Classic Coronation Street airs on ITV3 and currently Deirdre’s prison storyline is currently being re-aired.
In today’s Classic Coronation Street episodes (Friday, April 23) which originally aired in 1998, Deirdre is in court awaiting the verdict of her fraud trial.
Whilst the storyline aired 23 years ago, fans are still loving it and have branded it ‘so much better’ than today’s storylines.
Just watched #ClassicCorrie which as I've said before is way better than #CurrentCorrie . Better scripts, better plots, better acting in fact better all round.
— Jeff (@jeffnewton1) April 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/TheDoctor2058/status/1385217930040905731
#LooseWomen #ClassicCorrie #ClassicCoronationStreet is so much better than today's #Corrie #coronationstreet
— Lisa (@LisaM_Catchpole) April 22, 2021
It’s the notorious Deirdre trial on #ClassicCorrie today! Exciting stuff!😁
— Andy Smith (@Statsmanuk) April 21, 2021
But why did Deirdre go to prison and how long was she there for?
Classic Coronation Street: Why did she go to prison?
In 1997 Deirdre met and fell in love with Jon Lindsay, who claimed to be an airline pilot.
Soon Ken exposed Jon as a fraud after seeing him working in a tie shop at Manchester Airport.
Jon told Deirdre that he was embarrassed to admit that he lost his pilot’s licence due to his failing eyesight.
Deirdre quickly forgave him but was unaware he was implicating her in many financial scams.
After finding out he was married, Deirdre split up with Jon. But when she tried to get the money back from Jon that she gave him for the mortgage, she was charged with theft.
Classic Coronation Street: How long did she spend in prison?
Jon made out Deirdre was the brains behind the crime.
In court Deirdre was found guilty of fraud and was sentenced to to 18 months in prison. However Jon was able to walk free leaving Ken and Mike Baldwin furious.
Free the Weatherfield One Campaign
When the story of Deirdre being jailed was first aired 23 years ago, a public campaign took off in the UK.
Deirdre was soon on the front pages of tabloids. The public were desperate for Deirdre to be freed after being wrongly imprisoned and would wear t-shirts and pleaded with Corrie to have her freed.
The campaign even reached the UK’s Prime Minister at the time Tony Blair.
He instructed his Home Secretary Jack Straw to investigate the situation.
How did she get out?
While in prison, Deirdre made friends with Jackie Dobbs.
Ken and Mike Baldwin fought to free Deirdre but just when things started to look hopeless, another of Jon’s exes called Mary Docherty came forward.
She backed up Deirdre’s version of events, explaining she too had been tricked by Jon.
She said enough to exonerate Deirdre from any blame and she was soon released.
After a couple of months she walked free and was soon reunited with Ken.
Classic Coronation Street airs on ITV Monday to Friday at 2.50pm and 3.20pm.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays and Wednesdays 7.30pm and 8.30pm with an hour long episode at 7.30 on Fridays on ITV.
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