Rovers return
OUR popular nostalgia quiz this week focuses on the many dramas involving Coronation Street’s pub the Rovers Return down the years. Two fires have gutted it, vehicles have crashed into it, characters have died in it and a baby was born in it! Ever since the first pint was pulled on screen in December 1960, the friendly inn has been the focus for every aspect of Street life.
How well do you remember the Rovers? Why not test your knowledge in our quiz and compare your score with friends. Answers at the bottom of the page.
● 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 for £12.99 (postage free) at inostalgia.co.uk. It’s the ideal Christmas gift for all generations.
1. Many believe the fictional pub the Rovers Return took its name from the medieval Ye Olde Rovers Return in Shudehill. In what year was the
historic but dilapidated building, pictured above, demolished by Manchester City Council?
A) 1958 B) 1968 C) 1978
2. Which part of the Rovers, pictured right, was the favourite haunt of the indomitable trio of Ena Sharples (Violet Carson), Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant) and Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol)?
A) The Lounge B) The Back Room C) The Snug 3. The death of Martha Longhurst was the first tragedy to befall the Rovers in May 1964. Which character was celebrating a £5,000 premium bond win in the pub at the time?
A) Frank Barlow B) Len Fairclough C) Albert Tatlock
4. Which character rescued Bet Lynch from her blazing bedroom when the Rovers caught fire in June 1986?
A) Jack Duckworth B) Kevin Webster C) Ken Barlow
5. The Rovers’ second major blaze ripped through the pub in March 2013. It was started by Karl Munro (John Michie, pictured) who was trying to frame Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas). What role did Michie go on to play in the BBC hospital drama Holby City?
A) Guy Self B) Tom Campbell-Gore C) Dominic Copeland
6. Who played barmaid Violet Wilson, who dramatically gave birth to baby Dylan in the Rovers in February 2008?
A) Michelle Keegan B) Paula Lane C) Jenny Platt
7. Villainous Karl Munro knocked which character unconscious as he fled the scene of the Rovers’ fire in 2013? He later finished her off as she lay in a coma in hospital.
A) Sunita Alahan B) Katy Armstrong C) Grace Piper
8. Which character suffered a personality change as a result of being injured when a lorry crashed into the Rovers in March 1979, shedding a load of timber on the cobblestones outside?
A) Deirdre Barlow B) Rita Sullivan C) Alf Roberts
9. With which fictional brewery is the Rovers Return famously associated?
10. Who was the Rovers’ landlady in the first episode of Coronation Street, broadcast in December 1960?
A) Annie Walker B) Bet Lynch C) Betty Turpin