Never ever owned a T.V.. Now at 75 with CZcams Premium and a tablet everything I missed is preserved to watch night or day. one episode after the next. What a good life. Sincerely Thank you CZcams
I'm 76 and began watching when I had my first daughter. She just turned 53. Have lost interest the past 20 years or so. However, I'll be re-watching these episodes.
I don’t think I realised just how brilliant and iconic these characters were at the time. How funny Hilda was. The others so well written a d performed too. I was born in 1967 so these episodes I was fairly young, but I remember watching
yes, i must agree. looking back on these episodes, despite some good storylines in the 80s, there's a charm about these episodes that is woefully lacking by 1990.
My mums favorite show on the tele growing up , I remember as a young boy in the seventies watching it with my mum and dad and brothers and sisters in Manchester England I was 9 years old I’m 53 now and my parents are both sadly passed away 🙏❤️ I miss them so very much brings tears to my eyes watching this brings back lots off memories love you mum dad xoxo
Same ! I’m 52 and I remember all these characters like it was yesterday! ‘Thats life’ on a Sunday night, and it was a bath and school next morning It’s a changed world guys, and not for the better
Me to iam 63 and watched with my nana mum worked and my dad who sadly has passed away this was the best they hv all gone I don't watch anymore rubbish know
I remember in the mid 1980s Channel Nine showing this soapie in their early afternoon programming. I recognise all these actors from watching this on and off.
my gran, a working class lady from Lincolnshire, adored her. She introduced us to the story and cast little by little. She used to think it was amazing that she wasn't really as common as she portrayed. She had seen her in her magazine and couldn't believe she lived in a posh house. The innocence of my gran and that time I still think about. I suppose it's why I'm here. Anyway, she is a superb actress and the rest of the cast are generally brilliant. I think 70s Corrie was the best, they had perfected it.
Absolutely Linda. Together with Jack and Vera, Stan and Hilda are a wonderful comedy double-act. Back when Corrie was full of humour and great, believable characters.
I was only 6 years old when this was aired but bizarrely i remember it..the real coronation street as i call it..the proper intro with the cat and everything..such memories and only youtube can deliver these memories back to me....happier times all round in my opinion..im just a grumpy 51 year old now lol..
I can't remember what I had for tea yesterday, but I too can remember these episodes. I was an 11 year old boy when they aired, I'm now 55, probably the same age as the Duckworth's, a fuckin shocking thought. Life's extremely short.
Hilda and Stan were the key to classic era Corrie Street-a bit of earthy, working class fun to make you laugh, and that balanced out more serious bits of the show. It set it apart from other depressing/drama soap operas of the time. Cheers! 😀
It's horrible how she is more than happy to put a woman and her child into financial discord (when Rita wanted to be a Mother herself) just for a flipping dishwasher. Such a horrible thing to do.
In '79 I was 5. I don't remember this exact year but I do remember it was on regular in our front room throughout the 80s. I think the stories and characters were more realistic back then. Watching it makes me yearn for a time machine to go back🕰️🔙
I started watching from 1976 six days ago and during that time Elsie Tanner has become my all time favourite. Im a big fan of Jack and Vera and so they are all tied as my favourites. I think it’s because they were Mother and Father figures to their lodgers. Tyrone and Jack having a beautiful father/son relationship. I’ve tend to rewind once I’ve watched a cluster of years. I stopped in November 2021 and started at 1989. I am now racing through the late 70s and looking at another ten years to catch up to the Rita and Alan Bradley saga. It sure has been a revelation travelling back to the second half of the 1970’s which represent my early childhood. Thank you so much for the uploads. Pat Phoenix is a striking woman indeed.
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. 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. (Corriepidia)
Thank you so much for this long and detailed summary, very interesting context for 1979. That strike must have been huge, to take ITV's biggest show, Coronation Street, off the air for almost 3 months! Do you have the special episode you mentioned, with Bet and Len doing a recap for viewers after the long, enforced break due to the Granada strike? That would be fascinating to see. I felt a stab of sadness that '79 was the last time viewers saw Annie Walker and her beloved son Billy together onscreen. I had no idea - I could have sworn he appeared with her in the early 'eighties. Just shows what an impact Kenneth Farrington made as Billy Walker during his sporadic appearances on the show, despite only being what's known as a 'floating' character. I think he was a great actor and made Billy a very believable character. I wonder why he never became a permanent fixture? Suzie Birchall was the same. But apparently in 1979 she hoped she would stay on as a permanent character, and 'float' no longer. Bill Podmore recounted in his fantastic book how devastated actress Cheryl Murray was when he called her into his office one day, and told her they were writing Suzie out forever. She burst into tears, and told him she'd just taken out a large mortgage on a new house, on the strength of future Corrie earnings. But the decision had been made, and no amount of tears could change it. She had a few small roles after Coronation Street, among them a pop video for the Smiths and an episode of the BBC sitcomes 'Sorry!' with Ronnie Corbett and 'Hi-de-Hi!' Her disappearance after may be due to health issues - she was diagnosed with MS and had her first attack while working on the Street. I just looked her up and found Cheryl Murray was born on 15th July 1952, so is now 68 - much older than Pat Phoenix was in these episodes, and in fact Cheryl has outlived Pat, who sadly died aged just 62.
