Coronation Street Behind Closed Doors Documentary 1995 (VHS Capture)

[@Helen-sound]

My god that took me back . I joined Granada in 1983 . I was the first girl to work in the sound department. You can see me jumping off the boom platform after we recorded one of the scenes here in this documentary. I worked and grew up with this cast and crew . I did work at ytv on Emmerdale and Heartbeat etc from 2000 to 2013 but now I’m back at Corrie where there are still some familiar faces . The difference is obvious that we do a lot more episodes and there are now at least 3 directors and crews all filming at the same time . When I started we would do what they called ‘The producers run’ where you saw the cast in their own clothes running the scene for the heads of department ie., camera , sound , lighting, design , costume and make up . This was our opportunity to plan our part in the production and make the vision of the director work . Cast too could use this time to point out any questions about the script . This as you can see was done in the sets but before we used to have every wall and piece of furniture marked out on a floor by the floor manager and or design in the rehearsal room . This was also the place the director would rehearse with the actors before the days of recording . All outside scenes were done on film by the film department and on a Thursday afternoon in studio 6 we would start recording in the sets and finish on the Friday night . Outside filming is called PSC , portable single camera and the camera is on sticks ,pushed on a dolly on a track or hand held . Sometimes they use a second camera . In studio they called it a multi camera shoot because we would have 3 cameras on moving pedestals and 2 booms . Those are the 3wheeled platforms with the long extending arm with the mic on the end . I used to operate one of those . It was like rubbing your head and patting your tummy to work one . The wheel would rack the arm in and out then the left leaver would turn the mic and if you pulled it tight it would tilt the mic . I can honestly say I have only hit one actor on the head , Bill Tarmey ... he was bending down behind the bar , I had my mic above , someone called out to the director Billy Gilmore and Bill T stood up right into my mic . I was mortified but in true Bill style he forgave me . We had so much time then .Now there is a much bigger cast and we shoot 4/5 episodes per director every 2 weeks ... a lot of scenes a lot of words to learn . As a result we no longer have the capability of pre rehearsals or producer runs. So we all, cast included, all get to see the scene as directed by the director who has planned where he wants the cameras , where the cast sit, stand or walk for the first time just before we record it . I have been doing this , now I mix the sound , for 37 years . I was the first female to mix the programme and sadly I’m still the only girl filming in sound but I still get a buzz off the fact that when we start to record , everyone has to get their bit right at the same time . The moment when the director calls ‘cut’ and everyone is beaming . I faded up the mics at the right time , camera’s hit all their shots , lighting made it look great along with costume and make up , props and design were bang on with the hard task of continuity ( food is a bugger ) and cast hit their marks , turned their head the same way as rehearsed and said all the words in the right order .... its magical ! What are the odds . There is so much team work on the floor . We still are a big family . Personally I feel we put out too many episodes and even I can’t keep up with what is going on . It’s the 60 th anniversary this year and already the celebrations have started and I hope to work on the special episode that they are doing later this year . It’s all hush hush but maybe we should look at this video and remember.

[@unclejoe7958]

Helen ❤️ An informative insight into the backstage goings on, thank you. You’ve certainly seen a lot during your career. Thank you for your input into creating these gems.

[@Helen-sound]

Uncle Joe Thank you x

[@debrarowley2264]

Thank you for that Helen, a real insight into life on set. I wonder why.more women didn't choose your path as a career choice, it sounds fascinating.

[@Helen-sound]

Debra Rowley You’re welcome .

[@suzanneillingworth8692]

Thank you so much Helen ..... i really enjoyed reading about behind the scenes..and about what you did on the sets.....

[@TenorReacts]

I could listen to Jean’s voice all day. She had such charisma and charm and very earthy as an actor. It must of been a joy and honour to work alongside her.

[@janetebanks5493]

There could never be another soap like Coronation Street!

[@seanart1508]

The Stan & Hilda Ogden + Jack & Vera Duckworth days are my favourites, classic tv!!

