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 | 876 | 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 | 1597 | 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 | 298 | 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 | 140 | 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 | 1223 | 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 | 1305 | 21 |
| 33 | Elsie Tanner | Patricia Phoenix | Until January | 2 | 1609 | 4 |
| 33 | Sharon Gaskell | Tracie Bennett | Until January | 2 | 53 | 35 |
Production
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, producer Mervyn Watson and the writers 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.
The year began with the on-screen departure of Patricia Phoenix as Elsie Tanner, after 23 years. Her fairytale exit - flitting to Portugal to be with her lover Bill Gregory - was followed four months later by the return of Anne Cunningham as Linda Cheveski after a 16-year absence. 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), father of Kevin and Debbie. However, her comeback was not deemed a success and she left a month later. Installed in No.11, the Websters were envisioned as the programme's next long-term family, but these plans also fell through when Peter Armitage refused to renew his initial contract. The decision was made to save the character of Kevin, but Debbie left with Bill early in 1985.
Last seen in 1979, Billy Walker too made a return, taking over the Rovers licence in accordance with Annie's wishes. Billy returned as a nastier character than previously, much to the disappointment of Kenneth Farrington who at the end of the year decided to leave, forcing the writers to re-think their future plans for the Rovers. His exit was screened a week after Fred Gee's final appearance, following Fred Feast's resignation after eight years. Feast 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, and now the last besides William Roache - 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 off-screen after an appropriate amount of time had passed. Jean Alexander's performance in scenes following Stan's death won her the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award in 1985.
Viewing figures
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
- Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker (until February). Billy Walker (March and from May to December). Fred Gee (until April and from July to August). Gordon Lewis (May and December)
- 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock (until May). Ken and Deirdre Barlow. Tracy Langton.
- 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop and Curly Watts.
- 5 Coronation Street - Ivy, Brian, Gail and Nick Tilsley .
- 7 Coronation Street - Rita Fairclough. Sharon Gaskell (until January)
- 9 Coronation Street - Jack, Vera. Terry Duckworth (until May and from June onwards).
- 11 Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner (until January). Linda Cheveski (from May to July). Bill, Kevin and Debbie Webster (from July onwards).
- 13 Coronation Street - Stan Ogden (until November). Hilda Ogden. Terry Duckworth (from May to June)
- Corner Shop (No.15) - Alf Roberts.
- Corner Shop flat (No.15a) - Bet Lynch.
- Community Centre flat - Percy Sugden
Others
- 4 Gorton Close - Phyllis Pearce.
- 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin.
- Nelson Street - Shirley Armitage.
- 46b, St. Mary's Place - Mike Baldwin.
- Trafalgar Street - Fred Gee (September to November)
| Coronation Street in the 1980s |
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