The two pats
OUR popular nostalgia quiz this week focuses on two famous Manchester Pats – actresses Pat Kirkwood and Pat Phoenix. All-round entertainer Kirkwood, born in Salford, was the first woman on British TV to have her own series – The Pat Kirkwood Show – in 1954.
Fallowfield actress Phoenix was most famous for playing the irrepressible Elsie Tanner on Coronation Street from the first episode in 1960 until 1984.
How well do you remember the two Pats? Why not test your knowledge and compare your score with friends?
Granada soap Coronation Street features in iNostalgia’s latest book Manchester Then and Now. It’s a fascinating new compilation of the popular weekly picture features in Sunday’s M.E.N.
Manchester Then and Now is available for pre-order now for £12.99 (postage free) at inostalgia. co.uk.
Good luck with the quiz. Answers are at the bottom of the page.
1 Which famous politician described Coronation Street character Elsie Tanner as ‘the sexiest thing’ on television?
A) Harold Wilson; B) James Callaghan; C) Edward Heath? 2 Which classic Cole Porter song catapulted Pat Kirkwood to stardom at the age of 18 in 1940?
A) My Heart Belongs to Daddy? B) It’s De-Lovely; C) Wouldn’t It Be Fun?
3 Pat Phoenix got her big break playing Sandy Powell’s wife in which 1948 Mancunian Film Studio movie? A) Boots! Boots! B) Holidays with Pay; C) Cup-tie Honeymoon?
4 With which Hollywood star was Kirkwood favourably compared in the 1940s? It led to her gaining a sevenyear £250,000 contract with MGM. A) Joan Crawford; B) Elizabeth Taylor; C) Betty Grable?
5 Phoenix was married to second husband Alan Browning from 1972 until he died from liver failure in 1979. She was also married to him on Coronation Street. What character did he play?
A) Alan Davies; B) Alan Jackson; C) Alan Howard?
6 Kirkwood starred alongside Arthur Askey in the movie Band Waggon based on the popular BBC radio show. In what year?
A) 1940; B) 1945; C) 1950?
7 On Coronation Street, Elsie was renowned for her spats with moralising mission hall caretaker Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) and the imperious landlady of the Rovers Return, Annie Walker. Which actress played Annie?
A) Doris Speed; B) Jean Alexander; C) Eileen Derbyshire?
8 Kirkwood made only one film for MGM alongside Hollywood heartthrob Van Johnson in 1946. What was the film called?
A) No Leave, No Love; B) Pilot No. 5; C) Battleground? 9 Which Manchester band admired Phoenix and the character she played so much that they featured her on the cover of one of their singles?
A) Joy Division; B) Herman’s Hermits; C) The Smiths? 10 Tony Booth, third husband of Pat Phoenix, played pub landlord Ted Pilkington from 1985 to 1986 in which short-lived soap?
A) Eldorado; B) Albion Market; C) Castles?