Coronation Street in 1975

1975 was Coronation Street's sixteenth year.

Main characters[]

Ranking	Character	Played by	Duration	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1	Len Fairclough	Peter Adamson	Full year	84	1198	2
1	Ray Langton	Neville Buswell	Full year	84	580	5
3	Bet Lynch	Julie Goodyear	Full year	83	418	3
4	Betty Turpin	Betty Driver	Full year	82	495	1
5	Rita Littlewood	Barbara Mullaney	Full year	77	272	4
6	Hilda Ogden	Jean Alexander	Full year	71	790	14
7	Deirdre Hunt/Langton	Anne Kirkbride	Full year	70	170	10
8	Ken Barlow	William Roache	Full year	68	1022	8
9	Annie Walker	Doris Speed	Full year	67	1199	5
10	Alf Roberts	Bryan Mosley	Full year	66	332	12
11	Ernest Bishop	Stephen Hancock	Full year	62	291	14
12	Blanche Hunt	Maggie Jones	Full year	61	73	27
13	Tricia Hopkins	Kathy Jones	Full year	60	93	23
14	Emily Bishop	Eileen Derbyshire	Full year	58	852	11
15	Jerry Booth	Graham Haberfield	Until October	57	651	7
16	Stan Ogden	Bernard Youens	Until November	56	759	13
17	Minnie Caldwell	Margot Bryant	Full year	54	984	16
17	Mavis Riley	Thelma Barlow	Full year	54	143	16
19	Albert Tatlock	Jack Howarth	Full year	51	914	18
20	Ena Sharples	Violet Carson	From March	40	982	26
20	Eddie Yeats	Geoffrey Hughes	January and March to September	40	42	32
22	Gail Potter	Helen Worth	Full year except for January, May, July and November	37	47	28
23	Billy Walker	Kenneth Farrington	Until May	28	325	8
24	Gordon Clegg	Bill Kenwright	January to February and October to November	9	89	29
25	Janet Barlow	Judith Barker	January to February and September	8	68	24
26	Ivy Tilsley	Lynne Perrie	April and September to October	7	35	29
27	Idris Hopkins	Richard Davies	Until February	6	44	20
27	Vera Hopkins	Kathy Staff	Until February	6	31	24
27	Granny Hopkins	Jessie Evans	Until February	6	42	21
30	Peter Barlow	Linus Roache	April only	4	29	35
30	Alec Gilroy	Roy Barraclough	April to May	4	6	-
32	Fred Gee	Fred Feast	September to October	3	3	-
33	Maggie Cooke	Irene Sutcliffe	January only	2	414	19
33	Concepta Regan	Doreen Keogh	December only	2	317	-

Production[]

Ray deirdre wedding 1975 — Ray Langton and Deirdre Hunt tie the knot in *Coronation Street'*s sixth on-screen wedding ceremony

1975 covered the middle part of Susi Hush's two-year stewardship of Coronation Street. Eric Prytherch and Leslie Duxbury produced episodes 1506 and 1507 and episodes 1528 to 1534 respectively, with Hush in charge for the rest of the year.

The programme's fifteenth anniversary passed without comment on-screen, but nonetheless it was an eventful year. In October, a major storyline was screened in which the Mark Brittain Warehouse was accidentally set alight by a gang of miscreant schoolboys, starting an inferno which claimed the life of Edna Gee and caused the Street to be evacuated. The warehouse fire was the most ambitious yet attempted, with Edna being engulfed in a wall of flames and a heavy use of pyrotechnics and smoke effects, outdoing previous studio efforts. Episode 1536, set in the aftermath of the fire, was the first script written by Tony Warren since 1969. Warren re-joined the writing staff at this time, penning three more scripts by March 1976. The storyline marked the end of the warehouse as a going concern, though the building's outer shell remained.

Edna and Ivy Tilsley's husbands Fred Gee and Jack Tilsley appeared for the first time ahead of the fire, played by Fred Feast and Bert Gaunt respectively. While Feast would return in the same role as a regular the following year, Jack Tilsley would never be mentioned again and his existence outright contradicted by Ivy's longstanding marriage to Bert, as established in 1979.

Three episodes went unrecorded in May and June due to a strike by the ACTT union. These episodes had already been assigned production codes, and therefore are included in Granada's episode numbering. An episode was also dropped later in the year on Monday 22nd December, when a Christmas-themed clip show later known by the title Annie and Betty's Coronation Street Memories was shown in Coronation Street's slot. Episode 1549 also went unmade for some unknown reason, with Episode 1548 being made in its own studio session.

