Episode guides: January

2479 - Wednesday 2 January 1985
The name of the new landlord of the Rovers is announced [and Gordon Lewis (DAVID DAKER) is outraged that it isn't him].

2480 - Monday 7 January 1985
Will Hilda take in her lodger? And Kevin Webster's pig headedness becomes worse. [He's refusing to move to Southampton with his dad.]

2481 - Wednesday 9 January 1985
Bill's and Elaine's wedding day dawns while the manageress- designate of the Rovers' has trouble with the temporary manager.

2482 - Monday 14 January 1985
Betty Turpin is ignored by the temporary manager of the Rovers'. [Frank Harvey, played by NICK STRINGER, who is brought in while Bet is on a three-week management course].

2483 - Wednesday 16 January 1985
Hilda learns something about her new lodger.

2485 - Wedneday 23 January 1985
There's trouble at the Rovers' when Betty discovers what [temporary manager] Frank Harvey has been up to [hiring Gloria Todd as barmaid, in hopes of getting her to go to bed with him. (ISTR she had been working at the Graffiti Club before this)].

2486 - Monday 28 January 1985
Mike Baldwin sets off to London in his Jaguar.

2488 - Monday 4 February 1985
The new manager of the Rovers' [Bet Lynch] makes an early decision --and sacks a member of the staff [Gloria].

2489 - Wednesday 6 February 1985
Vera Duckworth learns of her husband's new 'dream job' and soon turns it into a nightmare.

2490 - Monday 11 February 1985
Bet Lynch hires a new cellarman [Wilf Starkey] for the Rovers'.

2491 - Wednesday 13 February 1985
Mike Baldwin is forced to take drastic action when his workforce threaten to go on strike [after they find out that Hilda's lodger, recently taken on at Baldwin's, had been a strike-breaker at his previous job].

2492 - Monday 18 February 1985
Where has Hilda Ogden's missing lodger disappeared to?

2493 - Wednesday 20 February 1985
A piece of furniture yields some poignant memories for Ken and Deirdre Barlow.

2494 - Monday 25 February 1985
Mavis Riley achieves a longstanding ambition, but feels no cause to celebrate. Hilda goes where no Ogden has been before.

2495 - Wednesday 27 February 1985
The truth about Mavis Riley's non-nuptials becomes public knowledge. Who let the cat out of the bag?

2496 - Monday 4 March 1985
The press [in the form of reporter Jim Lomax] start to hound poor Mavis over her wedding-that-never-was when a surprise visitor arrives on the scene.

2497 - Wednesday 6 March 1985
Andrea is not impressed with her father, Harry Clayton's, good intentions. [Final scene: Harry Clayton is off to a gig, playing trombone. Andrea is upset over her imminent mock A-levels (and probably her hair-do, which is still straight at this point).]

Stories by TOM ELLIOT [sic: one T], PETER TONKINSON Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by JOHN STEVENSON Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

Cast: Connie Clayton SUSAN BROWN Andrea Clayton CAROLINE O'NEILL Sue Clayton JANE HAZELGROVE Ken Barlow WILLIAM ROACHE Deirdre Barlow ANNE KIRKBRIDE Bet Lynch JULIE GOODYEAR Mavis Riley THELMA BARLOW Harry Clayton JOHNNY LEEZE Brian Tilsley CHRISTOPHER QUINTEN Betty Turpin BETTY DRIVER Jack Duckworth WILLIAM TARMEY Terry Duckworth NIGEL PIVARO Mike Baldwin JOHNNY BRIGGS Derek Wilton PETER BALDWIN Jim Lomax [reporter] JAMES McKENNA Rita Fairclough BARBARA KNOX

2498 - Monday 11 March 1985
Hilda Ogden reads the tea leaves again and the staff of the Rovers' hear some strange predictions.

2499 - Wednesday 13 March 1985
Can it be that Hilda Ogden's tea-leaf predictions are coming true?

2500 - Monday 18 March 1985
Brian and Gail Tilsley argue over who should look after baby Nicky.

2501 - Wednesday 20 March 1985
Bet Lynch's foray into high society is threatened by a dress problem.

2502 - Monday 25 March 1985
Why is a bottle of bubbly being cracked for Betty Turpin? [Ostensibly because Betty's Gordon and his wife have just had a new child, but Bet has an ulterior motive: she wants Betty to prepare a fancy buffet for a gathering of the Pub Landladies' Association on Wednesday.]

