Coronation Street impromptu ceremony, shortly before going into cardiac arrest, although he later rallied and made a slow recovery. The episode of "EastEnders" broadcast on the same day as "Coronation Street" 50th anniversary episode included a tribute, with the character Dot Branning saying that she never missed "Coronation Street". In May 2011, Dennis Tanner returned after 43 years off screen. Beverley Callard and Vicky Entwistle who play Liz McDonald and Janice Battersby, respectively, quit the street. On 15 October 2011, Betty Driver, who had played Betty Williams since 1969, died of pneumonia, aged 91. In 2011, the major storyline of John Stape
Humour in Coronation Street Humour in Coronation Street Humour has featured strongly in "Coronation Street" since the programme's inception on 9 December 1960 airing on British Television. Reflecting on "Coronation Street"s survival for over five decades, former archivist and scriptwriter Daran Little suggests that most observers attribute the show's success to "two aspects: the mixture of comedy and drama, and the strength of the female characters." While most Coronation Street characters are used in a comedic capacity at some time or other, a number of characters have been used specifically for comedy throughout the show's history. The notoriously prissy, reserved and plain spinster Mavis