A new title sequence debuted in Episode 1500 on 11th June, notable for being the first to incorporate the programme's outdoor set. Although it was swiftly replaced in 1976, the footage of Salford captured for the sequence was used in the programme until well into the 1990s.

Having failed to meet expectations, the Hopkins family were written out at the end of the Gordon Clegg parentage storyline, with only Kathy Jones kept on. Tricia Hopkins maintained a large role, particularly in comedic storylines alongside Helen Worth's Gail Potter as the girls moved into the Corner Shop flat. With Gordon acting as their landlord, Bill Kenwright made further guest appearances in 1975 and 1976, while Maggie Cooke was seen for the last time in January after telling Gordon that Betty Turpin was his real mother. The Corner Shop itself was taken over by Blanche Hunt.

Other cast changes included Geoffrey Hughes reprising Eddie Yeats for a longer stint following his successful 1974 debut, guest appearances by Judith Barker as Janet Barlow, Linus Roache as Peter Barlow, and Roy Barraclough as Alec Gilroy, Doreen Keogh's swansong as Coronation Street original Concepta Regan, and another exit by Kenneth Farrington as Billy Walker, his third of the decade. Unlike with the two previous departures, Farrington had no immediate plans to return to the role. The actor had tentatively agreed to sign for a year so that Billy could marry Deirdre Hunt, but the agreed contract was never put to him and he later changed his mind, only signing for a few weeks so that writers could devise an exit for Billy. Due to the last-minute nature of his resignation, the plans for Billy and Deirdre's wedding were altered so that Deirdre would marry Ray Langton instead. Billy then left to work in a bar in Jersey.

On 17th October, Graham Haberfield passed away at the young age of 33, suffering a fatal heart attack as a result of a liver condition. Out of respect to Haberfield's family, his character Jerry Booth was killed off without fanfare in Episode 1546 and his funeral in the following episode was a low-key affair.

Stan Ogden was absent for two months after November when Bernard Youens suffered a minor stroke which left his speech slightly impaired.

Viewing figures[]

The average rating fell slightly from 1974's figure to 15.46 million viewers, a drop of 100,000 viewers. Five months rose year-on-year, mostly in the first half of the year, although none of the climbs or falls exceeded a million viewers.

The highest rated episode of the year was Episode 1464 on 29th January, which was seen in 8.75 million homes (translating to 19.25 million viewers). This was the highest peak in a year since 1970. In the weekly viewing charts, five episodes reached the top spot, while five episodes failed to make the top twenty.

Episodes[]

