Steve - A New Mr Tanner For Elsie...

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...

Back On The Street Disasters Poll - Andy Makes A Boo-Boo...

1965 and 1967 - Consternation Street.

I'm very sorry, luvs, but I've made a cock-up with this blog's first poll! I meant it to run for a month, but somehow managed to set it to end on 30 July! I've only just noticed it was closed. I thought it was odd that there had been no votes at all since the 30th!

Anyway, the Poll has been re-opened, and will run until 30 August, so please vote - I've re-posted the original explanatory blog article below.

Ta very much and ta-ra for now!

Each of Corrie's first three decades seemed to have it in for our cherished Weatherfield back Street. The apparently hippy-trippy, peace loving '60s demolished a house and then attempted to demolish the entire Street - with a train; the pissed off Punky '70s sent a raging fire and an out-of-control lorry to the Street; and the turbulent, technological and hugely shoulder-padded 1980s tried to destroy the Street's central meeting place by fire.

In detail: 1965 saw No 7 come crashing down, and in 1967 the whole Street almost followed suit when a train hurtled off the viaduct.

1975 and 1979 - EEK Street!

The 1970s were just as unkind - the Street was threatened by a huge fire at the warehouse in 1975, and then, in 1979, a lorry crashed into the Rovers Return.

1986 - Conflagration Street.

The 1980s gave absolutely nothing to report on the major structural catastrophes front until 1986, when the Rovers went up in smoke.

Which Street-shattering catastrophe gripped you the most? Was it the shuddersome moment when No 7, former home of Harry, Concepta, Lucille and Christopher Hewitt, came roaring down?

The awesome drama of the train crash, no mean feat to create on an exterior set which was built in the studios?

Or what about the warehouse blaze - with the whole Street evacuated and Edna Gee meeting a terrible end?

Memories of the horrifying Rovers lorry crash still linger - "TRACY! TRACY!"

And as for the Rovers fire - courtesy of Jack "Duck Egg" Duckworth and the wonky old electrical wiring in the pub, well, what can we say? The Street's legendary meeting place temporarily bit the dust in highly dramatic style and would never be the same again...

So, eyes right to our Poll and click on the Street-threatening drama which most sent you screeching to the edge of your seat...