brag.

Albert was noted for being mean with the pennies. This quality was never remarked upon in Percy.

Moving from character to circumstances, both Percy and Albert were lollipop men in their time, but Albert saw the job as simply a means to raise some extra cash. Percy saw it as a proud and noble public duty. A second career. Albert acted as assistant caretaker to Ena Sharples at the Community Centre for a time. Percy was the caretaker later. But, once again, Albert was simply bringing in some extra cash. Percy was saving the world before lunchtime.

Watching Percy in action in Coronation Street episodes from 1988 and 1989 recently, I am not reminded of Albert in the slightest - apart from the flat caps both characters wore!

I'm interested in how the "difficult" older male characters of the Street have evolved over the decades. Albert was tetchy, Percy interfering and overbearing, and the marvellous Norris Cole of the current day can be as tetchy as Albert and as interfering as Percy - whilst being very much a character in his own right.

Here's to the old men of The Street - from Albert to Percy, from Percy to Norris...

At Back On The Street, we love 'em all!

1988: Vera Duckworth - Don't Close Your Eyes!

2010-10-21T00:56:00.003+01:00

The Duckworths - Terry (Nigel Pivaro), Jack (William Tarmey) and Vera (Liz Dawn) - trouble brewing...

When Jack received a cheque for £600 in October 1988, his compensation for the car accident with his ever-loving wife, he was chuffed to little mint balls. This would need keeping very quiet. Then there'd be no other claims on the dosh from his family.

But sadly, Jack's dear son Terry had already seen the cheque.

Jack didn't have a bank account and was totally ignorant of the workings of banks. He was shocked to learn that Vera had a secret building society account. She was willing to cash the cheque for him.

But, of course, she expected a share in the spoils.

It was her right.

Jack wanted none of that sort of business.

He was planning to keep the lion's share of the money and indulge himself. Booze? Bookies? Birds? Yep, you guessed it.

Vera was furious and caused a terrible scene in The Rovers, prompting mine host Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough) to dock Jack's wages and send him home with Vera to sort things out in private.

Terry looked on as his parents slugged it out. It was a familiar sight. Finally Vera decided to "put the frighteners" on Jack:

"Till I get my share, you'd best not go to sleep - not in this house!"

Jack was startled: "Why not?"

"As soon as you do, I'm gonna do somethin' nasty to you!" said Vera, ominously.

"Such as what?" Jack's voice contained a note of fear.

"You'll find out - when it's too late!" crowed Vera.

Jack finally caved in, and agreed to give Vera half the money, plus £50 to Terry who had helped him reach agreement with his soul mate.

Jack made Vera promise that there'd be "no rough stuff at night".

"'Course not, love," said Vera, giving him a cuddle. "Unless you offer. But that don't happen very often, does it?" And she sighed.

Vera put the cheque in her building society account.

Jack was disgusted to discover that the cheque would take several days to clear.

As the days ticked slowly by, Vera was having thoughts. Wouldn't it be great to buy a microwave oven, a washing machine and a bed like Krystle Carrington's of Dynasty?

The 19th of October 1988 was the big day - the day the cheque cleared!

Vera went to get the money and seemed to be gone a long time.

Jack was on tenterhooks. It was only ten minutes walk to the precinct. What was keeping her? Of course, Alec would not allow Jack a break from The Rovers to investigate.

When Vera at last returned to No 9, Jack was ecstatic - until she shared out the money on the kitchen table. £50 for Terry, as agreed, and £15 each for herself and Jack.

Jack couldn't believe it. Vera had bought a bed like a "tart's boudoir", a microwave oven, and a washing machine with the rest of what he regarded as HIS money.

And no amount of reasoning on her part - the fact that she had bought things which would benefit them and save the money from being frittered away on booze and bets - could sway Jack at all.

He slammed out of the house, unable to speak.

More From 1989

2010-10-18T16:44:00.003+01:00

"Well Pleased" has written to say that he/she is ... er ... well pleased with our 1989 visit. "More please!" says he/she!

My pleasure! Above, you'll see the building works in progress, Reg Holdsworth alarming Curly Watts, Jack and Vera Duckworth exulting over their swanky new stone cladding, Audrey Roberts sulking because she's been forced to move into the Corner Shop flat, Andy and Steve McDonald in the shop, the 1989 shop staff, Kevin and Sally Webster being told by Alf Roberts the news of Brian Tilsley's tragic and untimely death, Liz and Jim McDonald sussing out their new neighbours, and Mavis Riley and Emily Bishop enjoying a drink in The Rovers.

1983: Beverley Sowden/Callard Makes Her Soap Debut...

2010-10-18T14:37:00.007+01:00

Sam writes:

Beverley Callard was apparently in Emmerdale Farm under the name Sowden in the 1980s. Do you have any further information about this?

We do, Sam - already written up some time ago. We've got the Emmerdale Farm episodes with Beverley in them - and she was terrific! Those '80s pixie boots and hair - she's the perpetual fashion victim! On the farm, she was Jackie Merrick's girlfriend, Angie Richards.

We published some pics on our sister blog, The Beckindale Bugle, and here at Back On The Street. Read the post here.

1983: Gail's Driving Ambition

2010-10-16T23:06:00.006+01:00

Newspaper clipping from 1983 - and Gail Tilsley is about to take her driving test:

Fingers will be crossed in Wednesday's Coronation Street on ITV at 7.30 that Gail Tilsley passes her driving test. As Gail (Helen Worth) tells husband Brian (Christopher Quinten) - who is a bit short of cash: "Think of the difference! You'll make more money and there'll be no need to get rid of the garage!" Oh, he's in there thinking, Gail.

Sadly, Gail failed her driving test.

Note that the BARB TV ratings listed below the Gail article show that Coronation Street was at Number 1 and Number 2 for the week ending 28 August, and at Numbers 3, 4 and 6 that other soap, Crossroads was bringing its "everyday" tale of motel folk into the homes of millions.

I loved Crossroads!

BACK ON THE STREET - MORE THRILLS THAN A NICE QUIET DRINK WITH EMILY AND ERNEST IN 1976!

Coming Soon...

2010-10-16T00:21:00.003+01:00

Sally: "Well, Mr Roberts, we've been hearing a bit about this 'Madchester' thing and Acid House, but me and Kev prefer to stay at home with a nice Shakin' Stevens LP and a packet of Hobnobs..."

Kevin: "Give over, Sal - you know I prefer Samantha Fox and Stella Artois!"

Sally: "Don't go showin' us up, Kev!"

Coming up - we're going to take a look at the teens and early twenty-somethings in The Street over the first three decades. Were they like real youngsters of the '60s, '70s and '80s, or not? And if not, why not?

Suzie Birchall (Cheryl Murray) steps into the limelight as we visit the evil side of the '80s, and we're also going to take a look at Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth) and Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington). Just HOW alike were they really?

Stay tuned. We can't promise you a tram crashing into the Corner Shop, but we can promise you some great '80s quotes from Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough), some super '60s Street architecture as envisaged by the show's original designer Denis Parkin, and a peek into the '70s to reveal a curious fact about the arrival of our Hilda's first muriel.

BACK ON THE STREET - MORE THRILLIN' THAN A NIGHT ON'T TOWN WITH PHYLLIS PEARCE IN 1987.

The Claytons Of No 11 Coronation Street - Harry, Connie, Sue And Andrea... What Went Wrong?

