(This post was originally posted by Llifon on the Coronation Street Blog in December 2015, reposted with permission.)
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| The 21 originals |
There were twenty-one original characters in Coronation Street in 1960. These being Florrie Lindley, Harry Hewitt, Minnie Caldwell, Martha Longhurst, Ena Sharples, Linda Cheveski, Ida Barlow, Christine Hardman, Albert Tatlock, Concepta Riley, Jack Walker, Leonard Swindley, Dennis Tanner, Lucille Hewitt, Esther Hayes, Frank Barlow, Elsie Tanner, Ken Barlow, David Barlow, Annie Walker and Ivan Cheveski.
Ken Barlow is the only character to remain since its inception. Of those originals actors still alive there is Anne Cunningham (Linda Cheveski), Doreen Keogh (Concepta Riley), Philip Lowrie (Dennis Tanner), William Roache (Ken Barlow) and Alan Rothwell (David Barlow). Out of these, only Rothwell’s character has been killed off in the show.
The first original character to leave was David Barlow in 1961 although he would return before his final appearance in 1968. The first original character to die was Ida Barlow in 1961 when Noel Dyson, who played, decided to leave. Six originals were axed between 1964 and 1965. The first member of the cast to die was Arthur Leslie, who played Jack Walker, in 1970. The latest original character to leave was Dennis Tanner in 2014. The latest original member of the cast to die was Daphne Oxenford, who died in 2012, 40 years after her last appearance as Esther Hayes.
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| The longest running originals: Ken, Albert, Annie, Elsie, Ena and Minnie |
You can read a detailed account of every original cast member from this list:
Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon.
Available here.
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