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
Screening of soap operas in Australia In 1996, Foxtel's Arena began screening "Coronation Street" in one-hour instalments on Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30. It was later moved to Foxtel's BBC UKTV where it currently airs at 7:20 pm EST each weeknight. At present episodes are approximately one week behind the UK airings. From 2009 until September 2014, free-to-air digital secondary channel 7Two had broadcast old episodes of "Coronation Street" on weekdays at 10:00 am. "EastEnders" is a British soap opera that first aired in Australia by ABC TV from 1987 until 1991. The show now airs on BBC UKTV from Mondays to Thursdays at 7:50 pm