#	Ep. No.	Date	Writer	Director	Viewing Figures (homes/ viewers)	Chart Position
1	1456	Wednesday 1st January	H.V. Kershaw	June Wyndham Davies	7,450,000 16,390,000	6
2	1457	Monday 6th January	Kay McManus	June Wyndham Davies	7,550,000 16,610,000	9
3	1458	Wednesday 8th January	Brian Finch	Brian Mills	7,850,000 17,270,000	6
4	1459	Monday 13th January	Julian Roach	Brian Mills	7,600,000 16,720,000	9
5	1460	Wednesday 15th January	Leslie Duxbury	Oliver Horsbrugh	7,900,000 17,380,000	6
6	1461	Monday 20th January	Adele Rose	Oliver Horsbrugh	7,800,000 17,160,000	9
7	1462	Wednesday 22nd January	Leslie Duxbury	Ken Grieve	8,300,000 18,260,000	3
8	1463	Monday 27th January	Barry Hill	Ken Grieve	7,900,000 17,380,000	8
9	1464	Wednesday 29th January	Julian Roach	Brian Mills	8,750,000 19,250,000	3
10	1465	Monday 3rd February	Brian Finch	Brian Mills	8,000,000 17,600,000	8
11	1466	Wednesday 5th February	Adele Rose	Keith Hack	8,300,000 18,260,000	4
12	1467	Monday 10th February	H.V. Kershaw	Keith Hack	7,900,000 17,380,000	6
13	1468	Wednesday 12th February	Leo Knowles	Ken Grieve	8,250,000 18,150,000	3
14	1469	Monday 17th February	Brian Finch	Ken Grieve	7,900,000 17,380,000	5
15	1470	Wednesday 19th February	Julian Roach	Peter Plummer	7,750,000 17,050,000	7
16	1471	Monday 24th February	Leslie Duxbury	Peter Plummer	7,700,000 16,940,000	6
17	1472	Wednesday 26th February	H.V. Kershaw	Keith Hack	8,400,000 18,480,000	2
18	1473	Monday 3rd March	Janey Preger	Keith Hack	7,650,000 16,830,000	7
19	1474	Wednesday 5th March	Leslie Duxbury	Ken Grieve	7,500,000 16,500,000	9
20	1475	Monday 10th March	Leo Knowles	Ken Grieve	7,600,000 16,720,000	10
21	1476	Wednesday 12th March	Brian Finch	Quentin Lawrence	8,000,000 17,600,000	4
22	1477	Monday 17th March	H.V. Kershaw	Quentin Lawrence	7,550,000 16,610,000	7
23	1478	Wednesday 19th March	Julian Roach	Keith Hack	8,250,000 18,150,000	4
24	1479	Monday 24th March	Adele Rose	Keith Hack	7,600,000 16,720,000	4
25	1480	Wednesday 26th March	H.V. Kershaw	Ken Grieve	7,650,000 16,830,000	3
26	1481	Monday 31st March	Adele Rose	Ken Grieve	6,086,000 13,389,200	17
27	1482	Wednesday 2nd April	Julian Roach	June Wyndham Davies	7,921,000 17,426,200	4
28	1483	Monday 7th April	H.V. Kershaw	June Wyndham Davies	7,657,000 16,845,400	9
29	1484	Wednesday 9th April	Leslie Duxbury	Keith Hack	7,641,000 16,810,200	n/k
30	1485	Monday 14th April	Barry Hill	Keith Hack	7,192,000 15,822,400	11
31	1486	Wednesday 16th April	Kay McManus	Ken Grieve	7,628,000 16,781,600	4
32	1487	Monday 21st April	Leo Knowles	Ken Grieve	7,251,000 15,952,200	6
33	1488	Wednesday 23rd April	H.V. Kershaw	June Wyndham Davies	7,100,000 15,620,000	10
34	1489	Monday 28th April	Adele Rose	June Wyndham Davies	7,331,000 16,128,200	9
35	1490	Wednesday 30th April	Leslie Duxbury	Bill Podmore	7,665,000 16,863,000	4
36	1491	Monday 5th May	Julian Roach	Bill Podmore	6,946,000 15,281,200	13
37	1492	Wednesday 7th May	Julian Roach	Colin Cant	8,336,000 18,339,200	4
38	1493	Monday 12th May	H.V. Kershaw	Colin Cant	7,409,000 16,299,800	7
39	1494	Wednesday 14th May	Leslie Duxbury	June Wyndham Davies	7,188,000 15,813,600	11
40	1495	Monday 19th May	Tim Aspinall	June Wyndham Davies	6,174,000 13,582,800	n/k
41	1496	Wednesday 21st May	Adele Rose	Eric Prytherch	6,661,000 14,654,200	18
42	1497	Monday 2nd June	Brian Finch	Eric Prytherch	6,298,000 13,855,600	10
43	1498	Wednesday 4th June	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	6,533,000 14,372,600	4
44	1499	Monday 9th June	Leo Knowles	Derek Lister	5,926,000 13,037,200	9
45	1500	Wednesday 11th June	H.V. Kershaw	Ken Grieve	6,196,000 13,631,200	6
46	1501	Monday 16th June	Leslie Duxbury	Richard Everitt	6,493,000 14,284,600	9
47	1502	Wednesday 18th June	Julian Roach	Keith Hack	6,718,000 14,779,600	7
Episodes 1503, 1504 and 1505 were never recorded due to the 1975 ITV strike
48	1506	Monday 23rd June	Julian Roach	Oliver Horsbrugh	6,484,000 14,264,800	4
49	1507	Wednesday 25th June	Kay McManus	Oliver Horsbrugh	6,163,000 13,558,600	11
50	1508	Monday 30th June	Leo Knowles	Ronald Fouracre	6,200,000 13,640,000	6
51	1509	Wednesday 2nd July	Leslie Duxbury	Ronald Fouracre	6,150,000 13,530,000	8
52	1510	Monday 7th July	Julian Roach	Derek Lister	6,650,000 14,630,000	3
53	1511	Wednesday 9th July	Leslie Duxbury	Derek Lister	6,850,000 15,070,000	1
