John Stevenson

John Stevenson (10th May 1937 - 5th September 2023) was one of the most prolific writers in the history of Coronation Street having contributed 447 episodes from 1976 to 2006, including three co-written with Leslie Duxbury. He left the programme for a short period between 2000 and 2002 following a dispute with then-producer Jane Macnaught.

One of his notable contributions to the Coronation Street world came as a result of Episode 2203 (12th May 1982) which introduced the guest characters of Wesley and Cyril McGregor. He and Julian Roach saw the potential of these characters in their own sitcom and The Brothers McGregor ran for four years and 26 episodes from 1985 to 1988. Stevenson wrote 15 of the episodes, 6 of them with Roach.

He also wrote the programme's first two-hander, Episode 4745a (2nd January 2000) which, at his suggestion, featured the temporary return of Raquel Watts, another of his creations, to the programme. In addition, he scripted the programme's first "straight-to-video" release, Coronation Street - The Feature Length Special in 1995 and the "mini-episode" featuring Hilda Ogden's return for the 1990 ITV Telethon.

Outside of scriptwriting, he was also a storyliner on the programme for 6 episodes from Episode 1860 (13th November 1978) to Episode 1865 (29th November 1978).

He co-created 1980s comedy drama Brass again with Julian Roach, and has penned episodes of Heartbeat, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and The Grimleys.

Stevenson was the northern theatre critic and showbusiness writer for The Daily Mail and wrote his first ever script in 1968 at the behest of Peter Eckersley for a piloted comedy series called Her Majesty's Pleasure (created by Leslie Duxbury). He met Bill Podmore the same year and worked for him on many series such as Nearest and Dearest. Podmore, more than most, appreciated the importance of writers in television, and quickly recruited Stevenson when he became the Street 's producer in 1976. He also scripted the sitcom, Mother's Ruin, starring Coronation Street actor, Roy Barraclough.

Episodes written by John Stevenson[]

1970s[]

1976 (10 episodes)

1977 (15 episodes)

1978 (16 episodes)

1979 (14 episodes)

1980s[]

1980 (16 episodes)

1981 (12 episodes)

1982 (11 episodes)

1983 (10 episodes)

1984 (13 episodes)

1985 (14 episodes)

1986 (13 episodes)

1987 (17 episodes)

1988 (14 episodes)

1989 (16 episodes)

1990s[]

1990 (18 episodes)

1991 (19 episodes)

1992 (15 episodes)

1993 (16 episodes)

1994 (17 episodes)

1995 (15 episodes)

1996 (15 episodes)

1997 (21 episodes)

1998 (21 episodes)

1999 (19 episodes)

2000s[]

2000 (11 episodes)

2002 (15 episodes)

2003 (15 episodes)

2004 (19 episodes)

2005 (15 episodes)

2006 (5 episodes)

The Brothers McGregor[]

The Getaway Car (Co-written with Julian Roach)
The Royal Letter ‎ (Co-written with Julian Roach)
Cyril's Marital Status ‎ (Co-written with Julian Roach)
The Vicar Buys a Car ‎ (Co-written with Julian Roach)
The Impressive Address ‎ (Co-written with Julian Roach)
Nye Jenkins
The Traffic Warden
Cyril's Singing
Victorian Porn ‎
Inspector Maggot Pays a Surprise Visit (Co-written with Julian Roach)
Jury Duty‎
The Singing Fan
Madame Pratt ‎
Irving Sternberg Arrives ‎
The Record for Marathon Singing ‎

Other Coronation Street related works[]

1990 ITV Telethon - Hilda Ogden's return.
Coronation Street - The Feature Length Special (1995)