Template:60Years 1962

 ~ 1962 ~ The Equity actors' strike ended on 3rd April after raging on for over five months. Returning Coronation Street's cast to full capacity was a gradual process which continued for the rest of the year. Storylines were planned so far in advance that it wasn't until mid-May that actors other than the core cast were given starring roles; Jennifer Moss had returned as Lucille Hewitt for one episode on 23rd April, but her appearance didn't affect the plot and was easily slotted in to a completed script. Moss came back permanently with Episode 150 on 21st May. Priority was given to characters who were supposed to have been living in Coronation Street (or close by) for the duration of the strike, and so Esther Hayes, Christine Hardman, Sheila Birtles, Emily Nugent, Doreen Lostock and Leonard Swindley all re-appeared in the following weeks. As actresses Daphne Oxenford and Christine Hargreaves were only available for a few weeks, their characters Esther and Christine moved out of Coronation Street almost as soon as they returned. Hargreaves signed a new contract in October after completing her theatre commitments, while Esther was strictly a recurring character post-strike.  ''To celebrate 60 years of Coronation Street on television, we're going through the programme's entire history a year at a time. The full version of this article can be found here. Check back on 22nd January for 1963!''