[@petemarr824]

Coronation Street has what the others could not do, Humour! There are absolute classic episodes over the years. You have to love it. You look back at this, and realise when you were a kid there were characters that just are not around anymore in real life.

[@MissMarie1377]

Hilda’s voice in real life was a shock to me. She has a voice like velvet, how did she do that screechy Hilda voice so many hours a day? :)

[@suzannahwade3345]

Give me classic coronation street any time . I never watch the modern time of Coronation street no mike no Betty

[@janetebanks5493]

I feel very emotional about Coronation street. I came back to England in March 64. I have been watching it since then until now. I have retired and return to Jamaica I'm still watching. Thank you God for the internet, and for Coronation Street

[@marian3nene45]

I second that, thank gods for Coronation Street ❤️❤️ I live in the USA, and the internet has been my blessing for Corrie. I cannot watch it on TV here, so here I am! x

[@daniellesobelman9434]

You can now! Get Britbox and plays same day episodes

[@rabbit64sj91]

I couldn't resist messaging you, as I was born in February 1964, and so was just a month old when you started watching Coronation Street! I love The Street, especially the 1960s to 1980s episodes. So pleased you are enjoying the vintage episodes on the internet still, me too! 😉 I send my best wishes to you from here in the UK. Tim 😀💐

[@janetebanks5493]

Thank you Tim, hope you will always be watching "Coronation Street"

[@mikehudson8884]

This was great to see all the 60s episodes but the 70's Corrie was the absolute BEST. Tony Warren was the greatest it was HIS little gem, he got it SO so right. Love his interview with Melvyn Bragg here, He says it as it was.

[@02bher1]

I LOVE this show; have been a fan since I was 8 years old with my grandmother who was born in England and though we lived in Canada; she introduced us to the show. I am 73 now and still watch it every day!

[@WillC1528]

That moment when Sarah Lancashire puts her Wig on. Absolutely magical! 😮🤩🥳

[@edidsbury]

The current production team, driven by commercial pressure and an obsession with winning so-called awards, should sit down and watch this. They might learn a thing or two.

[@redfield1007]

They probably know all of this already but have their hands tied by production company's ect.

[@simplywonderful1]

There’s too many episodes per week nowadays so the quality naturally lessens

[@jeanettesteed3326]

I saw the very first black and white episode and followed it faithfully for years. I wouldn’t give you a Thankyou for it now. It’s descended into the depths and has become like Eastenders. Everyone rowing, screaming and shouting, people getting murdered drug addicts etc. I know life can be like that sometimes, but not ALL THE TIME. I think Tony Warren will be turning in his grave if he could see how his wonderful vision has been ruined. I for one will never watch it again.

[@elizabethkeenan7063]

The only soap that can go from tragedy to comedy successfully

[@sachinchahal4131]

I'm 21 years old next week and I have watched it for 15 years now and still love it like mad. I think it's the best soap ever created

[@brendatracey7430]

Aww thanks for the video loved the show big fan from australia

[@bikerbisht110]

Corrie was well watchable in th'old days ... shame how it's turned out

[@ariaxrose1]

Why don't you like the recent ones?

[@RedversCross]

I remember recording this on video and watching it over and over. This period is peak Corrie. Thanks for posting it.

[@WallyPyneoil]

Love the way it ended on Annie and Jack in the 1960s. My absolute favourite era in the show.

[@seanart1508]

I've been there, a very good day out at Granada tv's Manchester Quay street studios in 1991, i'll never forget it.

[@steffanhoffmann8937]

Fantastic insight! My very young childhood. Elsie and Ena the great characters. Sat down and watched it with family and friends

[@ismayb754]

Love it when Vera says to Betty "I've been observing and... you don't do much do you?" Hilarious delivery from Vera and reaction from Betty. Bit of an in-joke too as even though Betty was a street legend she rarely actually had any stories or did anything beyond serving hotpot and making funny remarks.

[@jakethekipper]

Absolutely terrible in the last 25 years. I knew Tony quite well. RIP.

[@Ravenswalk]

The one thing sorely lacking in the Coronation Street of today is the humour its all doom and gloom these days.

