Gary James
Well-Known Member
rassclot said:
It was a significant Corrie story in some ways. Basically, the story was that Annie Walker (Rovers' landlady) got into a debate about how she understood the common, working man etc. (she tended to see herself a cut above the locals). So she was challenged into doing an everyday working man's activity - that meant going with Stan Ogden and other characters to watch City (Stan's team).
I don't actually think they say Manchester City, but it is obviously our City.
As they are about to set off from the Rovers, she discovers that the male characters have toilet rolls in their pockets - she takes them off them, horrified at their loutish behaviour (yes, really! toilet roll throwing at matches was the craze at the time). She puts a toliet roll in her pocket and they go to the game (wearing scarves).
Film of them on a match bus appeared in the programme. They are also seen getting off the bus (near the Parkside I think) and cutting through to the ground. They chose to stand on the Scoreboard End because Annie wanted the full experience and did not want to be protected in the seats.
The programme shows them on the terraces and it was clearly filmed on match day (as mentioned above). Every so often the crowd scenes are interspersed with match action.
At one point Annie asks who City's number 9 is and another female character replies: "That's Mike Summerbee, isn't he dreamy?" Annie replies by saying something like "he is rather."
After the game, the characters are stood outside a chip shop (obviously a TV set) and they tell Annie they have to get chips, it's a tradition. She decides to stay outside. Two Liverpool fans (one played by the actor who went on to be Boycie in Only Fools) start having a bit of banter with Annie (she's still wearing her City scarf). She argues with them and a shop window gets smashed just as the police turn up. They ask Annie to empty her pockets and they find the toilet roll! She is arrested as a football hooligan.
The episode was broadcast on 29 November 1967 and City played Leicester on 11 November, so it makes sense that it was that game, but the programme tried to imply the game was against Liverpool.
Interestingly, ITV did not film the Leicester game for broadcast as part of their weekend football shows, so all the match action filmed that day was for Coronation Street itself.