Coronation Street in 1968

1968 was Coronation Street's ninth year.

Main characters

Ranking	Character	Played by	Duration	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1	Annie Walker	Doris Speed	Full year	87	697	1
2	Len Fairclough	Peter Adamson	Full year	85	670	5
3	Jack Walker	Arthur Leslie	Full year	84	688	2
4	Ken Barlow	William Roache	Full year	71	574	14
5	Elsie Tanner	Patricia Phoenix	February to October and December	70	672	3
6	Valerie Barlow	Anne Reid	Full year	68	492	8
7	Minnie Caldwell	Margot Bryant	Full year	65	594	16
8	Hilda Ogden	Jean Alexander	Full year	64	309	14
9	Stan Ogden	Bernard Youens	Full year	60	317	6
10	Lucille Hewitt	Jennifer Moss	Full year except for August	59	449	12
11	Emily Nugent	Eileen Derbyshire	Full year except for October	57	414	17
11	Maggie Clegg	Irene Sutcliffe	From April	57	57	-
13	Ena Sharples	Violet Carson	Until February and from May	56	622	4
14	Gordon Clegg	Bill Kenwright	From April	52	52	-
14	Ray Langton	Neville Buswell	From April	52	66	-
16	Albert Tatlock	Jack Howarth	Full year except for July and September	43	554	8
17	Audrey Bright/Fleming	Gillian McCann	From June	37	37	-
17	Dickie Fleming	Nigel Humphreys	From June	37	37	-
19	Jerry Booth	Graham Haberfield	Until May	34	365	6
19	Dennis Tanner	Philip Lowrie	January and March to June	34	463	12
21	Effie Spicer	Anne Dyson	June to September and from November	28	28	-
22	David Barlow	Alan Rothwell	Until April	22	252	8
23	Irma Barlow	Sandra Gough	Until April	21	287	10
24	Myra Booth	Susan Jameson	January and February	8	60	-
25	Linda Cheveski	Anne Cunningham	May only	2	96	20

Production

Filming takes place on the new outdoor set

Michael Cox was the credited producer until Episode 756, and Richard Everitt continued as executive producer until Episode 778. With the following episode, a new production team of H.V. Kershaw as executive producer and Richard Doubleday as producer took charge. Doubleday was in turn succeeded by John Finch with Episode 821.

1968 was a make-or-break year for Coronation Street. After staving off cancellation by Granada in 1967, producers made a concerted effort to update the programme. Everitt hired as story consultant novelist Stan Barstow, who believed that instilling social issues into storylines was the way forward and submitted many suggestions; he was behind the Clegg family, led by alcoholic Les who regularly beat his wife Maggie. Once their initial storyline concluded, Les was written out and Irene Sutcliffe carried on as Maggie, with Bill Kenwright playing her studious son Gordon. Barstow was also behind Emily Nugent's fling with Hungarian Miklos Zadic, and Elsie Tanner's meltdown in front of Len Fairclough after her return from the USA - a scene which was played as an 11-minute two-hander between those characters. Many of his suggestions were nixed, among them the first black family, Jerry Booth coming out as a homosexual, Lucille Hewitt becoming a drug user, and Emily falling pregnant out of wedlock. Barstow left at the end of his three-month contract.

To reflect the slum clearances in Salford and Manchester which threatened to make the Street's very existence an anachronism, the writers briefly considered demolishing the terraces, before settling on modernising the opposite side of the Street. The Glad Tidings Mission Hall and Elliston's Raincoat Factory were knocked down and replaced by two-storey maisonettes; a modest reflection of the current boom in tower blocks. Seven flats were built but due to a tight casting budget, only three were occupied - two by existing characters and one by Effie Spicer, a newcomer played by Anne Dyson.

Meanwhile, work had begun on weatherproofing the wooden studio set in Grape Street, which Granada initially rented from British Rail but eventually incorporated into its backlot. The set was erected against scaffolding and had no roofs, and due to the scale of the set, any vehicles in the street were disproportionate to the buildings, but the benefits of having being able to use the entire street at the same time and having daylight flow down Coronation Street outweighed the drawbacks and the outdoor set was phased in while the set was still being built. It first appeared in Episode 742 (24th January 1968), the episode in which the Mission was flattened. At this point, the terraced side of the street was not yet erected in the yard and camera angles had to disguise this fact. The Corner Shop was the first building to appear, in Episode 770 (1st May 1968), with the entire street built by Episode 776 (22nd May 1968) in which the outdoor Rovers Return was seen properly for the first time.

Although the maisonettes did not bring many new characters to the Street, 1968 was still a big year for cast changes. As well as the aforementioned Cleggs, Neville Buswell returned full-time as roguish builder Ray Langton, and Dickie Fleming and Audrey Bright, a young co-habiting couple, took over No.3. Meanwhile, Alan Rothwell quit as David Barlow, who was written out along with Sandra Gough's Irma, Philip Lowrie departed as Dennis Tanner (reportedly angering Patricia Phoenix so much that she vowed never to speak to him again, only doing so when the demands of filming forced her to), and Graham Haberfield left his role of Jerry Booth to further his career away from the Street. Also, Ena Sharples was absent from 14th February until 27th May as Violet Carson went on a three-month cruise and promotional tour to Australia.

