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Logo 1982

1987 was Coronation Street's twenty-eighth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Alf Roberts Bryan Mosley Full year 77 1086 14
2 Mavis Riley Thelma Barlow Full year 73 890 8
3 Ivy Tilsley Lynne Perrie Full year 71 674 8
4 Rita Fairclough Barbara Knox Full year 67 1059 4
4 Hilda Ogden Jean Alexander Until December 67 1614 4
6 Mike Baldwin Johnny Briggs Full year 66 678 8
6 Alec Gilroy Roy Barraclough From March 66 96 30
6 Bet Lynch/Gilroy Julie Goodyear Until May and from August 66 1271 2
9 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 64 1789 15
9 Emily Bishop Eileen Derbyshire Full year 64 1532 21
9 Gloria Todd Sue Jenkins From April 64 166 4
12 Sally Webster Sally Whittaker Full year 63 121 19
12 Vera Duckworth Elizabeth Dawn Full year 63 523 12
14 Deirdre Barlow Anne Kirkbride Full year 62 919 25
15 Gail Tilsley Helen Worth Full year 61 761 15
15 Audrey Roberts Sue Nicholls Full year 61 202 18
15 Kevin Webster Michael Le Vell Full year 61 256 8
18 Alan Bradley Mark Eden Full year 58 110 23
18 Curly Watts Kevin Kennedy Full year 58 236 19
20 Jack Duckworth William Tarmey Until March and from July 57 339 2
21 Susan Baldwin Wendy Jane Walker Until November 54 169 7
22 Percy Sugden Bill Waddington Full year 50 252 15
22 Brian Tilsley Christopher Quinten Full year 50 472 21
24 Betty Turpin Betty Driver Full year 46 1256 12
25 Jenny Bradley Sally Ann Matthews Full year 40 91 24
25 Martin Platt Sean Wilson January to April, June and from August 40 107 26
27 Terry Duckworth Nigel Pivaro Until June 29 246 1
28 Tracy Barlow Holly Chamarette March to May and July to November 28 306 30
29 Sarah Louise Tilsley Leah & Lynsay King February to July and December 26 26 -
30 Phyllis Pearce Jill Summers January to June, August to September and December 23 145 26
30 Nicky Tilsley Warren Jackson January to July and December 23 205 32
32 Derek Wilton Peter Baldwin February and November to December 15 84 33
33 Shirley Armitage Lisa Lewis February to August and December 14 87 28
34 Don Brennan Geoff Hinsliff September and from December 9 9 -
35 Ida Clough Helene Palmer May and July 5 195 29
36 Eddie Yeats Geoffrey Hughes November and December 2 511 -

Production[]

Hilda sings goodbye

The Street gains a record audience for Hilda Ogden's Christmas Day swansong

John G. Temple's run as producer ended with Episode 2755 on 26th August. After five years as executive producer, Bill Podmore returned to the producer's chair, bringing with him his usual flair for comedy.

The main event of the year was the last appearance of Hilda Ogden. Jean Alexander quit her role after 23 years as she wanted to play other parts. After so long toiling away for little reward, Hilda got a happy ending, moving into a flat attached to her employer Doctor Lowther's cottage in Derbyshire. Her last appearance was in the Christmas Day episode, where the residents saw her off with a surprise party in the Rovers. This was the first time Coronation Street went out on Christmas Day when it didn't fall on one of the programme's normal transmission days, a trend which has continued until the present day (with the exception of 1993).

Sarah Louise Tilsley, the latest Coronation Street baby, was born in February. She was played by twins Leah and Lynsay King, and by Lynsay alone after the sad death of Leah from SIDS.

The Rovers lost two of its staff for some of the year as William Tarmey took a four-month break for heart surgery, while Julie Goodyear was absent for three months to look after her seriously ill mother. Bet re-appeared as Bill Podmore was taking over as producer and deciding the future of several characters; Bet's relationship with Alec Gilroy blossomed into marriage, their sparring re-establishing the Rovers as a centre for comedy. To bring Bet back into the fold in an interesting way, overseas location filming took place in Torremolinos, with Alec tracking Bet down after three months and popping the question.

Podmore also decided to write out Susan Baldwin after two years. Podmore blamed the failure of Susan and Mike Baldwin's marriage on the casting of Susan, and dismissed Wendy Jane Walker from her role. Also, Nigel Pivaro left the programme in June to join a touring production, but was planning to return. Meanwhile, Geoff Hinsliff joined the cast as Don Brennan, who was initially a short-term character who was kept on when writers saw potential in his romance with Ivy Tilsley.

Viewing figures[]

1987 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

According to most sources, including BARB, Episode 2790 (25th December 1987) is the second highest-rated episode of Coronation Street of all time, with an audience of 26,629,000 viewers. This episode, along with Episode 2789, was given a special omnibus repeat on Sunday 27th December, and the figures from each showing were added together to form the above aggregated figure. Without the omnibus showing, the episode gained an audience of 17,973,000 viewers, and the highest-rated episode of the year was Episode 2691 (14th January 1987) with 19.75 million viewers.

