Christmas on Coronation Street

by Maggie Sullivan

  ‘Not at all,’ Fay hurried to assure him. ‘I was going to say … well, I’d be honoured to accept.’

  He sat down again abruptly, a smile spreading across his face.

  ‘And once my leg is better, I can come to see you in Saddleworth so that I can meet your mother and we can begin to … make arrangements.’

  Terry stood up again and Fay did too, hesitantly moving towards each other. Terry twiddled his hat in his fingers. ‘You’ve made me so happy, Fay.’

  Fay smiled, ‘You’ve made me happy too, Terry.’ And she took his hand in her own.

  As Christmas and New Year had slipped by without much celebration, 1941 began without anyone in Coronation Street seeming to notice. So when word went round at the factory that there was to be a bit of a knees-up at the Rovers one night in early January, Elsie looked forward to joining in.

  ‘We mustn’t go too early, mind,’ Sally Todd said. ‘Why don’t I knock on for you about eight?’

  When they arrived, Elsie was surprised to be greeted by Annie Walker, who invited them into the select. She could see almost immediately that it was festooned with baubles, tinsel and all manner of glittering decorations and as she stepped inside she realized it was also full of familiar faces. As she entered, everyone stood up and raised their glasses, and Sally thrust a large glass of gin into Elsie’s hand. Then there was a loud chorus of ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Elsie!’ and Elsie noticed a long table groaning with plates of food in spite of the austere rationing.

  Elsie looked around her, bewildered. She had no idea what was going on until Ena Sharples stepped forward and began to speak.

  ‘Thanks to the bloody Luftwaffe, Christmas and New Year were as good as cancelled. We all suffered, but you, Elsie Tanner,’ she turned to face her, ‘you fared worse than most and we all wanted to acknowledge that fact.’ She raised her glass to everyone in the room. ‘We wanted you to know we’re right behind you. So we all chipped in and we’re taking the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and New Year today. You may have lost your old family, but the people of Coronation Street have always thought of themselves as one big family. Even with all our squabbles and disagreements, we all do what’s right by each other. You’re part of Coronation Street now and that means you’re one of us, so let’s remember absent friends and welcome the new ones.’

  There were murmurs of approval and shouts of ‘Hear, hear!’ and glasses were raised again. Elsie was too overwhelmed to respond. She stood with the gin in her hand and looked around the room at the eager faces all wishing her well. When Elsie had arrived at Coronation Street just over a year ago, she never could have guessed at the events that lay ahead or the people that she would meet. Ena was right, they might fight like a bunch of kids sometimes but Coronation Street was a place like no other.

  ‘This is quite some celebration. I’ve never had a Christmas present like this before,’ she said, finding her voice at last. ‘I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.’

  ‘And that’s not all,’ Ena added. ‘We’ve kept some food back for a kiddies’ special, a party tomorrow at the Mission. All are invited. We can celebrate Linda Tanner’s first birthday in January and there’s young Billy Walker and Kenneth Barlow to think about – they’re our future now. It’s time to show them how we celebrate, Coronation Street-style. To let them know that we’ll never be beaten.’

  Elsie was busy lighting a cigarette to stop herself bursting into tears. She’d never had much of a childhood and had certainly never had any presents as a child but Linda was having a different start in life. One surrounded by people who cared. She was overwhelmed by the generous spirit in the room.

  But the night had one more surprise in store. Through the busy crowds of the pub, Elsie saw a young woman pushing through the throng, heading in her direction and calling her name.

  ‘Elsie, Elsie, is that you? It’s me, I’m all right!’

  For a moment, Elsie couldn’t place the young woman. She was dressed smartly in a new brown woollen coat with a touch of fur at the collar and a neat hat cocked sideways on her head, as was the current fashion.

  ‘Elsie don’t you recognise me?’

  Elsie stared open-mouthed at the woman standing in front of her, who had now been joined by an equally smart older man, his arm drapped protectively around the girl. Elsie felt a sensation creep up her spine as the realisation dawned. ‘It can’t be, I thought you were … the bombs down by the arches … Phyllis, is that really you – you look all grown-up?’