At the end of the year, Granada transmitted a Christmas-themed clipshow entitled Christmas in the Street, featuring Jack and Annie Walker reminiscing about past Christmases in the Street.

Viewing figures

Ratings chart for the year

Average ratings declined by 400,000 viewers on 1967's figure to 15.74 million viewers. January to April all rose year-on-year, especially January to March with February building upon 1967 by three million viewers. Unsurprisingly, the biggest drop year-on-year - of four million viewers - occurred in September due to Elsie and Steve Tanner's wedding being a huge draw in that month in 1967, but all of the last seven months of the year fell by over a million viewers on the previous year.

Episode 737 (8th January 1968) was seen in 8.7 million homes / 19.14 million viewers and was the most-watched episode of the year, while the lowest audience figure occurred on Christmas Day for the second year in a row. After this year, Coronation Street was only transmitted that day on one more occasion before avoiding it until the mid-1980s.

Despite the drops, 32 episodes reached number one in the ratings charts - five more than in 1967.

Episodes

#	Ep. No.	Date	Writer	Director	Viewing Figures (homes/ viewers)	Chart Position
1	735	Monday 1st January	Susan Pleat	Richard Guinea	8,250,000 18,150,000	1
2	736	Wednesday 3rd January	Tony Warren	Richard Guinea	7,100,000 15,620,000	7
3	737	Monday 8th January	John Linter	Les Chatfield	8,700,000 19,140,000	1
4	738	Wednesday 10th January	Adele Rose	Les Chatfield	8,050,000 17,710,000	3
5	739	Monday 15th January	Dennis Pitts	Bill Podmore	8,400,000 18,480,000	1
6	740	Wednesday 17th January	Leslie Duxbury	Bill Podmore	7,700,000 16,940,000	4
7	741	Monday 22nd January	James Bryant	Richard Guinea	7,850,000 17,270,000	1
8	742	Wednesday 24th January	Peter Tonkinson	Richard Guinea	6,000,000 13,200,000	19
9	743	Monday 29th January	Geoffrey Lancashire	Tim Jones	8,100,000 17,820,000	1
10	744	Wednesday 31st January	Elizabeth Allen	Tim Jones	7,700,000 16,940,000	2
11	745	Monday 5th February	S. Keith James	Bill Podmore	8,350,000 18,370,000	1
12	746	Wednesday 7th February	Jack Rosenthal	Bill Podmore	7,900,000 17,380,000	4
13	747	Monday 12th February	Adele Rose	June Howson Les Chatfield	8,400,000 18,480,000	1
14	748	Wednesday 14th February	John Finch	June Howson	7,750,000 17,050,000	5
15	749	Monday 19th February	Malcolm Lynch	Richard Guinea	8,450,000 18,590,000	1
16	750	Wednesday 21st February	Tony Warren	Richard Guinea	7,650,000 16,830,000	4
17	751	Monday 26th February	Peter Berry	Unknown	8,650,000 19,030,000	1
18	752	Wednesday 28th February	Geoffrey Lancashire	Unknown	8,050,000 17,710,000	2
19	753	Monday 4th March	Adele Rose	June Howson	8,250,000 18,150,000	1
20	754	Wednesday 6th March	Jim Andrew	June Howson	7,850,000 17,270,000	3
21	755	Monday 11th March	John Linter	Richard Guinea	8,600,000 18,920,000	1
22	756	Wednesday 13th March	Tony Warren	Richard Guinea	8,050,000 17,710,000	4
23	757	Monday 18th March	Barry Hill	Bill Podmore	8,400,000 18,480,000	1
24	758	Wednesday 20th March	James Bryant	Bill Podmore	7,750,000 17,050,000	4
25	759	Monday 25th March	Susan Pleat	Les Chatfield	8,300,000 18,260,000	4
26	760	Wednesday 27th March	Adele Rose	Les Chatfield	7,550,000 16,610,000	5
27	761	Monday 1st April	Geoffrey Lancashire	Richard Guinea	8,400,000 18,480,000	3
28	762	Wednesday 3rd April	Elizabeth Allen	Richard Guinea	7,450,000 16,390,000	4
29	763	Monday 8th April	John Finch	Bill Podmore	8,200,000 18,040,000	1
30	764	Wednesday 10th April	James Bryant	Bill Podmore	7,000,000 15,400,000	4
31	765	Monday 15th April	Malcolm Lynch	Tim Jones	5,850,000 12,870,000	18
32	766	Wednesday 17th April	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	7,000,000 15,400,000	2
33	767	Monday 22nd April	Leslie Duxbury	Les Chatfield	7,850,000 17,270,000	2
34	768	Wednesday 24th April	Jack Rosenthal	Les Chatfield	6,850,000 15,070,000	6
35	769	Monday 29th April	Susan Pleat	Richard Guinea	7,700,000 16,940,000	2
36	770	Wednesday 1st May	James Bryant	Richard Guinea	6,850,000 15,070,000	6
37	771	Monday 6th May	John Finch	Bill Podmore	8,050,000 17,710,000	2
38	772	Wednesday 8th May	Adele Rose	Bill Podmore	7,050,000 15,510,000	6
39	773	Monday 13th May	Leslie Duxbury	Tim Jones	7,500,000 16,500,000	2
40	774	Wednesday 15th May	John Linter	Tim Jones	7,000,000 15,400,000	7
41	775	Monday 20th May	Susan Pleat	Richard Guinea	7,500,000 16,500,000	4
42	776	Wednesday 22nd May	Susan Pleat	Brian Mills	6,900,000 15,180,000	6
43	777	Monday 27th May	Jack Rosenthal	Bill Podmore	7,250,000 15,950,000	3
44	778	Wednesday 29th May	Jack Rosenthal	Bill Podmore	7,150,000 15,730,000	4
