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Logo 1995

1997 was Coronation Street's thirty-eighth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Kevin Webster Michael Le Vell Full year 140 1100 17
2 Judy Mallett Gaynor Faye Full year 122 217 20
3 Sally Webster Sally Whittaker Full year 120 918 22
3 Jim McDonald Charles Lawson Full year 120 757 9
5 Vera Duckworth Elizabeth Dawn Full year 119 1482 1
6 Gary Mallett Ian Mercer Full year 117 205 28
7 Chris Collins Matthew Marsden From March 116 116 -
7 Alec Gilroy Roy Barraclough Full year 116 726 17
7 Rita Sullivan Barbara Knox Full year 116 1999 8
10 Fiona Middleton Angela Griffin Full year 114 416 13
11 Deirdre Rachid Anne Kirkbride Full year 111 1766 5
11 Samantha Failsworth Tina Hobley Full year 111 154 46
13 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 108 2637 5
13 Gail Platt Helen Worth Full year 108 1703 22
15 Mike Baldwin Johnny Briggs Full year 101 1486 11
15 Jack Duckworth William Tarmey Full year 101 1322 4
15 Natalie Horrocks Denise Welch From February 101 101 -
18 Ashley Peacock Steven Arnold Full year 99 141 47
19 Angie Freeman Deborah McAndrew From March 98 334 66
20 Maxine Heavey Tracy Shaw Full year 96 206 34
21 Audrey Roberts Sue Nicholls Full year 95 1055 13
22 Emily Bishop Eileen Derbyshire Full year 87 2273 34
22 Maud Grimes Elizabeth Bradley Full year 87 338 26
24 Alma Baldwin Amanda Barrie Full year 86 821 13
24 Martin Platt Sean Wilson Full year 86 852 32
26 Des Barnes Philip Middlemiss Full year 83 674 16
27 Liz McDonald Beverley Callard Full year 82 780 2
28 Curly Watts Kevin Kennedy Full year 78 1079 17
29 Alan McKenna Glenn Hugill Until November 77 87 61
29 Mavis Wilton Thelma Barlow Until October 77 1788 11
31 Janice Lee/Battersby Vicky Entwistle From January 75 75 -
31 Fred Elliott John Savident Full year 75 139 41
33 Andy McDonald Nicholas Cochrane Until November 74 592 3
33 Maureen Holdsworth/Elliott Sherrie Hewson Until October 74 399 20
35 Bill Webster Peter Armitage Until October 73 292 7
35 Betty Williams Betty Driver Full year 73 2045 25
37 Steve McDonald Simon Gregson Full year 67 589 37
38 Roy Cropper David Neilson Full year 66 114 48
39 Les Battersby Bruce Jones From July 60 60 -
40 Rosie Webster Emma Collinge From February 59 319 57
41 Leanne Battersby Jane Danson From July 57 57 -
42 Percy Sugden Bill Waddington Until October 52 982 29
43 Toyah Battersby Georgia Taylor From July 51 51 -
44 Don Brennan Geoff Hinsliff Until May and September to October 48 735 9
44 Zoe Tattersall Joanne Froggatt From May 48 48 -
46 Tricia Armstrong Tracy Brabin Until May 47 193 24
47 Sophie Webster Ashleigh Middleton and Emma Woodward Full year 44 107 54
48 Katy Tattersall/Katy Mallett/Katie Mallett/Shannon Tattersall Lucy Whipday From August 36 36 -
49 Jamie Armstrong Joseph Gilgun Until May 24 107 42
50 Alf Roberts Bryan Mosley Until March and from November 23 1760 29
50 Sean Skinner Terence Hillyer Until May 23 103 51
50 Derek Wilton Peter Baldwin Until April 23 726 26
53 Nick Tilsley Adam Rickitt From October 21 568 59
54 Anne Malone Eve Steele Until February 19 80 39
55 Ida Clough Helene Palmer Full year 18 248 54
56 Becky Palmer Emily Aston Until March 16 51 50
56 Sarah Louise Platt Lynsay King January and from May 16 361 52
58 Claire Palmer Maggie Norris Until April 12 59 44
58 David Platt Thomas Ormson January and July to November 12 307 53
60 Stephen Reid Todd Boyce January only 11 33 58
61 Tony Horrocks Lee Warburton Until February 10 77 37
61 Joyce Smedley Anita Carey Until February 10 71 33
63 Spider Nugent Martin Hancock From December 9 9 -
64 Daniel Osbourne Lewis Harney January and July to August 6 101 36
65 Billy Williams Frank Mills Until February 5 60 56
66 Norris Cole Malcolm Hebden April only 4 76 49
66 Terry Duckworth Nigel Pivaro April only 4 305 62
68 Denise Osbourne Denise Black January only 3 269 60
69 Tracy Barlow/Preston Dawn Acton December only 2 585 65
69 Lorraine Horrocks Holly Newman November only 2 2 -
71 Tommy Duckworth Darryl Edwards March only 1 121 62
71 Blanche Hunt Maggie Jones December only 1 101 67

Production[]

New broom sweeps clean[]

1997 marked one of the key turning points in Coronation Street history.

Brian park

Brian Park - Coronation Streets "smiling axeman"

After being the producer since 1994, Sue Pritchard left the programme in January. Executive producer Carolyn Reynolds appointed Brian Park as Pritchard's replacement, in one of her last acts before departing the series herself. Park joined the Street at a crucial time. Since the introduction of the Sunday episode, it had continually rated lower than the rest of the week by several million viewers, dragging the programme's ratings average below that of EastEnders. The fall in ratings was concentrated in the London area, and as such Carlton and LWT threatened to move the programme out of peak viewing hours. Additionally, ITV was concerned about a PR bias against Coronation Street, with The Sun and The Mirror attacking the programme for being old-fashioned compared with EastEnders and Brookside. Granada instructed Park to target younger viewers in particular to redress an age imbalance in the Street's audience.

Having not been a regular viewer of Coronation Street since the 1960s, Park was sympathetic to the tabloid press' "fuddy-duddy" impression of it. Upon discovering that writers were reluctant to let go of characters despite not having any storylines for them, Park insisted that they get rid of them. On his first day in the job, he dismissed actors Peter Baldwin, Geoff Hinsliff, Lee Warburton, Emily Aston, Maggie Norris, Nicholas Cochrane, Peter Armitage, Frank Mills, Sherrie Hewson, Anita Carey, and Eve Steele from their parts. Baldwin's axing came as a particular shock to the cast due to his longevity in the role and the popularity of Derek and Mavis Wilton, but Park - who had the job of implementing a decision which in fact preceded his arrival - believed that it was the correct choice as Thelma Barlow had recently given her resignation after wrestling with the idea for the past two years, and it was felt that Derek wouldn't work without her. Derek died of a heart attack following a road rage incident six months before the end of Thelma Barlow's contract, giving viewers the opportunity to see Mavis react to his death and begin to adjust to widowhood. His funeral marked the last appearance of Malcolm Hebden in the recurring part of Derek's nemesis Norris Cole until he was brought back as a main cast member in 1999.

News of Coronation Street's biggest cast cull to date gained an immediate reaction from the press, with Daily Mirror columnist Victor Lewis-Smith describing Park as a "smiling axeman" terrorising the Street. The press attention played into ITV's hands, with Park giving interviews for The Guardian (and the Manchester Evening News) to explain what he wanted to achieve on the programme: "I'm going to fight tooth and nail not to become the TV equivalent of the heritage trail. I suppose the stately home analogy is correct. We have to keep it going into the next millennium, adapt it and attract younger viewers without losing the old ones and destroying what makes it singular."

Clearing the deadwood[]

By the time Park's first credited episode was shown on 16th March, viewers had already seen the last of several characters, some of whom were not given on-screen exits; Billy Williams was not seen again after 14th February, and died off-screen of a heart attack in November, Anne Malone left Weatherfield in February after trying to frame Samantha Failsworth for shoplifting, Claire and Becky Palmer left Des Barnes's life after Claire caught Des sans trousers outside No.7, and Tony Horrocks vanished soon after accidentally killing Joyce Smedley with his car.

Having considered quitting a number of times, Geoff Hinsliff felt no bitterness about his sacking. For Don Brennan's exit, the writers crafted a revenge plot which, while on the surface far-fetched, was consistent with the way the character had progressed since Ivy's death. Continuing to wallow in misery and self-pity, Don kidnapped Alma Baldwin in his taxi and tried to gain her sympathy after Mike sold him the garage which went bust under Don's management. The hour-long episode climaxed with a spectacular scene in which Don's cab plunged into the canal with him and Alma inside. After spending six months in Strangeways, Don re-appeared in October, where he escaped and returned to Coronation Street to kill Mike, only to meet a fiery end himself when he drove Alma's car into the viaduct. From this point onwards, stunt sequences such as this became a more regular staple in Coronation Street's storytelling arsenal.

The three remaining axed actors departed later in the year. Maureen Holdsworth ran off to Germany with Bill Webster in October, less than two weeks after marrying Fred Elliott, while Andy McDonald left to make a new life in Barcelona in November. October also marked Thelma Barlow's final appearance as Mavis, as she left Rita's side to run a B&B in Cartmel, as well as Bill Waddington as Percy Sugden. Waddington had complained to the press about the increase in "raunchy" storylines since Park took over and announced his intention to quit. Percy left the street in October to live in a flat at Mayfield Court retirement complex. Meanwhile, after three years playing Tricia Armstrong, pregnant Tracy Brabin quit the show to have her baby. After giving birth to son Brad, Tricia and Jamie Armstrong left Weatherfield with Tricia's new partner Ray Thorpe.

The new generation[]

Battersby family

The Battersbys, the "family from hell"

In their place came a horde of new characters, including a new family to take over No.5, which had been repossessed from Don Brennan and sold to the council while he was in prison. Les and Janice Battersby, and their teenager daughters Leanne and Toyah, arrived in the street in July. The Battersbys were a new creed of character; loud, obnoxious, thieving, and self-centred, they were referred to in the press as a "problem family", designed to upset the other street residents. For maximum impact, their early storylines showed them at their worst, with Les headbutting Curly Watts when a sleep-deprived Curly threw the girls' CD player out of the window. Anticipating accusations of dragging the programme downmarket (despite the idea for the family preceding him), Park told the Manchester Evening News: "People don't like innovation and change and they have selective memories - they thought the Ogdens were pretty rough at first - but the Battersbys follow in the Ogden's great tradition. After a while, familiarity breeds contempt." The first member of the family to appear was Janice, played by Vicky Entwistle, as a member of Mike Baldwin's workforce.

Other new characters included hunky mechanic Chris Collins played by Matthew Marsden, and Joanne Froggatt as troubled teen Zoe Tattersall. In February, Denise Welch joined the cast as Natalie Horrocks, mother of Tony, who replaced her son as Kevin Webster's partner at the garage. Welch was immediately brought to the forefront of the programme in a storyline which came about when Brian Park noticed that neither Kevin nor Sally Webster had ever had an affair; Park decided that Kevin would find himself in the arms of older woman Natalie. Sally Whittaker took maternity leave during the storyline; upon her return Sophie Webster was recast, with Emma Woodward replacing original actress Ashleigh Middleton.

Actors joining in the latter half of the year included Holly Newman as Natalie's niece Lorraine Brownlow, Martin Hancock as Emily Bishop's eco-warrior nephew and new lodger Geoffrey "Spider" Nugent, and Adam Rickitt as Nick Tilsley, who re-appeared on the programme for Don Brennan's funeral in October. Warren Jackson had planned to come back as Nick after completing his GCSEs, but Park took the opportunity to recast with someone more photogenic who could attract the elusive teen audience who watched Home and Away and Neighbours. Lastly, Deborah McAndrew was brought back full-time as Angie Freeman.

Bryan Mosley was absent for most of the year after suffering a major heart attack on 3rd February, shortly after recording his scenes for Episode 4159. He returned eight months later in Episode 4294. In consideration for Mosley's health, Alf's role was much reduced.

