Singapore is a Southeast Asian island city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 85 miles north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. The country is highly urbanised and is the world's fourth-leading financial centre, and its port is one of the five busiest ports in the world. Founded as a trading post by Britain in 1819, Singapore became independent in 1963.
The first connection with the residents of Coronation Street came in March 1980 when Len and Rita Fairclough considered buying a house in Handforth from a Mr. and Mrs. Lambert because they were moving to Singapore. Len was unhappy with the prospect and Rita dropped the idea, not wishing to force the move on him.
In November 1997 pilot Captain Ian Jenkins moved for six months to Singapore with his family and asked Jon Lindsay to keep an eye on his house. Jon used the house to help deceive Deirdre Rachid that he was an airline pilot and used the address to obtain money fraudulently, involving an innocent Deirdre in the scam.
There was a happier connection with the city in August 1999 when Mike Baldwin booked a three-week holiday there as well as stops in Hong Kong and Bali for himself and girlfriend Linda Sykes.
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- Singapore television transmitted Coronation Street for some years in the 1960s. The state was also a stopping point on the flight to Australia in March 1966 when Arthur Leslie, Doris Speed and Patricia Phoenix went on a three-week promotional tour.