Coronation Street in 1979

1979 was Coronation Street's twentieth year.

Main characters

Ranking	Character	Played by	Duration	Number of Episodes	Running total	Previous year's ranking
1	Len Fairclough	Peter Adamson	Full year	59	1489	1
2	Ivy Tilsley	Lynne Perrie	Full year	58	132	25
3	Elsie Tanner	Patricia Phoenix	Full year	57	1304	5
3	Gail Potter/Tilsley	Helen Worth	Full year	57	283	10
5	Suzie Birchall	Cheryl Murray	Until December	55	163	19
5	Hilda Ogden	Jean Alexander	Full year	55	1056	3
7	Rita Fairclough	Barbara Knox	Full year	54	521	7
8	Deirdre Langton	Anne Kirkbride	Full year	50	402	13
8	Brian Tilsley	Christopher Quinten	Full year	50	51	33
8	Betty Turpin	Betty Driver	Full year	50	750	7
11	Stan Ogden	Bernard Youens	Full year	49	977	18
11	Annie Walker	Doris Speed	Full year	49	1447	5
13	Ken Barlow	William Roache	Full year	48	1266	3
14	Alf Roberts	Bryan Mosley	Full year	47	555	20
14	Bert Tilsley	Peter Dudley	Full year	47	47	-
16	Fred Gee	Fred Feast	Full year	46	217	16
16	Eddie Yeats	Geoffrey Hughes	Full year	46	241	21
18	Mavis Riley	Thelma Barlow	Full year	42	358	14
19	Mike Baldwin	Johnny Briggs	Full year	41	174	7
19	Bet Lynch	Julie Goodyear	Until March and from May	41	682	2
21	Emily Bishop	Eileen Derbyshire	Full year	40	1065	10
21	Renee Roberts	Madge Hindle	Full year	40	200	14
23	Steve Fisher	Lawrence Mullin	Until December	39	112	10
24	Albert Tatlock	Jack Howarth	Full year	36	1106	22
25	Ena Sharples	Violet Carson	From March	34	1131	23
26	Vera Duckworth	Elizabeth Dawn	Full year	31	71	26
26	Tracy Langton	Christabel Finch	Full year	31	98	24
28	Ida Clough	Helene Palmer	February to July and December	18	30	27
29	Audrey Potter	Sue Nicholls	April and November to December	8	8	-
29	Billy Walker	Kenneth Farrington	May and June	8	340	29
31	Derek Wilton	Peter Baldwin	April only	4	33	32
32	Jack Duckworth	William Tarmey	November and December	2	2	-
33	Susan Barlow	Suzy Paterson	December only	1	27	-

Production

24th October 1979: After 10 weeks off air, Coronation Street returns to screens with a specially-filmed prologue with Bet Lynch and Len Fairclough

Bill Podmore's fourth year as producer saw a shift in Coronation Street's core families towards those that would see the programme through the 1980s.

Newly separated Deirdre Langton moved in with Emily Bishop and started a romance with Ken Barlow, selling No.5 to the arriving Tilsleys. The new family were built around Lynne Perrie's Ivy, who for the last eight years had played a secondary role at the warehouse and factory. Ivy was well established as one half of a childless couple with Jack Tilsley, but producers decided to wipe the slate clean when crafting her new family, giving her a 20-year-old son, Brian, and a new husband, Bert, played by Christopher Quinten and Peter Dudley respectively. Now a street resident, Ivy rose to prominence as one of the programme's key matriarchs.

In April, Sue Nicholls made her first appearance as Gail Potter's unwed and man-hungry mother Audrey, a role which was recurring until Audrey married Alf Roberts in 1985. Audrey paid her inaugural visit to the street for Gail's 21st birthday, the occasion on which Gail and Brian Tilsley went public on their engagement. Vera Duckworth was a guest at the wedding in November, joined by her husband Jack for the first time. William Tarmey was part of the programme's stable of background extras, usually seen playing darts in the Rovers. He was cast as Jack for two episodes and would reprise the role in 1981, eventually to become one of Coronation Street's best-loved characters.

