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Logo 1964

1965 was Coronation Street's sixth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking Character Played by Duration Number of Episodes Running total Previous year's ranking
1 Len Fairclough Peter Adamson Full year 88 416 2
1 Annie Walker Doris Speed Full year 88 446 1
3 Jack Walker Arthur Leslie Full year 86 439 2
4 Stan Ogden Bernard Youens Full year 84 126 17
5 Elsie Tanner Patricia Phoenix Full year 80 436 4
6 Hilda Ogden Jean Alexander Full year 79 116 20
6 Irma Ogden/Barlow Sandra Gough Full year 79 131 14
8 Minnie Caldwell Margot Bryant Full year 70 402 7
9 Ken Barlow William Roache Full year 68 373 7
9 Dennis Tanner Philip Lowrie Full year 68 298 6
11 Albert Tatlock Jack Howarth Full year 66 381 10
11 Valerie Barlow Anne Reid Full year 66 291 7
13 Emily Nugent Eileen Derbyshire Full year except for April 63 287 11
14 David Barlow Alan Rothwell January and April onwards 61 95 25
15 Lucille Hewitt Jennifer Moss Full year 59 261 12
16 Charlie Moffitt Gordon Rollings Until December 58 101 16
17 Ena Sharples Violet Carson Until June and from October 56 409 5
18 Jerry Booth Graham Haberfield February to April and from August 49 182 23
19 Lionel Petty Edward Evans From May 41 41 -
20 Sandra Petty Heather Moore May to December 38 39 27
21 Florrie Lindley Betty Alberge Until June 28 310 13
22 Leonard Swindley Arthur Lowe Until March 11 197 20
23 Harry Hewitt Ivan Beavis June only 2 303 18

Production[]

Ken Twins

Ken and Val welcome twins Susan and Peter

Two of Coronation Street 's former directors served terms as producer - Richard Everitt between episodes 428 and 435, and Howard Baker between episodes 458 and 469, 472 and 481, and again after 494. All other episodes were produced by H.V. Kershaw, the programme's former script editor and now prolific writer. This marked the beginning of a trend in which short-term producers alternated with Kershaw, a pattern which continued until 1971, giving the series a greater consistency in its tone and story patterns. Kershaw was also credited as executive producer between episodes 482 and 493.

Since the previous summer, Coronation Street had been running with a reduced cast. It was still Granada's most-watched programme, but faced severe budgetary restrictions, particularly with new cast signings. Going into 1965, there were 18 full-time cast members, with two more originals departing in the course of the year. A year after Tim Aspinall's purge, two houses in Coronation Street were still empty, and so writers decided to rid themselves of No.7 by having a faulty beam cause the front of the house to collapse. This had the added benefit of splitting the street down the middle, making it easier to erect in studio.

Betty Alberge was the last to leave as a result of Aspinall's purge. She departed the programme in June, when her character Florrie Lindley emigrated to Canada with her husband Norman. The storyline retconned Florrie's backstory, making her a married woman estranged from Norman rather than the widow she had always presented herself as. Edward Evans joined the cast as ex-sergeant major Lionel Petty, the Corner Shop's new owner. Lionel's daughter Sandra had already appeared in 1964 when she set her cap at Dennis Tanner, and her storylines continued in a comedic vein until Heather Moore left the series at the end of her six-month contract in December. Charlie Moffitt, former comic turned insurance agent, left the programme that same month.

Arthur Lowe's character Leonard Swindley had a low-key exit in May. Swindley's appearance, coming two months after Lowe had departed as a full-time cast member, was fleeting as the lay preacher said goodbye to the street's residents before leaving for pastures new. Two days later, on 2nd June, viewers found out where Swindley was going when Granada's new sitcom Pardon the Expression premiered, the first Coronation Street spin-off. Pardon depicted the comedic exploits of Mr. Swindley in his new role as assistant manager of department store Dobson and Hawks. Produced by H.V. Kershaw, it ran for two seasons and co-starred Betty Driver, Joy Stewart and Robert Dorning, witih many familiar faces from Coronation Street both behind and in front of the cameras.

Meanwhile, Graham Haberfield returned as Jerry Booth in February after a break of nine months, Jerry's marriage to Myra having broken down off-screen, and in April Alan Rothwell made a full-time return as David Barlow. The Barlows were re-established as the central family in the programme with the birth of Ken and Val's twins Susan and Peter, played by an uncredited Katie and Robert Heanue, and David marrying Irma Ogden and retiring from football due to a leg injury. Due to the difficulty of recording scenes with the twins, their appearances were kept to a minimum and were often recorded separately and inserted into the finished episode.

Another notable cast change was the temporary departure of Ena Sharples, who was absent for three months between Episode 473 and Episode 502 when Violet Carson took a sabbatical.

Viewing figures[]

1965 ratings

Ratings chart for the year

Coronation Street experienced its first drop year-on-year, averaging 17.95 million viewers, losing 400,000 viewers on its all-time 1964 peak. It was also the first year in which no episode achieved the programme's highest audience to date. The main reason for the drop was that for the first time since the programme began the BBC made a concerted attack on its popularity by scheduling the fourth season of their successful sitcom Steptoe and Son directly opposite the Monday edition of the Street between October and November. As a result, six Monday episodes failed to make the top twenty, the worst showing for the Street since early 1961.

