Coronation Street in 1974 1974 was " Coronation Street " ' s fifteenth year . Production . Eric Prytherch completed his two - year stint as producer in May after a three - week handover period between Prytherch and Susi Hush . The rest of the year ' s episodes beginning with Episode 1386 were produced by Hush , except for episodes 1416 to 1421 which Leslie Duxbury produced . Following Patricia Phoenix ' s resignation , Alan Howard made a brief re - appearance in January to tie up the Howards ' affairs , after which he too left the series . A month later , Violet Carson suffered a stroke , resulting in Ena Sharples disappearing from screens until the end of the year . Carson ' s stroke was the end of Ena as a full - time character ; upon her return , Ena ' s role was reduced due to the actress ' s continuing health problems and she appeared much less than the rest of the cast . Susi Hush took over the programme as Maggie Clegg ' s departure storyline was being planned , with Irene Sutcliffe quitting the series after six years . As Maggie would be marrying Ron Cooke , Bill Kenwright agreed to return as Gordon . It was intended that Gordon would reunite with Lucille Hewitt , but due to Jennifer Moss ' s alcohol problems , the storyline was delayed and eventually shelved entirely . It was at this point that Hush decided to dismiss Moss , with Lucille going to Ireland off - screen a few episodes later , never to return . With the loss of three popular characters , Hush faced the challenge of plugging the gap . Rita Littlewood , Deirdre Hunt and Bet Lynch rose to prominence , starring in heavier storylines akin to the heyday of Elsie Tanner . Thelma Barlow returned full - time as Mavis Riley , and Tricia and Vera Hopkins - glimpsed in 1973 - were brought back along with the rest of their family as the new Corner Shop proprietors . The Hopkins family were meant as support for Tricia , played by Granada starlet Kathy Jones , while callous pensioner Granny Hopkins was in some ways reminiscent of the still - absent Ena . Another character brought in with Tricia was her friend Gail Potter , with Helen Worth making her debut appearance in July . Hush also brought the Mark Brittain Warehouse back to the fore after a two - year absence . One of the new characters seen at the warehouse was Vera Duckworth , played by Elizabeth Dawn who had previously worked as an extra in the programme . Vera was only seen fleetingly before returning in 1976 . Blanche Hunt first appeared , played initially by Patricia Cutts who committed suicide after recording two episodes . Maggie Jones played the character thereafter . Lastly , Geoffrey Hughes made his initial appearance as Eddie Yeats . The year also saw the " Street " ' s first foreign location shoot - an idea of Susi Hush ' s - as Bet , Deirdre , Rita , Mavis , Betty , Emily , Annie and Hilda went to Majorca . No episode was transmitted on 25th December , even though it fell on a Wednesday . This was because " Coronation Street " traditionally rated low on Christmas Day ( and other public holidays ) , a situation which would remain until the late 1980s . Viewing figures . The 1973 turnaround in ratings continued in 1974 , increasing by 300k to an average of 15 . 56 million viewers . Eight months were up year - on - year , with only August and September dropping significantly . The biggest rise occurred in December , which was above 1973 by 2 . 4 million viewers , while five of the first six months rose by more than 5 % . Episode 1375 was the most - watched episode of the year , with 8 . 3 million homes watching ( or 18 . 26 million viewers ) . In the charts , five episodes reached number one . Who lives where . Coronation Street Rosamund Street Victoria Street Others