Coronation Street in 1974

1974 was Coronation Street's fifteenth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking	Character	Played by	Duration	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1	Betty Turpin	Betty Driver	Full year	85	413	2
2	Len Fairclough	Peter Adamson	Full year except for May	81	1114	1
3	Bet Lynch	Julie Goodyear	Full year	79	335	3
4	Rita Littlewood	Barbara Mullaney	Full year except for November	73	195	7
5	Ray Langton	Neville Buswell	Full year	71	496	4
5	Annie Walker	Doris Speed	Full year	71	1132	7
7	Jerry Booth	Graham Haberfield	Full year	69	594	5
8	Ken Barlow	William Roache	Full year	68	954	7
8	Billy Walker	Kenneth Farrington	Full year	68	297	24
10	Deirdre Hunt	Anne Kirkbride	Full year	67	100	23
11	Emily Bishop	Eileen Derbyshire	Full year	65	794	17
12	Alf Roberts	Bryan Mosley	Full year	63	266	13
13	Stan Ogden	Bernard Youens	Full year	61	703	10
14	Ernest Bishop	Stephen Hancock	Full year except for May	57	229	20
14	Hilda Ogden	Jean Alexander	Full year	57	719	6
16	Minnie Caldwell	Margot Bryant	Full year except for March	53	930	17
16	Mavis Riley	Thelma Barlow	January, April and from July	53	89	22
18	Albert Tatlock	Jack Howarth	Full year except for August	51	863	15
19	Maggie Clegg/Cooke	Irene Sutcliffe	Until July and from December	41	412	19
20	Idris Hopkins	Richard Davies	From July	38	38	-
21	Granny Hopkins	Jessie Evans	From July	36	36	-
22	Lucille Hewitt	Jennifer Moss	Until July	31	744	14
23	Tricia Hopkins	Kathy Jones	From July	30	32	28
24	Janet Barlow	Judith Barker	Until June	26	60	25
25	Vera Hopkins	Kathy Staff	February to March, July and September to December	24	25	29
26	Ena Sharples	Violet Carson	Until February and in December	13	942	20
27	Blanche Hunt	Patricia Cutts and Maggie Jones	August to October and from December	12	12	-
28	Gail Potter	Helen Worth	July to August and November	10	10	-
29	Ivy Tilsley	Lynne Perrie	August and November	8	28	-
29	Gordon Clegg	Bill Kenwright	July and from December	8	80	-
31	Sheila Crossley	Eileen Mayers	September and October	4	161	-
32	Norma Ford	Diana Davies	July only	2	122	10
32	Alan Howard	Alan Browning	January only	2	255	16
32	Eddie Yeats	Geoffrey Hughes	From December	2	2	-
35	Vera Duckworth	Elizabeth Dawn	August only	1	1	-
35	Peter Barlow	Linus Roache	March only	1	25	26
35	Susan Barlow	Wendy Jane Walker	March only	1	26	26

Production[]

A poisoned chalice[]

Eric Prytherch completed his two-year stint as producer in May after a three-week handover period between Prytherch and Susi Hush. The rest of the year's episodes beginning with Episode 1386 were produced by Hush, except for episodes 1416 to 1421 which Leslie Duxbury produced.

Following Patricia Phoenix's resignation, Alan Howard made a brief re-appearance in January to tie up the Howards' affairs, after which he too left the series. A month later, Violet Carson suffered a stroke, resulting in Ena Sharples disappearing from screens until the end of the year. Carson's stroke was the end of Ena as a full-time character; upon her return in December, Ena's role was reduced due to the actress's continuing health problems and she appeared much less than the rest of the cast.

While Coronation Street soldiered on without two of its most recognisable stars, some housekeeping took place. Cyril Turpin was killed off in February, two years after William Moore last played the role, when it became clear that the actor had no interest in coming back. Billy Walker became owner of the Canal Garage again with the return of Kenneth Farrington, and Mavis Riley was back on-screen in April after Thelma Barlow signed a longer contract, though her familiar post at The Kabin would be held by Lucille Hewitt for several months.

Susi Hush[]

Susi Hush was a Granada drama producer who had joined the company in 1969 as a researcher. She was one of the few Coronation Street producers of the period who came to the programme not having worked on it before in some capacity, and she would prove to be one of its most polarizing.

Irene Sutcliffe had recently quit the show after six years and Hush arrived while Maggie Clegg's departure storyline was being scripted. Maggie left Weatherfield in July, after marrying her old flame Ron Cooke and emigrating to Zaire. Bill Kenwright agreed to return as Gordon for the wedding, and a reunion between Gordon and Lucille Hewitt was planned to take place afterwards. However, the latter storyline was aborted when Jennifer Moss was fired from the programme shortly after recording Episode 1404. Hush made the decision with regret due to Moss's heavy drinking which had caused numerous problems both on-set and in the writers' room. Moss was dismissed with immediate effect and an off-screen exit for Lucille was added two episodes later, where Annie Walker revealed that her ward had gone to Ireland to stay with stepmother Concepta Regan.

