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
Coronation Street UTV Ireland. Coronation Street has broadcast on each of the main Irish networks, except for the Irish Language Network TG4. From December 2016, "Coronation Street" returned to TV3 after Virgin Media acquired UTV Ireland. In August 30th 2018 Virgin Media Two began airing repeats of the show along with Virgin Media Three In South Africa, "Coronation Street" episodes are broadcast three days after the UK air date on ITV Choice. In New Zealand, "Coronation Street" has been shown locally since 1964, first on NZBC television until 1975, and then on TV One, which broadcasts it in a 4-episode/2-hour block on