Coronation Street in 1999 1999 was " Coronation Street " ' s fortieth year . Production . David Hanson . After starting in late 1998 , David Hanson remained in charge of " Coronation Street " for most of the year , with Carolyn Reynolds continuing as executive producer . Former production assistant Jane Macnaught became the programme ' s producer with Episode 4704 , while Reynolds left after Episode 4691 and was not replaced . Since his 1997 heart attack , Bryan Mosley had been appearing as Alf Roberts in a reduced capacity but , despite further problems including a dramatic weight loss , he had refused to call it a day . Out of concern for the actor , Hanson instructed writers to kill off Alf . Mosley ' s character passed away peacefully - and unnoticed - while slumped in a chair at Nick Tilsley ' s 18th birthday party in the New Year ' s Day episode . Mosley passed away on 9th February , six weeks after his character ' s on - screen death . Hanson inherited from Brian Park plans to introduce " Coronation Street " ' s first Asian family . These were Indian divorcee Ravi Desai , his daughter Nita and teenage son Vikram , who appeared over January and February . Writers were careful to avoid ethnic stereotypes but the show was accused of re - enforcing them by placing the family in the Corner Shop - a move which was defended by Rebecca Sarker ( Nita ) who commented that it was a fact of life that there were a lot of Asian shopkeepers in Britain . The Desais were meant as a long - term addition to the programme , but after seven months actor Saeed Jaffrey was dismissed from the role of Ravi by Jane Macnaught . Jaffrey ' s axing came two days before the actor spent the night in a cell for being drunk and disorderly on a train . Ravi was subsequently written out off - screen , returning to India after his brother Raj ' s sudden death . In November , Jimmi Harkishin first appeared as Nita and Vikram ' s cousin Dev Alahan , who a month later bought Ravi ' s chain of corner shops . Instead of being a family - run business , the Corner Shop was run by Dev as a solitary character . Comings and goings . The departures of Mosley , Beverley Callard , Philip Middlemiss and Roy Barraclough left room for more new cast members . Tracie Bennett was brought back as Rita Sullivan ' s former foster daughter Sharon Gaskell and was involved in one of the biggest storylines of the year , as Sharon learned about her fiancé Ian Bentley ' s fling with Natalie Barnes and dumped him at the altar . Writers put Sharon at the forefront of the show by having Rita give her the Kabin , only to pull the plug on the character after ten months and have her marry Ian after all and leave Weatherfield . Sharon ' s place at Rita ' s side was taken by Norris Cole , Derek Wilton ' s former nemesis who was brought back on a full - time basis . Pompous , nosy and prattling , Emily Bishop ' s eventual lodger in some respects served as a replacement for both Mavis Wilton and Percy Sugden . Meg Johnson also returned as Eunice Gee , making her first appearance since 1982 for a short storyline showing Jack and Vera Duckworth become residents and eventual managers of the Park Road B & B . The Duckworths were joined by lodger Tyrone Dobbs , who was retained after mother Jackie was written out in March . Jackie ' s exit storyline tied into Curly Watts ' s return , with Curly enlisting help from the neighbours to remove the squatting Dobbs from No . 7 . Maggie Jones reprised Blanche Hunt full - time for the first time since 1976 . Blanche played a key role in bringing Ken and Deirdre back together after ten years , in a storyline which saw Dawn Acton play Tracy for the last time prior to the re - cast of the character in 2002 . Ken and Deirdre ' s reconciliation occurred as two marriages ended ; Mike and Alma Baldwin divorced after Mike ' s fling with Julia Stone , while Martin Platt embarked on an affair with fellow nurse Rebecca Hopkins in a storyline which continued into 2000 . Mike ' s life went in a new direction , with Mike getting engaged to one of his machinists , Linda Sykes , and his son Mark Redman , now 18 , joining as a full - time character played by Paul Fox . Meanwhile , the focus of the Platts ' storylines also shifted ; with Adam Rickitt quitting his role of Nick Tilsley to pursue a pop career , and Nick moving to Canada after forcing Leanne to abort their baby , Gail ' s younger children became more prominent . In October , Tina O ' Brien replaced Lynsay King as Sarah Louise , who was given a best friend in the form of Candice Stowe , played by Nikki Sanderson . Tom Wisdom joined as hairdresser Tom Ferguson , joined in October by John Bowe as his father Duggie , while Annie Hulley played Underworld worker Gwen Loveday , Richard Standing played market trader Danny Hargreaves , Sally Webster ' s new partner , and James Gaddas played Vinny Sorrell , the Rovers ' new cellarman . Departures included Elizabeth Bradley as Maud Grimes , Holly Newman as barmaid Lorraine Brownlow , and Stephen Billington as Greg Kelly . Greg departed on New Year ' s Day but returned for six episodes in May . The storyline climaxed with an episode focused entirely on Greg taking Rosie and Sophie hostage in No . 13 in order to use Sally as a pawn in his battle against Mike . Meanwhile , Gaynor Faye decided to leave after four years as Judy Mallett . As the character had only recently given birth to twins , Judy was killed off , suffering an embolism caused by a car crash . Set and title changes . Following the closure of the Granada Studios Tour , " Coronation Street " ' s set was extended to include part of Victoria Street . The new development was comprised of four new shop units , two houses , six flats and a builders ' yard . Most of the building work took place later in the year but a frontage for Roy ' s Rolls ' s new premises was built months earlier so that cafe could be transferred there , removing the need for location filming whenever the cafe exterior was seen at its present Rosamund Street location . With the arrival of Jane Macnaught as producer , a minor change was made to the title sequence : the programme logo was moved to the start of the sequence , and writer and director credits added . Coronation Street : After Hours . In August , ITV announced a six - part late evening spin - off of " Coronation Street " set in Brighton and Calais , featuring the returns of several ex - cast members . The series was transmitted over six consecutive evenings in November , and starred Julie Goodyear , Ken Morley and Chloe Newsome as Bet Gilroy , Reg Holdsworth and Vicky McDonald , together with Simon Gregson and Chris Bisson as Steve McDonald and Vikram Desai who journeyed down to Brighton from Weatherfield . Unlike its parent programme , " Coronation Street - After Hours " was shot by a single video camera , not unlike film work . There was some speculation that a late - night slot would lead to a more " adult " presentation than the usual " family " fare of the main programme but in the event it stayed firmly within the boundaries expected by its viewer base . Viewing figures . Ratings slipped from their 1998 high to an average of 15 . 57 million viewers ( aggregated ) , representing a drop of almost 200 , 000 viewers on the previous year ' s figure . January to March , along with May , June and August were up on the same months in 1998 , while the other six months experienced falls . October to December saw the biggest drops , each of over 1 . 5 million viewers . The number of episodes at number one also fell , with 25 episodes reaching the top spot - the lowest figure since 1991 . Episode 4572 ( 7th March 1999 ) was the highest - rated episode of the year , gaining an audience of 19 . 84 million viewers . The episode saw Sharon Gaskell jilt Ian Bentley for his affair with Natalie Barnes . Storylines . To be added . Who lives where . Coronation Street Rosamund Street Victoria Street Others Awards and nominations . TV Quick Awards National Television Awards Inside Soap Awards