Episode 2790
Production code	P694/1790
ITV transmission date	25th December 1987 (Friday)
Story associates	Tom Elliott Paul Abbott
Writer	Leslie Duxbury
Designer	Ann Swarbrick Chris Bradshaw
Director	Ric Mellis
Producer	Bill Podmore
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Previous episode	23rd December 1987
Next episode	28th December 1987

PlotEdit

Christmas Day: The Bradleys are depressed as they have to spend Christmas with Mavis. Audrey gets out of doing any cooking or washing up, letting Ivy and Gail do everything. The Websters spend Christmas with Hilda who is sentimental about leaving No.13. Mavis gets drunk and maudlin. She likens herself and Derek to Edward and Mrs Simpson. Don enjoys meeting Ivy's family. Hilda is stunned when all the residents throw a surprise farewell party for her in the Rovers. Lisa Woods and her boyfriend Gary Grimshaw bring Jenny out of herself by taking her to a party. Hilda innocently tells Alec that Bet once lived with Mike. Bet presents Hilda with some heated rollers as a present from the Street residents and Hilda leads everyone in singing Wish Me Luck as You Wave Me Goodbye...

CastEdit

Regular castEdit

• Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander
• Bet Gilroy - Julie Goodyear
• Rita Fairclough - Barbara Knox
• Alan Bradley - Mark Eden
• Mavis Riley - Thelma Barlow
• Jenny Bradley - Sally Ann Matthews
• Alec Gilroy - Roy Barraclough
• Audrey Roberts - Sue Nicholls
• Mike Baldwin - Johnny Briggs
• Ken Barlow - William Roache
• Brian Tilsley - Christopher Quinten
• Gail Tilsley - Helen Worth
• Ivy Tilsley - Lynne Perrie
• Vera Duckworth - Elizabeth Dawn
• Jack Duckworth - William Tarmey
• Alf Roberts - Bryan Mosley
• Deirdre Barlow - Anne Kirkbride
• Kevin Webster - Michael Le Vell
• Gloria Todd - Sue Jenkins
• Emily Bishop - Eileen Derbyshire
• Sally Webster - Sally Whittaker
• Don Brennan - Geoff Hinsliff
• Curly Watts - Kevin Kennedy
• Percy Sugden - Bill Waddington
• Phyllis Pearce - Jill Summers
• Nicky Tilsley - Warren Jackson
• Sarah Louise Tilsley - Lynsay King

Guest castEdit

• Amy Burton - Fanny Carby
• Lisa Woods - Ruth Whitehead
• Gary Grimshaw - Colin Kerrigan
• Sam Tindall - Tom Mennard
• Piano Player - Robert Maxfield

PlacesEdit

• Rovers Return Inn - Public
• 7 Coronation Street - Living room/kitchen, Hallway/stairs
• 5 Coronation Street - Living room/kitchen
• 13 Coronation Street - Back room/kitchen

NotesEdit

• Final appearance of Jean Alexander as Hilda Ogden within standard episodes of the programme, although she did return in a special mini-episode shown on 28th May 1990 as part of the Telethon for that year and in the VHS spin-off The Women of Coronation Street.
• First appearance of Phyllis Pearce since 2nd September 1987.
• First episode to be shown on a Friday since 3rd March 1961 except for the transmission of Episode 631 only in the areas covered by Associated Rediffusion and Television Wales and the West on 30th December 1966.
• For the first time ever, three episodes of Coronation Street were transmitted in one week.
• This episode, together with Episode 2789, was given a special omnibus repeat on Sunday 27th December 1987 from 5.15pm to 6.15pm.
• Hilda makes a mistake in telling Alec Gilroy that Bet and Mike Baldwin used to live at No.3 - between 1976 and 1977, Bet and Mike lived at No.5
• Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 26,650,000 viewers (1st place). This figure is the combined number for both the first showing and the omnibus repeat.

Notable dialogueEdit

Hilda Ogden: "I've come in here more times than I care to remember. Cold. Wet. Tired out. Not a penny in me purse. And seeing them ducks and that muriel... well they've kept me hand away from gas tap. And that's a fact."

Commercial releasesEdit

This episode was included on the 1987 disc of the Network DVD collection Coronation Street: The 1980s, released on 31st October 2005.