June experienced a small drop year-on-year, with October to December falling by 2.5 million (December) to 5 million viewers. All other months were up on 1964, with July and September experiencing the largest gains.

For the second year after 1962, more episodes of Coronation Street reached number one in the charts than there were weeks in the year due to several episodes tying for first place. 56 episodes reached the top, with Episode 429 on 20th January gaining the largest audience of the year on 9.66 million homes (or 21.25 million viewers). The main storyline featured in that episode was Elsie Tanner and Ena Sharples's battle over 11 Coronation Street; Elsie's home which was recently left to Ena in a will.

Episodes[]

# Ep.
No.
Date Writer Director Viewing
Figures
(homes/
viewers)
Chart
Position
1 424 Monday 4th January John Finch Michael Cox 9,100,000
20,020,000
2
2 425 Wednesday 6th January Jim Allen Michael Cox 9,240,000
20,328,000
1
3 426 Monday 11th January Jack Rosenthal David Boisseau 9,240,000
20,328,000
2
4 427 Wednesday 13th January Jack Rosenthal David Boisseau 9,380,000
20,636,000
1
5 428 Monday 18th January Peter Eckersley Christopher McMaster 9,390,000
20,658,000
2
6 429 Wednesday 20th January Adele Rose Christopher McMaster 9,660,000
21,252,000
1
7 430 Monday 25th January John Finch Michael Cox 9,120,000
20,064,000
2
8 431 Wednesday 27th January Peter Eckersley Michael Cox 9,390,000
20,658,000
1
9 432 Monday 1st February Jack Rosenthal Walter Butler 9,260,000
20,372,000
1
10 433 Wednesday 3rd February Adele Rose Walter Butler 9,260,000
20,372,000
1
11 434 Monday 8th February Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 9,260,000
20,372,000
1
12 435 Wednesday 10th February John Finch Christopher McMaster 9,260,000
20,372,000
1
13 436 Monday 15th February Adele Rose Michael Cox 9,300,000
20,460,000
2
14 437 Wednesday 17th February John Finch Michael Cox 9,440,000
20,768,000
1
15 438 Monday 22nd February Jack Rosenthal Douglas Hurn 9,170,000
20,174,000
2
16 439 Wednesday 24th February Adele Rose Douglas Hurn 9,310,000
20,482,000
1
17 440 Monday 1st March John Finch Christopher McMaster 9,450,000
20,790,000
1
18 441 Wednesday 3rd March Geoffrey Lancashire Christopher McMaster 9,450,000
20,790,000
1
19 442 Monday 8th March Jim Allen Michael Cox 9,320,000
20,504,000
1
20 443 Wednesday 10th March Jack Rosenthal Michael Cox 9,320,000
20,504,000
1
21 444 Monday 15th March Vince Powell Richmond Harding 9,190,000
20,218,000
1
22 445 Wednesday 17th March Adele Rose Richmond Harding 8,910,000
19,602,000
2
23 446 Monday 22nd March Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 9,330,000
20,526,000
1
24 447 Wednesday 24th March Adele Rose Christopher McMaster 9,050,000
19,910,000
2
25 448 Monday 29th March Jack Rosenthal Walter Butler 8,780,000
19,316,000
1
26 449 Wednesday 31st March John Finch Walter Butler 8,640,000
19,008,000
2
27 450 Monday 5th April Geoffrey Lancashire Richmond Harding 8,640,000
19,008,000
1
28 451 Wednesday 7th April Vince Powell Richmond Harding 8,500,000
18,700,000
2
29 452 Monday 12th April Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 8,790,000
19,338,000
2
30 453 Wednesday 14th April Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 9,070,000
19,954,000
1
31 454 Monday 19th April John Finch Michael Cox 7,390,000
16,258,000
4
32 455 Wednesday 21st April John Finch Michael Cox 8,650,000
19,030,000
1
33 456 Monday 26th April Adele Rose Richmond Harding 8,650,000
19,030,000
1
34 457 Wednesday 28th April Jack Rosenthal Richmond Harding 8,650,000
19,030,000
1
35 458 Monday 3rd May Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 8,800,000
19,360,000
1
36 459 Wednesday 5th May Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 8,660,000
19,052,000
2
37 460 Monday 10th May Vince Powell Michael Cox 7,960,000
17,512,000
1
38 461 Wednesday 12th May Vince Powell Michael Cox 6,850,000
15,070,000
3
39 462 Monday 17th May Jim Allen Richmond Harding 8,530,000
18,766,000
1
40 463 Wednesday 19th May Geoffrey Lancashire Richmond Harding 6,570,000
14,454,000
4
41 464 Monday 24th May John Finch Christopher McMaster 8,390,000
18,458,000
2
42 465 Wednesday 26th May Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 8,670,000
19,074,000
1
43 466 Monday 31st May Jack Rosenthal Michael Cox 8,260,000
18,172,000
1
44 467 Wednesday 2nd June Adele Rose Michael Cox 7,840,000
17,248,000
2
45 468 Monday 7th June John Finch Richmond Harding 6,300,000
13,860,000
5
46 469 Wednesday 9th June Geoffrey Lancashire Richmond Harding 7,840,000
17,248,000
1
47 470 Monday 14th June Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 7,670,000
