Fifty years since Elsie married Steve in Coronation Street

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the first of two Corrie episodes covering the wedding of Elsie Tanner to Sergeant Steve Tanner. Conveniently, no change of surname was required! 

At the time, it was the most talked-about event in the history of Coronation Street. In fact, the episode broadcast on 6 September 1967 was the first in Corrie to show the wedding ceremony itself.

It was such a big event that the nuptials spawned a special ‘Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir’ magazine published by the TV Times on 7 September 1967. This was the first ever Corrie magazine and, apart from some records and jigsaws, one of the first pieces of Coronation Street merchandise.

For one shilling, Corrie fans that had enjoyed the wedding on TV could relive it all with a 32-page souvenir mag packed with photos of the ceremony and reception – a lavish do in Warrington.

I have never seen the Tanner wedding. However, having recently acquired a copy of the TV Times supplement, I feel like I know a lot about the big day! 

It’s a great historical document and one interesting feature is a copy of Dennis Tanner’s speech, which was not heard on screen. It was printed along with his supposed hand-written amendments.

Other highlights include an artist’s impression of the lounge in Elsie and Steve’s new luxury flat in Altrincham. The flat was decked out with wall-to wall carpeting and a craftsman-designed fireplace in natural stone, with a built-in gas fire and a slate hearth. It was a far cry from the sparsely furnished living room of 11 Coronation Street.

Elsie was going up in the world, you see – from the cobbled back streets of Salford to the tree-lined avenues of Manchester’s stockbroker belt. The wife of an American GI, she could kiss goodbye to cooking on a stove in the living room and her tiny scullery with a sink and larder. Now Elsie could enjoy a real kitchen with all mod cons: new cooker with eye-level grill; stainless steel sink unit; plenty of cupboard space; Venetian blinds and a transistorised clock – plus, a refrigerator! 

According to Corriepedia (read more here), the photos in the magazine were not taken on set because recording was too close to the TV Times’ publication date. Instead, the cast assembled at St Margaret’s Church in Whalley Range, which looked like the church designed in the studio. The back cover featured a photo of the Tanners at Manchester Airport, staged as if they were about to board their honeymoon flight to Lisbon.

The Coronation Street Wedding Souvenir magazine was given a second print run and is thought to have sold over one million copies in total. Not surprisingly, the TV Times went on to publish more special Corrie magazines, for example to mark the tenth anniversary in 1970, the wedding of Len and Rita in 1977, and the 2000th episode in 1980.

I came by this wonderful relic thanks to a friend of a friend, Scarlett, who found it when clearing her Aunt’s bungalow after she had passed away at the age of 92. It was sitting inside a folder of Royal souvenirs and cuttings; alongside some old Cadbury Creme Eggs and Woods of Windsor talc sets.

Scarlett’s Auntie Alice was an avid Corrie fan from the very start and actually passed away peacefully as the opening bars of the theme tune could be heard from the residents’ lounge in the care home where she spent her last eighteen months. Alice hated Len Fairclough and Annie Walker and she thought Ken Barlow was a womaniser. She would have liked to have tried Betty’s hotpot. Me too!

It’s amazing to think that someone I never met spent many happy hours watching Coronation Street, just as I, and many other millions of people have, all of us formulating opinions about the same set of characters. It made me think of the wonderful ‘Coronation Street: Then, Now & Forever’ promo produced by ITV to celebrate 57 years of our favourite continuing drama. For us Corrie fans, we’ll always have iconic scenes and storylines by which to remember major milestones in our own lives.

My first child is due soon and I look forward to sharing many Corrie moments with her. I’m sure she will grow up to love Coronation Street, just as her Daddy always has – Then, Now & Forever!

By Martin Leay, on Twitter @mpleay

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