The main event of the year was the last appearance of Hilda Ogden. Jean Alexander quit her role after 23 years as she wanted to play other parts. After so long toiling away for little reward, Hilda got a happy ending, moving into a flat attached to her employer Doctor Lowther's cottage in Derbyshire. Her last appearance was in the Christmas Day episode, where the residents saw her off with a surprise party in the Rovers. This was the first time Coronation Street went out on Christmas Day when it didn't fall on one of the programme's normal transmission days, a trend which has continued until the present day (with the exception of 1993).