@@glamdolly30 Sadly I don't have that carry over chat between either Bet or Elsie with Len, or episode 1936, which it is officially known as but is not counted as a full episode. This happens alot anyway in episodes where storylines may have been recapped at some point to remind the viewer what happened or even to change small things...like when Elsie and Bet went out for a drink one night and Elsie ended up drunk with that bloke who stayed overnight. They had no idea who he was but at the beginning of another episode the recap has Bet talking about him as if she knew him for years. You notice them more when you watch these omnibus editions I made.
@@professionalgun6674 Oh that's interesting! Yes, I remember that infamous storyline well - Bet and Elsie were accosted by the creep at the bar (played by John Junkin) and it was clear they didn't know him from Adam. But the barmaid - who happened to be an old, estranged chum of Bet's from school days I think - warned Bet he was trouble. Bet said she knew that on first sight of him - she definitely wasn't impressed and made it plain! But poor Elsie was drunk and at a low ebb after some man trouble (was it her rejection by Wally Randall, played by Mark Eden - later Alan Bradley?) Anyway, Elsie should have gone home with Bet, but as we know she foolishly took the married lounge-lizard home instead, with disastrous consequences. I'm disappointed the writers deviated from the original story like that, by having Bet say she'd known him for years. Corrie was usually pretty careful about continuity. I think there was a big continuity of storyline error concerning Mike Baldwin's father, many years later. Something about Mike saying he had died on a golf course, when anyone who remembers Mike's old dad as played by the wonderful Cockney spiv Sam Kydd, knows he would never have been part of the golfing set! Thank you for all the episodes and for all the additional background info too, pure gold. It's a real treat to talk vintage Corrie with an expert! Stay safe and well my friend, you are a hero. XXX
Was living away at residential school ' so I unfortnyly missed many episodes during 78-80 period ' had to catch up during holidays ' remember hearing about but not actually seeing the crash ' I do however remember the altercation between ken and that girl students abusive boyfriend ' I guessing it was Christmas holiday 78 with it being screened at the start of 1979.
It's so funny. Totally exposing the pretentions that exist in the modern art world. It's like the wine brigade who pompously claim they can taste all sorts in a liquid made from grapes.
Yes this episode showed Rita at her worst. She was absolutely ruthless where money was concerned. Reminded me of the episode where she destroyed her friendship with Bet Lynch by refusing to help her out with a desperately needed loan.
Hilarious, classic Corrie at its best. Really chuffed here. Fantastic first scene, hardly any spoken words at first. No need for words. Great acting. Love Stan and Hilda, bless 'em.
Beats me how Chris Quinten landed any role, let alone in Corrie. Amongst an array of wonderful actors, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Thank you for the upload, much appreciated.
Agreed, R. Brian couldn't act to save his life when he first joined the Street cast. He was inexperienced when he won the role and lucky to get it - I think the casting directors felt he looked the part. But he did improve dramatically - and by his final years on the show in the late 'eighties was a pretty good actor who held his own among the rest of the cast. It was unfortunate for him he got too big for his boots, which was the ultimate cause of his own downfall.
@@glamdolly30 He got a lot better as he gained experience and his character developed. He didn't have the correct regional accent at the beginning but acquired it later. Having seen many episodes featuring Brian and Gail, I don't think they were well suited at all. Gail is one of my least favourite characters from this period - wet, insufferable and whiney. Brian very much gave the impression that he fancied himself, and unless it was a front to cover a crushing lack of self-esteem, I don't think he would have been with someone who continually alternated between clinging and subordinate or critical and controlling. And later on, she was inclined to run upstairs in tears. They did have some good scenes together, however, most of them a consequence of Ivy's relentless interfering and criticism of her daughter-in-law against her flawless son.
@@bevtilbrook1675 a pie can is a pie in a can you bake in the oven by fray bentos they were very popular in the early 80s. Google fray bentos pies for more info. Anyway Hilda calls Stan a pie can because there was no use for an empty pie can I hope this helps Bev xj
2:36:10 Not sure why Suzie thinks she's professional model material and has "...a good figure". She's got a chest like Fred Gee's pints - warm and FLAT!
The opening scene sees Stan saying only Jessies wear shirts with flowers and Hilda responds by informing her husband he's filthy and smelly. It's like one of those old Hollywood romantic movies. 😆
@@bsaunders5271 Ooh yes, I remember spotting Bert as the jewellery shop assistant! It's true, Bert was quite a different character than he became when he first appeared as Ivy's hubby, looking at Deirdre's house-for-sale and not keen on buying it when she was trying hard to persuade him. It's interesting how some Corrie characters, Elsie Tanner, Vera Duckworth and Mike Baldwin among them, are fully formed personalities when they first appear on the show. The writing and the actor just meld, and they hit the ground running. While the character will gain more depth over the years, and sometimes surprise viewers, the essence of them doesn't change. Those are the best, most iconic characters. The most extreme example of a character transformation I know of, is Raquel Wolstenhulme, played by Sarah Lancashire. On her first appearances, Raquel was a hard-faced amateur beauty queen and supermarket checkout girl, intelligent and street-smart, with a devious, self-serving personality. But Sarah Lancashire quickly decided she didn't want to play a villainous soap bitch. They have a short shelf life! So she spoke to the Street scriptwriters, and they re-wrote Raquel as a ditsy, big-hearted innocent. Far too innocent for my liking - the way Raquel was written and performed, she was as innocent and wide-eyed as a child! They made her way too gormless for my liking, at times her stupidity beggared belief.