16,874,000
2
48 471 Wednesday 16th June Adele Rose Christopher McMaster 8,380,000
18,436,000
1
49 472 Monday 21st June Jim Allen Richard Argent 8,530,000
18,766,000
2
50 473 Wednesday 23rd June Jack Rosenthal Richard Argent 8,670,000
19,074,000
1
51 474 Monday 28th June John Finch Richmond Harding 7,400,000
16,280,000
2
52 475 Wednesday 30th June H.V. Kershaw Richmond Harding 8,110,000
17,842,000
1
53 476 Monday 5th July Adele Rose Bob Hird 8,110,000
17,842,000
1
54 477 Wednesday 7th July Geoffrey Lancashire Bob Hird 8,110,000
17,842,000
1
55 478 Monday 12th July Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 7,970,000
17,534,000
1
56 479 Wednesday 14th July Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 7,970,000
17,534,000
1
57 480 Monday 19th July Pam Tickell Michael Beckham 7,550,000
16,610,000
1
58 481 Wednesday 21st July John Finch Michael Beckham 7,550,000
16,610,000
1
59 482 Monday 26th July Jack Rosenthal David Boisseau 7,270,000
15,994,000
2
60 483 Wednesday 28th July Jack Rosenthal David Boisseau 7,690,000
16,918,000
1
61 484 Monday 2nd August Vince Powell Bob Hird 6,980,000
15,356,000
3
62 485 Wednesday 4th August Ron McDonnell Bob Hird 7,840,000
17,248,000
2
63 486 Monday 9th August John Finch Richard Argent 7,130,000
15,686,000
3
64 487 Wednesday 11th August Jim Allen Richard Argent 7,410,000
16,302,000
2
65 488 Monday 16th August Jack Rosenthal Michael Beckham 7,560,000
16,632,000
3
66 489 Wednesday 18th August Adele Rose Michael Beckham 7,850,000
17,270,000
1
67 490 Monday 23rd August Jim Allen Bob Hird 7,710,000
16,962,000
3
68 491 Wednesday 25th August Geoffrey Lancashire Bob Hird 8,140,000
17,908,000
1
69 492 Monday 30th August John Finch Richard Argent 6,000,000
13,200,000
6
70 493 Wednesday 1st September John Finch Richard Argent 8,570,000
18,854,000
1
71 494 Monday 6th September Jack Rosenthal Christopher McMaster 8,430,000
18,546,000
2
72 495 Wednesday 8th September Adele Rose Christopher McMaster 9,140,000
20,108,000
1
73 496 Monday 13th September Jack Rosenthal Bob Hird 8,290,000
18,238,000
2
74 497 Wednesday 15th September John Finch Bob Hird 8,860,000
19,492,000
1
75 498 Monday 20th September Vince Powell Richard Argent 8,720,000
19,184,000
2
76 499 Wednesday 22nd September Geoffrey Lancashire Richard Argent 9,150,000
20,130,000
1
77 500 Monday 27th September John Finch Pauline Shaw 8,730,000
19,206,000
2
78 501 Wednesday 29th September Vince Powell Pauline Shaw 9,440,000
20,768,000
1
79 502 Monday 4th October Adele Rose Bob Hird 5,870,000
12,914,000
14
80 503 Wednesday 6th October Jack Rosenthal Bob Hird 8,440,000
18,568,000
1
81 504 Monday 11th October John Finch Richard Argent 5,230,000
11,506,000
n/k
82 505 Wednesday 13th October Ron McDonnell Richard Argent 8,360,000
18,392,000
1
83 506 Monday 18th October Jim Allen Christopher McMaster 4,550,000
10,010,000
n/k
84 507 Wednesday 20th October Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 8,300,000
18,260,000
1
85 508 Monday 25th October John Finch Bob Hird 4,930,000
10,846,000
n/k
86 509 Wednesday 27th October Jack Rosenthal Bob Hird 8,620,000
18,964,000
1
87 510 Monday 1st November Geoffrey Lancashire Richard Argent 4,990,000
10,978,000
n/k
88 511 Wednesday 3rd November Pam Tickell Richard Argent 8,390,000
18,458,000
1
89 512 Monday 8th November Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 4,880,000
10,736,000
n/k
90 513 Wednesday 10th November Jack Rosenthal Christopher McMaster 8,200,000
18,040,000
3
91 514 Monday 15th November Vince Powell Bob Hird 4,710,000
10,362,000
n/k
92 515 Wednesday 17th November Jim Allen Bob Hird 8,660,000
19,052,000
1
93 516 Monday 22nd November Peter Eckersley Pauline Shaw 7,020,000
15,444,000
8
94 517 Wednesday 24th November Geoffrey Lancashire Pauline Shaw 8,410,000
18,502,000
2
95 518 Monday 29th November Jack Rosenthal Richard Argent 6,900,000
15,180,000
8
96 519 Wednesday 1st December Adele Rose Richard Argent 8,570,000
18,854,000
1
97 520 Monday 6th December John Finch Christopher McMaster 7,740,000
17,028,000
6
98 521 Wednesday 8th December Vince Powell Christopher McMaster 9,140,000
20,108,000
1
99 522 Monday 13th December Adele Rose Bob Hird 7,180,000
15,796,000
8
100 523 Wednesday 15th December Jim Allen Bob Hird 8,690,000
19,118,000
1
101 524 Monday 20th December Geoffrey Lancashire Walter Butler 7,090,000
15,598,000
5
102 525 Wednesday 22nd December Jack Rosenthal Walter Butler 8,390,000
18,458,000
1
103 526 Monday 27th December Vince Powell Richard Argent 6,250,000
13,750,000
11
104 527 Wednesday 29th December John Finch Richard Argent 8,650,000
19,030,000
1