2010-10-15T00:11:00.004+01:00

Jane Hazlegrove, Johnny Leeze, Susan Brown and Caroline O'Neill - the Claytons of Coronation Street. But not for long...

Ian writes:

Whilst all other Corrie sites are sucking up the doomy vibe about the 50th anniversary tram crash, on this one I've found Percy Sugden, Victor Pendlebury, Ena Sharples and the Clayton family! I like it very much. Talking of the Claytons, can you tell me why you think the family failed? Looking back, I don't think they were given much time.

Hi, Ian - thanks for your comments. Great to have feedback.

We'd be sucking up the "doomy vibe" about the tram crash too, but we don't cover the modern day Street!

As for the Claytons... well, I'm not sure what went wrong. I wasn't watching Corrie all the time back then as I was having an exciting time in real life, but I do recall catching an episode in which Harry and Connie came to look at No 11. I was immediately impressed by the possible future dynamics between the couple as Harry seemed laid back and Connie a bit of a moaner - perhaps even slightly neurotic. I recall she voiced doubts about moving into the house and didn't like the atmosphere.

Promising stuff, I thought!

Was Connie going to find out about the colourful past of the house in the Elsie Tanner era?

And how would she react to that?

"Ooh, Harry, I thought this house had a funny atmosphere. Lord knows what that woman got up to! There should be a red light outside! I don't like it here..."

The two sisters - Andrea and Sue - one academically inclined, the other totally not so, also seemed promising. Soaps thrive on conflict (in the 1980s, it was more of the everyday variety than much of what occurs today), and I anticipated at least a few spats between Andrea and Sue:

"You're stuck-up!"

"Well you're a no-hoper!"

Perhaps Harry, trombone-playing milkman dad, would be an easy-going peacemaker, probably rather hen pecked?

But no, the Claytons seemed to be a happy, united family with no conflicts between members.

Of course, they could have been a happy, united family, with a bit of conflict between members.

Most families I know are like that.

But no.

The Claytons got on very well together.

Recalling some of the now legendary (in my house) rows between my two sisters, and the occasional bust-up between my mother and step-father, I wasn't terribly convinced.

Andrea's involvement with Terry Duckworth I found unconvincing, too. Terry always seemed too old for his age (I was supposedly a contemporary of his, but always saw him as being a good five years older than me), had no fashion sense, and I couldn't imagine there ever being any spark between him and Andrea.

The conflict with the Duckworths, when Vera tried to out-Dynasty Dynasty with that dreadful dress, was good, but the relationships within the Clayton family continued on the flat and friendly level.

And so Andrea became pregnant by Terry and the family left.

I was sorry. The acting was always first rate, and I saw great potential in Connie when I first saw her looking at the house.

Interviewed years later, Susan Brown agreed that the Claytons did not work:

"But the really interesting thing is that the four of us got on fantastically well together, we were inseparable. There was a lot of talk about them wanting a very ordinary family but the characters were never defined and I never felt I had a big handle on the character."

Caroline O'Neill said:

"They wanted just a normal, ordinary family, but you can't just give that on speck, you have to have specifics. In the end I spent six months moaning about my A Levels, which was terribly boring and uninteresting. I had a couple of scenes just before I left when I was pregnant which were quite nice but they never followed that through either."

The Clayton family lived at No 11 from January to August 1985. I regretted their leaving. It was rare to see a whole new family - Mum, Dad, kids - moving into The Street in those days - and I did find the characters likeable.

Fortunately, the introduction of the McDonald family, who moved into No 11 in 1989, worked out rather better!

1966 - Coronation Street In Australia...

2010-10-14T00:25:00.007+01:00

Arrival in Australia: Pat Phoenix, Arthur Leslie and Doris Speed.

Coronation Street had been seen on-screen in Australia for three years, to avid response, and on 17 March 1966, Doris Speed, Pat Phoenix and Arthur Leslie (better known as Annie Walker, Elsie Tanner and Jack Walker to Street fans), together with the show's executive producer, Harry Kershaw, set out for "Down Under" to meet the fans on a three week tour. Granada Press Officer Norman Frisby was already there - having departed from England on 12 March. The tour came about via an invitation from the three Channel 9 stations which screened the show in Aus. - TCN 9 Sydney, GRV 9 Melbourne and NSW 9 Adelaide.

A wonderful first hand account of the trip exists in HV Kershaw's excellent book The Street Where I Live. First published to celebrate the show's 21st anniversary in 1981, an updated version was published in 1985 to celebrate the 25th anniversary.

Here's a brief extract:

The cynic might rightfully argue that the happy-go-lucky Lancashire bonhomie was now second nature to all "Coronation Street" artists but anyone looking down, say, at twenty thousand upturned smiling faces at the new City of Elizabeth and listening to their cheers of welcome could well have been forgiven for becoming a little 'difficult'. But Pat, Doris and Arthur stayed on an even keel. Not only did they carry out a gruelling programme, they each had time for the spontaneous gesture. I remember one morning in Adelaide, standing outside the Hotel Australia waiting with the party to move off on another well-filled day when a thirty-year-old woman pushed her way through the watching fans and nervously approached Pat Phoenix. Her mother, she explained, a great "Street" fan, was bed-ridden and, sorely disappointed at having missed a sight of her favourites, had asked if she might have an autograph.

'Where do you live?' asked Pat. The woman told her. 'Where's that?' Pat asked Rob Carless, our South Australian host. Five minutes away by car, said Rob. 'Come on!' said Pat and the surprised woman found herself being bundled into a limousine and driven home. Not that her surprise was anything to her mother's when, sitting up in bed she watched as the door opened and a glamorous, smiling Elsie Tanner popped her head round, said 'Hello, love! They tell me you're poorly!' and stayed for a chat and a cup of tea.

The secret of the tour's success was perhaps best summed up by a sardonic member of the Australian Press corps. We had been warned that the Aussie journalist was the most murderous of the breed but the trip was going so well we took our courage in both hands and agreed to a full-scale Press reception. The junket was held at the Great Eastern Hotel in Littlehampton in the hills above Adelaide and, after a wary start, artists, assassins and associates began to enjoy the boar's heads and barons of beef, the Foster's lager and the native (and excellent) champagne. At two o'clock in the morning I was buttonholed by a gaunt Pressman who pressed a glass of something-or-other in my hand and plied me with a few searching questions. Then he paused and looked at me.

'I'll tell you something!' he said. 'When we heard that you Poms were coming over we got out the knives and we sharpened them good. We were really going to carve you up!" His eyes flickered to Pat and Doris, fresh as the morning dew, Pat regaling one group with some tale of home, Doris holding court with another. And, between them, Arthur Leslie demonstrating to a bleary band of reporters the gentle art of opening a champagne bottle. 'But these bastards...!' the Pressman went on, his voice full of wonder, '... these bastards'd charm the birds from the bleedin' trees!'

Mavis Riley And Les Dennis In The 1980s...

2010-10-13T19:17:00.010+01:00

TV Times, July, 1985.

Fay writes:

Come on, Corrie genius, Can you give me a rough estimate of how many times Mavis Riley/Wilton said "I don't really know!"

Well, Fay, I hate to disappoint you, but I have over a thousand episodes of Coronation Street, most of them consecutive ones, and many of them featuring Mavis from her early years to her marriage to Derek and beyond. And she doesn't say "I don't really know!" at all.

I have only one episode in which she does say it, and then not in a dithering manner, from the late 1980s.