[@BLTKellys]

The Duckworths taking over the Rovers was so ridiculous. Nobody could fill the void left by Bet Gilroy, much less those two.

[@laminage]

Bill Tarmey was so wise about his Character Jack and how the Show would go on.

[@glamdolly30]

You think? Sadly Bill Tarmey was wrong - because the Street's glory years did come to an end, circa 1995 after Julie Goodyear's departure. However, the show had an amazingly long run at the top, with scripts and performances of superb quality, never again matched. Thank God it is all recorded on video for us to enjoy forevermore - Coronation Street from 1960 to 1995 is some of the best TV drama produced anywhere in the world.

[@swaggerjagg22]

@@glamdolly30 I absolutely agree with you! 1960 to 1995 was the best of corrie when Bet left

[@GetStrumming]

I’ve still got this on vhs from its original transmission! Great documentary and I love how Bill Tarmey has a slight trans-Atlantic tinge to his accent! I often wondered if it was a result of his club singing. He changed his name from Bill Piddington to Bill Tarmey, because he sounded like singer Mel Torme. It was also something showbiz folk did back in the 70’s. If you listen to Ernie Wise he affected a hint of trans-Atlantic in his interviews, even though I don’t think he ever lived in America! Maybe it was a way of them distancing themselves from their on-screen personas? Bill Tarmey always seemed like a genuinely decent guy as himself. Sadly missed.

[@zanducktv2398]

"It wouldn't change, not one iota..." It has Bill, and how! Unrecognisable now, it was THE soap, now it's just A soap.

[@booth2710]

yes - now it's just EastEnders on cobbles. Not a patch on what it used to be ...

[@paulashe7460]

The true reason people watched was the difference now it’s all yooff!

[@maxinemuldoon2065]

I agree it has changed I don’t watch it now only the classic ones. Yep it’s like east Enders now.

[@WillC1528]

Oh, wow. That moment when Sarah Lancashire puts her Raquel wig on... Truly magical! :-))

[@alexfaraguna9868]

that was a wig? I don't know what's real any more.....!

[@connied2451]

@@alexfaraguna9868 I also thought it was her real hair. She definitely got the best wig on the show!

[@MrDannyDetail]

@@connied2451 I believe that in her earliest appearances it was her own hair, but after a while it became apparent that intensely styling her hair all the time for the character was taking it's toll on the actor's hair, so at that stage I think she asked if she could have a wig for the character instead.

[@connied2451]

@@MrDannyDetail Thanks for the info!

[@connied2451]

@@MrDannyDetail I thought I had answered you earlier, but I don't see my reply here. Just wanted to say thanks for your info!

[@Cire6609]

Loved it in the 70s 80s and 90s. Don’t watch it now as there are too many characters that I dislike.

[@nathanbeaven3572]

I like behind the scenes of tv shows and movies

[@bredrew1990]

Thanks. I love behind the scenes of movies and TV shows.

[@patticallihan8515]

Fabulous look down memory lane. I was only a little girl in the early 60’s but I remember some of the early scenes in this video. ❤️

[@laminage]

Bill Tarmey was very humble. He knew that the Show existed before him and would continue after him. Alto of US Soap Actors got very egotistical and got a major slice of Humble Pie. George Reinholt who played Architect Businessman Steve Frame on Another World from 1968-1973believe his own hype. He was the first Superstar on American Soaps and some feel he played a major part in preventing Another World getting Cancelled 1964-1999. He was let go then worked on One Life To Live (1968-2013) then faded into obscurity. He spent his life savings taking care of this Parents, he rented his house out in Pensylvannia, PA., and took his Garage and converted it into an Apartment aka Flat. He became addicted to Alcohol but he was in The Closet and he was scared he'd be outed. He died a couple of years ago but his downfall was one of the most memorable in US Soaps.

[@ysgol3]

Tim Aspinall trying to 'explain' one of the most stupid decisions in British TV history, the disaster of killing Martha Longhurst off - thereby destroying the great comedy trio of Ena Martha and Minnie.