Storylines[]

January[]

Elsietanner ena

Ena plays dirty when the Mission is threatened with closure

  • Ena Sharples visits Edward Wormold who tells her that Mrs. Briggs, owner of houses on Coronation Street has died and left No.11 to her. Elsie Tanner is not pleased to find that Ena is her new landlord but a conflict arises when Stuart Hodges decides that the Mission of Glad Tidings is to close when it is merged with the Bold Street Mission and Ena will therefore be homeless. She tells Elsie that she will have to move out in order that she can have the house herself. Elsie claims that the house is falling to pieces but Ena is not deceived and issues her with a written eviction notice in the Rovers. Elsie immediately initiates a huge fight with Ena which spills out onto the Street and is only stopped when Leonard Swindley intervenes and tells them that there has been a change of plan and the Bold Street Mission is to close instead.
  • After hearing the suspension story, Stan Ogden refuses to let Irma see David Barlow again. David is cleared of the accusation but he and Ken Barlow brawl in the Rovers as David realises that Ken believed the accusation. David heads back to London, his relationship with his brother on ice.
  • Stan's plans to make a living from buying and selling waste paper fails. No.13 is filled with paper which they cannot sell at the market price. Hilda Ogden sells the mountains of paper to Bernie Sparks for a knock-down price, only making them a small profit.
  • Len Fairclough advertises for a housekeeper and takes on Norma Gee for the job but she is on the rebound from her marriage and her husband, Harry, comes looking for her. Len is not the first person she has held the position of housekeeper for with a view to future marriage. To Len's relief, Norma returns to her husband.
  • Swindley starts a lucky dip at Gamma Garments. Stan wins a bracelet in it which he gives to Hilda however Annie Walker recognises the item of jewellery as hers and claims it back.
  • Charlie Moffitt decides on his next career move - an insurance man.
  • Stan decides to become a milkman when he discovers that their working day finishes at noon.

February[]

  • Minnie Caldwell becomes Ena's paid rent collector but the job doesn't last long as Ena decides to sell No.11 back to Wormold for £350.00 with a promise that repairs that Elsie needs to the house will be carried out after Dennis Tanner tells her of his mother's depression over her lot in life.
Episode432

Jerry returns to the street

  • Jerry Booth returns to the street. His marriage to Myra is over and the baby they were expecting died prematurely. Jerry is now out of work so Len takes him on again. He moves into the corner shop flat. He is lonely and Len encourages Irma to become friends with him.
  • Swindley is promoted area manager for Gamma leaving Emily Nugent in charge of the Rosamund Street branch.
  • Stan begins his new career as a milkman, rising at 4.00am every morning.
  • Willie Piggott's court case begins. He is bailed and the case is set for the Crown Court.
  • To everyone's surprise, Florrie Lindley is found not to be a widow when her separated engineering husband, Norman turns up in Weatherfield after having lived and worked in India. He doesn't want a divorce but to be reconciled with his wife, but he has to work in Iceland for a short time and then Canada for two years. While she is making up her mind whether or not to go with him, he takes an interest in Elsie and after taking her to a trade exhibition, she admits that the attraction is mutual. Their relationship causes gossip but the fling makes Florrie realise that she does want to start a new life in Canada with her husband. Norman accepts her wish and reluctantly finishes with Elsie, leaving for his short work assignment in Iceland.
  • Charlie gets his job as an insurance man but needs £50 deposit money for the job but can't afford that and his rent money to Minnie. Ena lends him the money.
  • Emily buys a second hand car and asks the menfolk to give her driving lessons. All except Ken back out and he finds it an ordeal as she has no sense of danger.

March[]

  • Valerie Barlow closes down the Hair Salon as her pregnancy nears its end but no one wants to buy the equipment. Ken goes to a staff dinner at the Tech alone when she decides not to go with him due to her condition.
  • Emily has her first professional driving lesson and promptly crashes, hurting her leg. Swindley gives her a lesson during which she goes down a one-way street the wrong way. The police stop them and Swindley is caught with an expired licence. They both go to court where Emily is fined £5 and Swindley £20 after a threat of imprisonment. He suffers adverse headlines in the press.
  • George Dickinson turns up and tries to persuade Jerry to return to Myra. Jerry refuses so Dickinson demands £30 off Jerry that he owes him and accuses him of having an affair with Irma. Len pays him the money to get rid of him.
Episode444

The Walkers entertain a guest from the posher side of the tracks.

