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
David Platt (Coronation Street) David Platt (Coronation Street) David Platt (also Tilsley) is a fictional character from the British soap opera, "Coronation Street". He was born on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 December 1990. He was played by Thomas Ormson from his first appearance until 15 March 2000 when Ormson left. Jack P. Shepherd took over the role and made his first on screen appearance on 26 April 2000. David is the son of Martin (Sean Wilson) and Gail Platt (Helen Worth). David was born on Christmas Day 1990. Martin's friend Carmel Finnan (Catherine Cusack) tried to kidnap David when he was a