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It’s a great historical document and one interesting feature is a copy of Dennis Tanner’s speech, which was not heard on screen.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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Coronation Street Through the Looking Glass

This is an amazing find, via John at Corriepedia, of some of the 1960s Coronation Street cast imagined as characters from Alice in Wonderland. The team at Corriepedia is undergoing a big project to document the history of Coronation Street in the TV Times. You can read about the project and the progress of it here. It's quite interesting!

It's set up as a dream that Jennifer Moss (Lucille Hewitt) apparently had of her fellow cast members as Lewis Carroll characters that intrigued the TV Times so much that they  created this awesome scene for their 1965 Christmas special.

The accompanying article says that the cast "joined quickly in the fun". I'm a bit surprised they'd all dress up for something like this but then it's publicity and it very likely did happen. Designer Denis Parkin is the creative mind behind it with Warwick Bedford as photographer. The scene is set, with the character names as follows:

Against a cartoonish Street set, we have Ena Sharples, top and centre as the Duchess and Emily Nugent as her cook to the right. To her left is White Rabbit, aka Elsie Tanner  with her long legs and bunny ears. The King and Queen of Hearts are the hosts and naturally that's Annie and Jack Walker. On either side of the long rooftop we have Stan Ogden and Lionel Petty (who was running the corner shop at the time) as the Fish Footman and the Frog Footman with Hilda Ogden and Sandra Petty, Lionel's daughter,  as the cards.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee can only been Len Fairclough and Jerry Booth and Mad Hatter Charlie Moffat is serving tea to The March Hare, Albert Tatlock who looks as if he'd rather be anywhere else but there! We round off the cast with the ear to ear grin of the Cheshire Cat in the tree, Minnie Caldwell.


@Corriepedia on Twitter

Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter

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Hayley's last Christmas on Coronation Street

Of the many things that will happen on Coronation Street this festive season (spoilers here!), it's also going to be Hayley's last Christmas.



TV Times magazine have a special tribute to Corrie's Hayley in their magazine for next week, which is on sale now.


Also at the TV Times website at What's on TV, there's a Hayley special page with exclusive pictures, video and audio. 

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TV Times release five Frank Foster killer covers

This week's TV Times comes with a choice of Coronation Street covers. And while there may be five covers there's only one killer so who do you think will be the one who bumped off freaky Frank Foster?


As evil rapist, Frank Foster, is found dead in the factory, TV Times interrogates the Corrie residents whom Weatherfield Police want to question...

Soap baddies always get their comeupance, and this week, Frank Foster makes the inevitable trip to Weatherfield heaven – or, as is more likely, hell?

SALLY WEBSTER

Evidence:

‘Sally’s the one found with the body, knelt over Frank with blood on her hands – so it doesn’t look good!’

Defence:

‘Sally’s found in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yes, she hated Frank, but Sally will say she’s not capable of murder.’

Previous form:

‘When she’s riled, we’ve seen Sally lash out before. She gave Natalie that famous slap round the face….’

KEVIN WEBSTER

Evidence:

‘There’s a big twist that throws Kevin Webster right in the frame and the police come calling. It leaves even Sally wondering if Kevin was Frank’s killer.’

Defence:

‘Kevin claims not to have gone anywhere near Frank before he was killed. But there’s a twist  - and the Police later come to him with evidence they’ve discovered which makes him a suspect...’ 

Previous form:

‘His temper has got Kevin a few weeks in prison after he attacked John Stape. I hope he’s learnt his lesson but you never know. Kevin’s certainly capable of killing someone.’

Who does Kevin think did it?

‘He doesn’t say but, when he’s later questioned, he’s quick to point out it wasn’t him! Kevin mentions to Sally that it makes more sense for Peter to have killed Frank but maybe he’s just covering his tracks.’

CARLA CONNOR

Evidence:

‘Anne discovers that the contract Carla signed, giving ownership of the factory to Frank has mysteriously disappeared after Frank’s death. Considering everything that Frank did to her, and the fact that the missing contract benefits Carla, this puts her firmly in the frame and the police come calling.’

Defence:

‘Carla may use the fact that she’s not capable of murder as her defence. She goes back to the factory that night to confront Frank but she claims that when she left, he was still alive. She then went home on her own, although so she doesn’t have a strong alibi.’

Previous form:

‘Carla’s had her fair share of scrapes in her past, and Carla comes from the roughest council estate in Weatherfield. She was dragged up and she’s learnt to fight her way through life – as she proved when Tony Gordon had her locked up in the factory.’

Who does Carla think did it?

‘When Peter comes back the next day with blood on his clothes and no idea about where he’s been, she starts to worry. And, when he can’t explain where he was she starts to fear it was him.’

PETER BARLOW

Evidence:

‘Peter goes on a drunken bender when Leanne – thanks to some stirring from Frank – announces she’s going for custody of Simon. When he returns the next morning, he’s covered in blood, and has no memory of where he’s been and what he’s done.’

Defence:

‘Peter can’t remember what happened that night, and he was too drunk to have killed Frank. But then again, he can’t remember that he didn’t kill him!’

Previous form:

‘He’s attacked Frank before, when they came face to face on the street and he all but admitted to raping Carla. Peter spent a night in the cells for that. And he threatened to kill Nick with a crowbar when he found out about his affair with Leanne.’

Who does Peter think did it?

‘He’s worried that Carla lashed out - after all, he knows how far Frank pushed her. Then again he’s also worried that he might have done it whilst he was drunk.’

MICHELLE CONNOR

Evidence:

‘There’s a big twist in the story and Michelle suddenly becomes much more of a suspect than people may initially think. She’s acting very strangely, and her friends start to pick up on that.’

Defence:

‘Michelle has an alibi that takes her away from the factory when Frank was killed. But when questioned about it, I don’t know whether it will stand up. She’s very cagey.’

Previous form:

Like Carla, Michelle had a pretty rough upbringing but Michelle’s always been a very moral person. Having said that, her big thing is family and she’s very protective of the Connor clan. Frank destroyed Carla so maybe Michelle has decided to dish out some justice of her own.’

Who does Michelle think did it?

‘Michelle’s definitely involved in the mix somewhere but whether she’s capable of killing Frank you’ll have to wait and see. I think she could be!’

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Coronation Street Blog Advent Calendar - December 8th 2011

Welcome to the 8th day for our Coronation Street Blog advent calendar. What’s behind today’s door?

One of the highlights of the Christmas period is getting the festive edition of the TV listings to find out what you’ll be sleeping through after your Christmas dinner. (click on the picture for a larger version)

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