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| - The programme marked its 35th anniversary in December with its first purposely written hour-long episode, featuring the surprise wedding of Curly Watts and Raquel Wolstenhulme (previous hour-long episodes were made as single episodes which were edited together for scheduling purposes). Curly and Raquel's honeymoon aboard the QE2 was unseen on the main programme but served as the basis of its first straight-to-video spin-off, released under the title Coronation Street - The Feature Length Special. The video also starred Barbara Knox and Thelma Barlow, with Rita Sullivan and Mavis Wilton ending up on the same cruise at the Watts, and featured an appearance by Roy Barraclough as Alec Gilroy. Meant as an optional bonus for viewers, offering them a chance to see familiar characters in a more exotic locale, the special had a self-contained plot which was teased in the main programme but was not required viewing to follow current storylines. After 25 years playing Rovers barmaid and landlady Bet Lynch, Julie Goodyear decided to move on from the programme. Goodyear's exit storyline saw brewery Newton & Ridley sell the Rovers Return, and Bet quietly leave Weatherfield for an uncertain future after failing to convince Rita and Vicky McDonald to fund her takeover of the pub. The Rovers was bought over by Jack and Vera Duckworth, using their £30,000 inheritance following the deaths of Jack's brother Clifford and sister-in-law Elsie and the sale of 9 Coronation Street. The Rovers becoming a free house brought an end to 35 years of brewery-related storylines, and led to more frequent changes of landlords. Meanwhile, No.9 was bought by Gary and Judy Mallett, a new young couple played by Ian Mercer and Gaynor Faye. Ken Morley also quit, after six years playing Reg Holdsworth. The door was kept open for Morley, with Reg working away in Lowestoft and maintaining an off-screen presence until April 1996 when he ran off with wages clerk Yvonne Bannister. Curly Watts became the new manager of Firman's Freezers, which had first appeared as a continuing location in February. Although not seen as often as Bettabuy had been in the earlier part of the decade, Firman's served the same role in being the main workplace which wasn't part of Granada's backlot. Other staff members included Anne Malone, played by Eve Steele who joined the main cast in September. Another setting introduced this year which was similarly shot on location was 5 Crimea Street, a large Victorian house converted into flats and owned by Mike Baldwin. With Anne Kirkbride well enough to return to a full-time role, Deirdre Rachid's husband Samir was killed off. The attack itself was not seen, but viewers were left to assume that Samir had been beaten up by a gang while walking to Weatherfield General to donate a kidney to Tracy Barlow, who was on dialysis after taking bad ecstasy. The storyline also marked the departure of Dawn Acton from the regular cast, although she returned for short stints as Tracy in 1996, 1997 and 1999. Deirdre was subsequently offered a flat and the job of caretaker at 5 Crimea Street by Mike. One of the tenants was Roy Cropper, who was introduced as a creepy loner who hung around Deirdre. When David Neilson was asked back full-time, the darker elements of Roy's character were removed, establishing him as a harmless eccentric. Ivy Brennan suffered a fatal stroke, 17 months after Lynne Perrie's last appearance. In order to claim No.5 as his inheritance, Nick Platt had to change his surname back to Tilsley. Don's new partner Josie Clarke was played by Ellie Haddington, who joined the cast in January. Helene Palmer returned as Ida Clough for Ivy's funeral. Other new cast members included Tracy Shaw as hairdresser Maxine Heavey, Lee Warburton as mechanic Tony Horrocks, Lewis Harney as Daniel Osbourne, newborn son of Ken Barlow and Denise Osbourne, Frank Mills as Billy Williams, who wed Betty Turpin in October and, for two episodes, Steven Arnold as helium-voiced butcher Ashley Peacock. Meanwhile, Tracy Brabin and Joseph Gilgun as Tricia and Jamie Armstrong were made regulars, Peter Armitage returned as Bill Webster after ten years, and Roy Barraclough, Bill Kenwright and Amelia Bullmore made short returns as Alec Gilroy, Gordon Clegg and Steph Barnes respectively, the latter making her final appearances in the role. Lastly, Sally Whittaker was absent for three months between March and June due to maternity leave. A small change was made to the title sequence following Episode 3819. The last shot, which featured a dog frantically running up the length of the Street appeared for the last time in that episode. From the next episode onwards (and many beforehand), a differing number of shots of activity in the Street closed the sequence and if the opening scene was set on the Street, then the title caption appeared over the start of that scene.
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