Coronation Street in 1985 1985 was " Coronation Street " ' s twenty - sixth year . Production . With the exits of Bill and Debbie Webster in January , the regular cast was reduced in size to twenty . Seven new characters were introduced in the first two months of the year , among them new Rovers barmaid Gloria Todd , teenager Martin Platt , and a new family to replace the Websters . The Claytons were a carefully crafted " normal family " - milkman dad Harry , dressmaker mum Connie , and their teenage daughters Andrea and Sue . However , once they ' d appeared on - screen the writers quickly decided they weren ' t working and they were axed in their entirety in September . More cast additions followed John G . Temple ' s arrival as producer with Episode 2496 . Tracy Langton finally re - appeared after an 18 - month absence in July , now played by Holly Chamarette , and in October Wendy Jane Walker returned full - time as Susan Barlow , a role she last played as a child in 1974 . After six years of occasional appearances , Sue Nicholls joined full - time as Audrey Potter became Audrey Roberts , whose partnership with Alf proved to be a fertile ground for comedy and had the spark Alf ' s marriage to Renee had lacked . With a new producer and the chaos of 1983 - 1984 behind it , " Coronation Street " re - established itself . Bet Lynch - a surprise choice for Rovers landlady , both within the fiction and outside - proved an effective replacement for Annie Walker , and the Corner Shop received its first major makeover in its history as Alf transformed it into a self - service mini - mart . " Coronation Street " ' s 25th anniversary took place in December . As was normal practice in this period , no fanfare took place within the programme itself , though its second VHS release , " The Jubilee Years " , was released in August , containing many archive clips . December also saw the first festive edition of the programme since 1972 ; from this point on , " Coronation Street " would be transmitted on Christmas Day if it fell on a Monday or Wednesday . On 4th September , Granada launched their new sitcom , " The Brothers McGregor " , which chronicled the misadventures of brothers Wesley and Cyril McGregor . The characters had debuted in " Coronation Street " , in Episode 2203 ( 12th May 1982 ) , but in order to avoid viewers prejudging what the series would be like , this fact was not played up in pre - publicity for " The Brothers McGregor " , which ran for four seasons . Viewing figures . The upwards surge in ratings experienced in the last quarter of 1984 continued in 1985 , with " Coronation Street " gaining some of its highest audience figures to date in January and February . The first six episodes of the year all crossed the 20 million mark , and the first of those - at 21 . 4 million viewers - was the highest - rated episode of the year , and , on a single viewing , the highest - rated episode of " Coronation Street " of all time . The average figure for the year was 16 . 49 million viewers , the highest since 1966 . All months except September , November and December gained year - on - year , with four months gaining more than 20 % and two by more than three million viewers on 1984 . Though the last two months of the year saw a significant drop - off from 1984 , all Autumn averages remained above 15 million viewers . 32 episodes reached the top of the viewing charts , a fall of six from 1984 . " Coronation Street " ' s performance in the charts was affected by the launch of the BBC ' s London - based soap " EastEnders " on 19th February , whose BARB viewing figures included those of its Sunday omnibus . Having been unsuccessful in their previous attempts to create a soap with the popularity of " Coronation Street " , the BBC launched " EastEnders " to maximum publicity , and its profile - and audience - rose steadily throughout the year . Episode 2548 was the last episode of the year to chart at 1st place , with " EastEnders " displacing " Coronation Street " thereafter . Although not transmitted opposite the " Street " , " EastEnders " was treated as its direct competitor in the media ( a situation which has remained since 1985 ) , and when it took over the number one position in the charts , its victory over " Coronation Street " was reported with no mention of the fact that without its omnibus figures , it would still be behind the " Street " . " EastEnders " ' dominance of the charts continued until 1989 , when " Coronation Street " launched its omnibus . BARB discontinued this method of recording viewing figures at the beginning of 2002 , adopting a policy of recording individual ratings for each showing of a programme . Who lives where . Coronation Street Rosamund Street Others Awards and nominations . Royal Television Society Awards