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[]
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[]
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
- Rovers Return Inn - Bet Lynch (until June and from August onwards). Frank Mills (until January).
- 1 Coronation Street - Ken and Deirdre Barlow. Tracy Langton/Barlow. Susan Barlow (until May).
- 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop and Curly Watts.
- 5 Coronation Street - Ivy Tilsley. Ian Latimer (May to June). Brian Tilsley (from August onwards).
- 7 Coronation Street - Rita Fairclough. Jenny Bradley (from January to March and October onwards).
- 9 Coronation Street - Jack, Vera and Terry Duckworth.
- 11 Coronation Street - Alf and Audrey Roberts (from March).
- 13 Coronation Street - Hilda Ogden. Kevin Webster. Sally Seddon/Webster (from May to July and October onwards).
- Corner Shop flat (No.15a) - Alf and Audrey Roberts (until March).
- Community Centre flat - Percy Sugden.
Others
- 15 Arkwright Street - Sally Seddon (until May, and August to October).
- 4 Gorton Close - Phyllis Pearce.
- 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin. Bet Lynch (June to August).
- 46b, St. Mary's Place - Mike Baldwin. Susan Barlow/Baldwin (May onwards).
- 33 Hammond Road - Gail and Nicky Tilsley. Brian Tilsley (until August).
- Nelson Street - Shirley Armitage.
Coronation Street in the 1980s |
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