Structural changes[]

As well as shaking up the cast and characters, Park pushed for bolder and longer storylines, prioritising telling compelling storylines over the writing of individual scripts in order to weave more intricate plots. Story conferences were halved in length, with greater responsibility placed on the story associates which increased in number from three to five, with Ann McManus acting as story/script editor. Some writers were upset at this transfer of power away from them, and the team lost Tom Elliott, Julian Roach, Barry Hill and its longest-serving writer Adele Rose, all of whom were dismissed, Rose after disagreeing with Park on a storyline.

Two of Park's biggest changes harkened back to the show's past. The Rovers Return changed hands, with Jack and Vera Duckworth selling half of the pub to Alec Gilroy to settle a huge VAT bill, while, after Baldwin's Sportswear was gutted in a fire, Mike Baldwin went into business with Angie Freeman, opening lingerie factory Underworld in the empty unit in Coronation Street. Firman's Freezers continued to appear, with Park keen to maintain the amount of comedy in scripts.

A small change to the title sequence was made in Episode 4168 (30th March 1997). After a few years without a regular title caption (with the title instead appearing over various shots of activity in the street), the sequence was standardised, now ending with its fifth shot which showed a cat relaxing in the back yards (shown at the top of the page).

Viva Las Vegas[]

Following the success of 1995's direct-to-video spin-off entitled Coronation Street - The Feature Length Special, the experiment was repeated, with a different set of characters having an overseas adventure. Written by former story associate Russell T. Davies, Coronation Street: Viva Las Vegas! focused on the Duckworths as they flew to Las Vegas to renew their wedding vows. Hairdressers Maxine Heavey and Fiona Middleton featured in a story of their own, as their attempts to find fun in Vegas often backfired. Neville Buswell - by 1997 working as a bank manager in Vegas - was tracked down and made a cameo appearance as his old character Ray Langton (although this was ignored when the character returned to the main show in 2005). The events of the special, as well as the set up within Coronation Street, took place in late May but the VHS wasn't released until 17th November of that year.

Viewing figures[]

1997 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

In a crucial year for the programme, Coronation Street logged its lowest average of the decade, with an aggregated figure of 14.93 million viewers, representing a loss of 800,000 viewers from 1996. The drop is mostly due to the poor performance of the Sunday episode, introduced the previous November; the last three months of 1997 were up on the same months in 1996, while the biggest drops all occurred in the first half of the year. June was the only month outside the last quarter up on 1996, rising by 700,000 viewers.

The highest-rated episode of the year was Episode 4301 (17th November 1997), which gained an audience of 18.03 million viewers (again, an aggregated figure including the omnibus repeat). This was the lowest peak in any year since the omnibus began in 1989.

Meanwhile, Coronation Street's stranglehold on the charts continued, with 43 episodes reaching number one - a drop of only two episodes, while no episodes fell outside the top twenty for the sixth time of the decade.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
(With omnibus)
Chart
Position
1 4118 Wednesday 1st January Peter Whalley Mervyn Cumming 15,210,000 6
2 4119 Friday 3rd January Sally Wainwright Mervyn Cumming 16,350,000 4
3 4120 Sunday 5th January Barry Hill Colin Cant 13,770,000 9
4 4121 Monday 6th January John Stevenson Colin Cant 17,660,000 2
5 4122 Wednesday 8th January Peter Whalley Colin Cant 17,700,000 1
6 4123 Friday 10th January Peter Whalley Colin Cant 16,830,000 5
7 4124 Sunday 12th January Sally Wainwright Noreen Kershaw 12,760,000 13
8 4125 Monday 13th January Tom Elliott Noreen Kershaw 17,660,000 1
9 4126 Wednesday 15th January Peter Whalley Noreen Kershaw 17,470,000 2
10 4127 Friday 17th January Phil Woods Noreen Kershaw 16,060,000 6
11 4128 Sunday 19th January Peter Whalley Brian Mills 13,600,000 9
12 4129 Monday 20th January John Stevenson Brian Mills 17,560,000 1
13 4130 Wednesday 22nd January Adele Rose Brian Mills 17,280,000 2
14 4131 Friday 24th January Patrea Smallacombe Brian Mills 16,300,000 6
15 4132 Sunday 26th January Sally Wainwright Mervyn Cumming 13,970,000 7
16 4133 Monday 27th January Catherine Hayes Mervyn Cumming 17,050,000 2
17 4134 Wednesday 29th January Martin Allen Mervyn Cumming 17,390,000 1
18 4135 Friday 31st January Julian Roach Mervyn Cumming 16,270,000 6
19 4136 Sunday 2nd February Peter Whalley Garth Tucker 13,880,000 8
20 4137 Monday 3rd February Patrea Smallacombe Garth Tucker 17,090,000 3
21 4138 Wednesday 5th February Martin Allen Garth Tucker 17,430,000 1
22 4139 Friday 7th February Tom Elliott Garth Tucker 15,750,000 7
23 4140 Sunday 9th February John Stevenson Noreen Kershaw 13,450,000 9
24 4141 Monday 10th February Phil Woods Noreen Kershaw 17,300,000 2
25 4142 Wednesday 12th February Adele Rose Noreen Kershaw 16,060,000 5
26 4143 Friday 14th February Julian Roach Noreen Kershaw 16,320,000 4
27 4144 Sunday 16th February Peter Whalley Brian Mills 14,170,000 8
28 4145 Monday 17th February Patrea Smallacombe Brian Mills 17,600,000 1
29 4146 Wednesday 19th February Adele Rose Brian Mills 17,590,000 2
30 4147 Friday 21st February Tom Elliott Brian Mills 15,730,000 6
31 4148 Sunday 23rd February John Stevenson Mervyn Cumming 13,970,000 9
32 4149 Monday 24th February Catherine Hayes Mervyn Cumming 17,880,000 2
33 4150 Wednesday 26th February Phil Woods Mervyn Cumming 16,990,000 3
34 4151 Friday 28th February Sally Wainwright Mervyn Cumming 15,440,000 7
35 4152 Sunday 2nd March Sally Wainwright Garth Tucker 13,670,000 8
36 4153 Monday 3rd March Ken Blakeson Garth Tucker 17,380,000 1
37 4154 Wednesday 5th March Adele Rose Garth Tucker 13,990,000 6
38 4155 Friday 7th March Catherine Hayes Garth Tucker 15,310,000 3
39 4156 Sunday 9th March John Stevenson Noreen Kershaw 13,240,000 8
40 4157 Monday 10th March Julian Roach Noreen Kershaw 17,500,000 1
41 4158 Wednesday 12th March Tom Elliott Noreen Kershaw 17,250,000 2
42 4159 Friday 14th March Martin Allen Noreen Kershaw 12,870,000 8
43 4160 Sunday 16th March Patrea Smallacombe Brian Mills 13,400,000 7
44 4161 Monday 17th March Phil Woods Brian Mills 16,820,000 1
45 4162 Wednesday 19th March John Stevenson Brian Mills 14,050,000 5
46 4163 Friday 21st March Adele Rose Brian Mills 14,470,000 4
47 4164 Sunday 23rd March Peter Whalley Laurence Moody 13,070,000 7
48 4165 Monday 24th March Catherine Hayes Laurence Moody 16,250,000 3
49 4166 Wednesday 26th March Martin Allen Laurence Moody 16,840,000 1
50 4167 Friday 28th March John Stevenson Laurence Moody 14,610,000 6
51 4168 Sunday 30th March Tom Elliott Garth Tucker 12,460,000 7
52 4169 Monday 31st March Peter Whalley Garth Tucker 14,010,000 7
53 4170 Wednesday 2nd April Barry Hill Garth Tucker 16,850,000 1
54 4171 Friday 4th April Sally Wainwright Garth Tucker 15,420,000 4
55 4172 Sunday 6th April Ken Blakeson Noreen Kershaw 11,700,000 15
56 4173 Monday 7th April Phil Woods Noreen Kershaw 16,370,000 1
57 4174 Wednesday 9th April Adele Rose Noreen Kershaw 15,540,000 2
58 4175 Friday 11th April John Stevenson Noreen Kershaw 14,330,000 5
59 4176 Sunday 13th April Tom Elliott Brian Mills 12,970,000 7
60 4177 Monday 14th April Peter Whalley Brian Mills 16,520,000 3
61 4178 Wednesday 16th April Ken Blakeson Brian Mills 15,670,000 6
62 4179 Friday 18th April Catherine Hayes Kay Patrick 17,050,000 2
63 4180 Sunday 20th April Adele Rose Kay Patrick 15,810,000 5
64 4181 Monday 21st April Patrea Smallacombe Kay Patrick 17,400,000 1
65 4182 Wednesday 23rd April Sally Wainwright Laurence Moody 13,860,000 5
66 4183 Friday 25th April John Stevenson Kay Patrick 15,470,000 3
67 4184 Sunday 27th April John Stevenson Garth Tucker 13,690,000 6
68 4185 Monday 28th April Adele Rose Garth Tucker 16,450,000 2
69 4186 Wednesday 30th April Tom Elliott Garth Tucker 14,140,000 4
70 4187 Friday 2nd May Phil Woods Garth Tucker 12,600,000 6
71 4188 Sunday 4th May Martin Allen Terry Dyddgen-Jones 12,590,000 7
72 4189 Monday 5th May Ken Blakeson Terry Dyddgen-Jones 15,100,000 3
73 4190 Wednesday 7th May Peter Whalley Terry Dyddgen-Jones 16,500,000 1
74 4191 Friday 9th May Peter Whalley Terry Dyddgen-Jones 14,200,000 5
75 4192 Sunday 11th May Martin Allen Brian Mills 12,980,000 7
76 4193 Monday 12th May Mark Wadlow Brian Mills 15,790,000 1
77 4194 Wednesday 14th May Tom Elliott Brian Mills 13,550,000 6
78 4195 Friday 16th May Phil Woods Brian Mills 13,770,000 5
79 4196 Sunday 18th May Ken Blakeson Laurence Moody 11,920,000 7
80 4197 Monday 19th May Patrea Smallacombe Laurence Moody 15,300,000 2
81 4198 Wednesday 21st May Catherine Hayes Laurence Moody 15,760,000 1
82 4199 Friday 23rd May John Stevenson Laurence Moody 13,370,000 5
83 4200 Sunday 25th May Adele Rose Garth Tucker 10,180,000 10
84 4201 Monday 26th May Ken Blakeson Garth Tucker 12,650,000 2
85 4202 Wednesday 28th May Paul Cornell Garth Tucker 10,860,000 8
86 4203 Friday 30th May Patrea Smallacombe Garth Tucker 11,610,000 5
87 4204 Sunday 1st June Catherine Hayes Terry Dyddgen-Jones 11,440,000 6
88 4205 Monday 2nd June Tom Elliott Terry Dyddgen-Jones 14,540,000 1
89 4206 Wednesday 4th June Peter Whalley Terry Dyddgen-Jones 13,460,000 6
90 4207 Friday 6th June Martin Allen Terry Dyddgen-Jones 13,710,000 4
91 4208 Sunday 8th June Mark Wadlow Brian Mills 12,140,000 7
92 4209 Monday 9th June Andy Armitage Brian Mills 14,760,000 2
93 4210 Wednesday 11th June John Stevenson Brian Mills 14,910,000 1
94 4211 Friday 13th June Peter Whalley Brian Mills 13,340,000 5
95 4212 Sunday 15th June Maureen Chadwick Laurence Moody 13,110,000 7
96 4213 Monday 16th June Patrea Smallacombe Laurence Moody 14,570,000 2
97 4214 Wednesday 18th June Phil Woods Laurence Moody 15,180,000 1
98 4215 Friday 20th June Ken Blakeson Laurence Moody 14,170,000 4
99 4216 Sunday 22nd June Patrea Smallacombe Garth Tucker 12,850,000 7
100 4217 Monday 23rd June Ken Blakeson Garth Tucker 15,290,000 1
101 4218 Wednesday 25th June Adele Rose Garth Tucker 15,100,000 2
102 4219 Friday 27th June Mark Wadlow Garth Tucker 14,780,000 3
103 4220 Sunday 29th June Catherine Hayes Lou Wakefield 13,920,000 5
104 4221 Monday 30th June John Stevenson Lou Wakefield 16,010,000 1
105 4222 Wednesday 2nd July John Stevenson Lou Wakefield 15,370,000 2
106 4223 Friday 4th July Sally Wainwright Lou Wakefield 13,410,000 5
107 4224 Sunday 6th July Sally Wainwright Terry Dyddgen-Jones 11,740,000 7
108 4225 Monday 7th July John Stevenson Terry Dyddgen-Jones 14,920,000 1
109 4226 Wednesday 9th July Phil Woods Terry Dyddgen-Jones 14,120,000 3
110 4227 Friday 11th July Catherine Hayes Terry Dyddgen-Jones 14,370,000 2
111 4228 Sunday 13th July Peter Whalley Brian Mills 12,400,000 7
112 4229 Monday 14th July Martin Allen Brian Mills 15,560,000 1
113 4230 Wednesday 16th July Ken Blakeson Brian Mills 14,870,000 2
114 4231 Friday 18th July Maureen Chadwick Brian Mills 13,810,000 4
115 4232 Sunday 20th July Patrea Smallacombe Sue Dunderdale 10,830,000 10
116 4233 Monday 21st July Peter Whalley Sue Dunderdale 14,330,000 1
117 4234 Wednesday 23rd July Adele Rose Sue Dunderdale 13,980,000 2
118 4235 Friday 25th July Sally Wainwright Sue Dunderdale 13,010,000 3
119 4236 Sunday 27th July Phil Woods Laurence Moody 11,170,000 7
120 4237 Monday 28th July Catherine Hayes Laurence Moody 13,900,000 2
121 4238 Wednesday 30th July Andy Armitage Laurence Moody 14,160,000 1
122 4239 Friday 1st August Maureen Chadwick Laurence Moody 13,370,000 3
123 4240 Sunday 3rd August Peter Whalley Lou Wakefield 11,850,000 6
124 4241 Monday 4th August Adele Rose Lou Wakefield 14,420,000 1
125 4242 Wednesday 6th August Maureen Chadwick Lou Wakefield 14,220,000 2
126 4243 Friday 8th August Catherine Hayes Lou Wakefield 11,530,000 5
127 4244 Sunday 10th August Mark Wadlow June Howson 10,880,000 7
128 4245 Monday 11th August Ken Blakeson June Howson 14,050,000 2
129 4246 Wednesday 13th August John Stevenson June Howson 14,110,000 1
130 4247 Friday 15th August Sally Wainwright June Howson 12,070,000 3
131 4248 Sunday 17th August Patrea Smallacombe Brian Mills 10,970,000 7
132 4249 Monday 18th August Ken Blakeson Brian Mills 14,140,000 1
133 4250 Wednesday 20th August Peter Whalley Brian Mills 13,670,000 2
134 4251 Friday 22nd August Martin Allen Brian Mills 12,120,000 6
135 4252 Sunday 24th August Andy Armitage Sue Dunderdale 12,500,000 4
136 4253 Monday 25th August Sally Wainwright Sue Dunderdale 12,380,000 8
137 4254 Wednesday 27th August Mark Wadlow Sue Dunderdale 14,200,000 1
138 4255 Friday 29th August Catherine Hayes Sue Dunderdale 13,600,000 5
139 4256 Sunday 31st August Mark Wadlow Laurence Moody 14,080,000 2
140 4257 Monday 1st September Patrea Smallacombe Laurence Moody 14,500,000 4
141 4258 Wednesday 3rd September Maureen Chadwick Laurence Moody 16,000,000 2
142 4259 Friday 5th September Adele Rose Laurence Moody 12,850,000 9
143 4260 Sunday 7th September Peter Whalley Lou Wakefield 12,420,000 11
144 4261 Monday 8th September Andy Armitage Lou Wakefield 15,050,000 1
145 4262 Wednesday 10th September Sally Wainwright Lou Wakefield 14,170,000 4
146 4263 Friday 12th September Catherine Hayes Lou Wakefield 14,370,000 3
147 4264 Sunday 14th September Maureen Chadwick Robert Khodadad 13,490,000 8
148 4265 Monday 15th September Adele Rose Robert Khodadad 15,380,000 1
149 4266 Wednesday 17th September Peter Whalley Robert Khodadad 12,820,000 8
150 4267 Friday 19th September Patrea Smallacombe Robert Khodadad 15,150,000 3
151 4268 Sunday 21st September Sally Wainwright Will Brenton 14,400,000 4
152 4269 Monday 22nd September Catherine Hayes Will Brenton 15,840,000 1
153 4270 Wednesday 24th September Martin Allen Will Brenton 15,730,000 3
154 4271 Friday 26th September Phil Woods Will Brenton 14,740,000 5
155 4272 Sunday 28th September Peter Mills Sue Dunderdale 14,750,000 4
156 4273 Monday 29th September Ken Blakeson Sue Dunderdale 16,130,000 1
157 4274 Wednesday 1st October Phil Woods Sue Dunderdale 13,590,000 7
158 4275 Friday 3rd October Catherine Hayes Sue Dunderdale 15,140,000 3
159 4276 Sunday 5th October Maureen Chadwick Mike Adams 14,950,000 4
160 4277 Monday 6th October Martin Allen Mike Adams 16,710,000 2
161 4278 Wednesday 8th October John Stevenson Mike Adams 17,350,000 1
162 4279 Friday 10th October Peter Whalley Mike Adams 16,140,000 5
163 4280 Sunday 12th October Maureen Chadwick June Howson 16,250,000 4
164 4281 Monday 13th October Mark Wadlow June Howson 16,930,000 2
165 4282 Wednesday 15th October Adele Rose June Howson 17,470,000 1
166 4283 Friday 17th October Martin Allen June Howson 15,360,000 5
167 4284 Sunday 19th October John Stevenson Robert Khodadad 15,630,000 4
168 4285 Monday 20th October Peter Whalley Robert Khodadad 17,400,000 1
169 4286 Wednesday 22nd October Ken Blakeson Robert Khodadad 12,810,000 8
170 4287 Friday 24th October Phil Woods Robert Khodadad 15,680,000 4
171 4288 Sunday 26th October Adele Rose Will Brenton 16,630,000 2
172 4289 Monday 27th October Sally Wainwright Will Brenton 17,390,000 1
173 4290 Wednesday 29th October Andy Armitage Will Brenton 17,040,000 2
174 4291 Friday 31st October Catherine Hayes Will Brenton 15,060,000 7
175 4292 Sunday 2nd November Peter Whalley Kay Patrick 15,810,000 4
176 4293 Monday 3rd November Martin Allen Kay Patrick 17,710,000 1
177 4294 Wednesday 5th November Ken Blakeson Kay Patrick 13,520,000 8
178 4295 Friday 7th November Maureen Chadwick Kay Patrick 17,500,000 2
179 4296 Sunday 9th November Maureen Chadwick Mike Adams 17,450,000 3
180 4297 Monday 10th November Andy Armitage Mike Adams 17,780,000 2
181 4298 Wednesday 12th November Adele Rose Mike Adams 17,720,000 3
182 4299 Friday 14th November Martin Allen Mike Adams 16,620,000 5
183 4300 Sunday 16th November Ken Blakeson Noreen Kershaw 16,100,000 6
184 4301 Monday 17th November Peter Mills Noreen Kershaw 18,030,000 1
185 4302 Wednesday 19th November Mark Wadlow Noreen Kershaw 17,510,000 3
186 4303 Friday 21st November Sally Wainwright Noreen Kershaw 15,410,000 6
187 4304 Sunday 23rd November Jan McVerry Robert Khodadad 16,790,000 4
188 4305 Monday 24th November Catherine Hayes Robert Khodadad 17,540,000 2
189 4306 Wednesday 26th November Andy Armitage Robert Khodadad 12,120,000 11
190 4307 Friday 28th November Mark Wadlow Robert Khodadad 15,860,000 4
191 4308 Sunday 30th November Peter Whalley Terry Dyddgen-Jones 16,750,000 3
192 4309 Monday 1st December John Stevenson Terry Dyddgen-Jones 17,880,000 1
193 4310 Wednesday 3rd December Adele Rose Terry Dyddgen-Jones 17,170,000 2
194 4311 Friday 5th December Maureen Chadwick Terry Dyddgen-Jones 15,580,000 6
195 4312 Sunday 7th December Catherine Hayes Kay Patrick 16,280,000 4
196 4313 Monday 8th December Phil Ford Kay Patrick 17,270,000 1
197 4314 Wednesday 10th December John Stevenson Kay Patrick 12,460,000 8
198 4315 Friday 12th December Phil Woods Kay Patrick 14,770,000 3
199 4316 Sunday 14th December Peter Whalley Mike Adams 15,560,000 2
200 4317 Monday 15th December Ken Blakeson Mike Adams 17,400,000 1
201 4318 Wednesday 17th December Jan McVerry June Howson 17,220,000 2
202 4319 Friday 19th December Maureen Chadwick June Howson 15,130,000 6
203 4320 Sunday 21st December Sally Wainwright Brian Mills 15,370,000 3
204 4321 Monday 22nd December Peter Mills Brian Mills 17,250,000 1
205 4322 Thursday 25th December Peter Whalley Brian Mills 14,060,000 5
206 4323 Friday 26th December Peter Whalley Brian Mills 13,550,000 8
207 4324 Sunday 28th December Martin Allen Laurence Moody 13,890,000 6
208 4325 Monday 29th December Jan McVerry Laurence Moody 16,650,000 3
209 4326 Wednesday 31st December John Stevenson Laurence Moody 15,640,000 4

