Doctor Who Vs. ITV @ 70: Coronation Street, Part 2: 1962-1964

Despite a critical start in December 1960 (when

the Daily Mirror said the programme was unreal-

istic and "doomed"), the popularity of Corrie was

cemented within weeks. The soap topped the TV

ratings chart for the first time in March 1961, and

reached a 1960s peak of over 21 million viewers in December 1964.

Coronation Street soon became noted for its
depiction of a working class community, and
established the use of Northern English language

and dialect, widely heard on British television for

the first time. The show first aired in Australia in

1963, and began in New Zealand a year later.

These three years on the Street featured Jackie

Lane (under her stage name Jackie Lenya, as

Cheryl in episode 322 in January 1964) and a

total of sixteen Doctor Who cast connections:

• Fred [William] Ferris (Appleby) was Bert Rowse in (episode 3 of) Planet of Giants
• [Dilys] Rhoda Lewis (Miss Welch here; Lilian, 1969) was Marta in State of Decay
• Judy [Valerie] Cornwell (Georgina) was Maddy in Paradise Towers
• Roy [Trevor] Holder (Butterworth here; Lister, 1987) was Krelper in The Caves of Androzani
• Susan Jameson (Myra) was cast as Morgan for Colony in Space but was replaced by Tony Caunter - she later voiced Mrs. Moynihan for Big Finish's The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2000), then Fenella Wibsey for the Hornets' Nest (2009), Demon Quest (2010) and Serpent Crest (2011)
• Geoffrey Hinsliff (Vincent here; Don Brennan, 1987-97) was Jack Tyler in Image of the Fendahl, and Fisk in Nightmare of Eden
• Derek Benfield (Baker here; Joe; Greenhalgh, 1967) voiced John Hallam for Catch 1782 (2005)
• Alan Curtis (Thornley) was Major Green in The War Machines
• Jon [Roger] Rollason [born Rollinson] (Robbins, 1963, 1969, 1971) was Harold Chorley in The Web of Fear
• Michael [John] Barrington (Nuttall) was Sir Colin Thackeray in The Seeds of Doom
• Ray [Michael] Brooks (Phillips) was David in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 AD, and voiced the titular Time Lord for The Trouble With Drax (2016)
• Jerome [Barry] Willis (Interviewer) was Stevens in The Green Death
• Stephanie Bidmead (Lily) was Maaga in Galaxy 4
• Neville Smith (Workman here; Driver, 1968) was D'Argenson in The Reign of Terror (1)
• George [Alphonsus] Cooper (Piggott, 1964, 1971) was Cherub in The Smugglers
• Noel [Frank] Johnson (Braithwaite) was King Thous in The Underwater Menace, and Charles Grover MP in Invasion of the Dinosaurs