The faces of Corrie in 1963

If you remember, last year I had a series of posts looking at the top 12 faces of each Corrie decade - the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. For the next 10 weeks or so, I’ll be looking at the top 12 faces of each year between 1960 and 2013.

With thanks to Corriepedia for the information.

 

 

 In 1963, 104 episodes were broadcast.

1.    Valerie Barlow (91 episodes)
2.    Harry Hewitt (91 episodes)
3.    Ena Sharples (90 episodes)
4.    Annie Walker (90 episodes)
5.    Martha Longhurst (89 episodes)
6.    Concepta Hewitt (89 episodes)
7.    Elsie Tanner (89 episodes)
8.    Minnie Caldwell (88 episodes)
9.    Len Fairclough (88 episodes)
10.    Albert Tatlock (87 episodes)
11.    Jack Walker (87 episodes)
12.    Florrie Lindley (85 episodes)

Average age: 50

Note: This is the last time Martha, Harry, Florrie and Concepta (to date) appear in the top 12.

 

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Corrie A-Z: C is for the Corner Shop (Part 1: 1960-1980)

With thanks to Daran Little’s Coronation Street: Around the Houses for all the info on the history of the Corner Shop prior to 1960.

 

For many years, the Corner Shop was a staple in every Corrie episode, where characters were seen talking and gossiping about goings-on in the street. And the shopkeeper had an integral part in the community: be it Florrie Lindley back in the early 1960s or Alf Roberts in the 1980s. But in recent years, the Corner Shop has lost its status and has dwindled into extinction, apart from the odd scene here and there.

 

At one time, the Corner Shop played a vital role in many episodes. Indeed, it played the central role in the very first episode back in December 1960 when Elsie Lappin handed the business over to Florrie Lindley after 30 years. It was through Florrie’s eyes that we met the characters as they came to the shop to introduce themselves to the new shopkeeper.

 

Prior to Coronation Street’s on-screen debut in 1960, the corner shop had proprietors since 1902. The first owners were Cedric and Lottie Thwaite who ran the shop until 1915. The Foyle family (including Tommy, Amelia, Lil, Elsie, Hilda and Shelagh) ran the shop from 1930 to 1947. Elsie, and her husband Les Lappin, bought the shop in 1947. Les died in 1952 and Elsie continued behind the counter until she sold the shop to Florrie Lindley in 1960.

 

Let’s take a closer look at who was behind the counter between 1960 and 1980:

 

Florrie Lindley 1960-1965

 

Florrie was a typical shopkeeper: a kind, caring and compassionate soul. During her stint behind the counter she installed a new window and doorway and opened a sub-post office. Irma Ogden became her assistant in 1964. But loneliness ate away at Florrie and led her to have a nervous breakdown and she wrecked the shop. In 1965, estranged hubby Norman re-entered her life and persuaded Florrie to join him in Canada. She agreed and sold the shop to Lionel Petty.

 

Lionel Petty 1965-1966

 

Petty was an ex-Army officer and ran the shop in an efficient but military way and his approach towards the customers was a stark contrast to Florrie. Even assistant Irma stayed off work to avoid him and when he was short towards Ena Sharples many of the residents boycotted the shop. As well as Irma, his daughter Sandra worked behind the counter as did Dennis Tanner. After only a few months, Lionel sold up the shop and returned to his native Wales.

 

David and Irma Barlow 1966-1968

 

Petty sold the shop to young married couple David and Irma. The first thing the Barlows did was close the sub-post office that had been in the shop since 1964 but in recent months had become unprofitable. They settled into shop life and were popular with residents. But within a few months Irma had grown bored and left the shop to work as a machinist at the PVC factory while mother Hilda took up the job of shop assistant, to David’s chagrin. Irma soon returned the shop and life was good until 1968 when David craved for a return to his football career. And when he was offered a place in an Australian team, he persuaded Irma that they should immigrate and sold the shop.

