Coronation Street in its place. "Coronation Street" returned to ITV screens with a regular scheduled time closer to the end of 1979. "Coronation Street" had little competition within its prime time slot, and certain critics suggested that the programme had grown complacent, moving away from socially viable storylines and again presenting a dated view of working class life. Between 1980 and 1989, "Coronation Street" underwent some of the biggest changes since its launch. By May 1984, William Roache (Ken Barlow) stood as the only original cast member, after the departures of Violet Carson (Ena Sharples) in 1980, Doris Speed (Annie Walker) in
The Only Way Is Essex speaking part. The seventh series started airing from 30 September 2012 with all of the cast from the previous series returning apart from Lauren Goodger, and original cast member Kirk Norcross returning to the series after departing in Series 3. This made him the first cast member to return to the show. The series was renewed for two further series in August 2012, set to air sometime in 2013. On 13 November 2012 it was confirmed that three festive specials would air in December including a live episode, a first for the show. The live episode was met with numerous