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Logo 1982

1984 was Coronation Street's twenty-fifth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Jack Duckworth William Tarmey Full year 83 139 24
1 Bet Lynch Julie Goodyear Full year 83 1051 1
3 Betty Turpin Betty Driver Full year 81 1077 4
4 Hilda Ogden Jean Alexander Full year 75 1406 9
4 Rita Fairclough Barbara Knox Full year 75 866 13
6 Deirdre Barlow Anne Kirkbride Full year 69 729 3
6 Mavis Riley Thelma Barlow Full year 69 682 13
8 Alf Roberts Bryan Mosley Full year 68 877 7
9 Vera Duckworth Elizabeth Dawn Full year 66 314 4
10 Billy Walker Kenneth Farrington March and May to December 65 405 -
11 Percy Sugden Bill Waddington Full year 64 78 32
12 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 63 1592 11
12 Bill Webster Peter Armitage From February 63 63 -
14 Mike Baldwin Johnny Briggs Full year 60 479 11
15 Ivy Tilsley Lynne Perrie Full year 59 456 9
15 Terry Duckworth Nigel Pivaro January to February and from April 59 69 33
15 Gail Tilsley Helen Worth Full year 59 572 15
15 Kevin Webster Michael Le Vell From February 59 62 36
19 Emily Bishop Eileen Derbyshire Full year 57 1346 19
20 Brian Tilsley Christopher Quinten Full year 55 299 15
21 Fred Gee Fred Feast January to April and July to November 51 561 2
22 Curly Watts Kevin Kennedy January, April and from July 39 56 31
23 Debbie Webster Sue Devaney From June 31 31 -
24 Nick Tilsley Warren Jackson Full year 17 139 22
24 Derek Wilton Peter Baldwin July to September 17 53 -
26 Shirley Armitage Lisa Lewis January to February, July and October 14 22 34
26 Ida Clough Helene Palmer January to February, July and October 14 144 29
28 Phyllis Pearce Jill Summers August to October and December 13 45 30
29 Stan Ogden Bernard Youens Until March 12 1224 17
30 Linda Cheveski Anne Cunningham May to June 11 107 -
31 Audrey Potter Sue Nicholls July and October 8 56 -
32 Albert Tatlock Jack Howarth Until January 3 1304 21
33 Elsie Tanner Patricia Phoenix Until January 2 1606 4
33 Sharon Gaskell Tracie Bennett Until January 2 53 35

Production[]

Elsie leaves 1984

The Street says a final goodbye to Patricia Phoenix as Elsie Tanner at the start of another trying year

1984 was a pivotal year in Coronation Street history. With the programme having lost several members of its principal cast the year before, the writing team faced the task of creating believable off-screen exits, filling the void with new characters, as well as coping with a slew of further misfortunes. As producer Mervyn Watson put it, "It became a matter of course. Each weekend brought with it another illness, revelation or death." (The Coronation Street Story, Boxtree Ltd, 1995)

Patricia Phoenix's final scenes as Elsie Tanner aired in the first week of January after the actress handed in her notice the previous August. Elsie had a fairytale exit, flitting to Portugal to be with her old flame Bill Gregory. The sale of No.11 was entrusted to Elsie's daughter Linda Cheveski, with Anne Cunningham making her first appearance in the role since 1968. Viewed as a possible replacement for Elsie, Linda was paired with new arrival Bill Webster (who, not coincidentally, was a builder in the vein of Len Fairclough), widowed father of teenagers Kevin and Debbie. However, her comeback was not considered a success and she left a month later.

Installed in No.11, the Websters were envisioned as the programme's next long-term family, and Peter Armitage was hired to play Bill on the understanding that he would commit to the programme for at least six or seven years. However, Armitage then turned down a new contract, quitting after just one year. A decision was made to spare Kevin, making him Emily Bishop's lodger, but Debbie was written out with Bill early in 1985 as writers crafted yet another family to replace them.

