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
Tim Metcalfe (Coronation Street) nominated for the same award at the Inside Soap Awards of the same year. Duttine was also nominated for Funniest Male in the award ceremony. Duttine made the shortlist, eventually winning the award. However, Duttine and Dynevor did not make the shortlist and "Emmerdale" Charlie Hardwick and Chris Chittell (who play Val and Eric Pollard) won the award. Tim Metcalfe (Coronation Street) Tim Metcalfe is a fictional character from the British television soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Joe Duttine. He made his first on-screen appearance on 21 January 2013. Duttine had previously appeared in the soap between February and