  The young woman beamed. ‘I’m glad you barely recognise me, I’ve got a new life now, this is Roy Bailey and he got me off the streets. I live with him in Oldham and I was with Roy when the bombs fell. We’re going to get married when I’m old enough, aren’t we, Roy?’

  Elsie stood stock still for a moment unable to believe the sight before her, though a small thought niggled away about what the relationship might be between Phyllis and Roy. She wondered at her sister’s new-found affluence – but Phyllis had always been good at getting what she wanted. Well, good for her, thought Elsie. This was no time for speculation so she exclaimed in excitement, ‘Look at me stood here gawping, come here you!’ and she enveloped her sister in a fierce hug. ‘Phyllis, I hate to spoil the moment, I’m right happy to see you but, there’s been bad news …’

  Phyllis stopped her. ‘I’ve heard all about it … I know … One of the lads down at the arches heard what had happened to Back Gas Street and came and told Roy. That’s why I’m here now, I wanted you to know I’m safe.’

  Elsie and Phyllis regarded each other silently for an instant, joined in the memory of their lost family. But nothing was going to spoil Elsie’s happiness and joy – she had her sister back and that was all that mattered right now.

  ‘Come on, we’ve got to celebrate and first thing tomorrow we’re going to tell our Fay that you’re alive!’

  For a moment, Elsie remembered Stan Walsh and the thrill of her first-ever present, but she knew that tonight she had been given the biggest and best present she would ever receive. Life was definitely looking up.

  ‘I want to raise another toast,’ she shouted above the din. ‘Here’s to Coronation Street, long may she reign!’

  Elsie downed her gin in one gulp, and as Mrs Foyle took up the piano, the noisy cheers drifted out of the Rovers Return, across the cobbles, and into the night.

  Coronation Street – Still the Nation’s Favourite

  Coronation Street was the creation of Tony Warren, a scriptwriter at Granada Television in Manchester. The story goes that Tony was frustrated with the scripts he was being asked to write and jumped onto a filing cabinet in the office of the Head of Drama, Harry Elton. Tony refused to come down until Harry allowed him to write about something he knew. Looking out of the office window towards the brick terraces of Salford, Tony said he could write about an ordinary street and the people who lived in it … and so Coronation Street was born.

  It was initially rejected by the studio, who didn’t believe that audiences would take to a drama about the ordinary lives of working-class Northern characters. It was Harry’s idea to screen the pilot episodes to Granada staff, many of whom were ‘ordinary’ Northerners themselves. After proving the programme could connect with the target audience, twelve episodes of Coronation Street (it was originally called Florizel Street before being renamed) were scheduled and the first episode aired on ITV on the 9th of December 1960.

  The critics did not immediately warm to Coronation Street but audiences didn’t agree. It was the first time that genuine Northern accents were consistently used on television and viewers were hooked by the series’ storylines, the portrayal of ‘ordinary’ characters and the brilliant acting on display.

  Early storylines embedded strong female characters such as Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) and Annie Walker (Doris Speed) in the nation’s consciousness; the squabbles and the skirmishes kept viewers glued to their screens along with storylines that feat
ured a young and idealistic Ken Barlow, played by William Roache, who is now the world’s longest running soap character to have been played by the same person.

  Within a year, the programme was top of the ratings and stayed there throughout the decade, regularly pulling in audiences of 20 million viewers. As the programme headed into the 1970s, many of the older characters were leaving the series, allowing a new generation to sip their drinks at the Rovers Return. Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear), Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox), Deirdre Hunt (Anne Kirkbride) and Mavis Riley (Thelma Barlow) all started to carve out their own legendary statuses and the women who played them cemented their acting credentials with storylines showcasing their admirable talents.

