Coronation Street "Episode 1202" (lost episode of ITV soap opera; 1972)

Image of a re-shot scene recorded for an overseas version of Episode 1203.

Status: Lost

Coronation Street is a long-running British soap opera. Broadcast on ITV since 1960, the show dramatizes the daily lives of residents within the Greater Manchester town of Weatherfield. While almost all episodes of the show are publicly available, Episode 1202 no longer exists within ITV's archives.

Background

Episode 1202 was originally broadcast on 24th July 1972, drawing in 5.55 million viewers according to BARB. The episode's storylines centred around conflict between characters Rita Littlewood and Len Fairclough, the former attempting to make the latter jealous by going out with businessman Benny Lewis. Additionally, Jacko Ford works at The Rovers Return as the Potman despite policeman Cyril Turpin knowing that he has a previous conviction. Although landlord Maggie Clegg attempts to persuade Turpin's wife Betty not to have Cyril leak this to Annie Walker, Ford is fired by the episode's end after confessing about his past to Walker.

Availability

To date, Episode 1202 is the only standard Coronation Street episode to no longer exist within the ITV archives, as noted by Kaleidoscope. This is because Granada Television accidentally forgot to locate the original master tapes of Episode 1202 after initial broadcasts. Previously, 15 episodes broadcast in 1964 and 1967 were also reported missing, but have since been recovered. In August 2018, online encyclopaedia Corriepedia contacted Kaleidoscope for more information surrounding the episode's disappearance. According to Kaleidoscope, the episode went missing prior to being sold overseas, although it is unclear whether it was fully destroyed or suffered terminal damage that prevented its survival.

The loss of Episode 1202 causes a narrative break within the ongoing series. To avoid causing confusion among international viewers, Coronation Street production company Granada Television decided to create a new version of Episode 1203. Episode 1203, which was originally broadcast on 26th July 1972, showcased increasing conflict between the characters Minnie Caldwell, Ena Sharples, and Emily Bishop, as well as Ford packing up to leave Weatherfield. In the international version, Granada Television would film eight minutes of footage that summarised the storylines from 1202, and included it within an abridged version of 1203.

Despite the efforts of Corriepedia and Kaleidoscope, no footage of the episode is currently known to have survived. Thus, the eight minutes of the edited version of 1203 remain the closest remnants of 1202.

See Also

• Beacon Hill (lost television soap opera; 1975)
• The Corsairs (lost pilot for ABC soap opera; 2002)
• Dark Shadows "1219" (partially found episode of gothic soap opera TV series; 1971)
• EastEnders (lost broadcast tapes of BBC soap opera; 1986; 1989)
• EastEnders (lost footage of Frances Cuka's scenes and Barbara Windsor's auditions as Peggy Mitchell; 1991-1994)
• EastEnders (lost footage of Jean Fennell as Angie Watts; 1984)
• El Oasis (partially found Latin American telenovela; 1994-1997)
• Emmerdale Farm (lost episodes of ITV soap opera; existence unconfirmed; 1981)
• Executive Suite (partially found television soap opera; 1976-1977)
• Faraway Hill (lost early soap opera; 1946)
• Florizel Street (lost dry runs of Coronation Street; 1960)
• Hiwaga sa Bahay na Bato (lost Filipino TV soap opera; 1962-1963)
• Models Inc. (found primetime soap opera; 1994-1995)
• Neighbours "Episode 3896" (partially found episode of Australian soap opera; 2001)
• O Direito de Nascer (lost adaptation of a radio play to TV; 1964)
• Pardon the Expression (lost pilots of Coronation Street sitcom spin-off; 1965)
• Seven, Bessie Street (partially found soap opera script of Coronation Street creator; pre-1957)
• Springhill (partially lost second series of British soap opera; 1997)
• United! (lost British soap opera; 1965-1967)

External Link

• Corriepedia article on Episode 1202.