[@lastschicker]

Hard to believe it was done on a whim

[@Lucy0809]

It was ridiculous to kill her off just to bring in the ogdens. Big mistake

[@stormhawk3319]

Worst decision the show ever made killing off Martha.

[@Xandra101-xj8ef]

Agree😊

[@ysgol3]

@@Lucy0809 HI, the two events weren't connected. It was just an attempt to save face by that idiot producer - 'I brought the Ogdens in' - to try to deflect from the moronic decision to kill Martha - he should have kept her AND introduced them! (How's that for a quick reply🙃).

[@Plutootjes]

Just great seeing this, thank you very much!

[@clivestuarteardley6049]

A brilliant behind the scenes look at how Brilliant Corrie was

[@ianbentley7276]

excellent, thanks for posting.

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

it's whereever you want it to be in your own heart.

[@Sameoldfitup]

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

[@Edfsarah3376]

Thankyou this is so precious 💖

[@jamessky9155]

''A Gay guy who has been out on the scene since the of age 16, at 23 IS Elsie Tanner''.... That really did make me L O L.

[@TenorReacts]

What a find! Thanks!!

[@elizabethwilliams1523]

Loved watching corrie in the 60s and early 70s. Don't watch it now.

[@joycereece5565]

Classic Corry itv3 beats todays by miles .

[@glynnevans1851]

Hi Joyce, You are so right. My favourite s are Stan n Hilda plus Ena Sharples and Minnie Caldwell all very professional and not ego driven ..Kind regards Glynn n Greetings from Stourbridge West Midlands 🤗🤗

[@joycereece5565]

@@glynnevans1851 Hi Glynn,when i have a lousy night trying to sleep i watch the older black and white ones on You tube.Yes i know sad old woman 😂.

[@glynnevans1851]

@@joycereece5565 hi Joyce, Thank you for your reply .Me the same' i use u .tube alot Joyce. Sadly I don't watch Coronation street these days and have not since the mid 90s because in my view the serial as lost its way and does not reflect lifestyle in a street now. Do you remember when Stan Ogden got accused of having a thing 'going with a lady in Inckamin street. By the way were r U from Joyce.kind regards Glynn 🌷🌷🤗🤗

[@brendagilliland5602]

That was absolutely brilliant I love coronation Street and gran watched it from the episode until sadly passed away,, anyway I thought seeing Tony Warren was brilliant great sense of humour sending all my love to the writer's and the cast ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Fee212]

32:00 He killed off a character who'd been there from the start for a bet! Says it all. 😮

[@louiseowusu246]

That interviewer looks like Mike Baldwin. Great show.

[@bryanfranks]

Love Tony Warren..genius..but where did he get his posh accent from..not a trace of his salford roots?

[@glamdolly30]

Tony Warren was what's known as 'Manchester Royalty' - Barbara Knox aka Rita Tanner is another humble person made good through talent & hard work, who speaks very posh as herself. I rather like that they make the effort to speak well and enunciate properly.

[@williamf4544]

@@glamdolly30 Wots an enunciate chuck ?

[@lorrainetavares1753]

@@williamf4544 Ahahahahahahaha!¡ 😆😅😂

[@zeddeka]

People in the acting world of that generation were often like that. If you trained as an actor, you were given elocution lessons. Speaking in a regional accent was usually only used if the actor wanted to play the character as a kind of comic idiot.

[@beckyflower7297]

it's a gay thing. I've known loads of gay guys who just naturally sound posher or present as and it's only when you meet their family you realise they they really arent . Plus an actor/theatre thing.

[@ohcrikey9560]

I like the 'over the top' 'larger than life' characters that have always been and still are in Corrie. Crazy eccentric characters. Unlike the cardboard cutouts in Eastenders.

[@JohannaLeigh]

Great doc! Thanks for posting. And YES!!!!! Mike Baldwin's "scotch" was Apple juice. Thanks Johnny! 😊

[@passionflower730]

Corrie should go back to its roots.....Excellent documentary....