I found coronation street about a year ago. Watched what I can on yt, mostly 1969-1984. After hundreds of great episodes, at 1:16:35 is the first time I've heard Albert tatlock offer to put the kettle on. Lol he's always begging for someone to make his breakfast or his tea. 😅
What a fantastic month January 1979 was for Corrie! Gail and Brian's courtship goes full speed ahead, Sexy Suzie sizzles sausages in the supermarket, and the arrival of sparkling, effervescent, fun-loving, life and soul of the party Mr. Mitherer himself - Bert "You Know What I Mean" Tilsley.
I was only going to watch jusr a bit of this but can't stop watching. Takes me right back to being a little lad watching it. I remember all the characters from that time. I wouldn't entertain watching it these days though, woke trash. This is the Coronation Street i remember
I'm finding it SO stressful when little Christabel Finch calls for her actual Mummy, obviously standing on set, just out of sight. It tortures my own maternal instincts!
3:00:35 R. Brian had a very pronounced accent in the early days - and it definitely wasn't Lancashire, like his parents Ivy and Bert! Ah, I just looked up Chris Quentin - he was born in Middlesbrough, that explains it!
@@joegee6434 Good catch - Lynne Perrie was born in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire. I'm a Southerner and never spotted she has a Yorkshire, not a Lancashire accent before. And I thought I was pretty good at identifying accents! Surprised at myself for not noticing she'd Yorkshire - would you say she toned it down for Corrie?
Rita going on about Len doing the work of 2 men and working all the hours God sends, yet pleading poverty, when if it's his own business then he's earning a heck of a lot more as he's doing all the work. Always pleading poverty yet spends half the day and most of the evening in the rovers, and rarely has a drink without buying a couple of locals a few drinks as well. Back in earlier episodes the camera would often close up on Len as he downed a pint in 10 seconds and would say " let's have another
what you see from a glance on screen Len was drinking was not real beer it was just substitute shandy drink or summit .the late peter Adamson did have drink problem in real life it was quoted that peter would come on the floor from the green room to his scenes with a lot of alcohol drink consumed , but his was a fine actor knew how act and you never bored watching him on screen .he was the best. not like todays coronation street male actors who only put on accents and shout trying to act would drive you to boredom. they wouldn't hold a candle to peter Adamson and that is a fact. plus his a fine man rip.
Half the characters are always pleading poverty, but eat out at the Rovers or on take away fish & chips every day, never have a cigarette out of their mouths and are boozing morning noon and night!
🤫I've worked in a clothes factory in the past and has anyone noticed that 😂Vera has sewn not only the sides of the jeans but the top and bottom as well?🙄 How the hell do you get into them? Lol
Well Bert's catchphrase lasted until July 1982, and then he suffered a stroke, and by December 1982, and upto his last appearance in July 1983, he never says it!! It's a pleasure to watch him in those last 7 months.
@@NICKROBERTS23The last time I heard him say it was Jan 12th 1983,.. at - 12.46,.. and yet he says it in a slightly different way/tone . ... czcams.com/video/Lth6u40Y_ME/video.html
Deidrie should moan about how the council needs to 'get their finger out' and give her a flat. If she was waiting to be allocated a place now, she'd still be waiting in 10+ years time, never mind a week. She's only just enquired and has been told by Alf that there's one available but he doesn't know the details. Alf, rather than being patient when she told him he wasn't doing what he was elected to do and needs to go and kick some arse, even though he was doing her a favour, should have grown a pair and told her to find her own flat. Early Deidrie was a lot more irritating and charmless than later Deidrie.
@@cherylreid-panasiewicz6485 Yeah, like losing the will to live. I've seen the Deidre and Mike affair several times, and every time I hope she'll leave Ken for him 🤣 But sadly, she never does. She chooses the most boring, arrogant and self pleasing man. I admire William Roach for playing him over what must feel like a couple of centuries, at least. Poor Deidre, a dreadful husband, a worse husband, a sociopathic daughter, back to the same dreadful husband. Then she dies. Poor Deidre, and dear Anne Kirkbride who made it all possible.
@@shylinh5939 I think this might be my favourite reply ever! 🤣🤣. Currently watching the Ken/Deirdre/Mike triangle for the first time and I have to say, I wish she would pick Mike. They were much better suited IMO. Also apparently they were going to kill Ken Barlow off in 83, but came up with the triangle instead. At least in between the worse husband and back to the same dreadful husband, she got to be with Samir.