2503 - Wednesday 27 March 1985
Ivy Tilsley accepts a surprise invitation from George Wardle. Wilf wants Hilda to read the tea leaves for him tomorrow morning, because Sunday's the National and he hopes for some useful information on the horses, but Hilda refuses, cautioning "You can't prostrate a gift like that--not for gambling or moneymaking purposes." Rita, Mavis and Emily are planning a ladies' holiday together, but blabbermouth Mavis has told all and sundry about it and now Phyllis Pearce wants to invite herself along. The Pub Landladies' Association - in the persons of Stella Rigby (landlady of The White Swan), Beryl Hinchcliffe and Shirley Ferris - arrive at the Rovers' for their meeting. When, upon arriving, Stella asks Bet whether the police are likely to be any problem with her car parked outside, Wilf snidely remarks to Betty "Did you hear that? 'Parked right outside - what about the cops?' I didn't know you could get done for being drunk in charge of a broomstick!") They are far from the genteel company Bet has made them out to be, and when they've tired of Betty's buffet, go out into the bar to "size up the talent". Observing Beryl trying to chat up Terry, who's about half her age, Shirley says to Stella and Bet, "She's a real baby-snatcher is Beryl. D'you remember that trouble with the Boy Scout? I know they're supposed to be prepared, but no-one's prepared for Beryl." Stella provokes Bet into entering the Rovers' in Newton and Ridley's "Brainiest Pub of the Year" competition.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PETER TONKINSON Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by JOHN STEVENSON Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

Cast: Gail Tilsley HELEN WORTH Ivy Tilsley LYNNE PERRIE Brian Tilsley CHRISTOPHER QUINTEN Wilf Starkey JIM BYWATER Hilda Ogden JEAN ALEXANDER Terry Duckworth NIGEL PIVARO Deirdre Barlow ANNE KIRKBRIDE Percy Sugden BILL WADDINGTON Mavis Riley THELMA BARLOW Betty Turpin BETTY DRIVER Bet Lynch JULIE GOODYEAR Rita Fairclough BARBARA KNOX Martin Platt SEAN WILSON George Wardle RON DAVIES Phyllis Pearce JILL SUMMERS Vera Duckworth ELIZABETH DAWN Ken Barlow WILLIAM ROACHE Connie Clayton SUSAN BROWN Emily Bishop EILEEN DERBYSHIRE Nicky Tilsley WARREN JACKSON Stella Rigby VIVIENNE ROSS Beryl Hinchcliffe LOTTIE WARD Shirley Ferris YVONNE EDGELL

2504 - Monday 1 April 1985
Bet Lynch sets out to make the Rovers' a little more select and genteel.

2505 - Wednesday 3 April 1985
Bet Lynch stops Wilf Starkey's fun at her expense when she details him for special duties.

2506 - Monday 8 April 1985
Percy Sugden gets wind of what is going to happen at the Rovers' (the "Brainiest Pub" competition) and this puts team captain Ken Barlow in a bit of a predicament, because know-all Percy wants to be on the team. Percy reckons that Wilf is ineligible to compete, since he's an employee of the brewery, and insists that Ken replace him. Jack inspires Terry to quit his job humping meat, and to go into business for himself, like Mike Baldwin. Then Curly gives him the idea of starting a removal business. Terry arranges to rent his dad's car tomorrow afternoon for 5 pounds, and tells Curly to set up the job he'd been approached about while on his bin rounds. Gail has moved out of Ivy's house and taken Nicky with her to stay temporarily in a bed-sit. A bit of dialogue over the Duckworths' kitchen table. Jack has just advised Terry that if he wants to be able to afford a Porsche, he's going to have to stop humping meat. Terry has already figured that out: Vera: 'Ey! You've got a good job, you 'ave. You oughtta stick at it. Terry: Now, would you have said that to Michael Caine? 'Cause he used to hump meat and all, y'know. Jack: Oh, yeah. Well, he was good looking, weren't he? Vera: Well, our Terry's good looking! Jack: Yeah, well, you wouldn't want him to be an actor. They're all puffs! Terry: Don't be daft! Jack: Course they are! All that poncin' about! Terry: I can just hear you sayin' that to Michael Caine. You'd have to bring your giblets home in a little paper bag, mate!]

