Coronation Street - January 1981

[@professionalgun6674]

Bill Podmore produced Coronation Street for the sixth year in a row. This would be the last in which Podmore alone was in charge from start to finish. A decision was made to build a new outdoor set to replace the Grape Street set. Although it was still in good shape, the current backlot had a number of problems which could not be solved without building an entirely new street. The main one was its small scale, which was particularly glaring in shots featuring large vehicles. The tops of the houses couldn't be shown nor anything past the Rovers Return, as the roofs didn't have chimneys and a set of gates lay where Rosamund Street should be. In addition, there was a lack of drainage facilities for rainwater, and a bonded warehouse immediately behind the set constantly cast it in shadow. The set was notorious among the cast for being cold and damp, with Jean Alexander dubbing it "the coldest place on Earth". Late in the year, Granada purchased a former railway marshalling yard on the opposite side of the bonded warehouse at Tickle Street, Camp Street and Garden Court, for Coronation Street's new set. The build included the houses, Baldwin's Casuals, the Community Centre and flat, a purpose-built viaduct, and a section of Rosamund Street. The houses were built from bricks reclaimed from demolition sites, and the roofs - containing fibreglass chimneys - from reclaimed slates, though the cobbles were already in place. Construction began on 12th November, after a ceremony conducted by Doris Speed, and carried on into 1982. A major change was made to the street when it was decided to replace the gap at the centre of the row with a new house. Within storylines, 7 Coronation Street had collapsed in 1965 and the space had been filled by a bench since 1967. In the present day, Len Fairclough bought the ground rent and began building the new property in the space. The story was timed so that Len would finish the job just as the programme transferred to the new set, which was built with a fully completed house. Like the last few years, long-term additions to the cast were few and far between. The only regular cast member who lasted the year was Warren Jackson as Nick Tilsley, baby son of Gail and Brian who was born the previous December. Sue Nicholls made several guest appearances as her character Audrey Potter became a grandmother. Audrey was also paired romantically with future husband Alf Roberts for the first time. Fred Gee gained a wife in Eunice Nuttall, played by Meg Johnson. The Gees briefly worked as caretakers at the Community Centre until Eunice left Fred at the end of the year. This was the first time that another character had held Ena Sharples's position since the departure of Violet Carson from the programme. Amanda Barrie was seen in four episodes as Alma Sedgewick, initially appearing as Elsie Tanner's overbearing boss at Jim's Cafe as she stood in for her ever-absent husband Jim Sedgewick. She would be seen occasionally before joining full-time in 1989. Meanwhile, Emily Bishop's bigamy storyline was revisited in March when Arnold Swain re-surfaced and attempted to convince her to join him in a suicide pact. Arnold was later admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he received an off-screen death in December. Also, the Faircloughs became foster parents when Len and Rita took in 13-year-old John Spencer. This storyline would be taken further in 1982. The wedding of Ken Barlow and Deirdre Langton in July featured appearances by Maggie Jones as Blanche Hunt and Suzy Paterson as Susan Barlow, with the latter playing her character for the last time before the previous actress, Wendy Jane Walker, stepped back into the role. Lastly, William Tarmey returned for a longer stint as Jack Duckworth following his 1979 introduction, testing the waters for his full-time role which would begin in 1983. (Corriepidia)

[@SueGarden]

It was Nicky or nick first appearance in real life Helen worth didn't have kids in real life nor Anne kirkbride never had one the poor thing I thought Julie didn't had any so this is show they had life playing character 😪

[@pauldrumwell4922]

By 'eck you know yer onions.

[@SOLARSHED13]

Can you put that in English please?

[@leteshagosling1041]

I can't get enough of these Corrie's I do watch them all day sometimes I love them

[@SueGarden]

Thanks 👍

[@shanemanchester]

These are great. I was born in ‘68 and watched this with my folks growing up. 👍👍😀 Thanks 🙏 for posting.

[@angelfish08]

I was born 1963 n my mum was obsessed with Corrie so Iam absolutely loving these trips down memory lane 🥰🥰

[@ginagina9720]

I was born 65 and have many childhood memories, and I remember my mum glued to the tv 📺 watching these episodes

[@beverley1539]

Oh 1969 me. Memories at my grans watching I think 6ish, Fish and chips with my Grandad by the coal fire . Thankyou for videos.blessings luv 🐝

[@professionalgun6674]

44:51 I love it how Else Tanner calls in on Ivy to ask her if she would bring an old bit of shawl over to Gail for the nipper, which she could do anytime herself, and let's it drop about her being the Godmother...that is the only reason she went there, for a good old stir up disguised as a friendly pop-in, love Else.

[@bsaunders5271]

22:52 here we go again with Ivy's twisted way of looking at things. She was a really complicated character, mentally, and should have been pulled up about her behaviour far more often, if Bert hadn't been such a wet blanket.

[@davidjones6470]

That's why they call her poison ivy!!! Funny woman she was!

[@memoir4you]

She was a very insecure person, Ivy .

[@williamf4544]

A very realistic portial of how a heck of a lot of women are though

[@bsaunders5271]

@@williamf4544 oh definitely.

