Albion Market - Granada Television
Albion Market1985 - 1986
A twice weekly soap set in an indoor market in Manchester. It didn't attract the expected audience and was dropped after only 100 episodes.
Albion Market(2009)
This is how the location looks in 2009. Click on these images (taken in November 2009) to see the now derelict warehouse used as the location, just over the road from Granda's headquarters on Water Street.Angels - BBC TV
Angels1981
Julia Smith was responsible for Angels, the early evening BBC1 soap about Heath Green Hospital. Corking Alan Price theme tune, attention grabbing state of the art graphics, and look out for Rentaghost's former Mrs Mumford, Betty Alberge affecting a very poor Midlands accent, as the sweet little old lady fretting over her geriatric husband's brunchytisss. Also starred a young Pauline Quirk and Mrs Richard Whitely, Kathryn Apanowicz.
Right clip - end credits from 1980
The Bill
The Bill1998
The Bill is set around The Sun Hill police station in a fictional London borough of Canley in East London. Although it is actually filmed in Merton, near Wimbledon in South London
left clip complete with Channel TV ident
Brookside
Brookside1983 Channel 4's long-running soap, created by Phil Redmond, which started on the channel's opening night.
(Mersey TV for Channel 4)
Brookside1987 The second set of titles introduced on the soap's 500th epsiode.
Right clip - end credits from a year later in 1988.
Coronation Street 1960 - 1964
Coronation Street1960 The classic Granada series made its debut in 1960, created by Tony Warren. This clip show the very first episode
Coronation Street 1964 - 1969
At present we don't have a copy of these black and white titles
Coronation Street 1969 - 1975
Coronation Street1970s These opening titles must have been shot from a tower block in Salford. Only 2 shots feature, with slow panning moves to match the signature haunting theme. Notice the shot of The Street was not filmed on the set, as it lacks the viaduct bridge and extends beyond where Alfs Corner shop should be! It was actually filmed on Archie Street, Ordsall in Salford on which Tony Warren based the Granada built set on. Archie Street was demolished in the 1971, but during it's heyday local residents nicknamed it "Coronarchie Street" because of it's well known association with the soap.
Coronation Street 1975 - 1990
Images of the new exterior set built in 1984
Coronation Street1984
Incidentally, the cat from this 1984 clip above was called Tiddles. One of our contributors wrote a letter to Granada when he was seven and was told the cats name and the fact it was hired from an agency.
Coronation Street 1990 - 2002
Coronation Street2001 A change of typeface is introduced in 2001.
Clips show the opening and closing credits.
Coronation Street 2002 - 2010
Coronation Street2002 Widescreen arrives to Corrie in 2002. Special effects were used in every shot of this sequence to give the illusion of the street appearing in a real community. High angle shots were taken of the Granada set whilst the same angles were shot in Salford and the two were matched, to create a seamless, totally believable environment. Brilliantly executed sequence produced by the in-house 360media designers Mark Nuttall and Sue Frost. Aswell as filming the opening shots, a further 15 shots featuring a variety of weather conditions for the beginning and end of parts were also created, to complement different storylines
These images below show the real locations in Salford that were filmed for the compositing shots. The opening scene uses a shot looking down Newport Street in Salford, the first row of houses is Knutsford Street, this row was replaced with the Coronation Street set. For the scene looking through the arch, again shows Newport Street and Pembroke Street. The back alley scene again uses an alley way filmed from Newport Street. In the final scene where the tram goes over the viaduct, the images of the tram were filmed from a station in Old Trafford.
Coronation Street 2010 - Present
Granada Reports - First Look2010
Coronation Street celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2010, and moves from SD to HD pictures. With the move to HD Corrie needed a new title sequence. Granada Reports previews the new titles here in the week before the launch. Paul Crone was sent to St. Annes Square in Manchester's city centre to see what the public thought of the new look.
