The Road to Coronation Street the character of Annie Walker, and Lynda Baron played the role of Violet Carson, who played one of "Coronation Street"s most iconic characters, Ena Sharples. John Thomson and Michelle Holmes, who had previously been members of the Coronation Street cast, appeared as H.V. Kershaw and Harry Elton's secretary respectively. The drama achieved a peak of 852,000 viewers on its first transmission, making it the second most popular programme in BBC Four's history, behind 2008's "The Curse of Steptoe" at 1.41m viewers. Sam Wollaston, a critic for "The Guardian", gave a positive review, stating ""The Road to Coronation Street" is fond,
Cheryl Gray (Coronation Street) it's been really exciting seeing the set and meeting the cast. It's pretty scary too when you're sat in The Rovers filming a scene with Ken (William Roache) and Deirdre [Barlow] (Anne Kirkbride) sat next to you!" Former "Footballers Wives" actress Phina Oruche told the "Liverpool Echo" that she unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Cheryl, after "Coronation Street" producers asked her to do a screen test with Charles. Twenty-two-year-old Quin-Ankrah did not reveal her age at the time of the casting process and dressed in clothes that made her look older. Cheryl was originally aged thirty, however this was