  • Lucille Hewitt takes part in a school play in a joint production with the local boys' boys' grammar school where she is attracted to pupil Roger Wain. Annie invites him to tea at the Rovers, expecting a mod or a rocker, and is shocked when he is of a higher class than her. As he is a vegetarian, Lucille is similarly influenced and stops eating meat, much to Annie's annoyance. Roger gets Lucille to help him look after elderly folks.
  • Hilda suspects Stan of having an affair when he starts coming home later than his shift finishes. She serves him his tea in the Rovers on the basis that as he virtually lives there, he might as well eat there and harangues him when he gives Albert Tatlock a handmade sweater. Stan swears he found it on his float. Hilda makes him sleep on the sofa and is made more suspicious as to who feeds him when he throws his packed lunch away. She follows him and discovers that he spends his time at the home of a little old lady, Mrs Sugden, to keep her company.
  • Elsie walks out of her job after rowing with her supervisor and under pressure from Dennis gets alternative employment - working at Gamma Garments under a horrified Emily Nugent.
  • Frank Barlow sends his son and daughter-in-law a large, expensive pram. Val breaks the news to Ken that she's expecting twins. She lets this latest bit of gossip slip to Elsie and Ena. Albert is annoyed that he was the last to know and Val asks him to be a godfather to keep him happy. Val goes into labour.

April[]

Vallabour

Val gives birth to twins

  • Len takes Val to the hospital in his van. Ken waits nervously in the Rovers and celebrates with the residents when the news come through that Val has given birth to a boy and a girl. They name them Peter and Susan Ida.
  • Willie Piggott is fined £150 for bribing Ken but seeing that he's just become a father himself, tells him that he holds no grudges. He asks Len to help him convert six houses in Blackburn into flats but Len refuses as he's landed a contract with Arnold Jenkinson to work on a supermarket. Piggott tells Jenkinson that Len won't have time for the job and the contract is ended. Despondent, Len decides to spend some time with Stanley in Nottingham and leaves, refusing Piggott's offer of work. The Builder's Yard is left in Jerry's hands and Piggott offers him the job. Jerry accepts money off Piggott to repay his debts and closes the Yard to work with Piggott.
  • Val comes home with Peter and Susan following a couple of weeks later after staying in hospital for observation.
  • In London, David is carried off the pitch with a torn ligament. Val persuades Ken to write to him and end their three-month old feud. Ken does so and David invites himself to return, staying with Albert as there's no room now in No. 9. He immediately takes up again with Irma and reveals that he's given up professional football but gives Albert complimentary tickets to the Cup Final. Albert goes with Stan and Charlie after Stan is given permission by Hilda for a reward for doing jobs around the house.
  • Lucille starts helping the OAP's with Roger but finds they are ungrateful with her assistance.
  • Two of Dennis's hairdressing clients, Caroline Critchley and Jane Maxwell, invite him to Oulton Park race track for the day.

May[]

  • Albert and Charlie return alone from London, having lost Stan in Soho. He hitches a lift home on a truck after a fight with a Leeds United supporter.
  • Len returns to the area and discovers that Jerry has left.
  • Despite warnings from Elsie that he is being used by Caroline, Jane and their Cheshire set for their amusement, Dennis continues to socialise with them. Len warns him off them.
  • Lucille celebrates her sixteenth birthday. Still missing her parents, Jack and Annie ask her to call them "Uncle" and "Auntie". She feels that she and Roger have grown apart.
  • David and Irma's relationship continues but she feels uncomfortable when he takes her to his favourite jazz club and they argue about her working evenings in the Rovers.
  • Emily passes her driving test. She kids Len that she is willing to go on a holiday with him. She is made Mission supervisor when Swindley leaves the area.
  • Hilda finds a cigarette packet on the bar of the Rovers with £20 inside it. She keeps the notes, not knowing it is Charlie's insurance collection money. After spending some of it on clothes she discovers whose money it is and doesn't know what to do. Charlie is under suspicion of the theft of the money by his insurance boss and the police are called in. Charlie does a flit from the Street but is tracked down by Albert on behalf of an upset Minnie. He is brought home and £20 is mysteriously pushed through the letterbox of No. 5 to make up for the lost funds.
  • A Royal visit to Granston Technical College sees Ken presented to The Queen and the cortege is planned to be diverted down the Street when a water mains bursts on Rosamund Street. The council and residents prepare Coronation Street for the new route but at the last moment the leak is repaired and the procession takes its original course.
Episode462

Ken and Val adjust to parenthood

  • Peter and Susan are christened, despite some objections from Ken.
  • Norman Lindley returns from Iceland, determined to go ahead with his plans to emigrate with Florrie to Canada. She puts the Corner Shop up for sale and demands repayment of the tick money owing to her. Sandra Petty persuades her military father Lionel to look over the shop and buy it but her real motive is to be closer to Dennis. She tells him how much she loves him and is determined to marry him.