[@AriAdu]

Very convincing actor she was...

[@colinjennings3661]

That bloke who played Dirk was also in Auf Wiedersehen pet. Neville went round his house in series 1

[@josephbland3904]

That’s right he played Helmut… the carpenter… he’s character was likeable in Auf Pet… In this though he was a jumped up sneaky prat…

[@brendonmcmorrow3886]

Did anyone notice Kevin Webster making a childhood appearance as the naughty paperboy?

[@dhcrasher1]

I knew I knew him, but hadn't twigged who ! 😄 ...*rewinds to have another look* 😄

[@booth2710]

The voice immediately gave it away ! And same voice - same pitch same intonation years later!

[@dee9917]

Yes I did

[@michaelgregory8322]

Best appearance he made but then he came bk

[@bazgent]

Kevin is a muppet 😂

[@MsArrowroot]

For me, Hilda was the greatest soap character ever. I can't make up my mind about second place, it's a tie between Elsie, Annie and Bet.

[@Mark-nz9ek]

I'd say hilda ,Annie,bet then elsie

[@1916jamesconnolly]

@@Mark-nz9ek Jean Alexander as Hilda was a Class apart. Mike Baldwin/Johnny Briggs was a Star in many Movies before Corrie but he didn't come close to Hilda.

[@MsArrowroot]

@@Mark-nz9ekYes, I agree with that.

[@eyezj7412]

Loved Hida, despised Bet! Admittedly, she was very popular but I just never saw it 😂

[@glamdolly30]

48:25 The way Rita lords it over Hilda makes me mad! Rita always looked down her nose at the Ogdens as if they weren't fit to breathe the same air as her. She didn't invite them to her wedding, which was mean when she invited all the other neighbours. Now she's bossing Hilda around as her char, and talking to her about 'Mr Fairclough' - when everyone else in the street calls him Len! I didn't like the way she bullied Mavis either, or her one-upmanship with her nemesis (on and off screen), Elsie Tanner. Years later Bet was right when she called Rita 'a clapped out chorus girl'. She's a terrible snob, who only married Len because he was a businessman and she felt he was her best chance of some social climbing. Look at me talking about these people as though they're real - it's a measure of how good the writing and acting was in vintage Corrie that I feel they are!

[@professionalgun6674]

I agree Rita can be a right pain in the arse especially after Len died when she, all of a sudden becomes this big business woman...just watching Feb 1984 so Rita's annoying at the moment with Bill Webster plus ugly little Maggie not letting Mike near his boy has got my hair up...for the umpteenth time. And what do you mean, as if they are real, they are aren't they?

[@kuchikopi4616]

All the stuff Bet said to Rita in the 2003 episode were correct. Rita only "made it" because of Len's death, all Rita did was run the place, hardly rocket science.

[@gilliangrant8764]

I completely agree, Rita is one of my least favourite long term characters, she was always so two faced and up her own arse. She was well suited to Len Fairclough, a very unpleasant man.

[@tarinzuk6661]

Totally agree with all the comments about Rita, bloody awful wretch....🤮

[@shylinh5939]

You're right, the characters arouse a strong emotional response because the actors playing them are doing a good job and are bringing them to life. You're right about Rita too, her attitude to Stan and Hilda, or 'the Oggies', was appalling. In her attitude to the people around her wasn't much better, she was as nice to them as she felt like being, and depending on how much of a threat she saw them to her. Elsie was a bright red threat for her, so Rita was continually defensive or primed to have a go at her. Bet too but to a lesser extent. Mavis wasn't a threat on any level so she could bully and mock her 'best friend' for her own amusement or be kind and generous when it suited her. I love the 'clapped out chorus girl' insult from Bet, because Rita was certainly never a singer.

[@RiaLake]

What a surprise to see Peter Postlethwaite playing Detective Sergeant Cross.

[@ryansmyth7703]

11:25 I love how Elsie called Ivy a “Cheeky Bitch” so naturally, wouldn’t hear that on pre watershed tv today!

[@professionalgun6674]

A bit later in the Rovers she calls herself "A mature good time girl" she is so classic.

[@julielewis5051]

Elsie's Class!❤

[@glamdolly30]

@@professionalgun6674 Lol! Classic Elsie, love her!

[@bsaunders5271]

When Ivy turned up at Brian's house when Father Harris was due, I wish I could have climbed through the screen and chucked her out on the path myself.

[@michaelroberts7374]

Hahahahaha!!

[@dementednun1175]

I agree my granny said Ivy wasn't very liked

[@julielewis5051]

Definitely agree!

[@tinaquinn9042]

Mavis and Eddie would have been a fantastic couple Eddie would have treated her like a queen

[@adrinathegreat3095]

She'd have been put on a driven to despair like Hilda, as Eddie was also a chronic alcoholic like Stan who when not drinking 7 days a week in the rovers was drinking at home or gate crashing a party to get drunk

[@ginagina9720]

I think the same, I remember in the 1970s when they were contestants in the charity pram race it was hilarious 😂 with them 2

[@alexanderjones9572]

I agree with what Bert said about the job column ( and not only because, like him, I’m over 40) . Saying ‘No one over 40’ is just as bad as saying ‘Whites only’!

