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Logo 1982

1986 was Coronation Street's twenty-seventh year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Terry Duckworth Nigel Pivaro Full year 72 217 5
2 Jack Duckworth William Tarmey Full year 71 282 7
2 Bet Lynch Julie Goodyear Full year 71 1205 1
4 Gloria Todd Sue Jenkins Full year 67 102 22
4 Hilda Ogden Jean Alexander Full year 67 1547 6
4 Rita Fairclough Barbara Knox Full year 67 992 19
7 Susan Barlow/Baldwin Wendy Jane Walker Full year 66 115 33
8 Mike Baldwin Johnny Briggs Full year 65 612 12
8 Ivy Tilsley Lynne Perrie Full year 65 603 2
8 Kevin Webster Michael Le Vell Full year 65 195 12
8 Mavis Riley Thelma Barlow Full year 65 817 9
12 Vera Duckworth Elizabeth Dawn Full year 64 460 2
12 Betty Turpin Betty Driver Full year 64 1210 11
14 Alf Roberts Bryan Mosley Full year 62 1009 9
15 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 61 1725 7
15 Gail Tilsley Helen Worth Full year 61 700 15
15 Percy Sugden Bill Waddington Full year 61 202 18
18 Audrey Roberts Sue Nicholls Full year 59 141 28
19 Curly Watts Kevin Kennedy Full year 58 178 17
19 Sally Seddon/Webster Sally Whittaker From January 58 58 -
21 Emily Bishop Eileen Derbyshire Full year 55 1468 15
21 Brian Tilsley Christopher Quinten Full year 55 422 12
23 Alan Bradley Mark Eden From January 52 52 -
24 Jenny Bradley Sally Ann Matthews From January 51 51 -
25 Deirdre Barlow Anne Kirkbride Full year 50 857 4
26 Phyllis Pearce Jill Summers February, May to August and from October 37 122 21
26 Martin Platt Sean Wilson February and from May 37 67 25
28 Shirley Armitage Lisa Lewis January to February, May, July and September to December 27 73 29
29 Ida Clough Helene Palmer January to February, May, July and September to December 25 190 31
30 Tracy Langton/Barlow Holly Chamarette January to June and October 24 278 32
30 Alec Gilroy Roy Barraclough June to August and November to December 24 30 -
32 Nicky Tilsley Warren Jackson May to June and August to December 21 182 30
33 Derek Wilton Peter Baldwin August to November 14 69 36
34 Peter Barlow David Lonsdale March to May 8 54 -
35 George Wardle Ron Davies Until February 7 59 20
36 Mark Redman Christopher Oakes December only 3 5 -

Production[]

Rovers fire kevin bet

Kevin comes to Bet's rescue during the Rovers fire

The regeneration of Coronation Street under producer John G. Temple continued in his second year in the chair. Meanwhile, Bill Podmore, currently executive producer, marked ten years in charge.

Characters left in limbo after the losses of 1983 and 1984 were revitalised with new family units. Jenny Bradley, played by Sally Ann Matthews, was a papergirl at The Kabin fostered by Rita Fairclough upon the sudden death of her mother Pat. Jenny's absentee father Alan, a Len Fairclough-type with a temper, then became the new man in Rita's life. Although Bradley is remembered as a villain, he was not conceived as one and was envisioned as a long-term character when Mark Eden was cast in the role.

Hilda Ogden gained a second lodger in Sally Seddon, Kevin Webster's new girlfriend and, by the year's end, wife. Sally Whittaker joined the cast in January, having previously auditioned for Andrea Clayton and Michelle Robinson.

Drama was supplied by the ongoing Tilsley marriage troubles, as Gail had an affair with Brian's Australian cousin Ian Latimer, and the courtship of Mike Baldwin and Susan Barlow, leading to Ken thumping Mike in the factory. Mike went on to wed Susan, though it was planned from the outset that the marriage would not last. At the last minute, Ken turned up to walk Susan down the aisle after being shamed into doing so by a returning Peter Barlow. Peter, last seen in 1978, was recast with David Lonsdale who was the sixth person to play the role.