@@cherylreid-panasiewicz6485 Yes, Samir, how could I forget him? She had some happiness then. I didn't know they were going to kill Ken off. The attempts to make him seem interesting weren't very convincing. It seemed to amount to him having affairs, and even they were boring. Wendy Crozier, anyone? She suffered for getting involved with him 🤦♀️😂
@@shylinh5939 Ah yes, Wendy Flaming Crozier, I think the best part of that entire storyline was Deirdre's iconic: "I want to know where you have been and who with ". Anyway Wendy Crozier didn't seem to be that scared by Casanova Ken, considering she has come back for more in the present.
Now at the age of 73; I have been a fan since I was 12 years old. CZcams is a time machine. Thank you kindly for these episodes.
Same except I'm 66. It seems like yesterday.
Never ever owned a T.V..
Now at 75 with CZcams Premium and a tablet everything I missed
is preserved to watch night or day.
one episode after the next.
What a good life.
Sincerely
Thank you CZcams
I'm 76 and began watching when I had my first daughter. She just turned 53. Have lost interest the past 20 years or so. However, I'll be re-watching these episodes.
These lovely comments from the best generation❤️ thank you for all you have done to make the world a better place
Youll be 74 now i say youll be 74 now
I don’t think I realised just how brilliant and iconic these characters were at the time. How funny Hilda was. The others so well written a d performed too. I was born in 1967 so these episodes I was fairly young, but I remember watching
The golden days of T.V and when coronation Street was brilliant
Good upload 👍
yes, i must agree. looking back on these episodes, despite some good storylines in the 80s, there's a charm about these episodes that is woefully lacking by 1990.
My mums favorite show on the tele growing up , I remember as a young boy in the seventies watching it with my mum and dad and brothers and sisters in Manchester England I was 9 years old I’m 53 now and my parents are both sadly passed away 🙏❤️ I miss them so very much brings tears to my eyes watching this brings back lots off memories love you mum dad xoxo
I was born and bred in manchester also and I’m in my mid 50s
Whereabouts? I’m 54 from Crumpsall
Same ! I’m 52 and I remember all these characters like it was yesterday!
‘Thats life’ on a Sunday night, and it was a bath and school next morning
It’s a changed world guys, and not for the better
StarzzyJJASD
Was it shown in USA?
Me to iam 63 and watched with my nana mum worked and my dad who sadly has passed away this was the best they hv all gone I don't watch anymore rubbish know
Greetings from Australia.
This is the best Corrie.
Now I'm 53, I'm watching episodes back to back.
I remember in the mid 1980s Channel Nine showing this soapie in their early afternoon programming. I recognise all these actors from watching this on and off.
Good old Rita. Still working n doing he show. I loved it then age 16 and I love it now age 61
Jean Alexander, what a brilliant actress.
my gran, a working class lady from Lincolnshire, adored her. She introduced us to the story and cast little by little. She used to think it was amazing that she wasn't really as common as she portrayed. She had seen her in her magazine and couldn't believe she lived in a posh house. The innocence of my gran and that time I still think about. I suppose it's why I'm here. Anyway, she is a superb actress and the rest of the cast are generally brilliant. I think 70s Corrie was the best, they had perfected it.
Thank you 🙏 for the old Corries I remember watching these with my mum in the 1970s very fond memories
Me too 😊😊😊
coronation Street today isn't the same as this
Stan and hilda should have had a show of their own just like george and mildred
With Eddie as a third wheel?
Absolutely Linda. Together with Jack and Vera, Stan and Hilda are a wonderful comedy double-act. Back when Corrie was full of humour and great, believable characters.
@@SuzyQ334 only I have trouble understanding how Vera talks
Yes i can see it now...set on the Spanish coastline. Stan and Hilda enjoying frolics in the spanish sun. id call it hildarado.
@@ironknobsteelworks4063 that's a good one
I was only 6 years old when this was aired but bizarrely i remember it..the real coronation street as i call it..the proper intro with the cat and everything..such memories and only youtube can deliver these memories back to me....happier times all round in my opinion..im just a grumpy 51 year old now lol..
I can't remember what I had for tea yesterday, but I too can remember these episodes.
I was an 11 year old boy when they aired, I'm now 55, probably the same age as the Duckworth's, a fuckin shocking thought.
Life's extremely short.
I'm just a grumpy 52 year old hehe lol😝😝😝
Just binge watched this best stuff better than the 100 channels on the box😊
Bert Tilsley was a brilliant actor he was so calm and considerate not many of Bert’s been in corrie since the 70s👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you, again, for taking me to such a happy place with these downloads x
An opening with Stan Ogden rubbing his stomach waiting for food, how can you beat that.
Corrie when there were REAL characters who were believable and before it was ruined by never ending murder and mayhem.
Hilda and Stan were the key to classic era Corrie Street-a bit of earthy, working class fun to make you laugh, and that balanced out more serious bits of the show. It set it apart from other depressing/drama soap operas of the time. Cheers! 😀
Eastenders. Surely not!
oh come on how can you not forget .. ENA SHARPLES and . ALBERT TATLOCK the skids 😂🤣
You should see it now ...It's an awful show. It has gone down and down and down........
I remember these episodes from when I was a boy I use to sit on the settee with my nan and watch coronation street happy days
Spiteful Rita. No dishwasher no extra staff for len.