As Gail embarked on her married life, Bill Podmore decided to get rid of Elsie Tanner's other lodger Suzie Birchall in order to revitalise the household. She and Steve Fisher, Mike Baldwin's number two, were both written out in December. Their exits left the programme without any young, unmarried characters.

The programme missed a transmission slot on 23rd July due to a national one-day strike called by EETPU (Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union who handled electronics in the studios) and NATTKE (National Association of Theatrical, Television and Kine Employees) after rejecting a 9% pay offer from the ITV companies. The was one of a series of incidents which culminated in a ten-week strike by the unions which had spread nationwide by 10th August. The strike resulted in all ITV stations, except for Channel Television, being blacked out from that date until 24th October, when management increased the pay offer to 17.5% backdated to 1st July. Coronation Street was off the air for the duration of industrial action, with no production of new episodes taking place.

Episode 1935 on 8th August was the last episode transmitted before Granada staff joined the strike and the station went off the air. When the show returned on 24th October, it led with a specially-recorded scene in which Bet Lynch and Len Fairclough chatted about recent events to remind viewers of what was going on before the strike. The regular twice-weekly schedule then resumed, starting with the five episodes which were already in the can when production shut down. The following episode, broadcast on 12th November, is unique in that the recording of parts one and two were separated by the strike, indicating that the plug may have been pulled during a studio session. In terms of the programme's narrative, no mention was made of the ten-week gap however the Tilsleys' wedding, which was meant to be held in the summer, took place in November despite no delay being mentioned.

On-screen, the most spectacular event of the year occurred in March when a lorry overturned outside the Rovers, smashing the frontage with its load of timber, the first disaster to hit the street since 1975. Cast comings and goings included the usual visits by Derek Wilton and Billy Walker, their last until 1982 and 1984 respectively. This would be the last time Kenneth Farrington acted opposite his screen mother Doris Speed. Lastly, Susan Barlow appeared for the first time since 1974, recast with Suzy Paterson in the role. Like the current incarnation of Peter, Susan was aged up by several years and now spoke with a Scottish accent, two changes which would be reversed by the next recasting.

Viewing figures

Ratings chart for the year

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

The average figure for the year was 15.45 million viewers, an increase of 400k on 1978 and the 6th highest of the decade (although this total is missing the ratings for five episodes). The biggest drops on the previous year were in October and November, immediately after the strike finished, which were down by two million viewers on 1978, however March to August all rose from that year.