June[]

  • Florrie sells the shop to Lionel and despite finding it hard to say goodbye, she and Norman leave the Street for Canada. Lionel takes over the shop and starts running it along his accustomed military lines. He keeps Irma on in the shop but on a three-month trial. His harsh manner soon starts to alienate the residents and Irma who bunks off work to get away from him. Emily offers him advice on how to get on with the customers and his relationship with them improves.
  • David signs up on a two-year contract as player-coach with Weatherfield Athletic and starts to write a football column for the Weatherfield Advertiser newspaper.
  • Ken thinks of moving to a house with a garden but Val is reluctant to go through the upheaval of a move.
  • Ena reads a newspaper notice asking her to contact a firm of solicitors. It leads her to receive a visit from Tom Schofield, a nephew from the United States of America who has come to escort her back to that country and a stay with her brother, Tom, who she has lost contact with since he sailed for the new world in 1912. As Ena prepares for her trip, Tom gets to know the residents but falls foul of Len when he gets friendly with Elsie. When Ena and Elsie accuse him of being jealous, Len apologises to Tom and four days later Ena and Tom leave on their trip.
  • Dennis is horrified that Lionel likes him and looks on him as a prospective son-in-law. Sandra celebrates her nineteenth birthday and has a party. Dennis tries to get out of going but in the end is forced to attend where he endures Sandra's attention all night.
  • Stan tries to give up smoking to leave himself more money for beer but fails almost instantly in his resolve.
  • Lucille takes her 'O'-levels. She is delighted when Harry Hewitt comes to visit for a week and to sort out her future. Now that her exams are over she is put under pressure to join her family in Ireland but she wants to stay with the Walkers.
Episode475

The residents at the Speedwell Cavern

  • Emily organises a visit to the Speedwell Cavern in Derbyshire. After a last minute hitch with the coach booking, the visit goes as planned. On the trip, David buys a ring for Irma and the two become engaged.

July[]

  • While Hilda is delighted at the news of the engagement, Ken is horrified to realise that he will be related to the Ogdens when David and Irma marry. Irma is equally unsure about being joined with the Barlow family. Ken and David argue about the marriage and David makes Ken see that he really loves Irma. Despite this the young couple has their first row when Irma goes dancing without him. They briefly split up but are quickly reconciled.
  • Unhappy with his work, Dennis decides to leave Gerard's Salon but finds that the expensive diploma he gained there is not recognised anywhere else. Nevertheless he leaves his job so Elsie makes him do the housework while he is at home all day but he persuades Sandra to carry out the chores for him.
  • Albert needs extra money and looks for work. Unable to get any odd jobs he decides to sell his coin collection but finds that it is only worth £2, 10/-.
  • Val contracts chickenpox and has to be isolated for two weeks. Hilda tries to assist but Ken refuses to let her babysit.
  • Lucille gets a summer job in a local factory.
  • Lionel gives Dennis a job in the shop to try and keep a closer leash on Sandra. Dennis soon starts to hate the work.
  • Emily plans to go on holiday and recommends that Elsie is made temporary manager in her absence but Mr Papagopolous wants to put someone else in. When Elsie rows with him, he tells Emily to sack her. Elsie leaves anyway and starts a new job as laundry manageress.
  • Clara Midgeley starts as Mission cleaner in Ena's absence, upsetting Minnie when she sees her getting her feet under the table in the Vestry. They soon make up and become friends.
Episode483

Annie meets Nellie Harvey

  • Jack enters for a bowling competition but it clashes with a Licensed Victuallers' meeting that Annie wants to attend. The two argue over this clash. Annie starts to court fellow landlady Nellie Harvey of the LV's but is shocked when she starts being familiar with Jack. Nellie plans to put Annie forward as chairman of the LV's and Annie realises that this social promotion is thanks to Jack's influence with Nellie.
  • Stan starts to brew his own beer in the back yard but Hilda doesn't want the equipment and bottles around. Charlie takes it all in and Len joins him and Stan in their scheme.

August[]

  • David organises a dance at the Athletic's Club after a dispute with two workmen there, Johnny and Tony when he gives work to Len rather than them. The two workmen cause trouble at the dance and have to be evicted and is warned by club manager Sid Lambert not to exceed his authority. David's team wins its first match but he spends his pay packet on a new suit rather than saving for his wedding, causing a row with Irma.
  • Dennis gets a new job as a rep for a children's toy company and tries out all of his samples on an exasperated Elsie. He takes Sandra to the Athletic's dance and she makes an effort to attract his attention. She decides her appearance is too drab for him and gets a job at Gamma but shocks Dennis by refusing to go out with him. As part of her makeover she has a new hair do.
  • The foul smell of Charlie and Stan's beer starts to infiltrate the Street. Stan bottles the beer in happy expectation of drinking it but they start to explode, scaring Bobby, Minnie's cat. Minnie still thinks it's a tonic and she and Emily "sample" some, getting drunk in the process. Badly hung-over the next day, she orders Charlie to get rid of the remainder. Annie asks her to Sunday lunch when she realises that she is lonely and missing Ena.
  • Ken buys a car.
  • Jack wins his bowl's competition. He buys Annie a necklace for her birthday and her happiness is completed when she wins the election for the LV chairman. However she annoys Jack by her continual references to Arthur Forsyth-Jones and when he tells her he's sick of hearing of the man she tries to make him jealous by flirting with Lionel.
  • Jerry returns from working for Piggott, having found out what Len suspected - that the butcher wanted a cheap job, not a quality one and the job folded. Len is unsympathetic to his plight and throws him out of the Yard when he sleeps rough there but the residents are angry at Len's attitude and side with Jerry. Elsie persuades him to lodge at No. 11 but a guilty Len soon changes his mind and gives Jerry his old job back and a room at his Mawdsley Street house. When his birthday comes round gives him a partnership in the builder's firm as his present. He also throws a party for him but the remains of the home-made beer are used for drinks but it all goes off.
Episode492

