Episode 764 (10th April 1968)

Plot[]

Part One: Irma still has worries about emigrating as Vince Boyle's stories have got her panicking about all the things that could go wrong. She takes her temper out on David. Jerry tells Val that the maisonettes will be worth their weight in gold for anyone who buys one. Val tries to calm Irma's fears. Hilda walks in on the Barlows rowing and is horrified at the thought that David might go without Irma. Irma tells David she'll go with him even though she doesn't want to. Stan is taken on at the building site. He asks foreman Wilf Jones for light duties on account of his back and is amazed when Jones agrees. Hilda is consumed with guilt for putting the Barlows' marriage at risk. Val tells Ken that No.9 is getting on her nerves. At Stan's suggestion, Hilda confesses to Irma that she sent Vince round. Irma accuses her of trying to wreck her marriage and they both break down. Irma hugs her mum in frustration.

Part Two: The Cleggs take over the shop. Les starts to paint over the Barlows' name. Maggie thinks it's impolite to do so while the Barlows are still around but Irma doesn't care. David and Ken go for their last drink together. Val joins them as David buys a drink for the Walkers. Hilda can't find Stan as David and Irma get ready to depart. The Barlow brothers say their goodbyes. Stan turns up just in time, having dropped a plank on his hand and gone to hospital. Ken takes the Barlows to the station, waved off by the neighbours. Jenny feels there's not much chance of Dennis and her ever settling down like them. Jack prompts Minnie to have a word with Jenny, observing that she's upset. Annie wishes the Cleggs well and invites them to the Rovers for an introductory drink. She accepts Les's suggestion of a cup of tea at the shop instead. Over a drink, Stan and Hilda contemplate life without Irma. Jenny tells Minnie that Elsie is still making her feel uncomfortable. At Albert's suggestion, Minnie decides to tackle Elsie; if Ena can do it so can she.

Cast[]

Regular cast[]

Guest cast[]

Places[]

Coronation Street
Rovers Return Inn - Public/snug
5 Coronation Street - Back room
9 Coronation Street - Back room
13 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway
Corner Shop
Maisonettes - Building site

Notes[]

Final appearance of Alan Rothwell as David Barlow.
Last appearance of Irma Barlow until 15th December 1969.
All of the street scenes in this episode were recorded in studio with the exception of the scene of Hilda Ogden leaving No.13 to speak to Stan at the building site which was OB recorded on the Grape Street set. The exterior set of the house was temporarily erected in the yard for this one shot and was back in the studio by the end of the week for scenes on the street set to be recorded within the episode.
Although not credited on-screen, Colin Rees was given a credit in TV Times for location work on this episode, presumably meaning the maisonettes on the Grape Street set as such a credit had appeared on the previous episode.
Director and future producer Bill Podmore had cause to remember this episode as he recounted in his 1990 memoir Coronation Street: The Inside Story when talking about the contrary nature of Patricia Phoenix's behaviour towards her fellow actors:

"There was a mistake in the timing...in which Stan and Hilda were saying tearful farewells to their daughter Irma, emigrating to Australia with her husband, David. In those days the show had to run to an exact twenty-five-and-a-half minutes, and we were something like forty-five seconds short. I was directing, and to fill in the gap I suggested a little scene where Mum and Dad went to the Rovers for a consolatory drink. Extra lines were quickly written and I was crouched on the rehearsal room floor looking up at Stan and Hilda to give them some direction as they memorised the new script. Halfway through, we heard the click, click, click of high-heeled shoes. Without a word of apology or even an ‘excuse me’, Pat Phoenix march between myself and the two artists, oblivious of the sin she had committed. Jean [Alexander] was furious. At heart, Pat Phoenix was one of the kindest, most thoughtful and generous people I have ever met. But on the odd, quite infuriating occasion, of which that was a classic example, Pat would have her head in the clouds, indifferent whatever was going on around her.

TV Times synopsis: Moving time at the corner shop!
Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 7,000,000 homes (4th place).

April 1968 episodes
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