I've been watching the show since before I can remember. Corrie was always part of our house, it was always on. I used to watch it with my mam and my grandma as my mam tutted at Elsie Tanner's antics and grandma and I relished in Elsie's naughtiness.
I can't recall any exact first moments or storylines, and the point at which I turned into a regular watcher is lost in the mists of time.
However, I must have tuned in properly around 1974, at the age of 10 years old. 1974 was the year that the women went to Majorca when Bet won on Spot the Ball, a storyline I remember, and love. I also remember scenes of Elsie Tanner rinsing her stockings out in the kitchen sink, smoking, applying make-up and crying it off again.
What are your first memories of our favourite show?
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28 comments:
I was aware of Corrie for a number of years through the mid 70s onward but it was on in Canada at 3 p.m. so I could never watch. I do remember catching the occasional episode if i was home or in the summer. I don't know if CBC had the Sunday omnibus back then though they may have. I started watching the Sunday omni when i moved into an apartment and it made my Sunday mornings much nicer. The first storyline I can remember was just after Brian Tilsley died and Nicky had turned up at the garage looking for his dad. I thought I remembered Kevin taking him home but when a cable station picked up episodes from 89 onwards I discovered it was Mark Casey (who now plays Miley's paternal granddad) who did that. Gail had sold the garage to Casey's father at that point. I remember Curly and Shirley not getting along while he was in college and breaking up. I remember when the old factory was torn down and the new side built. Alan Bradley owned the security firm that year and was beginning his identity theft.
Des Barnes being attacked is one memory from 1998. I was around 7.
I remember the late 1990s titles but as for stories not much.
I watched it on and off during the Hillman story, and got a nightmare after watching him attack Emily and Maxine.
Probably started watching regularly around 2004.
The Woburn Abbey trip in 1973 and Ena being introduced to the Duke of Bedford
The first storyline that got me hooked on Corrie was when Elsie Tanner was being harassed by an anonymous phone caller. This dates from 1966 but was screened here in Australia in 1969...
Renee Roberts getting killed in the car crash. I was three, and it scared the hell out of me. To this day I still feel a bit queasy around traffic-light controlled roadworks.
Can't remember the first storyline, but when I was 3 or 4 I wouldn't have my hair washed unless my mom pretended to be a hairdresser and called me Elsie.
Richard Hillman driving the Platt's into the canal!
I found the CBCs Sunday omnibus when I lived in Vermont. Had no idea what I was watching, but was instantly drawn into the characters and their stories. They werent as pretty as the American soap stars i grew up with, but they were so much more believable. At that time, Eileen, Dennis, Les and Janice went to Paris, Gail worked at the medical center (and wasn't stupid), and Sally owned a diy shop with dodgy wiring that led to a fire. It took a long time to fully understand the accent and language differences; I still have occasional issues esp. with Sinead, but did you see how easily 'dodgy' was slipped into a sentence? Corrie has become a very important part of my life over the past 15 or so years.
I started watching Corrie here in Canada in the early seventies. My first memories are of Alf & Rene running the corner shop. Diedre working in the builders yard for her husband Ray and Len Fairclough (Rita's husband). Gail and Susie working in a denim shop "Western Front" owned by Mike Baldwin.
Corrie was always a part of our household from the very first episode, but as I was only 2 then I don't have much recall of those early episodes :) My first real memories are of Steve Tanner (Elsie's husband) being found dead at the bottom of the stairs, which was around 1969 I believe. It scared me rigid and I hated going up and down our steep stairs for ages afterwards. I also remember Audrey and Dickie Fleming eloping to Gretna Green, I thought that was so romantic! I believe that was the same year.
I was about 11 when I started watching so mid 80's...my first memories are of young Martin Platt and Gail...of all the storylines! Bet was the owner of the Rovers then...and weirdly she is always who I think of...so it makes a huge difference when you start watching for the lingering impressions it leaves, I think.
Rita had just turned down Alf Roberts so I clearly recall the blossoming romance with Audrey. And the Duckworths forever rowing. Vera and Jack were hilarious!
Those memories of my first years watching Corrie are great ones!
Oh..and I live in Western Canada and we used to watch it after school on CBC at 3 pm. It took me a long time to figure out the accent and slang too, I have to admit. I'm dating a Yorkshire man now and thank god I learned young because I would not know what he's on about half the time...and I use the northern slang constantly here...which really confuses my fellow Albertans. Lol!
For many, many years, in my youthful arrogance and ignorance, I did give the Coronation Street a wide berth considering it an entertainment for "old" folks. I got interested in the series few years ago, and thanks to the internet, I'm catching up on all those missed years.
The first episode that I watched, and which made a great impression on me was the one where Deidre is sexually assaulted on the street (1976?). From that episode on I was hooked on Coronation Street for good.