  Coronation Street, along with all ITV programmes, was forced off the air for eleven weeks in 1979 as the whole country was caught up in industrial action. But this did nothing to dent the series’ popularity and with barely any competition from the other channels, it reigned supreme until the 1980s when both the BBC and Channel 4 introduced hard-hitting new soaps EastEnders and Brookside. Coronation Street writers met the challenge head-on and some of the programme’s most dramatic storylines were played out during the eighties. Who could forget the love affair of the decade between Deirdre Barlow and Mike Baldwin? The ensuing feud between Mike and Ken would last for years. Rita Fairclough’s mental abuse at the hands of Alan Bradley and the dramatic conclusion which saw him fatally struck by a Blackpool tram has gone down as one of the defining plotlines in any soap. Hilda Ogden’s poignant breakdown in the aftermath of the death of her husband, Stan, has come to be viewed as one of the most outstanding performances in the programme’s history.

  As the millennium approached, Bet and Alec Gilroy (Roy Barraclough) were manning the pumps at the Rovers but it was a time of upheaval for the show. The series had increased to three episodes a week. The show had relocated to a brand new set with new houses and shops and fresh characters had replaced some of the old guard and were taking root in the nation’s heart. The touching but ultimately doomed romance between Raquel Wolstenhulme and Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy) broke millions of hearts nationwide and made Sarah Lancashire a household name.

  While the trademark humour of the series was much in evidence, the show’s plotlines reflected shifts in society and tackled modern issues such as drug abuse and transsexuality with the introduction of the character of Hayley Patterson. On the 8th of December 2000 the show celebrated its 40th year on air and the Prince of Wales made a cameo appearance. As the show entered a new century, new families such as the Battersbys and the McDonalds dominated the street. A new feud emerged between Karen McDonald, played by Suranne Jones, and Tracy Barlow, who had been played by a number of actresses over the years, though it was Kate Ford who embodied Tracy’s most turbulent storylines.

  In 2010, Coronation Street celebrated its 50th birthday, not long after it had officially become the world’s longest running soap in the Guinness Book of Records. The show marked the occasion with one of its most dramatic storylines when The Joinery bar exploded, destroying the viaduct and sending a Metrolink tram hurtling down on to the street. There were seven episodes screened that week with a special live one-hour episode, which sent the programme’s ratings soaring into the stratosphere.

  In 2011, the character of Dennis Tanner returned to the street after an absence of forty-three years. As Elsie Tanner’s son, Dennis’ reintroduction into street life provided a tangible link to those early days, when Elsie, Annie and Ena held sway over Weatherfield life. The nation’s favourite street has now dominated the airwaves for almost sixty years and seems destined for many, many more. The trials and tribulations of the people of Weatherfield continue to delight audiences the world over. Life is never simple for them but the good humour and witty one-liners have seen them through many a crisis. As Ena Sharples wisely observed, ‘I don’t expect life to be easy. I’d think very little of it if it was.’

  Pat Phoenix – The Woman Who Made Elsie Tanner

  1961: Left to right: Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) with Annie Walker (Doris Speed) behind the Rovers Return bar.

  While Elsie Tanner and the other strong female characters of Coronation Street might have been the creation of Tony Warren and the scriptwriters at Corrie, it was the actress, Pat Phoenix, who made Elsie the woman we all know and love.

  Patricia Manfield was born in Manchester on the 26th November 1923, to parents Thomas and Anna Maria Manfield. Like the character she played in Coronation Street, Pat was born into a working-class family and grew up to become a tough and strongminded young woman.

  From an early age, Pat had yearned for a career on the stage and, despite a lack of encouragement at home, submitted a monologue to the BBC which they liked enough to give her employment on Children’s Hour. This experience whetted her appetite for acting and she spent much of her free time enthralled as she watched stage greats such as Laurence Olivier and Ralph Richardson treading the boards at the Palace Theatre. Her school report stated that, ‘Patricia is not exactly a model pupil, but on stage she is marvellous.’

  On leaving school, Pat got a job working for the Manchester Corporation’s gas department while still pursuing amateur dramatics in the evenings. She joined the Manchester Arts Repertory Company, and her big break came in 1948 when she won the part of comedian Sandy Powell’s wife in Cup-tie Honeymoon. The film also featured a young Bernard Youens, who would later play Stan Ogden in Coronation Street.