Yep, awful person
It's horrible how she is more than happy to put a woman and her child into financial discord (when Rita wanted to be a Mother herself) just for a flipping dishwasher. Such a horrible thing to do.
She was a b for two decades, especially towards Mavis.
In '79 I was 5. I don't remember this exact year but I do remember it was on regular in our front room throughout the 80s. I think the stories and characters were more realistic back then. Watching it makes me yearn for a time machine to go back🕰️🔙
Brian is so dolled up, it's difficult to believe he fancies Gail as much as he fancies himself ...
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Our brian
Wow! So happy I stumbled on this. My mother loved Coronation Street. These were such iconic characters - well acted, too.
Hardly watched coronation street but it’s nice to see these old faces and surely the most recognized theme tune ever.
Oh you are the best! Thank you so much for the upload. I love these Classic Episodes and you are so kind sharing them with all of us :-)
Yes, Thank you so much
"We all got problems Deidre" 😭 "I don't have a dishwasher"
I think you mean Rita
I started watching from 1976 six days ago and during that time Elsie Tanner has become my all time favourite. Im a big fan of Jack and Vera and so they are all tied as my favourites. I think it’s because they were Mother and Father figures to their lodgers. Tyrone and Jack having a beautiful father/son relationship. I’ve tend to rewind once I’ve watched a cluster of years. I stopped in November 2021 and started at 1989. I am now racing through the late 70s and looking at another ten years to catch up to the Rita and Alan Bradley saga. It sure has been a revelation travelling back to the second half of the 1970’s which represent my early childhood. Thank you so much for the uploads. Pat Phoenix is a striking woman indeed.
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.
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.
(Corriepidia)
Thank you so much for this long and detailed summary, very interesting context for 1979. That strike must have been huge, to take ITV's biggest show, Coronation Street, off the air for almost 3 months!
Do you have the special episode you mentioned, with Bet and Len doing a recap for viewers after the long, enforced break due to the Granada strike? That would be fascinating to see.
I felt a stab of sadness that '79 was the last time viewers saw Annie Walker and her beloved son Billy together onscreen. I had no idea - I could have sworn he appeared with her in the early 'eighties. Just shows what an impact Kenneth Farrington made as Billy Walker during his sporadic appearances on the show, despite only being what's known as a 'floating' character. I think he was a great actor and made Billy a very believable character. I wonder why he never became a permanent fixture?
Suzie Birchall was the same. But apparently in 1979 she hoped she would stay on as a permanent character, and 'float' no longer. Bill Podmore recounted in his fantastic book how devastated actress Cheryl Murray was when he called her into his office one day, and told her they were writing Suzie out forever. She burst into tears, and told him she'd just taken out a large mortgage on a new house, on the strength of future Corrie earnings. But the decision had been made, and no amount of tears could change it.
She had a few small roles after Coronation Street, among them a pop video for the Smiths and an episode of the BBC sitcomes 'Sorry!' with Ronnie Corbett and 'Hi-de-Hi!'
Her disappearance after may be due to health issues - she was diagnosed with MS and had her first attack while working on the Street. I just looked her up and found Cheryl Murray was born on 15th July 1952, so is now 68 - much older than Pat Phoenix was in these episodes, and in fact Cheryl has outlived Pat, who sadly died aged just 62.
@@glamdolly30 Sadly I don't have that carry over chat between either Bet or Elsie with Len, or episode 1936, which it is officially known as but is not counted as a full episode. This happens alot anyway in episodes where storylines may have been recapped at some point to remind the viewer what happened or even to change small things...like when Elsie and Bet went out for a drink one night and Elsie ended up drunk with that bloke who stayed overnight. They had no idea who he was but at the beginning of another episode the recap has Bet talking about him as if she knew him for years. You notice them more when you watch these omnibus editions I made.
@@professionalgun6674 Oh that's interesting! Yes, I remember that infamous storyline well - Bet and Elsie were accosted by the creep at the bar (played by John Junkin) and it was clear they didn't know him from Adam. But the barmaid - who happened to be an old, estranged chum of Bet's from school days I think - warned Bet he was trouble. Bet said she knew that on first sight of him - she definitely wasn't impressed and made it plain!
But poor Elsie was drunk and at a low ebb after some man trouble (was it her rejection by Wally Randall, played by Mark Eden - later Alan Bradley?)
Anyway, Elsie should have gone home with Bet, but as we know she foolishly took the married lounge-lizard home instead, with disastrous consequences.
I'm disappointed the writers deviated from the original story like that, by having Bet say she'd known him for years. Corrie was usually pretty careful about continuity.
I think there was a big continuity of storyline error concerning Mike Baldwin's father, many years later. Something about Mike saying he had died on a golf course, when anyone who remembers Mike's old dad as played by the wonderful Cockney spiv Sam Kydd, knows he would never have been part of the golfing set!
Thank you for all the episodes and for all the additional background info too, pure gold. It's a real treat to talk vintage Corrie with an expert! Stay safe and well my friend, you are a hero. XXX
Was living away at residential school ' so I unfortnyly missed many episodes during 78-80 period ' had to catch up during holidays ' remember hearing about but not actually seeing the crash ' I do however remember the altercation between ken and that girl students abusive boyfriend ' I guessing it was Christmas holiday 78 with it being screened at the start of 1979.