With the loss of three popular characters, Hush faced the challenge of plugging the gap. Rita Littlewood, Deirdre Hunt and Bet Lynch rose in prominence, starring in heavier storylines akin to the heyday of Elsie Tanner. Deirdre's mother Blanche Hunt debuted, played initially by Patricia Cutts and then by Maggie Jones. The role was recast when Cutts committed suicide after recording two episodes. The Mark Brittain Warehouse re-appeared after a two year absence, with Ivy Tilsley and Edna Gee returning alongside Vera Duckworth, played by Elizabeth Dawn who had previously worked as an extra in the programme.

The Corner Shop, left empty by Maggie, housed new arrivals the Hopkins family. Vera and her teenage daughter Tricia had appeared in 1973, with three further appearances by Vera sprinkled throughout the first half of 1974. Tricia was played by Granada starlet Kathy Jones, and her mother by Kathy Staff. Joining them were Vera's husband Idris, a Welsh foundry worker on nights, and Idris's mother, callous pensioner Megan Hopkins, generally known as Gran. Granny Hopkins was in some ways reminiscent of the still-absent Ena in her earliest days. As well as Coronation Street, Staff was appearing in Last of the Summer Wine on the BBC and filming commitments on the latter caused Vera to be absent for two months from July to September. By the end of the year, the Hopkins' central storyline was underway, in which Vera and Granny Hopkins found Gordon Clegg's birth certificate stuck to the back of a drawer and discovered that he was actually Betty Turpin's illegitimate son. The decision to rewrite established Coronation Street history greatly upset Irene Sutcliffe, who had always played Maggie as Gordon's real mother. Maggie and Gordon returned over Christmas as the story built up to Gordon finding out his true parentage.

Another character brought in with Tricia was her friend Gail Potter, with Helen Worth making her debut appearance in July. Other comings and goings included the debut of Geoffrey Hughes as Scouse jailbird Eddie Yeats, a flying visit for Maggie's wedding by Norma Ford, and a longer one by Sheila Crossley, with Diana Davies and Eileen Mayers taking their final bows as those characters. Janet Barlow was also written out following the breakdown of her doomed marriage to Ken. Peter and Susan Barlow made one appearance in March, with Susan's being her last until 1979.

Hush was also behind the Street's first foreign location shoot as Bet, Deirdre, Rita, Mavis, Betty, Emily, Annie and Hilda went to Majorca.

No episode was transmitted on 25th December, even though it fell on a Wednesday. This was because Coronation Street traditionally rated low on Christmas Day (and other public holidays), a situation which would remain until the late 1980s.

Viewing figures[]

The 1973 turnaround in ratings continued in 1974, increasing by 300k to an average of 15.56 million viewers. Eight months were up year-on-year, with only August and September dropping significantly. The biggest rise occurred in December, which was above 1973 by 2.4 million viewers, while five of the first six months rose by more than 5%.

Episode 1375 was the most-watched episode of the year, with 8.3 million homes watching (or 18.26 million viewers). In the charts, five episodes reached number one.

Episodes[]