  But her career struggled to get off the ground as she was only cast in small roles in small films. She received acclaim for her part in the play A Girl Called Sadie, which had a racy plot about a vicar and a tart. During that production, Pat had a fling with her co-star Anthony Booth, but it was an illicit one as he was married with two daughters (the elder, Cherie, would go on to marry Tony Blair, the future Prime Minister). Pat felt despair at her lack of success and later spoke of near-starvation and of a failed suicide attempt which was thwarted because she didn’t have any money for the gas meter.

  The wheel of fortune turned for Pat when she won the role of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street. She was up against a huge amount of competition from other actors for the role and Pat recounted arguing with the Granada team on the day as she was so highly strung. Whatever she did that day won her the part and Elsie Tanner was a hit with audiences from the very beginning. The Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan, once described Elsie as ‘the sexiest thing on television’, and Pat clearly revelled in her role as the street’s fiery redhead. ‘I was one of the first anti-heroines – not particularly good-looking and no better than I should be,’ said Pat. She was the perfect embodiment of ‘the tart with a heart’ and her ongoing storylines, featuring her tortured love life and clashes with Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), were highly addictive for audiences.

  Pat Phoenix loved her fans and was often charm personified, but she built up a reputation for being difficult on set. She regularly clashed with the equally headstrong Carson and often fell out with her co-stars. Pat embraced the glamour and the fame that came with the role of Elsie and poured much of herself into the role. Like Elsie, Pat’s love life was bountiful fodder for the tabloids and her turbulent relationships often made the headlines.

  Her first marriage to Peter Marsh ended in divorce after just a year. She went on to marry her Coronation Street co-star, Alan Browning, who played her on-screen husband, Alan Howard. The marriage was as turbulent in reality as it was on screen. The two had already separated by 1979, when Browning died of alcohol-related liver failure.

  Pat had become disillusioned with Coronation Street and had left the programme to pursue her stage career. However, alternative roles with the high-profile that Pat desired never quite materialised. By 1976, Pat had returned to the street, although she still clashed with the producers who wanted to tone down the character and have her behave in a more age-appropriate fashion. Pat was having none of it and was insistent that Elsie should not grow old gracefully. In 1983, Elsie Tanner
packed her bags for the last time and headed off to Portugal for a new life with an old flame, Bill Gregory.

  Another old flame had made a reappearance in reality too. Tony Booth had walked back into Pat’s life; he had found fame as Alf Garnet’s socialist son in the TV series Till Death Us Do Part, but Booth had suffered terrible burns after setting himself on fire in a drunken accident. Pat nursed him back to health and Booth credited Pat with saving his life. She went on to have a good relationship with his children and campaigned for Tony Blair in the 1983 General Election, helping him to win his first seat.

  A lifelong heavy smoker, Pat died of terminal lung cancer in 1986. She had hidden the disease from family and friends, including Booth, and the two only married a few days before her death. Tributes flooded in and Tony Warren, the creator of the show, said, ‘She was fiercely loyal, frequently impossible and I wouldn’t have missed knowing her for anything.’

  Without Pat Phoenix, Elsie Tanner as everyone knew her would never have existed. Pat said of herself, ‘I don’t know what the word “star” means. I am a working actress.’ But she was one of the biggest stars of the show’s history and her light still shines on those famous cobbles today, almost sixty years on.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to Shirley Patton, Dominic Khouri, Helen Nugent and Kieran Roberts who gave invaluable advice and help on the Coronation Street details. I would also like to thank my wonderful agent Kate Nash and my amazing editor Kate Bradley without whom the book would not have existed. Special thanks also go to Ann Parker, Jannet Wright, Sue Moorcroft, Pia Fenton, Julie Leibrich, Brenda Squires and Mary Hughes for their unending belief, support and encouragement.

  Revisit the nation’s favourite street in spring 2018