Ya
Left England in 86. Been in the states since. Stark reminder of simpler times , definitely homesick after watching.
Not the same now...these were the good old days when English people run their own country...Better off in the States!
The greatest period late 70s early 80s with so many iconic characters. I was barely 7 years old but remember all their names
I love the storyline of Hilda’s painting. I’ve never seen it before
It's so funny. Totally exposing the pretentions that exist in the modern art world. It's like the wine brigade who pompously claim they can taste all sorts in a liquid made from grapes.
Me neither - the storyline, the characters the dialogue are wonderful
Simply wonderful uploads
My 5 year old Pomeranian cross Chihuahua is named Mavis after Mavis Riley.
Wow. I remember all of these characters. I was 9!
Ruthless Rita, looking after number 1 as usual.
Absolutely ghastly money grabbing character
Yep awful person
One of my all time favourites was Elsie Tanner plus Hilda and Stan...
She was a rotten jealous cow!
Yes this episode showed Rita at her worst. She was absolutely ruthless where money was concerned. Reminded me of the episode where she destroyed her friendship with Bet Lynch by refusing to help her out with a desperately needed loan.
Thanks for taking the time to upload Classic Corrie, they bring so much joy, you're a star.
Thanks again, PG66! As I've mentioned in past postings, you're a Gem!!!!
This show must miss Hilda Ogden
Hilda was a soap legend, and is missed beyond measure!
@@glamdolly30 A cultural icon, really.
@@frazzleface753 If you don't recognise Hilda Ogden as a cultural icon, what are you doing here?!
@@glamdolly30 …they are saying that Hilda is not just a legend but a cultural icon. They are agreeing with you.
TY for uploading, miss Ena Sharples and minnie Caldwell as well,
Hilda’s “murial”, brilliant!
Thank you for uploading this well happy 😃 😃😃🙌🙌🙌
Hilarious, classic Corrie at its best. Really chuffed here. Fantastic first scene, hardly any spoken words at first. No need for words. Great acting. Love Stan and Hilda, bless 'em.
Many thanks for this.
Never realised Rita was such a hard faced meanie.
I'll admit it. I like Hilda Ogden's 'muriel'. There I've said it.
Don't they look young, these were the best of coronation street x
The programme started going downhill when Brian tilsley appeared,along with the Webster's, they changed gails character and the old actors departed
The Websters brought nothing to the show.
Agree 😊
Beats me how Chris Quinten landed any role, let alone in Corrie. Amongst an array of wonderful actors, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Thank you for the upload, much appreciated.
Agreed, R. Brian couldn't act to save his life when he first joined the Street cast. He was inexperienced when he won the role and lucky to get it - I think the casting directors felt he looked the part. But he did improve dramatically - and by his final years on the show in the late 'eighties was a pretty good actor who held his own among the rest of the cast.
It was unfortunate for him he got too big for his boots, which was the ultimate cause of his own downfall.
@@glamdolly30 He got a lot better as he gained experience and his character developed. He didn't have the correct regional accent at the beginning but acquired it later. Having seen many episodes featuring Brian and Gail, I don't think they were well suited at all. Gail is one of my least favourite characters from this period - wet, insufferable and whiney. Brian very much gave the impression that he fancied himself, and unless it was a front to cover a crushing lack of self-esteem, I don't think he would have been with someone who continually alternated between clinging and subordinate or critical and controlling. And later on, she was inclined to run upstairs in tears. They did have some good scenes together, however, most of them a consequence of Ivy's relentless interfering and criticism of her daughter-in-law against her flawless son.
@@shylinh5939 didn’t Brian leave Corrie and went to America to share his good looks lol 😝
I could be wrong but I think Chris Quinten was one of the cast members criticised by Peter Adamson when he sold his stories to the press.
@@francesgillotti1378 Trying to compete with John Travolta!Ha' ha.
Thanks for these playlists. Much appreciated 👍
January 1979. I was born 3 months after!
"Ive had bad luck for the last 35 years".... " We've been married 35 years"...comedy gold,
One of Britain's long lost Call My Bluffs, the word PIECAN made famous by Hilda Ogden, brilliant.
Do you know what it meant? I do if you don’t x
@@jasonbarron3047no, what does it mean.
@@bevtilbrook1675 a pie can is a pie in a can you bake in the oven by fray bentos they were very popular in the early 80s. Google fray bentos pies for more info. Anyway Hilda calls Stan a pie can because there was no use for an empty pie can I hope this helps Bev xj
Absolutely wonderful when TV was entertaining
2:36:10 Not sure why Suzie thinks she's professional model material and has "...a good figure". She's got a chest like Fred Gee's pints - warm and FLAT!
😂😂😂
Really.. 🤦♀️
Len is lucky that sink didn’t crash on top of his head when he collapsed! Shoddy workmanship, Mr F! Xx love these episodes
The opening scene sees Stan saying only Jessies wear shirts with flowers and Hilda responds by informing her husband he's filthy and smelly. It's like one of those old Hollywood romantic movies. 😆
Thank you so much PG! The missing year!
