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
Steve McDonald (Coronation Street) Inside Soap Awards, while the death of Steve and Michelle's son was longlisted for Best Show-Stopper and Steve revealing himself as Oliver's father was longlisted for Best Shock Twist. While Steve revealing himself as Oliver's father did not make the shortlist, Gregson's three other nominations did. Gregson did not win any awards at the ceremony. Steve McDonald (Coronation Street) Steve McDonald is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Simon Gregson. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 6 December 1989. He arrived as part of the McDonald family introduced by