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 new sponsor. In November 2011 a Nationwide Building Society ATM in Dev and Sunita Alahan's shop became the first use of paid-for product placement in a UK primetime show. Hyundai are the current sponsor since January 2015 in the Republic of Ireland, aired on TV3 HD. "Coronation Street" is the second most award-winning British soap opera in the UK, behind rival soap "EastEnders". The first producer was Stuart Latham, from December 1960 to July 1961. In the 1960s and 1970s, most producers did stints of about one year. Longer-running producers included Eric Prytherch (May 1972 – April 1974); Bill Podmore