Cast (partial): Percy Wilf Alf Deirdre Jack Duckworth Terry Vera Phyllis Kevin Curly Betty Gail Nicky Audrey

2507 - Wednesday 10 April 1985
Terry tries to outwit his father, Jack Duckworth. Terry reminds his dad that he needs the use of the car this afternoon. Since Jack's license is suspended, he thinks of perhaps selling it. Conferring later with Curly, Terry figures to get Jack to sell him the car cheap, fix it up a bit, and sell it at a profit and buy a van to start their removal business. For the present, though, they have to move Old Ma Pimlott from Chaple Street to her daughter's in Francis Street. It's only a mile, but the car breaks down on the way when the fan-belt breaks. Wily Old Ma haggles them down to just £10 for the job (though she slips Curly an extra 2 quid for being so nice), so what with the new fan belt Kevin has supplied them, they're down to virtually no profit at all. When Kev tells Terry that there's lots of other things the car needs, Terry figures to use that information to get Jack to lower the price from the £500 he's asking. Percy succeeds in getting Ken to put him on the quiz team in place of Wilf. Gail is still at the bedsit, and visits with her mum.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PETER TONKINSON Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by JOHN STEVENSON Directed by BILL GILMOUR

Cast: Brian Tilsley CHRISTOPHER QUINTEN Ivy Tilsley LYNNE PERRIE Audrey Potter SUE NICHOLLS Gail Tilsley HELEN WORTH Nicky Tilsley WARREN JACKSON Alf Roberts BRYAN MOSLEY Percy Sugden BILL WADDINGTON Deirdre Barlow ANNE KIRKBRIDE Ken Barlow WILLIAM ROACHE Wilf Starkey JIM BYWATER Vera Duckworth ELIZABETH DAWN Terry Duckworth NIGEL PIVARO Jack Duckworth WILLIAM TARMEY Kevin Webster MICHAEL LE VELL Curly Watts KEVIN KENNEDY Betty Turpin BETTY DRIVER Emily Bishop EILEEN DERBYSHIRE Mavis Riley THELMA BARLOW Martin Platt SEAN WILSON Phyllis Pearce JILL SUMMERS Old Ma Pimlott SILVIA STOKER

2508 - Monday 15 April 1985
The Rovers' team for the Brainiest Pub competition receive a shock when they learn who they have drawn in the first round: Stella Rigby's White Swan team, which is the favourite for the competition. Terry tries once again to con his dad into selling him the car cheap, putting two-star petrol in to make it run rough for a test drive. But Jack is too wily for him, withdrawing the car on grounds that he couldn't sell a death-trap to his only son, and Terry finds himself begging Jack to reconsider, raising his offer until he ends up paying £525 instead of the £450 he had expected. Feeling very pleased with himself, Jack offers to buy Vera any drink she wants in the Rovers', but backs down when she says "champagne". His mood is spoiled, however, when Percy reports seeing Jack's car overloaded with furniture, and Jack realises that Terry didn't just want the car for a "passion wagon".

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PETER TONKINSON Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by STEPHEN MALLATRATT Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

Cast: Brian Tilsley Gail Tilsley Phyllis Pearce Hilda Ogden Bet Lynch Percy Sugden Jack Duckworth Vera Duckworth Terry Duckworth Deirdre Barlow Rita Fairclough Ken Barlow Wilf Starkey JIM BYWATER Cliff Farmer RICHARD BLAIN Betty Turpin Curly Watts Ivy Tilsley Martin Platt Mavis Riley Audrey Potter SUE NICHOLLS Stella Rigby VIVIENNE ROSS

2509 - Wednesday 17 April 1985
The Rovers' mastermind team are in action against one of the favourites for the Brainiest Pub title, the team from Stella Rigby's pub, the White Swan. Key team member Curly nearly doesn't arrive in time after his and Terry's "bargain" car (Curly has kicked in £262.50 for a half-share) breaks down several miles out of town. Wilf, who is first alternate for the team, is disappointed when Curly shows up at the last minute. The Rovers' team does surprisingly well, but ultimately loses the round when know-all Percy insists he's sure of the answer to a question the team is divided over. It's Jack and Vera's 28th wedding anniversary, and Jack is in the doghouse because he's forgotten.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PETER TONKINSON Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by LESLIE DUXBURY Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

Cast: Brian Tilsley Gail Tilsley Phyllis Pearce Hilda Ogden Bet Lynch Percy Sugden Jack Duckworth Vera Duckworth Terry Duckworth Deirdre Barlow Rita Fairclough Ken Barlow Wilf Starkey Cliff Farmer RICHARD BLAIN Betty Turpin Curly Watts Ivy Tilsley Martin Platt Mavis Riley Audrey Potter Stella Rigby VIVIENNE ROSS Nicky Tilsley Maggie Butterworth ROWENA PARR

2510 - Monday 22 April 1985
Vera Duckworth receives an unexpected wedding anniversary gift from husband Jack: a bolt-end of silver Lurex that Jack took as payment-in-kind from a customer on his window-cleaning round, and has now pressed into service to cover his having forgotten the day. Vera is thrilled when Jack suggests having seamstress Connie Clayton turn the fabric into a posh frock. Terry puts "Plan B" into action, offering Kevin a 1/3 share in the car in exchange for repairing it for free. Kev doesn't think he's interested. Later, Curly is annoyed to learn that Terry has done this without consulting him first, though he agrees that they have no better option.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by BARRY HILL Directed by GARETH MORGAN