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

Episodes

#	Ep. No.	Date	Writer	Director	Viewing Figures	Chart Position
1	1873	Monday 1st January	H.V. Kershaw	Alan Bromly	Not known	n/k
2	1874	Wednesday 3rd January	Leslie Duxbury	Alan Bromly	16,400,000	6
3	1875	Monday 8th January	Julian Roach	Laurence Moody	16,250,000	4
4	1876	Wednesday 10th January	Julian Roach	Laurence Moody	16,850,000	3
5	1877	Monday 15th January	Paula Milne	Richard Stroud	16,250,000	6
6	1878	Wednesday 17th January	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Stroud	16,700,000	2
7	1879	Monday 22nd January	Leslie Duxbury	Jeremy Summers	16,350,000	6
8	1880	Wednesday 24th January	John Stevenson	Jeremy Summers	17,150,000	2
9	1881	Monday 29th January	Adele Rose	Terry Steel	16,500,000	3
10	1882	Wednesday 31st January	Julian Roach	Terry Steel	17,550,000	2
11	1883	Monday 5th February	H.V. Kershaw	Matthew Robinson	16,300,000	4
12	1884	Wednesday 7th February	John Stevenson	Matthew Robinson	17,950,000	1
13	1885	Monday 12th February	Leslie Duxbury	Stephen Butcher	16,750,000	5
14	1886	Wednesday 14th February	Leslie Duxbury	Stephen Butcher	18,350,000	2
15	1887	Monday 19th February	Barry Hill	Jeremy Summers	16,650,000	4
16	1888	Wednesday 21st February	Julian Roach	Jeremy Summers	16,700,000	3
17	1889	Monday 26th February	Barry Hill	Brian Mills	16,250,000	3
18	1890	Wednesday 28th February	John Stevenson	Brian Mills	16,700,000	2
19	1891	Monday 5th March	Adele Rose	Matthew Robinson	16,800,000	3
20	1892	Wednesday 7th March	H.V. Kershaw	Matthew Robinson	16,950,000	2
21	1893	Monday 12th March	Leslie Duxbury	Jeremy Summers	18,300,000	4
22	1894	Wednesday 14th March	H.V. Kershaw	Jeremy Summers	19,500,000	2
23	1895	Monday 19th March	H.V. Kershaw	Alan Bromly	18,400,000	3
24	1896	Wednesday 21st March	Peter Whalley	Alan Bromly	18,800,000	2
25	1897	Monday 26th March	Adele Rose	Roger Cheveley	17,700,000	4
26	1898	Wednesday 28th March	Barry Hill	Roger Cheveley	18,250,000	1
27	1899	Monday 2nd April	John Stevenson	Jeremy Summers	16,650,000	4
28	1900	Wednesday 4th April	John Stevenson	Jeremy Summers	17,450,000	2
29	1901	Monday 9th April	Barry Hill	Philip Draycott	16,400,000	3
30	1902	Wednesday 11th April	Adele Rose	Philip Draycott	16,900,000	2
31	1903	Monday 16th April	Leslie Duxbury	Colin Richards	Not known	n/k
32	1904	Wednesday 18th April	Leslie Duxbury	Colin Richards	16,700,000	1
33	1905	Monday 23rd April	John Stevenson	Jeremy Summers	17,100,000	4
34	1906	Wednesday 25th April	Julian Roach	Jeremy Summers	18,000,000	2
35	1907	Monday 30th April	Adele Rose	Laurence Moody	15,300,000	2
36	1908	Wednesday 2nd May	Leslie Duxbury	Laurence Moody	15,700,000	1
37	1909	Monday 7th May	Peter Whalley	Paul Bernard	13,650,000	10
38	1910	Wednesday 9th May	John Stevenson	Paul Bernard	16,050,000	3
39	1911	Monday 14th May	Barry Hill	Philip Draycott	13,150,000	5
40	1912	Wednesday 16th May	H.V. Kershaw	Philip Draycott	15,250,000	1
41	1913	Monday 21st May	Adele Rose	Alan Bromly	15,100,000	1
42	1914	Wednesday 23rd May	Alec Baron	Alan Bromly	13,950,000	4
43	1915	Monday 28th May	Tony Perrin	Laurence Moody	11,700,000	9
44	1916	Wednesday 30th May	H.V. Kershaw	Laurence Moody	14,450,000	2
45	1917	Monday 4th June	Leslie Duxbury	Philip Draycott	14,500,000	4
46	1918	Wednesday 6th June	John Stevenson	Philip Draycott	15,300,000	2
47	1919	Monday 11th June	H.V. Kershaw	Nicholas Ferguson	13,250,000	4
48	1920	Wednesday 13th June	Adele Rose	Nicholas Ferguson	15,100,000	2
49	1921	Monday 18th June	Alan Downer	Alan Bromly	13,000,000	2
50	1922	Wednesday 20th June	Adele Rose	Alan Bromly	12,750,000	4
51	1923	Monday 25th June	John Stevenson	Laurence Moody	12,950,000	2
52	1924	Wednesday 27th June	Julian Roach	Laurence Moody	13,400,000	1
53	1925	Monday 2nd July	H.V. Kershaw	Nicholas Ferguson	13,100,000	1
54	1926	Wednesday 4th July	John Stevenson	Nicholas Ferguson	12,700,000	2
55	1927	Monday 9th July	Adele Rose	Malcolm Taylor	12,550,000	2
56	1928	Wednesday 11th July	Barry Hill	Malcolm Taylor	13,200,000	1
57	1929	Monday 16th July	Leslie Duxbury	Richard Holthouse	13,050,000	2
58	1930	Wednesday 18th July	Julian Roach	Richard Holthouse	13,200,000	1
59	1931	Wednesday 25th July	John Stevenson	Nicholas Ferguson	12,000,000	5
60	1932	Monday 30th July	Adele Rose	Nicholas Ferguson	12,850,000	2
61	1933	Wednesday 1st August	Peter Whalley	Ronald Fouracre	12,650,000	3
62	1934	Monday 6th August	Leslie Duxbury	Mary McMurray	11,400,000	12
63	1935/6	Wednesday 8th August	Tony Perrin H.V. Kershaw	Malcolm Taylor	Not known	n/k
64	1937	Wednesday 24th October	John Stevenson	Richard Holthouse	15,100,000	13
65	1938	Monday 29th October	Julian Roach	Richard Holthouse	12,850,000	18
66	1939	Wednesday 31st October	Barry Hill	Mary McMurray	13,750,000	13
67	1940	Monday 5th November	H.V. Kershaw	Mary McMurray	13,250,000	20
68	1941	Wednesday 7th November	Alec Baron	John Michael Phillips	13,950,000	15
69	1942	Monday 12th November	Leslie Duxbury	John Michael Phillips	13,950,000	19
70	1943	Wednesday 14th November	Tony Perrin	Laurence Moody	14,750,000	15
71	1944	Monday 19th November	Adele Rose	Laurence Moody	15,200,000	9
72	1945	Wednesday 21st November	Peter Whalley	Mary McMurray	15,000,000	10
73	1946	Monday 26th November	H.V. Kershaw	Mary McMurray	15,750,000	9
74	1947	Wednesday 28th November	Leslie Duxbury	Malcolm Taylor	17,850,000	1
75	1948	Monday 3rd December	John Stevenson	Malcolm Taylor	18,150,000	1
76	1949	Wednesday 5th December	Barry Hill	Richard Holthouse	16,000,000	6
77	1950	Monday 10th December	Alan Downer	Richard Holthouse	14,950,000	6
78	1951	Wednesday 12th December	Adele Rose	Mary McMurray Laurence Moody	14,700,000	8
79	1952	Monday 17th December	H.V. Kershaw	Mary McMurray Laurence Moody	16,100,000	4
80	1953	Wednesday 19th December	Julian Roach	Mary McMurray Laurence Moody	15,800,000	6
81	1954	Monday 24th December	Leslie Duxbury	Malcolm Taylor	14,500,000	7
82	1955	Wednesday 26th December	John Stevenson	Malcolm Taylor	Not known	n/k
83	1956	Monday 31st December	H.V. Kershaw	Richard Holthouse	Not known	n/k

