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
Norris Cole (Coronation Street) also nominated for "Funniest Performance" at the 2010 "Inside Soap Awards". Norris Cole (Coronation Street) Norris Cole is a fictional character from the British soap opera "Coronation Street", played by Malcolm Hebden. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 March 1994. Hebden had previously played the role of Carlos, Mavis Riley's (Thelma Barlow) Spanish lover, in 1974. Norris appeared on a recurring basis, until he was written out in April 1997 by Brian Park. However two years later, the character was reintroduced on a regular basis. Derek Wilton (Peter Baldwin) is surprised when Norris Cole