Coronation Street was a long-running British television drama airing in the final decades of the 20th century and well into the 21st, as well.
The Sixth Doctor had a dream in which his adventures were broadcast on television and taken off the air, and when they were returned they were placed opposite this series. (PROSE: Christmas Special)
Betsy, Bernard Watson's Irish wolfhound, had a penchant for barking during the theme tune. (PROSE: The Sleep of Reason)
While in Prague in 1989, Heather Lake mentioned Corrie (a common nickname for the series) as one of the things that she missed about London. (COMIC: The Broken Man)
In 1998, it was watched by Robert Gibson while he was in a hospital. (PROSE: System Shock)
Among the casualties of the Vore invasion of Earth in 2005 were members of the cast of the series, though they lost less than EastEnders. (PROSE: The Gallifrey Chronicles)
In 2008, the TV at the community room at the Lavender Lawns Rest Home blew up half an hour before the latest Corrie (Coronation Street) wedding. (PROSE: Eye of the Gorgon)
Behind the scenes
Both Doctor Who and Coronation Street started in the 1960s, have had notably long runs and have entered into British culture as television institutions.
In the late 1980s, Doctor Who aired opposite Coronation Street, which is often considered a factor in the show's decline and cancellation. The short story Christmas Special includes a reference to this situation.
Coronation Street has included the odd reference to Doctor Who over the years, especially since the show returned in 2005. The young boy Simon Barlow is a Doctor Who fan. He made reference to Journey's End when he saw two men who looked similar to each other. He said "there's two of them, it's like Doctor Who" referencing the Tenth Doctor and the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor seen in that story.
The 2006 episode The Idiot's Lantern is set in Florizel Street, which was the original planned name of Coronation Street.
In the Doctor Who Confidential instalment, 'Ello, 'Ello, 'Ello, Derek Jacobi stated that one of his ambitions since the 1960s has been to take a part in Doctor Who and Coronation Street. As of 2017[update], he has still not yet been asked to appear in the soap opera.
| Actor | Primary DWU role | First apperance | Primary Corrie role | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Charles | Dave Lister | NOTVALID: Red Dwarf special | Lloyd Mullaney | 2005-2015 | Charles' was playing his Red Dwarf character during his Doctor Who appearance. |
| Julie Hesmondhalgh | Judy Maddox | TV: Kerblam! | Hayley Cropper | 1998-2014 | |
| Suranne Jones | Idris | TV: The Doctor's Wife | Karen McDonald | 2000-2004 | |
| Katherine Kelly | Andrea Quill | TV: For Tonight We Might Die | Becky McDonald | 2006-2012 | Kelly also portrayed Becky in NOTVALID: Dermot and the Doctor. |
| Bruno Langley | Adam Mitchell | TV: Dalek | Todd Grimshaw | 2001-2004, 2007, 2011, 2013-2017 | |
| Ian McKellen | Great Intelligence (voice) | TV: The Snowmen | Lional Hipkiss | 2005 | |
| Gray O'Brien | Rickston Slade | TV: Voyage of the Damned | Tony Gordon | 2008-2010 | |
| Helen Worth | Mary Ashe | TV: Colony in Space | Gail Platt | 1974-present |