Coronation Street in 1982

1982 was Coronation Street's twenty-third year. Bill Podmore produced all 104 episodes, co-producing with Pauline Shaw and Mervyn Watson in the latter half of the year.

Storylines included the Faircloughs fostering teenage tearaway Sharon Gaskell, Eddie Yeats and Marion Willis's romance, Brian Tilsley going into a garage partnership with Ron Sykes, Vera Duckworth throwing Jack out over his dates with Bet Lynch, Betty Turpin being mugged, Maggie Dunlop getting pregnant with Mike Baldwin's baby, a war between neighbours the Faircloughs and the newcomers Chalkie Whitely and grandson Craig, Mavis Riley meeting a new man in Victor Pendlebury, a reunion between Betty and Gordon Clegg's father Ted Farrell, and Deirdre Barlow embarking on an affair with Mike.

Production
The new outdoor set was officially opened by her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on 5th May. The high-profile visit was organised by the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire when planning the Queen's route in Manchester when she was in the city to open a new library. Escorted by Granada executives David Plowright and Sir Denis Forman, the Royal couple made their way down the length of the street, meeting and greeting Tony Warren, producer Bill Podmore, writer H.V. Kershaw, the programme's original designer Denis Parkin, and the entire cast, who were stood outside the houses where their characters either lived or worked. The event was shown live on ITV under the title The Queen in Coronation Street.

The Grape Street set was used for the last time in Episode 2203 (12th May 1982) (although the ginnels were seen in Episode 2207 two weeks later) and the new exterior first appeared on-screen in Episode 2210 (7th June 1982). The last shot of the title sequence was also updated for the new set in that episode. Demolition of the old set began on 1st June, and the area became the entrance to the Granada Studios tour in 1988.

Bill Podmore was producer for the seventh and final consecutive year, sharing duties with Pauline Shaw from Episode 2216 to Episode 2261 and Mervyn Watson from Episode 2262 until the end of the year. After this four-week period, Watson took over as sole producer, although Podmore continued to work on the programme as executive producer.

With Len and Rita vacating No.9 to live in the new modern No.7, their house was taken by bin man Chalkie Whitely and his grandson Craig Whitely. After failing to make their mark, both were phased out, however Craig's gravel-voiced grandmother Phyllis Pearce, played by Jill Summers, was kept on and her role grew over time. Other newcomers also proved short-lived, with Sharon Gaskell and Marion Willis, played by Tracie Bennett and Veronica Doran, written out by the beginning of 1984. William Tarmey's part as Jack Duckworth continued to grow, with 14 appearances and his first major storyline with Vera. None of the established cast left the programme although Christopher Quinten was absent from February to June to appear in a theatrical tour. This was written into storylines with Brian Tilsley working in Qatar for a few months. Bert Tilsley was also absent, from May to November, due to Peter Dudley's legal troubles. No on-screen explanation was given for Bert's disappearance.

On 16th November, Granada released The Magic of Coronation Street, the first Coronation Street commercial release. It contained six episodes from the 1960s, including Episode 1.

Viewing figures
After three years of rising ratings, Coronation Street fell to an average of 14.5 million viewers, shedding nearly 1.4 million of 1981's audience in the largest single-year-drop up to that point. Every month saw a fall from the same month the year before - the first time this had occurred - with drops ranging from 0.1m in April to 2.3m in June. The highest-rated episode was Episode 2167 on 6th January, with 18.95 million viewers, the lowest peak since 1974. This was the lowest-rated year of the 1980s, and the lowest up to that point excepting 1960 and 1961 when Coronation Street wasn't fully networked.

These trends are not reflected in the programme's chart positions. 36 episodes reached number one, an increase of 4 from 1981 and the most yet outside the 1962-1965 peak, and only one episode charted outside the top 20 (Episode 2227 on 4th August, which was also the lowest-rated episode of the year).

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker and Fred Gee
 * 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock. Ken and Deirdre Barlow. Tracy Langton.
 * 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop.
 * 5 Coronation Street - Bert and Ivy Tilsley.
 * 7 Coronation Street - (House rebuilt): Len and Rita Fairclough, Sharon Gaskell (from August).
 * 9 Coronation Street - Len and Rita Fairclough (until August). Chalkie Whitely (from August onwards). Craig Whitely (from August to November).
 * 11 Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner. Marion Willis (from May to August, then September onwards).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Stan and Hilda Ogden, Eddie Yeats.
 * Corner Shop (No.15) - Alf Roberts.
 * Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Bet Lynch (from June onwards).
 * Community Centre Flat - Bet Lynch (from June onwards)
 * The Kabin - Mavis Riley.
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin.
 * Ludlow Avenue - Bet Lynch (until June).
 * 5 Buxton Close - Brian and Gail Tilsley. Nicky Tilsley (from January onwards).
 * 20 Inkerman Street - Jack and Vera Duckworth.
 * 46b, St. Mary's Place - Mike Baldwin.
 * Omdurman Street - Phyllis Pearce.