Storylines[]

January[]

  • After changing his mind about leaving Weatherfield, Curly Watts returns to Firman's Freezers as manager and moves into 16 Orchard Close with Anne Malone and Andy McDonald. Anne is humiliated as she loses her promotion at the store and has to share her home with Curly after she made a pass at him, an event which Curly was too drunk to remember. In a bid to oust Curly, she tells Andy about her declaration of love, but this prompts Andy to move out himself and back into 11 Coronation Street, driven away by Anne's obsessive personality. Curly agrees to stay on as a lodger but when Anne starts coming on strong, he flees and moves back into his own house, No.7, cutting tenant Samantha Failsworth's rent to get her to agree to share the house with him. Betrayed, Anne tries to get Curly fired by telling Eric Firman that he sexually harassed her. After a brief suspension, Curly returns to work but Anne refuses to be alone with him.
  • Bill Webster and Maureen Holdsworth drift apart following Maureen's fling with Curly. They make up on the condition that they never mention his name again.
  • Maxine Heavey dashes Curly's hopes of a repeat of their night of passion, telling him she'd never look twice at him sober.
  • Tricia Armstrong overhears Jack Duckworth telling Vera that he wants her and Jamie out of the Rovers. They leave of their own accord and back into 5 Crimea Street, but Tricia turns down the heating when Vera visits her to make it seem as though she hasn't paid her electricity bill and wangles an invitation to stay at the Rovers permanently.
  • Joyce Smedley moves back to Gable Street with Scamper.
  • Judy Mallett doesn't like Samantha living next door and stops Gary from helping her with her bike.
  • Emily Bishop puts a collection box on the Rovers' bar for used eyeglasses to send to third world countries. When Jack helps himself to a new pair from the box, Vera makes him return them and stamps on the old pair, forcing him to pay to have new glasses fitted.
  • Appearing in court charged with dangerous driving, Alf Roberts is fined £200 and has to take his test again. Audrey gives him a driving lesson, but he refuses to have any more with her as she nags him too much. The Robertses go on holiday to Portugal.
  • Ken Barlow attends his son Daniel Osbourne's birthday party in Scotland admidst his battle with Denise for custody. However, two of his main witnesses - Denise's sister-in-law Alison Dunkley and Fiona Middleton - are either unable or unwilling to testify. Sensing defeat, he accepts an out-of-court settlement from Denise with granting him regular access to Daniel. Denise refuses his offer of maintenance so Ken begins investing the money for Daniel when he's older.
  • Fiona makes plans to revamp the salon and hires Bill and Jim McDonald to carry out the work.
  • Ashley Peacock falls for Maxine and agrees to model for her. Maxine enjoys the attention. Meanwhile, young Becky Palmer develops a crush on Ashley and gifts him a Walkman for his birthday, originally Lisa Duckworth's and given to Becky by Des Barnes. When Des buys Becky a new Walkman and asks for the other back due to its sentimental value, Becky retrieve it from Ashley and owns up to Des. Ashley dyes his hair blonde to impress Maxine.
  • Kevin Webster works every hour he can to build up the Coronation Street Garage, and is annoyed when his business partner Tony Horrocks doesn't make the same commitment.
  • Fiona starts to suspect that her boyfriend Alan McKenna is married when he cancels a date with her. At Carlo's restaurant, Alan recognises another diner as a wanted criminal and has him arrested. Fiona realises that he is married - to his job.
Episode 4132

