Ena Sharples - 10th Anniversary Portrait

This lovely portrait of Violet Carson, in character as Ena Sharples, was one of a series commissioned by the TV Times magazine to celebrate Coronation Street's 10th anniversary in 1970. Other characters were featured over the ensuing weeks.

Ten years is a long time, and for Ena they had not been easy: she had faced the sad loss of her daughter Vera Lomax and her longtime friend and Rovers Snug companion Martha Longhurst; she had been buried in rubble when a train crashed off the viaduct; she had almost been killed in a coach crash; she had fought many battles with the fiery Elsie Tanner; her vestry home at the Glad Tidings Mission Hall had been vandalised and later demolished...

In the opening years, Ena was rather a scary figure and not terribly pleasant to have around (well, not for the other residents of the Street, but a WOW for viewers!). However, as the 1960s had continued, she had mellowed and, although still capable of epic battle, had become a much-loved and respected figure, a soap legend.

Violet Carson commented in 1970:

"Ena's still the battleaxe she was ten years ago, but she does have a heart of gold, and the mellow side of Ena has come out much more lately. Over the years I have tried not to let Ena's character overwhelm me. I've done my best to keep Ena and me well apart. Otherwise, by now, she would have taken me over."

Savage '70s - Part 1: The Siege At No 5

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?

Coronation Street In 1980 - The Fantasy And The Reality...

From the 1970 Coronation Street TV Times souvenir magazine: Denis Parkin's view of the Street in 1980. Inset, the reality.

And so, there we were, in 1970, and Corrie was celebrating its one thousandth episode. The TV Times had come up with a commemorative magazine - very much as it had for the wedding of Elsie and Steve Tanner in 1967.

In the 1970 magazine, Denis Parkin, the Street's original designer, gazed into the future to give us his view of the Street in 1980.

Let's take a look at Mr Parkin's 1970 view of 1980, and the state of affairs in the real 1980.

The Rovers was all set for change, apparently. A grand revamp. Microwave ovens had arrived on the scene (at a price) in the 1960s and the Rovers would, apparently, be selling microwaved scampi and chips in 1980. And the punters would be able to watch ITV 2 (European Super League Soccer!). The regulars (joined by the inhabitants of a new block of multi-storey flats round the corner), would be able to order drinks anytime between 10.30am and midnight.

Piffle and bunk.

The '70s were a time of financial dire straits, and The Rovers was still a clapped out old boozer in 1980. Weatherfield had dabbled in high rise blocks in the 1960s, but quickly dropped the concept. There was no new colossal round the corner.

In 1980, microwave ovens were still not affordable to the vast majority - hardly anybody had them. I remember when a city centre cafe installed one where I live in 1981 - some of us were terrified of radiation poisoning! The microwave came home to roost in the 1980s, but in 1980 the Rovers certainly didn't have one.

However, Annie Walker did increase the pub's menu in 1980 - offering soup. Boiled in a saucepan, of course!

There had been talk of ITV 2 since at least the 1960s. But it never actually arrived until November 1982, as Channel 4. Plus, the Rovers had no television set in the bar in 1980. And as for the licensing laws...

Let's clack on down the Street:

Number 1 was as unchanging as Albert Tatlock.

Number 3 saw some change in 1980 - Arnold Swain, "husband" of Emily Bishop, had a new front door put on.

Denis Parkin did not foresee the changes at No 5. This house was completely modernised at the behest of cockney businessman Mike Baldwin in 1976. It reflected one of the great fixations of the mid-1970s to mid-1980s: having the middle wall demolished and knocking two cosy rooms into one great big one.

Back to Denis Parkin, and Len Fairclough and Elsie Tanner had done great things to their homes by the fantasy 1980: the frontages of No 9 and No 11 had been jointly renovated, with "neat, airy metal framed windows, re-pointed brickwork, and fancy porches".

And in the real 1980? Well, no, lovey, there was no dosh to chuck about in the 1970s, and by 1980 the frontages of No 9 and No 11 were unchanged. In 1980, Len and Rita Fairclough came close to breaking up. Len "belted 'er one" and she fled to Blackpool. When Rita finally decided to return, Len installed new kitchen units for her and, if I remember rightly, central heating. But, curiously, the draughty old wooden sash windows remained unchanged.

At No 11, Elsie Tanner had already made changes to her home in the late 1960s, installing a new kitchen. In the early 1970s, she installed a new pink bathroom suite. Very Elsie.

We'll clatter on past the Ogdens, where Stan had installed a serving hatch in 1971, and take a look at the fantasy 1980 Corner Shop:

"The Corner Shop is unrecognisable. With the nearby flats bringing more people into the area, it has been changed into a supermarket."

And in the real 1980? No, it hadn't.

The fantasy 1980 Street had been generally "improved":

"...the council have moved in, sealed off the street to through traffic and created pretty pavement triangles with flower beds and a bench."

Sounds fabulous. But, sadly, it turned out to be cobblers. It was still cobbles and cracked paving slabs in 1980.

And lastly, Mr Parkin took his fantasy 1980 view of the Street under the viaduct:

"... beneath the viaduct, British Rail have developed the arches and turned them into shops. A flashy boutique sells the latest 1980 catsuits, and over the viaduct the 150m.p.h London-Manchester express glides by on the hour."

Sadly, in the depressed (and depressing) 1970s, the viaduct arch was still associated with rag and bone man Tommy Deakin and its biggest moment of fame (I mean infamy) was Deirdre Langton being "molested" under it in 1977.

The catsuit, beautifully worn by Diana Rigg in the 1960s series The Avengers, had given way to the boiler suit in 1980.

Lovely.

All in all, in 1980, the Street was a bit of a dump.

Very much as it was in 1970.