Coronation Street in 1972 1972 was " Coronation Street " ' s thirteenth year . Production . Brian Armstrong completed his six - month term as producer with Episode 1183 in May . His successor was Eric Prytherch , who had previously worked on the show as a director . From this point onwards , " Coronation Street " would get a new producer every two or three years , instead of every few months as before , thus giving each producer a greater chance to put their stamp on the series . Meanwhile , H . V . Kershaw returned to the role of executive producer with Episode 1222 . Prytherch aimed to introduce more younger cast members but these plans never materialised ; 18 - year - old Anne Kirkbride made her debut as Deirdre Hunt in November , at this time only a one - off appearance , but the main addition to the cast in 1972 was Barbara Mullaney as Rita Littlewood . Though Rita was a returning character , the role as written was a new one , and only became Rita Littlewood when Mullaney was cast and writers decided to make her the same character she had played in one episode in 1964 . Rita ' s early storylines concentrated on her club singing career , and in June , Roy Barraclough appeared in two episodes as club owner Alec Gilroy . Barraclough was later asked to play Alec full - time , but he didn ' t agree until 1986 . By the end of the year , Rita and Len Fairclough were established as the " Street " ' s new power couple . Another cast addition was Diana Davies as Corner Shop assistant Norma Ford , replacing Sandra Gough ' s Irma Barlow at the establishment . Meanwhile , William Moore returned for a short time as Cyril Turpin , making what would turn out to be his final appearance due to his refusal to reprise the role . A new " Coronation Street " spin - off was considered in 1972 . Entitled " Rest Assured " , and produced by Harry Kershaw , the series would have followed the comic misadventures of Ray Langton and Jerry Booth . A Kershaw - penned pilot under the title " Lift Off " was shot , starring Neville Buswell and Graham Haberfield , but the series was never commissioned . Viewing figures . The highest - rated installment of 1972 was Episode 1171 , shown on 5th April , which was Emily and Ernest Bishop ' s wedding . The episode drew an audience of 18 . 26 million viewers . Overall , ratings dropped by nearly a million viewers from 1971 to an average of 14 . 82 million viewers . Both the peak and the average were the lowest since 1961 . April was the only month to increase its audience from 1971 , while February and December saw the biggest drops , of over 1 . 5 million viewers . For the first time since " Coronation Street " was fully networked , none of the year ' s episodes reached number one in the viewing charts , a drop from 21 in 1971 . In 1972 , Granada started showing ATV ' s " Crossroads " , and as a result the Midlands soap became fully networked for the first time since it began in 1964 . By 1972 , its ratings were comparable with " Coronation Street " , and for a few years it regularly outrated the Granada serial . 1972 was the " Street " ' s ratings low point of its first twenty years , though things would soon improve . The year also saw the transmission of the last Christmas Day edition of the programme until 1985 , and the only one of the 1970s . " Coronation Street " traditionally rated badly at Christmas , and this year was no exception with an audience of 7 , 191 , 800 viewers ( the lowest rating of the year ) . After this , no episode of the " Street " would be shown on Christmas even if it fell on a Monday or Wednesday . Who lives where . Coronation Street Victoria Street Others