Coronation Street was thrown into chaos yesterday when actress Julie Goodyear was

struck down by the flu bug raging through the country. Scriptwriters were forced to re-
write scenes for the TV soap after Julie, alias barmaid Bet Gilroy, called in sick.
She has told bosses at Granada TV that she may not be fit to work for the rest of the
month and is staying at home in Heywood, Greater Manchester. A Granada TV
spokesman said: "She has a viral infection which has apperently been difficult to shake
off."
Barbara Knox, 53, who plays Rita Fairclogh, has just returned to work after being sent
home from rehearsals because of flu. Bill Waddington, the Street's Percy Sudgen, said
producers were so concerned about flu epidemic that they had organised injections for
the cast.
He said: "We all hope Julie gets well soon." The outbreak of flu and colds sweeping many
parts of the country could be linked to a strain which has caused havoc in France and
America.
Experts predict a sharp rise in sickness since Christmas and hope to discover whether it is
being caused by a flu-like bug or true influenza - especially the feared A-Beijing strain.
Richard Kenyon, of the Influenza Monitoring and Information Bureau, said: "We have
reports of localised outbreaks in Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol and Norwich."
The Department of Health says the outbreak isn't an epidemic because the illness has
struck only 54 per 100,000 of the population. The figure for an influenza epidemic is 100
per 100,000.