The centrepiece of the year, however, was the fire at the Rovers Return. It had previously been decided to modernise the pub's interior, as had been done with the Corner Shop in 1985, and at first the plan was simply to have the brewery carry out a routine redecoration. Storyliners Tom Elliott and Paul Abbott, when beginning to plot the Rovers-less episodes, pitched the idea of having a fire instead as a way of explaining why the pub was out of bounds for so long.

The blaze, airing in Episode 2631 on 18th June, was started accidentally by Jack Duckworth, who bodged the fusebox in the Rovers' cellar in the previous episode when the regulars had a sing-song in the pub. In the programme's most elaborate stunt sequence of the decade, Bet Lynch was trapped upstairs while outside the residents mounted a rescue. Julie Goodyear's fire-proofed night-dress caught fire during the recording of the scene, but the actress was unharmed. The sense of occasion was underlined when the episode was given a unique title sequence and was repeated the following evening. In addition, the outdoor scenes were shot on outside broadcast video instead of the usual 16mm film, giving the proceedings a greater sense of immediacy. This practice would be adopted full-time in 1988.

When the Rovers re-opened on 13th August, it had lost the select function room, with the public and snug knocked into one and three upholstered seating areas added, along with several more minor changes.

Other comings and goings included a three-month stint by Derek Wilton as he returned to Mavis Riley's life following his marriage to the dreaded Angela Hawthorne, while factory van driver George Wardle, briefly engaged to Ivy Tilsley, moved on after being fired by Mike. After years of turning down offers, Roy Barraclough was finally tied down with a long-term contract, reprising the role of theatrical agent Alec Gilroy who he last played in 1975.

Viewing figures[]

1986 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

From this point on, the history of Coronation Street's ratings becomes more complicated. In this period, BARB ratings combined the viewing figures for multiple showings of each episode, reporting only one figure. This didn't usually affect Coronation Street as it didn't have an omnibus until 1989, but Episode 2631 (18th June 1986) - the Rovers fire episode - was given a one-off repeat the following day, and gained a BARB rating of 22.75 million viewers - on the surface, the highest figure of the year and for any episode up to that point. Including this, the average for the year was 15.63 million viewers. Counting only the first showing of the episode, the average drops to 15.55 million viewers, and Episode 2598 (24th February 1986) becomes the highest-rated episode of the year with 19.25 million viewers.

All months fell from the previous year, with the biggest drops occurring in January, June and July, which fell by over two million viewers apiece. Overall, ratings were almost a million down on 1985.