Sean Skinner gets to know Samantha Failsworth

  • Sean Skinner accepts Samantha's invitation to join her on a hike in Todmorden, even though he hates walking. He's worn out by experience, but is intrigued when Samantha admits that she's running from a failed marriage.
  • When Judy skips a period, she decides not to tell Gary she might be pregnant until she knows for sure, but Joyce ignores her wishes and tells him.
  • Ken faces redundancy at Weatherfield Comprehensive when headmistress Sue Jeffers tells him she needs to lose two teachers. Sue protects Ken's job, but makes it clear that Ken now owes her a favour. Ken is wary, knowing that Sue is jealous of his relationship with Deirdre Rachid.
  • Over dinner with the Platts, Mike Baldwin learns that Don Brennan tried to kill himself and is unsympathetic, much to Alma's disgust. When Alma receives a letter from Don blaming Mike for driving him to suicide, she confronts Don, who is hostile towards her due to her continued loyalty to Mike. Meanwhile, Stephen Reid visits from Canada and hears a threatening message from Don on Mike's answerphone at Baldwin's Sportswear. Finding out about Don's suicide attempt from Gail, he withdraws Kbec's contract with Mike, apparently over concerns about Mike's character. A desperate Alma calls on Stephen and begs him to reconsider, but is humiliated when he reminds her of her crush on him and suggests that she'd still sleep with him if he asked. As Mike rings around for orders to avoid layoffs, he discovers that Kbec have pulled out of many of their contracts recently, using lame excuses. He realises that Stephen was just using Don as an excuse to drop them. The events threaten Alma's friendships with Gail and Audrey Roberts, as the mother and daughter defend Stephen.
  • Don is convicted of drink driving, fined £400 and banned from driving for 18 months. Unable to drive cabs, he sells his car and gets a job operating the taxi firm radio. Jack helps his friend out by buying his share of Betty's Hot Shot for £150, but the gesture backfires when the horse wins its next race. When Jack discovers that Fred Elliott has pocketed £1,000 by betting on the horse after a tip-off from his trainer Hilary Forrest, the syndicate force Fred to agree that none of them should meet with Hilary alone in future.
  • To keep the factory afloat, Mike lays off half of his staff but keeps Sally Webster, Janice Battersby and Ida Clough on. Sally realises that Mike is trading in counterfeit goods by copying Kbec's designs to sell on the market, but he ensures her cooperation by threatening to sack her.
  • Mike and Alma sell the Crimea Street flats and Jim's Cafe in order to raise capital. Alma gives Gail first refusal for her 60% share of the cafe, but after being turned down for a loan by Stephen, Gail drops out of the running. Alma slaps Stephen when he tries to change her mind for Gail's sake. When Paul Buckley and Michael Pearce show an interest in turning the cafe into a takeaway pizza shop, Roy Cropper, to save his job, decides to buy the cafe himself by cashing in savings accounts containing money his gran left him.
  • The flats are sold to Mr Bottomley, with the remaining residents given notice to leave. Bill moves into the corner shop flat, while Deirdre considers an invitation from Ken to move back into No.1.

February[]

  • Deirdre tells Ken she doesn't want to live with him again. Ken takes the news badly and they split after he accuses her of using him to get over Samir Rachid. Later, when Deirdre lets herself into No.1 to make it up with Ken, she finds him in bed with Sue. Ken regrets the tryst, but with Deirdre unwilling to take him back, he continues to see Sue in secret.
  • A guilt-ridden Sally confesses to Kevin that Mike has involved her in his illegal scheme. When Sally resigns from the factory, Mike hires Ashley as his market seller, but the lad quits after Sally warns him that the gear is dodgy.
  • Judy tells Gary she isn't pregnant after all.
  • Alma turns down Roy's offer for the cafe and accuses Gail of exploiting him in order to save her job. After burying the hatchet with Gail over Stephen, Alma accepts Roy's £35,000 and he becomes the cafe's majority owner. One of his first acts is to remove the fruit machines, in order to discourage gambling.
  • Bill moves into the shop flat and Maureen helps him decorate.
  • Anne continues her manipulations, crying in front of Eric Firman while talking to Curly and then, to make amends with Curly, offering to give him a lift into work only to not show up, causing him to miss a meeting. When Curly snaps and shakes Anne, Eric sees them and sacks Curly. Anne then turns on Samantha, viewing her as the "other woman". When Sam shops at Firman's, Anne plants a package in her bag to frame her for shoplifting. However, she's seen doing so by assistant Sheila Dixon, and summarily fired by Eric who then reinstates Curly.
  • On Valentine's Day, Ashley receives a card from Becky, and nothing from Maxine. Seeing how Maxine treats his lodger, Don tells her she's as bad as Denise for leading men on. When this sparks a row between the youngsters, Ashley tells Don to keep out of his love life. The lad is upset when Maxine stops seeing him in favour of a new boyfriend.
  • Sam continues to test Sean's passion for her by taking him to her self-defence class. After that, she suggests they both take part in a sponsored parachute jump for charity. Terrified, Sean asks Des to help him get out of it, but Des gets all of his employees to sponsor him instead, leading a vengeful Sean to get sponsors for a jump in Des's name. Meanwhile, Sam tells Sean that her husband left her as she hates sex. He's insulted when she gets herself drunk to give her the courage to go to bed with him, and tells her he'd rather wait until she's ready.
  • Becky leaves dye on Claire Palmer's hair too long and bleaches it too much.
  • Derek Wilton's allotment shed is broken into and his tools are stolen.
  • Alec Gilroy takes Rita Sullivan for lunch in the country, but his idea of a relaxing afternoon is spoiled when she brings along Rosie and Sophie to give the Websters a break.
  • Gangster Fraser Henderson leaves Strangeways after serving 18 months for fraud. Liz McDonald is alarmed when he intimates that he now expects them to be together and buys the wine bar she manages, The Hour Glass. Hoping to earn a promotion by using Liz to trap Fraser, Alan tells her that Fraser is known to be a gent. Liz becomes receptive towards Fraser and begins a relationship with him. To keep her scared, Alan warns Liz that Fraser is dangerous and offers to help move Steve to another prison, out of Fraser's reach, if she supplies him with information about a big job Fraser has planned. Liz agrees, but her relationship with Fraser worries her family and friends as the couple get closer and move in together. Andy gets a slap from his mum when he insults her for being at Fraser's beck and call, while Steve is puzzled when Liz stays with Fraser after he informs her that he's married. When Fiona visits Steve and tells him that Liz is doing a deal to get him out of prison, Steve guesses that Alan can't really help him and is doing everything only to further his own career. Alan confirms this to a disgusted Fiona, along with the fact that he hasn't told any of his colleagues about the sting. Meanwhile, Liz arouses suspicion when she drops Alan's business card in front of Fraser and Gerry Turner, and later when Fraser catches her searching through his belongings.
  • Tony buys a new sports car and neglects the garage to play around with it.
  • Vera arranges for Betty Williams to man the Rovers while the Duckworths attend the Licensed Victuallers' Valentine Dance. The barmaid changes her mind when Jack offends her, but Billy is able to talk his wife round. On the night, Tricia goes into labour behind the bar and Betty delivers a baby boy in the back room. The child, Brad, is five weeks premature and Tricia isn't allowed to hold him until he's spent a few days in an incubator, with mother and daughter being discharged by the end of the month. Jack begins to harbour suspicions that Tricia gave birth on time to a child that isn't Terry's, but he's assured by Martin Platt that the baby is definitely premature.
Episode 4147

Joyce Smedley is hit by a car while walking Scamper

  • Joyce is forced to take Scamper out late at night after Judy dog-sits and forgets to walk him. Crossing Ashdale Road, she's hit by Tony as he speeds in his car. Her neck is broken and she's killed instantly. The next morning, the police break the news to the Malletts. Blaming Scamper, Judy orders Gary to have the dog put down. He instead houses him elsewhere for the night, and when Judy changes her mind the next day, she's relieved to find him alive and well. Unaware of who the driver was, the Malletts are stunned when Tony, on pills since the accident, tells them how sorry he is for killing Joyce. After attending Joyce's funeral, Tony decides he never wants to see Coronation Street again.
  • Tony's mother, Natalie Horrocks, tells the Websters that Tony is giving up the garage and she's taking over his share.

March[]

Episode 4157

The McDonalds are held at gunpoint by Gerry Turner

  • Alan questions Fraser's wife Jacqui about her husband's big job, and tells her about his affair with Liz. The job, a raid on a warehouse at Manchester Airport, goes disastrously wrong when the police turn up and arrest Fraser's men. Meanwhile, Liz tells Fraser that Alan is a stranger who gave her his card at the Hour Glass. Gerry calls the number and finds out that Alan is a detective and knows Liz, however Liz manages to convince Fraser that she didn't betray him. When Fraser is arrested for planning the robbery, Liz trusts Gerry to protect her, before turning to Jim when Fraser calls her warning her that she isn't safe with Gerry. Thinking Liz sold them out to the police, Gerry bursts into No.11 and holds Liz, Jim and Andy at gunpoint, planning to shoot them and escape in a getaway car. The McDonalds manage to overpower him when he's distracted by his phone ringing, with the gun going off in the struggle. The police arrest Gerry, while Liz reunites with Fraser when he's released from custody. Believing that Gerry was behind everything, she agrees to move to Spain with Fraser. However, when Steve confirms that Fraser was the head gangster, she confronts her boyfriend, who scares her into silence before leaving for Spain by himself, selling the Hour Glass.
  • Becky becomes a papergirl at The Kabin.
  • Sean ducks out of the parachute jump when he sprains his ankle during a practice fall. Des begrudgingly signs up, and he and Samantha complete the challenge safely. Exhilarated by the experience, Des makes a play for Sam. She rejects him and throws his trousers out onto the street, where he's seen retrieving them by Claire. Des loses his girlfriend and job at Skinner's Bookies as Claire leaves him and moves out of No.6 with Becky, and Sean sacks him for trying it on with Sam.
  • Judy shuts Gary out as she grieves for Joyce.
  • Jean Crabtree, wife of one of the teachers who lost their job, tells Alf that Ken was overlooked because he and Sue were lovers. Ken assures Alf that the rumours are false, but when Deirdre tells Audrey about him and Sue, the pair are summoned to a governors' meeting. In order to absolve Ken, Sue takes full responsibility and resigns as headmistress. However, he's made redundant in further cutbacks. Ken finishes with Sue for embroiling him in the scandal.
  • Angie Freeman visits the street after being dropped as a Kbec designer. She tries to cheer Des up, encouraging him to go sailing. He decides to do so after Derek suggests he'd never behave so impulsively as he's so like him. Derek sees Des off at the canal as he sets sail, while Angie is let No.6 rent-free.
  • Maureen takes Sally on at the Corner Shop to replace Claire. Maud Grimes lets Maureen cope on her own for a while so that she doesn't get ideas about pushing her out.
  • Don drunkenly vandalises a Jaguar outside the Rovers, thinking it's Mike's, before realising it's someone else's. When he hears that Josie Clarke has married a doctor, he becomes bitter over everything he's lost. Meanwhile, Angie warns Mike that Kbec knows he's manufacturing counterfeit goods and advises him to get rid of the stock. Mike closes the factory and lays off the staff while he transfers everything to a lock-up. However, before he gets the chance, Don uses Josie's old key to enter the factory and sets it alight as revenge for Mike conning him out of the garage. The next morning, Mike finds the factory burned to the ground. As the factory was fully insured, the police investigate Mike for arson, but they don't have enough to charge him. Making a list of everyone who had a key, Mike realises that Don is the most likely suspect.
  • Deirdre moves into a flat in Chepstow Road.
  • Kevin takes on ex-VSO man Chris Collins at the garage when he works on a car for free to show off his skills. Later in the month, Kevin finds out that Chris has been sleeping rough at work and is annoyed when Sally invites him to crash at No.13 until he finds a flat. Natalie is unhappy that he took on a mechanic without consulting her and tells Kevin she'll keep a closer eye on him from now on.
  • Tricia goes out for the first time since the birth and meets Ray Thorpe at a pub. The Duckworths aren't happy at being left to babysit Brad and refuse to do so anymore. Still determined to find Terry Duckworth, Tricia visits Jeff and Doreen Horton in Blackpool and gives them a letter for Terry. Meanwhile, Jack discovers that Tricia left the father's name blank on Brad's birth certificate and becomes convinced that Terry isn't her son's father. When he asks Tricia for the truth, she threatens to move out, causing Jack to take his comments back.
  • Alf passes his driving test.
  • Andy suffers delayed shock after the siege and starts drinking heavily. He becomes increasingly aggressive and nasty towards Liz, thinking she was targetted because she's a tart. As his uni work suffers, he's warned by his tutor Ms Baistow that he's heading for a bad degree.
  • Maxine starts to see Ashley in a new light and they have sex in the salon. They agree to start seeing each other, but Maxine is embarrassed to be seen with Ashley. When they bump into her friends at a nightclub and Maxine passes Ashley off as her cousin, Ashley is furious and finishes with her.
  • Fiona finds out that Alan has been keeping her away from work parties when they bump into a colleague of his, Dawn Watson, at a pub. She accuses him of being ashamed of her because she's black but he denies the charge. When Fiona refuses to let the matter drop, Alan promises to change and asks her to marry him. She accepts and he takes her to meet his parents, Bernard and Mary McKenna.