Doris Speed's retirement left the field open for someone new to run the Rovers Return. Due to a lack of future planning, writers didn't have a replacement for Annie Walker in mind. In February, Fred Gee was appointed temporary manager, but after two months a stand-in was needed as Fred Feast had fallen ill. Last seen in 1979, Billy Walker was brought back and took over the pub's licence. The experience was an unhappy one for actor Kenneth Farrington, as Billy had returned as a nastier character who attempted to split up Ken and Deirdre Barlow and blackmail Emily Bishop. Farrington's concerns over how his character was being written caused him to leave at the end of the year, leaving the post of Rovers landlord vacant once again.

One person who wasn't in the running to replace Billy was Fred Gee. Fred Feast took himself out of contention when he refused to sign a new contract for the programme, stating in the press that he didn't want to become another "Coronation Street cabbage." He also refused to extend his contract in order to film a departure storyline and so Fred was simply never seen again.

Jack Howarth - the oldest member of the original cast - passed away on 31st March aged 88, while Bernard Youens died from a heart attack aged 69 on 27th August after a sharp decline in health. Their characters Albert Tatlock and Stan Ogden passed away after an appropriate amount of time had passed. Their funerals marked the final appearances of their children Beattie Pearson and Trevor Ogden respectively. Jean Alexander's performance in scenes following Stan's death won her the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award in 1985. Bert Tilsley also had an off-screen death, due to the passing of actor Peter Dudley in October 1983.

With the death of Jack Howarth, William Roache became the last remaining member of the original cast, a position in which he remains to this day.

Also making appearances in 1984 were Audrey Potter, Sharon Gaskell, and Derek Wilton, with the latter making the most appearances in a single year to date as he finally proposed to Mavis Riley only for the pair to jilt each other on their wedding day. The love triangle between Mavis, Derek and Victor Pendlebury, a favourite of the writers in the early 1990s, was also set up. Jill Summers also reprised the role of Phyllis Pearce as the character joined the staff of Jim's Cafe, establishing her as a regular part of the programme outwith her connection to Chalkie Whitely.

Viewing figures[]

1984 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

Coronation Street countered its troubles behind the scenes with a very strong performance in the ratings. The average figure for 1984 was 15.10 million viewers, a 500k increase on 1983, despite the fact that six months fell from the same months the year before. All but one of the months which saw gains were in the second half of the year, with December building on 1983's audience by over three million viewers and November by four million.

The highest-rated episode of the year was Episode 2465 on 14th November, with 20.45 million viewers. This was one of three episodes in 1984 to gain an audience of over 20 million viewers, the most in any year since 1978.

