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
Carla Connor 2014, and was nominated for the award again in the 2015 ceremony. Carla Connor Carla Connor (also Gordon and Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006. Carla has been referred to as "the new Elsie Tanner". This was King's second role in the soap as she previously played Mrs. Fanshaw for one episode in 2004. King was off-screen from February 2009 until October 2009 due to her maternity leave. In May 2012 King announced she