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
Katherine Kelly (actress) Katherine Kelly (actress) Katherine Kelly (born 19 November 1979) is an English actress. A 2001 graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she played Becky McDonald in the ITV soap opera "Coronation Street" from 2006 to 2012, for which she won Best Actress at the 2009 British Soap Awards and Best Serial Drama Performance at the 2012 National Television Awards. From 2013 to 2016 she played Mae, Lady Loxley in the ITV drama series "Mr Selfridge". Kelly's theatre credits include "Othello" at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2002, playing Kate Hardcastle in the 2012 National Theatre revival of "She