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
Mark Redman (Coronation Street) Mark Redman (Coronation Street) Mark Redman (also Dunlop) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street". He is the son of long-running character Mike Baldwin and Maggie Dunlop. He was played by Thomas Hawkeswood from 1983 till 1984, by Christopher Oakes in 1986, Michael Bolstridge in 1991 and then by Christopher Cook from 1992 till 1996 and then most recently Paul Fox from 1999 till 2006. He first appeared during the episode airing on 31 October 1983 and last appeared on 17 April 2006. Maggie married Harry Redman soon after splitting up with Mike and Harry