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 "Coronation Street fans are the most loyal, except maybe for curling viewers, of all CBC viewers." In late September 2014, CBC aired extra episodes to become only one week behind the UK in airing of new episodes. In the Republic of Ireland, "Coronation Street" is simulcast on Virgin Media One. The show is Virgin Media One's most watched programme with an average of 365,000 people watching each night. The broadcaster relies on a live feed of the soap from the ITV network in London. If there was a breaking newsflash (e.g. about a Royal baby being born) on the UK