Plot
Elsie swears to boycott the Rovers. Annie rehashes her row with Elsie but gets no understanding from Jack who'd rather forget the affair. Annie warns Doreen to be careful when she handles a willow-pattern plate which her grandmother passed down to her. Elsie receives a malicious letter in the post:
- "Dear Mrs Tanner. It is quite obvious that you do not know the law of the land, for if you did you would know that you are not allowed to go messing about with men until you are absolutely divorced. Certain people would like to know what happened in Blackpool illuminations between you and a certain gentleman who wears a uniform, and this information will be passed on if you do not put your house in order."
Linda finds an old letter from Elsie's solicitor asking Elsie to visit him after three months to make her divorce absolute; she forgot to do so. Elsie suspects Annie of writing the anonymous letter. Swindley sends out forty-three circulars before discovering the postage was a penny short on each one. He visits his customers to repay them personally. When he calls at No.11 and apologises to Elsie for this morning's letter, she gets the wrong impression. Elsie rings Bill and tells him to stay out of the way. Dennis thinks Elsie brought the situation on herself. Linda takes him to task for his disloyalty. Jack and Doreen try to protect Annie against the pub talk that she wrote the letter. Elsie confronts Annie in the bar and accuses her of being the author but Annie tells her that she wouldn't soil her hands. Ena tells Minnie and Martha she knows for a fact that Annie is innocent but refuses to elaborate. Minnie passes this news onto the rest of the bar, including Ivan, who tells Elsie. Elsie thinks Ena must have written it herself.
Cast
Regular cast
- Linda Cheveski - Anne Cunningham
- Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie
- Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix
- Annie Walker - Doris Speed
- Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie
- Doreen Lostock - Angela Crow
- Leonard Swindley - Arthur Lowe
- Miss Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire
- Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves
- Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol
- Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth
- Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton
- Kenneth Barlow - William Roache
- Ena Sharples - Violet Carson
- Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant
- Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson
- Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis
- Ivan Cheveski - Ernst Walder
Guest cast
None
Places
- Coronation Street
- Rovers Return Inn - Public/snug
- 11 Coronation Street - Back room
- Swindley's Draperies
- Phone box
Notes
- Both this episode and the next were hurriedly rewritten after the commencement of the Equity actors' strike which had started on 1st November and which necessitated the storyline being changed to explain the sudden absence of Bill Gregory.
- As a result of the strike, the Rovers scene where Elsie accuses Annie features no extras even though the pub is supposedly busy at the time.
- TV Times synopsis: Elsie Tanner gets an anonymous letter; Annie Walker defends herself; and the people of the Street start looking for a suspect.
- Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 7,030,000 homes (3rd place).
Notable dialogue
Annie Walker: "Go out on that Street and tell me how many decent people you can find. You don't have to, I'll tell you. You can count them on the fingers of one hand."
| November 1961 episodes |
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