Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner (also Grimshaw, Howard and Gregory) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Pat Phoenix from the series inception in 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original core characters on "Coronation Street" and appeared in the first episode. She is considered something of an icon in soap history and regarded as one of "Coronation Street's" greatest ever characters. Her final appearance came in January 1984, when Elsie emigrated to Portugal. Phoenix decided to quit the series in 1983 to pursue other projects.
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