April[]

  • Steve is let out of Strangeways for a few days on a home visit. He surprises Fiona by showing up at her and Alan's engagement party and wishing her well, but Andy causes a scene by having a go at Alan and gets himself thrown out. Still traumatised by the siege, Andy goes out with Steve and picks a fight with a man. In the fracas, Steve is punched in the face and fractures his cheekbone. The incident causes him to be late going back to prison, resulting in 14 days being added to his sentence. When Andy decides to drop out of university, Jim gets him to join him in a drinking session and forces Andy to watch him get blind drunk. Andy snaps out of his depression and promises not to give up his studies.
  • Don confesses that he started the fire, but only to Mike himself. The police consider him as a suspect but release him without charge, and an attempt by Mike to record Don revealing his guilt fails when Don realises the ruse. Thinking he's beaten Mike, Don confesses to Ashley, but later makes out he was joking. He slumps back into misery when the insurance company agrees to pay out and Mike thanks him for burning all the evidence against him. When he hears that Mike is planning to start up again, an enraged Don picks up Alma in a borrowed taxi and tells her everything Mike has put him through. Alma is terrified at being locked in the car and tries to mollify Don by agreeing that Mike cheated him. However, Don isn't fooled and drives the cab into the canal with the intention of killing them both. Alma manages to swim to safety, while a passer-by dives in and saves Don. Don is later sectioned for medical examination, before being charged with attempted murder and placed on remand. Appalled by his actions, Gail severs ties with him. Ashley visits Don in prison and is told to throw away his factory key, but he refuses to do so as it would incriminate him. Don responds by telling the police that it was Ashley who started the fire, leading Det Sgt Neil to catch him at No.5 with the keys.
  • Audrey flirts with lorry driver Ron Harris while filling in for a sickly Roy at the cafe. When Ron gets heavy with Audrey after closing time, Roy arrives and sees him off without violence.
  • Derek realises that Norris Cole is plotting to oust him when he hires a new young salesman at Hawthornes.
  • Sally goes to Scarborough with Sophie when her mother Elsie Seddon has a stroke. Starting at the garage, Natalie scares Kevin by flirting heavily with him. Eventually, she offers herself to him but he tells her he's happy with Sally. Rita becomes concerned after seeing Natalie fondling Kevin's face.
  • Gary and Judy decide to see a doctor to find out why Judy hasn't got pregnant.
Episode 4173

An argument at the roadside has fatal consequences for Derek

  • Mavis throws a party to mark her 60th birthday. She rows with a tardy Derek when he phones to tell her he's stuck in traffic. On his way home, Derek cuts up a motorist and an argument ensues which ends with the motorist breaking the paper clip on Derek's car and driving off. News is later broken to Mavis by Norris and PC Bentley that Derek has died from a massive heart attack. Mavis is numb with shock, but doesn't cry until she opens her present from Derek of an engraved silver locket. She and Judy grieve over their recent losses when Judy comes over to offer her condolences. At the funeral, Ken is meant to deliver a eulogy but Norris beats him to the pulpit and gives an insensitive speech about "Dirk". Mavis tells the mourners that she knows they saw Derek as a joke, but their kind words were true anyway. Afterwards, she bins the gnomes and tells allotment secretary Wilf Gaskell that she's giving up Derek's allotment. Wilf is accused of chasing widows when he invites Mavis for a friendly drink.
  • Chris accepts an invitation from Angie to move into No.6 as her lodger. They're interested in each other but when Chris makes a move, Angie turns him down. Thinking she's leading him on, Chris makes Angie jealous by bringing Mandy Phillips home for sex.
  • Tricia continues to see Ray, and spends the night with him at his house. The Duckworths finally accept their relationship after Ray proves to be good with Jamie and Brad. When Tricia decides to move in with Ray, Jack helps Jamie and Vera go along with it. Suddenly, Terry shows up at the Rovers, ostensibly to meet his son. Tricia is thrilled to see him and drops Ray to be with him. Meeting Terry, Ray sees through his happy father act but, unable to convince Tricia, he backs away. Jack is also unconvinced, and tests Terry by letting him take the Rovers' takings to the bank, but handing him a bag of newspaper rather than notes. When Terry returns and confronts Jack, the Duckworths realise that he was planning to run off with the money. Tricia stands by Terry, but his grand plan thwarted, he rejects her and Brad. Ray thumps Terry when he sees him shoving Tricia, and finally seeing Terry for what he is, Tricia reconciles with Ray. As Terry leaves the Rovers, Jack declares that his name isn't to be mentioned again in the house.
  • Ashley agrees to start afresh with Maxine.
  • Alec's superior Adam Newbould inspects Sunliners Travel Agency and finds everything in order, but he insists on meeting all the staff, including Joyce who is still on the books as Alec is claiming her salary. After Vera refuses to pose as Joyce, Rita goes to confront Alec only to have to impersonate Joyce herself when Adam mistakes her for the cleaner. In exchange for her silence, she forces Alec to cough up for a memorial for Joyce.
  • Mike considers starting up again in the rag trade. Angie shows Mike her lingerie designs and interests him in a partnership.

May[]

  • Ashley is charged with arson and remanded in custody. Knowing that Don started the fire, Mike pays his solicitor Frances Stillman to defend Ashley. The charges are dropped when security tape footage proves that Ashley was at the Warsaw nightclub on the night in question. Ashley is released from prison and confronts Don, but finds him confused. Don is later transferred to a psychiatric hospital, meaning he won't stand trial for his crimes.
  • Tricia, Jamie and Brad move in with Ray, leaving the street.
  • Out celebrating a win at the races with Chris, Kevin goes off with Natalie and they have sex for the first time. Afterwards, he feels tremendous guilt at cheating on Sally and makes out that Natalie seduced him. When they agree that neither of them wants a proper relationship, he apologises and they begin an affair. Rita becomes suspicious when Maureen tells her that Bill is watching Rosie overnight, and warns Natalie off Kevin. Kevin manages convince her that whatever was going on between then is finished. Chris also figures out what's going on, but keeps their secret. With Sally due back, Kevin finishes with Natalie. She tells him she loves him and, with Sally delaying her return by a week, they resume their affair.
  • Angie and Mike agree on a partnership and hire Jim and Bill to refurbish the print shop. Ida and Janice gain jobs at the new factory. Alma is annoyed when Mike unveils his plans as he'd let her think they were emigrating to the US.
  • Alec gives Judy £300, explaining it away as back tax for Joyce.
  • Sunliners chairman Sam Briscoe makes Alec redundant and promotes Deirdre to manager. Taking over the shop, Deirdre finds out that Alec was using all the available discount to run a Las Vegas Special, planning to sell the holiday and keep the money himself. Jack joins the scheme when Alec offers to fix a raffle draw so that the Duckworths win. When Alec pulls the winning ticket, the winner, Mr Conway, seemingly drops dead from a heart attack, but Jack revives him by giving him mouth-to-mouth. The plan is for Mr Conway, secretly one of Alec's acts, to give the Duckworths the tickets as a thank-you for saving his life, but he withholds them until Alec pays him more money. With the tickets handed over, Jack and Vera go to Las Vegas, with Samantha running the Rovers in their absence. Meanwhile, Emily chases Alec for the raffle money on behalf of the Friends of Weatherfield Hospital after he promises to donate the proceeds to the charity. When he writes a cheque for £250, the low amount isn't believed by Rita and he's forced to "find" a packet in the Duckworths' living room containing the ticket stubs and the balance of the money - £525.
  • Roy changes the cafe's name from "Jim's Cafe" to "Roy's Rolls".
  • Alan is promoted to Detective Sergeant and goes to London on a training course. He also moves in with Fiona at the salon flat.
  • Samantha's intimacy issues escalate, with her cowering from Sean after he tries it on with her. When Sean pesters Sam to find out where he stands, he's seen off by Jim. Sam finishes with Sean, and thanks Jim by inviting him for a meal. While Jim hopes for romance, Sam confirms that she's only interested in friendship.
  • Gail notices that Alma is depressed and offers her a part-time job at the cafe. Alma accepts but Roy pulls rank and withdraws the offer. Alma successfully applies at Firman's, working on the tills, just as Mike surprises her with a two-week holiday in Cyprus. In order for her to go, Mike tells Curly that Alma is mentally unstable and convinces him not to employ her.
  • Maureen grows increasingly frustrated with unromantic Bill. Curly comforts her when she cries in the shop, only to end up locked in the back room when Bill shows up and whisks Maureen off to Blackpool for the day. They return the following morning and Bill, discovering that Curly has been in the shop all night, accuses the pair of using it as a love nest and finishes with Maureen. Maureen convinces him that there's nothing between her and Curly, but when Curly tells Bill that Maureen initiated their one-night-stand at Christmas, he thumps Curly, leading Maureen to dump him. Upset at their breakup, Maud publicly accuses Curly of seducing innocent women.
  • Samantha enjoys running the Rovers and bossing Judy around.
  • Judy starts getting a rough time from two yobbish teenagers who frequent the arcade, Liam Shepherd and girlfriend Zoe Tattersall. When Liam tries to take Judy's money, Gary intervenes. Liam later sports bruises and demands £200 from the Malletts or else he'll report Gary to the police. Gary proclaims his innocence, but even Judy doubts him and pays the pair £150. When they demand another £100, Judy considers stealing from the Rovers till but is stopped by Samantha. She's horrified when Zoe admits that she's pregnant and the money is for an abortion.
  • Chris and Samantha agree to model Angie's underwear designs, though the latter is more keen than the former. The models strike a chord during the photoshoot and Chris later asks Sam for a drink, but clocking Angie's jealous reaction to them posing together, Sam turns him down. Angie finally makes a move on Chris and they sleep together.
Episode 4202

Deirdre has a fateful first meeting with Jon Lindsay

  • Liz leaves the Hour Glass and gets a job at the Warwick Hotel. On a singles' night there, Maureen gets chatting to Fred and they later go out on a date, while Deirdre meets airline pilot Jon Lindsay and is pleased when he subsequently looks her up and asks her out.
  • Jim lines up a job with his building firm for Steve when he's released from prison.