[@davidjones6470]

True!!!

[@amyishere67]

Errrrrrrr no it’s not

[@mieka31]

@@amyishere67 I think Alexander is simply trying to say it is all discrimination. I am from the United States and we face the over 40 thing a lot.

[@allanjoseph5601]

🙄 oh piss off

[@julielewis5051]

Of course it's all discrimination, I get that being well over 40. You can't compare ageism what everyone deals with at some point, to rascicm though. Big difference.

[@davidstewart9665]

Hilda would be hilarious as A Song for Europe entry.

[@MultiKs22]

David Stewart the standard of today's entries for Eurovision song contest Hilda would be the best of a bad lot and that stating summit. of what a song for Europe has become when buck Fitz won it in 1981.when you had real singing, not lip synch and sound effects. like todays stars are doing.

[@annmc8392]

😄

[@malimbep4298]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@marieince1479]

The best about these episodes you can move it on from just by moving the the line along .

[@alexanderjones9572]

Audrey’s comment about ‘How can Elsie Tanner renounce the Devil’ was uncalled for! Is Audrey any better than Elsie?

[@josephbland3904]

Too right!… Tawdry Audrey the gold digger was the last person to be slagging off Elsie… Talk about pot calling kettle black… At least Elsie paid her own way & didn’t mooch off everyone…

[@stevenhighams4190]

Right. At least Elsie's kids were born within wedlock and to the same father.

[@julielewis5051]

Even though I don't care for Audrey, what does it matter that she's had two children by different men, and yes out of wedlock!😮 You're right about her judging Elsie though, it's out of order. Elsie seems very maternal and that's the quality you should want for a Godparent. Also can't bare pieous poison Ivy!

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

It's fiction, you know ... lines are written to match the characters., that's what creates a drama.

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Oh, give over ... it's called characterisation: even Elsie describes herself as "a mature good-time girl"!

[@hootsmon4723]

I think this is better than the nonsense that is broadcasted nowadays '

[@mattburke3457]

Thank you for these ❤️

[@Zx-ln1lk]

Granada plus, was a good channel, men and motors ! Thanks for these uploads, throughly enjoying them.

[@davidjones6470]

Classic days of TV, excellent upload 👍

[@theresapierce3934]

After watching so much of the street during lockdown, I've really come to dislike Rita intensely.

[@bsaunders5271]

Why?

[@julesordish3419]

Agree, she's too full of herself

[@nitad4203]

She could be really nasty at times but she had some great storylines.

[@bsaunders5271]

@@nitad4203 definitely

[@francesgillotti1378]

I always liked her and her funny jokes .

[@pauldrumwell4922]

That second episode was a challenge. I can just about manage the Tilsleys cast of characters in small doses as they would suck the lifeforce out of anyone, Ken the drip Barlow and his mumbling uncle Albert make time almost stand still and a dispute with a paper boy. I can only assume that 80% of the cast, crew and writers went a winter break. A pothole on an otherwise beautiful street. Thanks for posting kind sir.

[@booth2710]

I always felt sorry for Fred and Eunice because events entirely conspired against them from day one ..

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

It's not always easy to like Fred, but his ambition to have his own pup is a fair one for him; he's served a hard apprenticeship under Annie, Duchess of Walker, and he deserves a break.

[@queendeirdre7436]

Am I starting to nag! Holy crap Gail, you never stop😮

[@bsaunders5271]

Nicky Tilsley / Warren Jackson, born into the role, grew up on set with Gail and Brian as his parents. I always wonder if the actors playing his parents kept in touch with Warren. It must have been a real wrench when the kid left the street, more so if he no longer saw them. Little toddler Tracey, surely must have been somewhat confused, knowing Deirdre wasn't her real mum, yet having to call her Mummy, and answering to "Tracey". And I wonder if Anne Kirkbride and Helen Worth got attached to their on screen babies.

[@kelleybunny]

he made a few other appearances.. i read a story a few years ago.. he was into drugs..but, is supposed to be clean now.

[@theresapierce3934]

I always felt that Gail( Helen Worth) never really liked the kid who played Nick.

[@bsaunders5271]

@@theresapierce3934 well he WAS pretty annoying to be honest.

[@adrinathegreat3095]

Little Tracey spent most of the time being entertained by the camera crew filming it, you can see in most scenes that she's in shes often looking up away from her co-stars. Most of the cast would be more familiar with the crew than their co-star as they'd spend more time in their company than anyone else

[@glamdolly30]