Ted Bates turns up looking for Albert

  • A man who looks like a tramp turns up in the Street looking for Albert. He turns out to be an old friend, Ted Bates, who has run away from his OAP home. Albert takes him in permanently but comes under pressure from the OAP home and Ted's daughter to not do so.
  • Lucille starts work at Mitchell's and goes to a party with her workmates after being chatted up by Barry, one of the loaders. She gains four 'O'-levels.
  • Strange events starts to happen in the Street when Albert's sideboard moves in the night and Hilda thinks there is a poltergeist. David thinks it is subsidence from the disused Barton Colliery and he is seemingly proven right when the empty No. 7 suddenly collapses.

September[]

Episode493

The residents react to the collapse of No.7

  • The residents evacuate their homes as everyone fears that the rest of the Street will fall down. Lucille is missing and it is feared that she is under the rubble but she turns up safe, although upset at the destruction to her childhood home. Edward Wormold and a surveyor look over the house and conclude that a faulty beam and not subsidence caused the collapse. Len is paid to demolish what remains of the shell of the house but rows with Ken when his work causes the twins to be kept awake.
  • Ted Bates goes back to his family.
  • David buys Irma a proper engagement ring. Hilda dreams about her daughter having the wedding that she didn't due to wartime conditions while Stan loses sleep over the cost. David assures him that he doesn't while at the same time Hilda assures Irma that David's wish is for a big do. She also pushes her to suggest to her husband-to-be that they buy No. 3, upset at the thought of her daughter moving away. The engaged couple grow tired with the pressure they are under from their families.
  • Lucille, growing up fast, starts to rebel at the strictures imposed on her by the Walkers, staying out late and finding work difficult as her colleagues resent her qualifications. She and the Walkers reach a compromise. She turns her bedroom into a bedsit. She fails to get a secretarial job and Jack suggests it's because of her accent, prompting Annie to give her elocution lessons.
  • Customs and Excise inspect the Rovers cellar.
  • The Walkers go for a drink at the "Fox and Hounds" pub in Wilmslow. When Elsie hears of the rich men they saw in the pub she goes there herself and gets picked up by Robert Maxwell. He offers her a lift home but crashes on the way and dies behind the wheel. Elsie flees the scene in a panic and asks for Len's help as she left her gloves in the car. The police have got to the car before him but he discovers that Bob and Elsie were together for several hours and tells her he's finished with her. Elsie convinces him nothing happened but the police trace her through talk of the Walkers in the bar of the Wilmslow pub. Elsie is told she'll have to appear at the inquest while Dennis rows with Annie for shopping Elsie. Annie convinces Elsie that she has the neighbour's sympathy.
  • Emily takes Sandra on as an assistant at Gamma but in opposition to Lionel who says she has to look after him and the Corner Shop. Sandra threatens to leave home if she can't have her own way.
  • Minnie is upset when Ena doesn't send a birthday card from the USA. She has a small party with Albert, Clara, Charlie and Jerry and is delighted to receive a telegram from Ena saying her return is imminent.

October[]

  • Sandra starts at Gamma but Lionel accuses Emily of coming between him and his daughter and splitting up his home. Emily sees a similarity between Lionel's behaviour and that of her own father, James Nugent. Annie persuades Lionel to give Sandra some slack.
  • Ena returns from the USA. Clara is nervous that she is going to be sidelined but Ena allows her to join her and Minnie in the Snug of the Rovers. She brings back three presents for a delighted Minnie.
  • Elsie goes to the inquest on Robert Maxwell and tries to speak to his widow, Moira but doesn't want to know. She then turns up at No. 11 where she verbally attacks Elsie who realises that she is grief-stricken and lets her carry on, to avoid her blaming herself for her husband's death.
  • Ena spots surveyors in the Street and makes enquiries. Fobbed off with evasive answers she finally gets one of the surveyors to tell he what is going on and she announces to the residents that a ring road is going to be built through both Coronation Street and Mawdsley Street. Ken, however, makes his own enquiries and discovers that Ena has jumped ahead to a conclusion and that it is only a proposal that is at an investigative stage.
  • Dennis worries about his weight and health. To everyone's amusement, David starts a training programme with him and Jerry lends him dumb bells. The health initiative doesn't last long. Dennis then launches a trading company - Tanner's Enterprises - and orders a phone for No. 11.
  • Val gets annoyed with Ken treating her as unintelligent; she forces him to treat her with more respect and takes up sociology at evening classes.
  • After turning down a filing clerk's job, Lucille obtains a job in the Research and Development department at Marshall's Cotton Mill.
  • As David and Irma move closer to their wedding, Stan catches his future son-in-law in Irma's bedroom and slaps her face. She walks out of No. 13 and David makes sure everyone knows what sort of father his fiancée has. Hilda forces a reconciliation between the two. David tells Irma of his finances and his plans to marry her and move to Cheshire.
  • Emily decides to organise a fashion show to promote Gamma's goods.
  • Albert organises a bonfire night. Jerry catches a young teenager, Alan Platt, stealing wood for the fire from the Yard and after talking to him he agrees to give him woodwork lessons in secret. Unfortunately Alan soon drops Len's treasured model wooden plane and breaks it in two.

