CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961

Wikimedia list article

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ6567869
Source-derived summary

Coronation Street is a British soap opera, initially produced by Granada Television. Created by writer Tony Warren, Coronation Street first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in the show's second year, by order of first appearance.

Originally written by Warren, the series is produced by Stuart Latham until July and then by Derek Granger from July onwards. In January, Latham introduced four new regular characters, the first batch to arrive since Warren's initial creations at the start of the series a month earlier. These were factory workers Sheila Birtles (Eileen Mayers) and Doreen Lostock (Angela Crow), timid shop assistant Emily Nugent (Eileen Derbyshire) and an extension to the Walker family, Annie and Jack's son Billy Walker (Kenneth Farrington). Derbyshire departed from the role of Emily in 2016.

January also saw the introduction of Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson), a character who would become one of the series' central figures and the show's most prominent alpha male. Adamson continued in the role for twenty-two years. Bryan Mosley also made his first appearance as Alf Roberts later in February; originally a recurring role, Alf was not made a regular until 1971.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961” as wikimedia list article. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1960, 2016, 1971—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where List, Coronation and Street can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as wikimedia list article. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6567869. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1960, 2016 and 1971.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961 primary sources, List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961 archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 1961” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.