@@theresapierce3934 Actually it was Lynne Perrie (Ivy), Nick's grandma, who couldn't stand him! She pretty much admitted it in her autobiography. She said he was a hyperactive little terror, and she dreaded doing scenes with him in the corner shop, 'cos he would run riot pulling the food off the shelves! Perrie said how wonderful and patient his screen mother Gail - Helen Worth - was with him, and the other kids who played her children. She said while Nick was driving her (Ivy) mad, and she was telling him off (and sorely tempted to clock him one), Helen was always calm and never fazed by anything the kids did - even though as Perrie pointed out, she wasn't a mother herself. Warren Jackson was the baby of some pals of Chris Quentin, so he got the role purely by luck. And he was lucky to keep the role for so long, because by the age of 10 it was very obvious he couldn't act, and had no charisma. In 1996 when he took time out to study for his GCSEs, the producers used it as an excuse to get rid of him. Jackson said goodbye to his screen mum Gail and other cast members, fully believing he'd be back next year. But the following year a tabloid newspaper reporter rang him, asking how he felt about being axed from Corrie. After he'd left, the casting directors got busy finding another 'Nick'. On the cusp of young adulthood, they planned more exciting, 'grown up' storylines for Nick - and of course, romances. Soaps are always keen to hook the next generation of young viewers! To put it bluntly, not only was Warren Jackson a lousy actor, he wasn't heart throb material. The actor who replaced him was 19 year old model Adam Rickett, whose pretty boy looks and gym-honed physique made clear the direction Nick was headed! I understand the decision, but I think it was poor behaviour on the part of Corrie producers not to tell Warren Jackson they were letting him go. He later said what a shock it was, learning he'd been fired second hand, from a journalist. There were some pretty unflattering articles written about him, bluntly saying he was replaced with a better looking actor. Jackson never returned to acting. He had a chequered history of drug-taking in his twenties, was surviving on benefits, and split from the mother of his son. He later said he'd got clean, and was being a good dad. It's tough being a child star, and growing up in the public eye. The role of Tracy Barlow was also a rocky road, with many cast changes.

[@jonathancheetham7683]

Never got why Ken is held in such high regard. Such a dull character. I don’t know how he survived more than a couple of years without the axe.

[@barryballsit4944]

Out of all the characters Ken complains and argues the least, be like Ken

[@scottmartin455]

18:14 Michael Le Vell - over 2 years before he was cast as Kevin Webster in October 1983. You're welcome.

[@WorldNews92]

48:55 HA! Rita's impression of Hilda.

[@davidjones6470]

😂😂

[@glamdolly30]

She mimicked Hilda's voice perfectly!

[@glamdolly30]

2:03:16 Oscar-nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite, sadly gone too soon in 2011, aged 64.

[@helentucker6407]

It'd be lovely to have a friend like Eddie. Love how he put that cocky little paperboy in his place. Bring back the thick ear 😆

[@Susan.1958]

Bert Tilsley was a fantastic well mannered man very pleasant 👍👍👍👍

[@glamdolly30]

2:49:44 As everyone exits Brian and Gail's house, you can clearly see the studio floor and painted cloth backdrop depicting sky and neighbours' houses. It's the kind of mistake that would never be seen in slick, dull and utterly charmless modern Corrie!

[@lucyjane103]

There’s no glass in Mike Baldwin office walls and door…..funny.

[@teresabrown2098]

I noticed that 😆

[@thertraumatic]

35:12 Maybe if Brian has a problem with his mom and Audrey hanging around, HE should try to talk to them? Instead of just putting everything on Gail?

[@christinefougere]

Oh look it 's Kevin Webster as a kid...

[@professionalgun6674]

Must we?...I guess so. The words "in" "slap" "gob" and "the" come to mind but not necessarily in that order.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

The way Ivy and Gail keep popping into Gayle’s house, you’d think she only lives blocks away!! 😂🤣

[@paulmajor8865]

Does anyone know when the bin outside the corner shop made its first appearance it was there for years until the shop was modernised

[@glamdolly30]

33:46 That Kevin Webster was always a creepy little weasel - I can't believe they've kept him in the show all these years, especially with all the scandal in his private life!

[@gilliangrant8764]

Whatever about the actor's private life, the character was very annoying, typical case of small man syndrome. Like a narky Jack Russel ready to snap at any given time

[@tarinzuk6661]

He's a bloody awful wretch too...🤮

[@glamdolly30]

@@gilliangrant8764 Exactly! I am truly baffled how Michael Le Vell has remained a star of the show all these decades, he isn't likeable or even entertaining. He was exactly like a snappy Jack Russell, good analogy! My point about his private life was that it gave Corrie producers the freedom to get rid of him long ago, if they'd wanted to. I'm not talking about his court case for child molestation by the way - he was actually acquitted of that. I'm referring to his long history of alcoholism, which caused well documented frictions at work and negative headlines many times. Street stars have been sacked for much less!

[@lindarowe8550]

I know I can't stand him either

[@bobslobbers5311]

For which he was found not guilty

[@christinefougere]

There's baby Nick first called Daniel, now a grown man with a son of his own.

[@alexanderjones9572]

He was also going to ( maybe) be called David-which Gail and Martin’s son is!

[@pamib29]

If I remember correctly producers or whatever didn’t want him having the initials DT! 🤔

[@christinefougere]

@@pamib29 That's correct, that's why his name was changed to Nick

[@julielewis5051]

Why not DT? What am I missing?!