45	779	Monday 3rd June	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	5,650,000 12,430,000	13
46	780	Wednesday 5th June	James Bryant	Tim Jones	6,400,000 14,080,000	6
47	781	Monday 10th June	Susan Pleat	Brian Mills	6,400,000 14,080,000	5
48	782	Wednesday 12th June	Geoffrey Lancashire	Brian Mills	5,900,000 12,980,000	11
49	783	Monday 17th June	Ray Mansell	Michael Darlow	6,500,000 14,300,000	4
50	784	Wednesday 19th June	Leslie Duxbury	Michael Darlow	6,250,000 13,750,000	6
51	785	Monday 24th June	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	7,150,000 15,730,000	1
52	786	Wednesday 26th June	Geoffrey Tetlow	Tim Jones	6,950,000 15,290,000	3
53	787	Monday 1st July	Malcolm Lynch	Brian Mills	6,300,000 13,860,000	3
54	788	Wednesday 3rd July	Jack Rosenthal	Brian Mills	6,050,000 13,310,000	5
55	789	Monday 8th July	Leslie Duxbury	Michael Darlow	6,600,000 14,520,000	2
56	790	Wednesday 10th July	Geoffrey Lancashire	Michael Darlow	6,400,000 14,080,000	4
57	791	Monday 15th July	James Bryant	Tim Jones	7,150,000 15,730,000	1
58	792	Wednesday 17th July	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	5,800,000 12,760,000	7
59	793	Monday 22nd July	Susan Pleat	Brian Mills	6,950,000 15,290,000	2
60	794	Wednesday 24th July	John Linter	Brian Mills	5,000,000 11,000,000	12
61	795	Wednesday 31st July	Peter Eckersley	Michael Darlow	Unrecorded	n/a
62	796	Monday 5th August	Jack Rosenthal	Michael Darlow	6,000,000 13,200,000	1
63	797	Wednesday 7th August	H.V. Kershaw	Tim Jones	5,350,000 11,770,000	5
64	798	Monday 12th August	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	6,400,000 14,080,000	1
65	799	Monday 19th August	Peter Eckersley	Richard Guinea	7,000,000 15,400,000	1
66	800	Wednesday 21st August	Geoffrey Lancashire	Richard Guinea	5,800,000 12,760,000	2
67	801	Monday 26th August	Jack Rosenthal	Les Chatfield	5,700,000 12,540,000	1
68	802	Wednesday 28th August	Leslie Duxbury	Les Chatfield	5,500,000 12,100,000	2
69	803	Monday 2nd September	Susan Pleat	Brian Mills	5,150,000 11,330,000	7
70	804	Wednesday 4th September	Peter Eckersley	Brian Mills	6,050,000 13,310,000	1
71	805	Monday 9th September	Geoffrey Lancashire	Tim Jones	6,100,000 13,420,000	3
72	806	Wednesday 11th September	Leslie Duxbury	Tim Jones	6,400,000 14,080,000	1
73	807	Monday 16th September	Susan Pleat	Michael Darlow	6,800,000 14,960,000	1
74	808	Wednesday 18th September	Malcolm Lynch	Michael Darlow	6,600,000 14,520,000	2
75	809	Monday 23rd September	Adele Rose	Brian Mills	7,100,000 15,620,000	3
76	810	Wednesday 25th September	John Finch	Brian Mills	7,400,000 16,280,000	1
77	811	Monday 30th September	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	7,050,000 15,510,000	2
78	812	Wednesday 2nd October	Malcolm Lynch	Tim Jones	7,700,000 16,940,000	1
79	813	Monday 7th October	Susan Pleat	Les Chatfield	7,150,000 15,730,000	2
80	814	Wednesday 9th October	Geoffrey Lancashire	Les Chatfield	7,300,000 16,060,000	1
81	815	Monday 14th October	John Finch	Brian Mills	7,100,000 15,620,000	2
82	816	Wednesday 16th October	Geoffrey Lancashire	Brian Mills	8,050,000 17,710,000	1
83	817	Monday 21st October	Malcolm Lynch	Tim Jones	7,050,000 15,510,000	4
84	818	Wednesday 23rd October	Leslie Duxbury	Tim Jones	7,850,000 17,270,000	1
85	819	Monday 28th October	Susan Pleat	Les Chatfield	7,150,000 15,730,000	2
86	820	Wednesday 30th October	Adele Rose	Les Chatfield	7,900,000 17,380,000	1
87	821	Monday 4th November	Geoffrey Lancashire	Brian Mills	7,250,000 15,950,000	2
88	822	Wednesday 6th November	John Finch	Brian Mills	7,550,000 16,610,000	1
89	823	Monday 11th November	Adele Rose	Tim Jones	7,050,000 15,510,000	6
90	824	Wednesday 13th November	Susan Pleat	Tim Jones	7,550,000 16,610,000	3
91	825	Monday 18th November	Peter Eckersley	Michael Cox	7,050,000 15,510,000	4
92	826	Wednesday 20th November	Malcolm Lynch	Michael Cox	7,200,000 15,840,000	3
93	827	Monday 25th November	Peter Eckersley	Les Chatfield	7,000,000 15,400,000	3
94	828	Wednesday 27th November	Leslie Duxbury	Les Chatfield	7,800,000 17,160,000	1
95	829	Monday 2nd December	James Bryant	Tim Jones	7,150,000 15,730,000	2
96	830	Wednesday 4th December	Geoffrey Lancashire	Tim Jones	7,600,000 16,720,000	1
97	831	Monday 9th December	Adele Rose	Tony Wharmby	7,650,000 16,830,000	3
98	832	Wednesday 11th December	Leslie Duxbury	Tony Wharmby	7,550,000 16,610,000	4
99	833	Monday 16th December	James Bryant	Les Chatfield	7,400,000 16,280,000	4
100	834	Wednesday 18th December	Geoffrey Lancashire	Les Chatfield	7,800,000 17,160,000	3
101	835	Monday 23rd December	Geoffrey Lancashire	Tim Jones	6,700,000 14,740,000	6
102	836	Wednesday 25th December	Susan Pleat	Tim Jones	2,835,000 6,237,000	n/k
103	837	Monday 30th December	Malcolm Lynch	Tony Wharmby	8,150,000 17,930,000	1