June[]

Episode 4220

Sally goes for Kevin after discovering his affair with Natalie

  • Kevin pretends to visit Sally to get Bill to babysit while he and Natalie stay at a hotel. The romantic getaway is ruined when the pair row over Natalie's previous boyfriends, and Kevin spends the night in his car instead. Bill realises that the couple are having an affair when, having seen them holding hands, he finds out from Rita that Kevin confessed to having a fling with Natalie. Although Kevin denies the charge, Bill doesn't believe him and summons Sally home from Scarborough. Kevin and Natalie are nearly caught in bed together when Sally and Sophie return, with Natalie slipping out through the back door just in time. Sally finds Kevin changed, but when she asks him why he's so moody all the time, he blames her for being away for so long. When Rosie tells her that Natalie was at No.13 a lot in her absence, Sally suspects Natalie fancies Kevin. Her fears grow the more she sees the pair together, and when she finds out from Chris that Kevin lied about being on a breakdown in Oldham, she drives to Natalie's house and catches them lovemaking. Back home Kevin admits the truth to Sally and begs forgiveness, but Sally kicks him out after he accuses her of driving him into Natalie's arms. While Kevin licks his wounds at Natalie's, Sally takes the girls to her mother's, declaring that she's left Kevin for good.
  • The Baldwins return from Cyprus. Alma finds out that Mike caused her to lose her job and persuades Curly to take her on as a shelf stacker.
  • Steve is released from Strangeways, having served his sentence. He initially turns down the job with Jim but takes it after failing to find work with his old contacts, including Jez Quigley. Meanwhile, he renews his pursuit of Fiona, calling on her with a bottle of wine while Alan is in London. When Fiona loans him £30 to go to Birmingham for a job, he mistakes her kindness for love and decides to remain in Weatherfield. Hearing from Liz that Steve has been hanging around Fiona, Alan threatens to put him back in prison unless he stays away.
  • Gary and Judy have fertility tests to find out why Judy hasn't gotten pregnant. A laparoscopy reveals that Judy has a blockage in her tubes, meaning she'll probably never be able to conceive. Judy confesses to Gary that she had an abortion when she was sixteen and had an infection afterwards. She expects Gary to leave her, but he insists they'll have a child somehow.
  • Deirdre starts seeing Jon, incredulous that an airline pilot is interested in her. Having moved into the flat above Skinner's Bookies, she's showing it off to Jon when Ken calls round and introduces himself as Deirdre's ex-husband. Jon is startled to learn that Deirdre has had three husbands but Deirdre assures him there's no prospect of a reconciliation between her and Ken.
  • Maureen enjoys her new relationship with Fred. Maud doesn't approve, warning Maureen that he's probably after the shop. Bill is upset to see them together.
  • Returning from Las Vegas, the Duckworths receive a visit from the VAT man, Mr Brown, who finds that they've failed to increase their payments every quarter and now owe £17,650 in back VAT. Jack tries to get a loan, but is refused for being too old. To stop Vera from worrying, he tells her it's all sorted and sends her away on holiday with Tricia and the kids. Rita considers going into partnership with the Duckworths, but Alec convinces her they're a bad bet. Alec then buys half of the pub himself for £25,000 and Rita, feeling used, tells Alec they're no longer friends. When a returning Vera finds out what's happened, she suspects Alec of plotting to oust the Duckworths from the pub and locks him and Jack out in her anger. The pair regain entry the next morning by posing as draymen and Jack is able to convince Vera that, as she'll remain licensee, it's still their pub. Jack keeps Alec in his place by calling a shareholders' meeting when Alec installs a new header shelf.
  • Roy becomes obsessed with a missing knob on the cafe cooker. He accidentally blows all the fuses in the eatery by fiddling with the cooker. Finding the missing knob, Roy discovers the ring doesn't work anyway.
  • Ken is disappointed to learn that his redundancy payment will only be £1,500.
  • Mike and Angie get the new factory up and running, calling it "Underworld". After some initial trouble, they land their first big order of 35,000 pairs of knickers for the Dutch army. Angie rejects advice from Mike and treats the staff like human beings; when she finds out that Janice has been stealing rejects from the factory, she lets her off with a warning.
  • Angie and Chris become friends with benefits. Secretly wanting more, Angie gets fed up with the arrangement and refuses to let Chris touch her again. On her 30th birthday, Angie holds a party at No.6 during which Des returns. Chris invites Angie to move into his bedroom and they become a proper couple. When Samantha refuses to go out with Des, he takes his anger out on Chris, telling him to move out. He relents when Angie threatens to leave with him.
  • Mavis goes on a coaching holiday in the West Country. Des learns about Derek's death only after he's posted a sex book through No.4's letterbox as a joke. Not wanting to upset Mavis, he asks Emily to let him inside to retrieve it. Emily does so, but not until she's made him squirm by looking through the book in front of him.
  • Judy sees Zoe begging in the streets and takes pity on her, letting her spend the night at No.9. She suggests to Gary that they could take on Zoe's baby as their own, but Gary is dead against it and gives Zoe £30 to go and leave a note for Judy a saying she's moving on.
  • Mike and Fred bump into each other at the Greenside Golf Club as they're teaching Curly and Ashley how to play. They bet £50 on the game, but despite Fred cheating, Curly is the winner. Fred throws his club into the thicket and falls when he tries to retrieve it, breaking his leg. With no one else around, he's left there overnight.

July[]

  • With Fred away, Maxine entertains Ashley at his uncle's house in Oakhill. Fred, his leg in plaster, returns to the sight of her dancing around in her underwear. His brush with death leads him to get carried away and promise to leave Maureen everything in his will, before clarifying to Ashley that the shop will be his.
  • Kevin follows Sally to Scarborough but isn't able to convince her to take him back. He drives off, not realising Rosie is there. The girl goes missing, with Kevin and Sally each thinking the other has her. She's quickly found at the beach by a Coast Guard and reunited with her parents. Sally holds firm when Kevin tries to leverage the incident to convince her that they're better together. He gets his hopes up when she phones to say she's coming home, but Sally is only returning to live there with the girls and orders Kevin out. She briefly returns to work at the shop before convincing Mike to take her on as a machinist at Underworld. Meanwhile, the residents shun Natalie for breaking up the Websters. When she calls at No.13 looking for Kevin, Sally slaps her across the face. Kevin reconciles with Natalie, cementing his split from Sally. Later, when Sally withdraws £400 from their joint bank account supposedly for the girls, Kevin thinks she did so to spite him and closes the account.
  • Alma is embarrassed to be named Firman's "employee of the month", with a blown-up photograph of her displayed in the store. She agrees to have proper professional photos taken to replace it, but regrets her actions when Eric Firman uses her face to promote Firman's products across the North West. When Audrey gets food poisoning after trying scampi dippers "recommended" by Alma, Alma rips the posters down.
Episode 4229

Curly goes to war with the neighbours from hell

  • The Battersby family - parents Les and Janice, and teenagers Leanne and Toyah - move into No.5, now a council house. They immediately upset the neighbours by playing loud music at all hours of the day, and respond with intimidation and threats when asked to turn the volume down. Eventually, a sleep-deprived Curly forces his way into No.5 and throws the girls' CD player out the window, leading Les to headbutt him and smash his glasses. Samantha has better luck when she dresses in her most revealing clothes and asks Les to keep the music down. Later, Les plays loud music in order to lure her over to No.5 and makes it clear that he wants her, but she's saved when Janice arrives home unexpectedly.
  • Toyah steals Bill's drill and gives it to Les, who sells it to Roy for £50. The theft is discovered when Bill sees Roy using the drill, and Roy demands his £50 back from Les. In order to avoid the police being brought in, Les gives Roy £10 and tells him Toyah will pay the rest back. Toyah eventually gets the sum out of her stepdad as payment for leaving him alone with Samantha, and repays Roy in exchange for a job at the cafe.
  • Les holds a tabletop sale outside the garage. Toyah is furious to realise he's selling her old toys.
  • Des gives Mavis his sympathies over Derek's death.
  • With Fiona away, Steve pumps Maxine for information on Alan. They kiss, but she refuses to go to bed with him. Later, DS O'Grady takes Steve in for questioning over stolen whisky. He's released when Maxine tells the police that they were together at the time. When Fiona accuses Alan of giving Steve's name to O'Grady, he breaks their engagement, annoyed that she has more faith in Steve than him. After he walks out, Fiona is comforted by Jim and takes him to bed. She immediately regrets it and, tracking Alan down to his mate's flat, convinces him to return to her. Desperate to marry Alan and get away from the McDonalds, Fiona pushes for a registry office wedding in three weeks' time, and Alan agrees. Steve is floored by the news and proposes to Fiona himself but is turned down flat, while Jim struggles to get Fiona out of his head. The wedding is ultimately delayed by six months in order to please Alan's parents. When Jim appeals to Fiona not to marry Alan, she complains to her fiance that Steve has been hassling her, causing him to thump a confused Steve.
  • Andy celebrates his 2:2 in Combined Studies by going backpacking in Spain.
  • Roy collects coupons for a free weekend in Paris, but with no one to take he gives the tickets to Gail and Martin.
  • Ken finishes at Weatherfield Comprehensive.
  • Judy upsets Gary as she decides not to have the operation to unblock her tubes. Meanwhile, Zoe turns up at No.9 again and offers the Malletts £2,000 for her baby when it's born. Judy agrees and Gary goes along with it for his wife's sake, borrowing the sum from the bank. The couple plan to start afresh somewhere and pass the child off as Judy's, but in the meantime a rumour spreads that Gary is the father of Zoe's baby. Judy announces in the Rovers that he isn't.
  • Steve accepts a £15,000 divorce settlement from Vicky. Working with Jim and Bill, he's dismayed by their lack of ambition and offers to invest his money in the firm on the condition he's made a partner and they take on bigger jobs. They agree.
  • Deirdre is disappointed when Jon takes her on holiday to Scotland instead of abroad. Jon, in reality manager of Tie 'n' Fly at Manchester Airport and not an airline pilot, shows Deirdre his house in Hale Barns and invites her to move in.
  • Angie celebrates when a buyer is interested in her own label.
  • Ken brings Daniel to Weatherfield for a visit. He has a terrible time, dealing with constant tantrums, and arranges to take Daniel back to Scotland early.
  • Samantha agrees to go out with Des.

