Establishing Episode (US promotion)

The Establishing Episode was an 18-minute promotional edition of Coronation Street recorded in October 1972 and produced for the United States market to introduce the series to viewers there to the programme when it made its debut the following month.

A sales push occurred at this time as Granada Television had built up a stock of colour episodes to sell to that country which had gone over to full prime-time transmissions of colour in 1966 and were thus resistant to buying any monochrome material after that date unless they were productions of a prestigious nature, such as the BBC’s 1967 dramatisation of The Forsyte Saga. Even so, the national networks such as CBS and NBC would seem to have refused to purchase any colour material whatsoever and only a few series ever made a sale to those stations, principally The Avengers and The Saint. Most British series ended up being broadcast on PBS (Public Service Broadcasting) and even then they were locally scheduled with no nationally networked transmissions.

The colour restriction meant that Granada were unable to sell the majority of the 1960s episodes as they were in black and white and the sequence of episodes from Episode 1026 (18th November 1970) to Episode 1055 (24th February 1971) were as precluded as they were affected by the ITV Colour Strike. A judgement seems to have been made to sell the series from Episode 1082 (31st May 1971) onwards, possibly because this was a strong vehicle for introducing Ena Sharples and it didn’t come in the midst of any major on-going storylines.

Nevertheless there was an issue in that new viewers to the programme would not be familiar with the characters and therefore this promotional episode was made to introduce them. It featured some silent American visitors to the Rovers Return Inn, having just flown in to and been collected at Manchester Airport. The unnamed people were never seen nor heard with all of the newly-recorded scenes being shot from their point of view. Annie Walker was their host and thus spoke directly to the camera throughout, pointing out the residents in the bar and making comments, atypical for her, about them and their place in the community. Clips from four episodes were then shown which further illustrated their place in the events of the community.

The promotional episode was dress rehearsed in Studio Seven (the name given to the programme’s usual rehearsal rooms) at Granada’s Quay Street studios on Monday 2nd October 1972 at 10.30am and recording of the new scenes then took place in Studio Six at 2.00pm on the same day. The surviving camera script does not state who the writer of the new material was but the segment was both produced and directed by Eric Prytherch who was also the producer of the main programme itself at this time. It had a production code of P61/008 and was designed by Ed Buziak who was the programme’s full-time designer at this juncture. There was no title sequence to the episode and the end credits showed the cast details only. These omitted the speaking part of an air hostess on the newly-arrived plane and the taxi driver who collected and returned the visitors however the latter role was played by Fred Feast who had already appeared in two credited parts in 1972 and who would make his debut as Fred Gee three years later.

The location sequences were filmed on a BOAC plane at Manchester Airport, in the terminal and outside the exit. The continued to show the drive from the airport on the newly built M56 Motorway, up Princess Parkway, through St. Peter’s Square in Manchester, up Quay Street with shots of the Granada studios, along Irwell Street in Salford turning off just before Chapel Street onto East Ordsall Lane (a road junction which no longer exists). The locale then changed to the Grape Street set where the visitors were ushered into the Rovers. There shots were accompanied by the same incidental music that had featured in Episode 1170 (3rd April 1972). Further film work then took place on the same set before the visitor was taken back to the airport after his brief visit.

Plot
Visitors from the United States arrives at Manchester Airport and are met by a pre-booked taxi. They are taken to the Rovers Return Inn in Coronation Street where “Anne” Walker welcomes them to her “little inn” and states that she has run the place since the death of her husband the previous year (thus tying in with the 1971 episodes to be shown in the run). She then introduces Billy Walker, Betty Turpin (“a tower of strength”) and Bet Lynch (“a typical English barmaid”). Lucille Hewitt’s part in the establishment is then explained and her role as Annie’s ward and her pride in the part she has played in her upbringing, although Lucille shows Annie’s boasts up as empty when she bitterly complains about having to work instead of going on a date.

She then directs the visitors’ attention to three of her customers - Ena Sharples, Minnie Caldwell and Albert Tatlock, saying that they “do tend to be a trifle stubborn”. (A clip was then shown from Episode 1141 (22nd December 1971) where Albert blags an invitation for Christmas from the two old ladies. This was bookended by newly-recorded OB shots of the outside of the Community Centre flat displaying a wreath on the door.)

Back in the Rovers, Annie quietly points out to the visitors Elsie and Alan Howard saying confidentially that Elsie is “too fond of the opposite sex…Alan’s her third husband.” (a clip was then shown from Episode 1113 (15th September 1971) where two argue over Janet Reid. (This was again bookended by OB shots, this time of the front door of No.11).

Back in the bar, Annie grows concerned when Stan and Hilda Ogden come in, enquiring if the visitors really want to meet them. Annie mentions that their daughter Irma Barlow works in the Corner Shop and that she’s a chip off the old block. (A clip was then shown from Episode 1122 (18th October 1971) where Hilda threatens to make Stan’s life unbearable if he resigns his job, bookended by OB shots of the Corner Shop itself.)

Annie begs the visitors not to think of the Ogdens as being representative of the neighbourhood. Len Fairclough and Ray Langton arrive in the pub and Annie introduces them to the visitors, saying they live “in a certain amount of squalor” at No.9. (Bookended by shots of the sign for Fairclough and Langton, a clip from Episode 1119 (6th October 1971) was then shown where the two men argue about taking Jerry Booth back on at the yard.)

Annie is embarrassed when Billy tells the visitors that his mother has nipped to the “you-know-what” but they are interrupted by the arrival of Emily Nugent and Ernest Bishop who talk about how busy they are at the camera shop. Annie then directs the visitors’ attention to Ken Barlow and Maggie Clegg, saying the latter runs the Corner Shop.. “Oh, of course, you’d call it a grocery store wouldn’t you? Well, we shall just have to get used to these differences of speech. You’ll soon begin to understand us. After all, we had to learn all those quaint expressions of yours from the Hollywood films, didn’t we?” Ken and Maggie chat between themselves about the Northern character and how hard they are as a result of the hardships brought about by the hardships of the industrial revolution. A sing-song then breaks out as people sing She’s a Lassie of Lancashire round the piano. The visitors leave with Billy giving the opinion that no one will see them again. After one last look at the street, the taxi driver takes them back to the airport.

Cast

 * Doris Speed as Annie Walker introduced…
 * Billy Walker - Kenneth Farrington
 * Betty Turpin - Betty Driver
 * Bet Lynch - Julie Goodyear
 * Lucille Hewitt - Jennifer Moss
 * Ena Sharples - Violet Carson
 * Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth
 * Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant
 * Elsie Howard - Patricia Phoenix
 * Alan Howard - Alan Browning
 * Stan Ogden - Bernard Youens
 * Hilda Ogden - Jean Alexander
 * Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson
 * Ray Langton - Neville Buswell
 * Emily Nugent - Eileen Derbyshire
 * Ernest Bishop - Stephen Hancock
 * Ken Barlow - William Roache
 * Maggie Clegg - Irene Sutcliffe
 * Irma Barlow - Sandra Gough (Archive footage only)