The catchphrase did not actually belong to the real Mavis character. It originated in the 1980s when Les Dennis and Dustin Gee teamed up for a brilliant series of Mavis and Vera Duckworth skits.

And Les's Mavis was often heard to squawk: "I don't really know!"

Les and Dustin worked together on Russ Abbot's Madhouse, a highly popular show which began in 1980.

In an early series of the show, a comedy sequence involving Russ selling sketches from a barrow went pear shaped, and so Les's Mavis met Dustin's Vera:

"We had to pop up from behind the barrow doing particular impressions, but we got the sequence a bit wrong," explained Dustin Gee in 1985. "Russ had already got Mavis Riley beside him and he said: 'And what am I bid for a Bet Lynch?' I said, 'You can't have a Bet Lynch, but here's a Vera Duckworth,' because I was halfway dressed as Vera. I appeared and began talking to 'Mavis' in character. After that, we began to appear more regularly, eventually on Live From Her Majesty's as well as The Royal Variety Show."

The catchphrase took off, and is now, of course, attributed to Thelma Barlow's original Mavis, although it actually originated with Les Dennis's version!

Read our main post on Les Dennis and Dustin Gee here.

Granada Studios Tour - More Memories...

2010-10-13T12:02:00.008+01:00

Straying out of the '60s, 70s and '80s for a moment - I came across a few more piccies of the Granada Studios Tour yesterday and thought you might enjoy a peek. The Tour is, of course, related to our subject era as it debuted in the 1980s!

There's me above, outside the Corner Shop looking very youthful. If you could see me now... My physog has, as usual, been blanked out to protect those of a nervous disposition.

The shop looks very much as it did after its 1985 transformation into Alf's Mini Market, except for the twee latticed window added by Brendan Scott in the early 1990s.

I was sitting on the pavement outside the Corner Shop with my wife on one visit. It was a quiet moment on the Street, and we were reminiscing, when who should appear from a small door under one of the viaduct arches but Gail Tilsley - actress Helen Worth! Having got over the shock, we were delighted to see her, and she chatted happily with us about the 1970s days when Gail lived in the shop flat with Tricia Hopkins, and the 1980s days when Gail's Mam, awful Aud, married the shop owner.

And also the doings of Suzie Birchall!

It was lovely to meet Helen Worth - she was absolutely charming to chat with - and we also met the wonderful Bill Waddington (Percy Sugden), another of our favourite characters, on a different occasion. He told us that some people taking the tour had informed him that they were afraid of getting told off by Percy as they went round the exterior set!

Taking a stroll in some very English weather!

We managed to sneak a peek at the interior of No 7 - the posh new house built by Len Fairclough in 1982. Posh? We're tellin' you, lovey, it were a right 'ole. Concrete floors, kitchen that small you couldn't swing a cat...

The Duckworths' house, complete with bar, was, of course, much classier!

The Changing Face Of The Corner Shop

2010-10-13T00:39:00.000+01:00

How it changed - the Corner Shop as featured in the original opening titles of Coronation Street in 1960 - a view of Archie Street; with its new frontage in 1964; and in 1985 as Alf's brand new mini market.

First in a series of posts in which we take a look at The Street and its changing architecture over the years.

I'm starting with the Corner Shop at No 15 because it was a favourite Street location of mine - I fantasised about owning it when I was a youngster. Move aside, Maggie Clegg and Renee Bradshaw!

We know that the Corner Shop experienced several changes of ownership in the 1960s and '70s - from Florrie Lindley to Lionel Petty, from Lionel Petty to David and Irma Barlow, from David and Irma Barlow to the Clegg family, and from the Clegg family to Renee Bradshaw.

The shop enjoyed a brief period with a sub post office added in the mid-1960s and a longer-lasting change with the addition of an off-licence in 1976.

Remember the 1980s, when the shop was owned by Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley)? After the death of his wife Renee (Madge Hindle) in July 1980, Alf was the shop man for the rest of the decade and into the early 1990s.

Let's take a look at the structural alterations made to the shop in the 1960s and 1980s...

In the beginning, as Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge) took over the shop from Elsie Lappin (Maudie Edwards), the shop door was on the corner of Coronation Street and Viaduct Street, with display windows in both streets.

This was based on the original model for Coronation Street, Archie Street in Ordsall.

Archie Street had an off-licence on the corner which provided the inspiration for the Corrie Corner Shop architecture.

Back to the story-line.

Always a quiet soul, Florrie Lindley never really made much of an impression on the Street, the biggest surprise being the arrival of her husband after she'd claimed to be a widow, but she did make an impact on the Corner Shop. It was towards the end of Florrie's reign at the shop that she had the frontage rebuilt and the door moved from its position on the corner. The new frontage had a door opening straight on to Coronation Street and a small display window to its right.

And that's the way it stayed until long after Florrie's departure in 1965 - right up to 1985 in fact, when Alf Roberts had the shop made into a mini market. This meant interior changes - the disappearance of the living room at the back which became additional shop space - and a new, more modern self service system.

Last days of the old Corner Shop - the Street c. early 1985 - shortly before the mini market.

Alf actually wanted to enlarge his little empire dramatically and incorporate the house next door, No 13, into his new scheme of things. But when this plan failed to come to fruition, he settled for transforming the existing shop premises.

And what a dramatic transformation it was!

The frontage was totally altered - now having a smart new metal door, a tiled surround, a very '80s red-on-white sign proclaiming "CORNER SHOP" and a new window emblazoned: "ALF'S MINI MARKET".

The change meant a great increase in items stocked.

The premises were suddenly pulled out of the mid-1960s and into the mid-1980s. It was at this point that the Corner Shop entered its modern day era.

Alf adored the place - he was a dedicated Mr Green The Grocer, although wife Audrey (Sue Nicholls), who married Alf in 1985, was never that keen.

However with shop assistants Deirdre Langton/Barlow (Anne Kirkbride), who first worked there in 1980, and Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor), who took Deirdre's place in 1987, the Corner Shop continued to hold its own - even against competition like the Bettabuys supermarket, which was introduced in 1989.

The shop was much handier than Bettabuys - and the quality of the gossip on offer much higher!

In fact, throughout the first three decades, the gossip which bounced around the Corner Shop's walls was second to none!

And I daresay that's something which hasn't changed to this day!

We Love Victor Pendlebury

2010-10-12T13:25:00.000+01:00

Victor Pendlebury (Christopher Coll) romances Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow).

"Wally" was a wildly popular insult of the early to mid 1980s (there was even a book called "How To Be A Wally"), and here we find Victor Pendlebury and Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) being accurately described in a newspaper cartoon.

I can't help feeling I'm having my leg pulled here, but since I wrote my recent blog post on Victor Pendlebury, I've received no less than twelve e-mails ranting about the glories of The Saddleworth Sage. One even suggests that I rename this blog "The Victor Pendlebury Appreciation Society".

Well, ladies and gentleman, let's not forget that the highly conventional Town Hall planning officer that was the real Victor actually baulked at introducing his neighbours to the concept of his wildly bohemian trial marriage, and planned to pass Mavis off as "Mrs Pendlebury".

He wasn't that daring!

But still he excites interest.

Just imagine what might have happened if he had married Mavis! says Joan P.

He was a Heathcliffe to Mavis's Cathy, says "EastEnders Disliker".

He was a man amongst Mavis, says my wife.

Actually, he was rather a good character, says I.

