abstract
| - More cast additions followed John G. Temple's arrival as producer with Episode 2496. Tracy Langton finally re-appeared after an 18-month absence in July, now played by Holly Chamarette, and in October Wendy Jane Walker returned full-time as Susan Barlow, a role she last played as a child in 1974. After six years of occasional appearances, Sue Nicholls joined full-time as Audrey Potter became Audrey Roberts, whose partnership with Alf proved to be a fertile ground for comedy and had the spark Alf's marriage to Renee had lacked. With a new producer and the chaos of 1983-1984 behind it, Coronation Street re-established itself. Bet Lynch - a surprise choice for Rovers landlady, both within the fiction and outside - proved an effective replacement for Annie Walker, and the Corner Shop received its first major makeover in its history as Alf transformed it into a self-service mini-mart. Coronation Street's 25th anniversary took place in December. As was normal practice in this period, no fanfare took place within the programme itself, though its second VHS release, The Jubilee Years, was released in August, containing many archive clips. December also saw the first festive edition of the programme since 1972; from this point on, Coronation Street would be transmitted on Christmas Day if it fell on a Monday or Wednesday. On 4th September, Granada launched their new sitcom, The Brothers McGregor, which chronicled the misadventures of brothers Wesley and Cyril McGregor. The characters had debuted in Coronation Street, in Episode 2203 (12th May 1982), but in order to avoid viewers prejudging what the series would be like, this fact was not played up in pre-publicity for The Brothers McGregor, which ran for four seasons.
|