Storylines

January

• The Street re-development scheme goes ahead, with the Council buying the Glad Tidings Mission Hall and Elliston's Raincoat Factory in readiness for their demolition. Len Fairclough assures the residents that the terraces are staying. Mission resident Ena Sharples moves in with Minnie Caldwell after refusing the Council's alternative housing offers. She breaks down after seeing the Mission demolished.
• The women of the Street fall for Hungarian demolisher Miklos Zadic. Irma Barlow and Valerie Barlow set him up with Emily Nugent.
• Hilda Ogden meets park keeper George Greenwood and they develop a close friendship. The situation becomes complicated when George's wife Agnes finds Hilda's scarf in George's shed. Agnes calls on Stan Ogden and tells him what Hilda's up to, but adds that she knows their relationship is innocent so advises Stan to make the most of Hilda's guilt. Hilda feels terrible and writes a note of confession, which Stan ignores. Her guilt leads her to decide not to see George anymore.

Annie is set on getting rid of the hippies

• Lucille Hewitt and her hippie friends move into No.11. Disapproving Annie Walker accuses the hippies of being Devil worshippers and tries to get Dennis Tanner to help her convince Lucille to return to the Rovers but he refuses and is barred from the pub after calling Annie a cow. Annie turns to the landlord Mr Wormold, who evicts the hippies and Dennis, who is behind with the rent. The hippies move on and Lucille returns to the Rovers.
• When Jenny Sutton arrives to join her sister Monica and the other hippies, Dennis takes a shine to her and gets her a job at his Hotel. The bar steward Maurice Rowe is also impressed with Jenny and moves Dennis to waitering so he can have Jenny to himself. When Dennis catches Rowe groping Jenny, he starts blackmailing him. Jenny soon leaves to return to London and lovestruck Dennis decides to follow her there.
• Jerry Booth goes to court and is granted his Decree Nisi. A few weeks later, while out skating with Irma Barlow, he bumps into his ex-wife Myra. Myra starts hanging around Jerry but insists she's not contesting the divorce. Len isn't so sure and warns Jerry, but Jerry goes out with Myra anyway to prove he's not under Len's thumb.
• Elsie Tanner phones for Dennis but doesn't say much about how she's getting on in the US.
• The brewery decides to redecorate the Rovers. When they refuse to meet Annie's specifications, she pays for it herself.

February

• The Rovers is redecorated.
• Emily and Miklos become close. Albert Tatlock shows Miklos his coin collection, but when the collection goes missing Albert accuses Miklos of stealing it. Miklos threatens to sue Albert. The real thief - a worker from the building site - is quickly caught.
• Myra shows up at No.9 and begs Jerry to let her stay the night. Len warns Jerry that they could be accused of collusion but Jerry refuses to get rid of her. When Myra tries to seduce him, Jerry realises she wants them to get back together and throws her out. Myra phones the divorce courts and says she spent the night with Jerry. Len advises Jerry to say Myra is lying as there are no witnesses but Jerry discovers that Jack Walker saw them together. At first, Jerry asks Jack to commit perjury but later changes his own statement, admitting that he's been seeing Myra but that they didn't sleep together.

