Coronation Street in 1987

1987 was Coronation Street's twenty-eighth year. John G. Temple was the producer until Episode 2755, after which he was replaced by Bill Podmore, formerly executive producer. 105 episodes were shown in 1987.

Storylines included the birth of Sarah Louise Tilsley, Brian Tilsley trying to leave the country with Nicky, Terry Duckworth having an affair with his friend Pete Jackson's wife Linda, Alan Bradley bringing Rita Fairclough to their surprise wedding, Jenny Bradley going AWOL in France and getting engaged to Patrice Podevin, Deirdre Barlow taking Alf Roberts's place at the council and Alf having a heart attack, Alec Gilroy taking over the Rovers and getting engaged to Bet Lynch after tracking her down in Torremolinos, Mike Baldwin throwing Susan out after she aborts his child, Mavis Riley being cited as a co-respondent in Derek Wilton's divorce, and Hilda Ogden selling up and leaving Coronation Street after 23 years.

Production
John G. Temple's run as producer ended with Episode 2755 on 26th August. After five years as executive producer, Bill Podmore returned to the producer's chair, bringing with him his usual flair for comedy.

The main event of the year was the last appearance of Hilda Ogden. Jean Alexander quit her role after 23 years as she wanted to play other parts. After so long toiling away for little reward, Hilda got a happy ending, moving into a flat attached to her employer Doctor Lowther's cottage in Derbyshire. Her last appearance was in the Christmas Day episode, where the residents saw her off with a surprise party in the Rovers. This was the first time Coronation Street went out on Christmas Day when it didn't fall on one of the programme's normal transmission days, a trend which has continued until the present day (with the exception of 1993).

Sarah Louise Tilsley, the latest Coronation Street baby, was born in February. She was played by twins Leah and Lynsay King, and by Lynsay alone after the sad death of Leah from SIDS.

The Rovers lost two of its staff for some of the year as William Tarmey took a four-month break for heart surgery, while Julie Goodyear was absent for three months to look after her seriously ill mother. Bet re-appeared as Bill Podmore was taking over as producer and deciding the future of several characters; Bet's relationship with Alec Gilroy blossomed into marriage, their sparring re-establishing the Rovers as a centre for comedy. To bring Bet back into the fold in an interesting way, overseas location filming took place in Torremolinos, with Alec tracking Bet down after three months and popping the question.

Podmore also decided to write out Susan Baldwin after two years. Podmore blamed the failure of Susan and Mike Baldwin's marriage on the casting of Susan, and dismissed Wendy Jane Walker from her role. Also, Nigel Pivaro left the programme in June to join a touring production, but was planning to return. Meanwhile, Geoff Hinsliff joined the cast as Don Brennan, who was initially a short-term character who was kept on when writers saw potential in his romance with Ivy Tilsley.

Viewing figures
According to most sources, including BARB, Episode 2790 (25th December 1987) is the second highest-rated episode of Coronation Street of all time, with an audience of 26,629,000 viewers. This episode, along with Episode 2789, was given a special omnibus repeat on Sunday 27th December, and the figures from each showing were added together to form the above aggregated figure. Without the omnibus showing, the episode gained an audience of 17,973,000 viewers, and the highest-rated episode of the year was Episode 2691 (14th January 1987) with 19.75 million viewers.

The average audience for the year was 15.16 million viewers (or, including the Christmas omnibus, 15.31 million viewers). The yearly average was 400,000 viewers down on 1986, with eight months experiencing drops year-on-year. The biggest falls occurred in April and May, which fell by more than 1.5 million viewers, while the biggest gain, of nearly a million viewers, was in December.

Due to EastEnders having a weekly omnibus and therefore taking the two top spots most weeks, Coronation Street was again absent from the top of the charts except for the Christmas Day episode. However, every episode charted inside the top twenty, with the Street outperforming its direct competition including Doctor Who.

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