Plot[]
Part One: Elsie finds out that Linda has suddenly gone home. She’s left a note saying Dennis is to blame for her departure. Dennis is amused when he spots Elsie’s announcement in the paper. Martha supports Elsie’s stand, saying that it’s about time someone stood up to Ena while, on the other side of the snug, Ena herself hypocritically tells Minnie that she feels sorry for “poor Elsie” and suggests that Martha is the one who is to blame for the gossiping. A row breaks out between them but an even bigger one ensues when Elsie steps in and threatens Ena, telling her the man she refers to is, in fact, her husband Arnold. Martha is delighted as, for once, Ena is silenced. Harry and Concepta return from the dance. She has enjoyed herself but Harry is tiddly and lets himself into the Rovers after hours. She begs him to be quiet so she doesn’t lose either her reputation or her job and forcefully tells him to go home. The next morning, the milkman hears Albert moaning in pain in No.1 and alerts the Barlows, leaving David and Ken no option but to break in.
Part Two: Dr. Tinsley examines Albert and gives him a prescription and tells him to take things easy but he also tells Ida that the old man should move in with his daughter, Beattie Pearson. Albert refuses to give Ida her address. Plumber Joe Makinson of Shorrock's calls at No.13 about an unpaid bill of £1, 1/3 of May’s, adding to Christine’s money woes. Joe is taken with her and takes the bill back in sympathy when she can't pay it. Ida alerts Beattie who calls on her father. He refuses to move in with her. A concerned Elsie sends off a contribution for starving African children. She then puts a face-pack on but is interrupted when Arnold calls on her.
Cast[]
Regular cast[]
- Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves
- Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix
- Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie
- Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis
- Ida Barlow - Noel Dyson
- Kenneth Barlow - William Roache
- David Barlow - Alan Rothwell
- Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth
- Annie Walker - Doris Speed
- Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie
- Concepta Riley - Doreen Keogh
- Ena Sharples - Violet Carson
- Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol
- Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant
Guest cast[]
- Arnold Tanner - Frank Crawshaw
- Hetty - Dorothy Frere
- Beattie - Gabrielle Daye
- Dr. Tinsley - Cyril Luckham
- Joe Makinson - Brian Rawlinson
- Milkman - Geoffrey Brightman
Places[]
- Coronation Street
- Rovers Return Inn - Public/snug
- 1 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway
- 3 Coronation Street - Back room
- 11 Coronation Street - Back room
- 13 Coronation Street - Front room and hallway
Notes[]
- Dennis Tanner states that he is twenty-two years old, whereas later episodes place him as being born in 1942 and thus he should only have been eighteen at this point in time. The same age is given in Episode 40 (1st May 1961).
- Elsie Tanner tells Ena Sharples that the next year will be her silver wedding anniversary but later scripts have the marriage of Arnold and Elsie taking place in 1939 and therefore they would have been wed for not quite twenty-two years yet.
- A walk-through passageway is shown to exist between the Rovers Return Inn and 1 Coronation Street.
- Dot Greenhalgh's surname is given in dialogue for the first time, despite being credited as "Dorothy Lane" in Episode 9 (6th January 1961).
- The existing copy of this episode in the ITV archives is missing the final few seconds and therefore the "Next Episode" caption.
- TV Times: No synopsis appeared in the magazine between Episode 3 (16th December 1960) and Episode 25 (6th March 1961).
- Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 4,614,000 homes (chart placing unknown).
- This episode was included on the following commercial releases:
- Coronation Street - The Early Days released by Granada video on 7th May 2001.
- The Network DVD collection Coronation Street: The Best of 1960-1969, released on 31st July 2006.
Notable dialogue[]
Ena Sharples: "We all know what your war work was. From 1939 to 1945, Number 11 Coronation Street was just Liberty Hall! It was always a surprise to me that come VJ Day, them Yanks didn't take it down stone by stone and rebuild it in the United States of America!"
Elsie Tanner: "'Ave you anythin' more to say?"
Ena Sharples: "Yes, plenty! Cast yer mind back to VJ Day, madam, cast it back! Two Yanks held a ladder up t'front of your house while you toddled up and hung out a banner that said, 'God Bless Monty and the Boys'! Never in the memory of God 'ave I known such downright sarcasm!"
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Martha Longhurst: "Goodnight, Ena. Oh, and Ena - you've got a dewdrop on the end of yer nose. Same again, girls?"
| January 1961 episodes |
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