[@zeddeka]

I agree it's much worse now. Part of the problem though is that the world and society it was based on no longer exists. People don't behave or interact with eachother in the way they used to in the golden age of coronation Street. Coronation Street also has so much more competition for viewers now. They seem to have become increasingly sensationalist in an attempt to bring in viewers. Not sure it's the right strategy.

[@johnrider3749]

I love classic coronation street with its gritty storylines unfortunately today's series is a shadow of its former self with its dull and boring characters,

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

You can pinpoint the downfall of the show from Julie Goodyear’s departure in 1995.

[@glamdolly30]

Absolutely right! It was all over after that, the Street's glory years never to be matched, not even close.

[@dlamiss]

you can pinpoint the downfall of the show to when it was extended to 3/4/5/6 episodes a week.

[@glamdolly30]

@@dlamiss Good point - I guess the quality was always going to slip once they were working everyone as hard as that. I stopped watching 2 years ago, today's scripts are full of violent crimes and the cast is crammed with second rate actors.

[@Irishgui83]

I've never thought about it much before but this is actually so true. It was never the same. I heard the producers got a bit peeved off because it was always "nobody is bigger than the show" and they felt she had reached the point where she actually was. She was the last grande dame the show has ever had and, as you say, when she went, a lot of heart and soul went with her and it has never been replaced.

[@glamdolly30]

@@Irishgui83 Totally agree. Julie Goodyear took the baton from the show's original and - in my view - ultimate grand dame, Pat Phoenix. Corrie was famous for its strong, well-written and beautifully performed female characters, including Anne Walker, Ena Sharples, Hilda Ogden and Rita Fairclough (now, ironically, Tanner after her short-lived marriage to Elsie's son Dennis). The women pretty much drove the action in the show's glory years. Now thedim-witted bimbos and annoying fish-wives like Gail. Gail had a massive personality change over the years. In her youth she was Elsie's flighty lodger, then she became level-headed wife and mum to Brian (putting up with his awful mother Ivy), then capable older wife to Martin and business woman running the café. But when she became middle aged, the writers turned Gail into her former nemesis Ivy Tilsley! Gail became controlling with her kids, pursuing petty feuds with neighbours like Eileen. I'm surprised Helen Worth, the actress who has played her for 40-odd years, hasn't complained about what they've done to Gail! Ironic that in these supposedly enlightened times of sexual equality, Coronation Street has regressed where its female characters are concerned. To see fantastic, strong, funny, fascinating women you have to go back to its vintage episodes - starting 60 years ago!

[@missmandy70]

Trouble is it aint the same since any of them has left

[@zanducktv2398]

Fascinating insight. The Women of Coronation Street video featuring Betty and Hilda was released around this time, along with a set of four excellent spoken word cassettes featuring Rita on holiday with the Websters, Raquel reflecting on Rovers life (bit heavy going listening to that voice for an hour lol), Reg preparing for a job interview and the Duckworths. It showed how much depth those characters had. Might still be a few copies knocking about on Amazon or Ebay. I also recall t shirts with Reg Holdsworth love machine and Je m'appelle Raquel emblazoned across the front! The Brian Park era which followed soon afterwards may have been groundbreaking in some respects, but I would imagine the show lost as well as gained viewers as a result, it became too gritty like Brookside or EastEnders then. All those great writers like John Stevenson, Adele Rose and Frank Cottrell Boyce have gone now as well.

[@johnrider5701]

Back in the days when coronation street was worth watching. Today its a depressing boring mess with dull unlikeable characters..

[@juliemcleod9869]

Ena shapels reminds me of the battle axe out of Saturday night and Sunday morning

[@mikehudson8884]

Oh yes, exactly right. The one that gets shot in the rear!!!!

[@leeandrews2473]

Loved all the old characters it was like real life however i dont watch Cornation st now its full of weak actors its not interesting anymore

[@wendynadin3685]

I agree👏👍👌

[@murphy9039]

Yes, rubbish storylines and dull characters on Corrie today.