Coronation Street2010 Coronation Street went HD on May 31st 2010 at 7pm. The new opening titles were designed by John Paul Hersey and Andy Goldie of HerseyGoldieFilms. The tiles feature jib shots of various locations around Manchester including The Printworks for the opening shot, Castlefield locks for the second shot and the chimney pots in the final shot were filmed in West Didsbury. The tram is kept and updated to one of Metrolink's new yellow and silver M5000 series. Filmed on a Red camera at 3k and 33fps, with a long lens meant a really narrow depth of field - foreground elements are sharp, and the background action is kept defocussed. The new typeface is called Trajan.
Coronation Street 50th Anniversary
In 2010 became the world's longest running drama, it also celebrated it's 50th Anniversary. To mark the anniversary a dramatic tram crash storyline was broadcast over a week. After an expolision a tram comes off the viaduct tracks and ploughs into the Corner Shop and The Kabin with a tragic outcome killing off 3 characters. A special live episode was broadcast on December 9th, 50 years to the day the first live episode was broadcast on December 9th 1960.
Coronation Street - Tram Crash2010
The anniversary week began with a 2 part episode of the tram crash. This clip shows the opening sequence which sees Ken walk down Rosamund Street and Coronation Street, as the camera cranes up viewers were treated to seeing more of Weatherfield and what is on the other side of the viaduct.Three other anniversary programmes were shown during the 50th anniversary week - 50 Years 50 Moments, a two part celebration of the best Corrie moments as voted by the writers and fans. Coronation Street Uncovered: Live, on ITV2 viewers phone in and discuss the tram crash, and finally The Big 50, a gala show quiz to finish the 50th celbrations week off with Paul O'Grady.
Coronation Street 50 Years 50 Moments2010 Coronation Street Uncovered: Live
2010 Coronation Street: The Big 50
2010
Crossroads
Crossroads1969
ATV's famous soap opera began life in 1964, starring Noel Gordon as Meg Richardson, the manager of a Midlands motel. These titles and credits are from the last monochrome edition in 1969.
Crossroads1970
More early titles and credits, this time from 1970 and in colour... Ah, the music is fantastic!
Crossroads1985
Time has moved on in the Crossroads Motel.
right clip - The closing credits from 1986.
Crossroads Kings Oak1988 (Central)
In a final attempt to boost ratings, the soap expanded to include the goings-on of the villagers of King's Oak, where the Motel was based. But it wasn't enough, the same year the soap ended. Jill Chance drove off into the sunset with her new man, John Maddingham, and Crossroads had finished forever. Or had it?Here's some photographs of The Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Sutton Coldfield where the exterior shots were taken
Crossroads2001 It's back, relaunched on ITV1 by Carlton, now the owners of Central. The end titles (right) come complete without a continuity announcer talking over them.
Crossroads2003
ITV1 relaunched the soap again in 2003, deliberately camped up in an attempt to appeal to gay viewers. Dismal!Eastenders
Eastenders Promotions1985
BBC1 would never be the same under Michael Grade. A new look and new schedule changed the face of the channel in early 1985 but at the centre of the shake-up was the new supersoap, EastEnders. In the weeks leading up to Episode 1, a series of promos for the series was screened in which the characters would introduce themselves. Here we meet Debs and Andy, Ethel and Sue and Ali. Then, a reminder to tune in from the eve of the show's launch.
Eastenders1987 / 1991
Left clip - BBC Wales continuity into Eastenders from 1987
Right clip - a slight reworking of the theme using the same graphics in 1991.
Eastenders1993
From 1993 there came new titles (left) and a new version of the theme, so unpopular with viewers that a more subtle update of the original theme was created for use in 1994 - as can be heard in the right clip.
Eastenders2007
Here's the full widescreen titles, featuring the O2 Arena the renamed Millennium Dome
Eldorado
Eldorado Coming Soon Promo1992
A promotional trailer for Eldorado - the brand new BBC soap opera that would become a ratings flop. The series only broadcast for one year - July 6th 1992 until July 9th 1993.