Miklos rescues Peter and Susan in the nick of time

• Twins Peter and Susan Barlow are nearly killed after following Minnie's cat Bobby into the factory just as it's about to be demolished. Ken and Val realise in time to get them out.
• Deciding that she and Minnie can't live together, Ena arranges to lodge with Henry Foster at St. Annes. Minnie is left alone and heartbroken and advertises for a man for companionship. She later becomes an agent for a catalogue but is warned by Hilda to get off her patch as Hilda is an agent for the same catalogue. When Minnie drinks away her troubles, Hilda feels bad and goes into partnership with her.
• Elsie arrives home, telling Len that Steve has been posted for Panama. Unable to contact Dennis, she demands to be left alone.
• Lucille takes up with art student Tim Jordan. When Annie refuses to pay up for rag week, Tim bets Lucille he can force her hand. The students kidnap Annie and demand £5 for he release. Jack refuses to pay up but Annie pays it, having enjoyed her stay at the University. Lucille agrees to appear in the rag procession.
• David Barlow starts feeling dissatisfied with his life. He thinks about moving.

March

Elsie tells Len about her failed marriage

• On Elsie's birthday, Len decides to find out the truth from Elsie and bangs on her door until she lets him in. She breaks down and admits that her marriage was a failure; Steve ignored her in America and volunteered for the Panama posting. Elsie returns to her old life.
• David applies for a position on a football team in Australia and gets it. Irma is against emigrating but soon realises that it's too good an opportunity to miss. She breaks the news to David that she's pregnant. David puts the shop up for sale and tells the Gazette about his plans, hoping to rouse interest. When the article is published, David discovers that Albert has got onto the paper and his words have been twisted to make it seem as though the Barlows think they're above Coronation Street.
• Dennis returns with Jenny, and shock Elsie by pretending they're married. They soon come clean but Elsie makes them sleep apart and makes Jenny uncomfortable.
• Dennis gets a job selling hairdressing sundries. Val helps him out by buying and returning stock without a refund. He gets a permanent job at "Crowning Glory". Ken finds the razors and thinks Val is going into men's hairdressing. She goes along with it for a laugh.
• Emily worries as her relationship with Miklos prepares to move to the next level. When Miklos tries to get her into bed, Emily stops him, not feeling ready. She admits to Val that she would rather marry Miklos but knows he is only interested in a short-term affair. Miklos is transferred to Newcastle.
• Ronald Wilde asks Jerry to submit a tender for Fairclough and Booth to work on the new maisonettes being built on the factory site. There is little money involved but it will help the business expand. Len isn't interested so Jerry goes for it alone.

April

• Far from being put off Emily, Miklos asks her to go on holiday with him. Emily goes, knowing full well that she will lose her virginity. She returns with no regrets, having parted ways with Miklos. At Annie's invitation, Emily moves into the Rovers but due to a bug affecting the Walkers and Lucille, she has to hold the fort behind the bar on her first day. She surprises everyone by coping well.
• Jenny gets a job selling kitchen equipment but decides to return to London when Elsie throws her out. Minnie takes her in and stands up to Elsie, making her see that she's been treating Jenny unfairly.
• Ena writes to say she's returning and wants one of the OAP maisonettes. The council has given her a flat two miles away so Len puts in a good word for her. Val takes an interest in one of the larger maisonettes but Ken wants to stay where he is.
• Hilda tries to put David and Irma off Australia by getting Vince Boyle to tell Irma horrifying tales about emigrating. Irma panics but Hilda feels bad and admits that she put him up to it. The Barlows leave as planned.

A new owner for the Corner Shop

• Les and Maggie Clegg buy the shop and move into the accommodation, with their teenage son Gordon taking the flat. Les is a reformed alcoholic who used to beat Maggie when drunk and Gordon shows him little respect. When Les goes missing, Maggie thinks he's at the pub but he's just on a walk.
• Building work on the new maisonettes begins. Stan gets a labourer's job after quitting the yard in anger when Len turned him down for a plumber's job. After scalding his foot, Stan got ready to enjoy being doted on but returned to work at Hilda's insistence. He tries to put effort in but is sacked after dropping a partition from the second floor level. Len takes Stan back on at the yard.
• Ray Langton arrives and, with Len away visiting Stanley, Jerry gives him the plumber's job. Ray is followed to Weatherfield by his ex-girlfriend Shirley Walton and they get back together. Len returns and wants rid of Ray.
• Albert decides to expose the inaccuracies in a book about the Battle of Lys. He gets together with other veterans of the battle but it turns out that Albert missed the battle after getting lost on patrol.
• Dennis and Jenny set a date for their wedding. Jenny's father already has Monica's wedding to pay for so refuses to fund Jenny's wedding.