[@DameSlap]

He was going to be Daniel David Tilsley, making his initials DDT, a well known pesticide at the time! Instead he became Nicolas Paul @@julielewis5051

[@YvonneSmyth-t9f]

Coronation street is the best soap

[@tracygrant7931]

Ahh Kevin Webster before puberty and his mustache hit 🤣🤣

[@glamdolly30]

He never did manage to grow a full moustache - I'm not convinced he had a full puberty either to be honest!

[@louiseowusu246]

Brian has got a look of someone who was in that 80s group Dollar

[@itallia666]

Yes i agree, Dollar consisted of David Van Day & Therese Bazarre They were very " popsy" glossy, Huge hair for both of them & film star looks! They had quite a few hits but in essence they were both session or backing singers paired together by the Stock, Aitken & Waterman pop impressarios! Regards 🇬🇧👧

[@louiseowusu246]

I so agree with you- especially the bit about the high hair!🤣🤣 They scream 80s (I was there!) But I can remember the uber gloss! A very defining era!

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Brian actor was originally a musical theatre dancer ... if you can imagine a plank of wood dancing.

[@louiseowusu246]

@@johnlarkin-i3z oh dear!

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Half-a-Dollar, in his case ...

[@professionalgun6674]

32:59 Eddie confronts the lad who would later get my hair up when he barked at Hilda as Kevin Webster. Note that he is absent from any thumbnail. This is the way some adults actually treated little scallywags back in the day and it did no harm. If this was filmed on the street today their would be an uproar while turning a blind eye to all the mayhem and murders that the blood soaked cobbles run with. Apparently that's how it is today but I never saw any of it. I left the show back in 89/90...after Hilda was gone...this needs no further explanation.

[@glamdolly30]

Hear! Hear! 👏👏👏Bravo, well said Sir, agree with every word. So many brats today would benefit from a clip round the ear from an Eddie Yeats.

[@roderickscott7429]

brian calling his dad Bert on 19 minutes !!!

[@alexanderjones9572]

Did Eddie and Mavis ever get together? He’s completely different to Derek-but I think they’d have made a good couple!

[@glamdolly30]

Awww yes Eddie and Mavis would have made a great couple. But I'm glad they didn't pair them up romantically in the show, I liked that they were such good pals, without any sexual undertones. The Street always did male/female platonic friendships really well, like Alf and Bet (loved their cat and dog antics when she was his cheeky lodger), Mike and Elsie, Curly and Emily and Fred and Annie. Geoffrey Hughes who played Eddie wouldn't have been keen on a Mavis and Eddie romance - he always felt the character of Eddie Yeates was better as a bachelor. He decided to leave the show after producers decided to marry Eddie off to Marion. I think Eddie was a big loss to Corrie - not least because his departure in 1984 coincided with so many other cast members leaving for good around that time, due to deaths and other reasons. The list of iconic characters who departed 1983/84 in addition to Eddie, was long, including Elsie Tanner, Albert Tatlock, Ena Sharples, Len Fairclough, Bert Tilsley, Suzie Birchall, Stan Ogden, Annie Walker and Fred Gee. No wonder it's rumoured Corrie bosses were desperate to persuade Geoffrey Hughes to stay on as Eddie - it's said they were so keen to keep him he could name his price and dictate his storylines. But Geoffrey was determined to seek pastures new. I really admire that - it takes an actor with great self belief to leave a role in Britain's top soap, especially when he'd made his character Eddie such a hit with viewers.

[@alexanderjones9572]

@@glamdolly30 From what I read, Geoffrey Hughes did Veronica Doran (Marion), who wanted to stay, no favours there. He wanted to leave, and the producers decided they couldn’t keep Marion there without Eddie so they got rid of her too!

[@glamdolly30]

@@alexanderjones9572 I'm sure the lady who played Marion was devastated - portraying the onscreen the wife of a popular character like Eddie Yeates, in Britain's highest rating TV drama, was a plum role for any actress! It reminds me of a few years earlier, when Neville Buswell, aka Ray Langton, suddenly announced he was leaving the cobbles. Somewhat inexplicably, as the character of Ray was well established with viewers (if not exactly well loved!) His departure put his onscreen wife Deirdre, actress Anne Kirkbride, in fear of unemployment. In the seventies, it was controversial to have a single mum in a popular show like Corrie. The producers' first instinct was to write Deirdre and her baby Tracy out, and have them depart with Ray. But the superb Coronation Street writing team of that time put their heads together, and saw the potential for storylines, if Deirdre stayed put and her trials as a single mum were exploited to the max. So that's what they did, and Deirdre stayed. And what a wise decision that was, as she carried many iconic plots during her near 40 years on the show, becoming one of its biggest icons.

[@2500mike]

@@glamdolly30 I've been worried I'll stop watching after Eddie leaves as he is my favourite character. Now that you've laid out that list I'll be amazed if I continue to watch.

[@glamdolly30]

@@2500mike Don't let me put you off, The Street still had some great characters and stories after 1984. I think it was good until Bet Lynch's first departure in 1995. After that, its decline was noticeable - and unstoppable.

[@lordwalker71]

Find it hard to believe Bert could put up with Ivy all those years.

