Coronation Street in 1982 1982 was " Coronation Street " ' s twenty - third year . Production . The new outdoor set was officially opened by her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on 5th May . The high - profile visit was organised by the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire when planning the Queen ' s route in Manchester when she was in the city to open a new library . Escorted by Granada executives David Plowright and Sir Denis Forman , the Royal couple made their way down the length of the street , meeting and greeting Tony Warren , producer Bill Podmore , writer H . V . Kershaw , the programme ' s original designer Denis Parkin , and the entire cast , who were stood outside the houses where their characters either lived or worked . The event was shown live on ITV under the title " The Queen in Coronation Street " . The Grape Street set was used for the last time in Episode 2203 ( 12th May 1982 ) ( although the ginnels were seen in Episode 2207 two weeks later ) and the new exterior first appeared on - screen in Episode 2210 ( 7th June 1982 ) . The last shot of the title sequence was also updated for the new set in that episode . Demolition of the old set began on 1st June , and the area became the entrance to the Granada Studios tour in 1988 . Bill Podmore was producer for the seventh and final consecutive year , sharing duties with Pauline Shaw from Episode 2216 to Episode 2261 and Mervyn Watson from Episode 2262 until the end of the year . After this four - week period , Watson took over as sole producer , although Podmore continued to work on the programme as executive producer . With Len and Rita vacating No . 9 to live in the new modern No . 7 , their house was taken by bin man Chalkie Whitely and his grandson Craig Whitely . After failing to make their mark , both were phased out , however Craig ' s gravel - voiced grandmother Phyllis Pearce , played by Jill Summers , was kept on and her role grew over time . Other newcomers also proved short - lived , with Sharon Gaskell and Marion Willis , played by Tracie Bennett and Veronica Doran , written out by the beginning of 1984 . William Tarmey ' s part as Jack Duckworth continued to grow , with 14 appearances and his first major storyline with Vera . None of the established cast left the programme although Christopher Quinten was absent from February to June to appear in a theatrical tour . This was written into storylines with Brian Tilsley working in Qatar for a few months . Bert Tilsley was also absent , from May to November , due to Peter Dudley ' s legal troubles . No on - screen explanation was given for Bert ' s disappearance . On 16th November , Granada released " The Magic of Coronation Street " , the first " Coronation Street " commercial release . It contained six episodes from the 1960s , including Episode 1 . Viewing figures . After three years of rising ratings , " Coronation Street " fell to an average of 14 . 5 million viewers , shedding nearly 1 . 4 million of 1981 ' s audience in the largest single - year - drop up to that point . Every month saw a fall from the same month the year before - the first time this had occurred - with drops ranging from 0 . 1m in April to 2 . 3m in June . The highest - rated episode was Episode 2167 on 6th January , with 18 . 95 million viewers , the lowest peak since 1974 . This was the lowest - rated year of the 1980s , and the lowest up to that point excepting 1960 and 1961 when " Coronation Street " wasn ' t fully networked . These trends are not reflected in the programme ' s chart positions . 36 episodes reached number one , an increase of 4 from 1981 and the most yet outside the 1962 - 1965 peak , and only one episode charted outside the top 20 ( Episode 2227 on 4th August , which was also the lowest - rated episode of the year ) . Who lives where . Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others