May

• Len decides to keep both Ray and Stan on but Stan's presence at the building site causes friction with the other workers, who call a union meeting and threaten to strike unless Stan is sacked. Len agrees to restrict Stan's work to the yard.

Dennis and Jenny at their wedding reception

• Dennis borrows money from a lender to pay for a church wedding but the vicar puts him off it as he's not a churchgoer. They settle instead on the Registry Office. Linda Cheveski and Wally Tanner arrive for the wedding, with Jerry agreeing to be best man. Everything seems to be going to plan until Dennis's boss tells him to be in Bristol on his wedding night. Dennis waits until after the ceremony to break the news to Jenny but she is fine with it.
• Les succumbs to temptation and stays out all night drinking. On his return home, he smashes the shop window. Maggie and Gordon cover for him but are surprised when Stan confesses to the deed, as Hilda thought he was behind it and the Cleggs were insured.
• At Lucille's request, Gordon helps with the Gamma Garments accounts. Gordon likes Lucille and drinks with her on his 18th birthday to prove he's a man and not a boy, seeing off competition from Ray. Seeing them together, Maggie worries that Lucille will distract Gordon from his studies and asks Annie to keep them separate. Annie accuses Maggie of being too interfering.
• Elsie starts looking for a job.
• Ray shows Valerie plans for the maisonettes but when she raises the issue of moving with Ken he accuses her of using the maisonettes as an excuse to get close to Ray as she fancies him. Fortunately, he quickly sees the error of his ways and puts the family on a shortlist but disapproves when Val starts showing couples around No.9, as he doesn't want to sell the house until they have a maisonette guaranteed.
• Jerry finishes with Fairclough and Booth and decide to move on. He leaves during Dennis and Jenny's wedding, after giving a heartfelt best man speech urging the couple not to take each other for granted.
• Ena returns and again lodges with Minnie (and Jenny).

June

• Dennis has a meeting with his boss and, impressed that Dennis showed his commitment to the company by giving up his wedding night, his boss offers him a position as area manager in Bristol. Dennis eagerly accepts and Jenny gets a transfer to the Bristol branch of Ashworths as the Tanners prepare to move. Elsie lets him use Steve's money to pay his debts.
• Residents begin moving into the completed maisonettes, with Ena at No.6 and widow Effie Spicer at No.4. The Barlows are allocated No.14, with Ken selling No.9 to Len, who wants to use his old house in Mawdsley Street for storage.
• Les goes missing after celebrating a bowls victory at his club. Maggie confides in Ena, who knows the Cleggs by reputation. Les doesn't return until noon the next day when, barely able to stand up, he struggles with Maggie for a bottle and has to be hit to the floor by Gordon, ending up in hospital with a concussion. Maggie is told that Les would be better off in a mental hospital and agrees to him being moved. Ena and Len both do their best to help Maggie in the wake of the incident, with Maggie giving Ena a job at the shop.
• After a disappointing date with Ray, Lucille starts going out with Gordon. Annie tries to put her off him by suggesting that alcoholism is hereditary, and Gordon goes for a jealous Ray when he taunts him about Les.
• Albert accepts an invitation from his old war friend Harry Dunscombe, curator of the Fusiliers' Museum in Bury, to be his live-in assistant.
• Emily advertises in the Gazette for a stimulating opportunity.
• Len gets another contract with Wilde but has to sack Stan as a condition. Stan resigns and buys I-spy Dwyer's window cleaning round.
• Two teenagers, Dickie Fleming and Audrey Bright, decide to buy No.3, which has lain empty since 1964. Len does the house up for free.
• Elsie and Dot Greenhalgh both get jobs at MacAverty's Department Store. Elsie ignores a letter from Steve asking if she's returning to America.

Hilda accuses Elsie of plotting to get Stan

• Jenny and Linda send Elsie's nephew Gary Bailey to keep her company at No.11. Gary is interested in investments and buys Elsie a white jag with money she loaned him. As she can't drive, Elsie gets a lesson from Stan but they run out of petrol on the moors and don't return home until the next morning. Believing that Elsie is after Stan, Hilda starts a slanging match on the Street. Elsie's lessons aren't a success as she is a terrible driver; she crashes into Ken's car, just after he has decided to sell it to buy furniture.

July

• Effie makes enemies in Ena and Annie by being friendly with Minnie and Jack. Annie is especially put out as Jack and Effie used to be an item. Deciding to go easy on Effie, Annie calmly asks her to stay away from Jack, but Jack signs Effie's application to his bowling club.
• Elsie decides to sell her car. Gary leaves in the Jag and sends Elsie the £175 he gets for it.
• Emily applies for a job running a marriage bureau but is turned down as she's too romantic.