Sadly, Victor, introduced in November 1982, never made it past minor intermittent character status, but judging by e-mails received here and viewers' reactions in the 1980s and early 1990s, the character made some impact. And just what might Mavis have been doing now if she had chosen differently?

The Duckworths And The Claytons

2010-10-11T00:34:00.000+01:00

The Duckworths - Vera (Liz Dawn), Terry (Nigel Pivaro) and Jack (William Tarmey) battle it out at No 9, whilst at No 11 the Claytons - Andrea (Caroline O'Neill), Connie (Susan Brown), Harry (Johnny Leeze) and Sue (Jane Hazlegrove)) have a nice pot of tea.

Now, I'm not one for gossip, chuck, you can ask anyone - ask Ida Clough - but I remember them Duckworths in their heyday. Who doesn't round 'ere?

'83 it were they moved in, and a couple of years later the Clayton family moved in next door. Connie Clayton weren't that keen on't place - thought it had a funny atmosphere - but they moved in anyway, her, her old man - Harry, and the two kids - Andrea and Sue.

Well, I ask you, who in their right minds would move in next door to't Duckworths?

Harry was a milkman and he played the trombone. The trombone! I ask you! Funny beggar!

Andrea were studying for her A Levels - A-Levels! Should've been out working! Sue were less high falutin' - left school and got a job. Nice girl.

Connie used to take in dressmaking, and that's how she come up against Madam Duckworth. Vera wanted a posh dress making - said she'd make Joan Collins like a lollipop lady! I ask you! Connie made the dress and Vera weren't happy with it - and a right argy bargy started.

But in the meantime, Andrea had taken up with Terry Duckworth. Funny lad, Terry. Sly and had no fashion sense. Right slovenly. Thought she'd have had more sense.

Anyway, it turned out she'd been playing "Hide The Sausage" with Terry, and she ended up in the family way.

Well, that were it. The Claytons upped sticks and left.

And who could blame 'em?

Speak Easy - 3 - CONTAINS 50th ANNIVERSARY TRAM CRASH SPOILER

2010-10-08T21:42:00.006+01:00

Back to The Speak Easy, where your views can be heard... Free and easy, bright and breezy, that's Speak Easy.

Justin has written:

I wept to see that the Corner Shop has been destroyed by the tram crash for the 50th anniversary. It was the place where the very first scene was set in 1960. What are these people doing to Corrie? Jean Alexander asked Brian Park why he was destroying Corrie in 1997 - but now things are so much worse.

It's certainly a strong story-line, Justin! I'm sorry you wept to see the Corner Shop destroyed. It does hold many fond memories, and was one of the original meeting places (The Rovers being the other) when the show began.

The Corner Shop was transformed by Alf Roberts into a mini market in 1985.

Claire writes:

Only this blog would feature a post about Victor Pendlebury's resemblance to Stan Ogden! As Corrie blogs go, yours is quirky, insightful and unique. Keep it up!

Claire, I really appreciate your kind words. Thank you. And I enjoy writing the blog so I intend to keep it going!

Gavin writes:

Where do you get all your screen grabs from?

I have a lot of 1970s episodes, Gavin, from Granada Plus and 1980s episodes from Canadian TV broadcasts. Some of the '80s discs are in a sorry state, so it's taking me lots of time to transfer them to playable discs, but once I have there'll be lots more screen caps.

Victor Pendlebury And Stan Ogden - Brothers Under The Skin?

2010-10-08T02:18:00.001+01:00

They loved to go a-wandering... Victor Pendlebury (Christopher Coll) sets out with Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow)...

Victor was a man of words. A man of action. A man of nature. A man of pottery. A man of... ooh, all sorts of things!

He was a breath of fresh air when he blew into Mavis' life in 1982... so different from dithering Derek Wilton.

Victor's attitude was so unconventional. So poetic. So literary. So craft-loving. So Stan Ogden.

So Stan Ogden?!!! you cry.

Why yes, I reply - at least according to "The Oggies" in 1983...

Sunday People, June 12, 1983:

Victor Pendlebury, rapidly rising rival to Stan Ogden as the male chauvinist pig of Coronation Street, must not be allowed to leave the show.

None other than the Oggies - the Stan Ogden Appreciation Society - say so.

They reckon Victor could become "the thinking man's big O" and have asked the producers to let him stay.

Leader Barry Trelawney said: "His disgraceful treatment of Mavis is superb - we knew he was a kindred spirit when he asked her to live with him at weekends only. He reminds us of Stan in his prime when he gave Hilda a dog's life. And when he demolished a bottle of sherry solo we knew he had Stan's hollow legs, too."

A Street spokesman sent a message of hope:

"Victor is slinking off alone - but we're sure we haven't seen the last of him."

My wife was very fond of Victor.

But then she has excellent taste in men!

The Mystery Of Sam Littlewood And Rita's Amnesia...

2010-10-04T21:46:00.005+01:00

Rita: "I don't know why it says '1989' on this photo, 'cos it's 1983 really. Well, at least I think so..."

Sue writes:

Why didn't Rita Fairclough expect to see her Uncle Sam in Blackpool when she had amnesia in 1989? After all, he lived there years earlier!

Eee, chuck! As we know, Rita's mind had retreated back to her marriage to Len. Alec Gilroy stated that Rita had blotted everything out since before Len died. We also know that Sam Littlewood (Harry Littlewood) was living in Blackpool in 1980, and that he'd retired there shortly after Len and Rita married. According to one on-line source the character died in September 1982, so it seems Rita's delusional state had taken her back to a time slightly after that.

In fact, it now seems we can confidently declare that Rita's 1989 amnesia time warp had taken her back to late 1982 or 1983.

We know she continued her singing engagements on an occasional basis under her maiden and stage name Rita Littlewood after her wedding to Len, so it all fits!

She was in Blackpool, Len was at home, and Uncle Sam had died shortly before.

By gum, that was a difficult question to answer!

The Stone Cladding Man - Who Was He Before?

2010-10-04T11:55:00.002+01:00

Quite a lot of Corrie performers over the years have played more than one role - usually beginning as bit-parts, characters who flitted through a plot, appearing in only a couple of episodes.

According to his autobiography, The Importance Of Being Percy, Bill Waddington was four different "bit part" characters, before becoming Percy Sugden in 1983. He'd first appeared in the show in the late 1960s, and was at No 3, where Percy would later lodge, playing the best man at Emily Bishop's "wedding" to bigamist Arnold Swain, in 1980.

Another Corrie legend, Jean Alexander, had briefly appeared as the landlady of the woman who had kidnapped baby Christopher Hewitt in 1962 before becoming Hilda in 1964.

There's a lengthy list, but here's a nice easy question for you.

It's 1989. Percy is outraged to discover the workman putting up the Duckworths' stone cladding blasting out Roachford's Cuddly Toy on his radio, and gives him a proper ticking off.

"That wireless is a public nuisance!" rants Percy.

The actor who played the workman had notably played somebody else in The Street years before - his reign was brief but dramatic.

Can you name the actor and the character he once played?

The "Which Year?" Question Revisited

2010-10-04T00:18:00.003+01:00

I'm a little disappointed by the response to the question I posed a week or two back - "which year was the photograph above taken?"

So far, readers have only established that it could be 1979 or it could be 1980. But there is somebody in the photograph, a member of the cast, perhaps even two members of the cast, who firmly pin the pic to one of those two years.

Come on, folks, take a closer look!

Gail, Brian, Ian And Sarah Louise - Who's The Daddy?

