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 soap opera, "EastEnders" in 1985. Like "Brookside", "EastEnders" had a more gritty premise than "Coronation Street", although unlike "Brookside" it tended to steer clear of blue language and politicised stories. While ratings for "Coronation Street" remained consistent throughout the decade, "EastEnders" regularly obtained higher viewing figures due to its omnibus episodes shown at weekends. The "Coronation Street" episode broadcast on 2 January 1985 attracted 21.40 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode in the shows history based on a single showing. Subsequent episodes would achieve higher figures when the original broadcast and omnibus edition figures were combined. With prime time