Coronation Street in 1973

1973 was Coronation Street's fourteenth year. Eric Prytherch produced all 105 episodes, while H.V. Kershaw completed his final stint as executive producer with Episode 1263.

Storylines included Alf Roberts being chosen as Mayor of Weatherfield over Len Fairclough, with Annie Walker as his Mayoress, Hilda and Stan Ogden tracking down their erstwhile son Trevor, Elsie Howard going missing after being hit by a car in London, Ken Barlow's romance with Elaine Perkins and his sudden marriage to Janet Reid, Albert Tatlock being gassed by a faulty cooker, the opening of the Kabin, the Ogdens being reported to the health inspectors and No.13 being fumigated, and Ena Sharples being fired from the Community Centre after one mishap too many.

Production
Eric Prytherch's uninterrupted two-year run as producer made 1973 the first year in which the same person was in charge from beginning to end. Meanwhile, after stepping down from his executive producer role at the beginning of the year, H.V. Kershaw continued as a staff writer until his retirement in 1988.

The Kabin made its debut in the programme in June, providing the residents with a regular newsagent and cafe. An investment of Len Fairclough's, Rita Littlewood was installed as manageress, who then hired Mavis Riley as assistant, with Thelma Barlow following up her brief appearances in 1971 and 1972 for a longer stint. Rita's brassiness, played against Mavis's dithering eccentricity, would form one of the programme's best-loved and most enduring double acts.

Anne Kirkbride and Judith Barker also joined the regular cast, with Barker's character Janet Reid marrying Ken Barlow off-screen, and Kathy Jones and Kathy Staff appeared fleetingly as Tricia Hopkins and her mother Vera in September. Departures included Diana Davies as Norma Ford and Patricia Phoenix as Elsie Howard, both of which occurred off-screen. Phoenix quit the series while on holiday, claiming to be bored with her role, and did not return to record exit scenes.

Viewing figures
Episode 1331, shown on 17th October, was viewed in 8,250,000 homes (corresponding to 18.15 million viewers) and was the highest rated episode of the year. The yearly average was 15.22 million viewers, a rise of 400,000 viewers on the decade-low in 1972. Seven months rose year-on-year, with increases of nearly two million viewers in July and August, and all but one of the drops were under a million viewers.

This bounce from the 1972 low was also reflected in the programme's chart positions, with seven episodes reaching number one. For the rest of the decade, Coronation Street would chart similarly, with no year seeing more than a dozen episodes reach number one until 1980.

Daran Little's 40 Years of Coronation Street, the show's official book for the 40th anniversary, states incorrectly that the most-watched episode this year was Episode 1264 with 8.3 million viewers. The true rating for this episode was 7.1 million homes / 15.62 million viewers, and as already stated, it was not the most-watched episode of the year (in fact, the quoted figure is less than that of the lowest-rated episode of the year, Episode 1280 with 10.74 million viewers).

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Victoria Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker. Lucille Hewitt (January and October to December). Billy Walker (until June). Glyn Thomas (June to July).
 * 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock and Ken Barlow. Janet Barlow (from October onwards).
 * 3 Coronation Street - Ernest and Emily Bishop.
 * 5 Coronation Street - Minnie Caldwell. Ena Sharples (from December onwards).
 * 9 Coronation Street - Len Fairclough, Ray Langton and Jerry Booth.
 * 11 Coronation Street - Elsie and Alan Howard (until October). Lucille Hewitt (January to October).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Stan and Hilda Ogden.
 * Corner Shop (No.15) - Maggie Clegg.
 * Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Norma Ford (until December).
 * Community Centre Flat - Ena Sharples (until December).
 * The Kabin - Rita Littlewood (from June onwards).
 * 20 Victoria Street - Deirdre Hunt.
 * 44 Victoria Street - Bet Lynch.
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Cyril and Betty Turpin
 * 23 Jubilee Terrace - Mavis Riley.