Coronation Street in 1998 1998 was " Coronation Street " ' s thirty - ninth year . Production . Park ' s masterplan . Brian Park announced that he was stepping down as producer in April , feeling that he ' d accomplished what he set out to do . After completing his contract , Park set up his own production company , Shed Productions . His replacement was David Hanson , who received his first credit in Episode 4520 on 6th December . " Coronation Street " ' s former executive producer Carolyn Reynolds returned to her old role at the same time . Park ' s resignation occurred when the programme was resolving its notorious " Deirdre in prison " storyline . After falling for airline pilot Jon Lindsay , Deirdre Rachid had discovered to her cost that her partner was a fraud , and was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of his crimes . The storyline was very well received and generated a lot of press attention , with " The Sun " and " The Guardian " entering into the spirit of the occasion by calling for Deirdre ' s release , dubbing the campaign " Free the Weatherfield One " . Deirdre was pardoned after three weeks when another victim of Jon ' s came forward . Her cellmate in prison was Jackie Dobbs , played by Margi Clarke who reprised her character full - time in November . Jackie was accompanied in her second stint by her oafish but kind - hearted son Tyrone , with Alan Halsall playing Tyrone . The most noteworthy character created this year - and Park ' s proudest achievement on the programme - was Hayley Patterson , a new Firman ' s Freezers recruit who , upon starting a romance with Roy Cropper , confessed to him that she was a pre - op trans woman . Before Hayley , " Coronation Street " had never featured an LGBT character and ITV had started making enquiries about whether they planned to introduce one . Script editor Ann McManus pitched the character as a way to have the programme be seen to be leading the way instead of chasing the other soaps ' coattails . Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson filmed in Amsterdam when Hayley went there to complete her transition , with Roy joining her there and the couple returning together to Weatherfield . Despite the initial focus on Hayley ' s transgenderism and the difficulties she faced in her everyday life , writers were careful to avoid having it define Hayley ' s character . Her warm personality and friendships with Roy , Alma Baldwin and Curly Watts were established before revealing the truth to the audience , and over time her transgenderism was mentioned less and less , while Roy and Hayley became one of " Coronation Street " ' s most enduring and popular couples . Cast changes . With Underworld now up and running , new machinists were cast , including Linda Sykes played by Jacqueline Pirie and Alison Wakefield played by Naomi Radcliffe , while Helene Palmer as Ida Clough and Deborah McAndrew as Angie Freeman made their last appearances . Angie dissolved her partnership with Mike to work for Jarvis Rousseau Associates in London , while Ida wasn ' t given a firm departure . Mike ' s new partner was the hitherto unknown son of Les Battersby , Greg Kelly , who was developed as a villainous character who moved in on Sally Webster due to her receiving a large inheritance after her mother ' s death . The year also saw the birth of Billy and Becky Mallett on Christmas Day , the return of Lorraine Brownlow as a new Rovers barmaid , and a one - off appearance by Joan Kempson as miserable cleaner Edna Miller , who returned full - time in 2000 . Jack and Vera Duckworth ' s reign at the Rovers came to an end when Alec Gilroy bought them out , with the condition that they were kept on as staff and remained in residence . This unworkable agreement ended with a Christmas Day stand - off between Alec and the Duckworths , with Alec eventually admitting defeat and selling up to Natalie Barnes . 26 years after his debut as Alec , Roy Barraclough decided to leave , this time making his final exit from the programme . Chloe Newsome made a brief return as Vicky McDonald for the storyline , in which Alec decided to invest in a wine bar in Brighton with his granddaughter . Natalie ' s ownership of the Rovers was bittersweet , coming a month after the death of her husband Des Barnes at the hands of drug dealers . After nearly nine years playing Des , Philip Middlemiss decided to leave but , against his wishes , writers chose to kill off Des to make Natalie ' s story more tragic . Lee Warburton returned briefly as Tony Horrocks , on the run from gangsters who caught up with him at No . 6 , leading Des to try to intervene only to receive a fatal blow to the head . Meanwhile , Chris Collins departed when Matthew Marsden quit after a year to attempt a pop music career , Tina Hobley quit after two years as Samantha Failsworth , and Joanne Froggatt left after 19 months as Zoe Tattersall , departing with a memorable storyline in which Zoe joined a religious cult , the Etheric Foundation , after the death of her daughter Shannon from meningitis . Fiona Middleton left after six years - taking her son Morgan with her - and Liz McDonald after nine years , although Beverley Callard would make several returns to the part starting in 2000 . Two major storylines were affected by the unavailability of Kevin Kennedy as Curly Watts . In the first instance , Kennedy had emergency surgery after picking up a bug on holiday , causing Curly to be hurriedly excised from Samantha Failsworth ' s exit storyline . Three months later , Kennedy checked into a clinic to be treated for his alcoholism . Curly was written out of a revenge storyline in which Anne Malone returned to ruin Curly , causing him to be wrongly arrested for blackmail . Her plans backfired when a security guard accidentally locked her inside a walk - in freezer when she was putting WD - 40 on the fish fingers at Freshco , resulting in her being frozen to death . Kennedy left the clinic after a month having beaten the bottle but Curly spent the rest of the year off - screen , having skipped bail and gone travelling . Viewing figures . For the first time in six years , " Coronation Street " increased its yearly average . At 15 . 76 million viewers , this put 1998 slightly ahead of 1996 and well ahead of 1997 . This was also only the fourth time - and the first since the 1960s - that every month increased its audience from the same month the year before . The biggest increases were in March and December , each of a million and a half viewers . The former month featured Deirdre and Jon Lindsay ' s trial for fraud . Des Barnes ' s death was the biggest audience - puller of the year , drawing 20 . 3 million viewers . This was the highest peak since 1993 . As in 1997 , 43 episodes reached number one in the ratings , and none fell outside the top twenty . ITV2 started transmission on 7th December and consequently Episode 4521 ( 7th December 1998 ) was the first edition of the programme to be repeated on that channel later on the night of its first showing . Storylines . To be added . Who lives where . Coronation Street Rosamund Street Victoria Street Others Awards and nominations . TV Quick Awards