[@aprilapril2]

It’s horrendous now isn’t it. Stupid storylines , and even good actors struggle to make the scripts seem real. It’s like a junior school play. I went to the new studio set last year, and it was dreadful. No interior or indoor historical studio tour any more , just the street. Absolute rip off.

[@vickibarrett3960]

I agree! Corrie and Eastenders back in tue day was good. Some very real and raw story lines.

[@RobertHellier]

I blame poor storylines by poor writers its like the show lost its way

[@itallia666]

I fully agree, Northern humour is very acerbic! Im from Newcastle upon Tyne & Geordie humour is the same. Anyone not from our area & listening to us address our loved ones & good friends would think we were enemies or that we despised each other but its quite the opposite! We also put on armour plating when tackling any obstacles which appears to others as hard nosed, fierce aggression but thats not so either! Its when were afraid or trying to give courage to others. Our humour is black & sarcastic & we thoroughly enjoy it, & know how loved we are. Very few understand this humour The only nation that comes close to our " way" is the Dutch & The Northern Dutch- The Frisians, they absolutely get us! I lived in Koln in W.Germany for a few years & it almost did my head in because the Germans do not comprehend our humour & terms of endearment, nor did i gel with their slapstick stolid humour. It made for constant misunderstandings & hurt feelings! Apart from their slightly boring way of life, the Swedes also have a similar humour. For we Northerners, humour is paramount to all aspects of life Its well seen our ancestors were from Scandinavia & the lowlands Id not live anywhere else now In my autumn years. Regards 🇬🇧👧

[@cicerodiello1]

The Poms (I’m Australian) do humour better than any race of people. They send themselves up beautifully. I realise it’s cultural and having an understanding of a particular culture is a good start. We grew up with all the great British comedy shows before wokeism and political correctness spoiled the party. Thanks for the laughs!

[@rosemaryfranzese317]

Tony Warren’s opening comments were relevant, the truth is Coronation Street was about an era that was rapidly coming to an end. The characters felt real because they were based on real people. The quality has gone down because that world no longer exists and the programme now is more about ridiculous plots than people. Coronation Street was really an area that would have been demolished in the sixties and replaced by flats. The programme is no longer based on any kind of reality, life has changed and so have people, the world of Coronation Street no longer exists

[@elizabethdyer5493]

Loved Jack and Vera..Stan and Hilda

[@Matt571]

It was interesting to hear Tony Warren saying he knew things were going to change in the 50s. He was right about Cross Lane market going

[@Uksoapfan]

Corrie went downhill at an alarming rate in 2000. The decline was slowly starting when the Battersbys arrived but 2000 was the big decline.

[@murphy9039]

Agree. That's when I lost interest in Corrie.

[@chris7921]

I would say even in 1995, after Bet Golroy left

[@Uksoapfan]

@@chris7921 It is all subjective as some say it went downhill in 1983-1985, others say when Hilda left in 1987, or 1995, or 1997.

[@madwatermelon1316]

You've got Jane Mcnaught to blame for that. I still to this day don't know what Granada were thinking putting her in charge of Corrie as she'd had no previous experience of producing any soap opera or drama. Her forte was mainly Saturday night entertainment.

[@zeddeka]

I think to be honest its decline started c. 1985. The world started to change and coronation street started to get a lot of criticism for being overly sentimental and old fashioned. The 1980s were pretty violent and grim and Corrie seemed a bit soppy in comparison. They started to make it more EastEnders, but it didn't really work. Bit by bit, it lost its best characters and became more and more Hollyoaks.

[@suzannahwade3345]

Tony coronation street is your baby and always will be

[@stevek6432]

25:55, that photo wont come out, she photographed the door

[@valeriegordon3000]

One man says that many people don't like the comedic quality of Corrie? Bullfeathers. Look at the comments these days. People (including me) have stopped watching it because it's lost it's soul and the comedy. Real life is funny!

