Coronation Street is a British soap opera, broadcast on ITV. Below is a list of characters who made their debut in 1985 in chronological order of first appearance, including Gloria Todd (Sue Jenkins), whose time on the show included brief relationships with Alan Bradley and Mike Baldwin; and Martin Platt, who married Gail Tilsley, and was a regular on the show until 2005, before returning for three episodes in 2018.
Gloria Todd was played by Sue Jenkins between 1985 and 1988. She famously served as a bridesmaid at Bet Lynch's 1987 wedding to Alec Gilroy, looking not dissimilar to a milking maid. Gloria was unlucky in love, at one point having a daliance with Alan Bradley. She left the street after stealing the boyfriend of The Rovers cleaner Sandra Stubbs. Sandra called Gloria a tart and threw a pint of beer in her face. Gloria had been a barmaid at the Rovers Return Inn.
Constance "Connie" Clayton and her family moved into 11 Coronation Street in January 1985 and turned their front room into a work room so that Connie could run her dressmaking business. Jack Duckworth bought his wife Vera a dress length of silver lurex and Connie took on the job of producing a dress that 'will make Joan Collins look like a lollipop lady'. Vera was not happy with the results and whilst Connie agreed that the dress looked a right mess on her, she insisted that it fitted properly and was worth the £45 fee but Jack and Vera refused to pay and a feud developed between the families. The fighting between the families was ruining Terry Duckworth's romance with Andrea Clayton and so he tried to pay the bill for his mother, but Connie refused to accept his money. The feud over the dress was soon forgotten when Andrea announced that she was pregnant with Terry's child. Connie stood by her daughter and agreed to look after the baby while Andrea attended university. After Vera started announcing her own plans for her new grandchild, the family did a moonlight flit and moved away from Weatherfield. In December 2000, Connie returned briefly to visit her grandson Paul in hospital after Vera had donated a kidney to him in order to save his life after Terry had refused to be a donor. Connie made peace with Vera and thanked her for saving Paul's life.
Harold "Harry" Clayton was a trombone playing milkman, who, with his family, bought 11 Coronation Street off Bill Webster in 1985. A feud developed with the Duckworths, who lived next door, after they refused to pay a bill for a dress that Harry's wife, Connie, had made for Vera and eventually escalated to violence in the Rovers Return Inn when Jack asked Harry if he was sure that the father of their daughter Andrea's baby was his son Terry. Harry and Connie stood by their daughter and agreed to look after the baby while Andrea attended university. After Vera started announcing her own plans for her new grandchild, the family did a moonlight flit and moved away from Weatherfield.
Susan "Sue" Clayton had just left school when she was first seen and later secured a job in a local bakery. Sue left Weatherfield with the rest of her family in a moonlight flit to get away from the Duckworths in order to raise her sister Andrea's baby.
Andrea Clayton moved into 11 Coronation Street in January 1985 with her parents and younger sister.
Whilst studying for her A-levels, Andrea started dating next door neighbour Terry Duckworth behind her parents' backs and was shocked to learn that she was pregnant, but refused to allow Terry to be part of the child's life, even though he wanted to stand by her. Her parents decided that the best way forward was for Connie to look after the baby while Andrea went to university. When Vera Duckworth wanted to be involved in plans for her grandchild's future, the Clayton family packed up overnight and left Weatherfield. Eventually word reached Terry that Andrea had given birth to a boy and named him Paul.
Andrea visited the Duckworths' in November 2000 and explained that Paul needed a kidney transplant urgently. Although Terry exploited the situation for his gain, Vera stepped in and saved Paul by giving him one of her kidneys. In November 2001, Andrea brought Paul to Jack's 65th birthday celebrations. This was her last appearance on the show.
Sam Tindall was a recurring character played by Tom Mennard for various stints between 1985 and 1989.
Sam himself never married, and was kept company by his dog Dougal, which he kept in a bag. In September 1985, while readying himself for the bowls tournament, he took a fancy to Phyllis Pearce. Phyllis was after Percy Sugden, Sam's competitor in the tournament. Phyllis liked the thought of making Percy jealous by being seen with Sam and so she told Sam she would go to the bowling club outing to Southport with whoever won the finals. In fact, Percy had no interest in Phyllis and was so horrified at the thought of Phyllis having him all to herself that he considered throwing the game - but he was too proud to go through with it and he won. For Phyllis, Sam had now served his purpose, but the battle for her hand continued for some years and Sam was a semi-regular fixture in the Rovers Return Inn and Jim's Café until 1989. Phyllis took more interest in Sam when she found out he won a fortune on the pools in the 1950s and spent it on property. Sam was now penniless as his houses were falling down but he saw this as a way in with Phyllis and made the most of it. He was Phyllis's date for her 65th birthday party, and they were having a good time until Sam saw Phyllis dancing with Percy and accused Phyllis of playing with his affections. Phyllis was upset, until he revealed that he had no fortune to bequeath, upon which the status quo was restored.