#	Ep. No.	Date	Writer	Director	Viewing Figures (homes/ viewers)	Chart Position
1	1353	Wednesday 2nd January	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	6,950,000 15,290,000	14
2	1354	Monday 7th January	Leslie Duxbury	June Wyndham Davies	7,650,000 16,830,000	5
3	1355	Wednesday 9th January	Julian Roach	June Wyndham Davies	7,200,000 15,840,000	11
4	1356	Monday 14th January	Adele Rose	Roland Joffe	7,450,000 16,390,000	6
5	1357	Wednesday 16th January	Malcolm Lynch	Roland Joffe	7,150,000 15,730,000	11
6	1358	Monday 21st January	Leslie Duxbury	Stephen Butcher	7,800,000 17,160,000	5
7	1359	Wednesday 23rd January	Barry Hill	Stephen Butcher	7,400,000 16,280,000	8
8	1360	Monday 28th January	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	7,700,000 16,940,000	6
9	1361	Wednesday 30th January	Susan Pleat	Bill Gilmour	7,850,000 17,270,000	5
10	1362	Monday 4th February	Lal Sands	Roland Joffe	7,800,000 17,160,000	6
11	1363	Wednesday 6th February	Julian Roach	Roland Joffe	7,550,000 16,610,000	8
12	1364	Monday 11th February	Bernard Aspen	Stephen Butcher	7,850,000 17,270,000	7
13	1365	Wednesday 13th February	Julian Roach	Stephen Butcher	8,050,000 17,710,000	5
14	1366	Monday 18th February	Leslie Duxbury	Bill Gilmour	7,950,000 17,490,000	8
15	1367	Wednesday 20th February	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	7,700,000 16,940,000	10
16	1368	Monday 25th February	Susan Pleat	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,850,000 17,270,000	5
17	1369	Wednesday 27th February	H.V. Kershaw	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,550,000 16,610,000	7
18	1370	Monday 4th March	H.V. Kershaw	Eric Prytherch	7,950,000 17,490,000	8
19	1371	Wednesday 6th March	H.V. Kershaw	Eric Prytherch	7,750,000 17,050,000	9
20	1372	Monday 11th March	Lal Sands	Bill Gilmour	8,200,000 18,040,000	6
21	1373	Wednesday 13th March	Barry Hill	Bill Gilmour	7,750,000 17,050,000	9
22	1374	Monday 18th March	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,950,000 17,490,000	6
23	1375	Wednesday 20th March	Brian Finch	Nick Burrell-Davis	8,300,000 18,260,000	3
24	1376	Monday 25th March	Leo Knowles	Laurence Moody	7,800,000 17,160,000	5
25	1377	Wednesday 27th March	Julian Roach	Laurence Moody	7,350,000 16,170,000	10
26	1378	Monday 1st April	Julian Roach	Bill Gilmour	7,850,000 17,270,000	6
27	1379	Wednesday 3rd April	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	7,050,000 15,510,000	11
28	1380	Monday 8th April	Leo Knowles	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,300,000 16,060,000	10
29	1381	Wednesday 10th April	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,550,000 16,610,000	7
30	1382	Monday 15th April	Kay McManus	Laurence Moody	5,900,000 12,980,000	16
31	1383	Wednesday 17th April	H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	7,500,000 16,500,000	4
32	1384	Monday 22nd April	Brian Finch	Quentin Lawrence	7,350,000 16,170,000	7
33	1385	Wednesday 24th April	Brian Finch	Quentin Lawrence	8,050,000 17,710,000	3
34	1386	Monday 29th April	Julian Roach	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,358,000 16,187,600	6
35	1387	Wednesday 1st May	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,787,000 17,131,400	4
36	1388	Monday 6th May	Kay McManus	Bill Gilmour	7,151,000 15,732,200	7
37	1389	Wednesday 8th May	H.V. Kershaw	Bill Gilmour	7,731,000 17,008,200	4
38	1390	Monday 13th May	David Anderson	Laurence Moody	6,872,000 15,118,400	10
39	1391	Wednesday 15th May	Barry Hill	Laurence Moody	7,400,000 16,280,000	3
40	1392	Monday 20th May	H.V. Kershaw	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,460,000 14,212,000	10
41	1393	Wednesday 22nd May	Adele Rose	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,105,000 15,631,000	2
42	1394	Monday 27th May	Leslie Duxbury	Bill Gilmour	5,103,000 11,226,600	n/k
43	1395	Wednesday 29th May	Leo Knowles	Bill Gilmour	6,190,000 13,618,000	7
44	1396	Monday 3rd June	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	6,345,000 13,959,000	10
45	1397	Wednesday 5th June	Adele Rose	Laurence Moody	6,836,000 15,039,200	6
46	1398	Monday 10th June	H.V. Kershaw	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,776,000 14,907,200	1
47	1399	Wednesday 12th June	H.V. Kershaw	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,177,000 13,589,400	5
48	1400	Monday 17th June	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	6,431,000 14,148,200	3
49	1401	Wednesday 19th June	Kay McManus	Bill Gilmour	6,788,000 14,933,600	2
50	1402	Monday 24th June	Barry Hill	Laurence Moody	6,787,000 14,931,400	2
51	1403	Wednesday 26th June	Leo Knowles	Laurence Moody	7,081,000 15,578,200	1
52	1404	Monday 1st July	Leslie Duxbury	Ronald Fouracre	6,400,000 14,080,000	3