Watching simultaneously the old and the current episodes back to back gives me the opportunity to notice the differences which otherwise may have escaped me. I missed characters like Elsie, Alf Roberts, Fred Gee, Annie Walker, Mike Baldwin, Beth, Betty, and countless others - they were larger than life but so real. And the acting was superb. Nowadays, the characters seem to be paper cutouts and the situations totally unbelievable. Also, as a Canadian I have a great deal of trouble understanding the accents of the younger generation of actors. But, I still love watching it!
@Heather, What great story! Good luck with your current relationship! -ELK
I have been watching Corrie since about 1976, but my first vivid memory isn't until about a decade later, when Alan Bradbury was terrorizing Rita. The memory is of him chasing Rita, then being (thankfully) run over by a tram.
I think I must have started watching Corrie at the same time as Scott Wilson. I was a young American bride married to a Canadian soldier posted in London, Ontario in 1977/78 and there was nothing to watch on TV, we only had about 3 channels. I stumbled onto Coronation Street and the first scene I remember was Alf's wife had just been killed in a car accident. I have been hooked on Corrie since then. My all time favorite character was Hilda Ogden. What I loved about Corrie vs. the American Soap Operas is that it revolved around ordinary people's lives, not everyone was rich and beautiful. I never watched American Soap Operas again. Though my one complaint is that the beauty of Coronation Street was it's people, lately it revolves more on some far-fetched plot line. Bring back the old Corrie we loved!
My earliest memories are when Ciaran, Peter's Navy pal, moved in with Peter and Shelley, made a pass at her, then Peter sided with Ciaran, starting the downward spiral of Peter and Shelley's relationship. The storyline hit a nerve and I could never see Ciaran after that as a trustworthy bloke. I always liked Shelly though.
I recall a 1970s storyline about a boat featuring Stan Ogden, Billy Walker and some others. Also remember the Christmas pants where Deirdre punched Tricia Hoplins. Fun times!
I'm (slightly) older than the programme so I go back a long way.
I have a memory of Ena & Minnie walking along the Street with Ena berating Minnie for dawdling as she makes sure she doesn't step on the cracks in the pavement. I've no idea when, or even if, this happened.
My earliest story memory is of the train crash in 1967.
We always watched the Sunday AM omnibus if we didn't make it to church so I really don't remember the first scenes I watched. I clearly remember the McDonalds moving onto the street and bits and pieces before that.
Clinkers - Christmas pants! Love that auto correct!
I didn't watch Corrie in UK, but in the last 20 or so years in Canada, my husband became a fan (he had grown up with it in UK, but hadn't watched as an adult) and I have gradually become a follower, although I tend to keep up on line, rather than watch every live broadcast,
We started watching Corrie around 1980 on Sunday morning. Here in Canada all the shows that were played through out the week were all replayed for 2.5 hours on Sunday a.m. and still are.
I have no idea when Mavis & Derrick came on the scene but my first memories are of them and their budgie birds. I really liked that couple and for Valentine's Day in 1992, our kids gave us two budgie birds and named them Mavis and Derrick. ;)
I remember the very first episode and haven't missed many since then.
I started watching in 77 so one of my first big memories was Ernie Bishop being shot. I remember Tracey as a baby , Blanche and Deirdre argued about whose shawl she should wear at her christening.
I started watching with my grandmother from the first episode in 1960, when I was twelve. These days, I remember the older episodes better than I do the more recent.
The only episodes I have missed are those cut by CBC around the time of Bet Lynch's wedding.
My earliest memories are from the mid to late 80s when I was very young. All I remember are the ladies in Baldwin's Casuals with their blue overalls. I didn't know who they were or what they were talking about, but Vera always stood out with her big blonde perm and booming cackle - talk about iconic!
I didn't start watching properly until 1987 when I was eight. I remember Hilda leaving, but the first major storyline that sticks with me is the Alan Bradley saga. Oh, and the Rovers line-Up of Bet, Alex, Betty and Jacko (and later, Racquel) hasn't been beaten since.
I remember the Ken-Dierdre-mike Baldwin storyline in the early 80's. Hilda Ogden taking in Kevin Webster as a lodger as well. Hilda and Stan arguing. I barely remember Elsie Tanner. I remember Audrey and Alf and thinking they weren't compatible at the time.
I only watched for a few years then didn't watch again for about 20 years until 2007. I missed quite a few episodes since then (I watch it online on the CBC website.). But it's amazing how you can pick up what's going on even if you miss some episodes.
Corrie had been on for nearly 40 years when I was born, so having technically watching it my whole life, my first real memories were in 2007 with the consequences of Tracy murdering Charlie. I roughly remember the two-hander between Tracy and Deirdre before the trial and I just remember the Barlows arguing. I was very young so I was just bewildered by the programme. I even gave it up for Lent and drew a picture of the TV with the Barlows arguing in my R.E. book. Well, at least I said I would give it up. It's definitely not something I would do now.
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