Episode 971 (15th April 1970)

Plot[]

Hilda can't sleep, wondering how she is going to get £600 for the airfare to Australia. She decides to ask Ken but Stan stops her going round as it's only 6.00am. At No.14, Ken is also unable to sleep, musing on his past rows with David and regretting them. Emily takes Dave Smith to task for his unfeeling attitude to the news. Hilda asks Val for the £278 airfare but she says the Barlows need to save their money for Ken's own flight. Stan thinks of someone who can lend them the money and goes to see Dave. Dave himself offers Ray six bathroom suites cheap but Ray rejects them. He bought them himself when he worked for Dave and knows they're substandard. Val is shocked when Ken refuses to go and see David buried as he thinks it's a waste of money. Val worries what people will think, especially Stan and Hilda. Hilda is stunned when Dave calls round and hands her £600. Her passport - her first ever - is rushed through while a sympathetic Annie and Emily help her pack and get ready. Ken is plagued by reporters' calls. Ena tells Ken she agrees with his decision not to go for the funeral. Audrey wants her and Ray to discuss where they are going with their relationship but he doesn't want to. A smirking Lucille overhears them. Albert talks to a reporter in the Rovers. Ena takes him to task. Val tells Ken she can't agree with his stance. Stan evades Hilda's questions about how he persuaded Dave to lend them the money. She gets upset at the reason behind her trip. Ken, Val and Stan take Hilda to Ringway Airport for her connecting flight to Heathrow. Lucille taunts Audrey and Ray in the Rovers but Ray slaps her down. As Hilda waits for her plane to take off from London, Jack calls on Stan with a few bottles and some company and is present when he receives a telegram - Darren Barlow has also died. Hilda's plane takes off with its nervous passenger on board.

Cast[]

Regular cast[]

Guest cast[]

Dave Smith - Reginald Marsh
Reporter - Ray H. Dunbobbin (Uncredited)

Places[]

Rovers Return Inn - Public/snug
13 Coronation Street - Back room, kitchen and hallway
14 Coronation Street - Living room, kitchen, bedroom and hallway
Fairclough and Langton - Yard and office
Heathrow Airport - Terminal 3 check-in desks, aeroplane and runway
BOAC Aeroplane - Interior

Notes[]

This episode features the death of Darren Barlow, the infant son of David and Irma who had never actually been seen in the series, having been born after his parents had emigrated to Australia.
Ken Barlow refers to the events of Episode 1 (9th December 1960) when David Barlow fixed his bicycle in the back room of 3 Coronation Street when Susan Cunningham was visiting. Later on, Hilda Ogden talks about Irma Barlow miscarrying her first baby. This event occurred in Episode 725 (27th November 1967).
The scenes of Hilda Ogden in Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport and nervously sitting on the plane as it takes off were shot on film at that airport in the programme's first location shoot to take place in London.
TV Times synopsis: Hilda makes a long-dreamed-of trip - in tragic circumstances.
Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 8,150,000 homes (3rd place).

Notable dialogue[]

Ken Barlow: "It's not that he's dead, so much as we've finally run out of chances…to communicate. You know, you can spend most of your life living under the same roof as somebody, and…never really make contact."

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Ena Sharples: "Only two things worth rememberin' about dreams. One is they never taste as sweet as you think they will, even when they do work out for you. And two, thank God you have 'em because if you didn't you'd go out of your mind."

April 1970 episodes
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