Question: who spoke the first words in coronation street
Answer: Other significant characters to appear this year include Elsie Lappin ( played by Maudie Edwards ) the original owner of the Corner shop and most famous for speaking the first words on the show ; Susan Cunningham ( played by Patricia Shakesby ) , Ken 's first girlfriend and the subject of a 2010 storyline in which it was discovered she had later given birth to his son ; and May Hardman ( played by Joan Heath ) , who became the first character to die in the series on 30 December .