38 episodes reached number one in the viewing charts, a fall of ten from 1983, while one episode fell outside the top twenty.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
Chart
Position
1 2374 Monday 2nd January Leslie Duxbury Sebastian Graham-Jones 14,883,000 3
2 2375 Wednesday 4th January H.V. Kershaw Sebastian Graham-Jones 15,796,000 2
3 2376 Monday 9th January Barry Hill Patrick Lau 16,903,000 2
4 2377 Wednesday 11th January John Stevenson Patrick Lau 16,912,000 1
5 2378 Monday 16th January H.V. Kershaw Eugene Ferguson 17,416,000 2
6 2379 Wednesday 18th January Bob Mason Eugene Ferguson 17,815,000 1
7 2380 Monday 23rd January Leslie Duxbury Stephen Butcher 17,067,000 1
8 2381 Wednesday 25th January Julian Roach Stephen Butcher 16,876,000 2
9 2382 Monday 30th January John Stevenson Gareth Morgan 15,663,000 3
10 2383 Wednesday 1st February Peter Tonkinson
H.V. Kershaw
Gareth Morgan 16,566,000 1
11 2384 Monday 6th February H.V. Kershaw Ron Francis 15,307,000 2
12 2385 Wednesday 8th February Tony Perrin Ron Francis 17,659,000 1
13 2386 Monday 13th February Barry Hill Patrick Lau 15,200,000 3
14 2387 Wednesday 15th February Leslie Duxbury Patrick Lau 16,750,000 1
15 2388 Monday 20th February Peter Whalley Gareth Morgan 16,077,000 2
16 2389 Wednesday 22nd February Adele Rose Gareth Morgan 17,233,000 1
17 2390 Monday 27th February Bob Mason Nicholas Ferguson 14,843,000 1
18 2391 Wednesday 29th February H.V. Kershaw Nicholas Ferguson 14,524,000 2
19 2392 Monday 5th March Tony Perrin Patrick Lau 15,033,000 5
20 2393 Wednesday 7th March Leslie Duxbury Patrick Lau 15,472,000 2
21 2394 Monday 12th March Adele Rose Matthew Robinson 15,760,000 4
22 2395 Wednesday 14th March John Stevenson Matthew Robinson 16,333,000 2
23 2396 Monday 19th March Adele Rose Ron Francis 15,777,000 3
24 2397 Wednesday 21st March Tony Perrin Ron Francis 16,583,000 1
25 2398 Monday 26th March Julian Roach Patrick Lau 15,788,000 2
26 2399 Wednesday 28th March Peter Whalley Patrick Lau 14,408,000 4
27 2400 Monday 2nd April Barry Hill Gareth Morgan 15,436,000 3
28 2401 Wednesday 4th April Leslie Duxbury Gareth Morgan 15,607,000 2
29 2402 Monday 9th April Bob Mason Ron Francis 15,516,000 1
30 2403 Wednesday 11th April Adele Rose Ron Francis 15,296,000 2
31 2404 Monday 16th April Leslie Duxbury Patrick Lau 14,725,000 1
32 2405 Wednesday 18th April Peter Whalley Patrick Lau 14,297,000 3
33 2406 Monday 23rd April John Stevenson Ric Mellis 10,922,000 8
34 2407 Wednesday 25th April Peter Tonkinson Ric Mellis 13,360,000 1
35 2408 Monday 30th April H.V. Kershaw Ron Francis 15,060,000 1
36 2409 Wednesday 2nd May Tony Perrin Ron Francis 11,887,000 3
37 2410 Monday 7th May Barry Hill Brian Mills 11,422,000 4
38 2411 Wednesday 9th May Adele Rose Brian Mills 13,636,000 1
39 2412 Monday 14th May Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 13,353,000 2
40 2413 Wednesday 16th May Leslie Duxbury Ric Mellis 14,134,000 1
41 2414 Monday 21st May Bob Mason Matthew Robinson 15,845,000 1
42 2415 Wednesday 23rd May Leslie Duxbury Matthew Robinson 12,964,000 5
43 2416 Monday 28th May Barry Hill Brian Mills 11,969,000 9
44 2417 Wednesday 30th May Adele Rose Brian Mills 12,551,000 6
45 2418 Monday 4th June Tony Perrin Ric Mellis 12,956,000 3
46 2419 Wednesday 6th June Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 13,679,000 2
47 2420 Monday 11th June Tony Perrin Brian Mills 12,630,000 2
48 2421 Wednesday 13th June John Stevenson Brian Mills 14,333,000 1
49 2422 Monday 18th June Adele Rose Ron Francis 11,871,000 3
50 2423 Wednesday 20th June Leslie Duxbury Ron Francis 12,084,000 1
51 2424 Monday 25th June Barry Hill Malcolm Taylor 12,582,000 1
52 2425 Wednesday 27th June Peter Whalley Malcolm Taylor 11,260,000 2
53 2426 Monday 2nd July H.V. Kershaw Ric Mellis 13,225,000 1
54 2427 Wednesday 4th July Barry Hill Ric Mellis 11,325,000 3