[@tezmoore4100]

political correctness has killed it..like so many things

[@glamdolly30]

Exactly! The comedy of the show in its golden years was what marked it out as something very special. The actors were given lines the nation's top comedians would have killed for! And the women were the powerhouse characters who ran the show - icons like Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Hilda Ogden and Annie Walker. Today's Corrie women are a wet and boring lot who cry if they drop their chips on the walk home! Today's show isn't even a pale shadow of Corrie in its prime, when it was some of the finest TV drama ever produced in the world. The heart and humour left the cobbles long ago, and there's more dead wood in the cast than a timber merchants.

[@tezmoore4100]

glamdolly could not agree more

[@carolineking7435]

Valerie Gordon your so right Valerie. That show has changed and it's lost the comedy . Some of the best quality TVs laughs has come from Coronation st in the past . That all changed since Tony Warren passed. I havnt watched it for a good while now.

[@ianthomas5955]

Valerie, I couldn't agree more. Corrie is not -and never has been - a soap opera, rather a humorous caricature of everyday life, which is where its genius lay. I had the great good fortune to work at a bank on the corner of Quay Street in the mid-60's, next door to Granada TV, and many of the actors and production staff had accounts with us and I got to know them very well. I was allowed to go into the studios and watch rehearsals and occasionally witness the show being transmitted (it went out live in those days, no chance to correct mistakes!) . I was especially friendly with Doris Speed (Annie Walker), a lovely lady who was the polar opposite in real life of the character she played. I have been watching the 80's repeats on ITV3 and am reminded how brilliant the programme was thirty years ago with the comedic interplay between Alec Gilroy and Bet Lynch (surely the two finest comedy actors of all time) and the great plot lines. Today's version, sadly, is shallow, anaemic and contrived by comparison.

[@MrMacca1951]

used to be a brilliant show but as with commercial telly it's crap now

[@whatonearth9809]

Anyone know what this bit of music is called at 33:20? Associate it with WW2

[@MsTinkerbelle87]

0:28 😭 awwwe I wonder if he realizes how much we miss him?

[@Mcfreddo]

That was very interesting, thank you. I've not seen this before. I watched a bit of one episode (new) on tv last night. I'm not into the storyline as I haven't watched anything for years- (I did just turn it off), but if it's written more like east enders, I wouldn't be so enthralled. That show has its place of course, but I wouldn't want to coronation street to lose that charm that Tony Warren first created. He certainly was a gem. Do you need 4 episodes a week? Would think that weakens the whole show by doing too much. + no suspense.

[@happiness4812]

20:19 WOW he even looks a bit like Dennis Tanner❤❤❤😂😂😂❤❤❤

[@laminage]

God, When Ena and Elsie fought in The Street that was a classic. US Soap Ladies like Bert Bauer, (Guiding Light), Jo Stafford (Search For Tomorrow) Nancy Hughes (As The World Turns) or even Alice Horton (Days Of our Lives) would never carry on like that.

[@PhilMacVee]

What's the music at around 1:20?

[@DeanMoxley87]

31:01 Jack Duckworth calling the scene crap

[@sjoannebrown9305]

I watch it regularly

[@amyclarke41]

miss vera ♥️

[@paulinemoriarty552]

I would much rather have the comedy of old coronation st compared to the sad murderous life’s they are all leading now

[@laminage]

This is so 180% from US Soaps. US Soaps started in Chicago in 1937 on The Radio with the Guiding Light, then it moved to TV in 1952 under the direction of Irna Phillips. Her greatest claim to fame was that she served as an Advisor to future Soap Creators Agnes Nixon (All My Children & One Life To Live) and Bill Bell (The Young & The Restless & The Bold & The Beautiful) who graduated from Northwestern like Megan Markle. UK Soaps I find are more PC/EO. On EastEnders they've always had Black & Indian Actors but Coronation Street would have been known as White Street by US Standards. Now it surpassed Guiding Light as the longest running Televised Soap Opera in TV History.

[@zeddeka]

Certainly when it started, coronation Street was in the era before mass immigration to the UK. And when immigrants did come, they often gravitated to where the work was. Poor, grimy backstreets in the North like the one portrayed in coronation Street remained almost universally white for a very long time. In the schools I went to in a poor area in the 1990s, there was not one single black person.

