Coronation Street
Coronation Street was first broadcast on the 9th December 1960 and is set in Weatherfield, which is a fictional area in Salford. It brought many Northern sayings to the screen, such as by heck, chuck and nowt, and despite being commissioned for just 13 episodes is the longest running and most watched soap opera in the UK. In September 2010 it took the World Record for the longest running TV soap opera in the world. It is on 5 times a week with an omnibus edition on a Sunday.
Coronation Street was created by Tony Warren and was originally due to be called Florizel Street. He wrote the first 13 episodes, continued to write on and off until 1976 and often still advises on story lines. Over the years it has won many awards, including Best Continuing Drama, Most Popular Serial Drama, TV Soap of the Year and Best Soap.
In the 1960s the main families and people were the Barlows, Ena Sharples, Elsie Tanner and the Jack and Annie Walker. In the 1970s background characters such as Ivy Tilsley, Bet Lynch and Mavis Reilly were developed, and characters such as Gail Potter, the Duckworths, Eddie Yates, Mike Baldwin and Fred Gee appeared. Hilda and Stan Ogden were used much more and were great comedy value. The 1980s saw people like Percy Sugden, Martin Platt, Curly Watts and Reg Holdsworth appear. New characters such as Steph and Des Barnes, Raquel Wolstenhulme and Fred Elliot were first seen in the 1990s, whilst the 2000s saw people such as Richard Hillman, Todd Grimshaw, Sean Tully and Karen McDonald enter the Street.
Coronation Street started off being known for it’s ordinary, working-class characters and slice of real life, although in the past it has been criticised for being a bit behind the times and not keeping up with current life, instead having a more nostalgic view of things. It has had some very popular story lines though, highlights include Deirdre Barlow’s affair with Mike Baldwin, the fire at the Rovers Return, Alan Bradley’s death under a tram whilst chasing Rita Fairclough, Deirdre Barlow being sent to prison, the murderous reign of Richard Hillman and Tracy Barlow killing Charlie Stubbs. It did introduce the first transsexual character in a British soap, Hayley Patterson, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh.
Popular Corrie Actors
Popular Coronation Street Characters
