On this day in Coronation Street History

This is the first in an occasional series of posts that will take us back in time, back through the dusty pages (or video, as it were) of 46-plus years of Coronation Street history.

On this day - April 20 - in Coronation Street history, 30 years ago, Len Fairclough and Rita Littlewood were married. Len and Rita had a few starts and stops before they got to the altar including a broken engagement three years previously in 1974. Their marriage lasted until December, 1983 when Len was killed in a car crash.

Click through for a description and a few more photos of the day.

Rita arrived at the church on time but Len was late. His taxi had a flat tire and he had not even left the cobbles yet! Mavis was on the edge of panic and even Ken's nerves were rattled. Rita's driver circled the block a few times (why can't Rita wait inside the church for Len?) The men arrived and Len hobbled into the church on his bad ankle. Rita walked up the aisle in a lovely knee length ivory dress with a ruffly v-neck bodice and a bit of netting over her hair. Neither Len nor Rita looked particularly happy during the ceremony, but perhaps they were just nervous. At the altar, he does, she does, they did and they are wed!

They were much more relaxed later at the reception once the ale and champagne flow where Rita joked with Bet "I didn't run after him. Mind you, I did walk sharp once or twice" And one woman was conspicuously absent from the church ceremony but Elsie, Len's old flame, did turn up at the reception to wish the happy couple well. Many of the residents attended the wedding including a dour looking Ena and Albert who also brightened up once the champagne started flowing.

Mavis, resplendent in a peach dress was the maid of honour, accompanied by a younger Derek Wilton (and we all know how bumpy *that* road to happiness was!). Albert got drunk on the very champagne he insisted he could drink without any effect and Bet returned to the pub to let Betty attend for a bit and her description of the whole event only made the uninvited Ogdens even more sour and determined to crash the party to take advantage of the free ale. Unfortunatley, the free ale period was over five minutes before they arrived! The newlyweds  drove off happily in a car, freed of the tins and  old boots that Ray Langton had attached.