[@BLTKellys]

Irna Phillips actually created the soap opera medium.

[@corinnewoolley9822]

There weren’t any big stars in Corrie, but a few thought they were.

[@suzannahwade3345]

No bet no Vera no jack ever episodes before 1989 was the best with great actress and great Actors after 1990 never watch boring , who was shaggy who , who sniffing want , who pregnant, ECT

[@dianewalker4633]

Coronation Street should have been cancelled years ago. It was excellent at one time, but now it's just rubbish. What a shame they didn't roll up the cobbles while they were still on a high note. I couldn't be bothered with it now.

[@thatslifethatswhatpeoplesa7434]

Well said Di

[@kevinlongman007]

This show makes me sad. Corrie is awful now compared to what is was in the mid 90's.

[@JennyOWEN-g3x]

Actually saw some scenes that happened before I was watching CS with my mam!

[@arnaldovinagre4350]

GREAT !!!!!

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

so sentimental.

[@midnightrun2764]

So great, to look back in the good old days of Tony Warrens Coronation St! I haven’t watched, & have never looked back, since Eileen, allowed Todd to stay living in her house, after being such a dink!..Nope! I’m out!..Guess we got spoiled for so many years, w the outstanding writing, by Tony!..✌🏼🇨🇦

[@tonyphilpott9500]

Believe me a gay guy who has been out on the scene since 16, at 23 is Elsie Tanner. Classic😂

[@ZadenZane]

If Tony Warren was an actor then why on earth didn't he cast himself in Coronation Street? If you were making a TV serial wouldn't you put yourself in it? Not to be a "star" but for posterity, so in years to come you could look back and say, "That was me! I was in Coronation Street. And I invented it!!"

[@wendydavenport9418]

Is it me but everything seems so expensive now. I bet the prices were cheaper then than now

[@Sam-pr9rr]

I got into this show from my grandparents lol

[@marieannwalsh662]

Wouldn't watch it now.

[@bostonblackie9503]

I hate they call it a soap opera. That is an American term. First used starting in the 1930's when daytime shows were on radio. The sponsors were companies that made household products. Thus you had Proctor and Gamble Productions. The show went downhill when they introduced all young characters. None of them had a story to tell.

[@BLTKellys]

The more highbrow term for soap opera is serial drama. If you look up clips of the American soaps from the 1950s on KZbin you can see all the soap ads which sponsor the episodes.

[@annemariestones3984]

"Continuing drama" is also used sometimes, too now.

[@laminage]

I'm telling you, The UK Soap Writers can give the US Fellows a run for their money in terms of writing for Soaps. Daran Little wrote for All My Children and a UK Writer now works on The Young & The Restless shocking fans when JT Hellstrom Victoria Newman's Ex Husband becomes a Violent Abuser. Alot of fans were very angry because the "Old School" Victoria wouldn't have tolerated something like that.

[@jakeu8998]

Soap writers can't give people like David Simon a run for their money

[@theresapierce3934]

Coronation street is not worthy of the name anymore.

[@drfrankenstein3556]

That interviewer’s face when the producer is talking about being openly gay lol. Oh and he looks like Mike Baldwin.

[@ladygrinningsoul992]

Lovely seeing all these old characters apart from Reg Holdsworth!

[@happiness4812]

46:04 wish I had seen this yesterday . Today is September 12, 2024❤🇺🇸❤❤🇺🇲❤🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❤

[@firebyrd437]

I watched Coronation Street when I was a bairn. After that, I didn't like it any more, it lost its character as time went on

[@SuperFerdie1965]

Pat Phoenix as sexy as Ava Gardner. Alas, Gardner got Sinatra, Pat got Tony Booth!

[@sheronlyn2693]

Now its just all murder and mayhem and so not like anyones life.

[@dianaoglewarnock1014]

I agree! don't watch it much anymore, too depressing. Use to love Corrie st.

[@londonlady227]

The original actors cut their teeth in a very hard theatrical and music hall world......class acts. Now the younger actors spend 5 minutes in stage school and they think they're Olivier.....thats the issue.