Doctor Who Vs. Coronation Street @ 65, Part 10: 1990-1995

The biggest change to the soap's schedule
since 1961 came in October 1989 with the
addition of a third weekly instalment.

Granada then decided to give the show a

dedicated production base, and the sets

were moved from the main TV studios

building to a refurbished warehouse near

the outdoor set. The new complex, com-

plete with individual dressing rooms, now

allowed the cast to rehearse on the actual

sets. Throughout 1990, new houses and

businesses (including the Kabin) began to

be integrated into storylines. A new title

sequence and videotape recording were also introduced.

By 1992 however (just a year after Carolyn

Reynolds replaced Mervyn Watson as

producer), Lord Rees Mogg of the Broadcasting Standards Council saw the Street's all-white cast as out of touch (the Desai family, the first

regular ethic characters, only appeared in 1999). Then another prime-

time rival launched on BBC1 that July, but Eldorado was a flop and was

 cancelled after just a year on air. The Street was victorious again in the

next ratings battle, then EastEnders debuted its own third weekly

episode in 1994. Corrie celebrated its thirty-fifth anniversary with its

first one-hour special and spin-off video release, both marking the

wedding of Curly Watts and Racquel (Kevin Kennedy and Sarah

Lancashire).

These six years on the Street featured William Russell (pictured as

Ted Sullivan, from April to September 1992), and a total of twenty-eight Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• Patricia Maynard (Veronica) was Hilda Winters in Robot - a role reprised for Big Finish's Sarah Jane Smith in 2002
• Tania Rodrigues (Joanne Khan) voiced Anarkali/Melissa/Isra Tech #2 for Scavenger (2014), Chief Panath for Jonah (2018), Visteron for Deeptime Frontier (2019), Laker for Chase the Night (2020), VAD Prime for Body and Soulless (2021), Andolar for The Golden Child, and Princess Tura for Puccini and the Doctor (both 2024)
• Shirin Taylor (Jackie Ingram) was a Camper [Pat] in (part 3 of) The Stones of Blood, and Customer in Dragonfire
• Andrew McCulloch (Travers) co-wrote Meglos
• Judy Holt (Mrs. Grice here; Lesley Kershaw, 2011/12) was Sandra Mitchell  in The Long Game
• Milton Johns [born John Robert Milton] (Brendan Scott, 1991, 1993) was Benik in The Enemy of the World, Guy Crayford in The Android Invasion, and Kelner in The Invasion of Time
• Carl Forgione (Barrett) was Land in Planet of the Spiders, and Nimrod in Ghost Light
• Sally [Roberta] Faulkner (Mrs. Maxwell-Glover) was Isobel Watkins in The Invasion, and voiced Miss Tremayne for Winter for the Adept (2000)
• Tyrone Huggins (Dr. Bannerman) voiced Dr. Kenton Eastwood for Power Cell (2016)
• [Terence] Dicken Ashworth (Horton) was Sezon in Timelash
• Catherine Cusack (Carmel) made her acting debut as the Blue Kang Leader [Drinking Fountain] in Paradise Towers - reprised for 24 Carat
• Leslie Schofield (Brookes) was Leroy in The War Games (4), and Calib in The Face of Evil
• Colin Prockter (Halpern, 1992; Bostock, 1995; Maddocks, 2005; Clarky, 2008) was the Chef in The Long Game, and Air Raid Warden in Victory of the Daleks
• Nigel Carrington (Brooks here; Waiter, 1989) voiced Emissary Godrin/ Dr. Summersby/Announcer for The Valley of Death (2011), Sir Robert Harney for The Devil's Armada (2014), Pik Solus for Mistfall, Graham Finlay for New Horizons (both 2015), and Sir Peter Latcham for UNIT: Shutdown (2016)
• Esther Coles (Gemma) voiced Scott for Lethal Progress (2026)
• Brian Hibbard (Murray) was Kellor in Delta and the Bannermen
• Freddie Earlle (Owens) was Aldo in Warriors' Gate
• Alibe Parsons (Kathy) was Matroni Kani in Mindwarp
• Malcolm Terris (Firman) was Etnin in The Dominators (1), and the Co-Pilot in The Horns of Nimon
• Bernard [Frederic Bemrose] Kay (Phillips) was Carl Tyler in The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Saladin in The Crusade, Inspector Crossland in The Faceless Ones, Caldwell in Colony in Space, and voiced Major Dickens for Night Thoughts (2006)
• Nicholas Blane (Stapleton here; Green, 1998; Judge, 2010) was Millington in Survivors of the Flux
• John [Frederick Joseph] Savident (Fred Elliott, 1994-2006) was the Squire in The Visitation (1)
• Owen Aaronovitch (Estate Agent here; Jon Lindsay, 1997/8) voiced Antonio Ferrando and Control Unit for Fiesta of the Damned (2016)
• Michael Owen Morris was director of The Awakening too, following a stint on The Pirate Planet as production assistant
• Michael Kerrigan was also director of Battlefield and The Sarah Jane Adventures
• Ellie Haddington (Josie) was Professor Docherty in Last of the Time Lords
• [Albert] Frank Mills (Billy Williams, 1995-97) was the Telescope Director in Terror of the Autons (1)
• Andy Devine (Photographer here; Jason, 2000) made his TV debut as an uncredited Draconian in Frontier in Space