 

Les Clegg 1968-1970, Maggie Clegg 1968-1974, Irma Barlow 1970-1972 and Gordon Clegg 1974-1976

 

The Cleggs bought the shop as a new start due to Les’ alcoholism and a chance for him to stay sober. They arrived on the street with their ‘son’ Gordon. They were happy for two months before Les fell off the wagon and assaulted Maggie and thus ended their marriage. Needing help, Maggie took on Ena Sharples and Valerie Barlow as her assistants. Maggie’s overbearing sister Betty Turpin arrived on the street in 1969 to help her sister out but Maggie persuaded her to get a job as a barmaid at the Rovers. Valerie left her post as assistant at the end of 1969 when she got a job at Alan Howard’s hair salon. In 1970, Les and Maggie divorced and Maggie was given the shop in the settlement. Soon after, a widowed Irma returned from Australia and entered into a partnership with Maggie. As a result, Ena left her post as shop assistant. Hilda helped out now and again; Janet Reid was briefly an assistant in 1971 and Lucille Hewitt from late 1971 to early 1972. Irma sold her share to Maggie and moved to Llandudno in 1972.

 

Maggie was now the sole owner of the shop and took on Norma Ford as her assistant who stayed until the end of 1973. In 1974, Maggie appreciated the help of Alf Roberts. When he proposed, she rejected stating she only saw him as a good friend. But within a few weeks she married Ron Cooke and they immigrated to Zaire. Maggie passed the shop on to Gordon but when he clashed with Betty, he left for London and rented the shop to Welsh couple Idris and Vera Hopkins who moved to the shop with their daughter Tricia and Idris’ mother Megan. But they had a short stay when Megan found out that Betty was Gordon’s real mother and tried to blackmail Gordon into selling the shop to them at a lower price. Gordon had been told that Betty was his mother by Maggie when she visited in early 1975. As a result, the Hopkins were evicted and left in a midnight flit. Gordon did let Tricia stay in the shop flat with her best mate Gail Potter and they ran the shop until mid-1975 when Blanche Hunt took the reins with the young girls her assistants. When Blanche left the street in early 1976, Tricia and Gail took care of the shop. As Gordon was in London, it was Betty who looked after the shop’s financial side and reported to Gordon of any problems. In mid-1976, Gordon sold the shop to Renee Bradshaw.

 

Renee Bradshaw/Roberts 1976-1980

 

Renee took over the shop to be closer to her brother Terry. She soon sacked Tricia and Gail for being terrible assistants and Tricia left the area. Renee soon applied for an off-licence and waged a war against publican Annie Walker and won. Bet Lynch moves in as a flat tenant and Renee becomes her confidante. Alf Roberts romances Renee and they marry in 1978. When Alf is injured when a lorry ploughs into the Rovers, he retires from the GPO to help Renee at the shop. In 1980, the Roberts decided to sell the shop and move to run a sub-post office in Grange-over-Sands. But on the way from Grange, Renee is killed in a lorry-crash collision. Alf decides to stay put on the street and continue behind the counter.

 

To be continued...

 

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Corrie originals - Betty Alberge as Florrie Lindley

First appeared: 9th December 1960

Last appeared: 2nd June 1965

Betty Alberge played the role of Corner shop proprietor Florrie Lindley between 1960 and 1965.

Born in Manchester in 1922, Alberge entered the acting world while in school, starring alongside her schoolmate Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner). She then trained at the Manchester Repertory School of Acting and began her professional career at the Colwyn Bay Repertory Company in North Wales. She worked in various TV programmes on both the BBC and ITV and made her TV debut in the ITV Play of the Week in 1958.

Two years later she joined the cast of new drama serial Coronation Street. She initially auditioned for the role of Ida Barlow but Corrie creator Tony Warren felt she was better suited to the role of a shopkeeper. Thus the character of 38 year old Florrie Lindley was created specifically for Betty. Betty appeared in the very first scene of Corrie alongside Maudie Edwards (Elsie Lappin) when Florrie Lindley became the new owner of the Corner Shop and was shown around the place by retiring owner Elsie. Her position as a new resident on the street provided the opportunity for Tony Warren to introduce characters and the street itself through Florrie’s eyes. During her time on the cobbles, Florrie’s storylines included dating Frank Barlow; being mugged; falling for Harry Hewitt; opening a sub post office in the shop; and suffering a nervous breakdown; and dating Tickler Murphy. In 1964, Alberge fell victim to new producer Tim Aspinall’s axe. Florrie was written out when her estranged husband Norman (Florrie had always claimed she was widowed) turned up and wanted to reconcile. While she considered his offer, Norman went on to have a fling with her best friend Elsie Tanner. But Florrie decided to reunite with Norman and they immigrated to Canada together and sold the shop to Lionel Petty. Florrie was the last character of Aspinall’s bloodbath to depart, leaving in June 1965. Overall, Betty Alberge appeared in 311 episodes between 1960 and 1965.

