Albion Market

History

Albion Market first aired in August 1985, just four months before Coronation Street reached its 25th anniversary. Like its famous counterpart, Granada Studios classified it as a "continuing drama series," avoiding the label "soap opera," which they saw as demeaning. The series was broadcast twice weekly, on Fridays at 7:00 pm and Sundays at 7:15 pm. These time slots were considered "graveyard slots" at the time, typically filled with game shows, which were often quite popular, or American imports. The Sunday episodes were soon shifted to around 6:00 pm. Meanwhile, LWT and TVS, believing ITV's network schedule was too heavily weighted toward the North, later dropped the Friday broadcast and instead aired a double bill of the show on Sundays at 5:00 pm. At the launch, Granada Television's chairman predicted that when Coronation Street reached its 50th anniversary, Albion Market would be celebrating its 25th. Despite this confident forecast, the series ran for only one year. Critics panned the show, and ratings were poor. Many reviewers pointed out that the storylines rarely moved beyond the market itself. The central character was the beleaguered market superintendent, Derek Owen, played by David Hargeaves, whose day typically began with the tricky job of allocating the few vacant stalls to a large pool of casual traders. Among these traders were Lynne Harrison, portrayed by Noreen Kershaw, and her ex-convict husband Roy, played by Jonathan Barlow. Regular stallholders included the gossipy ceramics dealer Morris Ransome, played by Bernard Spear, and the handsome, womanizing cake seller Tony Fraser, played by John Michie.