54	1512	Monday 14th July	Adele Rose	Keith Hack	6,900,000 15,180,000	1
55	1513	Wednesday 16th July	Barry Hill	Keith Hack	6,150,000 13,530,000	5
56	1514	Monday 21st July	H.V. Kershaw	Ken Grieve	6,300,000 13,860,000	7
57	1515	Wednesday 23rd July	Brian Finch	Ken Grieve	6,600,000 14,520,000	3
58	1516	Monday 28th July	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	5,593,000 12,304,600	8
59	1517	Wednesday 30th July	Adele Rose	Derek Lister	5,572,000 12,258,400	9
60	1518	Monday 4th August	Leslie Duxbury	June Howson	5,656,000 12,443,200	9
61	1519	Wednesday 6th August	H.V. Kershaw	June Howson	6,088,000 13,393,600	5
62	1520	Monday 11th August	Julian Roach	Ken Grieve	5,802,000 12,764,400	11
63	1521	Wednesday 13th August	Kay McManus	Ken Grieve	5,704,000 12,548,800	n/k
64	1522	Monday 18th August	Janey Preger	Derek Lister Keith Hack	6,498,000 14,295,600	6
65	1523	Wednesday 20th August	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	6,581,000 14,478,200	3
66	1524	Monday 25th August	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	5,290,000 11,638,000	12
67	1525	Wednesday 27th August	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	5,435,000 11,957,000	10
68	1526	Monday 1st September	Adele Rose	Ken Grieve	5,750,000 12,650,000	20
69	1527	Wednesday 3rd September	Leslie Duxbury	Ken Grieve	5,900,000 12,980,000	17
70	1528	Monday 8th September	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	6,200,000 13,640,000	17
71	1529	Wednesday 10th September	Leslie Duxbury	Derek Lister	6,000,000 13,200,000	20
72	1530	Monday 15th September	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	6,350,000 13,970,000	15
73	1531	Wednesday 17th September	Julian Roach	Richard Stroud	6,000,000 13,200,000	19
74	1532	Monday 22nd September	Leo Knowles	Brian Mills	6,450,000 14,190,000	15
75	1533	Wednesday 24th September	Adele Rose	Brian Mills	6,200,000 13,640,000	20
76	1534	Monday 29th September	Tim Aspinall	Ken Grieve	6,545,000 14,399,000	17
77	1535	Wednesday 1st October	Leslie Duxbury	Ken Grieve	6,279,000 13,813,800	n/k
78	1536	Monday 6th October	Tony Warren	Richard Stroud	6,985,000 15,367,000	12
79	1537	Wednesday 8th October	Julian Roach	Richard Stroud	6,348,000 13,965,600	19
80	1538	Monday 13th October	Kay McManus	June Wyndham Davies	7,286,000 16,029,200	12
81	1539	Wednesday 15th October	H.V. Kershaw	June Wyndham Davies	6,333,000 13,932,600	20
82	1540	Monday 20th October	Julian Roach	Stephen Butcher	7,267,000 15,987,400	10
83	1541	Wednesday 22nd October	Julian Roach	Stephen Butcher	6,287,000 13,831,400	n/k
84	1542	Monday 27th October	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	7,500,000 16,500,000	11
85	1543	Wednesday 29th October	Tim Aspinall	Richard Stroud	7,350,000 16,170,000	14
86	1544	Monday 3rd November	Kay McManus	Brian Mills	7,550,000 16,610,000	7
87	1545	Wednesday 5th November	Leslie Duxbury	Brian Mills	6,800,000 14,960,000	13
88	1546	Monday 10th November	Barry Hill	Derek Lister	7,450,000 16,390,000	13
89	1547	Wednesday 12th November	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	7,700,000 16,940,000	10
90	1548	Monday 17th November	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	7,650,000 16,830,000	11
For reasons unknown, Episode 1549 was never recorded
91	1550	Wednesday 19th November	Adele Rose	Laurence Moody	7,650,000 16,830,000	11
92	1551	Monday 24th November	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	7,600,000 16,720,000	10
93	1552	Wednesday 26th November	Adele Rose	Derek Lister	7,550,000 16,610,000	11
94	1553	Monday 1st December	Julian Roach	Derek Lister	7,550,000 16,610,000	11
95	1554	Wednesday 3rd December	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	7,650,000 16,830,000	8
96	1555	Monday 8th December	Tony Warren	Richard Stroud	7,300,000 16,060,000	13
97	1556	Wednesday 10th December	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	7,800,000 17,160,000	6
98	1557	Monday 15th December	Brian Finch	Laurence Moody	7,400,000 16,280,000	14
99	1558	Wednesday 17th December	Brian Finch	Derek Lister	7,850,000 17,270,000	7
100	1559	Wednesday 24th December	Julian Roach	Derek Lister	6,150,000 13,530,000	11
101	1560	Monday 29th December	Tony Warren	Richard Stroud	7,700,000 16,940,000	2
102	1561	Wednesday 31st December	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	6,300,000 13,860,000	15