The Ruination of Anna Windass

Anna Windass has been on our screens since 2008. Right from the start, she and her common law husband, Eddie, were portrayed as people that were a bit or a lot dodgey, from a rough background. They hired Jo McIntyre to build their kitchen then refused to pay for it, leading Joe ultimately to bankruptcy. Anna has always been shown to be a fiercely protective mother though perhaps hasn't always made the best judgements but she'll do anything for those she loves. She'll also turn on anyone she may previously shown friendship for if they so much as look at her or her family sideways.

No, Anna has never really been a sympathetic character overall. Just when you think she's showing signs of improvement, doing kind things for friends, and being generally nice, something will happen and she'll be cold-shouldering, shrieking and slapping. The object of her anger will then be her enemy for life,  until of course, she realizes the error of her ways and then butter wouldn't melt. She will apologize but I don't know how anyone can trust her not to lost her temper again and go off on them.

Ah yes, that temper has got her into trouble more than once. She'll regret it but it doesn't matter. She doesn't learn. And she can be vicious with it, even towards her beloved teenage daughter who has been the cause of Anna's temper on more than one occasion. She'll let her mother down and end up being shut out, screamed at, even slapped. It's no wonder Faye thinks Anna hates her. It doesn't take much for Anna to turn her back on Faye on a regular basis. She certainly wasn't too nice to Faye after discovering that surprise pregnancy, calling her names and all sorts. Remember, she coldly turned against Roy, her friend and employer, after he assaulted Gary knowing Roy had been tested to his limits by teenage bullies. Roy shouldn't have resorted to violence, but Gary shouldn't have broken into the cafe to try to rob it but Anna didn't see it that way, assigning no responsibility to Gary at all.

We know that Phelan used her badly, forced her by blackmail into having sex to let Gary off the legal hook. I'm not making excuses for Phelan over that. She didn't deserve that treatment and did what she did because she didn't think she had a choice. Phelan knew she wouldn't let Gary go to jail. She has told a few people over the years. Some believed her. Some have not. Phelan has groomed everyone into believing he's a nice guy, just misunderstood so Anna looks like a vindictive liar. She's at it again, this time revealing the past to Phelan's newly found daughter, Nicola who seems to believe her, or at least, is smart enough to consider that it's the truth. She doesn't know Phelan well enough yet to trust him 100% so Anna's story hasn't fallen on stony ground this time.

It doesn't seem to matter that she's been a good and loyal friend, or a caring mother figure. She can flip personalities like a pancake on a griddle, soft and puffy one minute, sizzling the next. This is not a new thing. This isn't a new aspect of her personality since her encounter with Phelan all those years ago. It's one thing to get angry when someone you're trying to help rejects you, it's quite another to be seen screaming vicious insults at someone in public but that's what Anna does.

Therefore, it annoys me when people say that The Powers That Be are ruining Anna because the actress is leaving.  This is an accusation you hear often when actors decide to go on to other things. They make you dislike the character so you won't protest so much when they're gone. Lately, we've seen Anna going up against Seb and Faye after trying to help Seb's family. When it all went wrong, she was accused of calling Social Services. She didn't, but nobody involved believes her and because of that, Faye and Seb are in "I hate you" mode. Anna has begged them to believe her and when that doesn't happen, she pushes and pushes until one of them lashes out. What does Anna do? shrieks and insults these children and SLAPS them. Yes, the teenagers that she considers vulnerable and needing support feel the heat of her fingers across their faces. Nice.


But Anna's also being accused of causing Seb to fall off a ladder and Phelan is manipulating the evidence in that direction. Nicola might uncover another devastating truth about her mother and Phelan that will reinforce Anna's story and realize that he's not the man he's led her to believe he is. He'll lose the daughter he was so proud to have found, the one for whom  he thought he could redeem himself. If that happens, he'll have nothing to lose.  Anna's been a thorn in his side for a long time and this might be the way to get rid of her. He'll make sure Anna is ruined, a pariah until she's in jail or has to leave town.

I've never been a fan of Anna all that much. She's had her good moments when she's been loyal but then she's also had so many moments when she's been disloyal or unnecessarily harsh. She didn't call Social Services, but if she hadn't badgered him trying to convince him of it, Seb wouldn't have lost his temper and shouted at her. When Seb insulted her in the cafe, his heart broken after losing his siblings into Care, his mother back on drugs and assumed she called Social Services causing it all, Anna changed from begging him to believe it wasn't her in one breath to screaming at him and slapping him in the next. A 16 year old kid who needed support, not abuse. And she wouldn't leave it alone, she practically chased him out of the cafe trying to drag him back inside. It's no wonder he was so distracted, he was careless on the ladder and fell. You could lay that blame at her door even if she didn't actually push the ladder.

Has Anna been ruined? I don't think so. I think she's just been revealed. She might have a good and kind side to her but she's also got a streak of nasty inside like Blackpool Rock. Always has had.

I rest my case.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

The Abandoned Barlow Brothers

Peter Barlow lost his mother to an electrical appliance when he was only a small boy. That's going to affect any child but then his father gave up trying to look after twin children and gave them over to their grandparents who raised them in Scotland. If you watched Corrie through the 70s and early 80s, you will know that Ken rarely visited them and rarely had them back home to visit him. They were mentioned from time to time and I'm sure he sent them birthday cards and Christmas gifts even if it wasn't shown on screen.

Daniel Osbourne's father, Ken Barlow, barely had a look in when he was growing up and his mother went walkabout 6 years ago, with no further sight nor sound. These two men certainly have a lot in common and I think they've kind of bonded over that.

Peter, especially in his Chris Gascoyne incarnation, has shown all the signs of having abandonment issues which have manifested themselves in a fondness for the drink. He's also got his father's "any woman any time" gene and finds it difficult to make a long standing commitment.  He regularly berates his father for dumping him and blames a lot of his failings on his father's non-participation in his life yet has always craved approval from his one remaining parent and yet resented the hell out of him at the same time.

Daniel is very secretive born from having to pretend his mother was not gone while he was too young, really, to be living on his own. Should the authorities have found out, he'd have been taken into care. He obviously had no contact or relationship with his mother's sister (she whose husband Denise had an affair with back in the day) and no other family it seems. He's been on his own for a long time. We don't know if he's got abandonment issues as such but he's bound to when you think of it. We just haven't seen how they've manifested themselves yet.

Children take on so much and learn what they see.  Neither of them ever had a father figure that was ever present in their lives. Peter certainly didn't grow up learning how to be a good father and so has never found it easy being one himself, often at a loss when things get difficult. He grew up seeing or knowing that his father flitted from woman to woman and he mirrored that behaviour. We don't know why his first marriage broke up though he has been known to blame his absences due to being in the navy but I think there's a pretty good chance he had a welcoming bed in every port.


