Coronation Street in 1986

1986 was Coronation Street's twenty-seventh year. John G. Temple produced all 105 episodes, with Bill Podmore as executive producer.

Storylines included the Rovers fire and renovation, Susan Barlow marrying Mike Baldwin without Ken's blessing, Gail Tilsley's affair with Ian Latimer, Rita Fairclough fostering Jenny Bradley and meeting Alan, the introduction of Sally Seddon, her marriage to Kevin Webster and Hilda Ogden's dislike of Sally, Terry Duckworth robbing the Corner Shop, Alan Bradley two-timing Rita with Gloria Todd, the return of Alec Gilroy to the area as Graffiti Club manager and the beginning of his association with Bet Lynch, and Martin Platt being injured in a car accident caused by Jenny Bradley.

Production
Hot on the heels of the new-look Corner Shop came an all-new Rovers Return. In the biggest modernisation in its history, the Rovers lost the Select function room, and the Public and Snug were knocked into one with three upholstered seating areas added.

The Rovers' transformation came after a massive blaze, started accidentally when Jack Duckworth bodged the fusebox in the cellar, ripped through the pub. In the programme's most elaborate stunt sequence of the decade, Bet Lynch was trapped upstairs while outside the residents mounted a rescue. For one episode only, outdoor scenes were shot on Outside Broadcast (OB) video instead of the usual 16mm film. This practice would be adopted full-time in 1988.

The cast upheavals of recent years meant Coronation Street was still running with a reduced cast. In January, Sally Whittaker made her debut as Sally Seddon, whose relationship with Kevin Webster gave added purpose to Hilda Ogden. Rita Fairclough was given a new direction with the arrival of foster daughter Jenny Bradley and her absent father Alan, another Len Fairclough-type with a temper about him. After years of turning down offers, Roy Barraclough was finally tied down with a long-term contract, reprising the role of theatrical agent Alec Gilroy who he last played in 1975.

Viewing figures
From this point on, the history of Coronation Street's ratings becomes more complicated. In this period, BARB ratings combined the viewing figures for multiple showings of each episode, reporting only one figure. This didn't usually affect Coronation Street as it didn't have an omnibus until 1989, but Episode 2631 (18th June 1986) - the Rovers fire episode - was given a one-off repeat the following day, and gained a BARB rating of 22.75 million viewers - on the surface, the highest figure of the year and for any episode up to that point. Including this, the average for the year was 15.63 million viewers. Counting only the first showing of the episode, the average drops to 15.55 million viewers, and Episode 2598 (24th February 1986) becomes the highest-rated episode of the year with 19.25 million viewers.

All months fell from the previous year, with the biggest drops occurring in January, June and July, which fell by over two million viewers apiece. Overall, ratings were almost a million down on 1985.

The chart domination of EastEnders - helped in no small part by its omnibus - kept Coronation Street off the top spot in all but one week of the year. The exception is the aforementioned Episode 2631, for the reasons stated above. However, the programme continued to perform well, with only one episode dropping out of the top twenty.

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Bet Lynch (until June and from August onwards). Frank Mills (until January).
 * 1 Coronation Street - Ken and Deirdre Barlow. Tracy Langton/Barlow. Susan Barlow (until May).
 * 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop and Curly Watts.
 * 5 Coronation Street - Ivy Tilsley. Ian Latimer (May to June). Brian Tilsley (from August onwards).
 * 7 Coronation Street - Rita Fairclough. Jenny Bradley (from January to March and October onwards).
 * 9 Coronation Street - Jack, Vera and Terry Duckworth.
 * 11 Coronation Street - Alf and Audrey Roberts (from March).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Hilda Ogden. Kevin Webster. Sally Seddon/Webster (from May to July and September onwards).
 * Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Alf and Audrey Roberts (until March).
 * Community Centre Flat - Percy Sugden.
 * The Kabin - Mavis Riley.
 * 15 Arkwright Street - Sally Seddon (until May, and August to September).
 * 4 Gorton Close - Phyllis Pearce.
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin. Bet Lynch (June to August).
 * 46b, St. Mary's Place - Mike Baldwin. Susan Barlow/Baldwin (May onwards).
 * 33 Hammond Road - Gail and Nicky Tilsley. Brian Tilsley (until August).
 * Nelson Street - Shirley Armitage.