November[]

  • Jerry tells Len he was the one who broke the model plane and will replace it. Alan makes Jerry a toast rack but Len becomes suspicious when after taking it for a piece of junk and putting it with the collected wood for the bonfire, Jerry goes to great lengths to save it. He and Jerry row over Alan's lessons but quickly make up however Alan soon gives up the lessons when he discovers the charms of the female sex.
  • The new phone at No. 11 will share a party line with that of the Barlow's. Engineer Jim Mount arrives to install it and Elsie is taken with him.
  • David buys a new coat for Albert who is apparently ungrateful but secretly delighted.
  • Lucille starts her new job and comes to an agreement with the Walkers for a low level of housekeeping money provided she save a portion of the remainder. She makes the acquaintance of Kenny Stevens at work and is amazed at his nonchalant attitude to his job. After a few weeks she agrees to go out on a date with him, despite the warnings given to her by her fellow workmates.
  • The bonfire goes ahead with Len and Dennis both making a guy, unaware the other is doing so.
Episode513

The fashion show turns into a fiasco

  • Despite promises of help, Emily is left to prepare the fashion show herself and stays up until the small hours to prepare when the gowns need altering. The show is put on in the Mission but is a disaster when her three models - Val, Lucille and Irma - are unable to change their dresses in a timely manner.
  • 108 Christmas trees arrive for Dennis and his new company. Elsie is not pleased. He tries to store them in all the neighbour's back yards but unsurprisingly encounters opposition. For a fee he then stores them at the Yard. He also takes stock of 144 boxes of crackers which he gets Sandra to stock in the loft at Gamma but Emily finds out and is not pleased with her assistant. As a result of these fiascos, Sandra starts to see another side to Dennis and goes off him, much to Lionel's relief however she then breaks the news that she's moving away to a flat on Leestand Road on the other side of town. She comes to terms with the fact that she means nothing to Dennis.
  • While Val is at night school, Ken nips into the Rovers for a quick drink leaving the twins alone at No. 9. A fire starts when a piece of burning coal falls out of the fireplace. A horrified Val arrives home in time to put out the blaze and is furious with her husband. Ken asks Jerry to convert the front room into a playroom.
  • Clara starts to housekeep at No. 1.
  • Tired of the fuss over their wedding plans, David and Irma agree to secretly get married at the Ridgeway Road Registry Office on 8th December.

December[]

  • Sandra moves away from the Street.
  • Clara moves the furniture around in No. 1, causing Val to argue with her.
Episode521

David and Irma are married

  • Len accidentally discovers from a taxi driver about a booking to take David and Irma from the registry office to a restaurant after their wedding. He tells Stan who breaks the news to an upset Hilda but the residents gatecrash the restaurant and present the surprised newlyweds with a cake. David and Irma move into interim digs at 17 Attlee Street and start to plan their new life when David is injured with a bad tackle from Larry Palmer on the football field at a charity match and told he can't play any more. His coaching job is ended and he and Irma have to make new plans for their future.
  • To attend the Barlow's reception, Jack asks his brother Arthur Walker to look after the Rovers for the afternoon. He does so but has just nipped out for a moment when petty crook Frank Turner comes in and buys a drink from Lucille. He realises the girl is sixteen and starts to blackmail Jack and Annie for free drinks for letting an underage girl work behind the bar and then puts additional pressure on them for money. Jack has a breakdown and Annie is put on mild tranquilizers. She confesses what is happening to Stan and Len and Turner is badly beaten up one night but by someone else, not the two angry men. Len thinks Lionel did the deed but it later transpires that it was Jerry who did the deed.
  • With Sandra gone, Emily is given a new assistant at Gamma in the form of lazy Brenda Hartley. Emily mistakenly believes she is Mr Papagopolous's niece and goes easy on her until she discovers that she is no relation and makes her work harder.
  • With Jack still incapacitated, Annie goes to the Licensed Victuallers' ball with Lionel who charms Nellie Harvey.
  • Charlie decides to resume his showbusiness career, repays Ena the £50 he owes her and leaves the Street, much to Minnie's distress.
  • Realising that he is headed for financial difficulties, Lionel decides to close the money-losing sub post office in the Corner Shop and starts to cut down on the credit he allows to his customers.
  • At Christmas, Val and Ken entertain the Street's pensioners. Ena receives a present of a rocking chair from her brother in America.
  • Emily takes up photography for a hobby.

Who lives where[]

Coronation Street

Mawdsley Street

Coronation Street in the 1960s
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