Len sorts Ray out

• Ray is thrown out of his lodgings after gambling away his rent money. When Len refuses, Elsie takes him in. Believing Elsie to be the local tart, Ray decides to have fun and keeps coming on to her. Elsie soon has enough and makes Len get rid of him but is upset when they fight in her kitchen.
• Stan and Hilda eat at a Chinese restaurant to celebrate Stan's new job. Stan gets Hilda to help out on his window round by telling her that his female customers fancy him. Hilda thinks the women at 19 Inkerman Street might be his fancy piece.
• Ena takes over the shop while Maggie takes a break. She catches two boys in the shop at night and makes them do odd jobs to make up for it.
• Without prior notice, Mr. Papagopolous closes the Gamma Garments branch and fires Emily and Lucille. They use the shop's phone to make long distance calls to get revenge.
• Dickie and Audrey secretly go away to Gretna Green to get married. They announce it to the neighbours, some of whom have been spreading the word that they aren't married, by holding a house-warming and putting their marriage certificate inside the parcel in a pass-the-parcel game.
• Minnie celebrates Bobby's birthday. Gordon writes a song for Bobby.
• Ken and Pamela Dickenson rehearse The Country Wife at the Tech.

August

Frank Riley traps Val

• Frank Riley, an escaped convicted rapist, breaks into No.14 and traps Val there while Ken is rehearsing his play. Worried about what Frank will do, Val protects Peter and Susan by saying she has no children and tries to alert Ena by banging on the water pipes. Ena's suspicions are raised when she hears the phone ringing out and she sets Jack on to the police, having been warned by the police that Frank is on the loose. When Frank sees the police outside the flat, he takes Val hostage with an iron bar and tries to use her as a shield when they get in through the kitchen window, but the police overpower him. Val is unharmed but Ken thinks she might have been raped.
• Len lets Ray lodge with him at No.9.
• Audrey leaves school and gets a job at the petrol station.
• Effie decides to leave the area, having had enough of Ena's hostility, but Ena cools and invites her into the Snug.
• Emily plans a holiday in Scandinavia with her sister.
• Annie is thrilled when she is asked to give a speech on woman's Suffrage for the Lady Crusaders. Jack finds out that they meant to ask Alice Walker but he's too late to warn Annie as she has already left. Annie walks out of the meeting when she finds out about the mix-up but saves face by telling Jack that everything went well.
• Albert visits the Street and tells the residents how he's getting on at the Museum.
• Someone complains about Ena's early hours harmonium playing to the Council. Ena is warned that if she keeps it up she could lose her flat. In defiance, Ena plays it in front of the housing people. Val confesses that she complained but that she now regrets it. They work out an agreement that Ena can play over certain hours.
• Dickie and Ray go on a night out while Audrey works. Dickie is envious of Ray's money and decides to give up his apprenticeship to get a job.
• Les discharges himself from hospital and goes to work with his brother.

September

• Dickie decides not to give up his apprenticeship.
• Rag-and-bone man Tommy Deakin cons Emily into looking after his donkey Dolores while he goes on holiday by saying he has to go to hospital.
• Dave Smith buys the old Gamma Garments shop unit and turns it into a florist called The Pink Posy. He installs Elsie as manageress.
• Steve receives a posting in the country and takes the opportunity to see Elsie to work on their marriage. Elsie wants to leave Steve in the past and move on and becomes distressed when Steve won't take no for an answer. While on her way to see Steve to tell him it's over for good, Elsie hears that Len is at his flat and returns home instead, where she is met by a PC Jimmie Conway who tells her that Steve has been found dead at the bottom of his stairs. An inquest begins and Elsie is the first to be questioned by the police.
• At Ray's suggestion, Audrey enters the "Miss Petrol Pump Beauty Contest". She wins the contest and £50 but Dickie doesn't like other men looking at her. She is offered a career in beauty contest but turns it down.
• Lucille flirts with GI Gary Strauss, making Gordon jealous. They argue when Gordon tries to fight him for her but later make up.
• Val helps out at the shop while Ena is on holiday. When Ena returns, she accuses Val of stealing her job although it turns out she couldn't cope with the job anyway because she was on her feet too long.

Emily helps out Reverend James at the nursery

• Emily is hard up after finishing at Gamma and is taken on as a receptionist at the Import and Export Office. She quickly cottons on to the crooked deals the bosses are at and quits, after informing the police. Reverend James asks her to be his assistant at St. Mary's nursery.

October

Elsie and Len await the verdict on Steve's death

• The other residents are interviewed about Steve's death. Val gives Elsie an alibi. Len emerges at the prime suspect because of his history with Elsie and a poorly explained bandaged fist. He admits to going to Steve's flat to sort him out but hit the wall instead. Len is arrested and takes part in an identity parade. He puts them onto Dave Smith as Steve owed him £1,000 in gambling debts. At the inquest, the jury returns an open verdict.
• Gregg Flint's alibi is that he was with a woman. He finishes with Dot.
• Len loses the hospital site contract with Wilde because of his unavailability due to the investigation. Wilde tells Ray that he will offer the contract if Len signs a penalty clause but Len disappears with the yard's petty cash, leaving Ray unable to pay the workers.
• Stan feels guilty that he was with Clara Regan when Steve was murdered. Stan and Hilda swap jobs and Hilda is surprised when Stan does well cleaning the Rovers.
• Elsie is left everything in Steve's will. Dave tries to help Elsie pick up the pieces and invites her on a holiday to Wakefield to look at flower shops. She accepts.
• Jill Morris turns up at the shop looking for Irma as her mum is in hospital. Hilda takes her in and hides her from Stan as he doesn't want her there. Stan finds her in his bed.
• Lucille hears that Gordon has a date with another girl.