[@glamdolly30]

I think Peter Dudley, the actor who played Bert Tilsley so well, made it totally credible. Bert loved Ivy unconditionally, even though she exasperated him from time to time. Not many men could put up with her, that's for sure! I've known couples like this - a dominant, controlling wife, and a gentle, laid back, 'anything for a quiet life' husband. To be fair, Ivy loved her hubby dearly, she just couldn't stop herself being bossy and sticking her oar in where it wasn't wanted! After Ivy lost him, she realised what a gem he was - her next husband Don Brennan was a real creep, and even cheated on her. The scenes around Bert's death were very moving, and beautifully conveyed by Lynne Perrie as Ivy. Of course she and the cast were genuinely devastated about Peter Dudley's tragic premature death at just 48. Peter was a very well liked cast member, popular with fellow actors and crew. They stood by him and stayed loyal throughout his off-screen legal crisis, when he was prosecuted for 'cottaging' on two separate occasions. The stress of the gay sex scandal and a future, second court case, initially brought on a stroke. It was the beginning of the end for both Peter and Bert. His dramatic physical deterioration after the stroke could be seen on screen. It had to be written into the script as Bert having a serious accident helping in his son Brian's garage, He was paralysed down one side, and lost the use of an arm. The poor man seemed to age overnight, right in front of our eyes. By all accounts Peter Dudley was a lovely bloke and I think there was a lot of his own, genuine warmth and kindness in the character of Bert. He'd worked hard all his life getting small supporting roles on TV, including various bit parts in Corrie like the jeweller who sold Alf and Renee Roberts an engagement ring in 1978. Then in January 1979 his dreams came true, when he debuted in the regular role of Bert - and got a coveted house on Coronation Street. He had hit the jackpot, It's so sad Peter Dudley self-sabotaged, just when his life was on the up. He lost literally everything, just for a few, fleeting cheap thrills. However, it's a mark of the very special actor - and man - he was, that the character of Bert Tilsley made such an impact on 'Coronation Street' in a mere four and a half years in the show. If Peter had lived, I think Bert and Ivy would have become one of the soap's most familiar and well established couples, right up there with Stan and Hilda Ogden, and Jack and Vera Duckworth. Sadly, it was not to be.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Deidre...And everyone has the nerve to talk about Elsie!! 🤣😂

[@bsaunders5271]

Dutch Dirk is about as charismatic as a speak your weight machine.

[@joshirley2308]

Same as Ken!

[@glamdolly30]

Lol! Where did the casting directors find him? They were totally incapable of booking attractive actors for these kinds of temporary, 'romantic' roles. The poor Corrie actresses like Anne Kirkbride (Deirdre), Barbara Knox (Rita), Julie Goodyear (Bet) and Pat Phoenix (Elsie) must have had a horrid time playing love scenes!

[@bsaunders5271]

@@glamdolly30 those women certainly have had their share of rum 'uns.

[@glamdolly30]

@@bsaunders5271 True - one of the worst had to be Dan Johnson, the decrepit 'lurry' driver with a 'Village People' handlebar moustache, who somehow had two of the Street's sexiest sirens, Bet & Elsie, airing their best nylon negligees - and fighting - for him, in 1980. The actor who played Dan (Richard Shaw), was 60 at the time, just an inch or two off being a certified dwarf, and wider than he was tall in a dodgy sheepskin coat so stiff and ill-fitting, it appeared to be wearing HIM! The fool responsible for this spectacular bit of mis-casting, really thought we'd believe this grotty, way-past-his-prime (if he ever had one), pensioner, would knock not one but two women bandy. And not just any women, but man-eaters Bet & Elsie, who were not just attractive and sassy, but looked young enough to be his daughters. I know eligible men were thin on the ground in Weatherfield, but come off it. Bet and Elsie wouldn't help that old fart across the road if he'd shat himself, least of all share a duvet with him!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

I can never understand all the ironing these people do, and drinking tea every minute.

[@bibakroll8999]

I hate the Ivy character but Lynne Perrie played her very well.

[@eyezj7412]

Miserable as she was, she was proven right almost every time.

[@williamf4544]

I usually buy the Sunblest bread because its cheaper - only 80 odd pence out of Farmfoods

[@glamdolly30]

There had to be a sneaky sponsorship deal with Sunblest - there was always a loaf on someone's table with the branding in full view, and the Sunblest van was often seen parked outside Alf's shop. Ditto 'Silver Spoon' sugar - and no doubt a few other big brands of the time!

[@elizabethbower2168]

Audrey is not alone smoking near a new baby plenty clinic nurses in the 1980s always had a cigarette going when they were wearing a new baby

[@noeljr.7724]

Gail telling Brian she doesn't want to become a nag. She's nothing but from the mid 90s on.

[@smrangers22]

brings back many many good thoughts

[@booth2710]

1.50.00 when the outfit Rita wears matches the kitchen curtains ...

[@maxb28]

2:36:34 it was Hilda.

[@apollonia-ava]

The decor tho omg 😂😂😂

[@krish2427]

Ivy was a such an interfering woman if I was Gail I would have run a mile

[@colinjennings3661]

Dreadful woman

[@2500mike]

Gail wasn't much better

[@josephbland3904]

Old Ferret Faced Gail should’ve been grateful for everything she got… The state of the goblin faced squeaky voiced little twerp.. she was incredibly annoying….