Alberge was fortunate to find other acting jobs for the next 21 years. She had roles in Nearest and Dearest (1969), ITV Playhouse (1969-1972), Crown Court (1973), Z Cars (1969-1976), London Belongs to Me (1977), Rentaghost (1976-1978), Play for Today (1975-1978), Angels (1981) and Juliet Bravo (1982). In 1983, she secured the role of pensioner Edna Cross in Liverpool based soap Brookside, eighteen years after her last soap appearance. She left Brookside in 1985 when Edna was killed off. She made her final TV appearance in then-new hospital drama Casualty in 1986. Alberge died five years later in Stoke on Trent aged 69. Florrie’s fate hasn’t been addressed in the show.

She was married to Rupert until her death. They had a daughter Christine.

Did you ever see or meet Betty Alberge? Do you have any pieces of trivia about her?

Research from IMDB and Corrie Net.

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Fab Photo Friday - July 6th 2012

It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street photo. Here's a picture of Florrie Lindley setting up a display in the shop she took over from Elsie Lappin in the first episode. She was played by Betty Alberge who went on to play the part of Edna Cross in Brookside.

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50 Years Of Corrie In 50 Days – 1965

Day 5 of our 50 day countdown of Coronation Street - written by blogger Sunny Jim.

Formerly the barmaid at the Farrier's Arms on Collier Street, Florrie Lindley appeared in the first scene of the first episode of Coronation Street, taking over the corner shop from Elsie Lappin. Though she had an estranged husband who had run away to work as an engineer in India, she let it be known that she was a widow and even set her cap at Harry Hewitt, losing out to Concepta Riley. She found business hard and she had problems paying some of her suppliers, so in an attempt to generate more income, she had two of the upstairs bedrooms converted into bedsits and rented them out. The first lodgers were two young clerks from the Town Hall, who only stayed a month. They were followed by Sheila Birtles and Doreen Lostock who lived there for over a year, despite Florrie's strict rules about gentlemen callers.

After the girls left, Florrie became lonely and spent many evenings playing bingo, once winning £100, only to have her handbag snatched on the way home. In 1964, she had the shop converted, moving the doorway from the windy corner, to the side next to No.13 and adding a sub-post office, complete with telephone kiosk. While Florrie sold stamps and cashed pensions, Irma Ogden ran the grocery shop, eagerly encouraging the pensioners to spend the money that they had just got from Florrie.

Jealous of her youth and popularity with men, Florrie turned on Irma and had a minor breakdown, throwing a tin of meat through the shop window, before collapsing in a sobbing heap on the floor. Despite her doctor's orders she soldiered on with the shop, but in 1965 her past was to catch up with her as her estranged husband Norman returned seeking a divorce. Norman had a brief affair with Elsie Tanner, before he reconciled with his wife and the two of them left to start a new life in Canada where Norman had taken a job.

Following the break-up of his marriage Jerry Booth returned to Coronation Street in 1965 and became a partner in Len Fairclough’s builders’ yard. One of their first jobs together was to demolish no.7 which had collapsed due to a snapped window beam. It left a gap in the terrace which would remain empty, save for a bench, until 1982. The real reason for the demolition was that the casting budget wouldn’t reach to filling it. It had another fortunate consequence in that as it was in the middle of the Street, only half of the set needed to be erected in the studio at a time.

Also in 1965: Susan & Peter Barlow born; Robert Maxwell dies; Violet Carson is awarded the OBE; Irma Ogden marries David Barlow; Leonard Swindley leaves the Street to star in spin-off programme ‘Pardon The Expression’; Ena Sharples becomes Elsie Tanner’s landlady.