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 is Mallorca" special. Ahead of the series it was announced that cast member Jake Hall had quit the show having appeared since the fourteenth series. Despite quitting the show at the end of the sixteenth series, Jess Wright made a one-off appearance to support Bobby over the loss of his dog. It was also the first series not to include long-running cast member Lewis Bloor, who quit during the previous series. New cast member Amber Dowding joined the show for this series. "Love Island" winners Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde also made guest appearances during the ninth episode