Following Howson's arrival, the characters of Bernard and Sandra Butler and Audrey and Dickie Fleming departed one-by-one, significantly reducing the programme's younger cast. This was the only year in Coronation Street history where no new characters were introduced, although there were returns from Kenneth Farrington as Billy Walker, Sandra Gough as Irma Barlow and Julie Goodyear as Bet Lynch, all for long stints. Writers wanted to bring Alan Rothwell back with Gough to keep Irma and David Barlow together, but Rothwell was busy with theatre work at the time. Wanting Irma to return as a free agent, the writers killed off both David and their son Darren in an off-screen car crash in Australia, with the news relayed the news to the residents of Coronation Street via a long-distance telephon