Coronation Street in 1979. In 1982, the arrival of Channel 4, and its edgy new soap opera "Brookside", was one of the biggest changes for "Coronation Street". Unlike "Coronation Street", which had a very nostalgic view of working-class life, "Brookside" brought together working and middle-class families in a more contemporary environment. The dialogue often included expletives and the stories were more hard-hitting, and of the current Zeitgeist. Whereas stories at this time in "Coronation Street" were largely about family affairs, "Brookside" concentrated on social affairs such as industrial action, unemployment, and the black market. The BBC also introduced a new prime time
Coronation Street Gail Potter (also in 1979). For eleven weeks, between August and October 1979, industrial action forced "Coronation Street" and the entire ITV network (apart from the Channel Islands) off the air. When ITV did return, its first evening schedule included a special "catch-up" edition of "Coronation Street". This included storylines which would have taken place during the strike, and they were explained in the form of a narrative chat between Bet Lynch and popular character Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson). For several weeks the channel had very few fresh episodes to show, and episodes of the game show "3-2-1" were screened