Peter's been a lifelong screw up, or at least as long as he's been an adult from what we know and what we've seen. Just maybe, though, he's starting to take responsibility and grow up. A bit. His father's sudden illness seems to have affected him deeply. It seems like Daniel's reaction has been to  take refuge in books and in his schoolwork and keep his head down.

Daniel was an unplanned child but Ken in his middle age was anxious to do things right this time around. He and Denise were not love's young dream nor were they soul mates in any form. In fact, in the cold harsh reality of the aftermath of the affair, Denise realized she was most definitely unsuited to life with Ken and a baby so she left the baby with Ken initially and walked. Ken tried, he really did but he was a single middle aged man who had no clue how to deal with an infant. He hired a nanny and that helped but he never had the chance to see if he could make a go of this parenting thing. Denise returned and took baby Daniel away, to Scotland because her sister's husband happened to be from that country.


Ken tried to make an effort  at first but gave it up as a lost cause and thus, Daniel really had no memory of him.  Yet another of Ken's children was lost and cut loose from a paternal influence. We next saw Daniel when he was a boy of about 10. Ken and Deirdre were having difficulties and Ken began to think he'd like to make an effort with his son. His son resented Ken's efforts as too little too late and Ken soon gave up again. We would hear Daniel's name on occasion over the intervening years, usually when Tracy or Peter wanted to call Ken's parenting into question.

But Ken apparently had a contact number for Denise in his address book. After he had the stroke, Peter went through the book to contact family and left a message with Denise, or so the dialogue went. Daniel got the message eventually and came to see his father. Before you think this was a plot hole, it's very possible that telephone number was the landline in the flat where Daniel was living. Since he didn't want people to know he was living alone under aged, he would have left the answering machine message on there that his mother recorded.

And where was his mother? Daniel says they weren't getting along, typical teenage stuff and she became more and more agitated and decided to leave. He thought she was coming back but she never did nor did she ever get in contact. It does seem strange. On comment I've seen suggested she could have been bipolar and could have ended up on the streets. That would be an interesting way to take this. Her abandonment had to have been devastating to him.

He's been keeping secrets so long that it's no wonder he's reluctant to open up now. Peter has taken him in hand and has been very supportive. He's a big brother and he's also old enough to be a father figure, really, and Peter seems to really like his little brother. It really seems like there's a weight finally lifting off Daniel's shoulders, relieved to have told the truth and to have someone that he might actually be able to depend on (he doesn't know Peter well yet!) for once in his life.  He was almost in tears when Peter assured him he would be there, as if Peter was a lifeline to a young man near the end of his rope that sorely needed one.

This chemistry between the two brothers who seem to have bonded quickly, able to relate to what the other has been through over their lives is evident. We've long admired Chris Gascoyne's acting abilities and the young man playing Daniel, Rob Mallard, is really showing his acting chops, too.

It will be interesting to see where they take this.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Character Study: Nicholas Paul Tilsley

Nicholas, or Nick as we all now know him, is the oldest son and firstborn child of Gail Potter Tilsley Platt Hillman McIntyre, or Gail, to make life easier. Gail married Brian Tilsley, the son of "Saint" Ivy Tilsley (later Brennan) in 1979 and as per usual for soap characters, didn't wait too long to get pregnant. Nick was born on New Year's Eve, 1980 looking into 1981.

The character of Nick has had three heads over the course of his lifetime. Warren Jackson played him from infant to mid teens. Adam Rickett was cast after Nick returned from finishing his schooling in Canada, hoping his pinup good looks would draw in the younger viewers. He stayed a few years, left and returned for a few more before taking off for New Zealand and made a name for himself in a soap there called Shortland Street.  While on Corrie, Adam had a lot to learn about acting and let's just leave it at that. Ben Price is the current Nick, having arrived at Christmas 2009. Coincidentally, Nick Tilsley was born on Dec. 31. Ben Price's birthday is January 1 though he's older than Nick is by 9 years and, to be honest, looks it! Never mind. He's done well as Nick.

Nick was the golden boy, blonde and blue eyed as a child and young adult and the apple of Granny Ivy's eye even if she didn't approve of Gail's motherhood methods. She was apalled when Gail decided to go back to work at the caff and marraige to Brian had many ups and downs though Brian did love his son. During a rocky patch, Gail had an affair with his cousin and about the time she and Brian got back together, she realized she was pregnant and wasn't sure who the father was. When that all came out, Brian left her and took Nick with him, even though the baby, daughter Sarah Louise, was proven to be his. Brian did forgive Gail and they remarried in 1988 but it didn't really go well. After another row, Brian went clubbing and got stabbed to death while trying to stop some thugs from bothering a woman.

At the age of 8, Nick had lost his beloved dad and had a difficult time adjusting.  This was one of the first storylines I remember when I started watching the show in 1989. By the end of that year, Gail had taken up with Martin Platt whom she married. Nick didn't mind Martin and agreed he wouldn't mind being adopted. Granny Ivy was horrified that her precious grandchildren, the last connection to her beloved Brian, would not carry his name. She held it against Gail for the rest of her life.

Nick entered his teenage years with a growth spurt and an attitude problem. He ran away once but came back a few weeks later, broke. He and Martin clashed many times and he seemed to resent Martin's authority when, of course, he wasn't Nick's "real" dad.

When Ivy died, she left her house to Nick on the proviso that he change his name back to Tilsley. Nick felt very entitled, thinking that, at the tender age of 15, he could live in his own house but Gail put her foot down. She did allow him to take back the name Tilsley because he wanted that but she sold the house to Ivy's husband, Don and saved the money for Nick's education. With all the stress and rowing, Gail and Martin's marraige was suffering. When they went to Canada with her new-found brother, Stephen, Nick decided to stay there and go to school. Gail seemed relieved at the distance and Nick seemed to be happy.

About a year later, Nick (now played by Adam Rickett) returned for Don's funeral, having completed his schooling and now was looking forward to some kind of post-secondary college or uni, at least, that's what Gail hoped for. Nick, now nearly grown, handsome and full of hormones, laid eyes on teenage tearaway, Leanne Battersby and fell in love. Leanne would prove to be the love of his life over time but not just yet. The Battersby family were not well liked and thought of as common. Gail was not amused to find that her son had taken up with Leanne but there wasn't much she could do about it. The young couple ran away to Scotland to get married. They kept it secret for a few weeks but it came out as secrets do and Gail was furious that Nick was on his way to ruining his life.

Cue further aggro and tension between mother and son. Never mind. Nick and Leanne settled into married life and lodged at Number 4 with Ashley Peacock. Leanne seemed to take to marraige well and matured while Nick still seemed more self centered.

He nearly got her into a bad situation when he contacted the man in prison who killed his father but pretended he was pretty young Leanne writing so the man would not recognise his name. When released, that man came looking for him and found Leanne but in the end, everyone was safe and by breeching parole, he was back in jail. Nick also did some life modelling at the art college to make extra money and found himself at the hands of a sexy art teacher. He stayed faithful but he flirted just the same and Leanne didn't like it one bit.

