Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Who? Ten Corrie characters we might have forgotten

With the big anniversary now only a couple of weeks away, there's been a fair amount of attention lavished on the iconic Corrie stars (and rightly so) such as Annie, Ena, Elsie and Ken. However, here's a chance to remember some of those characters who passed through, maybe only briefly, but who have stuck in the memory - and not always for the right reasons!

Shirley Armitage arrived as the replacement for Elsie at the factory, she rose to prominence when she, shock, lived ‘over the brush’ with Curly Watts. Plus she had to contend with a shockingly racist landlord, Alf Roberts. Intellectually she was never Curly’s equal and eventually disappeared.

Debs Brownlow was the sister of Rovers landlady Natalie Barnes. She was played by former ‘Brookside’ actress Gabrielle Glaister who went from posh Patricia Farnham to ‘eeh-bah-gum’ northerner . . . unconvincingly. Apparently she had spent years as a hairdresser on cruise ships (Jane McDonald should have sued). No real storylines to speak of save for a dalliance with Duggie Ferguson.

Super-sized nanny Kelly Thomson moved into number one to look after Ken and Denise’s baby. She was a bit dopy and resorted to having a dull relationship with Ashley. Kelly moved slowly through every scene, possibly dazed by the fact that her employers had once enjoyed carnal relations. What happened to her? Presumably she was either sacked, locked in a cupboard or melted down for candles.

Tricia Hopkins was the offspring of Nora Batty and the Welsh bloke from ‘Please Sir’. She originally arrived in order to hero worship Ray Langton and took a job at the Mark Brittain Warehouse with Gail Potter. Notable storylines included one special Christmas when Deirdre gave her a black eye plus the disastrous way in which she mis-managed the Corner Shop with the assistance of Gail. She was eventually sent packing by the doughty Renee Bradshaw.



A cheerless old boot who towed the trade union line at Baldwin’s Casuals, Ida Clough was Arthur Scargill in a tabard. She was usually found jabbing her finger in someone’s face or scowling. However she was a pivotal part of the Tilsley/Duckworth years at the factory before disappearing, only to return around a decade later to work alongside Janice Battersby. The years may have aged her but her misery remained intact.

A bizarre old harridan by the name of Amy Burton was shoe-horned into the script as a replacement Hilda Ogden in 1987. Amy was Vera Duckworth’s mother and was soon employed as the cleaner at the Rovers. However, it was soon apparent that she was little more than a petty thief and was jettisoned out of the show in 1988, never to be seen again. Hurrah!





No, not the leggy blonde but the short, wrinkled pensioner. Played by veteran actor Sam Kydd, Frankie Baldwin was Mike’s ‘cor blimey ‘ave a banana’ dear old dad, from down the Smoke. Frankie liked a drink, a bet and the ladies so obviously the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. He was a blueprint for any ‘EastEnders’ character over the age of fifty five . . . male or female.

Tanya Pooley was the type of woman who made Cilla Battersby look like a fluffy bit of nonsense. She was hard-faced and then some. Most fans will remember her for rubbishing Raquel in front of everyone in the Rovers before doing a runner with Bet’s Sean Connery-lite trucker boyfriend. Tanya is quite rightly remembered as one of Corrie’s über-bitches.


Feisty Angie Freeman was the fashion student who arrived in 1990 to share number 7 with Jenny Bradley. She also ended up sharing Curly Watts’ bed in a never-to-be-repeated romp.  For a time she worked for Mike Baldwin before leaving for Mexico. Three years later she returned, much to Mike’s displeasure, as a designer for Kbec. She rented Des Barnes’ house for a while and the Street was a less joyous place when she left for good in 1998.

After Kevin Webster had been promoted at Casey’s garage, the owner’s son Mark Casey was installed as the new grease monkey. However it wasn’t long before the roles were reversed and Mark ended up as boss, firing our Kev and his moustache in the process. Poor old Mark wasn’t lucky in love, having a dalliance with Flick Khan before Jenny Bradley turned her attentions on him. Jenny enjoyed having him as her personal cash dispenser-cum-taxi driver for a while. Mark disappeared from the Street when his business folded and our Kev refused to employ him at Baldwin’s Garage. Served him right!