53	1405	Wednesday 3rd July	H.V. Kershaw	Ronald Fouracre	7,300,000 16,060,000	1
54	1406	Monday 8th July	Adele Rose	Bill Gilmour	6,100,000 13,420,000	5
55	1407	Wednesday 10th July	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	7,250,000 15,950,000	1
56	1408	Monday 15th July	Lal Sands H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	6,700,000 14,740,000	2
57	1409	Wednesday 17th July	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	6,450,000 14,190,000	4
58	1410	Monday 22nd July	Adele Rose	Ronald Fouracre	7,150,000 15,730,000	1
59	1411	Wednesday 24th July	H.V. Kershaw	Ronald Fouracre	6,500,000 14,300,000	5
60	1412	Monday 29th July	Barry Hill	Bill Gilmour	6,450,000 14,190,000	3
61	1413	Wednesday 31st July	Brian Finch	Bill Gilmour	6,400,000 14,080,000	4
62	1414	Monday 5th August	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	5,500,000 12,100,000	9
63	1415	Wednesday 7th August	Anthony Couch	Laurence Moody	5,950,000 13,090,000	3
64	1416	Monday 12th August	Barry Hill	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,050,000 13,310,000	4
65	1417	Wednesday 14th August	Leo Knowles	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,600,000 14,520,000	3
66	1418	Monday 19th August	Julian Roach	Bill Gilmour	6,300,000 13,860,000	3
67	1419	Wednesday 21st August	Kay McManus	Bill Gilmour	6,100,000 13,420,000	4
68	1420	Monday 26th August	Brian Finch	Laurence Moody	5,287,000 11,631,400	16
69	1421	Wednesday 28th August	H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	6,764,000 14,880,800	2
70	1422	Monday 2nd September	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,800,000 14,960,000	3
71	1423	Wednesday 4th September	Adele Rose	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,260,000 13,772,000	8
72	1424	Monday 9th September	Julian Roach	Bill Gilmour	6,506,000 14,313,200	4
73	1425	Wednesday 11th September	Leslie Duxbury	Bill Gilmour	5,215,000 11,473,000	n/k
74	1426	Monday 16th September	H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	6,237,000 13,721,400	9
75	1427	Wednesday 18th September	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	5,668,000 12,469,600	n/k
76	1428	Monday 23rd September	Julian Roach	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,013,000 15,428,600	3
77	1429	Wednesday 25th September	Barry Hill	Nick Burrell-Davis	6,232,000 13,710,400	15
78	1430	Monday 30th September	Brian Finch	Quentin Lawrence	6,700,000 14,740,000	5
79	1431	Wednesday 2nd October	Leo Knowles	Quentin Lawrence	6,300,000 13,860,000	11
80	1432	Monday 7th October	Julian Roach	Laurence Moody	7,000,000 15,400,000	3
81	1433	Wednesday 9th October	H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	6,750,000 14,850,000	8
82	1434	Monday 14th October	Adele Rose	Quentin Lawrence Nick Burrell-Davis	7,550,000 16,610,000	2
83	1435	Wednesday 16th October	Adele Rose	Quentin Lawrence Nick Burrell-Davis	7,050,000 15,510,000	6
84	1436	Monday 21st October	Brian Finch	Brian Mills	7,450,000 16,390,000	4
85	1437	Wednesday 23rd October	Leslie Duxbury	Brian Mills	6,750,000 14,850,000	14
86	1438	Monday 28th October	Julian Roach	Peter Plummer	7,700,000 16,940,000	2
87	1439	Wednesday 30th October	Leo Knowles	Peter Plummer	7,350,000 16,170,000	5
88	1440	Monday 4th November	H.V. Kershaw	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,850,000 17,270,000	2
89	1441	Wednesday 6th November	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,450,000 16,390,000	5
90	1442	Monday 11th November	Brian Finch	Ken Grieve	7,450,000 16,390,000	10
91	1443	Wednesday 13th November	Adele Rose	Ken Grieve	7,600,000 16,720,000	7
92	1444	Monday 18th November	H.V. Kershaw	Brian Mills	7,400,000 16,280,000	12
93	1445	Wednesday 20th November	Leo Knowles	Brian Mills	7,450,000 16,390,000	11
94	1446	Monday 25th November	Kay McManus	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,543,000 16,594,600	7
95	1447	Wednesday 27th November	Brian Finch	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,087,000 15,591,400	13
96	1448	Monday 2nd December	Julian Roach	Ken Grieve	7,557,000 16,625,400	7
97	1449	Wednesday 4th December	Leslie Duxbury	Ken Grieve	7,652,000 16,834,400	6
98	1450	Monday 9th December	Brian Finch	Brian Mills	7,660,000 16,852,000	6
99	1451	Wednesday 11th December	Barry Hill	Brian Mills	7,524,000 16,552,800	7
100	1452	Monday 16th December	Leo Knowles	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,762,000 17,076,400	3
101	1453	Wednesday 18th December	Leslie Duxbury	Nick Burrell-Davis	7,444,000 16,376,800	7
102	1454	Monday 23rd December	Julian Roach	Ken Grieve	5,817,000 12,797,400	n/k
103	1455	Monday 30th December	H.V. Kershaw	Ken Grieve	8,000,000 17,600,000	3