Coronation Street in 1990

1990 was Coronation Street's thirty-first year.

Production
Granada continued to boost Coronation Street's production values, with the programme's production base being moved out of the main Granada studios complex and into Stage One, a refurbished warehouse next to the outdoor set which served as its own dedicated studio. Stage One included a green room, make-up complex, wardrobe and props departments, permanent dressing rooms for the actors, and enough studio space that the main sets could stand permanently. This meant that there were now no restrictions on the number of sets which could appear in each episode, and the actors could rehearse in the real sets. The keys were handed over in a special ceremony by Granada chairman David Plowright.

The new houses and shops were completed in February, and gradually became occupied. Newlyweds Des and Steph Barnes, played by Philip Middlemiss and Amelia Bullmore, took over No.6, and ruffled a few feathers when, to win a bet with Des, Steph lured Kevin Webster upstairs and shaved off his moustache. The Barnes were a flashy, well-off young couple - branded as yuppies in the media - who exemplified producer Mervyn Watson's notion of the new Coronation Street attracting a different kind of character.

No.4 was bought by Mavis and Derek Wilton, as a consequence of Rita Fairclough upping sticks and transferring The Kabin from Rosamund Street to Unit 10 in Coronation Street. Rita also moved out of No.7 and into the flat above the new Kabin, paving the way for No.7 to become a student house, with Jenny Bradley and her friend Felicity Khan renting from Rita. After six months playing Flick, Rita Wolf left the programme and Flick's room at No.7 was taken by another new character, career-minded design student Angie Freeman, played by Deborah McAndrew. The other new properties remained empty for the time being.

Other new characters included Jackie Ingram, a woman pursued by Mike Baldwin for nefarious reasons, and Phil Jennings, a shady businessman introduced as a love interest for Deirdre Barlow. They were played by Shirin Taylor and Tommy Boyle. Also, two new child actors joined the cast as Gail Tilsley and Sally Webster gave birth to David and Rosie at Christmas. Thomas Ormson and Emma Collinge played those characters until 2000.

In June, the year's ITV telethon included a Coronation Street mini-episode in which Hilda Ogden returned to the street to check up on her old friends and reveal that her employer Doctor Lowther had proposed to her. Featuring Jean Alexander's return to the role after three years, the episode no longer exists in the ITV archives.

A new title sequence debuted with Episode 3134 on 15th October. The new sequence was similar to its predecessor, except for being shot on videotape in accordance with the programme's house style since 1988. Due to the popularity of the cat from the 1976 titles, a competition was held on ITV's This Morning programme to cast a cat to star in the new montage. The winner was Frisky, owned by Jon-Paul Rimington of Leeds who was paid a one-off fee of £200 for his services.

For Coronation Street's thirtieth anniversary in December, Cilla Black hosted a special 90-minute programme marking three decades of the show, entitled Happy Birthday Coronation Street. A month earlier, Windsong Video Productions released ten video compilations of archive episodes of the Street, each focusing on a single year and presented by a member of the present cast who was working on the programme in the year in question. Again, the programme itself did nothing to mark the occasion.

Viewing figures
45 episodes reached the top of the charts (the same number as 1989), and for the second year in a row no episodes charted outside the top 20. Note that due to the BARB rankings considering only aggregated figures, Coronation Street's competition for the top places was mostly limited to other soap operas.

Going by first showings only, the average figure for the year was 15.02 million viewers, a 500k drop on 1989. Four months rose year-on-year, with the biggest rise occurring in January, while the biggest drop - of over two million viewers - took place in August.

Including the repeats, the average was down significantly on 1989, dropping by more than two million viewers to 17.38 million viewers. From September, ITV stations began dropping the omnibus repeat, resulting in only Granada and UTV showing Coronation Street at the weekend by 1992. All months fell year-on-year, with March's average decreasing by almost five million viewers. By either method of counting, the highest-rated episode of the year was the New Year's Day episode, Episode 3012 (1st January 1990), which drew an audience of 19.22 million viewers on its initial showing and 3.61 million at the weekend, giving a total of 22.83 million viewers, the decade's peak audience figure.

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Bet Gilroy (Except June). Alec Gilroy.
 * 1 Coronation Street - Ken Barlow (until January). Deirdre and Tracy Barlow.
 * 2a Coronation Street - (Empty).
 * 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop and Percy Sugden.
 * 4 Coronation Street - Derek and Mavis Wilton. (from March onwards).
 * 5 Coronation Street - Ivy and Don Brennan. Marie and Jamie Ramsden (December only).
 * 6 Coronation Street - Des and Steph Barnes (from February onwards).
 * 7 Coronation Street - Rita Fairclough (until April). Jenny Bradley (from April onwards). Flick Khan (from April to August). Joanne Khan (from July to August). Angie Freeman (from September onwards).
 * 8 Coronation Street - (Empty).
 * 9 Coronation Street - Jack and Vera Duckworth. Curly Watts.
 * 10a Coronation Street - Rita Fairclough (from April onwards).
 * 11 Coronation Street - Jim, Liz, Andy and Steve McDonald.
 * 12 Coronation Street - (Empty).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Kevin and Sally Webster. Rosie Webster (from December onwards).
 * Corner Shop flat - Alf and Audrey Roberts (until March). Reg Holdsworth (from May to July). Ken Barlow (from August onwards).
 * The Kabin flat - Derek and Mavis Wilton (until March).
 * Jim's Cafe flat - Alma Sedgewick (until January and from December onwards).
 * 6 Chepstow Road - Ken Barlow (from May to August).
 * 47 Church Road - Wendy Crozier. Ken Barlow (from January to May).
 * 17 Elmgate Gardens - Peter Ingram (until August). Jackie Ingram.
 * Fernwood Place, Handforth - Tim, Sandra and Victoria Arden.
 * 4 Gorton Close - Phyllis Pearce.
 * 5 Grasmere Drive - Alf and Audrey Roberts (March onwards).
 * 33 Hammond Road - Gail, Nicky and Sarah Louise Tilsley. Martin Platt. David Tilsley (from December onwards).
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin.
 * Hillside Road - Reg Holdsworth (until April and from July onwards).
 * No. 6 Quebec House, Weatherfield Quays - Mike Baldwin. Alma Sedgewick (from January to December).

Awards and Nominations

 * TV Times Actress of the year - Barbara Knox