Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street @ 65, Part 6: 1973-1975

Tamm played Polly
Ogden in December 1973

The early seventies was a state of flux on the 

Street as the series faced fresh challenges.

Having enjoyed a stable core cast throughout

its first decade, Granada now dealt with the

departures of key characters. Comic storylines, 

popular in the 1960's, had become scarce, and

ratings reached a low of eight million in February

 1973 as rival ITV soap-opera Crossroads (1964 

to 1988) saw an increase in popularity.

A succession of producers were keen to bring

the show up-to-date by introducing many

younger characters and tackling controversial

issues. Two of the show's most ambitious plots

yet occurred in 1975 (abused housewife Lynn

Johnson was murdered, and Brittain's ware-

house was destroyed by fire), whilst 1974 saw

Corrie's first foreign location shoot in Majorca.

These three years on the cobbles featured

Patrick Troughton, Mary Tamm, and a total of twenty-three Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Linus [William] Roache (Peter Barlow here; Cunningham, 2010) was Reginald Pye in Lux
• Charles Pemberton (Mann) was a titular alien in The Tomb of the Cybermen, and Alien Technician in (episode 5 of) The War Games
• [Walter] Llewellyn Rees (James) was the President in The Deadly Assassin
• Paul Freeman (Slade) voiced Jalnik for Big Finish's The Foe from the Future (2012)
• Alan David (Thomas) was Gabriel Sneed in The Unquiet Dead
• Royston Tickner (Stranger) was Steinberger P. Green in The Daleks' Master Plan (7), and Robbins in The Sea Devils (1)
• Joanna [Lamond] Lumley (Elaine) appeared in The Curse of the Fatal Death as the first female incarnation of the Doctor
• Zulema Dene (Muriel here; Sarah, 1992) voiced Danna for Soldier Obscura (2018)
• Ian [Stuart] Liston (Burrows) was the Hero in The Armageddon Factor (1)
• Leonard [Meyer] Sachs (Berlin) and Neil Daglish (Meggitt) both starred in Arc of Infinity, as Lord President Borusa and Damon - Sachs was also Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in The Massacre
• Donald Gee (Meeker here; Crompton, 1994/95) was Major Ian Warne in The Space Pirates, and Eckersley in The Monster of Peladon
• Richard [born Dennis Wilfred] Davies (Hopkins) was Burton in Delta and the Bannermen
• John Barrard [born Jack Koppel Isaacson] (Wilson) was the Shop- keeper in The Reign of Terror
• [Cathryn] Helen Worth [born Wigglesworth] (Gail Potter/Tilsley/Platt/ McIntyre/Rodwell, 1974 to 2025) was Mary Ashe in Colony in Space
• Peter [John] Bourke (Dodds) was Chambers in Human Nature
• Stephen Yardley (Barrett) was Sevrin in Genesis of the Daleks, and Arak in Vengeance on Varos
• Geoffrey [William] Hughes (Eddie Yeats, 1974-1983) was Popplewell in The Ultimate Foe
• Kenneth [Murray] Watson (Lancaster, 1975, 1979, 1980) was Bill Duggan in The Wheel in Space, and Craddock in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD
• Rachel Davies (Donna) was Camilla in State of Decay
• Carolyn Pickles (Michelle here; Moira, 1998) voiced Lady Meera for Army of Death (2011), Dr. Hilary Standish for AudioGo's The Stuff of Nightmares, Cardinal Ollistra for The Side of the Angels (both 2017), Dark Universe (2020), Allegiance (2022) and Manoeuvres (2023), Professor Marian Schaeffer for The Tyrants of Logic, and Traherne for An Ideal World (both 2018)
• Lloyd McGuire (PC Lyle, 1975, 1980; and Burridge, 2011) was Lugo in The Face of Evil (1)