Elton attended Wayne State University, and in 1951 he travelled to London where he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art for one year.

[2] The fledgling ITV television franchises in the United Kingdom recruited a number of Canadians in the late 1950s, and Elton was hired as a drama producer for Granada in Manchester in 1957.

Having already written about working class life in a Salford backstreet, Warren quickly turned in a script which prompted Elton to commission a second one, and ultimately a pilot episode.

Elton finally persuaded sceptical network managers to proceed with the blue-collar drama, and they grudgingly gave the go-ahead for 13 episodes.

[4] When BBC Four aired a movie in 2010 dramatizing the creation of the show, The Road to Coronation Street, the role of Harry Elton was played by Christian McKay.

The show eventually debuted on Toronto's CBLT in July 1966 and later became a large success in Canada,[3] and continues to run on CBC Television to this day.