Eldorado (First Programme)6.7.1992
After much trumpeting, Episode 1 of the ill-fated Eldorado arrived on Monday 6 July 1992. It was a guaranteed success, Beeb bosses thought, EastEnders Mark II. More accurately Eldorado was Triangle Mark II; a costly failure axed after just a year. BBC1 even laid on Crocodile Dundee afterwards, as this trail shows. ITV, however, put out an hour-long Coronation Street which was designed to "strangle Eldorado at birth", as they put it. Andy Taylor is the announcer who heralds Episode 1 with a simple "You're watching BBC1". Was he too embarrassed to say anything else? Judge for yourself and relive one of the BBC's most infamous nights.
Emmerdale
Emmerdale1992
Left Clip - Anglia continuity leads us into an update to the opening titles but the classic oboe theme music remains.
Right Clip - Closing credits with Yorkshire endcap
Emmerdale1998 Emmerdale dropped the "Farm" in 1989 to reflect the change of focus from the farm to the village of Beckindale.
Emmerdale1999
Left Clip - HTV continuity takes us by the hand and leads us into the opening credits
Right Clip - Closing Credits with YTV endcap
Harry Hill made a brilliant parody of these titles in his TV Burb series.
Emergency Ward 10
Emergency Ward Ten1957-67 (ATV London)
British TV's first ever medical soap opera, set in the fictional Oxbridge Hospital, was shown twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The cast included 21 year-old John Alderton as Dr Moore, and Richard Thorp as Dr Rennie - Thorp is now better known as Alan Turner in Emmerdale. Other doctors and specialists were played by Gabriel Woolfe and Desmond Carrington Among the patients were Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley & Ian Hendry. The clip is from a particular episode that caused a stir in the early 60s, containing British TV's first ever multi-racial kiss..
Emergency Ward Ten Trailer1957-67 (ATV London)
Meanwhile, the 60-second trailer was shown on ITV in 1957, with two members of the cast addressing the camera in character. A nurse tells us which patient annoys her the most, while a smug-looking doctor tells her to tell us not to miss the show. They don't make 'em like this anymore!Family Affairs
Gems
Gems1985
Gems was a networked daytime serial made by Thames , and broadcast 3 times a week. It ran for three series, and was set in a small fashion house in London's Covent Garden. 'Gems' was a company ran by two brothers, Stephen and Alan Stone, who, despite being business partners had little in common, and therefore friction arose. Stephen was a designer with a roving eye for women, while Alan, who looked after the financial affairs was happily married with two children. One contributor to a website is quoted as saying "The first two series were excellent, featuring highly believable actors, but the final one was a lack-lustre affair. By then, I was glad to see it go. Ho Hum."Howards Way
Howards Way1987
OK, so Howard's Way is NOT a soap in the strict sense, just one of those Sunday night 'continuing drama' series. Point taken. But it affected soap glamour and sensation, ending up as a load of old soapy t** w***! Maurice Colbourne starred in it, giving the lead character Tom Howard a certain gravitas, but he was backed up by most of Equity's poorest....
Produced by BBC Pebble Mill
Night and Day
Take The High Road
Take The High Road1987 Take the High Road was set in the fictional Scottish village of Glendarroch. Shown twice a week on the ITV network. The soap started in 1980 and was eventually axed by the Scottish TV in 2003. The filming location was the village of Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond, near Glasgow. The programme title also changed to 'High Road' in 1995.
Triangle
Triangle1980s Triangle was a BBC television soap opera in the early 1980s, set aboard a North Sea ferry which sailed a triangular route between Felixstowe, Amsterdam and Gothenburg. The series ran for three seasons before being cancelled, but is still generally remembered as "some of the most mockable British television ever produced". The scripts involved clichéd relationships and stilted dialogue, making the show the butt of several jokes (particularly on Terry Wogan's morning Radio 2 programme) which caused some embarrassment to the BBC.