The ultimate end came when Leanne found herself pregnant. Nick was adamant that he was not ready to be a father and insisted that she have an abortion. She did, but the marraige broke down anyway. Nick left for Canada to work for his uncle Stephen and Leanne did not go with him.

Nick returned several years later, when his mother married Richard Hillman. He had a fling with Maria Sutherland whom he persuaded to return to Canada with him but  he worked long hours and neglected her so she came back. He didn't return again for another 2 years and soon found himself in a brief fling with Candice, a friend of his sister Sarah and then he took up with Maria again. He worked for Mike Baldwin for a short while, saving the life of his former mother-in-law Janice from a factory fire.

Leanne did her best to break them up because Maria had stolen Leanne's sister's boyfriend but Nick and Maria nearly got married anyway. It was not to be. He took a job in Nottingham without talking to her and she decided he was too selfish and she wanted to stay in Weatherfield. That was that.

In 2009, Nick returned to Weatherfield with a new face (Ben Price). He was almost 30, single and a grown-up business man now. He seems to have developed a somewhat ruthless streak as befits his new image, possibly taking a page out of Mike Baldwin's book, or trying to at least. He decided he wanted to buy into Underworld and when Carla refused, he used machinist Kelly Crabtree to steal information, using bribery and flattery. When he finally gets his hooks into the factory, Carla made him fire Kelly!

About this time, his mother was on trial for murdering her husband, Joe McIntyre. Joe had actually attempted to fake his own death and was accidentally killed but the police weren't buying it. Nick let his brother David talk him into bribing a witness and Nick took the money from Underworld to do it. Not a good move. He and Carla were on the outs but after Tony Gordon burned down the factory and Carla fled to L.A., Nick pulled the machinists together and set up the factory in the premises under the viaduct where ex-wife Leanne had tried to open a bar. Carla returned, took back her factory and there ensued a war with Nick over the staff and business contracts. They eventually settled their differences and Nick took the money and ran.

He ended up buying the bar premises and persuaded Leanne to help him open it as the Bistro. He still had old feelings for her and it turned out, probably due to pre-wedding (to Peter Barlow) jitters, so did she. They launched into an affair that came to a head just before her wedding. Nick was going to tell Peter about the affair but before he could, the Bistro caught fire, exploded and sent a passing tram crashing down over their heads. Peter nearly died and Leanne married him in hospital, much to Nick's anguish.

Nick, selfish as always, decided Peter wasn't good enough for Leanne and started a campaign to lure recovering alcoholic Peter, who was temporarily paralysed, into drinking again, hoping it would push Leanne away for good and back to him. Peter found out about the affair that happened months before and jilted Leanne at the altar when they were going to renew their vows. Nick's glee was short lived though, because Peter and Leanne made up even though Carla was waiting in the wings, just in case.

Nick continued to keep his eye on Leanne but dated hairdresser Natasha for awhile since the one he really wanted was unavailable. Natasha knew Nick was still drawn to Leanne so just when Nick was going to break up with her, she told him she was pregnant. She was but Nick wanted nothing to do with the baby so she had a termination. When Nick had second thoughts about the baby, Natasha pretended she was still pregnant. That lasted a short while until Gail blew the secret out of the water, having snooped in Natasha's medical records. Natasha attempted suicide but Nick found her and got her help in time. He begged forgiveness but knowing he didn't really love her, Natasha walked away.

Nick also had a brief fling with Becky McDonald after her marraige to Steve fell apart, horrifying Gail but Becky and Nick agreed they really would be better off as friends. Still, when Becky found herself drunk and alone on Christmas and caused a fire in her flat, it was Nick that pulled her out, saving her life.

Nick dated Eva Price for awhile but eventually she realized he really wasn't that into her and finally, after Peter and Leanne broke up over his affair with Carla Connor, he got the girl he really wanted.

Leanne seemed to lean back to Nick in rebound and though she insisted she loved Nick, still had a last minute wobble over Peter on her Christmas wedding day to him. Nick, hurt and angry, jilted her but soon forgave her when she professed her feelings for him profusely. They got married and seem to be strong together, now.

>But here's the thing. On that aborted wedding day, Nick and David's wife, Kylie, had a drunken one night stand. Kylie's baby could be Nick's and David has been wreaking havoc taking his revenge on his brother.

In a confrontation, Nick was determined to tell Leanne and everyone else what happened but, panicked, David caused the car nearly to crash. While catching their breath over the near miss, a large truck crashed into them, leaving Nick in a coma. It was a close call and even though most of his physical injuries are healed, he has brain damage that may or may not ever be repaired. He can be surly, stressed and he has trouble holding his temper. He's not himself and Nick is worried he'll hurt Leanne even more than when he lashed out and slapped her on Christmas Day. 

He knows Kylie's baby isn't his and he knows David's part in everything. He can see that Leanne is pulling away from him, though she professes that she still loves him. The disappointment, stress and resentment has added to the personality change caused by the damage. Will Nick pull out of this or will he remain a "bad boy"? I think he will improve over time, gradually but it's going to be an uphill battle for both him and all the people he loves. Whether he will ever forgive David is yet to be known. I'm guessing not.

Nick has always had a selfish streak, most likely because his mother Gail has always treated him like the golden boy who could do no wrong. It's kind of creepy the way she still fawns over him!  Everyone knows Gail can't seem to let go of the apron strings but nobody can really accuse Nick of being a Mama's boy. He respects his mother but is pretty much his own man.

He's been a bit less arrogant in this latest incarnation and his brain injury seems to have humbled him quite a bit. He was never all that close to his sister and brother, mainly due to the age difference and living away from home for much of his adult life but he still felt some degree of loyalty towards them up until now, as far as David is concerned and David has always resented Nick so their relationship will likely  always be difficult.

Whether Nick and Leanne will keep their marraige intact after all the stress remains to be seen. Nick isn't always a very likeable person but he's a good, classic Corrie character.

Thanks to Corriepedia, Corrie.net and several of Daran Little's excellent books.

An old mystery solved and a potted history of Irma Ogden

In early 1964, Sandra Gough began playing Irma Ogden. She stayed in Corrie until 1968 when David Rothwell, who played her husband on screen, David Barlow, wanted to leave. He'd delayed his departure because he knew the producers would also write out Sandra if he left but she agreed and went.

In 1970, the producers wanted to bring the couple back but only Sandra said she'd return. They had David along with their little boy die in a car crash in Australia where the characters had emigrated and brought Irma back to Coronation Street. It was up and down for the character and in 1971, the character just disappeared off screen, apparently claiming illness. She returned briefly and left again later that same year and the publicity hit the newspapers that Sandra Gough was fired though she was quoted as saying "I was taking more and more time off, hoping that they would sack me. I was sick of being Irma. It was driving me mad."