The chart domination of EastEnders - helped in no small part by its omnibus - kept Coronation Street off the top spot in all but one week of the year. The exception is the aforementioned Episode 2631, for the reasons stated above. However, the programme continued to perform well, with only one episode dropping out of the top twenty.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
Chart
Position
1 2583 Wednesday 1st January H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 13,687,000 12
2 2584 Monday 6th January Adele Rose Malcolm Taylor 18,008,000 3
3 2585 Wednesday 8th January Peter Whalley Malcolm Taylor 17,971,000 4
4 2586 Monday 13th January Leslie Duxbury Gareth Morgan 17,379,000 4
5 2587 Wednesday 15th January John Stevenson Gareth Morgan 17,574,000 3
6 2588 Monday 20th January John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 18,111,000 3
7 2589 Wednesday 22nd January H.V. Kershaw Eva Kolouchová 17,962,000 4
8 2590 Monday 27th January Barry Hill David Carson 18,803,000 3
9 2591 Wednesday 29th January Adele Rose David Carson 18,104,000 4
10 2592 Monday 3rd February Julian Roach Malcolm Taylor 18,283,000 3
11 2593 Wednesday 5th February Bob Mason Malcolm Taylor 17,916,000 4
12 2594 Monday 10th February Tony Perrin Mary McMurray 17,275,000 5
13 2595 Wednesday 12th February Leslie Duxbury Mary McMurray 17,083,000 6
14 2596 Monday 17th February Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 18,635,000 3
15 2597 Wednesday 19th February Peter Whalley Eva Kolouchová 17,560,000 5
16 2598 Monday 24th February John Stevenson Ron Francis 19,235,000 3
17 2599 Wednesday 26th February H.V. Kershaw Ron Francis 18,024,000 4
18 2600 Monday 3rd March H.V. Kershaw Gareth Morgan 17,464,000 3
19 2601 Wednesday 5th March Stephen Mallatratt Gareth Morgan 15,900,000 4
20 2602 Monday 10th March Barry Hill Bill Gilmour 18,007,000 3
21 2603 Wednesday 12th March Peter Tonkinson Bill Gilmour 17,606,000 4
22 2604 Monday 17th March Leslie Duxbury Ron Francis 17,654,000 3
23 2605 Wednesday 19th March Peter Whalley Eva Kolouchová 16,891,000 4
24 2606 Monday 24th March Adele Rose Gareth Morgan 17,906,000 3
25 2607 Wednesday 26th March Barry Hill Gareth Morgan 17,435,000 4
26 2608 Monday 31st March Tony Perrin Bill Gilmour 16,301,000 5
27 2609 Wednesday 2nd April John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 16,537,000 3
28 2610 Monday 7th April Peter Whalley Ron Francis 17,700,000 3
29 2611 Wednesday 9th April Leslie Duxbury Ron Francis 17,231,000 4
30 2612 Monday 14th April H.V. Kershaw Gareth Morgan 16,270,000 4
31 2613 Wednesday 16th April Leslie Duxbury Gareth Morgan 16,753,000 3
32 2614 Monday 21st April Adele Rose Eva Kolouchová 14,814,000 5
33 2615 Wednesday 23rd April Bob Mason Eva Kolouchová 15,675,000 3
34 2616 Monday 28th April Peter Tonkinson Ron Francis 15,473,000 4
35 2617 Wednesday 30th April Tony Perrin Ron Francis 14,582,000 5
36 2618 Monday 5th May Tony Perrin Gareth Morgan 12,396,000 7
37 2619 Wednesday 7th May Adele Rose Gareth Morgan 13,899,000 2
38 2620 Monday 12th May Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 15,760,000 4
39 2621 Wednesday 14th May H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 18,352,000 2
40 2622 Monday 19th May John Stevenson Eva Kolouchová 14,159,000 4
41 2623 Wednesday 21st May Barry Hill Eva Kolouchová 14,092,000 3
42 2624 Monday 26th May Barry Hill Gareth Morgan 13,368,000 5
43 2625 Wednesday 28th May Leslie Duxbury Gareth Morgan 14,198,000 4
44 2626 Monday 2nd June Peter Whalley Bill Gilmour 13,292,000 5
45 2627 Wednesday 4th June Bob Mason Bill Gilmour 13,601,000 4
46 2628 Monday 9th June Stephen Mallatratt Eva Kolouchová 13,653,000 3
47 2629 Wednesday 11th June H.V. Kershaw Eva Kolouchová 12,597,000 4
48 2630 Monday 16th June Tony Perrin Gareth Morgan 11,363,000 8
49 2631 Wednesday 18th June H.V. Kershaw Gareth Morgan 22,750,000
(with repeat)
1
50 2632 Monday 23rd June Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 15,048,000 3
51 2633 Wednesday 25th June John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 11,515,000 7
52 2634 Monday 30th June Peter Whalley Eva Kolouchová 13,038,000 3