Who lives where

Coronation Street

• Rovers Return Inn - Annie Walker and Fred Gee. Billy Walker (May to June)
• 1 Coronation Street - Albert Tatlock and Ken Barlow.
• 3 Coronation Street - Emily Bishop. Deirdre and Tracy Langton (from February).
• 5 Coronation Street - Deirdre and Tracy Langton (until February). Bert, Ivy and Brian Tilsley (from February). Gail Tilsley (from December)
• 9 Coronation Street - Len and Rita Fairclough.
• 11 Coronation Street - Elsie Tanner (until November, then from December). Gail Potter (until November). Suzie Birchall (until December).
• 13 Coronation Street - Hilda and Stan Ogden.
• Corner Shop (No.15) - Renee and Alf Roberts.
• Corner Shop bedsit - Bet Lynch.
• Community Centre flat - Ena Sharples.

Rosamund Street

• The Kabin flat - Mavis Riley.

Others

• Brookhouse Hotel - Mike Baldwin (Long-term room).
• 37 Hillside Crescent - Betty Turpin.
• Inkerman Street - Bert, Ivy and Brian Tilsley (until February), Jack and Vera Duckworth.

Awards and nominations

Pye Television/Writer's Guild Awards

• President's Award: Doris Speed
• Special award for Coronation Street presented by Sir John Betjeman