Cast: Jack Duckworth Vera Duckworth Gail Tilsley Nicky Tilsley Mrs Rimmer ROSALIE WILLIAMS Brian Tilsley Kevin Webster Ivy Tilsley Rita Fairclough Mavis Riley Mike Baldwin George Wardle RON DAVIES Emily Bishop Betty Turpin Wilf Starkey Alf Roberts Harry Clayton Terry Duckworth Curly Watts Connie Clayton SUSAN BROWN

2511 - Wednesday 24 April 1985
Will Brian and Gail be reunited? Ivy Tilsley tries her hardest to help. Brian tells her he went to see Gail last night. Terry finally succeeds in getting Kevin to do the repair work, in exchange for a 1/3 share in the car. Connie is trying to establish her dress-making business in her new neighbourhood, and puts a card in the Kabin window. She tells Rita she has a couple of jobs already, including "a dress for 'er next door". Rita points at Terry, who is in the Kabin looking for auto magazines, and says "Oh, the mother of the Incredible Hulk, here," to which Terry retorts, "She is not the mother of the Incredible Hulk, she's the Bride of Frankenstein. Do get it right!" In the Rovers', Jack is telling Alf and Harry that he does not understand women, at all. Emily overhears this, and gives him an earfull. Vera has settled on a design for the dress. Connie clearly has doubts about her choice, but the customer is always right.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by JULIAN ROACH Directed by GARETH MORGAN

Cast: Jack Duckworth Vera Gail Nicky Mrs Rimmer ROSALIE WILLIAMS Brian Kevin Ivy Rita Mavis Mike George Wardle RON DAVIES Emily Betty Wilf Alf Harry Clayton Terry Curly Connie Clayton SUSAN BROWN

2512 - Monday 29 April 1985
Curly reports to Terry that Kevin will have the car fixed by tomorrow. Emily is concerned that Curly and Kevin do not find her cooking up to scratch. Harry invites Jack to come sit in on a rehearsal with the band he plays with: Greg, Gord and the Bluetones. Kevin reports bad news to Terry and Curly: the car might take a little more time than expected. Connie thinks she is nearing the end on Vera's dress, but Vera wants to show more leg. When asked, Harry fails to see Connie's frantic hand-signals, and supports Vera's request for further alterations. Vera tells Jack that she's decided on where to go for their big celebration: a charity dance at the Town Hall, tomorrow, where there will be two bands, and a cabaret. Jack blanches when he learns that it will cost 15 quid each, and tries to duck out by saying that Harry needs him to sit in on piano at his rehearsal, but Harry betrays him by saying the rehearsal has been cancelled.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ERIC DEAKINS Written by ADELE ROSE Directed by PATRICK LAU

2513 - Wednesday 1 May 1985
Last minute dress distress for Connie. Jack still has faint hopes of getting out of the dance, trying to claim that his prize pigeon, Dolly Parton, is poorly and needs to go to the vet. But Vera is adamant: they are going, and in style. But they'll have to order a taxi, as Terry has other plans for the car. Terry tells mates Kev and Curly that he has a potential buyer for the car in Oldham, who wants to see it tonight, but in fact has a date with Andrea (who, unfortunately for Terry, is keen to go to a play: Oedipus Rex). Gullible Curly spends two hours cleaning the car in order that Terry can make a good impression on the supposed buyer. Andrea delivers the dress to Vera for her mum, and when Vera models it, Terry and Jack's dismay is evident. Vera abruptly loses her enthusiasm, concluding "It makes me look fat, doesn't it? Old and fat." So she takes it back to Connie for further alterations. After these have been done, both Terry and Jack are wise enough to pretend enthusiasm. At the Rovers', Emily stops by on her way to a church social, just to drop off a book for Betty, but as Ivy is at a loose end, she invites her along, and she accepts. Curly and Kev, completely taken in by Terry's story about a buyer for the car, nevertheless worry that he might sell it for £900, and claim he'd only gotten £800 for it. Meanwhile, Terry and Andrea are sitting in the car outside a chippy, eating, after the play (which of course bored Terry to tears), and are seen together by Emily and Ivy, who are returning from the church social. Terry realises that his story to Curly and Kev is destroyed, since Emily is their landlady.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ERIC DEAKINS Written by JOHN STEVENSON Directed by PATRICK LAU