August[]

  • Jim, Bill and Steve start work on a flats conversion in Shaw Street. Steve tries to make Fiona jealous by going out with property agent Rachel Forbes. Meanwhile, Jim accuses Fiona of lying to herself about who she wants and asks her to marry him instead of Alan. Fiona turns him down and tells him to stay away from the wedding, though she's forced to send him an invite for appearances' sake. She and Alan set the date for 7th November.
  • Sally threatens to apply to the courts if she and Kevin can't agree on maintenance. Kevin becomes more cooperative when he realises that Sally really needs the money and isn't just trying to punish him. Through the girls, he and Sally start to get on better again. Meanwhile, Natalie's husband Nick Horrocks cuts off her maintenance money due to her living with Kevin, and cites him as co-respondent in their divorce. Natalie tells Sally to expect less from Kevin in future, enraging both Sally and Kevin. When Rosie runs away to the garage, Chris takes her home and sticks up for Kevin, telling Sally that Natalie did all the running. Refusing to be kept by Natalie, Kevin leaves her and moves in with Bill while trying to convince Sally to take him back. Sally eventually agrees, feeling that Kevin has suffered enough, but by that time Kevin and Natalie have patched things up.
  • Martin and Kevin arrange a foursome with their partners at Natalie's house. Gail goes along with it, but spends the evening rowing with Martin and Natalie. When Sally finds out about Gail fraternising with the enemy, she falls out with her, but Martin convinces her that Gail didn't betray their friendship.
  • Ken takes Daniel back to Scotland. He's upset that Daniel sees Brian Dunkley as his father.
  • Mike stops the workers bringing bags onto the factory floor to prevent them from stealing the goods.
  • Angie takes Leanne on as a cleaner at the factory. She's predictably useless at the job and when she sets off the fire alarm by smoking in the toilets, Mike and Angie sack her. Janice nearly loses her job in the bargain when Les threatens to make Angie cry.
  • Des takes Samantha to the pictures but refuses to get physical with her afterwards, knowing that she doesn't enjoy it. When Sam rescues Leanne and Toyah from drunk lads Mickey Hegarty and Pete Hickman, she's reminded of a past trauma and tells Des that in her youth she was raped by a family friend, Ian Phillips. Des convinces her face her parents and tell them what went on. After doing so Sam, now at peace with herself, decides to start afresh in London. Des begs her to stay, and with Alec offering an extra £1.50 an hour at the Rovers, she agrees to remain, but asks Des to be patient for sex.
  • Ashley proposes to Maxine after Fred impresses upon him man's need to have a wife. Maxine turns him down, saying she wants to have a good time before getting married.
Episode 4251

Ashley helps out at the shop

  • Fred also proposes to Maureen and is similarly turned down, as Maureen isn't ready to marry again. Meanwhile, Mickey and Pete steal lager from the shop and tip Maud out of her wheelchair. Though unhurt, Maud becomes frightened to be on her own so Fred lends Ashley to help out at the shop. He enjoys protecting the women. Maureen decides to sell the shop, but Fred persuades her to combine her business with his and marry him. Maud, fearing Fred will put her in a home, reacts to the news by dousing him in foam from a fire extinguisher.
  • Les buys an old Lada from a mate, planning to do it up and sell on. When the vehicle goes missing and is found smashed up, Les is suspected of stealing the car in the first place. To get the police off his back, he names the person he bought it from, as well as identifying Mickey and Pete as the thugs who robbed the shop.
  • Chris is annoyed at Des being a third wheel in his relationship with Angie. Angie thinks he's being immature and keeps inviting Des to join them.
  • Zoe's deal with the Malletts falls apart when Zoe hears the couple rowing about how long she should stay, with Gary feeling she should stay on for a while after the birth in case she takes the money and then reports them to the police. The girl quickly returns to No.9 and tells the Malletts she'll go through with the plan if she gets half of the money upfront. Gary convinces her to let them treat her to new clothes and luxuries instead. After going out and getting drunk with Leanne, Zoe goes into premature labour. Due to signs of foaetal distress, she gives birth by caesarean, but a healthy baby girl is delivered. Zoe allows Gary to say he's the father, enabling the Malletts to collect her from hospital, naming her Katie. Zoe returns to No.9 with Katie and begins to feel unwelcome there.
  • Des helps Mavis remember Derek on what would have been his 61st birthday.
  • Vera decides to throw a party for the Duckworths' ruby wedding anniversary. Jack books the Rovers, but Alec forces them to pay for the privilege, resulting in the Duckworths not being able to buy each other anniversary presents. Angie makes a set of sexy underwear for Vera as a gift, which Vera wears to entice Jack into bed.
  • Alec starts to chase younger clientele at the Rovers by installing a jukebox in the bar. He then convinces Vera that she should take over the catering so that they won't need Betty. Vera signs up for an evening course in Commercial Catering and starts trying more exotic fare at the Rovers. Meanwhile, Alec takes on Natalie as a barmaid but faces an immediate backlash for the appointment, with Rita refusing to drink there anymore.
  • Deirdre gives notice on her flat.

September[]

  • Customers boycott the Rovers in protest at Natalie working there. Vera worries that Natalie will have her wicked way with Jack and orders him to fire her, but she resigns first.
  • Chris and Angie view the bookies flat. Angie doesn't think they're ready to get their own place and suggests living apart for a while to test their relationship. She changes her mind when Chris decides to take the flat on himself, but both end up homeless when Deirdre announces she's not moving. Angie moves back in with Des.
  • Jon agrees to house-sit for genuine airline pilot Captain Ian Jenkins, the owner of the house Deirdre believes is Jon's. On moving day, Deirdre and Jon find the locks changed and a note ostensibly from Jon's ex-wife Linda saying she's taken possession of the property. The move is cancelled and Deirdre has no choice but to keep her flat on. Later, Ken collects a Sunliners customer from the airport for Deirdre and sees Jon in the tie shop when he's meant to be flying. He accepts Jon's explanation that his flight was cancelled.
  • Sally lets Chris sleep on her sofa when she finds him camping out at the garage. They start to grow closer with Chris assuring Sally that she's still attractive. She's disappointed when he moves back into No.6 with Angie while Des is on holiday.
  • Natalie and Kevin go on holiday in Gran Canaria when Nick pays Natalie a one-off lump sum. Going with Chris to Natalie's house to feed her cat Tiger, Sally takes the opportunity for revenge by writing "whore" on the mirror in the bathroom and leaving the taps running, flooding the house. To protect her, Chris tells Natalie that a pipe burst, but the message on the mirror exposes hers guilt. The women have another row in the street, wrestling each other to the ground. When Sally refuses to pay for the damage, Natalie reports her to the police, but the police refuse to get involved in a domestic row. Natalie then decides to sue Sally and gives her seven days to pay up. Bill is appalled with his son for allowing Natalie to treat Sally in such a way.
  • Gary reluctantly tells the registrar that he's Katie's father. The Malletts keep Zoe around for when the midwife visits, but Judy starts to fear Zoe will change her mind and tells Gary to pay her off as soon as possible. Zoe's maternal instincts grow over the coming days but she leaves with the £2,000. Gary and Judy tell the midwife that Zoe has disappeared and Katie is allowed to remain with them. Deciding to be a full-time mum, Judy resigns from the Rovers.
  • Samantha's relationship with Des becomes increasingly hampered by her paranoia that her secret will get out. They have a brief split when Sam accuses Des of telling Angie and, having just got back together, they're stunned when Sam's husband Ritchie Fitzgerald tracks her down. Ritchie tries to affect a reconcilation with Sam, promising to be more understanding after being told about the rape by Sam's mother. Confused about what she wants, Sam considers a future with Ritchie, but when he tells Des that they're definitely getting back together, she ends their marriage for good. A spurned Ritchie responds by refusing to grant Sam a divorce. She and Des finally spend the night together before embarking on a holiday on Des's boat.
  • Mavis announces that she's leaving the street to run a bed and breakfast in the Lake District. Rita is taken with the idea and persuades Mavis to make it a partnership. The women then start viewing houses, with their offer of £47,000 on the Bide a Wee Guest House in Cartmel being accepted. Alec, thinking Rita insane to want to spend her future with Mavis, considers proposing marriage to her but loses his nerve. Meanwhile, Mavis sells No.4 to Fred and moves in with Rita. Before confirming the purchase, the women stay the night at the cottage as guests. Rita realises that the countryside isn't to her liking and tells Mavis she can't go ahead with it.
  • Fiona finds out she's pregnant. The news comes as a surprise to Alan, as Fiona is on the pill. Suspecting she slept with Steve during their split, he gets DS O'Grady to haul Steve in on a drugs offence, though no charges are pressed. Steve realises that Alan isn't sure he's the father and uses this to taunt him. However, Steve's continuing obsession with Fiona leads Rachel to dump him. Meanwhile, Fiona asks Jim to check that his vasectomy was successful. He has tests and gives Fiona a letter from his doctor confirming this to be the case, after briefly lying that it failed in order to scare her. The wedding plans continue, with Fiona and Alan accepting an offer from Fiona's parents to pay and the couple going on a pre-wedding honeymoon in Mauritius.
  • Andy returns from Spain after working in a beach bar.
Episode4269

Maureen becomes Mrs. Fred Elliott, but regrets it within days

  • Fred and Maureen are married at Weatherfield Register Office. Fred spoils his new wife, hiring a barbershop quartet to sing to her and leading a conga down the street before announcing that No.4 is now theirs. However, he refuses to have Maud living with them. Putting on a brave face, Maud makes arrangements to move into old people's accommodation at Mayfield Court. Fred also gives Bill notice to leave the shop flat, without consulting Maureen. With nothing to stay in Weatherfield for, Bill decides to return to Germany. His plans cause Maureen to realise where her heart really lies, and she tells Fred she shouldn't have married him.
  • Percy Sugden finds things missing at No.3 and worries that Emily is having another breakdown.
  • Don is moved to Weatherfield General for cancer treatment. Martin finds out he's dying and persuades Gail and Alma to make their peace with him.

October[]

Episode4278

Don meets a fiery end

  • Don escapes from hospital when his guard goes for a secret smoke. He returns to the street only to discover that No.5 has been repossessed and sold to the council. Left with nothing but his hatred for Mike, he pretends to be a customer in order to get into the factory and kill him. Mike is saved when Angie hits Don with her bag, but Don gets away. In a final stand-off, Don steals Mike's car and drives it straight at Mike, but Mike dives out of the way and the vehicle hits the viaduct wall, exploding into flames and killing Don.
  • Natalie calls a truce with Sally. Kevin's in the doghouse when he attends a breakdown rather than go to a dinner party with Natalie's friends.
  • Maud helps Maureen pluck up the courage to leave Fred and go to Germany with Bill. Bill is overjoyed when Maureen joins him in the taxi as he leaves the street. Humiliated by his wife's departure, Fred spends a few days licking his wounds at No.4 before moving back into his old house, deciding to forget about Maureen. Meanwhile, Maureen sends word for Maud to sell the shop. Ashley sees her struggling to run the business but Fred forbids him from helping her.
  • Mavis buys the cottage on her own and prepares to leave the street. She and Rita have a falling out over the farewell party arrangements but make up during the event when Mavis's friends present her with a photograph of them both from the 1970s and they remember the good times they've shared. Mavis and her budgie Beauty leave the street for Cartmel.
  • Nick Tilsley turns up at Don's funeral and announces he's back for good. Moving into No.8, he soon meets Leanne and they start seeing each other, with the pair enrolling at Granston Technical College to study PE and hairdressing respectively. Gail, thinking Nick can do better than Leanne, humiliates Nick when she sends Martin over to No.5 to drag him home. To get Gail off their backs, the teens pretend they've split up when in reality they're now sleeping together, with Leanne taking Nick's virginity. When they're caught in bed together, Gail finds out they're still an item and nearly triggers a family feud by suggesting to Janice that Leanne isn't good enough for Nick.
  • Angie finishes with Chris, tired of their relationship being just about sex. Moving into the shop flat, Chris breaks into No.13 for Sally when she's locked out of the house. He comforts her when she breaks down and they spend the night together. Sally expects Chris to regret it and tells him to forget it ever happened, but she admits to Gail that she's falling for him. She's thrilled when Chris tells her he can't stop thinking about her and takes her out.
  • Ken sees Jon serving at the tie shop and finds out from an assistant that he's the store manager. Emily convinces him that he has to tell Deirdre. When he does, Deirdre doesn't believe him, but she has it confirmed when she goes to the airport to see for herself. Deirdre finishes with Jon but when he explains that he used to be a pilot but could no longer fly after failing a medical, she swallows the story and gives him another chance. To save face, they tell everyone that Jon has stopped flying due to illness, and convince Ken to go along with the lie. Jon later tells Deirdre that he's been promoted to sales director and will be doing more travelling; in reality, he is spending time with his wife Linda and children in their Oakhill home. He and Deirdre make an offer on a house, with Deirdre paying the deposit money after Jon offers to take on the mortgage himself.
  • The mysterious goings-on at No.3 spread to No.1, where Emily finds a porn magazine which Ken insists isn't his. At No.5, Janice hears about Ivy's ghost and starts to fear that the houses are haunted. At Roy's suggestion, they lay trays of sand in Nos 1 and 3 to catch the intruder's footprint. When air patterns are left instead, Roy confirms the presence of a ghost. Unbeknown to them, Les has been using the communal lofts to let himself into the neighbouring houses and moving things around to amuse himself. When he plants empty spirit bottles at No.3, Percy suspects Emily of being a secret drinker and decides to move out of No.3 and into Mayfield Court, unable to live with her anymore. Les's antics backfire when he leaves a betting slip worth £800 at No.3 which Emily discards. While retrieving the ticket, Les is nearly caught by Emily and Ken. Ken pursues him through the lofts but falls through the ceiling, interrupting Nick and Leanne in bed. The neighbours decide not to report Les to the police, but Janice makes him use his winnings to mend the ceiling.
  • Rita takes Judy on at the Kabin to replace Mavis. She quickly regrets the appointment when Judy sets Katie up in the back room and spends more time minding her than working. When Gary asks Rita if she'd consider making Judy full-time, she fires Judy instead.
  • Mike asks Angie to strike a deal with buyer George Dixon. However, when it turns out that George expects Angie to sleep with him in exchange for a contract, she abandons the deal. She's angered further when Mike sees George and apologises for her attitude in order to get him back on side. Unwilling to work with Mike further, she tells him she wants out of their partnership.
  • Tired of seeing Des and Samantha all over each other at No.6, a drunk Angie decides to swap houses with Sam. Sam goes along with the idea, but after sobering up, Angie is horrified to be back living with Curly. She starts looking for flats to buy.
  • Liz tells Jim how much she misses being with him and they end up in bed together. They decide to give it another go, though Liz seems more keen than Jim.