[@michaelgregory8322]

Yes, her heart was in right place but she was way too much at times & yes Gail was just as bad at times,

[@alexanderjones9572]

In the 90s, didn’t Norris keep calling Derek Wilton ‘Dirk’-even referring to him as ‘Dirk’ at his funeral?

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Norris did this from when they first met, initially a misunderstanding, I think; thereafter, it somehow made the pair of hopeless drudges seem more raffish, in their own eyes at least.

[@glamdolly30]

@@johnlarkin-i3z Excellent explanation!

[@GinaRussell-c2c]

It’s nothing to do with ivy who the godmother is of her grandson, I love ❤the old ones of Corrie thank you 🙏 for the upload

[@lindarowe8550]

What happened to muriel. Ida's daughter.

[@carasmith549]

Thankfully for the welfare of our ears, Muriel Clough and her shattered glass voice disappeared in the summer of 1978. Maybe she moved away but no one mentioned it.

[@nfld7097]

She moved to British Colombia, Canada.

[@glamdolly30]

@@nfld7097 I think you are talking about Hilda Ogden's daughter Irma Barlow - the original question was about factory worker Ida Clough's daughter Muriel. She was a ghastly character with bottle glasses and a voice like nails down a chalk board. The 'actress' who played her couldn't act her way out of a paper bag! Thankfully she did not become a regular character.

[@nfld7097]

@@glamdolly30 I remember Muriel Clough very well. Irma Ogden was long gone by the time MVB arrived in Weatherfield. Ida's daughter DID move to BC, at least according to her mother.

[@glamdolly30]

@@nfld7097 I stand corrected - thanks for the update!

[@ddrose06]

Poor Ivy. Its one thing she doesn't approve of, after another.

[@DIETRICHCICCONE]

If I lived with Uncle Albert there'd be Dignitas brochures strewn around...

[@2500mike]

The country goes through hell fighting the Germans twice and Ken buys one of their cars. I can understand Albert's view point on the matter.

[@francesgillotti1378]

Yes same with the Irish being treated so badly by the english.

[@michaeldonovan231]

I was only 2 years old when this was boardcast time goes way to fast.

[@itallia666]

After watching all of 1980s episodes & the Dec 1980 ends with Gail being sent home from hospital after just having practise contractions & Elsies grandson Martin returning after spending Xmas with his mum & dad I begin with Jan 1981 to the opening scenes of Gail & Brian leaving hospital with their baby & Martin gone back to Birmingham ???? So where is the missing episode which explains the above? Anyone? Cheers 🇬🇧👧

[@nfld7097]

All of the missing episodes from 1980 are here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2ndlKCwq5VofdU

[@DianeBonner-g3d]

A young kevin webster

[@alexanderjones9572]

So Ivy wants the baby to be ‘David’ ( which Gail’s next son will be), Audrey wants ‘Daniel’-so how did they come up with ‘Nicholas Paul’ ?

[@emmaclarke2885]

Was Ivy angry when Gail and Martin named their son David?

[@johnlumb2246]

It was the Vicar who christened him he suggested it Gail realised the intials for David Daniel Tilsley would be DDT

[@davidmccormick2957]

I remember brian

[@misplacedkiwi9498]

That baby is 40 now (god willing)

[@glamdolly30]

He is - the baby's name is Warren Jackson, he got the role of Nick Tilsley because his parents happened to be pals with Chris Quinten, who played Brian Tilsley. Lynn Perrie, his grandma Ivy on the show, said he was a real handful as a toddler. She dreaded doing scenes with him, especially in the corner shop where he would run rampage pulling food off the shelves! Warren Jackson played Nick from a newborn baby to age 16, one helluva lucky break for a kid with no acting experience. Unfortunately, he didn't have much acting talent either, and he was got rid of by Corrie bosses in 1997 when they decided the character of Nick needed sex appeal for more grown up storylines they had planned involving girls. Warren went off for a few months break (he thought) to do his exams, expecting to return to the show afterwards. But he got a shock when a tabloid newspaper reporter door stepped him and told him the role of Nick had been re-cast behind his back and given to heart throb actor Adam Rickitt! Needless to say, that was the end of Warren Jackson's acting career. A few years ago the Mirror did an expose on his drugs habit - a video surfaced of him smoking crystal meth. A case of too much too soon, as often happens with child stars. Warren Jackson now has a teenage son of his own - how time flies!

[@carasmith549]

Adam Rickitt - a so-called heartthrob to the under-15s only. I always considered him the Rupert Bear version of Nick Tilsley - though I detested both, Mks. 1 and 2.

[@SM-mm9lo]

I'm so shocked at the 'anti smoking' from Audrey. Throughout the eighties my mummy smoked, not heavy, but she always smoked. None of us have any asthma or allergies. I smoked in the house and throughout my pregnancy in 1996 and my son has no issues at all. I still smoke in the house 😂. God, how boring and regimented people have become. That was the start of the 'lifestyle police'

[@Deborah4Antiques]

I can't believe how awful Ivy was. She just got worse until the end.