Recently, during the new seasons of The Corrie Years featuring ex-Corrie actors and what happened to them after they left the show, Sandra Gough admitted she'd left Granada high and dry, walking out after she'd asked repeatedly to be written out of the show to no avail. She felt bad for doing it but was apparently dealing with her mother who had a serious illness. She admitted she did call her bosses and said she wasn't coming back but the media didn't get that message and it was all a bit mystery at the time.

Now that the mystery is solved, here's a bit of a history of Irma Ogden Barlow:

Irma was one of four Ogden children. Her name was originally Freda but she changed it, thinking Irma was more glamourous. She left home at 15 due to her father's tendency to violence. She arrived in the Street early in 1964. Her family's rough reputation preceded their arrival a few months later.

Irma was cheeky and lively, with shocking red hair and a lot of it. Her hair seemed to have a life of its own later in the 60s and into the 70s! Come to think of it, flame haired Elsie Tanner's locks were much the same. She worked for Florrie Lindley in the corner shop, and later for Lionel Petty when he bought it from Florrie. She fell for local footballer David Barlow. They got engaged during a Street day trip to the Blue John mines in the Peak District and they married after a short engagement in 1965. They eloped but their secret was discovered and they returned home to a surprise reception in the pub.

After David sustained an injury, Irma talked him into buying the corner shop. But shop work was boring for Irma and she got a job in the new PVC factory on the Street, leaving David to struggle on without her until she got fed up with that, and came back to the shelves of the corner shop.

Irma had a miscarriage and decided it was a sign she couldn't have children, a huge disappointment for David. They fostered for awhile and then David returned to the world of footie, albeit as a coach for an all-women's team. This led to David's re-entry into the sport as a player when he had the chance to play for a team in Australia. They made the decision to emigrate and sold the shop to Maggy Clegg and moved.

Two years later, David and Irma had a little boy but Ken got a phone call, saying David and their son were killed in a car crash. Irma was persuaded to return to Weatherfield with the financial assistance of bookie Dave Smith. Stan wangled a 30% share in the shop for Irma by using money that Dave Smith helped raise for Irma's return. Irma went back to the shop and worked to pay Dave back. She battled depression, both hers and Maggy's. She was even at the centre of a hostage plot when former boyfriend Joe Donnelli confessed that he'd murdered Elsie Tanner's ex-husband Steve Tanner. Joe held Irma hostage at one point and later holed up in Minnie Caldwell's house. Stan managed to get Joe to let Minnie go but when Stan entered the house, a shot rang out. Joe killed himself.

Months later, Irma left Weatherfield suddenly, contacting Maggy afterwards to sell back her share of the shop. We never saw Irma again though she did send a telegram to her mother when Stan died.

Irma was always up for a laugh, loved to have a good time. Her family, the Ogdens, were the Battersbys of their day. Rough and ready, common as muck, loud and obnoxious at times. Stan was a heavy drinker in his day and tended to violence. Irma hated that her mother put up with it. Two of the Ogden children had been taken into care and never did appear on the Street. The youngest, Trevor, was a real tearaway. She knew she didn't want the life her mother had and thought being a football wife was her ticket up and out. It didn't work out as she thought it would but she made the best of it anyway.

Losing David and her son devastated her but she tended to keep her troubles to herself.

After leaving Corrie, Sandra Gough made a name for herself with a well known part in Emmerdale.

Here's a You Tube video with the episode where Stan and Hilda first appeared. You can see Irma from 2:39 in as she tells Elsie a bit of background about her family and later, Ena tells Irma the history of the house that the Ogdens are thinking of buying.

Thanks to the Coronation Street Wiki entry on Irma.

Character Study: Royston Cropper

The character of Roy Cropper was only introduced as and expected to be a short term character in 1995. His character caught on and was kept in the show and has turned into one of the most-loved characters, half of one of the favourite couples in the show.

Roy did not have a very auspicious beginning, however. He lived alone in the top flat of a house conversion, bought by Mike Baldwin. He appeared to be somewhat creepy, drinking booze out of a paper bag and bothering Deirdre Raschid who was newly moved in to the flats as building supervisor. Roy quickly became more sympathetic, harmless, eccentric but a bit of a nutter, who was awkward, shy, socially inept but basically kind.


Over the years, Roy's background has been filled in a bit. His parents were divorced after his father had abandoned the family. The young Roy took this very hard but seems to have formed a bond with his granddad. He was a loner at school but very intelligent. He developed a love for trains and busses and could very well be called a trainspotter.

He has made a few remarks about his late stepfather, giving us the distinct impression there was no love lost between them and was the reason Roy left home as soon as he could. There have been whispers among fans and observers of the character over the years that Roy must have Asperger's syndrome, as he seems to have obsessive compulsive tendencies and takes most things at their very literal translation, missing subtleties and nuances.

When we met Roy, he was cooking breakfasts at the Imperial Hotel, which long time Corrie fans will recognize as the same place that Ida Barlow worked in the early 60s. He helped out in Jim's Cafe on occasion and when the time came that Alma wanted to sell her share of the cafe, Roy decided to buy it. Alma didn't think he'd come up with the money but it turns out he'd squirreled away cash for years, spreading it around several different banks for safe keeping. Roy was now the major shareholder in the cafe, and renamed it Roys Rolls. He moved into the flat and he and Gail chuntered along well serving behind the counter for several years. Roy once saved up enough vouchers to provide a free trip for two to Paris, but in his generosity, gave the trip to Martin and Gail.


Roy became involved in a crusade to save the Red Rec but in 1998 his life was about to change dramatically. At the age of 44, he fell in love. He met shy and awkward Hayley Patterson who was a bit of an anorak herself. They shared many things in common, including an interest in trains and bus schedules. Roy was shocked, however, when he discovered that Hayley was a transexual. He didn't know how to handle this and backed off.

Hayley went to Amsterdam for gender reassignment surgery and Roy remained in Weatherfield, clearly miserable. Alma pushed a little and Roy finally went after Hayley. The visit was awkward but Roy managed to convey his feelings. Hayley decided to return with him and they've been together ever since.

They were not allowed to marry, legally, back in 1999, but they managed to find a sympathetic vicar, Jessica, who was set to "marry" them in a blessing ceremony. Local oik, Les Battersby, alerted the press that "two blokes" were getting married and it nearly ruined the ceremony. Hayley retreated to the cafe flat but all their friends rallied and Jessica performed the ceremony in the cafe itself where Roy's full name, "Royston" was revealed.

Now... fans on the internet had taken to calling Roy this for some time and when the name was spoken on screen, many fans believed that the Powers that Be picked it up from the forums and boards and ran with it. There has never been any confirmation but fans are convinced they gave Roy his name!

Roy is loyal and once he's made up his mind to be your friend, or in Hayley's case, her partner, he stands by those he cares for, unwaveringly. He is honest, possibly to a fault, and is faithful. He is determined to do the right thing and is reliable. He has employed several of the younger crowd in the cafe over the years, including Toyah Battersby and Sarah Platt.