November[]

  • Alec takes the opportunity to fire Betty when she phones in sick, posting a note through her door signed by Jack and Vera. When Betty rings to say that Billy has died of a heart attack, Alec retrieves the letter and Vera promises the barmaid a job for life.
  • Sally keeps her relationship with Chris a secret until she's sure that they have a future together. In the meantime, Chris resists Natalie's attempts to set him up with her niece Lorraine Horrocks.
Episode 4295

Jim interrupts Fiona and Alan's wedding

  • Ahead of Fiona's wedding, Jim lays into Steve for his continuing obsession with her, and reveals that they slept together. Steve confronts Fiona and, having it confirmed, loses all interest in getting back with her, considering her tainted goods. The ceremony at St Luke's Church is interrupted by Jim, who drunkenly harangues Fiona not to marry Alan as she doesn't love him. In the vestry, Fiona confesses to Alan that she had sex with Jim but insists her baby is his. Alan calls her the McDonald family whore, walks out on her and goes for Jim, causing DS O'Grady to separate them. However, after an argument with his father over his racism towards the Middletons, Alan decides that he can forgive Fiona and tells her he'll take her back provided they find out who the father is and she gets an abortion if it's Jim's. His aggression frightens Fiona and when he tries to hit her, she finishes with him for good. As he leaves the street, Alan informs Liz of Fiona and Jim's indiscretion. Liz realises that Jim was just leading her on and tells him to rot in hell.
  • Ashamed of his family's antics, Andy packs and leaves the street to stay with friends in London.
  • Steve dissolves his partnership with Jim, refusing to work with his dad anymore, but only gives him £300 for his share of the business.
  • Fiona takes a holiday and leaves Maxine in charge of the salon, with Audrey agreeing to help out. Maxine enjoys bossing Audrey around, but when Toyah refuses to pay Maxine for a haircut and Audrey deals with the situation, Maxine starts respecting her elder colleague more.
  • Deirdre gives Jon a £5,000 cheque for the deposit on the house. When the sale is confirmed, Deirdre proposes to Jon, but he turns her down, saying it's too soon after his divorce. Jon continues to lead a double life, cutting a picture of him and Deirdre out of the paper when theye're photographed together at a Sunliners function before Linda sees it. Later, he pretends to Deirdre that he's bought a £26,000 Saab and then claims it's been stolen. When he's asked to house-sit for Ian Jenkins for six months, Jon agrees and poses as Ian when he meets building society rep Bob Wright there in order to get a mortgage on his and Deirdre's new house. Taking possession of the property, Jon gives Deirdre an engagement ring and a gold credit card to buy furniture.
  • Maud is disheartened when a buyer for the shop, Joe Dillon, offers £15k below the £70k asking price for the business. Thinking she won't get more, she accepts Fred's offer of £62,200 before discovering that Dillon is a friend of Fred's and was sent there to con her into selling at a low price, as revenge against Maureen for humiliating him. To get back at Fred, Maud drops a fish behind one of the new shelving units before it's sealed up. The resulting smell drives customers away, and Fred is forced to employ a cleansing firm to discover the source of the odour. Fred appoints Ashley as shop manager and, as his first executive decision, a sympathetic Ashley takes Maud back on.
  • Alec re-hires Natalie at the Rovers without consulting Vera. Vera acknowledges that she's good for custom and allows her to stay.
  • Nick and Leanne discover that Fred has forgotten to lock up No.4 and decide to use the house as a love nest. The couple are caught in bed together by Ashley and Maxine when they move in, having agreed to rent the house from Fred.
  • Alec persuades Ken to take an old friend of his to the opera for the evening. When the woman, Geraldine Milne, gives Ken Alec's fee, Ken discovers he's been tricked into doing escort work for Alec's Golden Years Agency and rips up the cheque in front of the landlord, saying he isn't a prostitute. However, when Alec gives him his £50 cut, Ken agrees to join the agency as he needs the money. Jack finds out about the agency and begs Alec for an assignment, thinking he'll be set up with glamorous women.
  • Keen to get the Platts talking about something other than him and Leanne, Nick tells Gail that the Malletts bought Zoe's baby. Judy tries to quell the resulting gossip by telling Martin that Zoe stole the £2,000 from them and did a runner. Most of the neighbours believe her, and Leanne is shamed for spreading malicious rumours. When even Nick expresses his doubts, Leanne dumps him and goes looking for Zoe to put the record straight. Finding her at a hostel having spent the £2,000, Leanne encourages Zoe to return to the street and get more money out of the Malletts. Zoe turns up at No.9 to see how Katie is doing and is ordered to stay away by Gary. Fearful of losing Katie, Judy decides to have her christened to cement her as their child. Curly and Samantha agree to be godparents, while Leanne and Nick make up.
  • Emily and Ken have their lofts bricked off to prevent further intrusions.
  • Les starts making suggestive remarks to Samantha at the Rovers. Sam takes it in her stride, but Des doesn't like it and warns Les off. When Des's car windows are smashed in, Des accuses Les of doing it to get his own back.

December[]

  • Steve moves out of No.11 and into a flat.
  • Les gets the blame again when Des's stalker spray-paints his kitchen window. The true culprit is revealed when Des is jumped in the street by Ritchie, though Les is able to fight him off. A bruised Ritchie calls on Samantha and begs for another chance, but she rejects him. As a penance for wrongfully accusing Les, Des and Sam endure his friendship for a few days before they tell him to back off. Les thinks Des is into wife-swapping when he invites Janice over so they aren't alone with him.
  • Jack gets hold of a Golden Years booking at the Rovers and goes to meet Renee Turnbull in Ken's place. However, he's scared stiff when Renee makes a play for him and tries to lure him into the Jacuzzi with her. Fleeing the hotel, he leaves a shoe behind which Renee returns to the Rovers, leading Vera to suspect him of playing away. To get back at him, Vera makes a booking with Golden Years, calling herself Roxy Lamour. Recognising her voice, Alec mischieviously sets her up with Jack. The couple then realise what the other has been up to, and Vera punishes Jack by pouring ice down his trousers.
  • Natalie rumbles Sally and Chris's affair when she seem them kissing and confirms from Rosie that Chris often stays the night at No.13. When Chris pushes Sally to go public with their relationship, she realises it's not what she wants and breaks it off. Meanwhile, Kevin misses Rosie's nativity play when Natalie goes down with postural hypotension. To make it up to her, he gets Rosie to perform her part for him. The family atmosphere causes Kevin to realise that he belongs with Sally, and he finishes with Natalie as he starts working towards a reconciliation. To spite Kevin, Natalie reveals that Sally had been sleeping with Chris, a fact which Chris confirms leading Kevin to sack him from the garage. Sally starts to look more favourably on Kevin when she finds out that he's moved into a B&B instead of getting back with Natalie. After spending Christmas with the girls, Sally and Kevin finally swallow their pride and reconcile. At the garage, Kevin takes Chris back on and offers to buy Natalie out, but she refuses to sell up.
  • Audrey considers buying the salon, and even convinces Alf to put up the cash. However, Fiona isn't interested in selling.
  • Zoe turns up at the Malletts' christening after-party, asking to see Katie again. Judy stops her, but the Malletts realise they'll never be free of Zoe as long as they remain in the street and arrange to move in with Gary's brother Shane in Newcastle. Zoe, sleeping on the Battersbys' sofa, is taken in by Ashley at No.4 when she outstays her welcome. Maxine doesn't like the arrangement, and leaves Ashley when he refuses to put Zoe out on the street. When Zoe sees Gary packing, she realises the Malletts are flitting and tricks Gary into letting her hold Katie. With her daughter in her arms, she refuses to give her back to the Malletts and returns to Liam's squat. Katie, now called Shannon, becomes neglected as the teens leave her to go to the pub. Eventually, Liam gets fed up with having Shannon around and secretly offers her to the Malletts for another £2,000. Gary refuses, but Judy returns to the arcade when her old boss Paul Fisher agrees to give her a £2,000 advance on her wages if she has sex with him. By the time she secures the sum, Zoe has left Liam and returned to No.4, so Judy returns the £2,000 to Paul and quits, with Gary none the wiser. Rowing about her obsession with Katie, Gary threatens to leave Judy and forces her to accept that Katie is now Shannon. Meanwhile, Ashley sees Liam off when he pesters Zoe. Zoe makes plans to move into a hostel for single mothers, but Ashley asks her to remain at No.4. She agrees and they become a couple.
  • The Malletts admit to the Platts the rumours about them buying Katie were true. A vindicated Leanne calls Judy a liar in the Rovers. Unable to bear everyone's disdain, Judy tells Gary she wants to move.
  • Liz starts to feel old and useless. When she's humiliated by businessmen Matt Graham and Simon Hanson at the Warwick Hotel, she leans on Jim for emotional support, but he refuses to comfort her. Meanwhile, following their Christmas party, the Underworld girls have a raucous evening at the Warwick Hotel which ends with Les attacking Jump Jackson after seeing him kiss Janice. When manager Mr Jameson is punched in the fracas, he sacks Liz due to her knowing Janice. Liz gets a new job as a machinist at Underworld.
  • Deirdre and Jon hold an engagement party, which Tracy Preston and Blanche Hunt attend. At the party, Jon announces that they're marrying on 29th January. As Christmas approaches, Jon tells both Deirdre and Linda that he'll have to work on the day; in the end he spends only an hour with Deirdre before being "called away". When he pulls the same stunt on New Year's Eve, Deirdre goes to surprise him at work with champagne, only to be told by an assistant that he's at home with his wife and children. Getting the address from the assistant, Deirdre confronts Jon and his wife, though Jon pretends he doesn't know Deirdre.
22 December

One prize turkey kills another...

  • Emily's eco-warrior nephew Geoffrey "Spider" Nugent shows up on her doorstep asking to stay. Toyah sees him and falls for him. When Les takes possession of a live turkey for Christmas dinner, Spider and Toyah kidnap it and set it free at the park's pet corner. However, the turkey escapes and wanders back to the street, where it's run over by Les. The Battersbys subsequently eat it for dinner after all, except for Toyah who declares that she's now a vegetarian - though after being rejected by Spider, she rushes home and eats a turkey sandwich. Emily lets Spider smoke weed at No.3, enjoying the fact that he thinks she doesn't know.
  • Alf reveals to Audrey secret council plans to build a Millennium concert bowl on the Red Rec. Toyah overhears Audrey telling Gail and relays the information to Spider, who begins planning a protest at the demolition of Weatherfield's green space.

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Rosamund Street

Victoria Street

Others

Awards and nominations[]

BAFTA
Ceremony held on 29th April 1997

Mental Health Media Awards

  • Soap Opera Storyline: Don Brennan's mental breakdown (Nominee)

National Television Awards
Ceremony held on 8th October 1997

  • Most Popular Serial Drama: Coronation Street (Nominee)
  • Most Popular Newcomer: Matthew Marsden (Winner), Tina Hobley (Nominee)

Royal Television Society (North West) Awards

TV Quick Awards

Coronation Street in the 1990s
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