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 a countdown on the greatest Corrie moments, "Coronation Street: 50 Years, 50 Moments", the viewers voted "The Barlows at Alcoholics Anonymous" as the greatest moment. On 10 December Paul O'Grady hosted a quiz show, "Coronation Street: The Big 50" with three teams from the soap and a celebrity team answering questions about Coronation Street and other soaps. Also, "Come Dine with Me" and "Celebrity Juice" aired Coronation Street specials in the anniversary week. The German TV series "Lindenstraße" took "Coronation Street" as the model. "Lindenstraße" started in 1985. Over the years "Coronation Street" has released several straight-to-video films. Unlike other