2010-10-02T23:10:00.008+01:00

Chris asks:

Do you have any screen grabs of Gail and Brian Tilsley as they were in the late 80's? Love the blog!

Thanks, Chris. Eyes to top of post for screen captures.

This is Gail (Helen Worth) telling Brian (Chris Quinten) that Sarah Louise is his daughter, not Ian Latimer's. She didn't really want to. Gail was quite happy going her own way, letting Brian believe that the baby wasn't his.

But when Audrey (Sue Nicholls) opened her gob to Ivy (Lynne Perrie) about the top secret facts, Gail was forced to tell Brian the truth.

Deirdre And The Gipsy Creams

2010-10-02T18:19:00.008+01:00

Daniel writes:

The Web is alight with the latest Corrie sensation - Deirdre and the Gipsy Creams! They were a biscuit that is apparently not available anymore, but Deirdre offered the doctor a couple with a cup of tea in Corrie on Thursday, and apparently Peter Barlow has bought a packet from the Corner Shop!

Is it possible? I know you're a retro Corrie blog, not up-to-date stuff, but I wonder if, you being past orientated, you can shed any light on when they ceased to be, and whether any are still available? I'm sad, but thanks a lot!

Well, Daniel, even though I rarely venture beyond 1989 with The Street, I'm enthralled by the Gipsy Creams mystery. It's right up my street (groan!).

When did they cease manufacture? In the much-maligned 1980s? In the noxious 1990s? Or more recently?

Well, I'm not sure when they debuted, but indications are that they ceased manufacture about four or five years ago. In 2005, they seemed in short supply, but the packet pictured above has a 19 Nov 05 sell-by date. The manufacturer was McVitie's.

There's a lovely piece here about a rare 2005 sighting.

The only explanation I can find for Deirdre's recent treat is that the Corner Shop must have some very old stock!

How did I rate Gipsy Creams?

Well, GC fans, sorry, but I wasn't keen.

I much prefer Hobnobs - launched in the mid-1980s and still going strong - and absolutely beautiful after a dunking in a mug of tea!

Steve - A New Mr Tanner For Elsie...

2010-10-02T13:16:00.006+01:00

September 1967, and the TV Times came up with a souvenir magazine to celebrate the wedding of Elsie Tanner (Patricia Phoenix) to her American wartime love Steve Tanner (Paul Maxwell).

This started a bit of a trend for TV Times, which also produced Street "special" magazines for the show's tenth anniversary in 1970, the wedding of Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) and Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox) in 1977, and the 2000th episode in 1980.

So, Elsie married a man from her past, a US Army Master Sergeant she had met during the Second World War.

Eee, those were the days, chuck - the days when the Yanks were oversexed, over here and over at Elsie's.

"Got any gum, chum?"

And Elsie's second husband had the same name as her first, although he couldn't have been more different from the shifty Arnold.

Behind the scenes, it was handy that Steve shared Elsie's surname as he wasn't going to be around for long and Elsie Tanner could simply continue being Elsie Tanner after the marriage broke up.

Eee, 'eck, lovey, there was some classy nosh at the wedding reception - as Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) discovered. But whilst I have written about the sometimes too upmarket diets of the Street's characters (occasionally more reflective of well-heeled scriptwriters than genuine back street people), it was fitting that the wedding food should be "posh" as Steve was a pretty classy guy!

For Pat Phoenix, the wedding was apparently an emotional affair in which the fine line between fact and fiction was broken.

Jack Rosenthal, the Street's producer at the time, recalled years later that Pat refused to leave her dressing room before the wedding scenes were due to be recorded.

"She said, 'I'm not coming out.' I said 'You've got to come out, we're all waiting to shoot, you've got to come out, it's the wedding scene.' She said, 'That's why.' And that's precisely what it was and this mood had been prevalent and increased during the run-up."

Finally, Pat let Mr Rosenthal into her dressing room.

"I sat and held her hand and she said, 'Don't you understand, it's my wedding day.' I held her hand and I did what you do with a bride, with your daughter, and I said 'You're beautiful and you're radiant and it's going to be the most wonderful wedding. Come on now, I want you to go out there.' I couldn't believe it was happening but it did happen and she came out and walked down the aisle."

The wedding took place over two episodes on the fourth and the sixth of September, 1967.

This was a special pose for the TV Times - Steve never kissed Ena on-screen. She'd would probably have hit him with her handbag - because you couldn't have men taking liberties. Or anybody else, for that matter!

Another TV Times pose as Elsie and Steve prepare to fly off to Lisbon on their honeymoon. Their departure was not seen on-screen.

Well, lovey, that were it. The marriage broke up quickly. Steve was then murdered. And Elsie was alone again.

But not for long...

Danger At The Corner Shop - Maya 2004 And Phyllis 1987

2010-10-01T23:09:00.012+01:00

"When you've made gravy under shell fire, you can do anything!" says Percy Sugden (Bill Waddington) to Alf Roberts (Bryan Mosley).

Josh has written:

Much as I like this blog, don't you think it's missing out by not including the full 50 year span of the Street? After all, a lot of the best dramas and special effects have been in the last 20 years. Do you remember Maya blowing up the Corner Shop in 2004? Just how gripping was that? And it's one of hundreds of great stories in the program. The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are fine, but they were never as gripping as the last 20 years. The dramatic content has grown tremendously, and the sense of danger keeps me on the edge of my seat like never before.

Hi, Josh!

You may have a point there, but I stick to the first three decades because I have most enthusiasm for them and want to pay tribute to the actors, writers and production teams of those times.

And hey, the Corner Shop had its fair share of dangerous scenarios in the past! Remember Sheila Birtles trying to commit suicide in the 1960s? Gail and the suspect telephone engineer in the 1970s? And as for the 1980s, well with Audrey striding about squawking with her dreadful perm, and unspeakable horrors lurking amongst the shelves, you could hardly call it safe.

Unspeakable horrors lurking amongst the shelves?

Well, yes, if your name was Percy Sugden. Often he'd go in for a purchase and a nag and a moan at Alf Roberts, only to find Phyllis Pearce (Jill Summers) scuttling towards him, having lain in wait for him behind the Super Noodles, Gipsy Creams, Hobnobs and Heinz Big Soups.

She'd suddenly poke her head up, spot the capped man with the over-active gob at the counter, and then there she'd be, stood there large as life beside her intended.

Poor old Phyllis. She never won Percy's heart, but personally I think that was a blessing in disguise.

All right, you may ask, but how does such trivia rank alongside the dramas of the explosive Maya? Well, the Percy and Phyllis scenario actually attracted Royal attention, with Diana, Princess of Wales, asking Bill Waddington at a Help The Aged charity event: "Does that woman ever catch you?"

So it couldn't have been that unremarkable!

Nay, lovey, those days were just my cup of tea...

As for Maya, I liked the character - she was different, unpredictable, kind of fun. I thought it was a shame they turned her into a bunny boiler and dispatched her.

"Does that woman ever catch you?"

Doris Speed On Annie Walker

2010-09-30T22:59:00.004+01:00

Here's Doris Speed as Annie Walker, photographed way back in the Street's early days in the 1960s. Note how the Corner Shop is next door to the Snug at The Rovers in the studio!

Doris Speed was not Annie really, she was possessed of a wonderful wit and often told stories against herself.

And she was clear sighted when it came to Annie.

