Coronation Street in 1979

1979 was Coronation Street's twentieth year. Bill Podmore produced all 83 episodes transmitted that year.

Storylines included Ken Barlow and Deirdre Langton getting together for the first time, The Tilsleys moving into No.5, Elsie Tanner's ill-fated move to Torquay with Ron Mather, the Ogdens keeping hens, a lorry crashing into the Rovers with Tracy Langton feared dead in the rubble, Alf Roberts's mental recovery after the crash, Gail Potter marrying Brian Tilsley, and Steve Fisher and Suzie Birchall leaving the Street.

Production
Bill Podmore produced Coronation Street for the fourth consecutive year. After the introduction of Christopher Quinten as Ivy Tilsley's son Brian in the last episode of 1978, Peter Dudley joined the programme as her husband Bert in January, and the family moved into No.5. After eight years in a supporting role at the factory, Ivy rose to prominence as one of the programme's key matriarchs.

Meanwhile, Sue Nicholls made her first appearance as Gail Potter's unwed and man-hungry mother Audrey, a role which was at first recurring. Jack and Vera Duckworth appeared together for the first time at Gail and Brian's wedding, with William Tarmey being cast as Vera's feckless husband after years as an extra in the programme. Making two short appearances, Jack wasn't envisioned as a long-term character but after seeing him on-screen, writers decided to bring him back.

Coronation Street was off-air for eleven weeks because of the 1979 ITV strike, during which Channel Television was the only ITV franchise in operation. The technician strike dragged on until the management agreed to a 17.5% pay increase in October. During the strike, no production of new episodes took place. Episode 1935 on 8th August was the last episode before the strike. Coronation Street returned on 24th October with a specially recorded scene in which Bet Lynch and Len Fairclough chatted about recent events to remind viewers what was going on before the strike. No mention of the gap was made within the programme's storylines.

Viewing figures
The most-watched episode of the year was Episode 1894 on 14th March, which saw the residents continue to deal with the after-effects of the lorry crash, with a bereaved Deirdre Langton contemplating suicide, yet to discover that Tracy wasn't crushed by the lorry, which was seen by 19.5 million viewers.

The average figure for the year was 15.42 million viewers, an increase of 400k on 1978 and the 6th highest of the decade (although this total is missing the ratings for five episodes). The biggest drops on the previous year were in October and November, immediately after the strike finished, which were down by two million viewers on 1978, however March to August all rose from that year.

11 episodes reached number one in the weekly viewing charts, climbing from eight the previous year, with fewer episodes.

Who lives where
Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others
 * Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker and Fred Gee. Billy Walker (May to June)
 * 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock and Ken Barlow.
 * 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop. Deirdre and Tracy Langton (from February).
 * 5 Coronation Street - Deirdre and Tracy Langton (until February). Bert, Ivy and Brian Tilsley (from February). Gail Tilsley (from December)
 * 9 Coronation Street - Len and Rita Fairclough.
 * 11 Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner (until November, then from December). Gail Potter (until November). Suzie Birchall (until December).
 * 13 Coronation Street - Hilda and Stan Ogden.
 * Corner Shop (No.15) - Renee and Alf Roberts.
 * Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Bet Lynch.
 * Community Centre Flat - Ena Sharples.
 * The Kabin - Mavis Riley.
 * 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin.
 * Inkerman Street - Ivy Tilsley, Bert and Brian Tilsley (until February), Jack and Vera Duckworth.

Awards and nominations
Pye Television/Writer's Guild Awards
 * President's Award: Doris Speed
 * Special award for Coronation Street presented by Sir John Betjeman