Curly Watts | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Kevin Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
Duration | 1983–2003 | ||||||||||||||
First appearance | Episode 2324 11 July 1983 | ||||||||||||||
Last appearance | Episode 5573 1 September 2003 | ||||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Mervyn Watson | ||||||||||||||
Book appearances | Coronation Street: The Complete Saga | ||||||||||||||
Spin-off appearances | Coronation Street: The Cruise (1995) University Challenge Challenges Coronation Street (1997) Coronation Street: A Knights Tale (2010) | ||||||||||||||
|
Norman "Curly" Watts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street , from 1983 to 2003, and in a few spin-off DVDs in 2010. He was portrayed throughout by Kevin Kennedy.
Most of Curly's storylines dealt with his repeated failure to form a successful romantic relationship. His nickname resulted from him having straight, lank hair and getting into rows over money, mainly in 1996. His hobby was astronomy and he installed a telescope in the loft of his house. In 2003 Kennedy was axed from the soap after 20 years.
Since his departure, Kevin Kennedy has expressed interest in reprising his role as Curly. [1] [2] However, ITV has announced that there are no plans for Curly to return. [3]
The character was originally a paperboy for Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox), before working as a binman with Chalky Whiteley (Teddy Turner) and Eddie Yeats (Geoffrey Hughes), whilst lodging with Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire), and later Jack (William Tarmey) and Vera Duckworth (Elizabeth Dawn). He later worked for Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) alongside his best friend Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro). Curly's first serious romance was with Shirley Armitage (Lisa Lewis), a black sewing-machinist from Baldwin's factory. Opposition from his old-fashioned parents Arthur (Kenneth Waller) and Eunice (Angela Rooks) led to tension between the couple, and Shirley left when Curly threw out the guests at his surprise party so he could revise for upcoming HND exams in Business Studies.
Having obtained his HND, Curly became an assistant manager at Bettabuy supermarket, where he became a protégé of manager Reg Holdsworth (Ken Morley). Whilst working there, he had a relationship with employee Kimberley Taylor (Suzanne Hall). Once again, opposition – this time from both sets of parents – caused problems. Despite other brief flings with girls such as Anne Malone (Eve Steele), Angie Freeman (Deborah McAndrew), a much older woman in Reg's future wife Maureen Holdsworth (Sherrie Hewson) – who tried to get him sacked when he rejected her advances – and a much younger woman in Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw). Curly seemed doomed never to find domestic happiness.
After a prolonged on-off relationship, Curly married Raquel Wolstenhulme (Sarah Lancashire), who left him less than a year later to work as a beautician in Kuala Lumpur, and later moved to France with their daughter, Alice Diana. Curly did not know about the child until Raquel turned up unexpectedly on New Year's Eve 1999 to ask for a divorce. This episode was the first two-hander in the soap's history.
Curly met his second ex-wife, policewoman Emma Taylor (Angela Lonsdale), when she came to investigate a series of crimes in the area in which Curly was innocently implicated. The couple married and had a son who was born on Boxing Day 2001. As Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) had helped deliver the child, they decided to name him Ben, as it was Norris's middle name. Later, Emma committed perjury in order to protect a colleague, causing friction between herself and the ultra-honest Curly. The couple left the Street during 2003 to start a new life near Newcastle upon Tyne, in the small town of Ryton. When the character made a comeback for the 2010 spin-off DVD movie Coronation Street – A Knight's Tale, Curly revealed that his marriage to Emma had ended since their departure from Weatherfield.
Kevin Kennedy appeared in character as Curly on University Challenge Challenges Coronation Street, a special edition of University Challenge produced for the 1997 Comic Relief telethon.
A writer from TV Guide was not impressed with the character and wanted him to leave the show. Profiling the character during Christmas 1990, they stated "now what would Curly Watts really like for Christmas? You might have some ideas of your own - a new haircut perhaps? - a one way ticket to Timbuktu?" [4] Ayaan Ali from the Daily Mirror called Curly "a bit of a hopeless romantic" and noted how fans wrote on social media that they wanted Curly to return to the soap. [5]
Coronation Street is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator.
Kenneth William Morley is an English actor and comedian, best known for portraying the role of Reg Holdsworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 1989 to 1995. He also played General Leopold von Flockenstuffen in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! from 1988 to 1991.
Kevin Kennedy is an English actor and musician, best known for playing Curly Watts for 20 years on ITV's long-running soap opera Coronation Street.
Vera Duckworth is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Liz Dawn. Vera is known for her long-standing marriage to Jack Duckworth ; they became one of the best-loved couples in television history. Vera was often shown in a comedic light.
John Harold "Jack" Duckworth is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Bill Tarmey. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 28 November 1979. Jack was introduced by executive producer Bill Podmore. Tarmey had previously appeared as a background character in many episodes featuring scenes in the Rovers Return, including some occasional speaking lines.
Norris Cole was a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Malcolm Hebden. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 March 1994. Hebden had previously played the role of Carlos, Mavis Riley's Spanish boyfriend, in ten episodes in 1974 to 1975. Norris appeared on a recurring basis, until he was written out in April 1997 by Brian Park. However, two years later; the character was reintroduced on a regular basis. Hebden continued to appear on the soap until December 2017 after suffering a heart attack. Following his recovery, he made several guest returns, before his retirement from acting in January 2021 due to his health. The character was killed off-screen on 15 September 2021.
Des Barnes is a fictional character from the English ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Philip Middlemiss.
Raquel Watts is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sarah Lancashire from 23 January 1991 until 15 November 1996. Lancashire returned on 2 January 2000 for one episode.
Mary Taylor is a fictional character from the British television ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by actress Patti Clare. The character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 26 November 2008. Mary's storylines have included: trying to seduce Norris Cole and kidnapping him when he refuses to give her attention, yet later becoming close friends; falling in love with Dev Alahan ; an affair with Brendan Finch ; and revealing that she gave birth to a son after being raped when she was fourteen years old. Producers later introduced a new family for Mary consisting of son Jude Appleton, his wife Angie Appleton and a grandson. Mary is often used in comedic stories and Clare has won three comedy related awards for her portrayal of Mary.
Coronation StreetLive is a live episode of the British soap opera Coronation Street which was broadcast on Friday 8 December 2000 as part of the show's 40th anniversary celebrations. The episode was an hour long and aired at 8:00pm. It aired one hour after a repeat of the first episode, and included an introduction by actor William Roache from the soap's outdoor set, where last-minute preparations for the live episode were under way. The episode was number 4945 in the series and was the first live edition to be broadcast since Episode 17, which aired on 3 February 1961. It was seen by 17 million viewers.
Shirley Armitage is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Played by Lisa Lewis, the character appeared for a period of six years between 1983 and 1989. Shirley became the programme's first regular black character.