Speaking about Mrs Walker in the late 1960s, Doris said:

"I don't think Annie is really horrid. She's a silly, pretentious woman, and her silliness is amusing. Her judgement is wrong on almost everything, but she is not an unkind person."

Annie is the Number One favourite Coronation Street character of all time for this blogger! Whenever she appeared, I always knew I was in for a treat - another crash course in bitchery, or comic complications as Madam was brought down a peg or two.

And occasionally the character could move me to tears.

I recall Mrs Walker being visited by her cousin Edwin Beaumont in 1977. A real, live Beaumont of Clitheroe in the Street! The residents, who had heard so much about Annie's wonderful family over the years, were agog.

As it turned out, Edwin lied to Annie about his financial circumstances and borrowed money from several of Annie's friends and customers, money he was unable to pay back.

Annie was devastated, but she hid the facts from the other residents, made sure that the money was repaid, then saw Edwin off from The Rovers, telling him that she had a name to keep up - a very good name.

And she didn't mean the Beaumont name, which she had so often bragged about.

She meant the Walker name.

The end credits rolled with Annie staring at photographs of her beloved husband Jack and son Billy on the mantelpiece in her living room.

And I wept.

Doris was a brilliant actress.

And, through Annie, she made us laugh, made us fume at the character's bitchery and snobbery, and made us care.

1983: The "How Should Len Fairclough Die?" Competition...

2010-09-30T00:01:00.003+01:00

By September 1983, the news that actor Peter Adamson had been sacked from his role as Len Fairclough in Coronation Street was public knowledge. And a sad Corrie time it was (see our post on Len here).

But with Len on his way out, and the character already absent from our screens for several months, conjecture started about how he was was to meet his end.

The Sunday Mirror, September 11, 1983, tapped into the issue and presented a competition:

It's the question millions of Coronation Street fans have been asking: "How will Len Fairclough be written out of the series?"

Peter Adamson, as Fairclough, is as much a part of The Street as the Rovers Return. He was one of the first characters to appear when the series began 23 years ago.

So how do the scriptwriters get rid of him?

Len has dropped a few bricks in his time. He has been in more than a few punch-ups, and has never been slow to voice his opinions.

He has a son from his previous marriage, so he could be involved in his father's permanent disappearance. There hasn't been a street "death" since Ernie Bishop was shot [oh yes there had - Renee Roberts in 1980 - Andy], so Len might easily be involved in something equally dramatic.

He was last seen in the series on May 1 [it was actually May 11 - Andy], when he was working on Mike Baldwin's new Graffiti Club.

If you were a Coronation Street scriptwriter, how would YOU end Len's days? Write to us, telling in no more than 150 words how YOU think Len should be written out.

The writer of the entry we think best will win a super Ferguson Video cassette player worth £560.

The winner will also receive a marvellous Granada video cassette called The Magic Of Coronation Street...

Weren't VCRs EXPENSIVE?!! No wonder only 5% of the UK population had them in 1980 and around 25% by the middle of the decade!

Brilliant prizes - The Magic Of Coronation Street was the show's first EVER home video release, from 1982.

So who won the competition? Let's press on a week...

LEN GOES - LEAVING A PINT BEHIND

Let Len go with dignity. That's the demand of thousands of Sunday Mirror readers over the fate of Coronation Steet's tough-guy star.

We asked YOU to write the script for the Finish Of Fairclough.

And there is only one word to decribe the response to our great competition. Staggering.

Your letters came by the sackful.

Nearly all of them were caring, most were dramatic, many were gory and some well... fiendish!

Lots of you "killed" Len off in a car crash, or a fall from the Graffiti Club roof, or from electrocution when he drilled through cables.

Others had him mugged, killed in an explosion, drowned - and even sucked down into sewers.

But some of the more bizarre endings had him choking on an oyster, drowning in a vat of Newton and Ridley's bitter, killed by space invaders, bitten by a rabid dog at Sharon's kennels or eating a poisoned pie given to him by Bet Lynch!

Len has to go because Peter Adamson, who plays the character, has been sacked.

He last appeared on May 1 [11th - Andy] at work on Mike Baldwin's new Graffiti Club. Granada have said that Len is not to be brought back to the studios to act out his final scene. They want him killed off.

The winning entry, described as "simple and dramatic", went like this:

It is lunch-time at the Rovers. In walks Rita Fairclough...

Rita: "A vodka and a pint for the old man. He'll be here in a bit - he's just finishing some soldering."

Fred pours the drinks. At that moment an explosion shakes the building. The talking stops. Dust flutters down.

Fred: "What the 'ell were that?"

The door bursts open, Eddie rushes in.

"It's the yard. Fairclough's yard, the whole lot's blown up."

Rita: "Oh my God. What about Len? Have you seen him?"

She rushes out.

Next scene: Fairclough's yard. Fire engines, lots of noise, shouting, hustle and bustle, flames and smoke.

Fireman emerging from smoke speaks to waiting ambulance man: "Only one body. Didn't stand a chance. Looks like a Propane bottle blew up."

Camera pans to a shocked Rita.

Flashback to the Rovers bar... Len's untouched pint. Fade-out.

One of the competition's runner-ups suggested that Rita should receive a letter from Len:

Dear Rita, I hope some day you can understand why I had to do this even though I still love you.

Eight months ago I met a woman who'd just been widowed. I felt sorry for her and somehow we started having an affair and now she's pregnant. She's not a young independent dolly bird, and she needs me to look after her. And it is my kid too. So Jean and I are moving down South to start a new life.

The yard is being put on the market and I've had the Kabin legally transferred to you. The solicitors will be in touch about the divorce. At least you've got the house and the Kabin, so I know you'll get by without me. Jean and the baby can't.

God only knows how sorry I am for doing this to you. - Love Len.

I like that ending.

A tongue-in-cheek clever runner-up suggested:

The regulars in the Street discover that Len had been snapped up by a commercial TV company to play a major role in a series about life as it really is in a typical street in the north west.

Everyone in the Street is very jealous because they also find out that the actors in the series, which has been running for some twenty years, earn incredibly vast amounts of money, as befits the stars of a programme which regularly finds itself in the top two positions in the TV ratings.

Len, as would most people finding themselves in his position, has forsaken the Street for the bright lights of showbiz. The Street will never be the same...

For all those concerned that Rita (Barbara Knox) could be on the way out too, the article contained words of great comfort:

Will Len's wife, Rita, become a merry widow once she has recovered from the shock of his dramatic death?

Granada TV chiefs aren't giving much away about her future, though Barbara Knox, who plays her, has been guaranteed a place in The Street's events.

But a Granada spokesman did drop this hint that there could be a new man in Rita's life:

"It's true that a lot of real-life widows find second partners, and Rita COULD find somebody else."

Tantalisingly, the spokesman added:

"Viewers will have to wait and see what happens to Rita, and how she copes after Len's death."

Len, of course, finally met his end in a road accident in December 1983. And Rita was further devastated by the discovery that he'd been having an affair.

Make Time For Wine At The Rovers

2010-09-29T16:43:00.000+01:00

The Rovers before the 1980s. You couldn't have wine - unless Mrs Walker sent out for it - but you could have Champagne!

When was wine first available at The Rovers Return? asks Peter. A book he read suggests 1978, but he has all the 1978 episodes on DVD, taped from Granada Plus, he's studied them, and there's certainly no sign of it!

Quite right, Peter - don't rely on books, rely on the episodes! I have the 1978 episodes too, and The Rovers did not stock wine then, indeed it had been stated shortly before that there was no demand for it.