In December 1985, Sam offered Terry Duckworth and Curly Watts the use of Dougal to catch a rat in the builder's yard. He tried to swindle them by passing off a ferret as a rat so they'd pay him to catch it. Also that month, Sam won a Christmas pudding in a pub raffle, but a drunken Alf Roberts sat on it at his stag party, and a forlorn Sam annoyed Bet Lynch by accusing her of losing it.
In April 1987, Sam turned up at one of Percy's over-60s tea-dance sessions. Percy entered the group in a competition but the dancers preferred Sam to lead them and voted Percy down. Percy hit back by cancelling their entry into the competition.
Later that year, Sam briefly pursued Vera Duckworth's mother Amy Burton, but by 1988 he was after Phyllis again. Phyllis had come to like having Sam around but she still used him to get to Percy - on one occasion, she complained to Percy that Sam was pestering her, and was then pleased when Percy berated Sam when he overheard Sam telling people he never had much time for women. He last called at the café in May 1989.
Janet Bamford was a secretary at the Weatherfield Recorder, and worked as Ken Barlow's personal assistant. Janet worked mornings only and cared for her disabled husband John the rest of the time. Unlike her predecessor Sally Waterman, Janet had no journalistic ambitions and was content with her minimal responsibilities, including making the coffee. In her three years at the Recorder, she presented no problems to Ken and they got along well.
In 1988, the Clarion Group bought Bob Statham's share of the Recorder. Statham had been a sleeping partner but the Clarion's boss, Nick Cavanagh, had big ideas for the paper and asked Janet to work overtime however due to John being confined to bed, Janet had to decline. Ken considered the matter closed but Nick pursued it and convinced Ken that they needed someone more dynamic in the office full-time. Ken reluctantly gave Janet her notice. When given the news, Janet was understanding and told Ken she'd been expecting it.
John "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.
Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street since its inception in 1960. Much of Weatherfield has been seen by viewers throughout the years, though the primary focus from the viewer's perspective is the eponymous Coronation Street, a cobbled street where many of the programme's characters live. The soap opera is often shot on location around Salford and the neighbouring large city of Manchester, as its filming studios, the Granada Studios complex on Quay Street in Manchester city centre and its replacement set MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, only house the outdoor sets of Coronation Street and its immediate surrounding streets.
Ray Langton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Neville Buswell.
Alan Bradley is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Mark Eden. He first appeared on 15 January 1986 and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed off on 8 December 1989.
Bet Lynch is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on Monday 25 May 1966. Appearing over 25 years, Bet became a Coronation Street icon.
Des Barnes is a fictional character from the English ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Philip Middlemiss.
Terry Duckworth is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Nigel Pivaro. He was introduced as the son of popular characters Jack and Vera Duckworth, making his on-screen debut on 1 August 1983. Terry has three sons: Paul Clayton, Tommy Duckworth, and Brad Armstrong. The character made regular appearances until leaving Weatherfield in 1987 and has made only brief visits in years following. In February 2012, it was announced Pivaro would be returning to Coronation Street and he made his return as Terry on 16 April 2012. Terry departed on 11 May 2012 and this was his last appearance to date.
Paul Clayton is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Lee Booth, the character first appeared on-screen during an episode that aired on 29 November 2000. When the character returned in 2007, Paul was played by Tom Hudson.
Molly Dobbs is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Vicky Binns, she debuted on 5 September 2005. Introduced as the daughter of a local baker, she is the love interest and later wife of Tyrone Dobbs.
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.
Tommy Duckworth is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Darryl Edwards from 1992 to 1997, Joseph Aston in 2000 and Chris Fountain from 2011 to 2013. The character was born on screen during the episode airing on 9 September 1992 and departed in December 1993, before returning for five short stints in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000. The character returned on a more permanent basis on 28 March 2011. Tommy is the son of Terry and Lisa Duckworth. Since his first appearance in 1992, he had few storylines; but after his return in 2011, he became more of a central character.
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