Cast: Connie Clayton Andrea Clayton Vera Duckworth Gail Tilsley Brian Tilsley Nicky Tilsley Alf Roberts Kevin Webster Deirdre Barlow Emily Bishop Phyllis Pearce Martin Platt Sue Clayton Betty Turpin Wilf Starkey Jack Duckworth Harry Clayton Curly Watts Terry Duckworth Ivy Tilsley

2514 - Monday 6 May 1985
A surprise day out for the Tilsleys ends up with tea for two. Bank holiday and Kev and Curly fancy a drive in the car, but Terry says that's daft, the traffic will be murder. Of course, he has a date with Andrea, as well as a hammerlock on the keys. Curly and Kev plot revenge. Vera feels humiliated after last night's dance--saying she was made to "look like a clown in public" by that dress. Meanwhile, with perfect timing, Andrea brings her mum's bill for £38.50, and Terry takes the opportunity to set a time of 2:00 for their date. Vera is outraged at the amount Connie has charged. Ivy is interested to hear that, bank holiday or no, Mike has George Wardle on a delivery run to Halifax, and he's not yet left the loading bay at the factory. Jack warns Harry about Vera's mood, but while they are talking, Connie marches over to the Duckworths' to confront Vera, who tells Connie she's charged far too much, and offers £20. When Connie insists that the charge is fair, Vera calls the dress a "rubbing rag". Connie's response is "I do not make rubbing rags, Vera. Though I'm not saying it didn't look like one when you climbed into it." Not exactly calculated to calm her down. In the Rovers', Mavis, Rita and Emily have just returned from a birdwatching expedition, and somewhat unenthusiastically discuss ornithology with Percy Sugden, as Bet stands by. When the girls tell Bet they are off to a Chinese restaurant to complete their blissful day, Percy invites himself along, and before anyone can produce a credible objection, Bet maliciously facilitates Percy's effort (later confiding to Betty: "That'll teach them to go out enjoying themselves while I'm stuck here.") Terry finds Curly and Kev in the snug, where he frantically reports that the car won't start, and implores Kev to have a look at it. Curly points out that it is May Day, and the union wouldn't approve of working on that day, and Kev agrees. After the frustrated Terry leaves, Kev produces from his pocket the rotor arm from the car's distributor.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by LESLIE DUXBURY Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

2515 - Wednesday 8 May 1985
Terry, who now wants to keep the car, is outvoted by Kevin and Curly, who are eager to turn a profit with a quick sale. In the Kabin, Rita suggests that Mavis may want to buy the Cortina ("She could use it for kerb-crawling. It's all right for us--it's only the fellers get nicked.") But Mavis says she had in mind something small, like a Mini ("So that if she has a feller in with 'er, he can't get far away," says Rita.) Jack starts the day stoutly defending his pal, milkman Harry Clayton, to Vera, but quickly changes his tune when he has to eat dry cornflakes because no milk was delivered this morning. In the Rovers at lunchtime, Vera tries to organise a boycott of Harry Clayton's milk round. As always, Percy gets hold of the wrong end of the stick when Vera asks him to change his milkman, as a gesture of neighbourly solidarity--she has incorrectly assumed Harry to be Percy's present supplier. So when Percy shows up at the Claytons' saying he's changing on Vera's recommendation, Connie is confused: "Are you sure it was Mrs Duckworth?" to which Percy replies, "Oh, aye. There's no mistakin' her, is there?" Deprived of the use of the car while his partners have it for the next two evenings, Terry turns sulky, and Andrea takes offence at his mood, assuming that "mummy's told you not to play with me" because of the feuding over the dress bill. Harry urges Connie to make peace with Vera, on the basis of Percy's testimony, but it ends with a shouting match in the street, and Jack is betrayed by Harry who, at the height of the commotion, reveals to Vera that the fabric was a freebie. Looking on at the argy-bargy, Percy reminds Mike that it's VE Day.

Stories by TOM ELLIOTT, PAUL ABBOTT Designed by ANN DABINETT Written by H. V. KERSHAW Directed by NICHOLAS FERGUSON

Cast: Terry Duckworth Curly Watts Kevin Webster Connie Clayton Andrea Clayton Sue Clayton Harry Clayton Vera Duckworth Jack Duckworth Mavis Riley Emily Bishop Bet Lynch Rita Fairclough Ivy Tilsley Wilf Starkey Mike Baldwin George Wardle Percy Sugden

2516 - Monday 13 May 1985
The feuding between the Duckworths and the Claytons continues.

2517 - Wednesday 15 May 1985
Andrea dreams up a complicated plan to deceive her parents.


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January - June 1985