Many backstreet pubs never used to serve wine, and The Rovers was typical.

We lower-working class folk were all far too down to earth, unsophisticated and utterly downright lovely back then to want that poncy muck.

In 1976, when Renee Bradshaw (Madge Hindle) applied for an off-licence for the Corner Shop, the fact emerged that The Rovers did not stock wine, due to lack of demand.

In 1978, Harry Payne (Max Wall) asked Mrs Walker (Doris Speed) for Champagne - which she immediately supplied - and I think this is where the confusion comes in with the book you mention. Many humble pubs which did not stock ordinary wine kept a bottle of two of Champers on standby - for special events such as engagements. Of course, they hardly ever sold any!

Annie Walker, being of a better class than most landlords and landladies, had made sure The Rovers could rise to the occasion for many years.

As for ordinary wine, it made its presence felt in The Rovers in the mid-to-late 1980s, with wine by the glass available (a prominent "Make Time For Wine" sign appeared behind the bar). This reflected real life trends.

Things were upwardly mobile.

In 1987, my local boozer had a conservatory put on and suddenly went all posh.

It was a sign of the times.

And Corrie tends to reflect the trends of the times.

Which is why watching old episodes is so fascinating!

Sadistic '60s - Part 1: Elsie Tanner At Knife Point...

2010-09-27T14:40:00.007+01:00

Part two of our occasional series - Sadistic '60s, Savage '70s, Evil '80s, which highlights the dark side of The Street in our chosen decades.

Eeek! Poor Elsie Tanner had a troubled 1966. A series of anonymous phone calls led to the appearance of Mrs Moira Maxwell, wife of Robert Maxwell, who had died of a heart attack behind the wheel of his car whilst Elsie was in the passenger seat the previous year.

Driven mad by jealousy, Mrs Maxwell wanted bloody revenge.

Of course, the phrase "bunny boiler" was not coined until after the 1980s film Fatal Attraction, but Mrs Maxwell now definitely qualifies for the title.

Fortunately for Elsie, her old mate Len Fairclough arrived to save the day.

One of the interesting things about the photograph above, is the appearance of a flying duck on the far left.

It was one of those later used to such great effect for Hilda Ogden's "muriel".

And pity poor Elsie. A lesser woman might have been driven quackers by the stress of her ordeal with Mrs Maxwell.

But not our Elsie.

She flew straight on, searching for calmer waters.

Goodbye, Len Fairclough - And Some Thoughts About Men In Coronation Street

2010-09-26T00:20:00.008+01:00

1980 - Rita gives Len, who was going through a slobbish phase, a right lambasting.

Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson) was one of the Street's legendary male characters from 1961 to 1983.

Who could forget his on-off romance with Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) in the 1960s, his marriage to Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox) in the 1970s, and his late-in-life stint as a foster parent in the early 1980s?

In 1983, the character was killed off in a road accident. There were backstage problems for Peter Adamson, but I regretted the end of the character.

Len was a real working class man of the times, and was one of the few men in the Street who could hold his own against those wonderful womenfolk.

The Street was always a matriarchal society, and I loved the fact, but nowadays it seems to me that the show's women are seen as a thoroughly superior species, whatever their wrongs, whilst the men are... well... lesser beings.

The last time I tuned in, it was to witness a woman shrieking at Roy Cropper (David Neilson) that he was the only man in her life that had never hurt her.

Wow! All the men in her life had hurt her... her father, her uncles, her neighbours, her teachers, her employers, her friends, her lovers...

What beasts we are!

But Len, flawed though he was, was also a man to be relied upon. Brash and handy with his fists in the early days, Len was still a good guy.

And he stood shoulder to shoulder with the glorious Street women as somebody we viewers could recognise and emphasise with.

Whatever Len did wrong, and there was plenty (in 1980 he even gave Rita a "good 'iding") we knew he was likeable. And complex - like most human beings, regardless of gender.

Street writer Peter Whalley declared in a 1990s interview that the Street's men were shiftless, idle and untrustworthy because of the original template laid down by the show's creator Tony Warren in 1960.

But that's not true. Jack Walker (Arthur Leslie), Harry Hewitt (Ivan Beavis), Frank Barlow (Frank Pemberton) and Mr Swindley (Arthur Lowe) were all dependable, hard working characters. Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth) may have developed into a bit of a grouse and penny pincher after the first few weeks, but this was also a man who had worked all his life, and fought in the First World War.

The Street doesn't do Len Faircloughs any more.

Or Harry Hewitts, or Frank Barlows or...

And I think it's a shame.

In the modern day Street, I wouldn't trust a lot of the male characters with a jar of Bovril, and the women tend to be sexist martyrs.

Reality?

Not where I live.

Thankfully.

Savage '70s - Part 1: The Siege At No 5

2010-09-24T22:56:00.005+01:00

The first of an occasional series in which we take a look at the horrors inflicted on the good folk of Coronation Street by our three chosen decades.

Sadistic '60s, Savage '70s and Evil '80s will blast our rosy coloured specs off!

We begin with a look at 1970, where we find the Swinging '60s had absolutely ceased to swing, and the people of Coronation Street were starting to count the cost. Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth), depressed by the state of things, locked himself inside No 1, while police officer Cyril Turpin (William Moore) was forced to retire when he attacked a criminal with a lead pipe. The man had been terrorising Cyril's wife, Betty (Betty Driver).

The year thudded to an end with the sound of a single gunshot ringing out from No 5.

The second edition of The Street magazine from 1989 had the details, together with the marvellous mock-up of the Weatherfield Gazette front page pictured above:

THE SIEGE OF CORONATION STREET

LOCAL HERO SAVES GUNPOINT HOSTAGE

A single shot rang out in Coronation Street last night and an American G.I. fell dead. Before turning his gun on himself Sergeant Joe Donnelli confessed to an unsolved murder in 1968

Local man Stanley Ogden became a hero when he saved hostage, Minnie Caldwell, from the hands of a crazed gunman.

Mr Ogden of Coronation Street managed to persuade the gunman to release Mrs Caldwell in exchange for himself in the tense drama which unfolded yesterday at 5 Coronation Street, the home of Mrs Caldwell.

The siege ended when Donnelli, an American Army deserter, shot himself with his own gun.

Donnelli was very popular in Coronation Street and had been a visitor for some years. The locals in The Rovers Return had only good to say of him. Mrs Annie Walker the landlady described him as "a polite, courteous and friendly" person.

When he gave the officers who came to arrest him for desertion the slip he fled to the nearby flat of an old flame, Mrs Irma Barlow. It was to her that he confessed to the murder, in 1968, of Master Sergeant Steve Tanner (44), at Clayton Court Service Flats. An open verdict was recorded on the event.

A Police spokesman said the investigation would be reopened. Tanner's wife Elsie still lives in Coronation Street.

It is understood that a large debt existed between Donnelli and Tanner. Donnelli was apprehended in the vicinity of the Rovers Return and burst into a nearby house where he held hostage its resident Mrs Minnie Caldwell (70).

After firing shots from the window he surprisingly allowed local lorry driver Stanley Ogden (48) into the house. Mr Ogden, who is the father of Mrs Barlow, tried to talk Donnelli into handing over his gun but to no avail - he turned the gun on himself and the siege was over.

HE'LL ALWAYS BE MY HERO SAYS MRS O.

Stan's wife Hilda (45) watched anxiously from the street while her husband was inside.

