Coronation Street place at university, and thus found his working-class background—as well as his parents, Frank and Ida (Frank Pemberton and Noel Dyson)—something of an embarrassment. The character was one of the few to have experienced life outside of Coronation Street. In some ways this predicts the growth of globalisation, and the decline of similar communities. In an episode from 1961, Barlow declares: "You can't go on just thinking about your own street these days. We're living with people on the other side of the world. There's more to worry about than Elsie Tanner and her boyfriends." Roache is the only remaining
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,