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Title caption 1977-82

1979 was Coronation Street's twentieth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Len Fairclough Peter Adamson Full year 59 1489 1
2 Ivy Tilsley Lynne Perrie Full year 58 132 25
3 Elsie Tanner Patricia Phoenix Full year 57 1304 5
3 Gail Potter/Tilsley Helen Worth Full year 57 283 10
5 Suzie Birchall Cheryl Murray Until December 55 163 19
5 Hilda Ogden Jean Alexander Full year 55 1056 3
7 Rita Fairclough Barbara Knox Full year 54 521 7
8 Deirdre Langton Anne Kirkbride Full year 50 402 13
8 Brian Tilsley Christopher Quinten Full year 50 51 33
8 Betty Turpin Betty Driver Full year 50 750 7
11 Stan Ogden Bernard Youens Full year 49 975 18
11 Annie Walker Doris Speed Full year 49 1448 5
13 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 48 1266 3
14 Alf Roberts Bryan Mosley Full year 47 555 20
14 Bert Tilsley Peter Dudley Full year 47 47 -
16 Fred Gee Fred Feast Full year 46 217 16
16 Eddie Yeats Geoffrey Hughes Full year 46 241 21
18 Mavis Riley Thelma Barlow Full year 42 358 14
19 Mike Baldwin Johnny Briggs Full year 41 174 7
19 Bet Lynch Julie Goodyear Until March and from May 41 682 2
21 Emily Bishop Eileen Derbyshire Full year 40 1065 10
21 Renee Roberts Madge Hindle Full year 40 200 14
23 Steve Fisher Lawrence Mullin Until December 39 112 10
24 Albert Tatlock Jack Howarth Full year 36 1106 22
25 Ena Sharples Violet Carson From March 34 1135 23
26 Vera Duckworth Elizabeth Dawn Full year 31 71 26
26 Tracy Langton Christabel Finch Full year 31 98 24
28 Ida Clough Helene Palmer February to July and December 18 30 27
29 Audrey Potter Sue Nicholls April and November to December 8 8 -
29 Billy Walker Kenneth Farrington May and June 8 340 29
31 Derek Wilton Peter Baldwin April only 4 33 32
32 Jack Duckworth William Tarmey November and December 2 2 -
33 Susan Barlow Suzy Paterson December only 1 27 -

Production[]

1979 Strike

24th October 1979: After 10 weeks off air, Coronation Street returns to screens with a specially-filmed prologue with Bet Lynch and Len Fairclough

Bill Podmore's fourth year as producer saw a shift in Coronation Street's core families towards those that would see the programme through the 1980s.

Newly separated Deirdre Langton moved in with Emily Bishop and started a romance with Ken Barlow, selling No.5 to the arriving Tilsleys. The new family were built around Lynne Perrie's Ivy, who for the last eight years had played a secondary role at the warehouse and factory. Ivy was well established as one half of a childless couple with Jack Tilsley, but producers decided to wipe the slate clean when crafting her new family, giving her a 20-year-old son, Brian, and a new husband, Bert, played by Christopher Quinten and Peter Dudley respectively. Now a street resident, Ivy rose to prominence as one of the programme's key matriarchs.

In April, Sue Nicholls made her first appearance as Gail Potter's unwed and man-hungry mother Audrey, a role which was recurring until Audrey married Alf Roberts in 1985. Audrey paid her inaugural visit to the street for Gail's 21st birthday, the occasion on which Gail and Brian Tilsley went public on their engagement. Vera Duckworth was a guest at the wedding in November, joined by her husband Jack for the first time. William Tarmey was part of the programme's stable of background extras, usually seen playing darts in the Rovers. He was cast as Jack for two episodes and would reprise the role in 1981, eventually to become one of Coronation Street's best-loved characters.

As Gail embarked on her married life, Bill Podmore decided to get rid of Elsie Tanner's other lodger Suzie Birchall in order to revitalise the household. She and Steve Fisher, Mike Baldwin's number two, were both written out in December. Their exits left the programme without any young, unmarried characters.

The programme missed a transmission slot on 23rd July due to a national one-day strike called by EETPU (Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union who handled electronics in the studios) and NATTKE (National Association of Theatrical, Television and Kine Employees) after rejecting a 9% pay offer from the ITV companies. The was one of a series of incidents which culminated in a ten-week strike by the unions which had spread nationwide by 10th August. The strike resulted in all ITV stations, except for Channel Television, being blacked out from that date until 24th October, when management increased the pay offer to 17.5% backdated to 1st July. Coronation Street was off the air for the duration of industrial action, with no production of new episodes taking place.

