Yate the Entertainer. Eating places in the centre include McDonald's, Boswells and Wetherspoons. During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, the shopping centre hosted Yate’s annual festival. On opening day a celebrity launched the festival by releasing balloons and stayed to sign autographs. Celebrities have included Carole Lee Scott, in character as Grotbags (from Rod Hull and Emu's enemy), Timmy Mallett, Keith Chegwin, Ross Kemp ("EastEnders"<nowiki>'</nowiki> Grant Mitchell), Ken Morley ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Reg Holdsworth), David Neilson ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Roy Cropper), Beverley Callard ("Coronation Street"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Liz McDonald), Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog, and the Milky Bar Kid. The festival also brought
Ken Barlow To worsen his situation, he was initially suspected of murdering her. In 1972, Deirdre Hunt, played by Anne Kirkbride, was introduced into "Coronation Street"; the character would become synonymous with Ken's narrative when, in the early 1980s, Deirdre became Ken's third wife. A combined audience of 24 million viewers tuned in to see the nuptials. Their wedding coincided with professional unease for actor Roache, who feared that Ken was becoming boring, to the detriment of his own self-confidence. In 2010 Roache said, "[Ken] was beginning to look very ordinary and quite nerdy, and that in turn had a knock-on effect