[@ginagina9720]

You never see Vera’s husband jack in these episodes when does he come into the soap? I liked jack and vera just like Hilda and Stan they also were great on the street

[@glamdolly30]

Jack Duckworth made his official debut as Vera's husband on 28th November 1979, when the Duckworths were guests at Brian and Gail's wedding. Amazing to think Corrie producers hedged their bets, as he was initially on a short, two-episodes only, contract - as you said, he and Vera would eventually become the successors to Stan and Hilda. Of course actor Bill Tarmey had been a regular face on the show from 1977, when he was an extra, frequently seen in the background at the Rovers, propping up the bar or playing darts. On one memorable occasion before he had been introduced as Jack Duckworth, Vera was the Rovers moaning about her hubby to the factory girls - and there he was, large as life , standing behind her!

[@uszatku9417]

At 2:58 Brian says, ‘Andy Great, that was mate’!! :)))

[@tonypike763]

brian mummys boy

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Well, what did you expect from the ex-chorus boy? Laurence Olivier?

[@glamdolly30]

LOL! Chris Quentin's as thick as mince - 'Poundland' mince at that. He was perfect for the role! His acting improved hugely over the years - let's face it, it couldn't have got worse! I do love the fact they left so many actors' fluffs in, back then. Today's TV soaps are way slicker, but they don't have half the charm of 'seventies and 'eighties Corrie.

[@lorraineydays57]

There really should have been a book of Annieisims.👏👏

[@clarkpatient7950]

Doris Speed the actress used to watch her appearances in Corrie religiously so she could maintain the mannerisms and not accidentally let new ones creep in!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

I would never have cashed a check for that much money! 😂🤣

[@shivkptheorganist3809]

18:00 - Ey up, it's Kevin Webster as a paperboy !

[@elterrifico9522]

I love Audrey smoking near the new ‘babby’

[@jstewart3517]

Uncle Albert shaped like a Volkswagen

[@TheGlassman63]

39:29 Getting the baby to bed with the television blarring out. Totally unrealistic. I know from experience you almost have the thing on mute when trying to get a baby to sleep.

[@josephbland3904]

Serves Fred G & Alf right for getting turned over by Mikes old man… GREED got the better of them both… And Mike was right.. it had got bugger all to do with him…

[@glamdolly30]

Totally! Fred in particular had a nerve coming the hard man with Mike, expecting him to put things right - he had nowt to do with it! A fool and his money, etc.

[@DIETRICHCICCONE]

18:15 gobby Kevin Webster...before he was #KevinWebster

[@bsaunders5271]

According to Lynne Perrie, for her, these years were filled with alcohol and toy boys. Hard to imagine!

[@chicagogyrl4846]

He only gave Bette 2 quid. She acts like he gave her 100! 😂🤣

[@chicagogyrl4846]

With Bert not working, I really doubt that Ivy would take two weeks off!! 😂🤣

[@alexanderjones9572]

I must’ve missed something. I know Frankie was there in December, but what’s this investment him and Fred are talking about? Can’t remember Fred exchanging two words with him before!

[@pamib29]

Fred gave Frankie £70 “investment” in his home video business.

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

Mucky vids, as it turned out ...

[@Keepingitrespectfulmostly.]

1:57:16 Hilda: "I'll just go in the gents and drop dead" 😂😂

[@SueGarden]

Oh ivy she so ivy 19:04

[@williamf4544]

If Eddie tried that nowadays with a paper boy he would be hounded by woke vigilanties before being jailed - Omg and asking Tracy to marry him they would throw away the key so they would

[@maxb28]

42:45 I love the careful placement of the coat 😅

[@dr.phibes7359]

Ken Bundy in his beetle....

[@glamdolly30]

LMAO!!! Nowadays that would be a storyline - modern Corrie is obsessed with serial killers.

[@kelleybunny]

Albert is being so ridiculous 🙄

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

"Two impoverished bride's maids?" asks Mike about the nude dancing girls on the "wedding video"!

[@jstewart3517]

No its public street no marked parking

[@johnlarkin-i3z]

£1.70 for a taxi... you'd pay nearly twice that for a bus ride these days ...

[@angelfish08]

Mite be an unpopular opinion but Brian tilsley was most definitely the worst actor on Corrie.. I’m not suprised he got killed off 🤦‍♀️

[@john-y1i6l]

Brian was really a musical show dancer, and not an actor ... and a right ponsed-up nellie he looks, too.

[@R31922]

He played a rubbish drunk.

[@paulweston6049]

17:58 A young Kevin Webster..lol

[@davidstewart9665]

Eddie got the concertina from Davy Jones locker!!!!!! Sea shanty it ain't

[@saanzacs]

2:05:39 A young Pete Postelthwaite before he really hit the big time

[@R31922]

Man magnet dreary at it again.

[@kevinfitzsimons41]

Where did Brian find the time to be in all these episodes as well as being in Bucks Fizz? 😂l😂

[@noelodowd7867]

Bring back the nurses uniform!!