Episode 1935 on 8th August was the last episode transmitted before Granada staff joined the strike and the station went off the air. When the show returned on 24th October, it led with a specially-recorded scene in which Bet Lynch and Len Fairclough chatted about recent events to remind viewers of what was going on before the strike. The regular twice-weekly schedule then resumed, starting with the five episodes which were already in the can when production shut down. The following episode, broadcast on 12th November, is unique in that the recording of parts one and two were separated by the strike, indicating that the plug may have been pulled during a studio session. In terms of the programme's narrative, no mention was made of the ten-week gap however the Tilsleys' wedding, which was meant to be held in the summer, took place in November despite no delay being mentioned.

On-screen, the most spectacular event of the year occurred in March when a lorry overturned outside the Rovers, smashing the frontage with its load of timber, the first disaster to hit the street since 1975. Cast comings and goings included the usual visits by Derek Wilton and Billy Walker, their last until 1982 and 1984 respectively. This would be the last time Kenneth Farrington acted opposite his screen mother Doris Speed. Lastly, Susan Barlow appeared for the first time since 1974, recast with Suzy Paterson in the role. Like the current incarnation of Peter, Susan was aged up by several years and now spoke with a Scottish accent, two changes which would be reversed by the next recasting.

Viewing figures[]

1979 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

The most-watched episode of the year was Episode 1894 on 14th March, which saw the residents continue to deal with the after-effects of the lorry crash, with a bereaved Deirdre Langton contemplating suicide, yet to discover that Tracy wasn't crushed by the lorry, which was seen by 19.5 million viewers.

The average figure for the year was 15.45 million viewers, an increase of 400k on 1978 and the 6th highest of the decade (although this total is missing the ratings for five episodes). The biggest drops on the previous year were in October and November, immediately after the strike finished, which were down by two million viewers on 1978, however March to August all rose from that year.