Do you have any forgotten favourites? Or maybe characters who the rest of us have long forgotten?

15 comments:

Scott Willison said...

I loved Ida Clough! I was really disappointed when she didn't come back for Vera's funeral. And I wouldn't have put Evil Tanya in with the forgotten characters - she's a legendary bitch.

Poor Angie though - she was in it for years and made virtually no impression.

Tvor said...

I'll agree there, Tanya was a top bitch and isn't easily forgotten. That was my favourite storyline ever for years.

From the very early years, Esther Hayes is a character not often mentioned. She was the Voice of Reason for the Street, sort of the Emily Bishop of her time before Miss Nugent became a more regular character.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Esther Hayes deserves a mention, I'm also glad Ida Clough has been remembered.
Could some more in depth articles be featured on here about these characters, while the likes of Ken , Elsie, Bet and Ena etc are quite rightly recognised, especially now for the 50th Birthday, it would be nice to remember and read about some of theses other long forgotten favourites- here are some which would be good to go on the blog-
Esther Hayes
Beattie Pearson
Cyril Turpin
Audrey and Dickie Fleming
Edna Gee
Sam Tindall
Harry Flagg
Chalkie Whiteley
Lionel Petty
Gwen Loveday
Walter Potts/Brett Falcon!
- who remembers these??

gadgee said...

I liked Scooter. He was Sarah Platt's boyfriend who was into koi carp.

Anonymous said...

Some of the ones I remember fondly:
The Mallets and Zoe
Alison (Kevin's Girlfriend)
Greg Kelly (Les' son, Sally's lover! )
Linda Baldwin

bbhilda said...

How can any of the ladies forget the delicious Chris Collins? At the other end of the hearthrob scale there was:
Eddie Yeats
Also:
Jed Stone
Billy Walker
Christine Hardman
Charlie & Matt Ramsden
Concepta Hewitt
Colin Barnes
David Barlow
Debbie Webster
Dennis Stringer
The wonderful Edna Miller
Maud Grimes
Maureen Holdsworth
Oh I could go on all day....
Gloria Todd
Gordon Clegg
Yana Lumb
Jenny Sutton
Jerry Booth
Irma (Ogden) Barlow
Tommy Deakin
Sam Tindall & Dougall
Phil Jennings
So many over the years...

Adam said...

I dont believe Angie failed to make an impression - I thought she was a great character and the first of a new generation of women in the street.

Rachel said...

I'm still waiting for Madonna Grimes to come back!

Tvor said...

Oooh Harry Flagg! And what was the name of that sad-sack cleaner after or before Harry? She died in Duggie's bed! oh i know, Edna Miller! Brilliant character! That bookie, Dave Smith, wasn't he in it on and off for years?
I always had a soft spot for Des Barnes, too!

Fat Brenda said...

What about Shirley who went out with Curly.

gadgee said...

If I remember correctly, the actress who played Edna also played Edna's identical twin sister who turned up after Edna's death.

Anonymous said...

Joe Carter (came out of prison & ran the factory with Mike Baldwin in 2002)

Geena Gregory (Dev's ex-girlfriend)

Vikram Desai (Dev's cousin) worked in shop (1999-2002)

Samantha Failsworth (lived with des barnes) (1996-1998)

Doreen Heavy (Maxine Peacock's Mum)

Unknown said...

Always a good quiz question on the lines of a character in Corrie who played a window cleaner, turned pop star. He had a minor top 40 hit under his real name.

bbhilda mentioned him in her list above.

mister_tmg said...

Lillian Spencer...

Dilly Daydream said...

What about the Irish nurse who had a thing for Martin Platt? Can't remember her name, but she was as nutty as a fruit cake.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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