November

• Albert dumps himself on the Flemings when he has time off from the Museum. Audrey finds him a demanding house guest and is put out when he announces he has another two weeks holiday. At Ena's suggestion, Audrey summons Alice Pickins and tries to match-make the elderly couple. A terrified Albert escapes back to Bury.
• Stan starts to warm to Jill and takes her on his window round. Cliff, her mum's boyfriend, shows up to take her back.
• Gordon realises he only wants Lucille and proposes to her on her sickbed. She accepts. Annie and Maggie are both against the engagement but drive the couple away with their objections; Annie blames Lucille when Jack is hit by a motorbike while out looking for the couple and has extensive buising on his leg, and Maggie refuses to permit the marriage. Gordon suggests to Lucille that they run away and get married at Gretna Green.
• Ray and Emily try to keep the yard afloat without Len but they need money quickly to clear cheques. Len returns but doesn't say where he's been. He offers Ray a partnership but is turned down as Ray wants to aim higher.
• Effie returns but is having a hard time as she's just used all her savings to pay debts she inherited after her sister-in-law's death. She refuses financial help from Jack.
• David and Irma send a telegram to the Ogdens announcing the birth of their son Darren.

Stan rescues Bobby - but it's not Bobby

• Stan rescues Bobby when he gets stuck on the viaduct only to discover it's the wrong pussy. Minnie takes him in anyway.
• Ken takes up the trumpet.
• The Ogdens plan a party to celebrate their Silver wedding anniversary.

December

• The Ogdens have a party in the Rovers Select for their anniversary.

Lucille and Gordon run off to get married in secret

• Lucille and Gordon run off without telling anyone but they miss the train to Gretna Green. The Walkers alert the police and neighbours start looking for them but the couple returns after changing their minds. The Walkers and Maggie are cold towards them. Gordon sits his Accountancy exams.
• Ena finds out that Effie has £10 on her slate at the shop. Effie is annoyed at Maggie for letting Ena find out but Ena is sympathetic and helps Effie sort out her pension.
• As she still hasn't found Bobby, Minnie accepts the new cat as her own, calling him Sunny Jim.
• Maggie goes out with Len but just as friends. Elsie returns and hears about Len and Maggie from Ena.
• Ken and Val attend a party thrown by Martin and Jo Hepworth. Val is sexually insulted and appalled when she sees three babies left crying in a bedroom, but Ken enjoys himself and returns the favour by inviting the Hepworths for dinner. He's embarrassed when Albert calls while the Hepworths are there. Ken is taken with their middle class lifestyle and decides to spend Christmas abroad but later changes his mind after offending Albert by not inviting him. Ken advises Albert to move to Bury permanently or get someone to share No.1. Albert asks Effie and she accepts.
• Reverend James and Emily decide to produce Aladdin for the children at Christmas. When the residents aren't interested, Emily ensures their co-operation by blackmailing them. The panto is a success with Len, Albert and Stan leaving beer around the stage to keep them going. The residents are amused by Emily's obvious affection for James.
• Marj Griffin shows up and tells Len she's left her husband Basil for him (Len was with Marj during his earlier absence). Basil appears at No.9 on Christmas Day and tells Len he's welcome to Marj but Len isn't interested in anything serious and, at Ray's suggestion, tries to scare Marj off by proposing to her. The plan backfires when she accepts!

Who Lives Where

Coronation Street

• Rovers Return Inn - Jack and Annie Walker, Lucille Hewitt. Emily Nugent (from April onwards).
• 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock (until June).
• 3 Coronation Street - Dickie and Audrey Fleming (June onwards).
• 5 Coronation Street - Minnie Caldwell. Jenny Tanner (April to May). Ena Sharples (January to February and May to June).
• 9 Coronation Street - Ken, Valerie, Peter and Susan Barlow (to June). Len Fairclough (June onwards). Ray Langton (July to December)
• 11 Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner (February onwards). Dennis Tanner (until June). Jenny Tanner (May to June). Dot Greenhalgh (August to September).
• 13 Coronation Street - Stan and Hilda Ogden
• Corner Shop (No.15) - David and Irma Barlow (until April). Jill Morris (January). Maggie Clegg (April onwards). Les Clegg (April to June)
• Corner Shop Flat (No.15a) - Emily Nugent (until April). Gordon Clegg (April onwards).
• Glad Tidings Vestry - Ena Sharples (until January, then demolished)
• Maisonettes: No. 4 - Effie Spicer (June onwards). No. 6 - Ena Sharples (June onwards). No. 14 - Ken, Valerie, Peter and Susan Barlow (June onwards).

Mawdsley Street

• 15 Mawdsley Street - Len Fairclough (until June), Jerry Booth (until May)

Others

• Fusiliers' Museum, Bury - Albert Tatlock (June onwards).