11 episodes reached number one in the weekly viewing charts, climbing from eight the previous year, with fewer episodes.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
Chart
Position
1 1873 Monday 1st January H.V. Kershaw Alan Bromly Not known n/k
2 1874 Wednesday 3rd January Leslie Duxbury Alan Bromly 16,400,000 6
3 1875 Monday 8th January Julian Roach Laurence Moody 16,250,000 4
4 1876 Wednesday 10th January Julian Roach Laurence Moody 16,850,000 3
5 1877 Monday 15th January Paula Milne Richard Stroud 16,250,000 6
6 1878 Wednesday 17th January H.V. Kershaw Richard Stroud 16,700,000 2
7 1879 Monday 22nd January Leslie Duxbury Jeremy Summers 16,350,000 6
8 1880 Wednesday 24th January John Stevenson Jeremy Summers 17,150,000 2
9 1881 Monday 29th January Adele Rose Terry Steel 16,500,000 3
10 1882 Wednesday 31st January Julian Roach Terry Steel 17,550,000 2
11 1883 Monday 5th February H.V. Kershaw Matthew Robinson 16,300,000 4
12 1884 Wednesday 7th February John Stevenson Matthew Robinson 17,950,000 1
13 1885 Monday 12th February Leslie Duxbury Stephen Butcher 16,750,000 5
14 1886 Wednesday 14th February Leslie Duxbury Stephen Butcher 18,350,000 2
15 1887 Monday 19th February Barry Hill Jeremy Summers 16,650,000 4
16 1888 Wednesday 21st February Julian Roach Jeremy Summers 16,700,000 3
17 1889 Monday 26th February Barry Hill Brian Mills 16,250,000 3
18 1890 Wednesday 28th February John Stevenson Brian Mills 16,700,000 2
19 1891 Monday 5th March Adele Rose Matthew Robinson 16,800,000 3
20 1892 Wednesday 7th March H.V. Kershaw Matthew Robinson 16,950,000 2
21 1893 Monday 12th March Leslie Duxbury Jeremy Summers 18,300,000 4
22 1894 Wednesday 14th March H.V. Kershaw Jeremy Summers 19,500,000 2
23 1895 Monday 19th March H.V. Kershaw Alan Bromly 18,400,000 3
24 1896 Wednesday 21st March Peter Whalley Alan Bromly 18,800,000 2
25 1897 Monday 26th March Adele Rose Roger Cheveley 17,700,000 4
26 1898 Wednesday 28th March Barry Hill Roger Cheveley 18,250,000 1
27 1899 Monday 2nd April John Stevenson Jeremy Summers 16,650,000 4
28 1900 Wednesday 4th April John Stevenson Jeremy Summers 17,450,000 2
29 1901 Monday 9th April Barry Hill Philip Draycott 16,400,000 3
30 1902 Wednesday 11th April Adele Rose Philip Draycott 16,900,000 2
31 1903 Monday 16th April Leslie Duxbury Colin Richards Not known n/k
32 1904 Wednesday 18th April Leslie Duxbury Colin Richards 16,700,000 1
33 1905 Monday 23rd April John Stevenson Jeremy Summers 17,100,000 4
34 1906 Wednesday 25th April Julian Roach Jeremy Summers 18,000,000 2
35 1907 Monday 30th April Adele Rose Laurence Moody 15,300,000 2
36 1908 Wednesday 2nd May Leslie Duxbury Laurence Moody 15,700,000 1
37 1909 Monday 7th May Peter Whalley Paul Bernard 13,650,000 10
38 1910 Wednesday 9th May John Stevenson Paul Bernard 16,050,000 3
39 1911 Monday 14th May Barry Hill Philip Draycott 13,150,000 5
40 1912 Wednesday 16th May H.V. Kershaw Philip Draycott 15,250,000 1
41 1913 Monday 21st May Adele Rose Alan Bromly 15,100,000 1
42 1914 Wednesday 23rd May Alec Baron Alan Bromly 13,950,000 4
43 1915 Monday 28th May Tony Perrin Laurence Moody 11,700,000 9
44 1916 Wednesday 30th May H.V. Kershaw Laurence Moody 14,450,000 2
45 1917 Monday 4th June Leslie Duxbury Philip Draycott 14,500,000 4
46 1918 Wednesday 6th June John Stevenson Philip Draycott 15,300,000 2
47 1919 Monday 11th June H.V. Kershaw Nicholas Ferguson 13,250,000 4
48 1920 Wednesday 13th June Adele Rose Nicholas Ferguson 15,100,000 2
49 1921 Monday 18th June Alan Downer Alan Bromly 13,000,000 2
50 1922 Wednesday 20th June Adele Rose Alan Bromly 12,750,000 4
51 1923 Monday 25th June John Stevenson Laurence Moody 12,950,000 2
52 1924 Wednesday 27th June Julian Roach Laurence Moody 13,400,000 1
53 1925 Monday 2nd July H.V. Kershaw Nicholas Ferguson 13,100,000 1
54 1926 Wednesday 4th July John Stevenson Nicholas Ferguson 12,700,000 2
55 1927 Monday 9th July Adele Rose Malcolm Taylor 12,550,000 2
56 1928 Wednesday 11th July Barry Hill Malcolm Taylor 13,200,000 1
57 1929 Monday 16th July Leslie Duxbury Richard Holthouse 13,050,000 2
58 1930 Wednesday 18th July Julian Roach Richard Holthouse 13,200,000 1
59 1931 Wednesday 25th July John Stevenson Nicholas Ferguson 12,000,000 5
60 1932 Monday 30th July Adele Rose Nicholas Ferguson 12,850,000 2
61 1933 Wednesday 1st August Peter Whalley Ronald Fouracre 12,650,000 3
62 1934 Monday 6th August Leslie Duxbury Mary McMurray 11,400,000 12
63 1935/6 Wednesday 8th August Tony Perrin
H.V. Kershaw
Malcolm Taylor Not known n/k
64 1937 Wednesday 24th October John Stevenson Richard Holthouse 15,100,000 13
65 1938 Monday 29th October Julian Roach Richard Holthouse 12,850,000 18
66 1939 Wednesday 31st October Barry Hill Mary McMurray 13,750,000 13
67 1940 Monday 5th November H.V. Kershaw Mary McMurray 13,250,000 20
68 1941 Wednesday 7th November Alec Baron John Michael Phillips 13,950,000 15
69 1942 Monday 12th November Leslie Duxbury John Michael Phillips 13,950,000 19
70 1943 Wednesday 14th November Tony Perrin Laurence Moody 14,750,000 15
71 1944 Monday 19th November Adele Rose Laurence Moody 15,200,000 9
72 1945 Wednesday 21st November Peter Whalley Mary McMurray 15,000,000 10
73 1946 Monday 26th November H.V. Kershaw Mary McMurray 15,750,000 9
74 1947 Wednesday 28th November Leslie Duxbury Malcolm Taylor 17,850,000 1
75 1948 Monday 3rd December John Stevenson Malcolm Taylor 18,150,000 1
76 1949 Wednesday 5th December Barry Hill Richard Holthouse 16,000,000 6
77 1950 Monday 10th December Alan Downer Richard Holthouse 14,950,000 6
78 1951 Wednesday 12th December Adele Rose Mary McMurray
Laurence Moody
14,700,000 8
79 1952 Monday 17th December H.V. Kershaw Mary McMurray
Laurence Moody
16,100,000 4
80 1953 Wednesday 19th December Julian Roach Mary McMurray
Laurence Moody
15,800,000 6
81 1954 Monday 24th December Leslie Duxbury Malcolm Taylor 14,500,000 7
82 1955 Wednesday 26th December John Stevenson Malcolm Taylor Not known n/k
83 1956 Monday 31st December H.V. Kershaw Richard Holthouse Not known n/k

Storylines[]

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Rosamund Street

Others

Awards and nominations[]

Pye Television/Writer's Guild Awards

Coronation Street in the 1970s
1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
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