Plot
Bet avoids going into work on time to avoid having to clean up the cellar after Albert and Stan, wanting Hilda to do the job as promised. Fred Gee looks for Len. Ena reminds Rita that he's Edna's widower. Bet ends up having to clean the cellar when Hilda fails to come in and do the task herself. She's livid. Rita tells Fred to try the Rovers and see if Len is there. He has been made redundant from his job as a storeman at the foundry and is looking for work. Hilda claims Stan hasn't slept all night due to his experiences. Albert scurries out of the pub before Annie sees him. Douglas Cresswell's son, Richard Cresswell of the Brewery sends for Annie. Whilst Roger Nightingale is away, Ken waits for Wendy outside her office and asks her for a meal. She tells him she's going out with her girlfriends. Cresswell tells Annie they are worried that she is on her own now Billy has left and they want her to take on a resident potman but she isn't keen. She calls into the Kabin on her way home and tells Rita of her visit. She puts Fred on to the vacancy. Wendy changes her mind and comes round to No.11. Annie is surprised to see Fred and tells him that it's a live-in job. Annie warms to him because of his bereavement the previous year. They agree on a two-week trial. She rings Cresswell who gets Warren Coates to check up on Fred. Bet and Betty are surprised to find they have a new colleague. Wendy apologises to Ken for her previous attitude. Bet is suspicious of Fred. Ena leads Stan and Albert into the Rovers and asks for them to be let back in but Annie refuses to unbar them. Hilda sees Wendy's car outside No.11 and tries to find out who's in there. Wendy cooks a meal and likes being with Ken. Bet and Betty agree with Annie that it's better to have Fred in the pub rather than a stranger appointed by the brewery. He is due to move in tomorrow. Ken persuades Wendy to stay the night and they head upstairs.
Cast
Regular cast
- Bet Lynch - Julie Goodyear
- Rita Littlewood - Barbara Mullaney
- Ena Sharples - Violet Carson
- Fred Gee - Fred Feast
- Betty Turpin - Betty Driver
- Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson
- Ray Langton - Neville Buswell
- Deirdre Langton - Anne Kirkbride
- Annie Walker - Doris Speed
- Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander
- Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth
- Ken Barlow - William Roache
- Stan Ogden - Bernard Youens
Guest cast
Places
- Coronation Street exterior
- Rovers Return Inn - Public, back room and hallway
- 11 Coronation Street - Back room/kitchen and hallway
- The Kabin
- Newton & Ridley Head Office, Irlam Road - Richard Cresswell's office
- Square in Manchester
Notes
- First appearance of Fred Gee since 6th October 1975.
- This episode has an unusual moment when the viewer "hears" Bet Lynch's thoughts when she's speaking to Annie Walker who is enquiring if the cellar has been cleaned thoroughly. Bet states angrily, "Mrs Walker, that cellar is so immaculate you could live down there" and then thinks to herself, "And I wish you flamin' would!" The only other known occurrences of this phenomenon were in Episode 1432 (7th October 1974) and Episode 1598 (10th May 1976).
- Location filming for this episode and the next was conducted in Pall Mall Court in Manchester for the scene where Ken Barlow meets Wendy Nightingale.
- TV Times synopsis: Who's the new man coming to work and live at the Rovers?
- Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 7,350,000 homes (10th place).
Notable dialogue
Annie Walker (to Albert Tatlock and Stan Ogden): "Kindly leave the premises, both of you. You are persona non grata, if either of you know what that means."
March 1976 episodes |
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