Coronation Street reached a low of eight million in February 1973, when Pat Phoenix quit as Elsie Tanner, Violet Carson (battleaxe Ena Sharples) was written out for most of the year due to illness, and Doris Speed (haughty landlady Annie Walker) took two months' leave due to bereavement. The audience of ITV's other flagship soap opera "Crossroads" increased markedly at this time, as its established cast, such as Meg Richardson (Noele Gordon), grew in popularity. These sudden departures forced the writing team to quickly develop characters who had previously stood in the background. The roles of Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), Deirdre Hunt
Paul Clayton (Coronation Street) Paul Clayton (Coronation Street) Paul Clayton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street". Portrayed by Lee Booth, the character first appeared on-screen during an episode that aired on 29 November 2000. When the character returned in 2007, Paul was played by Tom Hudson. When the character's return was announced in 2007, it was revealed that the character would pick up where his on-screen father Terry left off. Tom Hudson stated that the character would develop to become a "loveable rogue", but would become much more of a rogue than lovable. He also said that the