He and Hayley have often been at the pointed end of verbal barbs and have been the objects of ridicule but in spite of that, everyone knows that Roy is an upstanding and all around good man. Therefore, when it seemed that he had a drunken one night stand with evil Tracy Barlow, resulting in her pregnancy, the whole Street was shocked. This incident nearly destroyed Roy who felt his integrity and reputation were irreparably damaged. Hayley had left him and he felt he had nothing to live for. Luckily, Hayley returned to the flat and rescued Roy from an overdose and stood by him.


They decided to adopt Tracy's baby and paid her good money for it. Roy and Hayley had long desired to be parents. Initially, Roy was reluctant to be a parent, having had no good example and miserable memories of his own childhood but with Hayley at his side, he realized he had a lot to offer a child. They had fostered several children including Fiz Brown but got tangled up in well-meaning problems of one young lad and after running away with him, the trouble they got into as a result closed the door on any future possibility of fostering and adoption.

This could be their only chance to be parents. They knew that Tracy would be less than a stellar mother, Roy even went through with a sham marriage to Tracy so that he would have legal rights to the child but Roy and Hayley were devastated when the truth came out and the father of the baby was proven to be Steve McDonald.

When Hayley discovered that she had an adult son from a very brief attempt at normality when she was still Harold, Roy was unsure how to handle the news. Hayley had told him she'd been a virgin and when Christian came into her life, she kept it a secret. Honesty being extremely important to Roy, he couldn't seem to accept Hayley's actions and nearly lost her as a result of his misplaced sense of seeing everything in "black or white". His love for Hayley has allowed him to bend and before Hayley left to do charitable work in Africa, they reconciled their differences. Roy held down the fort at the cafe, missing his Hayley.

Roy was also intrinsic to Tony Gordon's downfall. When Tony had a heart attack, and thought he was going to die, he confessed to Liam Connor's murder to Roy. Roy didn't report him but needled Tony so much that Tony nearly killed Roy by drowning him in the canal. He saved Roy at the last minute and turned himself in but when he escaped from prison some months later, he tried to get his revenge on Roy by taking Hayley hostage. He relented and set Hayley free and after Carla freed herself from his clutches, Tony went up in smoke in the factory, leaving Roy outside, embracing Hayley.

Life is too short. And Roy realized that, financially, it would be better to be married now that he and Hayley could legally tie the knot. His unromantic proposal didn't go over well, as you can imagine, but after the factory incident, he realized how much Hayley meant to him and proposed properly with a proper wedding to celebrate their love in the fall of 2009.

Since then, they've been chuntering along together in the cafe, supporting their friends and neighbours after the tram crash and its fallout. They have faced another new obstacle in the form of Roy's recently widowed battleaxe mother. Roy wanted nothing to do with her and Hayley wants everyone to be all "happy families". Little by little, Sylvia and Roy seem to be creating a relationship though both continue to exasperate the other. I think Roy may have discovered a little more about why his mother was so distant with him and Sylvia is finally growing to appreciate her son and his eccentricities.

Roy blossomed under the love of a good woman and slowly over the years, the cafe decor has become a tribute to his love of trains. He's still being an advisor for young lads, Chesney Battersby Brown being the most recent. His and Hayley's faith in Becky has helped her turn her life around. He hasn't lost his integrity, and still has moments where he seems totally flummoxed by others' emotions and actions. When Mary Taylor developped a clearly obvious crush on him over the chess board, Roy was completely oblivious. When Hayley found out, in typical Hayley style, she lashed out but then persuaded Mary to stay in Weatherfield, finding sympathy for a lonely woman in a motorhome. I think Roy was secretly flattered that someone new would find him attractive (in his own way!)

Roy Cropper has a very kind side to him. He may not be outwardly in his affections but has done and said many things that have the viewer swallowing a lump in their throat. He is steadfastly loyal when he believes in someone, even if that someone, like Becky Granger McDonald, gives him reason to doubt. He supports the younger people and has earned the respect of those such as Fiz, Chesney, Gary and Izzy and even, grudgingly, David Platt! He has fears and insecurities but his rock, Hayley, can usually put them to rest with her faith and love and support.  He's got a pretty good idea about who he is and seems content wtih his lot in life these days. He tries to find the good in any lost soul.

He may not always understand the world around him and the world doesn't always understand him but he tries his best.

Roy Cropper has touched many lives and made them better for it. He is played with impeccable, understated perfection by David Neilson and could not be more perfect for the part!

Long may Roy reign over his rolls!

Leanne Anneke Battersby Tilsley Barlow

Leanne's life has always seemed to be one bad choice after another, with her lurching from disaster to disaster, and not just in her relationships though they've been the catalyst for a lot of her unpleasant situations. Today's character study looks at Leanne Anneke Battersby.

When first we met the Battersbys, Les, Janice, Leanne and Toyah, they rumbled into Weatherfield with their worldly goods in a clapped out old car and pull-trailer in July 1997. Leanne was 16 and fresh out of school. No A-levels for our Miss, she'd had enough of that and she was ready to get on with her life. The Battersbys as we knew them were a blended family. Les's biological daughter was Leanne and Toyah was Janice's but the two girls had grown up together and were mates as well as sisters. From what we know, Les and Janice had lived together for a few years before they got married, which was shortly before they moved into Number 5 (depending on which source you use, otherwise, they married in 1994...it's a bit murky).

We know that Leanne's mother left her to be raised by Les, and knowing what we do about Les, he probably made a botch job of it before Janice came along. We know that Janice has always been gobby, common and aggressive when she's had to be though she loves her daughter and grew to love Leanne as a daughter as well. She probably did provide some semblance of family stability for Leanne but family life at the Battersbys' is bound to have been fraught with loud arguments fueled by booze. Leanne and Toyah do not seem to have been brought up with a lot of discipline or responsibility and by the time we met them, they pretty much did what they wanted to and when.

Janice wasn't one for letting Leanne off the financial hook, however, and insisted that if she wasn't going to school, she would have to get a job. If Janice is nothing else, she's a worker (when she has to be). She managed to get Leanne a job as cleaner at Underworld but that didn't last long when Leanne was caught having a crafty fag in the Ladies' loo.

Even though the new family started off on the wrong foot, and as much as the residents viewed this family with suspicion, one person decided to take a chance on Leanne. Rita gave her a trial run in the Kabin after Mavis moved away and oddly enough, the two rubbed on quite well together for a time even if Leanne continued on rubbing other neighbours the wrong way, particularly Gail Platt. Leanne wasted no time giving young Nick Tilsley the glad eye and he was more than happy to return it. Gail was horrified that her son was attached to someone from such a common family.

Leanne was happy to wind up Gail and when she and Nick ran off to Scotland to get married, her job was complete. They weren't going to live under the Platt roof for long so eventually they rented a room from Ashley who was living in Number 4 which his "Uncle" Fred had purchased for Maureen, the bride who got away. Ashley was dating Maxine Heavey but runaway Zoe usurped her place. Zoe Tattersal and Leanne had made friends and Leanne is loyal to her friends and family in the "we all stick together" mode of thinking. In fact, it was Leanne that pursuaded Zoe to return and claim her baby from the Mallets.