55 2428 Monday 9th July John Stevenson Brian Mills 13,694,000 1
56 2429 Wednesday 11th July Leslie Duxbury Brian Mills 12,622,000 3
57 2430 Monday 16th July Leslie Duxbury
Keith Hutson
Malcolm Taylor 13,086,000 1
58 2431 Wednesday 18th July Peter Whalley Malcolm Taylor 12,561,000 2
59 2432 Monday 23rd July H.V. Kershaw Ric Mellis 12,935,000 1
60 2433 Wednesday 25th July Barry Hill Ric Mellis 12,485,000 2
61 2434 Monday 30th July Tony Perrin Brian Mills 12,772,000 1
62 2435 Wednesday 1st August John Stevenson Brian Mills 12,464,000 2
63 2436 Monday 6th August Peter Whalley Gareth Morgan 13,537,000 1
64 2437 Wednesday 8th August Leslie Duxbury Gareth Morgan 12,129,000 2
65 2438 Monday 13th August John Stevenson Ric Mellis 12,499,000 1
66 2439 Wednesday 15th August Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 11,560,000 2
67 2440 Monday 20th August Barry Hill Brian Mills 12,071,000 1
68 2441 Wednesday 22nd August Tony Perrin Brian Mills 11,824,000 3
69 2442 Monday 27th August Bob Mason Matthew Robinson 9,037,000 24
70 2443 Wednesday 29th August Leslie Duxbury Matthew Robinson 10,972,000 8
71 2444 Monday 3rd September Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 13,722,000 3
72 2445 Wednesday 5th September John Stevenson Ric Mellis 14,109,000 2
73 2446 Monday 10th September Barry Hill Ron Francis 15,902,000 2
74 2447 Wednesday 12th September Adele Rose Ron Francis 14,566,000 5
75 2448 Monday 17th September Tony Perrin Matthew Robinson 15,842,000 3
76 2449 Wednesday 19th September Leslie Duxbury Matthew Robinson 16,055,000 2
77 2450 Monday 24th September H.V. Kershaw Brian Mills 17,062,000 1
78 2451 Wednesday 26th September John Stevenson Brian Mills 17,000,000 2
79 2452 Monday 1st October Adele Rose Ric Mellis 16,508,000 2
80 2453 Wednesday 3rd October Barry Hill Ric Mellis 16,856,000 1
81 2454 Monday 8th October Tony Perrin Nicholas Ferguson 17,278,000 2
82 2455 Wednesday 10th October Peter Whalley Nicholas Ferguson 17,060,000 3
83 2456 Monday 15th October Bob Mason Brian Mills 16,676,000 1
84 2457 Wednesday 17th October John Stevenson Brian Mills 14,288,000 3
85 2458 Monday 22nd October Adele Rose Ric Mellis 14,837,000 2
86 2459 Wednesday 24th October Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 16,178,000 1
87 2460 Monday 29th October Tony Perrin Nicholas Ferguson 15,658,000 1
88 2461 Wednesday 31st October Leslie Duxbury Nicholas Ferguson 14,514,000 3
89 2462 Monday 5th November Leslie Duxbury Brian Mills 16,130,000 2
90 2463 Wednesday 7th November Tony Perrin Brian Mills 19,189,000 1
91 2464 Monday 12th November H.V. Kershaw Ric Mellis 18,939,000 2
92 2465 Wednesday 14th November Peter Whalley Ric Mellis 20,449,000 1
93 2466 Monday 19th November John Stevenson Nicholas Ferguson 19,135,000 4
94 2467 Wednesday 21st November Adele Rose Nicholas Ferguson 20,197,000 3
95 2468 Monday 26th November Julian Roach Brian Mills 18,853,000 2
96 2469 Wednesday 28th November H.V. Kershaw Brian Mills 20,235,000 1
97 2470 Monday 3rd December Leslie Duxbury Ric Mellis 18,900,000 2
98 2471 Wednesday 5th December Barry Hill Ric Mellis 19,250,000 1
99 2472 Monday 10th December John Stevenson Nicholas Ferguson 18,750,000 1
100 2473 Wednesday 12th December Tony Perrin Nicholas Ferguson 18,600,000 2
101 2474 Monday 17th December H.V. Kershaw Brian Mills 18,750,000 1
102 2475 Wednesday 19th December Tony Perrin Brian Mills 18,250,000 2
103 2476 Monday 24th December Leslie Duxbury Patrick Lau 17,400,000 5
104 2477 Wednesday 26th December Peter Whalley Patrick Lau 13,650,000 n/k
105 2478 Monday 31st December Julian Roach Nicholas Ferguson 16,050,000 5

Storylines[]

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Rosamund Street

Others

Coronation Street in the 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
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