During the nerve-wracking vigil she kept a bold face and was always confident that "her Stan" would pull it off.

"My Stan's never flinched from anything," she said. "Old Hitler couldn't scare him off, so he won't worry much about this Yank."

Stan, a hero? Of course, things were not quite as they seemed!

Marvellous though the Weatherfield Gazette mock-up is, there is one flaw: the featured photograph of Coronation Street could not have been taken in 1970 - in fact it must date from a number of years later. Do you know why?

The Truth About Betty's Hotpot...

2010-09-22T17:47:00.007+01:00

Lovely Betty Williams (Betty Driver) - whose hotpot became an everyday fact of life on the menu at The Rovers Return in the 1980s.

Eee, Betty Turpin/Williams' hotpot. It's been a regular on the Rovers menu since Adam were a lad...

Oh, really?

Whilst it seems that a version of Betty's hotpot was first served at The Rovers over thirty-five years ago, studying hundreds of consecutive Corrie episodes from the mid-to-late 1970s and early 1980s, the hotpot was not a regular on the pub's menu - and indeed was a great rarity. The regular hot food at The Rovers in those days consisted of pies, pies, pies and more pies.

It was revealed in the early 1980s that Annie Walker always stocked Mertog's pies, apart from a brief break in 1978 when she bought them from Joe Dawson.

Watching the episodes, it is plain that Betty's hotpot became a Rovers menu regular during the great food menu expansion at the pub in the 1980s.

Funny, in't it - how reality differs from myth, chuck?

News of Betty's hotpot from the Coronation Street Blog here.

Remembering Margot Bryant

2010-09-22T15:14:00.006+01:00

Margot Bryant, Minnie Caldwell in Coronation Street from 1960 to 1976, was a great real life character - and the complete opposite to Minnie, great fictional character though she was!

Here we feature some quotes about the lady from people who knew her, and a few from Margot herself.

Whilst Minnie stayed in her home town of Weatherfield and, over the years, looked after her mother, Jed Stone and Bobby the cat, Margot had a great spirit of adventure. And whilst Minnie was gentle and whimsical, if something displeased Margot, she didn't mince her words...

"I'm tough. Very tough." - Margot Bryant

"We flew from one place to another in old Dakotas made of cardboard. Often they'd say, 'This plane is unsafe, you'd better change to another plane.' It was great fun and terribly exciting."

- Margot on her experiences in World War II as an entertainer with ENSA. She travelled through Europe and the Middle and Far East.

"Of course cats understand me. Cats are super-intelligent animals. It depends on how you treat them. If you never spoke to a child, it would never learn anything. It's just the same with cats. If you speak to them all their lives, then they understand you."

- Margot Bryant. The one thing Margot had in common with Minnie was a tremendous love of cats.

"Margot was barmy about cats. A friend of mine once telephoned me and said, 'Now I've seen everything. I've seen your Minnie Caldwell, on holiday, in Venice, feeding stray cats from a huge pile of tins, wearing a mink coat.' So I said to Margot, 'I didn't know you had a mink coat,' and she said: 'Oh, that's nothing - I've got a tiger's whisker, and what's more I went in the cage to get it!' So, anything that had four legs and whiskers... Well, obviously, we couldn't give her a tiger, so we gave her Bobby."

- Tony Warren speaking on the 1988 tribute show Minnie Caldwell Remembered.

Margot has had a strange love for animals ever since she was a child and first heard the Bible story of Daniel in the lions' den. At Belle Vue Zoo, Manchester, she went to have some publicity pictures taken with a lion cub - and ended up the best of friends with a fierce Bengal tiger which flopped down beside her like a great fur coat at her feet when she stroked him tenderly on the neck and tickled him behind an ear. Nobody else but the zoo-keeper would go near the beast.

- Ken Irwin, author, The Real Coronation Street, 1970.

Her appearance can be deceptive. Behind that gentle, old lady look there lurks a dragon of a woman. And she chuckles quietly to herself at the thought of the deception she often portrays in the meek-and-mild role which has guaranteed her a comfortable retirement in her old age.

- Ken Irwin, The Real Coronation Street.

... and so Minnie Caldwell became the character who earned so much sympathy from the viewers. What they did not know was Margot's ability to forget key words in her dialogue and substitute others that frequently made no sense. "My father had a dog once," she said. "It was a ferret..."

- Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden) in her 1989 autobiography, The Other Side Of The Street.

I had only been in the studio a couple of days when, opening the door of the Green Room, I heard a little Minnie Caldwell voice saying, "And the car was so filthy I wrote F**** on the bonnet with my finger!" I could hardly believe my ears. "Did Margot Bryant say that?" I asked somebody. "You haven't heard the half of it!" I was told.

- Jean Alexander, The Other Side Of The Street.

She [Margot Bryant] had a way with words which was at times distinctly unladylike, and what's more she couldn't have cared less who happened to be listening.

- Bill Podmore in his 1990 autobiography, Coronation Street - The Inside Story.

"I liked her. We had our rows. Oh, we had our ups and downs. I once told her she was ruder than Ena Sharples was ever meant to be - because she'd been rude to some people that had come to watch an episode. They said, 'Hello, Minnie, my flower," and she said, 'How dare you call me Minnie, you oaf!' I was livid when I got to the dressing room. I said: 'Margot Bryant, you're ruder than Ena Sharples was ever meant to be!' And, with that, I swept off!"

- Lynne Carol (Martha Longhurst) appearing on the 1988 tribute show Minnie Caldwell Remembered.

"And Minnie was meek and docile - rather sweet, easily squashed... Margot was very sophisticated, rather arrogant, and could be very provocative..."

- Doris Speed (Annie Walker), Minnie Caldwell Remembered.

"What a pity it isn't a kitten!" - Margot Bryant to Eileen Derbyshire (Emily Nugent/Bishop) when the actress brought her new baby into the studio.

- The Other Side Of The Street, Jean Alexander.

"Certainly, she did project a sort of female WC Fields attitude, you know: I do like children, yes - on toast. I was unbelievably touched when she arrived one day and almost in a sort of shamefaced way, said: 'I've made you this.' And she had made me this little shirt for him, you see, which nobody would ever believe... I've treasured it now for twenty years and shall always treasure it because it was one of the loveliest presents I was ever given. But nobody would believe that, because never in a million years would Margot make a shirt for a CHILD, you know, a CAT yes, but..."

- Eileen Derbyshire remembers an unexpected gift, Minnie Caldwell Remembered, 1988.

There was a time when she [Margot Bryant] was having a few problems with her bank manager and he took her to lunch to sort it out. They went to a restaurant in Brighton, near where she lived, and a funeral party happened to be eating at the other side of the room. The chief mourner came solemnly over for the inevitable autograph and said, "I've just buried my wife." Margot looked at him very firmly and said, "Did anybody see you do it?"

- Bill Waddington (Percy Sugden) in his autobiography, The Importance Of Being Percy (1992).

And finally, for Minnie Caldwell Remembered in 1988, Doris Speed recalled how Margot, at that point not playing Minnie as a permanent Street character, visited her dressing room in 1960:

"She came to my dressing room, and she said, 'I've come to say goodbye.' And she wasn't looking one little bit arrogant, she was looking very sad. So I said: 'Oh, Margot, what nonsense, you'll be coming again - you were very, very good - which she was. And she said: 'Was I really?' And she welled over with tears. So there was a little bit of Minnie there, wasn't there?"