The average audience for the year was 15.16 million viewers (or, including the Christmas omnibus, 15.31 million viewers). The yearly average was 400,000 viewers down on 1986, with eight months experiencing drops year-on-year. The biggest falls occurred in April and May, which fell by more than 1.5 million viewers, while the biggest gain, of nearly a million viewers, was in December.

Due to EastEnders having a weekly omnibus and therefore taking the two top spots most weeks, Coronation Street was again absent from the top of the charts except for the Christmas Day episode. However, every episode charted inside the top twenty, with the Street outperforming its direct competition including Doctor Who.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
Chart
Position
1 2688 Monday 5th January Tony Perrin Bill Gilmour 17,371,000 4
2 2689 Wednesday 7th January Barry Hill Bill Gilmour 17,858,000 3
3 2690 Monday 12th January Stephen Mallatratt Eva Kolouchová 19,087,000 4
4 2691 Wednesday 14th January John Stevenson Eva Kolouchová 19,735,000 3
5 2692 Monday 19th January Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 17,939,000 3
6 2693 Wednesday 21st January Brian Finch Bill Gilmour 17,688,000 4
7 2694 Monday 26th January H.V. Kershaw Malcolm Taylor 16,832,000 4
8 2695 Wednesday 28th January Peter Whalley Malcolm Taylor 17,368,000 3
9 2696 Monday 2nd February Peter Whalley Howard Baker 18,554,000 4
10 2697 Wednesday 4th February Barry Hill Howard Baker 17,822,000 5
11 2698 Monday 9th February H.V. Kershaw Eva Kolouchová 16,240,000 4
12 2699 Wednesday 11th February Bob Mason Eva Kolouchová 18,381,000 3
13 2700 Monday 16th February Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 17,472,000 4
14 2701 Wednesday 18th February John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 17,536,000 3
15 2702 Monday 23rd February Tony Perrin Malcolm Taylor 17,512,000 3
16 2703 Wednesday 25th February John Stevenson Malcolm Taylor 16,239,000 5
17 2704 Monday 2nd March Adele Rose Howard Baker 16,124,000 4
18 2705 Wednesday 4th March Barry Hill Howard Baker 15,608,000 3
19 2706 Monday 9th March Brian Finch Bill Gilmour 16,473,000 3
20 2707 Wednesday 11th March Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 16,261,000 4
21 2708 Monday 16th March Leslie Duxbury Malcolm Taylor 16,750,000 3
22 2709 Wednesday 18th March Brian Finch Malcolm Taylor 16,503,000 4
23 2710 Monday 23rd March H.V. Kershaw Richard Holthouse 16,089,000 4
24 2711 Wednesday 25th March Bob Mason Richard Holthouse 16,400,000 3
25 2712 Monday 30th March Peter Whalley Jonathan Wright-Miller 15,128,000 6
26 2713 Wednesday 1st April John Stevenson Jonathan Wright-Miller 16,506,000 4
27 2714 Monday 6th April Barry Hill Bill Gilmour 15,618,000 4
28 2715 Wednesday 8th April Peter Whalley Bill Gilmour 16,090,000 3
29 2716 Monday 13th April Tony Perrin Richard Holthouse 15,527,000 3
30 2717 Wednesday 15th April John Stevenson Richard Holthouse 13,374,000 5
31 2718 Monday 20th April Adele Rose Howard Baker 14,174,000 3
32 2719 Wednesday 22nd April Leslie Duxbury Howard Baker 12,169,000 4
33 2720 Monday 27th April Stephen Mallatratt Bill Gilmour 13,236,000 3
34 2721 Wednesday 29th April H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 12,702,000 5
35 2722 Monday 4th May John Stevenson Richard Holthouse 11,906,000 6
36 2723 Wednesday 6th May Adele Rose Richard Holthouse 12,393,000 5
37 2724 Monday 11th May Tony Perrin Brian Mills 15,272,000 4
38 2725 Wednesday 13th May Brian Finch Brian Mills 13,554,000 5
39 2726 Monday 18th May Brian Finch Bill Gilmour 14,271,000 3
40 2727 Wednesday 20th May Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 12,872,000 4
41 2728 Monday 25th May Tony Perrin Richard Holthouse 12,462,000 5
42 2729 Wednesday 27th May Peter Whalley Richard Holthouse 12,534,000 4
43 2730 Monday 1st June H.V. Kershaw Malcolm Taylor 13,423,000 4
44 2731 Wednesday 3rd June John Stevenson Malcolm Taylor 13,630,000 3
45 2732 Monday 8th June Bob Mason Bill Gilmour 14,066,000 3
46 2733 Wednesday 10th June Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 13,732,000 4
47 2734 Monday 15th June Peter Whalley Richard Holthouse 12,966,000 5
48 2735 Wednesday 17th June John Stevenson Richard Holthouse 13,683,000 4
49 2736 Monday 22nd June Stephen Mallatratt Brian Mills 13,784,000 3
