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
Coronation Street Live (2000 episode) Coronation Street Live (2000 episode) Coronation Street Live is a live episode of the British soap opera "Coronation Street" which was broadcast on Friday 8 December 2000 as part of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations. The episode was an hour long and aired at 8:00pm, an hour after a repeat of the with an introduction by William Roache from the soap's outdoor set where last minute preparations for the live episode were under way. The episode was number 4945 in the series and was the first live edition to be broadcast since Episode 17, which aired on 3 February 1961.