The marraige didn't really go on that well. Leanne was holding down a job but Nick was going to school and was a bit wet behind the ears (or maybe, he was just a bit wet full stop). He and Leanne went to Canada for a holiday and when they returned, Leanne discovered she was pregnant. Nick insisted he was not ready to be a father and pushed her into having a termination. This irretrievably broke the marraige. Nick scarpered back off to Canada and Leanne took what financial offer she could get from Gail as a divorce settlement.

Single and ready to party, she dated Vikram Desai. Too many late nights and missed mornings at the Kabin meant she and Rita parted ways but she soon got a job in the Rovers behind the bar working for Natalie Horrocks. The party girl continued to have a good time but unfortunately, she soon made friends with cocaine and Jez Quigley. This went badly wrong when he used her for sex when she couldn't pay the piper and eventually, he wanted her to allow his boys to rob the Rovers. She put her foot down and fought back that time but Jez kept coming back. She became friends with Mike Baldwin's son, Mark Redman and finally, in order to escape Jez, she left town with Mark to travel to Amsterdam, just as friends.

Over the next few years, we'd get the occasional mention of her via one of the Battersbys and it seemed like she'd made it all the way to Australia. But in 2004, Les discovered her dressed as a belly dancer in a back street local bar, serving beer. She returned to the street and moved in with Janice. She discovered Nick was back from Canada and dating a local hairdresser, who also happened to be the woman that stole her sister's boyfriend from her. Leanne had just enough ammunition to give them both a hard time (remember that loyalty thing) and after a while, Maria and Nick's relationship showed the strain.

Leanne worked in a variety of jobs including a short term in the corner shop where her flirting with Dev resulted in her getting the sack. Rushing in without thinking, yet again, she decided to sue Dev for sexual harassment. Leanne never did figure out that "scream and leap" was not usually a successful method of planning. She used solicitor Maya Sharma who in turn used Leanne since Maya had a grudge to settle with Dev. The case was lost and Leanne was back to square one which is familiar territory to her.

In another relationship that was due for disaster, she dated Jamie Baldwin though she and Jamie's mother, Frankie, did not get along (too much alike?). She flirted with Danny who then ramped it up and pursued Leanne romantically. They decided to go for it and had an affair. Nothing serious, you understand, it was all just a laugh... until it was discovered. You see, Frankie found out and threw Danny out. Jamie was heartbroken at the betrayal of not only Leanne whom he'd wanted to marry, but of his father as well. Since neither of them had any better ideas, Danny and Leanne moved in together. Neither of them were in love with the other but they did like each other at least.

Unfortunately, Mike Baldwin, Danny's father, had health problems and was suffering from Alzheimer's. Danny and Leanne moved in with Mike and Leanne got the brunt of caring for Mike. Danny had managed to manipulate Mike into making a will giving it all to him, and cutting out his other sons, Mark and Adam but shortly after Mike's death, Leanne discovered a will that post-dated this one and in it, Mike left Adam his fair share. Janice advised her to make a copy of it and let Danny know (but not that the original was still safely with Leanne herself). Another bad choice. Leanne worked with Danny in the factory that he thought was all his now and they got engaged but when Danny thought that Frankie wanted him back, he dumped Leanne. She used the will and blackmailed him. She got half of the money she wanted and gave the will to Adam to do with what he ...er...will. She took the money and ran.

50,000 pounds should have been enough to give her a new start in life but this is Leanne "half baked idea" Battersby. When she returned to Weatherfield in March 2007, she did still have a bit of it left but was adding to it in an more traditional way, as a paid "escort". She thought that was ok since it wasn't as if she was walking the streets. Yet, Janice pointed out, bitterly disappointed in her stepdaughter. It seemed Leanne may have hit rock bottom and was yearning for a bit of respectability, especially since she'd quickly found a handsome new boyfriend in Liam Connor, now owner of Underworld.

She quit the business but Liam's sister-in-law, Carla, proposed that they start up a restaurant, buying out the local Italian. To get her share of the investment, Leanne went back to providing her services but was soon busted by Carla. Because Carla's husband, Paul, was almost one of her customers, Paul stood to lose everything and kidnapped Leanne by stuffing her in the boot of his car. He was drunk at the time and crashed his car. He was killed but Leanne was only shaken up but the secret was out. Shunned by Liam, outcast by most of the neighbours, Leanne was determined to show them all.

She borrowed the rest of the down payment she needed from Janice's new boyfriend, Roger. She hired the Duckies' grandson, Paul, who was a pretty good chef though he was a bit on the dodgy side too. She let him invest in order to pay back Roger and didn't mind that he obtained the money by pretending to be Jack at a bank and using Number 9 as collateral. Paul developed feelings for Leanne but she didn't return them. However, she used them.

The restaurant was not making money and eventually, after a joking suggestion by potential new boyfriend, Dan Mason who was the local bookie, she hinted to Paul that he should burn it all down and they could collect the insurance money and start over. He would do anything for her and he did the deed only to discover that she wasn't returning his affections as she led him to believe. Having nothing to lose, he's going to turn her in but alas, he is the only one that's going to pay for the fire, because it's his word against hers.

She got nothing, though, because the insurance didn't pay out after all. Janice turned on her and threw her out but they made up eventually. She went on nicely with bookie Dan Mason but her involvement in a lottery scam with Janice offended even his somewhat-dented sensibilities and that was over and done with. She was beginning to warm up to newly returned Peter Barlow and fell for his sweet little boy Simon but didn't cope well with  Peter's drinking and she went off to Leeds working. While she was gone, Peter stopped drinking and she's back in his bed once more. Unfortunately, her ex-husband Nick has returned and he still loves her.

Leanne agreed to Nick's proposition that they open up a bar together and The Joinery opened it's doors in November 2010. Along with the opening, Leanne also succumbed to Nick's amorous advances, a throwback to the past it seems. All the old attractions, unresolved feelings and nerves about her upcoming marraige to Peter seemed to have her throw a wobbler and she and Nick had an affair that lasted several weeks. She admitted it to her friend Carla who had fallen in love with Peter herself. Peter gently rejected Carla who continued to subtly push Nick and Leanne together so she could make inroads with Peter.

It all came crashing down, literally. Leanne gave Nick the push once and for all but the tram crash in December 2010 nearly cost Peter his life. Leanne married him in hospital, thinking he might not live and asked Nick to leave her be. She realized she did love Peter and Nick agreed to back down. Peter survived but has not dealt well with paralysis and is drinking again, with Carla egging him on.