50 2737 Wednesday 24th June Barry Hill Brian Mills 12,843,000 4
51 2738 Monday 29th June H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 13,526,000 3
52 2739 Wednesday 1st July H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 12,327,000 4
53 2740 Monday 6th July John Stevenson Richard Holthouse 12,542,000 4
54 2741 Wednesday 8th July Barry Hill Richard Holthouse 13,620,000 3
55 2742 Monday 13th July Leslie Duxbury Brian Mills 12,210,000 5
56 2743 Wednesday 15th July Peter Whalley Brian Mills 14,880,000 3
57 2744 Monday 20th July Peter Whalley Malcolm Taylor 13,796,000 4
58 2745 Wednesday 22nd July Adele Rose Malcolm Taylor 14,345,000 3
59 2746 Monday 27th July Leslie Duxbury Jonathan Wright-Miller 13,347,000 4
60 2747 Wednesday 29th July Barry Hill Jonathan Wright-Miller 14,100,000 3
61 2748 Monday 3rd August Tony Perrin Pedr James 13,519,000 4
62 2749 Wednesday 5th August John Stevenson Pedr James 14,148,000 3
63 2750 Monday 10th August Leslie Duxbury Bill Gilmour 11,986,000 4
64 2751 Wednesday 12th August John Stevenson Bill Gilmour 13,811,000 3
65 2752 Monday 17th August Adele Rose Richard Holthouse 13,423,000 4
66 2753 Wednesday 19th August Peter Whalley Richard Holthouse 13,945,000 3
67 2754 Monday 24th August Brian Finch Pedr James 13,083,000 4
68 2755 Wednesday 26th August H.V. Kershaw Pedr James 14,518,000 3
69 2756 Monday 31st August H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 12,795,000 4
70 2757 Wednesday 2nd September Tony Perrin Bill Gilmour 13,856,000 3
71 2758 Monday 7th September Bob Mason Mary McMurray 14,088,000 5
72 2759 Wednesday 9th September Leslie Duxbury Mary McMurray 14,166,000 4
73 2760 Monday 14th September Barry Hill Gerald Blake 14,294,000 3
74 2761 Wednesday 16th September Brian Finch Gerald Blake 13,302,000 6
75 2762 Monday 21st September Barry Hill Paul Bernard 14,405,000 4
76 2763 Wednesday 23rd September Adele Rose Paul Bernard 13,790,000 5
77 2764 Monday 28th September Tony Perrin Ron Francis 14,943,000 3
78 2765 Wednesday 30th September John Stevenson Ron Francis 14,023,000 4
79 2766 Monday 5th October Peter Whalley Gerald Blake 15,450,000 4
80 2767 Wednesday 7th October Bob Mason Gerald Blake 15,696,000 3
81 2768 Monday 12th October H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 15,373,000 3
82 2769 Wednesday 14th October Peter Whalley Bill Gilmour 15,296,000 4
83 2770 Monday 19th October Tony Perrin Ron Francis 14,874,000 6
84 2771 Wednesday 21st October Leslie Duxbury Ron Francis 15,862,000 4
85 2772 Monday 26th October Adele Rose John Michael Phillips 16,161,000 3
86 2773 Wednesday 28th October John Stevenson John Michael Phillips 15,952,000 4
87 2774 Monday 2nd November H.V. Kershaw Bill Gilmour 16,337,000 3
88 2775 Wednesday 4th November Adele Rose Bill Gilmour 15,693,000 5
89 2776 Monday 9th November Brian Finch Ric Mellis 16,045,000 4
90 2777 Wednesday 11th November Leslie Duxbury Tim Sullivan 16,515,000 3
91 2778 Monday 16th November John Stevenson John Michael Phillips 15,664,000 5
92 2779 Wednesday 18th November John Stevenson John Michael Phillips 16,062,000 3
93 2780 Monday 23rd November Tony Perrin Charles Kitchen 17,074,000 4
94 2781 Wednesday 25th November Stephen Mallatratt Charles Kitchen 16,751,000 5
95 2782 Monday 30th November Barry Hill Tim Sullivan 17,224,000 3
96 2783 Wednesday 2nd December John Stevenson Tim Sullivan 15,982,000 4
97 2784 Monday 7th December Peter Whalley Gerald Blake 16,012,000 3
98 2785 Wednesday 9th December Adele Rose Gerald Blake 15,986,000 3
99 2786 Monday 14th December Barry Hill Charles Kitchen 16,815,000 3
100 2787 Wednesday 16th December Tony Perrin Charles Kitchen 15,663,000 4
101 2788 Monday 21st December John Stevenson Ric Mellis 16,615,000 8
102 2789 Wednesday 23rd December H.V. Kershaw Ric Mellis 22,150,000
(with repeat)
4
103 2790 Friday 25th December Leslie Duxbury Ric Mellis 26,650,000
(with repeat)
1
104 2791 Monday 28th December Brian Finch Gerald Blake 16,852,000 4
105 2792 Wednesday 30th December Brian Finch Gerald Blake 15,618,000 5

Storylines[]

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Rosamund Street

Others


Coronation Street in the 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
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