Coronation Street of youthful rebellion. Though the rest of the original Barlow family were killed off before the end of the 1970s, Ken, who for 27 years was the only character from the first episode remaining, has remained the constant link throughout the entire series. In 2011, Dennis Tanner (Philip Lowrie), another character from the first episode, returned to "Coronation Street" after a 43-year absence. Since 1984, Ken Barlow has been the show's only remaining original character. Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire) had appeared in the series since late-January 1961, when the show was just weeks old, and was the show's longest-serving female
Coronation Street viewing figures peaked at 19.4 million, with Hillman dubbed a "serial killer" by the media. Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) became "Corrie's" first regular homosexual character. In 2003 another gay male character was introduced, Sean Tully (Antony Cotton). The character of Karen McDonald (Suranne Jones) was developed, with her fiery marriage to Steve and warring with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford). In 2004, "Coronation Street" retconned the Baldwin family when Mike's nephew Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh) and his wife Frankie (Debra Stephenson) moved to the area from Essex, with their two sons Jamie (Rupert Hill) and Warren (Danny Young). Until this time,