Have you been able to find the rest of 1979? If so, would you tell me where?
I’m hoping PG is going to put it on soon
Absolutely loved watching this! Thanks for the upload
Good to see that even back then Coronation Street was very inclusive by having a Liverpudlian on the show.
They had three. Hilda Ogden, Eddy Yates and Len Fairclough.
Did they throw a party when Brian finally decided on what accent he was going to use?
For a mummy’s boy like Brian, it’s curious how Ivy has a Yorkshire accent and Bert is Lancashire, but ‘r’ Brian is more Middlesbrough/North-East
Thank you!
childhood memories
That poor lady - couldnt read ,.couldnt write , couldnt act
And that weird fake accent!
When Corrie was worth watching
Hilarious how different the character of Bert is in his first appearance.. a right stick in the mud here, he soon changes to be a lovable character
Yes, dear old Bert, so long-suffering and underappreciated on times.
The actor playing Bert appeared before, as the shop assistant who sold Renee's engagement ring to her and Alf.
@@bsaunders5271 Ooh yes, I remember spotting Bert as the jewellery shop assistant!
It's true, Bert was quite a different character than he became when he first appeared as Ivy's hubby, looking at Deirdre's house-for-sale and not keen on buying it when she was trying hard to persuade him.
It's interesting how some Corrie characters, Elsie Tanner, Vera Duckworth and Mike Baldwin among them, are fully formed personalities when they first appear on the show. The writing and the actor just meld, and they hit the ground running. While the character will gain more depth over the years, and sometimes surprise viewers, the essence of them doesn't change. Those are the best, most iconic characters.
The most extreme example of a character transformation I know of, is Raquel Wolstenhulme, played by Sarah Lancashire. On her first appearances, Raquel was a hard-faced amateur beauty queen and supermarket checkout girl, intelligent and street-smart, with a devious, self-serving personality.
But Sarah Lancashire quickly decided she didn't want to play a villainous soap bitch. They have a short shelf life! So she spoke to the Street scriptwriters, and they re-wrote Raquel as a ditsy, big-hearted innocent. Far too innocent for my liking - the way Raquel was written and performed, she was as innocent and wide-eyed as a child! They made her way too gormless for my liking, at times her stupidity beggared belief.
@Rockstar Game What does that mean?
When Corrie was Corrie. The early days of Coronation Street were far better than what Coronation Street is today - Rubbish.
That poor child of Deidre’s - how could any mother/producers listen to a child crying out like that for the sake of a part in “Corrie”!
I found coronation street about a year ago. Watched what I can on yt, mostly 1969-1984. After hundreds of great episodes, at 1:16:35 is the first time I've heard Albert tatlock offer to put the kettle on. Lol he's always begging for someone to make his breakfast or his tea. 😅
Thank you 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 going to watch this after Line of Duty 🤩
@@davidroonmeister I watched 1985 to present day then 1980 -85 then 1975-78 am loving the old episodes
These vintage Corrie episodes are far better plotted and scripted than 'Line of Duty' - or any modern drama serial!
That gangster who ken beat up came back in corry as councilor potts. When Derek Wilson worked in a school.
Thankyou, knew I knew him from somewhere
What a fantastic month January 1979 was for Corrie! Gail and Brian's courtship goes full speed ahead, Sexy Suzie sizzles sausages in the supermarket, and the arrival of sparkling, effervescent, fun-loving, life and soul of the party Mr. Mitherer himself - Bert "You Know What I Mean" Tilsley.
Hahaha !! 🤣 🤣 😅
Yeah i know about all your problems Deidre But i'm having that Dishwasher...lol
I was only going to watch jusr a bit of this but can't stop watching. Takes me right back to being a little lad watching it. I remember all the characters from that time. I wouldn't entertain watching it these days though, woke trash. This is the Coronation Street i remember
We're watching this at the very same moment, wow!
I look like Stan Ogden now. Jeez
I'm finding it SO stressful when little Christabel Finch calls for her actual Mummy, obviously standing on set, just out of sight. It tortures my own maternal instincts!
I know what you mean but I'm sure the mother wasn't stressed getting Christabel's pay packet every month.
@@professionalgun6674 ha good point! Poor little kid.
Me too xx
I have zero maternal instincts and I just wish the kid would stop bawling. It's doing my head in.
Great video sharon and Martin and baby Frank he is so cute, luv these kind of places keep up the good work.xx
3:00:35 R. Brian had a very pronounced accent in the early days - and it definitely wasn't Lancashire, like his parents Ivy and Bert! Ah, I just looked up Chris Quentin - he was born in Middlesbrough, that explains it!
Ivy has more of a south Yorkshire accent herself (Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster I'd suspect...)
@@joegee6434 Good catch - Lynne Perrie was born in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire. I'm a Southerner and never spotted she has a Yorkshire, not a Lancashire accent before.
And I thought I was pretty good at identifying accents! Surprised at myself for not noticing she'd Yorkshire - would you say she toned it down for Corrie?
@@joegee6434 I noticed that too ' although it does fluctuate.
Baldwins hair never changed
Rita for all her front had no self confidence judging by the way she handled the situation with Deirdre.
