Plot
Part One: Christine accuses May of putting it on with her headache complaints. She storms off to work after another row. GP Dr. Tinsley tells Ena off for discharging herself. She’s furious that the hospital sent a policeman after her and that they wouldn’t tell her what was wrong with her. He tells her it’s simple senile decay. Elsie is late for work and chooses to take the day off instead. Dennis gets dressed up smartly for a job but won’t say why. Florrie’s conviction and fine of £1 for selling goods after hours appears in the paper. Martha is surprised to see Ena home and is thrown out of the Mission by her. May has trouble see the writing in the newspaper and the ticking of the clocks hammers in her head. She tries to knock on the hallway wall to summon help from the adjoining corner shop. Florrie, Elsie and Harry rush round but find her dead in the hall.
Part Two: Esther returns home to the shocking news and finds that Christine insisted on going to the hospital on her own to collect her mother's things. She takes charge of her when she returns and insists she stays with her for the night. Christine is in a daze and feels guilty for snapping at her mother the last time they talked. She finally breaks down. Dennis tells Elsie he’s got a job front of house at a club in Manchester. Elsie organises a collection for a wreath from the residents. Malcolm Wilkinson deliberately avoids Christine, shocking the neighbours. Concepta draws the numbers for the Rovers’ New Year raffle. May’s ticket wins the first prize and they re-draw it. Dennis arrives home at 1.15am and smugly tells Elsie and Linda that his estranged dad was in the club.
Cast
Regular cast
- Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge
- Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves
- Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix
- Linda Cheveski - Anne Cunningham
- Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis
- Esther Hayes - Daphne Oxenford
- Annie Walker - Doris Speed
- Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie
- Concepta Riley - Doreen Keogh
- Ena Sharples - Violet Carson
- Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol
- Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie (Uncredited)
Guest cast
Places
- Coronation Street
- Rovers Return Inn - Public/snug
- 11 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway
- 13 Coronation Street - Front room and hallway
- Corner Shop
- Glad Tidings Mission Hall - Vestry
Notes
- The opening credits are not played over the filmed title sequence of Archie Street but instead the Coronation Street caption appears against a black background. It is possible that the telecine facility failed on the live transmission of this episode and that this unusual way of displaying the programme name was unplanned.
- To help viewers remember which characters live in which houses, the end credits of this episode are shown against a backdrop of an image of the street (in reality, a composite elongated photograph, the majority of which is Archie Street in Salford), which pans from the corner shop to the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, with the credits of the particular actors displayed when their character's house is on screen. In an error, the Mission Hall is shown to be adjacent to the Rovers Return Inn, even though it had been established in Episode 1 that it was across the street.
- 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 - 3,848,000 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.
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