Naturally, affairs don't stay secret for long and Peter found out about Leanne and Nick's affair. After he recovered from the crash, he had to learn to walk again and Nick, still determined to have Leanne, schemed to lure Peter back to the bottle. Leanne stuck with Peter though the recovery process was difficult and just before the wedding, Peter found out about the affair when Tracy overheard Carla and Leanne in the ladies' loo. Peter walked down the aisle for the wedding vow renewal they had planned and blasted her at the altar, serving Leanne with divorce papers. In a matter of days, though, Peter was persuaded by Ken to take her back and work through it and they plodded on. But there was more to come.

Leanne's long lost mother, Stella, showed up a few months after the wedding. Leanne was reluctant to say the least, after a lifetime of knowing her mother abandoned her to be raised by Les. After a devastating miscarraige, though, and little by little, Leanne and Stella finally bonded. Good thing, too, because Carla was still shadowing the marraige.

Clearly, Carla's presence is a thorn in Leanne's side. Peter and Carla finally gave in to temptation around the anniversary of the tram crash, something that sent Peter back into the bottle yet again with serious post-traumatic memories. Peter finally left her for Carla when the truth came out at the trial where Frank Foster was accused of raping Carla. Leanne's been on a mission to protect little Simon from Carla and Peter both, considering that while Carla isn't an alcoholic, she does drink too much and Peter's sobriety is not all that stable. Simon has already lost one mother and he wants to be with Leanne, holding a lot of anger inside against his father and Carla both. Leanne is fighting with everything she has in spite of the possibility of her own past being dragged up.

Peter and Leanne did make a good couple but I wonder what's the future going to hold for Leanne?  Leanne's history has her lurching from pillar to post, not seeming to have learned her lesson. She tries to be responsible but she just can't quite get the knack of it. Will Leanne ever put her murky past behind her and become respectible? Will she at least find some success in life, with a family of her own, sagely giving younger women advice gleaned from her own mistakes? In the aftermath of this current custody battle crisis, it looks like Leanne is going to yet again lean on Nick who is more than willing to hold her up. Is Nick the real love of her life or just an unresolved issue from her past?

Leanne isn't one of the savviest characters on the street but she's never been boring.

The life of Tommy Duckworth

Now that Terry Duckworth is back in Weatherfield and becoming aquainted with his son, Tommy, let's have a look at Tommy's history.

This is Tommy Duckworth's mother, Lisa Horton on her wedding day to RTerry. Terry brought Lisa home to meet his mum and dad in 1992. Lisa was already pregnant and Terry was going to be charged with GBH. Jack and Vera took Lisa in. Her parents, Jeff and Doreen, lived in Blackpool but didn't approve of Lisa's choice in fellas (would you?) so she preferred not to go home. Terry got sent down for 2 years but they organized a wedding so they could be married before the baby was born.

Here they are on their wedding day. Just before all hell broke loose. You see, Vera thought it was cruel for Terry to be handcuffed to a police officer while he was being married and after, out on the church steps she persuaded them to unlock the handcuffs for a couple of photos. Terry took the opportunity to run, telling Lisa he loved her and off he went.

The police suspected Vera was in collusion with her son but we know she was just as silly, sentimental, soft-hearted woman. Terry was caught eventually and banged up and Lisa stayed in Coronation Street rather than live with her disapproving parents, giving birth to Tommy on September 9, 1992 with Vera by her side.


Awww, wasn't he a cute baby? It wasn't long before things went wrong. Lisa struck up a friendship with neighbour Des Barnes which Vera thought was wrong even though nothing was going on. She let it slip to Tommy who called some mates and had Des beaten up. The penny dropped and Lisa realized what Terry really was like and wanted nothing more to do with him. She and Vera fell out and Lisa took V's beloved grandson home to her parents in Blackpool. Des soon followed her there and told her how he felt about her. She moved back in to his house, much to Vera's horror.

Vera thought it was very wrong of Lisa to take up with another man. She was still married to Terry and Terry was that little baby's dad! 

Sadly, a mere few months later in February 1993, Lisa went out to buy a bottle of wine. But when she ran across the street, a speeding car hit her. Terry was allowed to see her in hospital, cuffed again to a guard of course and rowed with Des over her bedside. She died of her injuries and Terry was carted back to jail. Jack and Vera insisted on taking Tommy home. Vera quit her job at Bettabuys to raise her grandson for Terry until he was released in spite of the financial hardship it caused.

Terry had other ideas. Pretending he thought raising a baby at their age was too much for them, he gave custody to his in-laws, Jeff and Doreen, but the Duckworths found out that the Hortons paid Terry to have Tommy, something they couldn't afford to do. In effect, Terry sold his son to the Hortons. Vera's heart broke and Jack, furious at his son, knocked him over and disowned him.

A few years later, Terry brought Tommy back but only because he tried to get more money out of the Hortons and they weren't having it. It didn't last long. In the end the Hortons paid Terry 10,000 pounds and he signed a custody agreement. They were to raise Tommy until he was 18.

Jack and Vera visited Tommy in Blackpool many times over the years. We saw young Tommy again during one of their visits in 2000. We heard nothing until, in 2011, Tommy turned up on Tyrone Dobbs' doorstep, looking for Jack. He knew Vera had died but he didn't know Jack had as well, because he'd been backpacking around the world and hadn't been in touch with his other grandparents much.

Tommy moved in with Tyrone and Ty took him on at the garage, first as a valet and now he's training Tommy to do some mechanic work. Tommy dated Amber for a little while but he's fancied fellow housemate Tina since he met her. Tina has finally come around and they have found a mutual attraction. They both united in distaste and suspicion over Tyrone's new girlfriend Kirsty who's managed to get them both out of Number 9. They both share Jason's flat over the Kabin, with Jason living there as well for the moment.

Terry is back and Tommy wants to believe the best of his father for the moment. We all know that's going to go badly wrong. Terry will end up getting Tommy into all manner of trouble and will end up betraying him, probably running off with Tommy's inheritance from Granddad Horton. I think Terry's return is meant to cement Tina and Tommy's relationship. I don't expect Terry to be back for long.

Tommy seems a nice enough lad, though still young and a bit immature. Not quite as feckless as Jack was, but he's always up for a scheme or a good time. Tina is gobby and rude and often speaks before she thinks. I wonder if they could be the next version of Jack and Vera? Alas, in this day and age, young actors don't stay with a role for 20 or 30 years like they used to. There's so many more opportunties so very likely we won't be seeing this couple around long term. It's too bad. They seem well suited at the moment. It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops.

Character Study: Rita Littlewood Fairclough Sullivan ...Tanner?

To celebrate Rita's engagement to Dennis Tanner, we bring you another character study.

Rita first appeared, very briefly, on Coronation Street in 1964 as a friend of Dennis Tanner. She was an exotic dancer. Would you credit that! She later appeared in 1972 as Rita Bates. You wonder what would keep her character in the minds of the writers all those years, don't you? They re-introduced Rita as the common-law wife of Harry Bates. She was a sort of step-mother to his two children, not the last time she would be a maternal stand-in. Rita's profession was now a cabaret singer and she found no small measure of fame in the Northwest, trilling in clubs on the circuit.