Jean Alexander use to catch the train to Manchester Victoria studios to film Coronation St.,
Thumbs up for Len
Coronation Street is class
I don't get Rita, she had a go at Hilda 4 upsetting Deidre & then Rita goes round Deidre,s & tell her there no job at yard, WTF
I can't stand Rita and her sly ways
Yes she can be a bit much
@@michaelgregory8322 after Alan Bradley she became a different character almost much less "bitchy" .
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase Abstract Art ha ha.
Thanks so very much.
Rita going on about Len doing the work of 2 men and working all the hours God sends, yet pleading poverty, when if it's his own business then he's earning a heck of a lot more as he's doing all the work.
Always pleading poverty yet spends half the day and most of the evening in the rovers, and rarely has a drink without buying a couple of locals a few drinks as well.
Back in earlier episodes the camera would often close up on Len as he downed a pint in 10 seconds and would say " let's have another
what you see from a glance on screen Len was drinking was not real beer it was just substitute shandy drink or summit .the late peter Adamson did have drink problem in real life it was quoted that peter would come on the floor from the green room to his scenes with a lot of alcohol drink consumed , but his was a fine actor knew how act and you never bored watching him on screen .he was the best. not like todays coronation street male actors who only put on accents and shout trying to act would drive you to boredom. they wouldn't hold a candle to peter Adamson and that is a fact. plus his a fine man rip.
Half the characters are always pleading poverty, but eat out at the Rovers or on take away fish & chips every day, never have a cigarette out of their mouths and are boozing morning noon and night!
Before imposed cultural destruction
Aw the good auld days when doctors paid house visits 😂
Best years...... once Bet Lynch left Coronation street was finished.!
🤫I've worked in a clothes factory in the past and has anyone noticed that 😂Vera has sewn not only the sides of the jeans but the top and bottom as well?🙄 How the hell do you get into them? Lol
😂😂😂 good eye!
LOL. Suzie's fancyman Paul played the father of Helen Herriot' dad in "All Creatures.."
I liked the older ones ❤
3:12:32 the first “ you know what I mean” a constant phrase for 5 and 1/2 years
Burts fav words
Well Bert's catchphrase lasted until July 1982, and then he suffered a stroke, and by December 1982, and upto his last appearance in July 1983, he never says it!! It's a pleasure to watch him in those last 7 months.
@@NICKROBERTS23The last time I heard him say it was Jan 12th 1983,.. at - 12.46,.. and yet he says it in a slightly different way/tone . ... czcams.com/video/Lth6u40Y_ME/video.html
Back when Corrie had proper storylines, talented actors & writers, without the need for constant violence & controversy.
Jack Dempsey couldn't have laid him out better ' Albert was a true legend ' miss those old times.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Thank you 👍
Brian looks like Andy Gibbs
Deirdre was a proper entitled cow to Alf about getting a new house!!
It was always on in our house in the 70s, I remember Ernie getting shot then Brian tisley got stabbed it was all going off lol..
2:41:17 If Mrs Walker gave me a dressing down like that I'd wither on the spot, and slither down the nearest drain with the beer slops!
Deidrie should moan about how the council needs to 'get their finger out' and give her a flat. If she was waiting to be allocated a place now, she'd still be waiting in 10+ years time, never mind a week. She's only just enquired and has been told by Alf that there's one available but he doesn't know the details. Alf, rather than being patient when she told him he wasn't doing what he was elected to do and needs to go and kick some arse, even though he was doing her a favour, should have grown a pair and told her to find her own flat. Early Deidrie was a lot more irritating and charmless than later Deidrie.
I agree, I think they really toned her down later on in the year. It must have been the Ken Barlow effect!
@@cherylreid-panasiewicz6485 Yeah, like losing the will to live. I've seen the Deidre and Mike affair several times, and every time I hope she'll leave Ken for him 🤣 But sadly, she never does. She chooses the most boring, arrogant and self pleasing man. I admire William Roach for playing him over what must feel like a couple of centuries, at least. Poor Deidre, a dreadful husband, a worse husband, a sociopathic daughter, back to the same dreadful husband. Then she dies. Poor Deidre, and dear Anne Kirkbride who made it all possible.
@@shylinh5939 I think this might be my favourite reply ever! 🤣🤣. Currently watching the Ken/Deirdre/Mike triangle for the first time and I have to say, I wish she would pick Mike. They were much better suited IMO.
Also apparently they were going to kill Ken Barlow off in 83, but came up with the triangle instead.
At least in between the worse husband and back to the same dreadful husband, she got to be with Samir.
@@cherylreid-panasiewicz6485 Yes, Samir, how could I forget him? She had some happiness then. I didn't know they were going to kill Ken off. The attempts to make him seem interesting weren't very convincing. It seemed to amount to him having affairs, and even they were boring. Wendy Crozier, anyone? She suffered for getting involved with him 🤦♀️😂
@@shylinh5939 Ah yes, Wendy Flaming Crozier, I think the best part of that entire storyline was Deirdre's iconic: "I want to know where you have been and who with ".
Anyway Wendy Crozier didn't seem to be that scared by Casanova Ken, considering she has come back for more in the present.