Coronation Street in 1974

1974 was Coronation Street's fifteenth year. Eric Prytherch and latterly Susi Hush were the producers that year. 103 episodes were shown.

Storylines included Maggie Clegg marrying recovering alcoholic Ron Cooke, the Hopkins family taking over the Corner Shop and butting heads with the residents, the breakdown of Ken and Janet Barlow's marriage, Ken leaving teaching to become a warehouse manager, the residents laying on a production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Emily and Ernest Bishop becoming foster parents, Rita Littlewood's affair with Jimmy Graham, the death of Cyril Turpin, the street facing demolition, eight women from the Street going to Majorca after winning a competition, and the Hopkins discovering that Gordon Clegg's mother is really Betty Turpin.

Production
Eric Prytherch completed his two-year stint as producer in May after a four-week handover period between Prytherch and Susi Hush. The rest of the year's episodes beginning with Episode 1386 were produced by Hush, except for episodes 1416 to 1421 which Leslie Duxbury produced.

Following Patricia Phoenix's resignation, Alan Howard made a brief re-appearance in January to tie up the Howards' affairs, after which he too left the series. A month later, Violet Carson suffered a stroke, resulting in Ena Sharples disappearing from screens until the end of the year. Carson's stroke was the end of Ena as a full-time character; upon her return, Ena's role was reduced due to the actress's continuing health problems and she appeared much less than the rest of the cast.

Susi Hush took over the programme as Maggie Clegg's departure storyline was being planned, with Irene Sutcliffe quitting the series after six years. As Maggie would be marrying Ron Cooke, Bill Kenwright agreed to return as Gordon. It was intended that Gordon would reunite with Lucille Hewitt, but due to Jennifer Moss's alcohol problems, the storyline was delayed and eventually shelved entirely. It was at this point that Hush decided to dismiss Moss, with Lucille going to Ireland off-screen a few episodes later, never to return.

With the loss of three popular characters, Hush faced the challenge of plugging the gap. Rita Littlewood, Deirdre Hunt and Bet Lynch rose to prominence, starring in heavier storylines akin to the heyday of Elsie Tanner. Thelma Barlow returned full-time as Mavis Riley, and Tricia and Vera Hopkins - glimpsed in 1973 - were brought back along with the rest of their family as the new Corner Shop proprietors. The Hopkins family were meant as support for Tricia, played by Granada starlet Kathy Jones, while callous pensioner Granny Hopkins was in some ways reminiscent of the still-absent Ena. Another character brought in with Tricia was her friend Gail Potter, with Helen Worth making her debut appearance in July.

Hush also brought the Mark Brittain Warehouse back to the fore after a two-year absence. One of the new characters seen at the warehouse was Vera Duckworth, played by Elizabeth Dawn who had previously worked as an extra in the programme. Vera was only seen fleetingly before returning in 1976. Blanche Hunt first appeared, played initially by Patricia Cutts who committed suicide after recording two episodes. Maggie Jones played the character thereafter. Lastly, Geoffrey Hughes made his initial appearance as Eddie Yeats.

The year also saw the Street's first foreign location shoot - an idea of Susi Hush's - as Bet, Deirdre, Rita, Mavis, Betty, Emily, Annie and Hilda went to Majorca.

No episode was transmitted on 25th December, even though it fell on a Wednesday. This was because Coronation Street traditionally rated low on Christmas Day (and other public holidays), a situation which would remain until the late 1980s.

Viewing figures
The 1973 turnaround in ratings continued in 1974, increasing by 300k to an average of 15.56 million viewers. Eight months were up year-on-year, with only August and September dropping significantly. The biggest rise occurred in December, which was above 1973 by 2.4 million viewers, while five of the first six months rose by more than 5%.

Episode 1375 was the most-watched episode of the year, with 8.3 million homes watching (or 18.26 million viewers). In the charts, five episodes reached number one.

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Victoria Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker. Lucille Hewitt (until July). Billy Walker (from January onwards).
 * 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock. Ken Barlow and Janet Barlow (until January).
 * 3 Coronation Street - Ernest and Emily Bishop. Vernon and Lucy Foyle (from November to December)
 * 5 Coronation Street - Minnie Caldwell. Ena Sharples (until February and December only).
 * 9 Coronation Street - Len Fairclough, Ray Langton and Jerry Booth. Alison and Jonathan Wright (June only).
 * 11 Coronation Street - Ken Barlow (from January onwards). Janet Barlow (from January to May).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Stan and Hilda Ogden. Tommy Deakin and Michael O'Ryan (from May to June).
 * Corner Shop (No.15) - Maggie Clegg (until July). Idris, Vera and Megan Hopkins (from July onwards).
 * Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Tricia Hopkins (from July onwards).
 * Community Centre Flat - Gertie Robson (from March to September). Gary Turner (from April to May).
 * The Kabin - Rita Littlewood.
 * 20 Victoria Street - Deirdre and Blanche Hunt.
 * 44 Victoria Street - Bet Lynch.
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin. Cyril Turpin (Until February).
 * 23 Jubilee Terrace - Mavis Riley