Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 1967, by order of first appearance.

Steve Tanner

Stephen Edward "Steve" Tanner, played by

Paul Maxwell Paul Maxwell (born Maxim Popovich; 12 November 192119 December 1991) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British cinema and television, in which he was usually cast as American characters. In terms of audience, his most notable role was ...

, was an old flame of

Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner (also Howard) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Pat Phoenix from the series' inception in 1960 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original c ...

's from the war. He returned to Weatherfield in 1967 and rekindled his relationship with Elsie. They married that year and moved back to Steve's hometown in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1968 Elsie returned alone saying her marriage was over. Steve followed Elsie back to the Street but he was pushed down a flight of stairs and killed by Joe Donnelli.

Ernest Bishop

Ernest Bishop, played by

Stephen Hancock Philip Stephen Hancock (24 November 1925 – 1 November 2015) was a British television and stage actor, musical director and pianist. He was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham and attended the Chorister School, Durham and the Darlin ...

, made his first screen appearance on 6 September 1967. Ernest had been educated at

Weatherfield Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weathe ...

Grammar School, and, despite being very academically inclined, he refused a place at Manchester Victoria University, in order to run his own photographic business. Operating under his "professional" name Gordon Bishop, he first appeared at

's wedding as official photographer in 1967. In 1969,

Emily Nugent Emily Bishop (also Nugent and Swain, also credited as Miss Nugent) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Eileen Derbyshire, the character is the longest-standing female character in the seri ...

(

Eileen Derbyshire Eileen Derbyshire (born 6 October 1931) is an English retired actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She played the character for 55 years from January 1961 to January 2016 (w ...

) began working at Ernest's camera shop. Emily and Ernest had many things in common, not least firm religious beliefs (Ernest was a lay preacher), and they began a relationship. After a long courtship, they married on Easter Monday 1972 and moved into No. 3 Coronation Street together. The Bishops were unable to have children of their own but fostered two children at Christmas 1974, which helped mend a rough patch in their marriage. In 1976, Ernest was unable to afford the rent on his camera shop and put his business into liquidation. Emily, however, was a tower of strength, insisting that she go out to work and be the bread winner. Ernest became the Street's first househusband; making him the butt of jokes from the other men on the Street, but Emily was proud of him. Ernest was able to make some spare money by playing the piano in pubs and night clubs —he was accompanist for

Rita Littlewood Rita Tanner (also Littlewood, Bates, Fairclough and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the character first appeared on-screen as "Rita Littlewood" f ...

(

Barbara Knox Barbara Knox (''née'' Brothwood, formerly Mullaney; born 30 September 1933) is an English actress, best known for her long-running portrayal of Rita Tanner in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. She first appeared as Rita Littlewood fo ...

) at the Gatsby Club—but, despite being grateful for the money, Emily drew the line when Ernie played the piano for a stripper, who came round to their house to practice her act. Ernest's fortunes changed when factory owner Mike Baldwin ( Johnny Briggs) offered him a job as wages clerk at Baldwin's Casuals. Mike's trust in Ernest effectively made him a second-in-command. One day in January 1978, when drawing up the workers' wage packets, two young men, one—Tommo—armed with a shotgun, burst into the office and demanded Ernest hand over the money. Ernest obliged, but Mike entered the office and accidentally knocked Tommo's arm, discharging the gun and shooting Ernest in the chest. He was rushed to hospital but later died. The shock of hearing what had happened made Emily faint in the Street. The two criminals were later apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment. 28 years later, in 2006, Emily became friends with churchgoer Ed Jackson ( Chris Walker). They became friends and bonded over their strong religious faith until Ed revealed his real name to be Thomas Jackson, the man who killed Ernest. Jackson claimed he had served his sentence and become a born-again Christian and wanted forgiveness from Emily for Ernest's murder. This caused Emily to have a crisis of faith as she couldn't bring herself to forgive him. However, upon learning Jackson was suicidal, she told him she forgave him and gave him one of Ernest's old cameras.

Robert Croft

Robert Croft, played by

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition in the role of Ray Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the ti ...

, made his first screen appearance on 13 December 1967. The role as "hippy student" Robert marked Shaw's television debut. Robert was the leader of a hippie commune. When

Lucille Hewitt Lucille Hewitt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Jennifer Moss. Created by Tony Warren as one of ''Coronation Street's'' original characters, at eleven years old Lucille was the show's onl ...

( Jennifer Moss) develops a crush on Robert, she decides to join the hippies. Lucille asks

Dennis Tanner Dennis Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Philip Lowrie. The character was created by writer Tony Warren and was introduced in the first episode on 9 December 1960. Lowrie remained in ...

(

Philip Lowrie Colin Philip Lowrie (20 June 1936 – 25 April 2025) was an English stage and television actor. He played Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from its inception in 1960 until 1968 and again from 2011 until 20 ...

) to throw a New Year's party at 11 Coronation Street and Robert and the hippies come along. They stay and begin squatting in the house, causing a ruckus among the Street's other residents. Eventually Annie Walker (

Doris Speed Doris Speed (3 February 1899 – 16 November 1994) was an English actress, best known for her role as landlady of the Rovers Return Inn, Annie Walker, on the British television soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Speed played this role from the p ...

) reports the hippies to the landlord, who demands their removal and Robert decides that it is time for them to leave.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coronation Streets Characters, List Of

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

Television characters introduced in 1967