53 2635 Wednesday 2nd July Leslie Duxbury Eva Kolouchová 11,783,000 4
54 2636 Monday 7th July Leslie Duxbury Howard Baker 13,579,000 3
55 2637 Wednesday 9th July Tony Perrin Howard Baker 12,848,000 4
56 2638 Monday 14th July Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 12,487,000 4
57 2639 Wednesday 16th July H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 12,875,000 3
58 2640 Monday 21st July John Stevenson Eva Kolouchová 12,861,000 5
59 2641 Wednesday 23rd July Barry Hill Eva Kolouchová 12,747,000 6
60 2642 Monday 28th July Barry Hill Gareth Morgan 13,136,000 4
61 2643 Wednesday 30th July Adele Rose Gareth Morgan 14,300,000 3
62 2644 Monday 4th August Tony Perrin Howard Baker 14,140,000 2
63 2645 Wednesday 6th August Leslie Duxbury Howard Baker 14,253,000 3
64 2646 Monday 11th August Peter Whalley Oliver Horsbrugh 14,747,000 3
65 2647 Wednesday 13th August John Stevenson Oliver Horsbrugh 14,183,000 4
66 2648 Monday 18th August Peter Whalley Ron Francis 14,887,000 3
67 2649 Wednesday 20th August Bob Mason Ron Francis 13,608,000 3
68 2650 Monday 25th August Tony Perrin Eva Kolouchová 15,602,000 3
69 2651 Wednesday 27th August Leslie Duxbury Eva Kolouchová 13,365,000 5
70 2652 Monday 1st September H.V. Kershaw Pedr James 15,440,000 3
71 2653 Wednesday 3rd September John Stevenson Pedr James 14,344,000 4
72 2654 Monday 8th September Adele Rose Sarah Harding 15,914,000 4
73 2655 Wednesday 10th September Peter Whalley Sarah Harding 15,094,000 5
74 2656 Monday 15th September Stephen Mallatratt Eva Kolouchová 16,204,000 4
75 2657 Wednesday 17th September H.V. Kershaw Eva Kolouchová 15,251,000 5
76 2658 Monday 22nd September Barry Hill Bill Gilmour 14,653,000 6
77 2659 Wednesday 24th September Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 15,039,000 5
78 2660 Monday 29th September Peter Tonkinson Howard Baker 15,766,000 4
79 2661 Wednesday 1st October H.V. Kershaw Howard Baker 15,641,000 5
80 2662 Monday 6th October John Stevenson Eva Kolouchová 16,477,000 4
81 2663 Wednesday 8th October Leslie Duxbury Eva Kolouchová 16,560,000 3
82 2664 Monday 13th October Peter Whalley Bill Gilmour 16,829,000 3
83 2665 Wednesday 15th October Tony Perrin Bill Gilmour 16,223,000 4
84 2666 Monday 20th October John Stevenson Howard Baker 16,529,000 3
85 2667 Wednesday 22nd October Tony Perrin Howard Baker 11,631,000 14
86 2668 Monday 27th October Barry Hill Eva Kolouchová 17,910,000 3
87 2669 Wednesday 29th October Adele Rose Eva Kolouchová 15,833,000 4
88 2670 Monday 3rd November Bob Mason Bill Gilmour 16,908,000 3
89 2671 Wednesday 5th November Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 14,633,000 6
90 2672 Monday 10th November Stephen Mallatratt Howard Baker 17,063,000 3
91 2673 Wednesday 12th November Adele Rose Howard Baker 17,007,000 4
92 2674 Monday 17th November Tony Perrin Eva Kolouchová 16,695,000 5
93 2675 Wednesday 19th November Peter Whalley Eva Kolouchová 16,919,000 4
94 2676 Monday 24th November Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 16,460,000 7
95 2677 Wednesday 26th November H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 16,619,000 6
96 2678 Monday 1st December Barry Hill Howard Baker 16,206,000 4
97 2679 Wednesday 3rd December Leslie Duxbury Howard Baker 16,687,000 3
98 2680 Monday 8th December Bob Mason Brian Mills 16,027,000 3
99 2681 Wednesday 10th December Peter Whalley Brian Mills 15,526,000 4
100 2682 Monday 15th December H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 15,753,000 4
101 2683 Wednesday 17th December John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 14,906,000 5
102 2684 Monday 22nd December Adele Rose Howard Baker 15,170,000 7
103 2685 Wednesday 24th December John Stevenson Howard Baker 13,870,000 20
104 2686 Monday 29th December Leslie Duxbury Eva Kolouchová 16,960,000 3
105 2687 Wednesday 31st December H.V. Kershaw Eva Kolouchová 12,591,000 14

Storylines[]

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Rosamund Street

Others

Coronation Street in the 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
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