She had bright red hair and cheekbones that could break your heart. She did break a few hearts too but more often than not, was on the receiving end of a list of fellas that "did her wrong". After she finished with Harry, she caught Len Fairclough's eye. It's probably no coincidence that she had flaming red hair, like his long time friend and love, Elsie Tanner. They had a stormy on-again, off-again relationship. They always seemed to be rowing and one or the other of them would go off in a strop. It seemed they were meant to be, though, and they finally got married in 1977. One thing that Rita always wanted to be was a mother. It wasn't to be but she and Len did apply to be foster parents and took care of two children, a boy and later on a teenage girl, Sharon Gaskill who was more than a handful.

Rita's best friend was her shop assistant, Mavis Reilly Wilton. The two were a bit like oil and water, with prim and awkward Mavis always tut tutting to Rita's somewhat raunchier sense of humour and Rita's patience constantly being tested over Mavis' incessant wittering. An unlikely friendship but they cared about each other and supported each other through a lot of life's ups and downs.

Rita's husband, Len, was killed in a car smash on the motorway. Rita was shocked and then horrified to discover that he was returning from a visit to his mistress! That made the grief and sadness even harder to bear and Rita turned bitter for awhile. She picked up and went on but was more wary of blokes after that. Her next major relationship was with Alan Bradley, the father of another young girl she fostered for a time, Jenny. She was attracted to Alan but he had eyes for more than one of the other residents, barmaid Gloria Todd in particular. Still, Rita was attractive to Alan for more than just herself. There was her shop. And her house. And her bank account. Alan insinuated himself into Rita's life but although she did care for him, she still was reluctant to make that final committment. When Alan took her to the registry office for a ready-made wedding, she turned him down.

Not to be thwarted, he stole some papers and presented himself at the bank as Len Fairclough and got a fraudulent second mortage on the house. When he was discovered, his anger boiled over and he beat Rita badly. He was eventually caught and put in prison but at his trial, he was convicted but sentenced to a short term and let free because of "time already served". Rita was terrified! She was convinced he was going to get revenge on her and was stalking and terrorizing her. He was but nobody believed her.

She had a breakdown and disappeared and everyone thought Alan had killed her. He was innocent of that but Bet and Alec discovered that Rita was in Blackpool singing under her old name of Littlewood and didn't remember who they were or any of the recent past. Alec thought Alan should be told and when Alan found out, he raced to Blackpool to force Rita into returning to Weatherfield to prove that he was innocent. She ran from him and in chasing her, he was knocked over by a tram and killed, probably one of the most famous deaths on the Street until Richard Hillman drove his family into the canal!

Rita recovered and soldiered on. She sold the old Kabin and moved to new premises on Coronation Street and moved into the flat over top, leaving the bad memories in No.7 behind. She sold her house to Curly Watts. Jenny blamed her for Alan's death and turned against her and left Weatherfield. A few years later, she met a lovely sweet salesman who was about to retire. They fell in love but again, the bad luck cloud was hovering over the Kabin. Ted Sullivan revealed that he had a fatal brain tumour. Instead of moving away to Florida to retire, Rita decided she would marry Ted but would stay in England so she would have her friends' support when he died, which he did a few months later. It wasn't the end of the hard times, though, because his family fought her over the will.

Since then, her bad luck with men has prevailed. She had a (very misguided) fling with her old show business manager, Alec Gilroy and later had a romance with a man who's wife was ill with Alzheimer's Disease. That didn't work out and it looks like Rita will settle into her senior years, flame-haired as ever, with new shop assistant and business parner, Norris Cole, to take wittery Mavis' place by her side.

She's had a lot of trouble and heartbreak over the years, but has good friends and looks upon Sally Webster as a substitute daughter with Sally's girls as grandchildren. she found love late in life, with Eileen Grimshaw's father, Colin but he turned out to have a few too many skeletons in his closet and then died of a heart attack from the stress of those skeletons lurching out into the broad light of day. She decided to sell the Kabin to Norris, ending an era, but she hasn't left her spot behind the counter to go cold by any means. She is still seen behind the counter part time, a perennial like Betty behind the Rovers' bar!

We thought Rita was a goner, trapped in the Kabin amid the bonbons after the tram crash but she emerged with dignity, offering rescue workers toffees and waving the Royal Wave while moaning about her bad luck with trams. Indeed! She was homeless for awhile after the crash and dossing down with Emily and Norris but the Kabin rose again, and Rita will be the Queen no matter that Norris owns it.

Rita has also had a long history of being a mother figure. She never had her own children, much to her regret so she took on foster kids early on. Sharon Gaskell and Jenny Bradley were the two young girls she fostered but unfortunately her relationship with both of them fizzled badly, through no fault of her own. She has been a mother-figure to Sally Webster over the years and a grandmother-figure to Rosie and Sophie. She and Sally have had their ups and downs and have fallen out now and then but they always manage to find their way back to each other for a comforting cuppa.

In the 1990s, she took wild teenager, Leanne Battersby on as a shop assistant when nobody else would trust in her and Leanne became more confident under Rita's gentle hand. In the last year or two, she's taken Tina McIntyre under her wing, giving her a refuge at various times. They, too have had some ups and downs but have maintained their closeness. It's fairly certain she has grown quite fond of a number of the paper lads she's employed through the many years as well.

She's been a good friend, too though her temper has sometimes brought her more grief. Emily Bishop is a long time friend as is current co-worker Norris Cole. She has always been good mates with Betty Williams and she and Audrey Roberts had more than a few late nights over a drink or two in the Rovers. Even though she did fall out with Audrey when Audrey was involved in gigolo Lewis, they, too made up. Their friendship was not worth falling out over a man. She still keeps in touch with Mavis, too.

Now in her later years, Rita has found love again with an old friend from the past, Dennis Tanner who returned in 2010. He was homeless and she offered him a place to live. They've been just mates and she's discovered he recently ran out on someone because he panicked at the thought of a committment he wasn't sure he could make. We could see that Rita's feelings were growing but she held back. Little by little, though, it seemed like Dennis' feelings were growing too and sure enough, in March 2012, love blossomed. They are engaged and plan to marry!

It looks like there's going to be a flame haired Mrs. Tanner back on the Street after nearly 30 years. As we heard, Elsie and Rita were once psuedo-rivals for Len Fairclough's attentions though Elsie never wanted to marry Len. Rita knew he'd have had her if she'd have wanted him, because he loved her for years but in the end, Rita won his hand. Now Rita is going to be connected to the departed and deceased Elsie through her son. Let's hope they can have that happy ending!

Rita will always be a favourite. Her sarcastic sense of humour and swift come-back lines are legendary. Her voice will still raise a song once in awhile, if she's had a few gins. She's got a strong constitution and really is a survivor! There's a nice fan page for Rita/Barbara Knox here with a few interesting photos and quotes that you might find interesting, too!

And here is a feature on the Coronation Street blog celebrating 40 years of Rita.